Dismay Turned Discord

by Reedling

Chapter 4-Spurious Law

Hofu was having the hardest time not giving his most sinister of laughs. His elder kind were so blind to trust him, but it was easy to trust the words of a young zebra when his father could banish them into The Brush with his son’s sudden suggestion. He was spoiled and he loved how easy it was to rally the tribe to his aid with his father’s power not too far away.

“Come on! The moon is half way to setting, move faster!” He barked at his lackeys. They were all younger than him, with parents who had little to no respect from the chieftain. This made them an easy target for Hofu since he could trick them all into believing if they teamed up with him, that he would put a good word in to his father and, in turn would give their parents more say in the tribe. But it was all just a lie. It was all Hofu was truly good at.

“We’re trying Hofu! But Grue’s heavy!” A lackey moaned.

“Like I care if he is heavy...you all wanna be living under rocks and chewing on dry weeds? No?!?! Then move. That. Freak. Faster!” He barked. The sound alone felt like a whip to the young zebras as they gripped with their teeth on the leaves and tugged the faint hybrid. Their backs up high as they moved as fast as they could backwards. Hofu gave a low nicker. “They’re so dumb.” He thought to himself. His mood changed when he saw the clearing, but more importantly the river. His muzzle gave a disturbing stretch, he couldn’t hold in his emotions anymore. “You’ve done enough you lazy dolts. I’ll be the one to get the job done right!”

He made sure the river had a strong current by placing one of the leaves from the gurney into the water. It floated fast enough speed for him. “Go hide in the bushes. Go on!” His gang gave concerned glances at each other; they didn’t feel too comfortable with the idea their bossy leader had in mind. But they all followed his orders begrudgingly. Hofu trotted behind the leaf bag and gave a strong buck. With the force of it Grue was sent shooting out of the gurney into the river. As he submerged in the brisk waters Grue’s eyes opened, he tried his hardest to stay above water. “Goodbye and good riddance!” Hofu spat, as he snorted wildly.

Meanwhile Grue had gotten his muzzle out of the river. His mind was a blur trying to understand how Hofu had gotten him. He remembered passing out by Fahdil, and hearing voices. He shook his head, this wasn’t the time to remember!

“You almost drowned in a river, remember Grue?” He scolded himself, now focusing on getting out. The river had gained speed since he was forced in, but it was still swimmable. Grue had made it to the river’s edge in ten minutes or so, as he climbed onto land he panted wildly, plopping his body with a soft *thud*. “Now....what in Chrysos’ trickery is going on...” He sighed loudly as his memories begin to flood his mind.

“I would love to know as well.” A voice came from around the forest’s edge, and out stepped his teacher.

“Maua!” Grue gasped.

“Grue, how did you get so far away from home?....What seems to be the problem?”

“I-I’m not sure where to start Herbal-”

“Please, just Maua is fine. We aren’t in school and I don’t think I should be worried about trusting your word just yet. I see someone who is cold, sick and possibly hungry. If you’re able, please follow me to my hut.” She gave a soft smile. It was the smile that helped Grue remember about Fahdil, and he told her his adventure right after Herbalist Maua had complimented him at the edge of the village. He told her everything he remembered; Uchawi’s request, getting two of the ingredients but getting covered in poison joke. And the teacher listened well to his tale, her brow moved from interest to disappointment as he spoke. “That is quite a story Grue” She admitted.

“You believe me right?” He wondered.

“Well....I was wondering why your coat seemed lighter than usual. You have poison joke
all over you!”

“It was a pretty healthy field of them, under the thick grass I was in.”

“I can see.” She nodded in agreement, her muzzle motioned to his saddle bags.

“There should be a Shade’s wort and a heart’s desire in there.”

“That sounds like the start of some very strong poison!” Maua said her eyes widening.

“The last ingredient Uchawi wanted was a toad’s gut...”

“That’s...disturbing news Grue...and you are sure he claimed it was a healing remedy?”

“Yes...for Upepo.”

“Then we both have a reason to go back to the tribe. First however,we should get that poison joke off of you and maybe a quick bite to eat?”

“That would be great.”

Grue felt safe by Maua. They spent an hours time getting the ingredients for his herbal bubble bath. To help the embarrassing moment go by faster Maua gave Grue a little pop quiz on the ingredients they had gone over in the morning. The young hybrid repeated verbatim of what he had jotted down on his notes about the lover’s lotus and heart’s desire.

“You’ll make a great herbalist yet Grue...and an even greater witch doctor.” She admitted with a wide smile.

“Thank you Maua.” Grue smiled back.

“As dire as the situation may be at the village. I think a well rested mind would do us good,we should wait until morning.”

“That makes sense...could we leave a bit early then? I can’t help but feel Fahdil is in big trouble.”

“A little after dawn it is. Good night Grue.”

“Night-” He yawned, Grue turned to the guest room, with a soft and inviting bed awaiting him. Now that he thought about it, it seemed a bit strange that Maua had an extra bedroom. Grue didn’t sleep well however, no matter how comfortable his guest bed was, or the abundant hospitality of his teacher. Grue couldn’t help feel sickened with himself for not rushing back to help the only zebra friend he had.

Author's Note:

New chapters will be published every 3rd and 21st of each month and,
if you see any grammatical errors don't be afraid to post them!