Kano & Cabbage

　　 remember when you wouldn`t let me walk alone?

　　I think about it almost every day

　　we are single grains of sand in a sandstorm

　　single drops of water in a flood

　　single flakes of snow on a mountain

　　so small, so fragile, so unimportant

　　but still

　　you wouldn`t let me

　　walk alone

　　*******

　　Weeks passed, then longer. Kano stopped counting the days.

　　Though he often spoke with Cabbage, the conversations were very one-sided. He craved the presence of another person, nevermind the touch. He hadn`t felt so lonely in decades - not since before he`d met Pak. There were no merchant routes that headed north, no beaten paths, nothing, and not a single soul crossed his path. Iridan didn`t even have a Northern gate. When he saw the ghost town on the horizon, he hoped he might meet someone, but the closest thing he found to life were the flies and maggots swarming an animal`s corpse, and the thick stench of death that wafted from a rocky ravine.

　　Springtime was finally plucking its first melodies over the land. All around, the snowmelt trickled, puddled and plopped, harmonizing with the birdsongs, set to the rustling beat of their wings. The warm sun met the back of Kano`s neck as the chill of his shadow hugged his front. He wanted to play his guitar, to sing alongside the birds, but he hadn`t taken it from its case since he left. His fingers were just too cold to play. Why was he still lugging it around? He had no audience. It was just slowing him down and straining his back.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

　　"This is stupid&"

　　Kano stopped in his tracks, his head bowed low, and swung his guitar case around to his front. He shrugged off the strap and dropped it to the ground with a thump, splattering mud on his ankles.

　　"Prrrooh," Cabbage said, tail flicking.

　　"He hated it, anyway," Kano mumbled. "I don`t know what I was thinking."

　　"MROOOH!"

　　Kano stumbled back, startled by Cabbage`s outburst, and looked down to find the cat-owl glaring at him with splayed whiskers.

　　"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kano said, crossing his arms.

　　"Mrrrrr&" Cabbage said in a low, throaty growl. "Prrroooh!"

　　"Look," Kano started, averting his eyes, "I`m tired, and I`m hungry, and I don`t know where we`re going, and this fucking thing is heavy!" He kicked the guitar case, sending it skidding across the damp ground. "I hate this, Cabbage! I hate being out here, I hate being dirty - I don`t know what I`m doing! I`m a musician, not a-"

　　A loud, sharp hiss cut off Kano`s bleating, but the sound didn`t come from his feathered friend. Cabbage stared past him at something hidden beneath the bare-branched trees. The fine hairs on Kano`s neck stood on end as his body awoke to its vulnerability. He twisted slowly in place so as not to move his feet, searching the earth for whatever the cat-owl saw, and there - not three feet from his heel - a massive white viper slithered closer, camouflaged in the not-quite-melted snow.

　　The viper lunged forward with bared fangs. Kano yipped and danced to the right, narrowly dodging its bite. He ducked and grabbed his guitar case. The snake twisted and surged forward a second time. With a blast of adrenaline, Kano whacked its head with the fat part of the case, then launched into a sprint, skidding on the wet, snowy ground. The snake hissed, as if angered by his obstinance, and barreled forward.

　　"Cabbage!" Kano cried. "Help!"

　　The viper pounced again, leaving no time for the half-human to react. It sank its thin, flesh-covered fangs into his guitar case, stuck to the leather shell. The added weight caused Kano to lurch backwards and fall. He spun around and kicked his heels to scramble away. It coiled its body, still stuck to the case, and launched forward once more, pinning Kano to the ground beneath his guitar.

　　A gray-and-black smudge swooped down from the sky, and with a strange, yowling screech, Cabbage plummeted into the snake`s face, blinding it with his wings. The snake flailed, and Cabbage kicked his razor-sharp claws into its eerie red eyes, staining its white scales with blood. It hissed and rolled over, dislodging its fangs from the case, then retreated into the burrow from where it came.

　　Kano scrambled upright, panting, eyes darting about wildly in search of any other predators. The only one he saw was the cat-owl sitting before him, his fur and feathers ruffled and wild, his expression otherwise inscrutable. One of the snake`s fangs stuck out of the muddy, pierced guitar case - it the length of Kano`s hand, nearly translucent, stained red where it broke from the beast`s mouth - but somehow it spared the guitar. Thank god he didn`t bring it in the fabric case, he thought.

　　"&Fine," he said, catching Cabbage`s eye. "I`ll keep it."

　　Cabbage tilted his head, then flopped over to lick the blood from his toes.