The sailing was not an easy task, but the small crew was handling it quite well. The schooner was designed to fit a crew of around 10, but it was an easy task for the 4 beasts to sail it.

And the crew had fallen into an easy routine. Thorn and Miggory, having both sailed regularly over the past few seasons, made light work of what was going on. Boggs, after being seasick for the first day of their journey, had adapted well and was a quick learner with everyone else. Even Rake joined happily into the conversations during the days of sailing.

It was when the sun fell that things turned dark.

Miggory had settled in during their fourth night on the sea when he found out. Knowing they had some ways to go before reaching anything, the crew had decided that lashing the tiller and sleeping during the nights would be best. This seemed like an even better idea considering now one really knew what would be awaiting them, if and when they found it. Due to having left so late, they really were not sure of where the fleet they were chasing was heading, just that it had gone out to sea.

Miggory was awoken early in the morning. He wasn't sure of the exact time, but he knew it wasn't morning yet. The cool air sent a chill through his body. He gaged the moon over head and pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders.

He was just about to shut his eyes to try to let sleep reclaim him when he heard it. It was the silent pull of steel being drawn. Miggory was instantly at attention, unsure of what would happen. He opened his eyes and took stock of their vessel, making sure not to move his body in the process. Seeing nothing amiss, the grizzled old hare sat up, letting his body adapt to the shifting of the boat. He looked and saw both Thorn and Boggs asleep in their bunks, seemingly trying to have a snoring contest with one another. He smiled.

Then he turned his attention to Colonel Nightfur's bunk. It was empty. And as opposed to the rest, it didn't even appear slept in. Thinking back, Miggory couldn't remember if the Colonel had come to bed with the rest of them. The two had just finished lashing the tiller and Miggory had mentioned heading to his bunk. Rake had told him to go ahead, just that he needed to take care of something first. Until now, Miggory had not thought more of it. But with the empty bunk, he decided he needed to know.

He slipped quietly out from the small shelter they had created on the boat to protect them from the sun and rain, searching for the other hare. He came across the hare, almost invisible against the night sky, seated in the bow of the boat. As he came closer, he heard Rake saying something. He paused to listen.

"Ah should of put paid to ya last time, ya monster. Ah'll not be makin that mistake again."

Miggory watched as the Colonel began to weave his claymores around. It was slow at first, but picking up speed. Even the old boxing hare had to marvel at the skill of the Colonel. No wonder the black hare was as feared as he was. As the moves seemed to be reaching a climax, Miggory suddenly heard a heart wrenching cry erupt from the Colonel as he slammed both blades into the deck and collapsed to his knees.

Fearing that Rake had hurt himself, Miggory rushed to his side, not caring about his presence being known. He slid to his knees beside the tense hare. Rake's paws were still on his claymores, but that is not what made Miggory stop. As he came beside Rake, he found something he had not expected. The hare was crying.

"Oh, ahem. Sorry sir, I didn't mean…"

Rake cut him off. The tears were not sobs. They did nothing to break the concentration of the northern hare. He was still composed, just crying.

"Ach, nothing to apologize for, captain."

Sitting in silence for a moment or two, Miggory decided to push his luck.

"Excuse me for saying so, sah, but I thought you'd hurt yourself."

Rake let out a laugh then. "Aye, but not wi these." He gestured toward his claymores. "It has nothing ta do with mah swords."

Miggory nodded silently. He knew he shouldn't, but this was the most open the old hare had ever seen the highlander and considering this journey they were on, he felt he wanted to know more.

"So then this is about her?" He didn't say more. He wanted to see where and how the colonel took it.

"Aye." Well that didn't get them very far. So Miggory decided to take a different approach. He placed his hand on the dark hare's shoulder.

"We'll get them back, Rake. We'll get both of them back." He felt Rake tense. It was the first time he had spoken to the younger hare so openly. Miggory was a tough yet well liked hare on the mountain, but as for real friends, he wasn't sure how many he had. There were few who had seen as much as he had. Even in his young years, the dangerous hare before him was one of the few. And Rake seemed to appreciate it.

