Peaceful Days
A quiet place, wrapped in bushes and tall trees, lay hidden in a distant land.
It was not grand, nor was it beautiful in the way cities and noble estates tried to be. The houses were crude—built from clay, rough timber, and straw thatched thick across the roofs—but they stood with the sturdy honesty of homes made by hands that expected to live in them for a long time.
Smoke rose lazily from a few chimneys. Poultry scratched at the earth. Cooking smells drifted through the air in thin, comforting trails.
There were not many people there—perhaps a hundred and fifty in total—but to them, that little place was the whole world.
Children ran through the open spaces between homes, laughing with the kind of joy only the untouched could carry. Their voices rang clear beneath the trees, their tails swishing wildly behind them as they chased one another in games too important to explain to adults.
The world had not reached in and dirtied them yet.
Even the elders, slow in step and weathered in face, wore the quiet peace of people who had been allowed to grow old without fear pressing its hands around their throats.
“Hey—!” a man called out. “Don’t go beyond the fence, alright?”
“Okay!” the children shouted back in one uneven chorus.
He only wanted to make sure they didn’t wander too far—far enough that it becomes a concern, especially with the forest right at their doorstep.
One thing about this place stood out immediately: the people.
Every resident had cat ears and tails, with fur in different shades and patterns. Some were striped, some soft and pale, some dark as shadow, some warm as sand under the sun.
This was a beastfolk village. And not just any beastfolk village—it was home to the cat tribe.
And the man warning the children from the shade of a tree was Kael, a village guard.
He smiled as he watched them play.
It was a smile so open, so easy, so true and protective. There was nothing sharp in it. Nothing broken. It was just… human.
Then a voice came from the side.
“You…!”
Soft, but edged with frustration.
Kael turned.
A young woman was marching toward him with her head lowered, her arms swinging stiffly at her sides as if she had already decided she was angry and only needed to reach him to let him know it.
The men who had been sitting with Kael saw her coming and scattered without hesitation, abandoning him to the storm.
“What are you doing, goofing around here?!” she snapped the moment she reached him.
Kael stood at once and raised both hands in playful surrender.
“I’m just sitting with the guys, that’s all,” he said. "At least I was before you came and ruined everything."
That only made her narrow her eyes.
“Oh, really? Then who’s supposed to protect the village while you sit here twiddling your thumbs?” She said.
Then she pointed. "The gate is unguarded right now."
“But…” Kael hesitated, glancing around at the peaceful homes and the open sky. “This place is high in the mountains. No one’s going to come all the way out here just to attack us.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
Her tone dropped. So did her eyes.
She looked off toward the village, toward the homes, the children, the old folks sitting beneath roofs and trees, and suddenly her face seemed older than it had a moment ago.
“We’re living here because people once said the exact same thing.”
Kael fell quiet.
For a brief moment, the peace around them seemed to thin.
Then he spoke again, softer this time.
“Listen, Brescia… that was in the past.”
He meant it as comfort. Or maybe denial.
Brescia looked like she wanted to argue further—but another voice called out first.
“Brescia—! Come on, let’s go!”
Both of them turned.
A familiar girl stood a short distance away, waving them over with one hand.
Mariada.
She stood there with her usual quiet energy, calling Brescia as if she had somewhere more important to be than this argument.
“I’m coming!” Brescia shouted back.
Then she turned to Kael one last time and jabbed a finger at his face.
“Listen here, Kael—”
This time, Kael didn’t joke. Brescia's eyes were too serious for that.
“You’re the strongest male in our tribe,” she said. “So make sure everyone stays safe. Got it?”
Kael paused, caught off guard by the sudden weight in her voice.
Then he smiled.
“…Yeah,” he said. “You can count on me.”
Brescia smiled back immediately, the severity in her face breaking apart as quickly as it had come.
Their eyes met.
Then, with the casual cuteness of someone already letting the moment go, she tilted her head and turned away toward Mariada.
“Bye!” she said, waving over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later!”
