Chapter 7- a horrible mockery of the Great Lion from Gingerfur and Amberpaw, a severe temper outburst

Five Narnian days later

Dashiell and his entire family, excluding Emberflame the Pyro, were outside the den in the snowy outdoors. All were dressed in thick coats and Shadewing was wearing some wing coats to keep his membranous wings warm. Membrane wings were sites for rapid heat loss in weather like this and Bats and Pterosaurs and other creatures with such wings had to protect them from the cold or they may suffer wing frost bite or even hypothermia. At the door to the den, Honeycomb was sweeping away some of the snow that had accumulated at the entrance while Mensa the Skvader, Shadewing the Bat, Rosebush, Thorn, Spikeball and Quill the Hedgehogs, Hopper and Daisytail the Jackalopes, Rubyfeather the Parrot, Chiseltooth the Beaver, and Rosemary the Monkey were up to a variety of things. The Hedgehogs, Shadewing, Chiseltooth and Rosemary were cutting down branches from the nearby trees, those that did not belong to the Dryads and Hamadryads, nature beings who were sprites like the air Sylphs and fire Pyros but dwelt within plants, namely trees, using tools such as saws and axes. Rosemary was in one of the trees using a bladed saw to cut off hunks of branches (being careful not to be on the wrong side of her point of cutting on the wooden arm, or you would know what would happen!) and passing them down to Shadewing who then gave them to the Hedgehogs and Chiseltooth to further proves into smaller pieces for firewood. The four Hedgehogs also used saws to cut up the branches into smaller pieces while Chiseltooth wielded his own, inbuilt natural tool: his teeth. Like our world's beavers, Narnian Beavers used their teeth to chew through wood to cut it up into smaller, more manageable chunks. However, while our world's dumb beavers used their wooden chunks to build dams and dens, Narnian Beavers also used them to make firewood and other wooden tools, like tables and chairs, though they also built dams and dens as well. And because Dashiell's family and household had a Beaver, Chiseltooth, in their group who was very good at shaping wooden chunks into useable items, Chiseltooth was indeed a very big help. Chiseltooth longed to use his inbuilt chiselling talent to make wooden carvings to sell to other creatures in order to buy some more food and other items for the family and community but with the current conditions, it was extremely difficult, even impossible. Despite this, Dashiell and company were grateful to have a Beaver living with them.

While Rosemary's team were working away making firewood, Dashiell was standing close by watching the young kids. His cubs Gingerfur, Amberpaw and Sandstorm, Hopper and Daisytail's daughter Dahlia; Mensa's son Snowwing, Rubyfeather's daughter Crystal, and the Nekomata kits Nyarth, Kushanku, Satoshi and Akira were either playing or working. Nyarth and Kushanku were working away shifting snow using makeshift shovels while the other kids either played in the snow or were helping the adults. Dahlia had offered to help Rosemary's team make firewood and bring it into Dashiell's den while Crystal was assisting her mother Rubyfeather in helping other members of the community as they also shifted snow, made firewood or did other tasks.

Dashiell's den was amongst a small number of other dens and hollows which together, formed a village. A number of families, many with adopted members or members who had joined those families, were quite large, numbering in the teens and twenties for a few, such as Dashiell's family, while the smaller families only consisted of less than ten members. The larger families with more than ten members often consisted of a number of various creatures; the odd ones either adopted, like Kushanku and his siblings, or joined like Shadewing the Bat. These joiners and adoptees, much like some of Dashiell's family members, had been forced to join with other families due to the harsh winter that had plagued Narnia for the past few decades due to the food shortages and other difficulties it caused, and some of the young adoptees were either orphaned, like Kushanku and his siblings Nyarth, Satoshi and Akira, or were given to these families because their parents could not afford to look after them, or lacked the ability to raise them in these harsh, wintery conditions. Because of these factors, Dashiell's community consisted of a wide variety of animals living together in this village.

Nyarth grunted bitterly as he heaved a shovelful of the white stuff and tossed it aside. The cold white pile flew off the metal wedge and almost showered Snowwing as it landed near him while he was carrying a branch to Rosemary's team with two Squirrels helping him.

"Hey, watch it!" snapped the Skvader kit as he and the Squirrel pair continued to carry the log.

