Hey everyone! It's so great to be back on this site. Many great stories to read and catch up on. It'll take me a while, but it's something on my to-do list.

This is one of the many stories I have saved on the laptop. Just tweaked it in a few places and thought it might be good enough to share. Hopefully I can get a few more stories out in the weeks to come. Not even sure if there's too many people interested in this fandom anymore. If you like this story, leave a review to let me know what you guys think? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :)

"Vikus! How good it is to see you. You fare well, I assume?"

"Never better, Governor. I can see you are not so bad yourself! The beard suits you."

The man stroked his chin a few times with his thumb and index finger. "Thought I would try it out."

They shared a friendly smile as Vikus climbed off of his large gray flier. Euripides bowed slightly to the Governor before taking lift and disappearing around one of the high towers. After a brief handshake and a nod, the men walked inside slowly. Vikus had landed on the Fount's version of the High Hall, but he was here for business. A meeting in a more private room was far more appropriate to discuss economic policy.

"How are your children?" asked Vikus, clasping his hands in front of him as he walked. It was always a pleasure to be at the Fount. Though he didn't make the trip as often as he liked, he never failed to feel a sense of familiarity with everything there.

"As good as they can be," the man shrugged. "I have troubles with York as of late, but otherwise everything is perfectly fine."

"Is he ill?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing of the sort. He simply refuses to start his life, instead trading it for an existence full of women and wine."

Vikus gave a low chuckle. "If I recall correctly, Argus, you and I did not live so differently when we were his age."

"It was different then," Argus waved off with a frown. "I was not the oldest, so my responsibilities were not as great. But York is to take the Fount not long from now. I find it hard to believe he thinks I will rule until the day I lose my light."

"Give him some time. He will come around and-"

"He needs to do it a lot sooner! A wedding and a few children ought to pull him out of this facade of life he likes to parade in."

"Do not fret, old friend," smiled Vikus. "Everything will work out for the best in the end."

Argus took a deep breath. "I hope you are right. All in due time. But enough of me! How are your children and your wife? I heard Solovet was promoted to colonel. You must send her my congratulations."

"Noted and appreciated," Vikus nodded, though it wasn't with a smile this time.

Sensing Vikus' hesitation, Argus slowed their pace to get his attention. "Is it not good news?"

Vikus looked away and sighed, not really sure how to explain the conflict that had risen in his marriage.

"She has become…obsessed with the idea that she will one day head the entire military."

"Do you oppose the idea?" frowned Argus, giving him a sideways glance. "I always thought you to be an advocate for equality among the ranks between men and women."

"I am," he answered quickly, but it was followed with another awkward silence. "The fact that Solovet is a woman and wishes to become Head General has nothing to do with it. I just cannot believe how…invested she is. Sometimes she will neither eat nor sleep just because she is 'too busy' with military matters. Her attitude changes, and often…there are moments when I hardly recognize her anymore."

"If it is of any comfort, Vikus, having just been promoted, I doubt she will climb another step anytime soon. She will get tired of trying for a promotion that will not happen and life will slowly return to normal."

"That, my friend, is the worst possible scenario. The longer the wait, the longer she has to lose herself in this new image she has created. And not only that, but she has already begun influencing Hamnet. He has always been a gifted fighter, but I fear the things he will do with that talent to please his mother."

Argus had nothing more to say to that. Despite how much he respected Solovet for her fearlessness, he knew everything Vikus was saying was entirely true. That woman had a way of making things happen and getting them done. It was admirable, but he would be a fool to say he wasn't the least bit intimidated by it.

The men continued their walk in silence until they arrived to the council room, each one immediately finding a seat at the round stone table. There were a few scrolls laid out already, some awaiting signatures while others were simply there to be ignored.

"Please bring us some wine, Violet," called Argus, speaking to a woman near the door. She nodded and turned to leave the room quickly, walking in brisk little steps.

"How is the queen? And your other daughter…? Oh, do forgive me, Vikus. It must be the age. What was her name again?"

"Susannah," said Vikus, relaxing back onto the chair. "She is doing just fine, though I dread the high possibility that she will never be wed. As I said before, Hamnet is making a name for himself in the military, but Susannah has no specific trade she excels in. I fear that if she is not married soon, she will end up a hermit that only takes to crying in her room. And it is with shame that I tell you she is off to a good start."

Argus smiled, letting out a small laugh. "Do not worry, Vikus. She will find a good husband. And if she is not courted soon, well, I might just have her marry one of my sons!"

"Oh, that will not be necessary," Vikus sighed, closing his eyes. "I am sure she will find a proper man to court her."

"I know this, Vikus. But my offer still stands. She would be happy here in the Fount. Especially if she were to marry York."

