Chapter 1

"Survival is about keeping calm, staying fed, killing the lesser beasts, and leading other monsters well. If one is ignored, then the others become pointless and death is sure to come."

- Anonymous

Wit

Crouching low and moving stealthily, like a band of predator stalking prey, a small group of sneasel skulked through dense underbrush. Their leader, armed with a rifle that for now served only to help part the bushes choking this one and many others of Ainapia's forests, surveyed the way ahead with a sniff of the air and a glance at whatever his dark-adapted vision could reveal in this black-as-pitch night. He gestured with one extended claw and whispered, "Move, move."

Pushing through the brush and into a small clearing, he listened to his follower's faint footsteps. They were slowly falling behind his quicker pace and needed encouragement.

"Hurry yourselves, we're almost gotten away from them. A few kilometres more, that's it."

A distant voice, but was one that the leader recognized personally, called from the rear of the pack.

"I… I can't go on… I'm tired, Daddy..." whimpering and breathless, the tiniest sneasel in the group leaned against a tree. The march stopped as their leader fell back to her.

"I know you're tired, we all are dear. But we have to hurry, because…" he paused, letting his daughter remember what he's told her.

"The beast's will catch us."

"Hmph... 'Beast's'…? Ain't that telling it well." interjected one of the followers. "Merciless and uncivilized- they aren't monsters like us, that's for sure."

A second one nervously chuckled while adding, "Murderers of the innocent. And they say we're the problem."

"Innocent dark-monsters." the first clarified.

The second shook his head and snorted. "No such thing apparently when plenty of people think we should be born with a bounty on our heads- as it is, better than heads on pikes. "

The leader sighed before he shushed them. He wished in vain that his girl was young enough not to understand that someone would kill her for a stipend. He kissed her on the top of her head. "Let's go. We can stop and rest soon." She asked, again, about her mother. Again, he asserted that, "She'll be back." He signaled his followers to press on. One nodded and assumed command, whispering, "Don't die, Niklas," before walking to the front of the line.

The leader watched the rest of the pack move on without him as he embraced his daughter.

"Let me help you up. I'll carry you for a bit, then you walk again." he offered to the tiny sneasel. She smiled and giggled with glee, filling Niklas with temporary reprieve from the grievous situation.

"Like a pelipper?" she asked.

Niklas chuckled as he repeated her words, "Like a pelipper."

His daughter held out her right arm and he pulled her up with a tug. Once on her feet she raised her arms up for her father, showering him with a begging look. Niklas bent down and sat her on his shoulders, making sure his rifle would not poke into her.

"Let's go catch some feebas, Daddy." Huffing as he carried his daughter, Niklas worked his way towards the group.

After almost hundred metres, he let his daughter down, who protested with, "But we didn't catch feebas, Daddy."

Niklas had to catch his breath before saying, "Pelipper is tired. He's very sorry." His daughter wisely held back her protests at the statement.

As he and his daughter, who fell in behind him, walked, he paid close attention to finding the scent of his group and tuned his ears in to hear noises that do not fit the forest, their voices particularly. Every so often, he paused to make sure his daughter was not falling behind and, if she was, hoisted her up to his shoulders and carried her for a short distance.

It was a slow twenty minutes but Niklas finally caught up with the group once more, relived to find them unharmed as were they with him and his daughter. He and his daughter arrived in the middle of a 'soft-spoken' conversation between his replacement and another follower. He quickly cupped his claws around his daughter's ears when he realized the conversation's topic was exactly what he wished for his daughter to stop hearing.

"…tell that to the two policemen I knew. Saw a whole town came to kill'em, like it was some sort of festival. Had me shaking in my fur, as I watched from inside a barrel of water." the temporary leader recounted to the second sneasel.

"The whole town? There must've been at least one or two…" the second one paused in hope that the temporary leader would say otherwise but instead he shook his head.

"I watched them all stand there as they skin'em alive. Served the town for seven years and they turned on'em. Only knew the absol well…"

The second sneasel tried to stop his temporary leader for his sake, "No Luuk, you don't have to-" Luuk held up a gloved hand and shot him a look of pleading.