Kael watched her go, lifting a hand in return.
His ears twitched as her voice blended with Mariada’s somewhere farther off, their conversation drifting lightly back through the houses.
Then, after a moment, he turned away.
His sword hung at his waist.
And the smile stayed on his face—the honest one, untouched by bitterness.
☆
A little while later, Kael stood guard at the village entrance.
Beyond the gate stretched the forest he had feared the children never entered—tall trees, deep shade, and the kind of stillness that swallowed careless footsteps.
A thick wooden fence surrounded the village—rough, but strong. Whatever else their homes lacked, their defenses had not been made carelessly.
Kael yawned.
The boredom showed plainly on his face.
This place was too peaceful. Too quiet. Too safe. And though he truly loved that about it, some reckless corner of him still craved a little tension.
Being a guard in a place like this felt like gripping a weapon that never had to leave its sheath.
The guard standing beside him noticed the boredom and tried to make conversation. But before either of them could say much, a small figure came sprinting toward them from inside the wall.
“Mr… Ve–vil…!”
It was a little girl, panting so hard she could barely get the words out.
Kael dropped to a squat immediately and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, relax,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
The girl fought for breath.
“Paxil…” she gasped. “He—he went into the forest with the others. Now they’re nowhere to be found!”
Kael stiffened at once.
“What? Which way did they go?”
The girl pointed frantically toward one side of the fence.
“There’s a hole in the wall over there! They snuck out that way!”
Kael looked to the guard beside him.
“Stay here with her,” he ordered.
The guard nodded. So did the girl.
And then Kael ran.
One hand stayed near the sword at his waist while the other pumped beside him. Sweat had already formed along his temple, and his mouth hung slightly open as he gritted his teeth and pushed himself faster.
His thoughts raced harder than his feet.
Dammit, Paxilous. Learn to follow orders.
He thought it as if the boy could hear him through the trees.
When he reached the damaged section of the wall, he didn’t even slow down.
He only looked at it once, planted one foot, vaulted clean over the fence, and disappeared into the forest beyond.
☆
The forest was thick with moisture and low-lying fog.
Everything felt damp. The air clung to skin and fur alike, cold enough to raise a faint chill even without wind. Bushes brushed wet leaves against their legs, and every step through the undergrowth made the world feel smaller, tighter, harder to read. Visibility was poor—too poor for children playing at bravery.
“Paxil…” one of the boys said, worry thinning his voice. “Are you sure about this?”
He spoke as they pushed through low bushes with their makeshift wooden swords clutched in sweaty hands.
Paxilous didn’t even turn around.
“It’s fine,” he said, pressing forward. “Besides, there’s nothing in this creepy forest.”
“Yeah!” the third boy shouted, trying to sound brave. “Don’t be such a scaredy-cat.”
It wasn’t meant as a pun, but it landed that way all the same. The first boy really was the timid one of the group—small in voice, cautious in step, and far more aware of the dark around them than the other two.
They pushed farther into the undergrowth.
Then something white darted through the fog.
All three boys stopped at once.
"What was that?" The timid boy asked, clutching his fist close to his chest. "You guys, let's go back."
"Shut up, will you?" Paxilous said, voice cracking a bit. "It's nothing."
Even his bravery was cracking under the unknown monster that brushed through the bushes.
They waited for a while, their heart beating loudly for the forest to hear. And when their eyes searched around for the monster, a rabbit appeared before them.
Its fur was so pale against the dim forest that it almost glowed.
It froze for only a heartbeat, then bolted the moment it realized it had been seen.
Their fear lowered instantly, and Paxilous chased the white rabbit on instinct.
“Hey! Wait!” He said.
As if a rabbit ever would stop.
☆
Far behind them, Kael ran through the forest at speed, feet barely touching the ground before he pushed off again.
He vaulted over wet brush, ducked beneath low branches, and scanned both sides of the fog-filled path with quick, searching eyes.
“Where are they?” he muttered.
Then a darker thought struck him.
