Caged No More: Chapter 38

Instructions

CW/TW: Shift, fire POV: Onyx I hear a knock on the cabin door, and I rush to open it, expecting Dad or Bill- they went out to harvest wood to fix up the kitchen. But when the door swings open, it's Sable. "Sable!" I chirp happily. He waves and scribbles something on a pad of paper. 'I still can't talk.' My heart drops like a stone in my chest. "Don't worry," I assure, hugging him tightly. "I can help you get through this. We'll stick together no matter what." He smiles softly and scrawls out, 'So am I allowed to come in?' I nod, confused. "Of course." Sable writes, 'I was...sort of the reason the kitchen burned down. The goldbeast and I were cooking in the kitchen when the fire started.' I laugh, "So what? Fires happen all the time. My dad wasn't mad at anyone." I take his hand and we walk inside. He flinches at the damage in the kitchen. Black burn marks are everywhere, the room smells like smoke and depression, and ash is all over the floorboards. "Good thing you warned me right away," I shudder, "or the entire house would be like this." He scribbles, 'Yeah. This is horrific.' "It's good that you're discharged, but you should get some rest. It's probably like, at least 10 at night." He nods and waves goodbye as he goes back to his room, Flame scrambling out from under the couch and following him, tail bobbing. I sigh contentedly and head over to my own room. I hear Birch and Dawn snoring, and call, "Goodnight, Sable," before curling up in bed. ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Buzz. My alarm beeps wildly, and I turn around in bed to shut it off. Then I do a double take. It's 1 AM?! I haul myself out of my bed and decide to go for a walk outside, by myself. By the time I've opened the door, I feel wide awake. Phantom badger claws appear on my hands as I walk though the taiga. Outside, the air is heavy and wet, and dew is everywhere. It must have rained, I think, pulling my boot out of a sticky mud puddle. I head to the rock area by the stream, suddenly getting a strong urge to hunt. I feel phantom ears swivel to every sound, ready to pounce on any small animal I see. Ahead of me is a vole, crunching on some seeds, oblivious to my presence. I stalk closer, smelling the rich, warm scent, flexing my phantom claws. A twig snaps under my foot, the vole scampers away, and my shift ends. I curse under my breath and plop down in the soft grass, adrenaline still pumping. I stay there for a while, doing quads around the field. I'm amazed at the fluidity- it must be the shift energy still in me. I notice the sun is rising and head back to the cabin. Even before I open the door, I can smell something amazing that makes my mouth water. I open the door and realize it's not coming from the kitchen, but seeping through cracks in the back door. I burst through, wondering what could smell so good, and see Sable and the goldbeast crouched over a fire, roasting a squirrel on a spit. "Last time we cooked," the goldbeast informs, "we burned the kitchen down, so we're doing it outside." 'And also because we literally cannot use the kitchen,' Sable writes down, eyes flashing mischievously. The goldbeast and him fist-bump and go back to the squirrel. "Just don't burn down the forest, and call me when the food's ready," I say, heading back into the cabin.