Shownotes
Today’s story is the second of two parts of “A Rescue from Latin” (an excerpt of the upcoming novel Marian) by Tempe O'Kun, who is the staff writer at Culturally F'd, and the writer of the Windfall and Sixes Wild series by FurPlanet Productions, and you can find more of his stories on his FurAffinity or his SoFurry account.
Today’s story will be read for you by Crimson Ruari, the mountain smith.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/marian-a-rescue-from-latin-by-tempe-okun-part-2-of-2-read-by-crimson-ruari
Transcripts
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog,
Speaker:and today’s story
Speaker:is the second of two parts of
Speaker:“A Rescue from Latin”
Speaker:(an excerpt of the upcoming novel Marian)
Speaker:by Tempe O'Kun, who is the staff writer at Culturally F'd,
Speaker:and the writer of the Windfall
Speaker:and Sixes Wild series
Speaker:by FurPlanet Productions,
Speaker:and you can find more of his stories on his FurAffinity
Speaker:or his SoFurry account.
Speaker:Today’s story will be read for you by Crimson Ruari,
Speaker:the mountain smith.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Marian:
Speaker:A Rescue from Latin”
Speaker:by Tempe O'Kun, Part 2
Speaker:of 2 Hidden amid the salt merchants, Marian and Robin managed to contain their glee enough to pass through the castle gatehouse and final gatehouse at the far extent of the lower courtyard.
Speaker:The merchants themselves paid them little mind, at least after Marian flashed them a sweet smile.
Speaker:Robin appeared to be doing his best not to slink along,
Speaker:growing a few inches taller once it became apparent the plan worked.
Speaker:Once out of sight of the final gatehouse, they bid goodbye to their erstwhile traveling companions and scampered ahead of the small caravan.
Speaker:The west of Nottingham had tall, proud houses.
Speaker:Nobles, and the merchants rich enough to imitate them,
Speaker:lived just beyond the castle walls in the hope of catching any splendor that might roll downhill from it.
Speaker:Pressing on, the foxes reached the wide cobblestone rectangle of the Saturn Day market.
Speaker:It being a Sun Day,
Speaker:most of the stalls stood empty,
Speaker:though here and there well-dressed folk walked and chatted,
Speaker:while their servants haggled over the price of chickens and candles.
Speaker:Marian's heart soared.
Speaker:She smiled at Robin.
Speaker:"We made it." "Your plan worked.
Speaker:worked." The young tod shrugged, tail a merry twitch as sweet strains of lute echoed from a public house.
Speaker:"Now we just have to get outta town before someone catches us."
Speaker:"Do we have to hurry?"
Speaker:Standing on her toes, she peered in a shop window to watch a crafts mouse saw the teeth of a wooden comb with delicate precision.
Speaker:"Not many blackberries in Nottingham.
Speaker:Nottingham." Looking nowhere in particular, he kicked his legs out with each idle stride and picked at a loose reed on one of his baskets.
Speaker:"Not fresh ones, anyway."
Speaker:She cast him a glance.
Speaker:The faintest aftertaste of berries lingered on her tongue.
Speaker:The ones he brought had been quite good.
Speaker:After a whole winter of only dried and jellied fruits, they had been a delight.
Speaker:She could get Scarlet to take her to the market another time.
Speaker:"Very well. Lead on, Robin."
Speaker:The scrawny tod straightened,
Speaker:tucked both his baskets under one arm,
Speaker:and then looped the other with hers.
Speaker:His chest puffed up under the secondhand tunic as he led her toward the edge of town and the bridge beyond.
Speaker:"This way, if you please." ~ ~ ~
Speaker:Sherwood's cool shade greeted the foxes.
Speaker:Above, the canopy of leaves rippled in the breeze like the surface of an emerald lake.
Speaker:Scents of industry and inhabitation fell away, replaced by growth and green.
Speaker:Here and there, pools of sunlight collected and vanished on the forest floor.
Speaker:Having stashed their reed baskets in the brush,
Speaker:Marian picked her way through the mix of trees.
