Word: wroth

wroth

\ rawth, roth or, especially Brit ., rohth \  , adjective;

1. stormy; violent; turbulent: the wroth sea .

2. angry; wrathful (usually used predicatively): He was wroth to see the damage to his home .

********************************

“Oh cheer up.  So you’re not a hunter.  You have plenty of other skills.”  Lyra said.  Lars didn’t respond, choosing instead to sulk quietly to himself.  The two made their way back to the camp site where Caruss was still setting up the tents and fire pit.

“How’d it go?”  The large man asked when he saw the two of them.

“As well as could be expected.”  Lyra asked.  “I managed a rabbit, but there isn’t much that’s really edible in these woods.  Most of it has already been hunted by now, and what hasn’t been eaten already has gone underground.”  She sat down and placed the dead rabbit on the ground near where Caruss was setting up.

“I see.  And what about you?”  He asked Lars, who just mumbled his reply. 

“I told him he wouldn’t be able to do much with his blades, but he insisted.”  Lyra said.

“I can imagine.”

“How’d you manage to catch food before we met?”

“Usually Grena laid magical traps in various places.  Those usually did the trick.  That, and we usually pick up food whenever we’re in town.  We mainly used hunting to supplement that.”

“I see.”  She said. 

Just then Lyra looked up, seeing something in the bushes.  To her, it looked like the ears of the largest rabbit she had ever seen.  She quietly reached for her bow, thinking it may have been some kind of magical beast.  Caruss noticed her action and followed her gaze.  It took a moment, but he eventually came to recognize the ears.  He smiled and looked at Lars, who hadn’t noticed them yet.  He whispered to Lyra to take a few steps back, towards the opposite end of the camp.  She was confused by the request, but she followed him.  Lars looked quizzically their way when he saw them moving.

“You can come out now.  We see you there.”  Carrus called out. 

A face poked out from behind the bushes, looking around the camp curiously.  It was the face of a girl, normal looking except for her eyes and ears.  Her long ears stood on the top of her head, and her eyes were jet black.  She crept out slowly from behind the bush.  Her figure was lean and wiry, with small hands and large feet.  Lars took one look at the girl and his face contorted with rage.

“You.”  He said slowly, his voice dripping with malice.  The girl looked at him and beamed with joy.

“Ah!  Silly man!”  She said happily. 

Lars bellowed, grabbed his swords and charged the rabbit-girl.  She easily sidestepped his attack, laughing all the while.  Lars swung wildly at the girl.  She darted around the clearing with impeccable speed and agility, rendering all his attacks useless.  Caruss just smirked as he watched the show. 

“So, I guess you know her then?”  Lyra asked.

“Oh yes.  We met her a few months before you.  She left quite an impression on Lars.”

“I can see that.  So, what exactly is she?  I mean, she’s not human, right?”

“No.  She’s a rabbit.  Well, a rabbit that’s been magically given the form of a human.  We were hired to get her out of a town.  She gave Lars the runaround for awhile, and then left on her own.  I still don’t know why.”

“I see.  Is that why he’s acting like this now?”

“Yes.  She did quite a number on his ego.”

“Huh.  Well then, this should be entertaining.”

Carrus nodded.  As he watched the two run around, he couldn’t help but notice something.  There was something different about the girl.  She seemed larger somehow.

“Something wrong?”  Lyra asked.

“I’m not sure.  It’s just that… Well, when we first encountered her, she was a child, about nine or ten.  Now she seemed to be in her late teens, even though it’s hardly been six months or so.”

“You said she was a rabbit?  Well then there’s no problem.  Rabbits don’t live nearly as long as we do, so it makes sense she would age faster.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Just then, the girl bounded closer to Lyra, sniffing the air quizzically while still avoiding Lars’ furious attacks.  She looked at her oddly for awhile before bouncing off again.  This was not lost on the archer.

“Should we stop them?”  She asked.

“Well, I suppose it is getting dark, and we wouldn’t want anyone to trip.”  Carrus said.  He waited for the rabbit to move past him.  Then, as Lars was getting closer, he held out his thick arm.  Lars ran right into it and was knocked off his feet.  Carrus helped his companion to his feet, but held the swordsman fast, despite his furious attempts to brake free.  The rabbit saw this and fell over, laughing.  

