As they walked into the village, the Trio de Dangers elicited more than a few stares and whispers from the surrounding townspeople. The three of them looked around to see farmers putting down their hay bales, children hiding behind their parents, and maidens clutching their purses against their chests. It was understandable; the village looked to be a rather insular community, and the three wolves couldn't have looked more out-of-place if they tried. Bergamo in particular sported a dark navy fur coat that stood in stark contrast to the milky hides of the villagers, and he looked to have as much muscle mass as three or four of the townsfolk put together.

"Please don't be alarmed," Bergamo spoke, turning to address the bewildered bunnies. "We come in peace. My brothers and I have come to this planet in search of its strongest warriors."

"We need a team of ten to compete in a tournament," added Basil. "Is there anyone here who'd like to join?"

At first, the three of them were met with nary a response, save a couple of worried whispers scattered throughout the crowd - assumedly from villagers fretting over who they could offer up and what would happen to them if the three gruff strangers weren't satisfied. Lavenda growled and leered at the crowd, ready to repeat the request in far less diplomatic terms if nobody spoke up.

Eventually, though, one villager found the courage to come forward- an old, withered, overall-clad farmer, with wrinkles so deep not even his fur coat could hide them.

"Ah, so you're lookin' for a fighter, are you?" the old man asked in a creaky, sawdusty voice. "Well, we've got quite a scrappy one here in this village."

"Then where is he?!" demanded Lavenda.

The old man's face hardened. "Now, don't you take that tone with me, hunchback. And if you must know, she's out in the field, tendin' the sheep."

Lavenda unfurrowed his brow, as his beady yellow eyes widened with intrigue. "She?"

"Yes, indeedy," said the old man. "The shepherd's daughter, Sorrel. She's a hardy one. Two-time Annual Parika Martial Arts Tournament finalist. I reckon she'd do quite nicely on that team o' yours."

The old man looked away from the trio and pointed towards the horizon. Just beyond the village was a vast, green, dandelion-covered meadow, peppered with scattered flocks of grazing sheep.

"That's where you'll find 'er," he said. "But I should warn you fellas, she can be a lil' exhausting."

Basil scoffed at the warning. "I doubt she'll be anything more than we can handle," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "There's three of us and one of her, and each of us are more than capable."

Basil spoke the truth; each of the three brothers had extensive combat experience, as well as a unique ability to call their own. Basil could harness ki with his feet, Lavenda could inject his foes with a crippling poison, and Bergamo could convert the damage he sustained into energy and use it to grow his body. They weren't sure how those abilities would help them on this particular journey, but even without them, they weren't to be trifled with.

"Well, all right. But don't say I didn't warn y'all."

Bergamo nodded, gave the old man a "thank you", and started towards the meadow with his two brothers walking beside him. As they walked, he turned to his right to give Lavenda a stern look.

"You must learn to be more patient, Lavenda," said he. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," grumbled Lavenda. "I'm just tense, is all. Our time is short."

"Which is exactly why we can't afford to scare those who might help us," said Bergamo. "We must-"

"Ah! There she is!" interrupted Basil.

In the middle of the field, Basil spied a lithe, young-looking rabbit, dressed in a noticeably less modest fashion than the villagers they saw. Her top half was covered up by a torn, sand-colored tunic held up by only a single shoulder strap, that left her midriff and her opposite shoulder completely exposed. Below, she wore a pair of khaki shorts that only reached halfway past her thighs.

But Basil decided he'd let that detail pass without comment; after all, he was hardly one to talk, given the fact that he wore nothing but a short cape and gloves. And as far as he was concerned, as long as she could fight and support the team, she could wear whatever she pleased.

"You, there!" called Basil.

The rabbit looked up from her sheep, and upon catching sight of our three heroes, she let out a horrified gasp.

"Wolves!" she cried.

She leaped in front of the sheep and planted herself in a fighting stance, knees bent and fists raised. Once she touched down, she flipped up the visor on her thick, puffy hat, revealing her blood-red eyes.

"I won't let you harm my flock!" she declared.

Bergamo sighed and stepped forward, flipping his heavy crimson scarf behind him. "We're not here for your flock, ma'am. We're here for you. You are Sorrel, are you not?"

The rabbit unclenched her fists and let them drop to her sides, as the tension in her expression was released. "Yes, I'm she. Why do you ask?"

"We're looking for seven other fighters to join our team for a multiversal tournament," Bergamo said. "We've heard that you're quite the skilled combatant."

Sorrel donned a prideful grin. "Sure am!"

Basil stepped in front of Bergamo. "Then come join us!" he said, opting to cut right to the chase.

Sorrel, maintaining that cheeky smile, pulled her hat back down over her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "No!"