"Ah know we will, Nubbs. Ah'm not worried about tha."

"So what is it then?"

"Its…weel, Ah just got mah sister back, Ah just told Buff everything about how Ah feel, and now Ah've made the young hare below take mah blade chant." Here he paused. He turned his eyes back to the captain. "Nubbs, Ah don't regret any of tha. Ah should have told Buff sooner. Ah should have gone for mah sister sooner. But that's too late ta worry about." He stopped once more. He placed his paws on the captain's shoulders and went on. "Captain, Nubbs, do me this one favor. No matter what happens, promise me you won't let that perilous foolish hare down there go an get hisself killed. He only promised to bring them back, and he had better. But he has no right ta go an get hisself killed."

Staring intently at the Colonel, Miggory took in everything Rake had said. He saluted the colonel with a serious look on his face.

"I swear to you as a captain of the long patrol, I will make sure of that." He paused, letting his face turn up into a grin. "And I promise as your friend to make sure you don't do anything too foolish either, wot."

Rake's only response was a grunt. It concerned Miggory, but he noted the drop in the tiredness of Rake's features.

"Come on Colonel, you need sleep just as much as the rest of us."

Once again he was greeted by a non-committal grunt which concerned the old hare. He paused to take everything in. Then he turned to walk away. As he reached the edge of the shelter, he turned back to Rake one last time.

"Rake, I know you feel responsible. I know you care and love both of those hares immensely. But please do yourself and them a favor and take care of yourself. It won't do any of us any good to get there and have to care for you too."

With that, Miggory returned to his bunk and let sleep take him. He woke the next morning and was disappointed to find that Rake's bunk was still unoccupied. He drew himself up and went out on the deck. Then he found himself smiling as he saw the black hare draped across the floor, sound asleep.

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Thorn rose early. This had become her habit through her years, to try and get up before anyone else. Among her father's tribe, it was a relatively simple task. She found it to be something different among these hares. But she tried none the less. She typically beat Boggs, but he was still healing. It had become hit or miss with Miggory. She had to admit that she felt proud of herself when she beat him.

But then there was Colonel Nightfur. She had never yet been able to beat him. So when she got up that morning and found him asleep on the deck, she smiled to herself. This was a new and very interesting change of things. She had been starting to worry because the black furred hare always seemed so tense, reminding her of her father when his mate had been slain.

As she came over to gloat, her footsteps woke him. He woke violently from the nightmare he had been having. His claymores were still buried in the deck and instantly his hands were on them. He took stock as she stopped hesitantly a few steps away. He dropped his paws instantly and stood to apologize. She raised her paws to stop him, a smile dancing across her face.

"Nothing to apologize for mate, it looked like a pretty nasty dream." She stopped thoughtfully and continued. "I can see though why my father says you are probably the only beast he is actually scared of."

Here Rake let out a small laugh.

"Weel now, your father it just playing there. He could take me out wi one swing of tha big battle axe of his."

Seeing the darkness in his eyes disappear, Thorn let out the breath she hadn't felt herself draw in. "I'm not so sure about that, mate. So what's on your mind, Colonel?"

"Rake."

"Sorry?"

"Weel, we'll be fighting for our lives missie. So please, call me Rake."

Thorn felt drawn to the black hare. While he was certainly terrifying, his attitude put her at ease. He made it so easy to be around him and to relax. When she had signed up for this, she wondered why so many people jumped in to help. Now that she was talking to him, she knew.

"Ok, Rake. My Father has talked about perilous beasts, but usually it was with respect for their fighting. I have only ever seen him defer to two people in his life, beyond my mother. One is Lady Wildstripe. Seeing as she has a great deal of size and strength on him, that one seems to make sense."

She pasued, letting her words sink in.