Vikus opened his eyes and put his hand up. "Let us not get ahead of oursel-"

"Come, come, Vikus! Why not? What think you of having both daughters married into good families? One married to a king and the other to a governor! Your son a star of the military, the one your very wife leads. And you, a respected man in Regalia and the Fount. Could you ask for more?"

"Peace," Vikus said simply, sighing again. "I wish for peace, but no matter what happens, whether me and every single one of my family members are in influential positions or not, the wars rage on. Blood is shed nonetheless, and that means I have not done my job."

"It is a futile wish that you should have given up on a long time ago."

"And do what instead, Argus? Train with my wife and son for battle? Prepare for an inevitable fight in which I can lose either one or both of them? Where is the tranquility in that?"

Argus sighed deeply, nodding his head twice. "I understand you perfectly, but-"

"Gentlemen!" came a call from the door.

Both Vikus and Argus turned to look at a young servant run inside to stand in front of them. He was visibly winded from the short run that had brought him to them. His breath was ragged and he leaned over slightly to place his hands over his knees.

"You had a reason to interrupt, I assume?" asked Argus, somewhat impatiently.

"Aye, sir," the servant panted. "There is trouble on the outside gates, near the river."

That erased all anger from the governor's face. "What kind of trouble?"

"A gnawer, sir."

"A gnawer? Just one?"

He nodded. "Aye. Goes by the name of Ripred, sir."

"Who the bloody hell is-"

"What is Ripred doing here?" asked Vikus, frowning at the mention of the gnawer.

Argus turned to him with a look of confusion. "You know him?"

Vikus nodded but kept kept his eyes on the boy. A quick raise of his eyebrows said he was still expecting an answer to his question.

"He…well…" The boy scratched his head, trying to find the words to best fit the situation. "Has an army…but…" he trailed off again. "I think it best for you to see for yourselves."

Vikus and Argus shared a hesitant look before leaving the council room. Once out in the Fount's version of the High Hall, Vikus let out a high pitched whistle to call his bond. Argus, however, whistled in a specific sequence out into the air.

The wait for their fliers was brief. After just a few short seconds, both men were mounted on their bonds and flying rapidly through the air. The speed at which they took off was enough to make anyone lose balance, but the experience and urgency of the situation kept them from losing focus.

A million scenarios ran through Vikus' head while they flew towards the river. Ripred was a gnawer he had met a few years back. He was not the typical creature, as Vikus soon found out. This one had a bigger sense of purpose hiding behind the cocky arrogance and masked carelessness. It was not easy to discern at first impression, but Vikus knew Ripred was trustworthy in terms of morality. He had no true intentions of destruction. As long as things worked out for him, there was no need to worry about eradicating the humans. Ripred was a selfish creature, having said that, but one who would not kill unnecessarily in order to fulfill those needs.

They were by no means best friends, but a friendship was something Vikus was hopeful for. Perhaps a friendship between a human and a gnawer was the first step to creating peace among the Underland. Of course, he had gotten an earful from Solovet the moment he had mentioned his few interactions with Ripred, but she stayed out of the affairs.

The main reason she chose to remain on the sidelines was because Vikus had asked her to. She didn't comply to his demands often, but she didn't mind letting this one go. And the reason for that was because anyone would be a complete idiot to have Ripred as an enemy. Even Solovet knew that.

Rumors about him had been proven true quite a lot as of late. And the word going around was that the Underland had bred yet another rager.

A perfect killing machine. Dangerously lethal.

It had been years since the previous one had died. Until then, the gnawers had an unfair advantage over the battles. When they discovered Ripred to be one, the Dead Lands rejoiced in knowing they would have their long lost advantage once more.

That is, until the day Ripred took out an entire pack of gnawers by himself.

It seemed his political views and his idea of how things should be didn't quite sit well with the new king of the gnawers. Gorger was the newest face in the gnawer monarchy, having taken over after the death of his uncle, and his first move was to try and unite every gnawer for one cause: The destruction of all other species.

Ripred, just a teenager then, was among the first to defy him and surprisingly survived every single one of Gorger's attempts to set him straight. It wasn't until the third group had been killed that Gorger decided to leave him be. The young rager would not be defeated, and years later, when they found out he was a rager, it all made sense.

It was with all of this in mind that Vikus made the journey to meet him. Had Gorger finally gotten through to him? Had he given him his own army of gnawers so that he could storm the Fount and begin an invasion? What exactly had Ripred been promised so that he would lose all of his senses and lead an attack with-

Hmm.

Vikus nearly slapped himself on the forehead when they finally reached the river and saw what lay before him. The servant that gave them the news was right. He had to see it for himself.