Speaker:Spindly trunks sprang from stumps a thousand years old.
Speaker:The Hoods had been tending this woodland for generations,
Speaker:knowing when and how to take trees to encourage more to grow.
Speaker:Robin had hiked at her side through town and scrub,
Speaker:but here he danced like a windblown leaf.
Speaker:Around trees and up boughs he swept,
Speaker:all without a pant of effort.
Speaker:Then, in a blink, he would vanish.
Speaker:She'd hustle in the direction she'd last seen him.
Speaker:At last, she'd manage to catch up.
Speaker:He'd always be seated on some old log or dangling from a branch, with the ease of being in one's sitting room.
Speaker:His smile would greet her,
Speaker:flicking bits of bark from his fur as he waited for her to close the distance.
Speaker:Then, like the shifting light of the canopy, he'd scramble off again.
Speaker:Thereafter, he'd just be a rusty flash hopping between the close-packed trees.
Speaker:The method allowed him to bypass all manner of undergrowth and fallen timber.
Speaker:"Hey!" She spun, trying to lay eyes on him,
Speaker:then climbed onto a rock for a better view.
Speaker:"Don't leave me behind."
Speaker:He popped out from behind a large bough,
Speaker:upside-down and watching her from several yards up.
Speaker:His smile shone like sunshine.
Speaker:"I won't." She propped her fists on her hips. Her tail flicked behind her. Waiting, she knew he'd be down before long.
Speaker:His bright green eyes rolled. Then, in a fluid motion, he swung to a lower branch,
Speaker:hopped between a few more, and at last to the earth.
Speaker:He stood before her,
Speaker:arms crossed, muzzle smug.
Speaker:The young vixen shook her head.
Speaker:"I'm as fast as you when you don't cheat.
Speaker:You're like a woodland nymph."
Speaker:"I can show you how.
Speaker:how." He sat back onto a low branch, as if onto a futon,
Speaker:then extended his hand.
Speaker:Judging the distance from branch to ground to be half her height, she sighed and permitted him to haul her up onto it.
Speaker:"How am I supposed to do this?"
Speaker:Holding both her hands with his, he locked eyes with her and backed along the bough.
Speaker:"It's just one foot in front of the other."
Speaker:She took a cautious step forward.
Speaker:Slippers had been a dangerous choice.
Speaker:She considered taking them off, but that would entail falling. Besides, a noblewoman didn't run around the woods unshod.
Speaker:Another step followed without bringing catastrophe.
Speaker:"Good." He backed up to give her more room.
Speaker:"Use your tail to balance."
Speaker:She struggled not to look down at how narrow the branch was.
Speaker:"What if I fall?" He gripped her hands with gentle reassurance.
Speaker:"I won't let you." Moving at the speed of her ambition,
Speaker:they advanced until a divide in the branch made it too thin,
Speaker:then back to the trunk in a slow and careful dance.
Speaker:Robin looked to her with pride.
Speaker:"See? It's easy." Her brow lifted at him in amusement. "We're only
Speaker:a few feet off the ground."
Speaker:He shrugged. "It works the same no matter how high you go."
Speaker:She glanced at the treetops and shook her head.
Speaker:"I'm not going that high."
Speaker:With a poised step,
Speaker:he dropped from the tree and bounced to the ground once more, still holding her hand.
Speaker:He tossed a sidelong smile up to her.
Speaker:"Then I guess I'm staying on the ground too."
Speaker:She hopped down to join him, letting him catch her under the armpits to slow her fall.
Speaker:Standing nose to nose with him made her blush a little.
Speaker:His ears flicked shyly down as he broke eye contact for a moment.
Speaker:But then he regained his nerve,
Speaker:flashed amiable fangs at her, and tilted his head in the direction of the deep woods.
Speaker:"C'mon. It's not that much further."
Speaker:With all the poise of a highborn lady at a regal ball, she turned and took his arm.
Speaker:"You are very kind to escort me, dear Robin."