The three wolves' eyebrows leaped up in unison. "C-come again?" asked Basil.

"No!" repeated Sorrel.

"Why not?!" snarled Lavenda, prompting Bergamo to grasp him by the hunch and rein him in.

"Because!"

"Because why?!"

Sorrel cocked her hips from side to side. "Because I don't wanna!"

Bergamo groaned, pinching the bridge of his snout. He wished he could afford to just leave her and try to find someone else, but there was no telling how long that would take. Besides, Mojito had specifically instructed them not to take no for an answer.

"Sorrel, I implore you to reconsider," Bergamo said, struggling to hide his irritation. "We have a lot of spaces to fill on our team, and very little time to fill them."

"You'll have to catch me first!" taunted Sorrel. With that, she swiveled around 180 degrees, wiggled her poofy tail at them, and started sprinting away.

"Well, I guess we're doing this now," Bergamo grumbled under his breath.

Basil took a step forward, puffing out his chest. "Leave her to me, Bergamo! I'll have her caught in no time."

With a glint in his eye, Basil bounded after the bunny, pumping his thick, powerful legs. Renowned on his home planet as "The Kicker", Basil fought almost exclusively with his legs, and his years of fighting in such a style endowed him with a frighteningly strong lower body. As such, it wasn't long before he started gaining on Sorrel.

To his surprise, the fact that he was closing in did nothing to shake Sorrel's confidence. "You're almost there!" she teased. "Just a liiiiiiiittle more!"

Basil, excited by Sorrel's goading, licked his lips in anticipation of his success as he continued his pursuit. But just as he was approaching grabbing distance...

"Rīchi!"

As soon as that word left her lips, Basil saw her body become enveloped by a golden, pulsating aura, accompanied by a low humming sound. The aura expanded outward until it enveloped his body as well, causing his entire field of vision to be tinted yellow.

It was then that Basil noticed a dull pain coursing through his leg muscles, that sharpened and intensified with every successive step. He also started to feel a harsh pounding within his chest as his heartbeat accelerated, and his breathing became heavier and more labored.

What's happening?! I can't be getting tired already!

But he was. Before long, it felt as though every cell in his body was crying out for him to stop, and he could no longer resist the urge to do so. He let his legs carry him for a few more steps before halting in his tracks, bending over and throwing his paws over his knees, huffing and puffing.

"Nyah-nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah-nyah!" was the last thing he heard from Sorrel before she took off into the distance. None of this made any sense to Basil; one minute he wasn't even winded, and the next his heart was pounding and his fur coat was damp with perspiration.

He cringed as he heard the sound of loudening footsteps behind him - no doubt from his two elder brothers coming over to scold him.

"What happened?!" cried Lavenda. "You almost had her!"

"I-I don't know," panted Basil. "All of a sudden I saw this glowing yellow light, and I just felt... so tired."

"After just a minute of sprinting?" Bergamo asked. "You haven't been slacking on your training, have you, Basil?"

"I-I haven't, I swear!"

"Then this doesn't make any sense!" said Bergamo. "Why would you...

"...wait a minute..."

It was then that Bergamo remembered the cryptic warning that the old man left them with right before they left.

"But I should warn you fellas, she can be a lil' exhausting."

Exhausting.

Perhaps he wasn't speaking figuratively, thought Bergamo.

"That glowing yellow light," the eldest mused, rubbing his chin. "Could it be some sort of energy- draining ki technique?"

"T-that must be it!" gasped Basil, still trying to catch his breath.

Bergamo furrowed his brow. "Well, I certainly can't think of any other explanation," he said. "But even so, what can we do about it? We can't catch her if she can exhaust us every time we-"

"Oh, come on!" Sorrel called from afar. "Aren't you guys gonna chase me? It's no fun if you don't try!"

Bergamo growled in frustration, knowing full well that a direct response to her taunting would get them nowhere. They'd have to think of a different way to catch her.

"A ki blast, maybe?" asked Basil. "That way we could slow her down without having to approach her."

Bergamo sighed and shook his head. "The warriors need to be in fighting shape for the tournament," he said. "We can't risk hurting them."

"Then what-"

Basil paused once he caught a glimpse of the middle brother's expression. A wicked, toothy grin had begun to spread across Lavenda's face, complete with droplets of saliva descending from his jowls.

"I think I have an idea," he sneered. He raised his paws, both of which were now encased in violet light, signifying the preparation of his infamous poisoning technique.

"Lavenda, what did I just tell you?!" snapped Bergamo.

"Oh, don't worry, dear brother," said Lavenda, his voice dripping with slime. "I'm not planning on poisoning her."

He took a mighty leap across the field and planted himself right beside the sheep that Sorrel had been tending when they arrived.

