Ablaze Without Flames

Chapter 1, Part 1 - Blaise

A sigh echoed in the fading daylight that washed the wood-panelled walls and thatched rooves of the cabins indigo. 'We should be starting the harvest now. Food is running low,' said Asher, the leading farmhand, plucking a stem of green wheat from the loam. It bent around his fingers without resistance. 'We will have to return to White Tail before any of this is ready.'

His companion cursed under his breath. Their voices were clipped and tense. Not only was the food store emptying at an alarming rate, the kitsunes meant to start the harvest were growing increasingly impatient with the slow progress. There was little for them to do other than keep the weeds at bay, and the pups were doing a good enough job. 'I don't suppose-?'

'We have anything to trade?' Asher finished. 'No. Unless Shia can pull another thirty spears or so out of his forge in the next few days, and he can't do that without the ore.'

Blaise leant against the wall of the house nearest the wheat field, half out of sight of the pair at the field's edge. He had his eyes on the raised walkway above the perimeter of the village should they turn and catch him eavesdropping, following the slow patrol of the guards' buckled boots. He tapped his heel against the stony foundations and turned an ear towards the field as their conversation grew quieter.

'One more aurochs might be enough to tide us over. But they won't give it to us for free,' Finnley said with a sigh.

Blaise pricked his ears. Above him on the walkway, Maxis paused to raise an eyebrow down at him. He had heard them too. Blaise responded with a smirk. The guards weren't allowed to talk while on patrol, but that didn't stop Maxis trying. He frowned and Blaise grinned, showing off his fangs as he shrugged away from the wall. One aurochs was not difficult to catch, especially under the cover of night.

His plan was interrupted by a small mass of red that bowled towards him. 'Blaise!' the pup yipped, gripping onto the hem of his tunic with tiny fingers. The two grumbling kitsunes turned silent as the pup bounced up and down on his toes. 'What are you doing? I saw you out the window and you looked sad.'

'Eavesdropping,' Blaise supplied, acutely aware that one of the figures, likely Finnley, was approaching. The pup dragged a smile out of him nonetheless and he dropped to one knee to look up at him. 'What are you doing?'

'Can I eavesdrop too?'

'If you really want to. But you have to make sure no one catches you.'

Kayden tapped his palms together, tail wagging. 'What's eavesdropping?'

Blaise chuckled. 'It is a vital skill. You must become one with your surroundings in order to hear the secrets of the clan. Do you know how much fun that is?'

'What secrets?' Kayden tilted his head to one side, the tips of his ears flopping over.

'Kayden.'

Blaise looked up at Finnley's growl and felt the pup inch closer towards him, his fingers tightening around his clothes. Trying not to mind those little claws, Blaise rose to his feet, resting one hand between Kayden's ears. Finnley stood over them, arms folded and ears back. He was clad from head to foot in black leather armour, a half-length cape with a red underside lifting with the breeze. 'You're supposed to go straight home after school,' he said, eyes on Blaise as though it was his fault.

'You came straight from the school house?' Blaise asked.

'Kayden,' Finnley repeated, holding out a hand to his son. The pup stuck out his lower lip and leant his head against Blaise's side. 'Come on. You need to eat.'