Speaker:His tail bushed out,
Speaker:but he made no move to pull away.
Speaker:He cast her a little smile, the composure falling from his tone.
Speaker:"S-sure." A sparkle of joy fizzled through her, springing her steps and lifting her chin.
Speaker:"You understand I'll have to keep hold of you to stop you flying back up into the trees."
Speaker:Regaining his cheeky bearing, he imitated her formal speech.
Speaker:"Very good of you."
Speaker:She walked at his side as they ventured deeper into the forest.
Speaker:It still seemed trackless to her, but her companion walked as if through a familiar neighborhood.
Speaker:He knew which rocks wouldn't wobble in the creeks
Speaker:and where game trails led.
Speaker:His black-tipped ears swiveled to catch the sounds of songbirds.
Speaker:Even just a short stitch of notes proved enough for him to identify them.
Speaker:He introduced her to the singers by name.
Speaker:Chiffchaff. Blackbird.
Speaker:White Wagtail. Chaffinch.
Speaker:Goldfinch. The pair trooped through the underbrush,
Speaker:hopped glimmering streams, and picked their way up scraggly slopes.
Speaker:Well into the woods,
Speaker:Marian crested a rise and looked back, only to realize she could no longer see even the towers of the castle.
Speaker:"Are we getting close?"
Speaker:"Maybe halfway." Without breaking stride, he reached into a hollow stump and grabbed out a quiver and bow.
Speaker:She tittered at his sudden production of shooting gear.
Speaker:"Aren't you scared you'll lose your bow that way?"
Speaker:He shrugged into the quiver.
Speaker:"I remember where I leave it."
Speaker:The young vixen surveyed the timbers surrounding her.
Speaker:"I don't think I could.
Speaker:The trees all look the same to me."
Speaker:Robin nodded. A few steps later, he broke his brief silence.
Speaker:"Wanna know a secret?" Without hesitation, she squeezed his arm.
Speaker:"Always." "The trees are different shapes.
Speaker:shapes." He nodded in acquaintance to a hazel as they passed.
Speaker:"So I make them into signposts in my mind.
Speaker:It helps." Marian took this notion in, then tried to see the myriad signposts ahead of them as any sort of guide to the woodland ahead.
Speaker:Not for the first time, she remarked to herself that being a forester took a considerable honing of the brain,
Speaker:on par with anything she'd encountered in her studies.
Speaker:One never knew what curiosity Robin would produce next.
Speaker:On that front, she peeked over his shoulder and into his quiver.
Speaker:"Is that your whistling arrow?"
Speaker:"Yeah." He shuffled in hesitation, then pulled the arrow free.
Speaker:"It's not good yet.
Speaker:yet." Her tail dusted down his.
Speaker:"You're no longer tying an entire flute to it?"
Speaker:"I'm not." His pink tongue poked out at her.
Speaker:He reached back and flicked the shaft in question into his palm, then held it out for her inspection.
Speaker:"That makes it fly crooked."
Speaker:She looked it over.
Speaker:The quite conventional arrow had a second rod lashed to it, which featured carefully-carved lumps and holes.
Speaker:"You carved a smaller whistle."
Speaker:He nodded. "It isn't very loud.
Speaker:loud." With a single easy sweep,
Speaker:he flung the bow down his arm,
Speaker:nocked the arrow, and shot it forward.
Speaker:It screeched like a maniacal songbird, then wedged into a tree and vibrated, dead center.
Speaker:She crossed her arms and stifled a laugh.
Speaker:"It also sounds a bit…high.
Speaker:bit…high." A sigh heaved his thin chest.
Speaker:"I can't make it bigger or it flies even worse.
Speaker:worse." As they walked past the tree, he yanked the volley free and handed it over.
Speaker:The young vixen turned the arrow over in her paws.
Speaker:"Why does it need an arrowhead?"
Speaker:His brow bunched up in thought as he watched her examine his handiwork.
Speaker:After a spell, he scratched the scruff of his neck and shrugged.