"Come here, little sheepy," Lavenda growled menacingly, creeping up to the now-whimpering sheep.

Lavenda's behavior provoked an immediate response from Sorrel. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, all hints of playfulness leaving her voice.

"I'm feeling a little peckish!" Lavenda called back. "I'm sure you won't mind if I slay one or two of your sheep."

Sorrel gasped. "Y-you wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I wouldn't, would I?" asked Lavenda, putting the trembling sheep in a headlock and holding his glowing paw up to its face. "Who knows? Maybe I'm bluffing. Or maybe I'm planning on treating myself and my two brothers to a juicy, spicy shawarma dinner!"

"Shawarma?!" screeched Sorrel. "Oooh, that does it!"

Bearing a furious scowl, Sorrel bounded towards Lavenda as fast as she could, ready to give him a thrashing. The sight of their former pursuee rapidly approaching caused a lightbulb to go off in Bergamo's head.

Of course!, he thought. Lavenda, you clever devil!

Sorrel, it turned out, was too single-mindedly intent on exacting justice on Lavenda to notice anything around her. Otherwise, she would have seen Bergamo flanking her from the right, ready to pounce. Alas, by the time she did catch sight of the navy-furred, heavily muscled eldest brother, it was too late for her. Bergamo leaped across the meadow, tackled her to the ground and pinned her down by her shoulders.

"Gotcha!"

Sorrel squirmed and flailed about for a bit before finally succumbing to Bergamo's grip, signifying her forfeit with a defeated sigh.

"So you'll join us?" asked Bergamo. "I believe you said you would if we caught you."

Sorrel let out another sigh. "Oh, all right. Just get off me, you big lug."

A smile formed on Bergamo's face as he stood up and helped Sorrel back up onto her feet. Not only was he one step closer to completing his task, but he imagined that Sorrel's unique power would prove to be quite useful in the tournament.

"My name is Bergamo," he said, noticing his two younger brothers approaching out of the corner of his eye. "And these two are my brothers, Basil and Lavenda."

Sorrel crossed her arms and pouted at Lavenda. "Which one's the meanie?"

"That would be Lavenda," said Bergamo.

"Well, I don't like him. He's a jerk."

Sorrel punctuated her remark by sticking out her tongue at Lavenda, who just let the gesture pass without comment. Sorrel, still determined to get a reaction out of him, sidled up to Basil with a sultry smile on her face.

"Now, you, I like," she said, fiddling with the tuft of fur below his neck. "You're a cutie."

Basil chuckled and scratched the back of his head, sporting a blush that somehow shone through his thick beard of fur. "Why, thank you. You're quite nice looking yourself."

"Oh, you flatter me, dear. Would you like to come back to my house to play with me?"

Sorrel wrapped her arms around Basil's neck and pulled herself in until her lips were right next to his ear. "I'll curl your fur and tie a bell 'round your neck," she whispered. "Or there's a rocking horse you can play with."

Bergamo, noticing that Basil was getting increasingly flustered, decided to put a stop to it right then.

"AHEM," he grunted, grabbing Sorrel by the tunic and pulling her off. "In case you've forgotten, we have a mission to finish. We're one step closer, but we're not done by any means."

Basil hastily regained his composure, standing up straight to address the eldest. "You're absolutely right, Bergamo. I apologize."

"Quite all right," said Bergamo. "Just remember to think with the head on your shoulders, and not the one below your waist."

He then turned to Sorrel. "By the way, Sorrel, I thought I should ask; do you know of anyone else who could join our team?"

"Actually, yes!" said Sorrel. She leaned in towards Bergamo and motioned for Basil and Lavenda to come closer - which they did.

"Legend speaks of an old hermit named Oregano," she said, taking on a gravitas-infused tone of voice. "Very powerful, and very wise."

Bergamo rubbed his chin, unsure of the prospect of pursuing a warrior only rumored to exist. "Mmm-hmm. And where do you suppose we could find this Oregano?"

"Oh, he lives over there."

Sorrel pointed to a mountain range about a mile away from the meadow. "There's a crevasse at the base of the mountain. You can find him inside."

Bergamo blinked. "So... so he's not just a legend?"

"Nah, I just wanted to make him sound cooler," said Sorrel. "Anyway, let me take you to him!"

Bergamo rolled his eyes, but figured that the old hermit was worth giving a chance. "Come, brothers. Let us see what this 'Oregano' is capable of."

"Yay!" cheered Sorrel, taking off towards the mountain and beckoning the three to follow her. "You won't be disappointed, I promise!"

And so, with their first successful recruitment under their belts, the Trio de Dangers jogged alongside Sorrel. Bergamo hoped that this "Oregano" character would be a little less obstinate, but that remained to be seen.