Ripred lay on his side lazily, gnawing on a bone of some kind. He looked nonchalant, but Vikus was not fooled. He had yet to see the gnawer in battle, but he was sure Ripred could go from lying on his back to full-on fight mode in the blink of an eye.

Of course, unless the entire army he had brought with him was full of ragers, there was no fight happening today. Very far from it, actually.

"Ripred," called Vikus as he and Argus landed in front of him.

"Vikus," replied the gnawer, feigning indifference to their arrival.

The man sent the Governor a look to let him know he would do the talking. Argus didn't know Ripred, and Vikus only hoped his distrust for gnawers would not lead to him saying something out of place. Their proximity to an angry rager did not leave them in a good position for that.

"It is…good to see you. Here. In the Fount," began Vikus, unsure of how to start.

"Good to see you too. Under the circumstances."

"And what exactly are these…circumstances?"

Ripred raised an arm and motioned to the army behind him, not even bothering to look up. "I'm here for a very specific purpose. And I would really appreciate it if you moved aside."

Argus sent Vikus another questioning look. Neither of them were in any mood to succumb to the whims of a young, hotheaded gnawer.

"Whenever you're ready," called Ripred, finally looking up to challenge their silence.

Vikus raised an eyebrow. "Whenever we are ready for what?"

"To surrender," Ripred said simply. "Let's try to make this as easy as possible for everyone."

"Ripred, is this your plan to gather followers?" Vikus sighed, bringing his hand up to rub his forehead. "You plan to take the Fount?"

"I figured if I had the Fount, everyone would take me more seriously," shrugged the rat. "Especially those in Regalia."

"Well, this is not the brightest of ideas. If it is solely yours, then I must say I truly am disappointed. I thought you smarter than to try and conquer the Fount with…clampers. Besides if by some miracle you were to succeed, the king would put a price on your head."

"Well Vikus, I must admit, clampers are not among the most skilled fighters, but they're loyal."

"Loyal and completely inept for combat. The only worry we have is you."

"Exactly," Ripred smiled, flashing his sharp teeth. "And trust me Vikus, I can be quite a handful."

"Handful or not, the king-"

"You can tell the king to come fight me one on one! I'm not scared of anyone. I'm getting pretty good at this rager thing."

Vikus let a smile creep onto his lips, ignoring the way Argus tensed up beside him. Surely he had heard of the gnawer rager going around, but he probably hadn't realized that he was standing in front of him.

"I would hope to keep a rager on my side. So that we may fight evil together."

Ripred stopped his gnawing and looked at Vikus directly. "Evil?"

"You know Sandwich's prophecies give no warnings as to when they might make themselves present and-"

"Blah blah blah. You and those stupid prophecies. You know, last time we talked, I thought you were just using those as a point of reference or something. Which was a bit excessive, considering how you wouldn't shut up about them. Every three words was 'Sandwich this' or 'prophecy that.' But now I see you live and breath those things. I wouldn't be surprised if you kissed a portrait of Sandwich goodnight every evening before bed. Is that why Solovet is so grumpy all the time?"

"I simply wish to make myself useful in as many ways as possible. The gnawers have their reasons to push forward. Reasons that guide them and drive them, and-"

"Reasons like we're hungry all the damn time?"

"-we humans have our own reasons," said Vikus, ignoring Ripred's comments. "I take advantage of these. You should make yourself useful in ways that will help you."

"That's exactly what I'm doing now."

Vikus gave a slow shake of his head, pointing back to the caves above the river. "Leave and take them with you, Ripred. We both know that if we start this fight, you will have single handedly led these clampers to their death. You will have no trouble surviving, but they will perish. Is that the example you want to leave your pups? Go home to them now instead of orchestrating a genocide."

Ripred got up at that, finally considering Vikus' words. He tossed the bone away and gave a long stretch, yawning loud and clear. He felt a nap coming on.

"Fine, Vikus. I'll go. But you'll ask for my help. One day."

"I have no doubt of that. Not one. So until that day comes, my friend, let us remain on peaceful terms."

Ripred gave Vikus a nod, locking eyes with him for a split second. The guy was a real pushover, but he was a good guy in the end. He felt the smile on his face before he could stop it, but the gesture was returned by Vikus in a genuine way.

Turning around and leading the lobsters away from the Fount, Ripred entered the tunnels and started the walk back to his family's cave.

Vikus watched him leave, relieved that everything had been resolved without a single drop of blood. That was what he hoped could be done in every confrontation. He knew it wouldn't be possible. Not for a long time. The wars would continue and more creatures would lose their light. It would be years before diplomacy and peace could reign over everyone. And truly, it might never happen.

But he could hope.