Speaker:"To stick into trees and dirt, I guess."
Speaker:Her smiling muzzle dipped.
Speaker:She swished the arrow like a tutor's pointing stick.
Speaker:"If it didn't have one, you could put the whistle on the front."
Speaker:Eyes narrowed, he stroked his chin: a gesture she'd seen his father do when discussing the woodland needs of the castle.
Speaker:"Maybe. Arrows are hard to find when they're flat on the ground, though."
Speaker:Her gaze on him, she twirled the feathers against her chin.
Speaker:"Perhaps you could give it ostentatious fletching."
Speaker:His whiskers sprung out with a grin at the ornate word.
Speaker:"That's a good idea."
Speaker:The girl nodded and placed the arrow back into his hands.
Speaker:"It looks to me like it's flying straight."
Speaker:"It just looks like that.
Speaker:I'm aiming left." Robin nocked the arrow again and aimed at a large tree, perhaps twenty yards out.
Speaker:"Stand behind me and see."
Speaker:She slipped behind him to peer around his cheek ruff.
Speaker:Perhaps he had it a few degrees off.
Speaker:Even with one eye closed, she had trouble finding an angle that aligned string, bow, and tree.
Speaker:He pulled the arrow back and leveled it with a steady breath.
Speaker:A quiet moment passed,
Speaker:marked by the quiet rustle of greenery.
Speaker:The bow twanged, its missile shrieking like an offended piper before it bit into the large yew.
Speaker:He turned to her. "See?"
Speaker:"Not really." As they walked to the target, she dusted some dirt from the tip of her tail.
Speaker:"But I believe you."
Speaker:An exaggerated sweep of his hand illustrated the motion.
Speaker:"It curved because of the whistle."
Speaker:As they trod on, Marian crossed her arms.
Speaker:"How come you never miss?"
Speaker:"I missed just now." His ears rose at her.
Speaker:They reached the tree.
Speaker:After pulling free the arrow, he pointed to a spot an inch to the right of where it had stuck.
Speaker:"I was aiming for this light spot on the bark."
Speaker:Her finger rose to cover a giggle.
Speaker:"You're joking." "I'm not.
Speaker:not." Sounding a tinge bashful, he stashed the shaft in his quiver.
Speaker:"It's like how you always win at wrestling."
Speaker:A smile found her lips as she thought of all the times she'd pinned him.
Speaker:House Hermeline, while hardly renowned for its martial prowess,
Speaker:had long trained its children in the basics of unarmed combat.
Speaker:A surprise counterattack from a fox thought helpless had proved the undoing of many assailants, according to family lore.
Speaker:"That's because I had lessons."
Speaker:"I get lessons from my family.
Speaker:family." Leading on, he slung his bow back onto his shoulder.
Speaker:"I just don't have to study a hundred things in a day."
Speaker:"I suppose that makes sense.
Speaker:sense." She hopped over a fallen
Speaker:log. Perhaps if she didn't have to memorize the family lines of every noble house in Europe, she could swim like a fish.
Speaker:Robin ducked through a near-invisible hole in a long-forgotten hedgerow. She followed.
Speaker:On the other side, they came to a massive tangle of bramble.
Speaker:It had overtaken a dozen large trees and a tumbledown cottage, swathing them in vines.
Speaker:Standing beside with his tail flicking, he pointed at the overgrowth, which looked to be the vegetative equivalent of a fiendishly sabotaged knitting basket.
Speaker:"We're here!" She looked the thicket up and down, but found the fruits sparse and pale.
Speaker:"I don't see many berries."
Speaker:"Birds eat the ones on the outside first.
Speaker:first." He pulled free his bow and used it to sweep aside a curtain of prickly vines.
Speaker:His free hand presented the gap with a flourish as he gave a neat little bow.
Speaker:"We've gotta go inside."
Speaker:Avoiding the draped foliage, she ducked in.
Speaker:Viewing the thicket from within, sunlight set countless leaves aglow, like a green-hued sky.