"Nyarth, do it properly," barked Dashiell angrily, making Nyarth flinch and let loose a grumble under his breath, "And stop grumbling as well. You too, Kushanku," he directed his stern glare at the other Nekomata as he also uttered a disgruntled grunt as he tossed aside another shovelful of snow. Snowwing then flashed the two Squirrels a look and shrugged, before the three resumed carrying the log to Rosemary and company to be chopped up into firewood. Kushanku then stopped by placing the shovel upside down at his feet and sucked in some deep breaths as his muscles were fatigued but Dashiell barked at him to keep going, forcing him to give up the breather and resume his hefty work. As the two Nekomata continued heaving snow, Gingerfur and Amberpaw were playing nearby with some of the young animals from another family, a friend of Dashiell and company. This family was a family of Narnian Dogs and they lived in a kennel-like construction that was large enough to house themselves and several other animals. Their adopted or joined animals included a Pig, two Goats, a Griffin chick and an adolescent Hippogriff. The latter two had been orphaned at a young age, much like Kushanku and his three older siblings but their parents had died from the severe cold of the constant winter or from starvation and were taken in by the Dogs to be raised as two of their own. One of the younger Dogs, a male named Soran, was close friends with Gingerfur and Amberpaw and often chatted with them. Soran was doing just that with Dashiell and Honeycomb's two older cubs while Kushanku and Nyarth continued to work away at the hefty task of shifting snow under the constant nagging from their adopted Cheetah father. As the two Nekomata kits did that, Soran flashed the pair a curious look.

"Why are those two shifting snow?" he asked Gingerfur and Amberpaw, "Have they been misbehaving or something?"

"Kushanku said the forbidden 'A' word while Nyarth threw a temper tantrum about the food sorting," replied Gingerfur, a smirk at the two straining and snow-shovelling Nekomata. As he said this, another Dog, a female and Soren's sister, came in.

"Oh, he shouldn't have, it's our duty to give the Queen ninety percent of our food delivery and crops," she said, "While the 'A' word is extremely profane and could land you in some very DEEP water."

Her gaze then travelled to some forms nearby as they walked past the community, their gazes scouring the animals as they continued to talk, play or work, "Especially if those Queen's watchers pick up that word. They will not hesitate to report you to Her Majesty if they catch you uttering it."

Gingerfur and Amberpaw gazed at the forms as they slowly walked past not too far away. One of the patrollers appeared to be a Wolf, similar to Romulus, the head of the Wolf police, but two others appeared humanoid, almost Hag-like. When Gingerfur and Amberpaw gazed closer at the faces of the two creatures as they continued to watch the animal community with their Wolf comrade, they realised that their faces had mouths, but no eyes. However, the two Cheetah cubs then noticed one of the Hag-like creatures raised its hands and as it did so, the two cubs noticed that the creatures' eyes were not on their faces, but their hands.

"Those three are one of the Wolves and two of the Tenome from Her Majesty's patrol group," explained Soran as Gingerfur and Amberpaw's eyes widened in utter, fearful awe, "They have come by to check on us to make sure that everything is in order and that none of us steps out of line."

"Like peacekeepers?" asked Amberpaw as she continued to gaze at the trio of ugly creatures, which were indeed a Wolf and two Tenome. Tenome bore a resemblance to Hags but did not have eyes on their faces, but their hands. However, they were just as hideous as the true Hags. Their eyeless faces resembled a mangled potato with mouths, the area where the eyes would normally be on a Hag being replaced by a very ugly, unsightly fold of skin. Tenome wore shaggy coats just like Hags, and some of them were hunched. Because of this, they were often mistaken by some creatures who had not seen a Tenome before as eyeless hags until they notice that their eyes are actually on their hands, which can be a very frightening revelation. As Soran, his sister, Gingerfur and Amberpaw continued to gaze at the two Tenome and their Wolf colleague, Kushanku also stopped shifting snow and flashed the trio a gaze, his chest heaving the frigid air in and out of his lungs as his muscles cried for more oxygen for the work.

"Oi, get back to work," barked Dashiell when he saw the Nekomata stop, forcing Kushanku to return to his task.

"What are those three, Pops?" asked Kushanku. At this, Dashiell hardened his glare and let loose a loud, squeaky mew (cheetahs make this sound rather than roaring, unlike other big cats and Narnian Cheetahs are no different), jolting the Nekomata and forcing him to resume his task. Dashiell then laid a timid, wary look on the two Tenome and their Wolf comrade and shuddered. He was clearly aware of these three being three of the Queen's watchers and did not want any of his kids, much less Kushanku and Nyarth, to misbehave again.

"Careful, Honeycomb, guys," called the Cheetah to the other animals as many of them, including an adult male Dog, Soran and his sister's father, also noticed the patrollers, "That Wolf and those two Tenome are watching us."