“Let me go!  I’ll cut her head off!”  Lars shouted. 

“Easy there.  Let’s find out what she wants before decapitating her.”  Carrus said.  Lars huffed, but stopped thrashing against the large man’s powerful grip.  Lyra helped the rabbit to a sitting position, while the girl sniffed the air.

“You smell, you smell.”  She said to Lyra.

“Like what?”  Lyra asked.

“Magic.  It’s not here, but it was.  I smell it.”  She said, taking a deep breath.

“You can smell magic?”  Lyra asked.  The rabbit nodded furiously.

“Well, that explains a few things.”  Carrus asked.  Lyra looked at him for an explanation.  “Grena laid out traps for her, but she managed to avoid all of them.  I wondered how for some time.  It makes sense now though.  Is that why you left so suddenly?”  He asked.

“Yeah, yeah.  I smelled something fun.  But it wasn’t there when I got to it.”  She said.  Her long ears folded down sadly at the memory of what she had missed.

“Well, that’s interesting.”  Lyra said.  “Does different kinds of magic have a different smell?”

“Yeah, yeah.  Lots of different smells.”  The rabbit said happily.

“And you can even smell it if it’s a long way off?”

“Think so, think so.  Hard to tell sometimes though.”

“Hm.”

“What are you thinking?”  Caruss asked.

“I think we should keep her with us.  That nose of hers might come in handy.  Well, at least until Grena gets back.  She might have some ideas as well.”

“Agreed.”  Caruss said.

“No!  Definitely not!  I refuse to travel with that!”  Lars shouted.

“Two to one.  She stays.”  Carrus said with a slight smirk.  Lars slumped down, refusing to be cooperative.

“So, do you have a name?”  Lyra asked.

“Name?  Name?  No, no name.”  The rabbit asked.

“Hm.  Well then, you’ll need one.”  Lyra thought about it for a moment.  “I think I know.  I once traveled with a man from a far Eastern nation.  They have a peculiar language really, and I picked up a few words here and there from listening to him speak sometimes.  I think the word for rabbit was something like Usagi.  Of course, I’m not completely sure, but I think it’ll do for now.”

“Fine by me.”  Caruss said.

               “Why do I need a name?  No rabbits have names.”  The girl said.

               “We humans use names to identify ourselves.  When we want to address a specific person, we use a name.  If you want to be with human’s, you’ll need one too at some point.”  Lyra said.  The rabbit thought about it for a bit.

               “Fine, fine.  That name is fine.  Any name is fine though, but ok.”  The rabbit said, completely indifferent to getting a name.

               “Well then, Usagi.”  Lyra said, “Why did you come here today?”

               “Smelled something good.”  She said.  “Not magic.  Good food though.”  She sniffed around, looking not in the group’s bags, but around the trees and bushes.  She soon found a group of berries to nibble on, looking quite content with them.

               “Well, I guess foraging will be easier at least.” Caruss said.  Suddenly, Usagi looked over to the middle of the camp and her eyes grew wide.  All three followed her gaze to the dead rabbit.  Caruss and Lyra looked at each other with a sudden realization of what that meant.  Lars smiled wickedly with the same thought.

               “Well now,”  He said, “To welcome our new member, why don’t we cook up some dinner.  How does rabbit stew sound?”  He sneered at Usagi, who was tearing up at the sight of her slain brethren.  Her face shot up when he spoke.

               “Ahhh you meanie! Meanie, meanie, meanie!”  She shouted.  She quickly began pounding on Lars’ arm while shouting at him.  Neither Lyra nor Caruss thought it to be a good idea to tell her who killed the rabbit in the first place. 

               “It will certainly make things more…lively, won’t it?”  Lyra said.  Caruss nodded.  This was going to be a long trip.     

**********************************

It's been awhile since we've seen these guys, hasn't it?  I've actually been waiting to use this situation for quite some time now, and I just needed an excuse.  Hmm, but there seems to be a character missing...I wonder where she could be...  She's off on her own little quest for now.  If I get the right word, I might even write about it.  And after that, even I don't really know.  I'll figure it out at some point though.  Probably.