Speaker:Floating against this firmament, thousands of blackberries shone,
Speaker:dark storm clouds brimming with juice.
Speaker:Marian plucked one from the vine with dainty claws.
Speaker:It broke free easily, as if ripe to the point of impatience.
Speaker:She popped it into her mouth.
Speaker:The berry burst in a spray of rich sweetness.
Speaker:Her ears popped up in delight as she turned to Robin.
Speaker:The boy smirked with pride,
Speaker:in between shoving berries into his own muzzle.
Speaker:After a dozen berries,
Speaker:the young vixen paused.
Speaker:"We should've brought the baskets."
Speaker:"I didn't know about the baskets.
Speaker:baskets." Shedding his gear, he untied an empty canvas bag from around his quiver and offered it to her.
Speaker:"I brought a sack, though."
Speaker:"These berries are very ripe.
Speaker:ripe." With ladylike consideration, she bit into another berry.
Speaker:Then juice started running onto her fingers,
Speaker:so she had to pop the rest of it into her mouth posthaste.
Speaker:"Putting them in a sack is liable to squash them."
Speaker:With a sassy lash of his tail, he tossed a berry and snapped it up mid-air.
Speaker:"Then we'll have to eat them here."
Speaker:With considerable merriment,
Speaker:Marian and Robin ate an extraordinary number of berries.
Speaker:Nestled in a world of greenery and laughter, the young noble fox envied her friend his freedom.
Speaker:He could live like this every day.
Speaker:Nottingham Castle stood so stuffed with responsibilities, it was a wonder it didn't burst like an overfilled tart.
Speaker:Her family's Castle Millepertuis held perhaps fewer responsibilities, though more traps.
Speaker:Neither balanced well against a thicket of ripe blackberries.
Speaker:Two fox kits seated themselves on the earth and chattered about the excellence of their venture, the beauty of the day,
Speaker:and every topic that breezed by.
Speaker:They lay back on the grass and watched the glimpses of sky here and there amid the ripple of foliage.
Speaker:Finding no better pillow,
Speaker:Marian rested her chin on her companion's scrawny chest.
Speaker:The young tod stammered in his musings on who in Nottingham possessed the most inflated view of themselves.
Speaker:Complaining of an arm going numb,
Speaker:Robin slipped it around her shoulders.
Speaker:In another context, she'd have teased him about it, but her best friend hugging her added to her contentment in this sweet
Speaker:and somewhat berry-stained moment.
Speaker:He held her softly, still yapping about matters great and mundane. In the
Speaker:leaf-filtered sunshine, she felt wholly safe.
Speaker:She closed her eyes for a moment. ~ ~ ~
Speaker:Precisely one moment later,
Speaker:her eyes opened on evening.
Speaker:Marian's ears sprung up.
Speaker:The rest of her followed an instant later.
Speaker:Her gaze dropped to Robin, who sprawled on the grass, comfortable and wide-eyed.
Speaker:"I dozed off, didn't I?"
Speaker:He gave her a shy nod.
Speaker:"I didn't wanna wake you.
Speaker:you." His tone held neither subterfuge nor irreverence, only bashful care.
Speaker:Not for the first time, her vulpine mind studied this flicker of modesty from her friend.
Speaker:How could he be the very epitome of cheek all the long day, but forget to be a scoundrel with her?
Speaker:She found herself smiling at him.
Speaker:The tod squirmed and dipped his ears.
Speaker:"What?" "Nothing." Standing, she extended a hand to him.
Speaker:"We should start back."
Speaker:Robin took her paw and let her pull him to his feet.
Speaker:Together, they exited the thicket and made their way back into the wider wood. ~ ~ ~
Speaker:This was the second of two parts of
Speaker:“A Rescue from Latin”
Speaker:an excerpt from the upcoming novel Marian
Speaker:by Tempe O'Kun, read for you by Crimson Ruari,
Speaker:the mountain smith..
Speaker:Follow Tempo on Twitter or FA
Speaker:for updates on the release of the full-length novel.
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.