Work Text:
Blood in the Snow.
Two beady eyes stared up at Cassandra as she stirred the pot of stew.
“What?” She asked glancing down at the little animal.
Ruddiger tilted his head to the side for a moment staring at her. Cassandra sighed.
“Are you trying to tell me that I’ve done something wrong with the cooking? Because I know okay, I’m not a good cook, but I’m trying.”
Ruddiger’s heckles raised and he crouched low, his teeth bared as he gave a growling bark at her before turning and running out the door.
“Oh right.” Cassandra said. “You just wanted to remind me once again that you don’t like me. Well tough! We’re married now!” Cassandra shouted after the retreating animal.
Ruddiger and her had been having, well difficulties. If a human could have difficulties with a one-foot-tall critter who if it weren’t for her husband’s way with animals would be living off garbage. The problem was that she understood how important Ruddiger was to Varian, she did, Owl and Fidella were very important to her too. The difference was Owl and Fidella lived outside. Varian didn’t have to end up in some kind of territory war over their bed, because that was she believed the heart of the problem. Ruddiger used to sleep at the end of Varian’s bed, Cassandra did not like having a layer of fur on the sheets, or beady eyes staring at her in the dark when Varian leaned over to kiss her neck and gave her a certain look. So, she had brought him, Ruddiger, not Varian, a very nice basket, and very nice blankets, and she had placed them in front of the fireplace where the last of the night embers would keep him all snug and warm till the morning. Ruddiger however had turned his nose up at this. Being sympathetic to the animal’s plight Cassandra had moved the little basket right next to their bedroom door so that Ruddiger could at least be near Varian. Apparently this was still not enough for the animal, and he had taken to scratching at their door at night and growling at Cassandra when she emerged from the room first thing in the morning. During the day he stayed at Varian’s heel, and whenever Varian was sitting the critter would be on his lap, glaring at Cassandra if she dared to come near his human.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by a warm hand on her waist, and the tickle of breath on her neck, followed by soft lips placing a kiss just below her earlobe. She hummed contentedly as she leaned back in his arms.
“Go wash up for dinner, it’ll be ready soon.”
“It smells good.”
“You’re lying , it burnt on the bottom.”
“Extra crispy, just how I like it.” Varian smirked as he headed out the door.
***
The dinner had been finished; a bottle of beer shared. Dishes had been washed and dried as they had talked about their day, and they had curled up happily on the sofa, each using the light of the fire to read their own books ‘Battle Tactics’ for Cassandra ‘The Sceptical Chymist’ for Varian. It was as they were getting up to put out the fire that Varian turned to her looking confused.
“Hey, is Ruddiger not in yet?”
“He was here earlier.” Cassandra answered.
“I’ll go check upstairs.” Varian said. Cassandra heard him calling for Ruddiger as she quickly looked around their little living room making sure that everything was in its right place before going to bed. She didn’t notice Varian was back downstairs until she felt the cold breeze of the front door opening.
“Ruddiger!”
Starting to get concerned she went to join Varian by the front door, looking at the tiny set of paw prints in the snow leading away towards the woods.
“Ruddiger! This isn’t like him Cass.” Varian said his brows furrowed. “I think I should go out there and see if I can find him.”
“I’ll come with you.” Cassandra asked unhooking both their winter coats from the peg by the door. They put on their snow boots and gloves and winced as the coldness of the outside world hit them. Varian took his staff and spare lantern from by the door, handing the lantern to Cassandra. The night was pitched black and still, and little flurries of snow were drifting down. It was bitterly cold, and Cassandra felt her heart sink even further at the idea of Ruddiger being out in this weather, even more so at the thought that it might be because of her, because she had displaced him at Varian’s side.
They walked in silence so that they could hear any noises that might be an indicator that Ruddiger was stuck somewhere, though their feet still made a slight crunching noise as they trudged through the snow following the trail of pawprints. Owl swooped up ahead and Cassandra acknowledged his presence with a glance upwards and a little nod. As they got deeper and deeper into the woods besides their cottage the paw prints got harder and harder to follow, filling in with the fresh snow.