"The other is you. I wasn't really sure why, but I saw it just now. You are a good hare, Rake. A good beast. You treat people with respect, even though you know none of us could cross a blade with you. And from that look you had when I woke you up, I wouldn't want to be on your bad side when it came to a fight either, mate."

He simply looked back at her, lost as to what to say. After a moment, he drew in his breath and offered her a smile.

"Thank ye, Thorn. Ah needed that."

After that, the two settled back into an easy teasing conversation. The tension of his nightmare was a forgotten one.

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The next week passed similarly. Rake never found his way to his bunk, but he did find time to sleep. Some nights Miggory would join him and the two would think and even some planning. Sometimes it concerned Miggory because he always came away feeling like Rake was hiding something from him. Rake was committed to saving the two, no matter what it took.

Then they came across it. As they rose one morning, Rake was seated in the bow of the boat. He was staring and as Thorn came beside him she saw why. There on the horizon was the fleet they had been seeking. Suddenly, she felt a bit concerned to be only 4 beasts against a fleet.

Of course one look at the Colonel's face and that thought fled.

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Buff woke with a sharp pain in her head. Gently, she reached up and felt the knot on the back of her head. With a start, she remembered the situation she had been in. She had been running to save Rake's sister from that monster with the hook. He had just slain Boggs and was kidnapping Rosalind. She couldn't let that happen. She had been coming to stack him when she felt a pain in her head and things went black.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to get her heart to stop racing and looked around the room. She was chained to a wall in a brig, and lying chained next to her was Rosalind. This helped her relax a bit, but Rosalind had a black eye and Buff knew they were in a bad situation. She sat trying to think of next steps.

And a sharp breath of pain from Rosalind woke her up from her musings.

"Owww, Weel, tha hurt." Rosalind slowly opened her eyes and looked around till her eyes fell on Buff. They stared at one another for a moment. Then Rosalind realized who this hare was sitting next to her.

"Hello, Ah'm Rosalind Nightfur. And based on mah brother's big mouth, might you be Buff Redspore?"

This made Buff smile. Apparently Rake had been talking about her quite a bit. Then she snapped back to reality. Now was not the time to think about Rake. They needed to get out of here.

"Yes, so I am. It is nice to actually meet you Rosalind, but we have some problems right now."

As Rosalind shook her head, the two were interrupted by the creaking open of the cell door. They turned to see a fox enter the room. He had a hook in place of his sword paw, but still had a strange sword draped through his sash. He smiled a wicked grin at the two hares before him.

"Well now that you're awake, we should talk."

His wicked grin had told Buff this would not be a pleasant conversation. Of course talking with vermin was rarely if ever pleasant.

The conversation lasted nearly two hours. Early on, Rosalind had broken down in tears when Gambid began talking about his plans for the two. It only got worse when he mentioned all of this would only come after the two pretty hares would help him get his revenge on the hare who had cost him his sword paw. Even Buff's tough Long Patrol façade was cracking when she realized he was talking about Rake.

Finally, after forcing tears from both of the hares, Gambid decided he'd done enough. With one final brutal laugh, he left the cell.

A tall otter slipped through as he left. He looked a bit puckish, but he looked strong. As he slipped in and began to treat their wounds, Buff decided to try her luck.

"Hi, I'm Buff."

He grunted, but did not answer.

"And Ah'm Rosalind." Rosalind offered her portion as he moved over to her. The otter sighed, but kept working.

"So-" Before Buff could go on, he was cut off by the otter.

"Please don't talk. We'll get in trouble. They are not fans of we slaves speaking with the prisoners." Here he stood and went back to get them food. When he returned, he slid carefully between the two, helping them eat. It was silent for a bit before they heard him whisper.

"I'm Jason, by the way. It is nice to meet you Buff and Rosalind."

Buff whispered back, "Well it is nice to meet you Jason. Now we need to figure how to get out of here."

With a laugh, Jason smiled at her and Rosalind in turn. "Let me know if you figure that one out, ladies. I don't like the way Gambid is acting about you two mates."