I hope they haven’t wandered into a rabbit-spider nest.
His pace quickened.
☆
“Stop running, you coward!” Paxilous shouted at the rabbit as he chased it deeper through the mist.
Maybe it heard him. But it certainly didn’t care.
“Let’s surround it!” the other bold boy said.
And so they spread out, trying to trap it from both sides.
The rabbit stopped.
So did they.
For a brief moment, the forest seemed to hold its breath with them.
The creature stood there in the fog, its white fur damp with mist, its tiny body trembling ever so slightly. Its ears twitched. Its nose moved fast. Its wide red eyes darted from one boy to the next as if desperately searching for an escape.
It looked cornered. Scared. Almost pitiful.
Paxilous grinned.
“We got you now,” he said, the excitement in his voice too bright for the gloom around them.
Sis is gonna be so happy, he thought.
The boys stepped closer. Slowly. Carefully.
The rabbit took one small step back.
Then another.
Its body lowered, almost flattening against the earth as if it wanted to disappear into the roots and wet leaves. It made no sound, but something about the way it stared at them wasn't normal. It was too still, too aware, too full of fear for an ordinary animal.
The shy boy hesitated.
“Paxil…” he said quietly. “Maybe we shouldn’t—”
But it was already too late.
The rabbit twitched. Then its body came apart.
Not into blood or fur. It came apart into white threads.
They spilled out in every direction, fast as a cast net, wrapping around the boys’ feet before any of them understood what they were looking at.
All three gasped.
“What?!” one of them cried.
In a blink, their ankles were bound.
Then tighter.
Then tighter still.
The rabbit had never been prey. It had been the trap.
“Paxil!” the shy boy cried, his voice cracking with panic. “Wh-what’s happening?!”
“I—I don’t know!” Paxilous shouted back, and for the first time, the confidence was gone from his face.
They tore at the threads with claws and frantic hands, but the web only clung harder.
Then the forest darkened above them.
A giant shadow descended through the fog.
Slowly—too slowly—the boys lifted their eyes. And froze.
A massive spider hung from the high branches on a thick line of silk, its body hidden in the mist except for its legs and the glint of too many eyes. It stared down at them with patient hunger, like it had all the time in the world.
The boys clawed even harder at the web around their feet.
It didn’t budge.
As the elders said—web was stronger than steel.
The spider made its move. A thick strand of silk shot toward them.
The boys screamed.
One flinched and covered his face.
Another tried to crawl backward, though he was trapped.
Paxilous bared his teeth and clawed harder, but the web was already on its way.
Then—a flash of steel cut through the fog.
The silk split cleanly in half.
The severed strands slapped wetly into the dirt. And Kael landed in front of them.
He came down between the boys and the spider like he had fallen straight out of the forest itself, sword already drawn, feet steady, shoulders squared, tail low and still.
For a second, the boys could only stare.
In the mist, with his blade catching what little light slipped through the trees, Kael looked impossibly tall. Like the kind of person danger would hesitate to touch.
“Are you alright?” he asked without taking his eyes off the spider.
The boys nearly burst with relief.
“Mr. Kael!” The shy boy cried out.
“Yes—we’re okay!” Paxilous answered, though his voice shook badly enough to betray him.
“Good,” Kael said. “Stay behind me.”
The boys scrambled together at once, huddling behind him.
The spider dropped from the trees and hit the ground with a heavy thud that shook loose wet leaves and sent ripples through the webbing underfoot.
Kael tightened his grip on the sword.
He and the spider stared at each other for a brief moment, and then, the spider spat a wide sheet of silk at him.
He moved.
The boys didn’t even fully see how.
One moment, the web was flying toward him. The next, it had become strips.
Then Kael was already running.
The spider swung one of its front legs down at him, fast enough to split bark if it hit.
Kael slipped to the side.
The leg struck the ground—and fell off.
For a second, even the spider seemed confused.
Then it shrieked.
The boys stared in open awe.
The spider tried to turn and flee.
