Tussock Terror Part Two
The Tussock Terror strikes!
Night has fallen across the settlement of Tussock. Even at night the sound of the mines can be heard as the night shift digs for precious metals. The streets are deserted save for those few who seek to squander their hard earned money on ale and drink. One such creature, Theodore the hare, steps out of the tavern. The hare gives his distented stomach a pat and belches. The hare staggers down the steps with a slight chuckle. Someone inside waves him off with a cheer, "Come back later mate, maybe when you have more money to lose at the table!" The hare laughs as he calls back, "Don't get too attached to it buddy, I consider it a loan. One which I'll collect next game."
Unbeknownst to the hare, a pair of beady black eyes watch him from the shadows. A mouse, it seems; fur-less tail lashing, and distinctive ears hidden by the dark cloak he wears. He waits across the street, sitting in an alley adjacent to the tavern, absolutely still, and silent. His only motion is to slowly, and ever so gently, set down the mug of cocoa he had been holding in his paws.
The hare waves goodbye to some beast in the tavern. Theodore takes a few steps forward, wavering back and forth as he does. Theodore hicups once and giggles as he walks.
The mouse allows the beast to pass, staying hidden as the hare stumbles along. If nothing else, the mouse is patient, and persistent. He carries very few things on him, other than the cloak - some rope...and a pickaxe. Depending on how things go, he should only need one or the other...
Theodore hicups again. Unlike most other miners the hare decided to put up some money for an actually house in town. A small thing near the walls but private and away from the collective ruckus of the beasts at the Inn. The hare pauses near a three lane intersection in town. The buildings around them are mostly shops and other small businesses all locked up for the night. A homeless stoat sits at the entrance of an alley way ahead of him. The hare looks to the left and then too the right. "Now where did I put that house?" The hare scratches the top of his head as he ponders this, pausing in step for a moment.
Quietly, almost beyond the edge of hearing, a sound arises in the night, distinct from the regular background noise of the town. It's almost like...somebeast is whistling. However, it's not loud enough to pick out a melody, and certainly not loud enough to tell where it's coming from.
Theodore feels his ears twitch at the sound. He turns around and looks at the surrounding behind him.
There's nothing. The street is empty, and looks just as it had when Theodore passed the first time. But the whistling persists.
The hare scratches at his head. How very...odd. He takes a few steps backwards before turning for the left. "Calm yourself Theo...Max has got you riled up on his horror stories again..." the hare chuckles. He does however step more lively to the left path way now.
There's still no way to determine /where/ the whistling is coming from as it echoes eerily through the deserted streets of Tussock, but it has certainly gotten louder, though the increase in volume is so gradual that it seems a trick of the mind, at first. But it's there - an odd, implacable melody, that is at once up beat, and terribly unsettling...
Theo quickens his pace. His ears are standing ridged, alert. And occasionally his head will dart from side to side at every little noise he hears. "Yes...j-just the wind. G-get ahold of yers-self Theo..." The hare is rubbing his paws nervously as he navigates the empty shops and occasional residential apartment.
Despite the hare's increased pace, the whistling never fall behind, or decreases in volume for more than a moment, before it comes back just as audibly. The source is not becoming any clearer, either, as the sound simply echoes off the surrounding buildings, doubling and redoubling upon itself.
This is finely too much for the hare to take, "Alright enough! I know that's you Max. So knock it off!" Theo turns and shouts into the empty street behind him. His heart is pounding...maybe...maybe it's just his hearing going shot? Great, such a lovely thought. No...some one...some THING is following him. "Max! I said knock it off." Rascally fox. He is going to pound him for the scare he is giving him.
Amazingly, /thankfully/, it stops. ...Leaving the rabbit standing in total and complete silence, with no Max to fess up for the prank, or any indication at all that there even /was/ anyone whistling...
Theo's eyes gaze from one end of the street to the other. Empty. No sign of the fox, or any other beast. Just the gentle wind blowing between the alley ways. The hare swollows. His eye twitches a bit. With out any other reply the hare turns to head back to his home.
The trip back home is uneventful, the silence remaining unbroken.
...Well, if the hare can find his house, that is.
It is amazing how adrenalin works through alcohol. The hare eventually reaches his house, a small one bedroom shanty styled home supported by a wood foundation and thatch roof. Theo practically throws himself at the door. Nervously raking the key across the lock until he opens up the door.
Will grins, watching from the roof of the a nearby house, perched on the corner. Being light has its advantages... He waits for the hare to head inside, biding his time.
The hare throws open the door and slams it shut behind him. A series of clicking noises shows that he has locked it. Inside the hare slumps up against the door. He begins to chuckle to himself and wipe the sweat from his brow. Safe...at last.
And then...the whistling starts again.
The sound of a scream can be heard even outside the house as Theo dashes off to his bedroom. The inside of his home is naturally a mess due to his general laziness in refusing to pick things up. "Where is it. Where is it?!" the hare shouts as he tosses loose articles of clothing, boxes, and empty wine bottles to the side until he remembers. Under the bed! The hare crouches down to his bed and reach under it. He produces a sheathed short sword. His grandfathers. It hasn't been cleaned, sharpened, or even used since his grand father came here from the long patrol. The hare figures it should have enough wallop to deal with whistling miscreants. Theo struggles for a moment to pull it free. Eventually the hare draws the dulled blade. He heads back to his front door, taking up a flimsy fighting stance, as if something is going to burst through the door at any moment. "What do you want from me?!" the hare is foaming at the mouth in fright by now. But now he has a sword...that...that makes harder to attack...right?
The whistling just gets louder. And louder. With an undertone that is...nearly like the soft padding of paws, but the're so faint, and the eerie whistling so piercing, that it would take tremendous effort to tell where they're coming from. Certainly more effort than a drunken hare mad with fear can muster up. Then, just when it seems that it's right on top of him, the whistling all around the beast...it stops once more, and the silence becomes deafening.
The hare's breathing increases as the whistling grows in volume. His heart is pounding against his chest. His heart nearly stops when the whistling stops. Theo feels his paws tremble. He takes a step back away from the door.
In another situation, in another time, perhaps that step away from the door would have saved Theodore's life. But here, and now, the step back only brings him closer to the little black mouse standing behind him. The little black mouse swinging a pickaxe at the hare's
back.
The hare hears a sound behind him and turns in time to scream and flail at the attack with his sword. The blade is knocked to the side and out of the hare's grip. Screaming bloody murder Theo launches himself at the door only to find it locked at his own hand. Theo claws at the door to get out, pulling at the handle repeatedly, fear blinding him to the fact that he could just use the key to unlock it.
Will blinks in shock. He thought that would go better. Ah, well. He's never murdered anyone before; he guesses there are still a few kinks to work out. But, at least the hare is in idiot, who locked himself in but neglected to check any of his windows. "Goodbye, T-thodore!" The mouse squeaks as he swings the pickaxe at the panicking beast.
The hare screams once until he remembers how to unlock the door. He manages to get the lock open and throws open the door. All he has to do is take two steps and he would be out of range of the pickaxe. THUNK SPLORT. The hare crumples to the floor, his breathing increased as the pain spreads through his chest and back. The hare reaches out a paw to the distant street as his breathing slowly comes to an end, followed shortly after by his heart beat.
Will tilts his head curiously at the hare. He thought he would have figured that out sooner! Ah, well; it's better for the mouse that he didn't! He leaves the pickaxe sticking out of Theodore's back, and drags the beast back inside, before shutting the door, whistling a merry tune~...