“Ruddiger! Buddy where are you?” Varian called.
“Any sign of him Owl?” Cassandra shouted to the air above their heads, a soft hoot came in reply.
“I need to find him Cass. I know he’s a wild animal and all that, but he’s been with me for so long, he’s not used to being out here anymore.”
“I know.” Cassandra answered. “Don’t worry I have no intention of leaving him out here alone.”
There was a hissing intake of breath from next to her and she turned to see Varian’s eyes widen and the colour drained form his face.
“No, no, no.”
Cassandra tried to follow his gaze, confused at first until she saw the slight marks still visible in the snow. She walked a few steps further, allowing the circle of light to widen. There were deeper larger hollows in the snow, as if some large animal had been rolling around in it. As she bent down she could see bits of scattered loose fur, she looked around the area and saw the large dog like footprints that led a trail to this spot. The thing that chilled her heart though, the thing she was sure Varian had spotted before her was a light splattering of blood across a nearby tree trunk. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and carefully stepped around the circle of indented snow until she found more blood, the red stains still visible under the fresh snow. The problem was that it went in two different directions, two animals injured.
“Varian!” Cassandra said sternly as she stood up and looked over at where he was stood frozen to the spot. “It might not be him.”
“I don’t know why he came this far out.”
“Varian, we need to split up.”
“What?” Varian asked his head still bowed as he tried to take in what was happening,
Cassandra went over to her husband and placed her hands on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her.
“If it is Ruddiger, he needs our help. The blood trail goes in two directions. I’m going to need you to follow one and I’ll follow the other. Owl!”
Her faithful eyes in the sky landed on a branch nearby.
“Can you circle back around the both of us, keep an eye on us both and alert each other if there’s any trouble or if we find anything?”
Owl gave a hoot and took off again.
As she turned back to Varian she saw a look of determination on his face.
“Cass, are you going to be alright?”
“Of course I am. And you?”
Cassandra didn’t want to say what the question in her mind really was, if you find him beyond help, will you be able to end his suffering? For Varian’s sake she hoped that the little creature was alright, or at least if he wasn’t, that she would be the one to find him.
“I have my alchemy belt.” Varian said. “So I should be able to handle the wolf if I come across it.”
Cassandra nodded, it was the type of answer she’d learnt to expect from Varian.
“I’m going to follow the left; you follow the right.”
Varian nodded. Just as they were about to split up and take the different paths Cassandra leaned over and kissed Varian briefly. He gave her a small forced smile in return, they didn’t need to speak, they knew whatever happened they were there for each other.
The path Cassandra had chosen was a difficult one, half covered in brambles, and it was slow going as she had to keep bending down low to check the ground for traces of blood. She had the bad feeling that even these would soon be hidden by the falling snow, leaving them with nothing to track.
“Come on Ruddiger, where are you?” She whispered to herself.
The night outside the circle of lantern light seemed still and otherworldly, shadows of trees jumping out at her. There was silence all around her, as if she had sunken under water and everything had become muted. She was thankful when she heard the soft wings of Owl sweeping overhead, reminding her that she wasn’t completely alone.
She knelt in the snow for the dozenth time and sighed when she saw no trace of red to follow. Frustratedly she swept her gloved hands through the snow, trying to uncover something that would let her know she was on the right track but there was nothing. She collapsed back onto her heels letting the despair settle on her shoulders like a heavy blanket. How could she explain to the animal how much she had appreciated him? How much she knew that his company and loyalty had seen her husband through some dark places? She wished she could make him understand that he wasn’t being replaced, but people do need people and not just animals, that she had wanted to get along with him, and that he had a place in the news lives that they were making.
“Ruddiger.” She whispered under her breath as Owl landed on a tree near her. “He needs you. Please.”
Owl tilted his head to the side and gave a soft hoot as Cassandra wiped her nose on the sleeve of her jacket.