It never made it.
Kael crossed the distance in a blur.
A single motion. A single cut. Then he sheathed his sword.
Behind him, the spider’s body split apart and collapsed into the dirt.
The fight had ended almost before the boys had realized it had begun.
From how worried Kael had sounded when he found them, you would’ve thought he expected a much harder battle.
He turned back toward them.
“Mr. Kael…” Paxilous said, still shaken. “Thank you for saving us.”
Kael’s face was handsome and gentle by nature—but now it was tightened with the anger of someone who had been forced to imagine the worst.
He walked over and bonked all three boys on the head, one after another, with his fist.
“Ow!”
“What the heck were you all doing in the forest?!” he snapped. “Are you trying to get yourselves killed?!”
Paxilous rubbed his head and pouted.
“We just wanted to see the forest…”
“You,” Kael said, glaring at him. “Don’t even speak.”
Paxilous shut his mouth immediately, though his pout remained in full force.
The shy boy stepped forward instead.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Kael,” he said, voice trembling. “It won’t happen again. We’re really sorry.”
Kael looked at the three of them.
The anger in his face slowly gave way to relief.
Then concern.
Then something like pride.
He let out a long breath.
“Haa… There’s a reason boys your age aren’t allowed out here,” he said. “Monsters like that are exactly why.”
“But sir, we—” Paxilous started again.
“No more excuses, Paxil.”
Silence fell over them.
Then Kael’s expression softened.
“But…”
All three looked up.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. “And… I’m proud too.”
Their eyes lit up.
“Just wait until you’re older,” Kael continued. “Then use that courage to protect the people of this village. Got it?”
All three boys straightened as if they’d just been inducted into the military.
“Yes, sir!”
Kael couldn’t help the faint smile that followed.
“Good. Now let’s go back.”
He glanced toward the village.
“I’m sure everyone’s worried.”
The boys walked ahead this time, much quieter than before.
Their earlier excitement had been worn down by fear, and now they kept close together, glancing at the shadows between the trees as if expecting another monster to drop from the branches at any moment.
Kael followed behind them with his sword at his waist, his ears twitching every now and then as he listened to the forest one last time.
The walk back felt longer.
Not because the distance had changed—but because the boys now understood just how far they had strayed.
They had learned something today.
Having courage was not wrong. It simply had to be used at the right time.
What they had mistaken for bravery had almost gotten them killed. And yet, Kael couldn’t help feeling a little proud of them, too.
They were foolish. But they had spirit.
The kind of spirit that, one day, could be turned into something worth trusting with the safety of others.
The fog shifted softly around them as they moved back toward the village.
Then—something in the forest changed. A feeling of being watched lingered in the air.
Kael slowed by half a step.
His ears twitched.
His eyes narrowed toward a patch of trees behind them, where the mist lay thicker, and the light from the sinking sun barely reached.
For the briefest moment, he thought he saw movement.
A shadow.
A figure.
Something standing where nothing should have been.
He stopped.
The boys took another few steps before realizing he was no longer behind them.
“Mr. Kael?” one of them called nervously.
Kael kept staring into the trees.
Was there something there? he wondered.
The forest answered him with silence.
There was nothing: only fog, only the slow hush of leaves brushing against one another.
"Is something wrong?" Paxilous asked.
He exhaled through his nose.
Maybe it was my imagination.
The thought didn’t fully satisfy him, but he let it go.
There were no monsters here that he couldn’t handle. At least, that was what he told himself.
So he turned away and followed the boys back, dismissing the warning in his instincts as nothing more than a trick of the forest.
It was not the kind of mistake a guard should make.
"It's nothing," He said. "Let's keep moving."
☆☆☆
Elsewhere, hidden far from the cat tribe’s reach, the man from the forest knelt before Count Juliq Herlon.
His face remained lowered as he reported what he had seen.
“I found it,” he said.
Count Juliq’s mouth slowly curved into a smile. A smile sharp with appetite.
“The village of the beastfolk.”