Honeycomb and Rosemary, together with her firewood-making team consisting of Mensa, Skvader, Shadewing, Rosebush, Thorn, Spikeball, Quill, Hopper, Daisytail, Rubyfeather and Chiseltooth as they carried the chopped up logs, now small enough to be used as firewood, over to Dashiell's den. Nearby, Rubyfeather, her daughter Crystal and some of her friends also flashed a wary glance on the three ugly watchers as they continued to shift snow and chat. The Pig, two Goats, the Hippogriff and the Griffin, as they stood near Soran's father, mother and a few other puppies, also gazed at the trio of watchers, and a few of them actually shuddered as the two Tenome's hand-eyes raked their glare over them. Kushanku and Nyarth, again, flashed a glance at the two Tenome and the Wolf as they continued to glare at the animals of the village. Dashiell then came in. However; he had something to tell the two Nekomata, something very important.

"You see why you should especially watch what you say, you two?" he whispered seriously, his mouth close to the two Nekomata's ears, "especially about the Queen?"

Kushanku flinched as one of the Tenome's hand-eye glares scoured over him and Nyarth.

"They look so severe and stern, Pops," whispered the Nekomata.

"It's because those three are some of the Queen's patrollers," replied Dashiell in a low voice, "They help keep and maintain order in the animal communities around here and make sure that none of us step out of line. If they see any signs of any of us, at all, doing that, they will report it straight away to the Queen."

Kushanku and Nyarth did not reply to this and continued to fearfully and silently gaze at the two Tenome and Wolf as they continued to scour the animals of the community.

The Queen had given some of her followers a very important job in reinforcing her laws and her tyranny over Narnia, and those followers had become patrollers, sent out to patrol the animal villages and towns to keep an eye on things and maintain order (or rather, fear and submission of the creatures). However, the mobile creatures who followed Jadis were not the only creatures given this job. Some of the tree sprites, called Dryads, who had chosen to follow Jadis were also given this task, though their job was to hide in plain sight and keep a close eye on the oppressed animals. Furthermore, the patrollers were not only reinforces of Jadis's dictatorial laws, but also spies as well. Due to the constant presence of these spies/patrollers, the treading of the oppressed animals was reduced to that of delicate eggshells such that even the slightest stepping out of line would potentially put them in grave danger of the consequences the Queen had ordered in her laws. Kushanku continued gazing timidly at the two Tenome and the Wolf as they continued to scour the animals for any suspicious behaviour when out the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of shimmering fur. At this, the young Nekomata kit snapped his gaze from the three watchers to the shimmering object but when his eyes landed on the object, he realised that the sparkles belonged to one of the animals. This animal was a bipedal, bifurcated tailed cat much like Kushanku, Nyarth, Satoshi and Akira and based on its features, the Nekomata was a female. She was about Kushanku and his three siblings' age and had metallic sea-green, cerulean and red-purple fur with patches of white, shaggy fur strewn through her pelage, especially on her head. These features gave the Nekomata a strong resemblance to a Persian cat of our world with beautifully coloured metallic fur splashed over its coat. And based on the two Goats and the Pig standing around her, Kushanku deduced that she must be part of Soran the Dog's family.

"Wow," said the kit in a low, awed voice. At this, the female Nekomata turned her gaze to Kushanku and locked it with his gaze. Her eyes were a vivid cyan, like the Narnian skies overhead on a clear day but towards the centre marked by her slitted pupils, that cyan faded to sea-green, giving the Nekomata's eyes the resemblance to a gemstone in our world called turquoise. Among the miasma of unease, wariness and fear caused by the presence of the two Tenome and the Wolf, Kushanku found himself lost in the crystalline waters of the Nekomata's eyes.

Kushanku and the female Nekomata continued to gaze at each other for a few more stunned moments but then Soran's father's voice rang out.

"Trotterhoof, Goats, Alexandrite, can you come and help us with this firewood please?" called the Dog. At this, the quartet turned their gazes in the Dog's direction and began to walk over to him. Kushanku continued gazing at the beautiful female Nekomata, who he assumed was named Alexandrite, as she followed the Pig and the two Goats in the direction of Soran's father. The Nekomata returned Kushanku's gaze but then her face morphed into a frown and her paw rose and pointed to something behind Kushanku as if to say, "Someone wants you to return to work".

"Kushanku, back to work," said a familiar voice, whom Kushanku recognised was Dashiell's. At this, the Nekomata kit slowly turned and found himself gazing into the stern glare of his adopted Cheetah father. Kushanku breathed a sad sigh and resumed shifting snow with Nyarth. As he did so, he flashed one final gaze at the female Nekomata as she set to helping Soran's father with the Pig and the two Goats. A few minutes later, the animals' activities had resumed for the two Tenome and their Wolf comrade, satisfaction that things were in order in this community, had moved on with their patrol.

