Orlen stood back and looked at their work. \u201cDo you think it\u2019ll work?\u201d he asked his brother, Neven.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you want my opinion?\u201d Neven snapped as he knocked on a length of the solid wooden fence.<\/p>\n
\u201cCloth wouldn\u2019t work, Orlen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know? Rosella said they tried it and it worked on their section of the Vine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes and Derek, and John, and Pearl tried it on their Vines and those damn beasts barrelled through it like it was nothing. We can\u2019t risk them getting through, the Vine is too fragile right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what those damn hunters are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh come on now, Neven. They\u2019re doing the best they can. We need to plant more diversion crops to draw them away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s got time for that?\u201d<\/p>\n
If you didn\u2019t spend half your free time drinking, perhaps <\/em>you would have time for that!<\/em> Orlen bit his tongue though.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps if we put up a sign up sheet for it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, why not.\u201d Neven shrugged. He leapt over one of the short fences that separated the property from the main road.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fence is up, the Vine is safe. Where do you think I\u2019m going?\u201d Neven called over his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cThat damn pub.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot the pub\u2019s fault,\u201d Leanna\u2019s croaked slightly with disuse.<\/p>\n \u201cGran! You\u2019re supposed to be resting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d have me resting into the grave.\u201d She settled her frail weight into the bench that overlooked their property.<\/p>\n Orlen sighed in defeat and joined her.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too bad.\u201d She patted his leg softly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s too bad?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have such a brilliant mind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a bad thing?\u201d He laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t let me finish.\u201d The old woman\u2019s eyes crinkled and she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. \u201cYou have such a brilliant mind, but it\u2019s trapped in such a passive tongue.\u201d<\/p>\n Orlen frowned and watched the land darken as the light from the glow stones dimmed, signaling the end of yet another cycle. \u201cThere are worse things, than to be passive,\u201d he finally answered.<\/p>\n \u201cYes dear boy, there most certainly is.\u201d<\/p>\n The sound of the warning bell pealed across the darkness. Orlen lunged for his bow and slung his quiver over his shoulder as ran toward the shouts. Others joined him with various weapons as they ran.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn it. Pearl\u2019s property again!\u201d Irene called when they rounded the corner.<\/p>\n Blood and carcasses were already scattered across the field, but still more rabbits came. One small brown rabbit darted for a tender glowstone bud and Orlen pulled an arrow and sighted down his bow. He blew out his breath to steady himself and loosed the arrow on the darting creature.\u00a0 With a scream it fell to its side, but not before it had torn the glowstone free. Another bunny darted up and grabbed the desired fruit, carrying it a little further before being struck down.<\/p>\n Finally the fluffy white wave of rabbits subsided. People plucked the carcasses from the ground and carried them home where many would have a feast this cycle. He bent down to claim the body of the thick brown bunny he had first shot.<\/p>\n If only we gave them something easier to eat. <\/em>Orlen shook his head and walked over to Pearl.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Tears streamed down her face. \u201cIf I can\u2019t provide for myself\u2026\u201d she sobbed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can move in with us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are having rabbit problems too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll manage. I\u2019m sure gran would love to have another woman in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019d die before I let you move back in with that abusive sack of shit. <\/em>He glared at the neighbouring house.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re too kind, Orlen.\u201d She dried her tears and smiled at him. \u201cPerhaps I can ask you for your help building some fences for now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re fianc\u00e9 won\u2019t mind?\u201d Orlen smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cHe might decide to destroy a twelve harvest friendship over a fence, but I\u2019m willing to risk it!\u201d Her laugh turned into a sigh as she surveyed the land. \u201cDo you ever wonder if those old stories of magic were real?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes. But I\u2019m certainly not going to be hanged to salve my curiosity.\u201d He looked up at the Great Vine, lost in the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cYou better get home before your gran wonders where you\u2019ve gotten to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a frightful thought. I\u2019ll be back at first lightening to start your fence.\u201d He waved over his shoulder though his thoughts still circled back to the magic trapped within the glowstones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Orlen stood back and looked at their work. \u201cDo you think it\u2019ll work?\u201d he asked his brother, Neven. \u201cNow you want my opinion?\u201d Neven snapped as he knocked on a length of the solid wooden fence. \u201cCloth wouldn\u2019t work, Orlen.\u201d \u201cHow do you know? Rosella said they tried it and it worked on their section […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1127,1208],"class_list":["post-10540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-terrorized-village","tag-unscary-terror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}