“Now’s not the time to give up.” She said as she raised herself back to her feet. “Owl, will you go check on Varian for me? It’ll make me feel better to know he’s okay.”
Owl gave a soft hoot and took off into the night again.
She had barely taken a few steps though when something made her still, she’d thought she heard something. She raised the lantern high, trying to see. There was nothing, she took another couple of steps, but she thought she heard something again, just the smallest shuffling sound. She stopped and dropped low, looking around the brambles and fallen logs that covered the floor.
“Ruddiger?” She said softly. “Ruddiger, please be you.”
A movement caught her eye and she looked towards where it had come from, a hollowed out fallen tree. She placed the lantern into the snow and laid herself flat on her stomach to see inside the hollow, not caring that she was getting wet and cold. Two beady eyes shined out into the darkness. She saw teeth bared and heard the scared barking growl.
“Ruddy, it’s me. It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.”
The growling stopped, there was a small sniffing sound and slowly Ruddiger took a step towards her, then another. She crawled forwards on her stomach until she could reach a hand around his underbelly and pull him out from his hiding place. He came willingly. She held him tight to her for a moment, letting out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. As she pulled away to look down at Ruddiger he stared back up at her with sad soft eyes, she could see blood on his back leg, the scratches of teeth, but at first glance they didn’t look too deep. She sat him down on the ground beside her.
“You need to trust me okay.” She said gently as she searched her pockets for a handkerchief. Ruddiger was perfectly still as she wrapped it around his injured leg. As she worked though she could feel the ice that had formed on his fur, feel the violent shivers under her hands.
“Owl!” She shouted. She thought she could hear the rustle of wings but for all she knew she could be shouting to any night bird. “Owl, get Varian back to the cottage, we’re going to need him.”
She took off her coat, shivering instantly as the cold air filtered in through the jumper she was wearing beneath, it didn’t matter though. Ruddiger needed it more. She wrapped him up in her coat and held him close to her, hoping that he’d be warmed by her body heat. Then she ran, the need to follow tracks and keep a look out had gone, she sprinted through the forest as quick as she could, heading south, stumbling over fallen branches, and at one point falling to her knees, but she kept going. She needed to keep going.
After twenty minutes the trees thinned, and she could see the soft light of the cottage. She unlocked the door with numb fingers and ran to the fireplace. She gently putting the coat wrapped Ruddiger by the dying embers, throwing on more wood and stirring it up to release more heat.
“Cass!” Varian’s breathless voice wheezed from the doorway. She turned to see him froze half inside, staring at her. “Is he okay?”
“He’s hurt.”
Varian was by her side in seconds. His hands gentle, his movements filed with precision as he unwrapped the blankets and looked at the red gashes on Ruddiger’s leg. Then he let out a soft sob, his head falling to rest in the creatures fur. Ruddiger gave a soft chirp, nuzzling into his human friend’s chest.
Cassandra put her hand on her husbands back, trying to offer him comfort but feeling lost.
“He’s going to be okay.” Varian gasped.
***
It was past midnight by the time they had finished cleaning and stitching Ruddiger’s wounds. The three of them curled up on the floor by the fire, too exhausted by the nights events to move. Ruddiger was not himself, but they were both confident that he would be once the pain of his injuries had faded. He’d eaten some of their leftover stew, and had a long drink of warm milk. Varian and Cassandra watched him in silence as he curled up into a ball on Varian’s lap to sleep, warm, well fed and safe.
“Thank you Cassie.” Varian said softly.
“For what?”
“For finding him.”
She gave a soft smile.
“I’m grateful he’s back.”
Ruddiger, shifted and looked up at Cassandra. She stared back a little startled, having thought the creature asleep. Then on a shaking back legs he got up and walked over to her, Cassandra watched astounded as he climbed into her lap and curled up there.
“Hey Growler, don’t get too comfy.” She said. Ruddiger glanced up at her, as she reached down and stroked her hand fondly over his ears. “You can sleep on our bed tonight. I want to keep you close.”