At this point, the conversation got much lighter. The three became quick friends and over the next week and a half while Jason took care of them. They began discussing how the crew worked and possible escape options. And they saw Gambid a few times, but he only ever smiled and talked about the terrible things he planned to do to Rake.

Then all hell broke loose. Rosalind and Buff did not have a window in their cell, so most news they got came when Jason visited to care for their wounds and feed them. But that day Gambid came in first. His smile was gone as he stared at the two hares. They could feel the anger in his stare and wondered what happened. Gambid turned to leave, saying something to the guard on his way out.

Then Jason came in with food. Jason seemed jittery, almost excited. Buff felt she needed to know.

"Whats going on Jason?"

"There is a ship."

"A Ship?" Rosalind joined their conversation.

"Aye, a ship mates. Gambid just keeps saying 'it's the one' and keeps running around. I overheard some crew talking about it. Only a small thing, a schooner. But there is something else. Apparently there is a strange beast sitting in the front. They weren't sure till the sun rose and they could see it clearly, but there is a hare in the bow. A hare with midnight black fur."

He heard Buff's breath catch in her throat and the look on Rosalind's face said she felt very similarly.

"What?"

"Jason, we need to get out of here. Now." One look at Buff's face told Jason it was better not to argue. He'd managed to slip Buff a small sliver of metal a few days ago and she had managed to slip both her's and Rosalind's shackles. The three stood, blocked from view by the walls and Jason called to the guard.

"Help! Help!"

Immediately, the guard rushed in. He was the only one in the brig seeing as the only prisoners were these two. He did not even see the blow to the back of his head coming, the one which dropped him like a log.

And with that, carefully helping Rosalind over the guards body, the three were silently out of the cell.

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Figuring they had been seen as well, Rake kept the small boat back a distance, saving till night had fallen to move in for their strike. His goal was to make sure first and foremost that his sister and Buff were safe, but he also needed to make certain that Gambid could never possibly follow him again. And he needed to make sure the rest were taken care of. As the ship drew close, Rake pulled young Boggs aside. The young hare had already developed into quite the young sea hare. Rake also knew he was respected, if young, among the long patrol. And in their short voyage he had come to appreciate and respect the hare himself.

"Boggs, Ah need ta speak ta ya a minute."

Boggs had been busy sharpening his daggers while studying the ships they were approaching. Shaken from his thoughts by Rake's words, Boggs jumped to his feet and followed Rake to the front of the boat. Thorn was manning the tiller and Miggory was trimming sails, so Rake knew the two would not be distracted.

"Ah have a favor to ask of ye, son." Boggs was concerned now. He had never seen Rake so solemn with anyone.

"Yes sir?"

"Weel, now, things might get a bit messy up there. You took the blade chant ta make sure everyone was safe. You made it a blood oath." Boggs just nodded in response.

"Good. So here is what Ah'm saying. Boggs…Landon." Boggs knew this was going to be heavy. The colonel had yet to use his first name. Of course rarely did anyone. But to see the look in Rake's eyes and the use of Boggs first name told him as much.

"Ah need ya ta promise me something, as an officer and a friend." This one stopped Boggs in his tracks. If the Colonel was asking him to promise something as an office, he knew it was something the others would not like. Rake outranked everyone here, even Buff. Whatever he was agreeing to, he couldn't fight it even if she had told him to. And the friend piece. That meant it was going to hurt a lot of people.

"I promise sir…Rake."

"No matter what happen, no matter what I do, no matter what you see or hear happening, when the ladies are safe and on the schooner, you and everyone else leave. If I tell you to go, you go, no questions asked. Understood?"

Before Boggs could respond, he felt the still stop as it softly bumped against the largest of the ships. He turned his eyes up to look at Rake, who appeared to disappear in the shadow of the larger ship. The look in Rake's eyes told Boggs more than he wanted to know in that moment. It was all he could do to utter yes. Then Rake was gone, up the side of the ship. And Boggs knew one thing.

Rake didn't plan on coming back from this.