By the time that Zaffre had stopped breaking out into giggles, the fear of the large Pumeon had left Jahzarni. She'd seen the way her daughter acted around the feline and come to the conclusion that if Freya intended to harm, she would've killed them when she emerged from the trees. Now, she sat with her daughter in their fields as she heard the whole story of how the bond was formed. It was quite the tale that was told. Hunting a Volbrix at the start, and ending with a lifelong friend. It was unexpected, to say the least.
"Then we left the bond plane, found the sword, and came back here," Zaffre concluded.
Her mother seemed contemplative as the story came to an end. Recounting it had almost surprised herself as well. From the limited knowledge she had on the magic that was having a soul bond, she knew that most did not come together after one was almost eaten by the other. Half the time the animal hopped out of surrounding nature and just started following their bond around until the unsuspecting noble was struck with the knowledge that it was not just themselves in their head anymore. Zaffre had never even heard of someone blacking out after a bright light exploded in their head. Things just kept getting more complicated and strange.
"Well, this is a surprise," Jahzarni stated. Her eyes strayed to the Pumeon who had made herself at home by lying in the grass beside them. Her purple eyes lazily glanced at her bond's mother before closing them and sighing as if those she was with were five steps behind her in thought.
"Hey, you can think I'm an idiot all you want, but I'll have you know my mother is one of the smartest women I know!" Zaffre was upset with Freya's attitude but realized it was like almost every cat she'd ever come across, wild or otherwise.
They continued to talk about the recent revelations, but even Jahzarni was clueless when it came to bonds. While related to nobility she had no experience with those connections. Soul bonds were rare enough that the number of those with animal counterparts was less than twenty. Besides their rarity, there was also the fact that no one had ever been bonded with a Pumeon or a predator as dangerous as one. The most extreme one anyone had ever heard of was the Dire Wolf connected to the leader of Shadow Ridge.
Despite nothing making sense they decided to leave the subject for another time. There was a farm to take care of after all. Zaffre and Jahzarni both worked to muck the horse stalls, water the crops, collect eggs from the chicken, as well as look after Cylis. When it was all said and done Zaffre was covered in sweat, dirt, and in dire need of a bath. They had a tub set up beside the house that could be filled using buckets from a well on their property. A few water trips later, she was seated in the fire-warmed water while Freya searched the woods for food.
Zaffre simply fell into bed that night, exhausted from the recent events. When morning came she woke to more early work cultivating the land. Mixed in with the work was intermittently talking with her mother about what to do with the giant cat now following her around. Freya really didn't know how to function in a space made for those with opposable thumbs and the need to earn money. In the end, they cleared out space in the barn that very much upset their remaining horses. They also took time out of the day to finally bury Atlas which caused quite a few tears.
Over the weeks they grew a routine. Freya stayed on the property after Zaffre and Jahzarni discussed that it would probably be wise to continue to keep Pumeon's away from the public eye. She learned how to help on the farm and had even been convinced to start trying to learn how to pull the harvesting equipment. She didn't like it much. Overall life returned to a semi-normal. Cylis remained mostly in his comatose state with short bursts of consciousness, and the farm continued on as they prepared for fall which would arrive in a few months.
Nothing changed for a good while as Freya and Zaffre got accustomed to each other. Their bond grew stronger as the days passed. However, the serenity of any kind did not seem to enjoy staying as one singular sentence broke the peace. It came after a long day of caring for her father. Zaffre was out grooming one of the mares when she heard shouting coming from around the house. Too far away to hear it she contemplated heading over as she looked over to where the noise came from in concern.
Not a minute later did her mother and Lenny come running and hopping around the cottage. Lenny had clearly been rushing to get there as he seemed very out of breath. Panic was in her mother's eyes as she looked at her with great worry. At her fearful and nervous emotions, Freya bounded closer in the woods, but saw Lenny and knew she had to remain hidden. It was horrible as Zaffre could tell she would need the comfort her bond provided her. Jahzarni and the young Rabineer skidded to a stop before her.
It was then that Zaffre noticed the fancy parchment in Lenny's hands and knew that the news he brought couldn't bring anything but catastrophe. The worried-filled gazes of her mother and friend overwhelmed her she looked to them waiting for them to spill their concerning knowledge. Yet, they froze, reluctant to share.
"Spit it out already!" Zaffre spoke desperately.
What came next was something that struck more terror into her heart than even the Volbrix did when it was about to devour her whole. World-shattering news, that completely demolished any hope that Zaffre had for the future. Clearly, the world had something against her and her family. None apparently wanted to see them succeed.
"They're starting a draft, anyone young and of an able body has to go to war."
Word Count-1039