Adventure of Rowan

The Bandersnatch stops thrashing beneath Rowan. Its vast chest heaves once, then stills, and one frightened eye turns upward through the moss and mud.

Its next breath carries a voice that does not belong in its throat. The sound is thin and distant, shaped from words stolen somewhere deeper in the Hedges.

The borrowed voice breaks into a wet growl, while the beast's gaze darts past Rowan toward the trees. Its claws flex once against the soil, then go slack.

The final word comes from somewhere beyond the ravine rather than from the pinned monster. Beneath Rowan's hands, the Bandersnatch trembles toward Home, desperate for shelter but too terrified to rise.

Rowan tightens her hold, not to injure but to make escape impossible. The Bandersnatch's fear of a Faoladh becomes terror beneath her hands, while her oath keeps her planted between it and Home.

The Bandersnatch's antlers scrape the mud as it tries to turn its head toward the darkened trees. Rowan's pressure holds it facing her, and the stolen voice steadies under command.

The answer settles over the ravine like cold ash. Beneath Rowan, the Bandersnatch goes limp again, having given her the plain warning she demanded.