"He… was an excellent officer- hell, saved a whole family from bandits raiding their farm... Townsfolk…" he swallowed the urge to cry, fighting back the tears. "Kill'em anyways. Skinned 'em… and then…" The temporary leader fought back a few sobs and held in his chest to keep himself in check. "They burn 'is kids. Made the wife watch… then they… they..."

The temporary stopped talking before his emotions could break any farther, the tale too much to handle. A female follower gasped in horror while another member put a hand to his mouth, holding back the bile rising in his mouth.

"I think that's enough talking about how horrible this is for all of us." suggested Niklas as he moved over to the temporary leader, putting his claws on his replacement's shoulder.

The temporary leader let out a shaky breath and loosened his stance. Niklas shook his head and whispered, "I'm sorry for your brother-in-law, Luuk." The other sneasel said nothing but a morose expression and tears running down his cheeks told Niklas enough.

Niklas leaned in closer, "And your sister as well… I'm sorry we couldn't make it in time…"

"It's fine Niklas," Luuk sighed, letting out a quiet sob, "You... you can lead." Luuk told him, trying to wipe all the tears from his face, doing so unsuccessfully.

Niklas didn't give an answer by the time the crying sneasel walked away saying, "I've had my fun."

Luuk walked past the second sneasel, shooting him a glare ruined by tears and eyes redder than usual for a sneasel. He gave him an angry sniff and tensed. "I prove you wrong, Damien? Or do you need more proof people hate us dark-type, idealist sh-"

"Luuk." Niklas stressed his yell, forcing a wince from his follower. Luuk turned to see Niklas pointing at his daughter standing behind him, clinging to his jacket- eyes focused on him and only him.

Luuk let out a short breath and gave Damien one last look before trudging away to lean on a nearby tree at the back of the pack to sort out his emotions.

Niklas scolded Damien, telling the sneasel to put his opinions aside and that if he gets into an argument, as with Luuk, one more time, he will leave the idealist behind- same for Luuk.

The young adult silently nodded and wisely fell back in line.

Niklas lead the group for the next few kilometres as he did before, scouting ahead and clearing a path just big enough before getting his followers to move up. Trial and error had lead up to his current style, having lost many along the lengthy journey north.

During one of his pushes forward, he paused and pulled his pocket-watch out, curious about something. "3:28" read the hands on the well-crafted watch and the tar-blackness of night ruled out this being the afternoon.

He knew that, while time was of the essence, that continuing through the forest in the dark, no matter how close to Lunen they were, was going to become a liability as it drew on. An exhausted pack of sneasel would be easy pay for a band of freshly prepared and awoken mercenaries lying in wait for any fresh heads to cleave- pay only came if one had proof after all. A head was the easiest to stuff in a bag, though it didn't mean it was all they took.

Niklas waited for all his followers to meet back up as usual before telling them, "We're stopping." His new goal of finding a place to rest was now priority and, by ten minutes of searching with Damien, allowed them to find a secluded cave bounded by a shallow pond. While wading through it was a complaint they all held, even Niklas in his mind, it was one that meant nothing if not because it afforded extra protection from mercenary, or bandit, element.

"I'll stand guard first, two hours. I'll wake you Damien," the sneasel in question huffed at the thought of such short sleep. "You will stand for two," Niklas turned and pointed at Luuk. "Then you Luuk. Two as well." Niklas then turned to one of his female follower's, a brown furred sneasel with a blue feather wearing a dark grey jacket, one that looked home on a professional soldier. "Grijs. You will stand for the final two hours. It will be nine in the morning when we finish and that we give us time to scavenge for food before moving forward."

Grijs mumbled under her breath, "I did it last every time before. Why again now?" Niklas chose not to answer her question, only shushing her. She continued to silently complain, causing the man to snap at her once he lost his patient with her lack of patience.

"Grijs, you know how to handle a rifle- and pretty well I may add. Raisa," at the sound of her name, the other female sneasel in question flinched. "does not- not well at least. Obviously, Lýdie, Artur, and Livie don't at all."

The sneasel in question, were identical in colour, a dark blue-green, height and all manner of physique and cloths, all wearing a grey shirt, looked over to Niklas. He shot the triplets an angry expression that made them look away and hold each other.

"Nor your daughter I may add." Grijs shot back with a sneer. Niklas narrowed his eyes at her and barely held himself from slapping the young woman for being cheeky at such a time.

Niklas turned his attention back to his insubordinate follower. At this point, Damien, Luuk and Raisa have all backed away from the pair.

Niklas pulled his rifle off his back and held it out with both hands and told her, "Then perhaps, Grijs, you should to teach them. I offered this every other time but you have refused each time."

Grijs gritted her teeth and when she opened her mouth, she spat at the ground and snorted. "My skill is in shooting afar, not within spitting distance. Besides, those three," she pointed to the three huddled farther down the cave. "Can barely hold a rifle of such caliber. Your daughter is much the same. Your little Kristina can barely bring herself to scratch paint, and she is a sneasel! I have no expectance that she can-"

A loud slap hushed whatever other talking may have been going on and turned the attention of every sneasel in the cave to the two standing near the entrance. Grijs held her cheek in pain, feeling a sting as she felt welts in her fur letting out blood.

"What…" she said, stopping as Niklas hissed at her.

She gave Niklas a wide-eyed look as he said, "Leave my daughter out of anything that comes out of your mouth, Grijs. I've spared injuring you worse up to this point for being snide." he pointed to her cheek. It stung but no blood came out from the shallow welt. "But one more comment and I'll have no problem breaking a few fangs or cutting your feathers. Am I clear?"

Grijs narrowed her eyes and drew in a sharp breath, ready to argue, but a look at each of the faces gathered within the cave and the sorrow within each one's eyes gave her the reason to back down, as always, and ended up easing out a long sigh.

"Yes, I understand sir."

Taking a short step back, she fell against the wall of the cave and slide down to a seated position. She held her knees close to her head and pulled up the hood of her jacket, covering over her head. It was silent for only a moment when she said, "I'm resting then. Leave me be." in a fierce tone.

No one argued with her.

Silently, one by one, the group fell asleep on the uncomfortable rock floor, while Niklas stood watch. He committed himself to scanning the dark woods outside for any trouble and, ignoring the snoring sneasel nearby, listened in for anything that could be sneaking up, outside the view of the entrance. Occasionally, he glanced at his daughter and could only think back to the situation at hand and how completely screwed up it was for a girl her age.

On the tenth minute of the second hour, he heard scuffling from within the cave. Niklas turned to see his daughter rubbing her eyes as she walked up to him. She sat down next to his legs and laid her head against them, mewling a, cute to Niklas, yawn once there.

His fatherly instinct was strong and won out, letting her stay despite knowing that she was, and would be, a liability if someone did attack.

Three minutes later, Kristina stirred again, pawing at his pants. Niklas looked down to see the small ruby eyes of his daughter staring back at him, tears in her eyes. He sighed, asking, "What's wrong dear?"

The child sniffled and wiped at her nose before pulling herself closer to her father's leg. "I miss Livie… and Greg… and-and… Katie…" she whispered to her father. Niklas could only reach down and pat her on the head, stroking it a few times as well, to comfort her.

Once more, she asked about her mother, and Niklas replied as always, "She'll be back…" He paused and looked up at the ceiling, the words stinging him more than ever. He shook the feeling away and continued.

"She doesn't know. She doesn't need to." Niklas said to himself, within his mind. He looked down to his daughter, his Kristina, and could only be reminded by his wife, his mate, his love. And all that did for the leader of the small pack of escapee sneasel, was remind him of what she did for him, for the pack, for Kristina.

"Yes… your mother will be back Kristina… She'll… she'll sing you your favourite lullaby once she does. I promise." His whisper put an unseen smile on the child's face and she rubbed the rest of her tears away. She giggled quietly and asked, "Will she play peliper as well when she's back?"

"Yes, she definitely will when she's back." Niklas responded, firm as he could.

Kristina could not see the pain in his eyes when he said that for the umpteenth time.

End Chapter 1

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Näeme hiljem.

- Cyansparki