The animal community continued to work. However, although the two Tenome and the Wolf had moved on, there was still a small mist of fear drifting through the air. That mist is visible in the eyes of some of the animals and the reason for this was not because they had just had the usual 'check-up' by three of the Queen's patrollers, but because there was something else on the creatures' minds: the Decadal Fighting League. It had been five days since Romulus the head of the Wolf police had broadcasted the announcement throughout Narnia via the magical TV screens and by now, many of the animal communities up and down the frozen land of Narnia will have had a visit from the collectors sent by the Queen to pick up the selected individuals from selected families and households, and Dashiell's community was yet to receive that visit. Worry plagued the creatures but some of them looked especially troubled. Kushanku and Nyarth continued to clear one of the paths of snow with their shovels when Nyarth stopped to examine Shadewing.

"Hey, little brother," said Nyarth, stopping Kushanku from working and putting his shovel down.

"Yes, Nyarth?" asked Kushanku.

"Do you suppose Mr Shadewing is alright?" asked Nyarth, a nod to the Bat across the snowy clearing as he continued to watch some of the kids, among them Dahlia and Sandstorm, play with the other kids, among them a young Goat kid, "He looks horribly troubled and fearful."

At this, Kushanku hardened his concentration on the Bat and saw that the flying mammal had worry saturating his gaze, proving Nyarth's point. Suddenly, Dashiell's voice pierced through the two Nekomata's concern for Shadewing.

"Oi, you, two, back to work!" barked the adult male Cheetah. At this, Nyarth and Kushanku immediately resumed shovelling snow. Satisfied that the two Nekomata were continuing their job as ordered, Dashiell smiled and moved on to speak to one of the other animals. As the two brothers continued to heave snow from the path and toss it aside, Satoshi and Akira came by. A pang of pity laced the faces of these two siblings of Kushanku and Nyarth.

"Still shifting that cold stuff, eh, you two?" asked Satoshi. At this, Nyarth flashed him a disgruntled glare.

"It's tiring!" he snapped as he tossed another shovelful of snow aside, "You oughta try it yourself."

Then Kushanku's face twisted into a look of pain and his paw went to his aching back. Then his paw went to his belly which had begun to rumble. Already, for it had only been an hour after the group had had breakfast.

"I'm hungry as well," muttered the youngest Nekomata of the quads as he rubbed his growling tummy, "Those small breakfast portions are not helping at all."

"Huh, tell me about it," muttered Nyarth as he tossed another shovelful of snow aside, "We just never have enough food on our plates at all," however, he flinched as his eyes landed on Dashiell not too far away as he talked with one of the animals, a Stag (male deer) who was the head of another family in the community and remembered his reaction to his (Nyarth's) complaints about the meagre remainder of food each of the Narnian creature families always had during the separation of their ninety percent 'offering' to the Queen and her followers from the rest of their deliveries and crops, the part the animals were allowed to eat. Complaining about the food shortage was a big no-no in this community and the other communities outside, especially with the Queen's patrollers around, for sometimes they may even stop by and check the activities of the creatures in their own homes every now and then besides watching them while they were outside. Warily, Nyarth continued to shovel snow, occasionally flashing glances at Akira and Satoshi every now and then as they continued to speak.

"Neither do the other animals," said Akira as she gazed at the other animals on the field as they continued to talk, work or play, before her gaze landed on the Griffin chick, "I was just speaking with Desdemona over there and she said that because the food shortages were so severe, especially due to the fact that we must give ninety percent of our deliveries and crops to our Queen and her followers, she had tried to improvise to help increase the amount of food on her family's plates…"

"And how did… Desdemona improvise?" asked Kushanku, half-talking and half-concentrating on shovelling the snow, another powdery lump of cold stuff flying over his shoulder, a grunt of effort escaping his mouth and a paw going to his back as it ached from the effort of shoving the shovel into the white stuff and lifting it. Kushanku then uttered a complaint under his breath about the pain in his back and put on a tired face, much to the pang of pity from Akira and Satoshi.

"She tried to hide some of the delivered food from the rest of the family during the sorting stage, taking some of the best fruit and supplies, in a trapdoor under her nest," said Satoshi, "and she hoped that she would be able to sneakily distribute it amongst the other animals to help with the hunger that keeps gripping us."

As he said this, Kushanku gazed at him as he continued for it reminded of his suggestion to Hopper and Daisytail that they use their indoor fruit tree crop to help with the food shortages both for Dashiell's family and the other animals in the community, only for them to refuse at the visiting Hag and her group's orders that ninety percent of that crop be collected by them to be taken to the Queen and her followers, leaving only a small fraction of the crop behind. Satoshi and Akira's faces then fell.

"It worked well at first but then one of the puppies discovered the hidden compartment under Desdemona's nest," continued Akira, "And when Soran's father and his mate went to check that trapdoor, the stock of food was discovered and Desdemona was severely punished."

"The food she had stocked under her nest was collected by a visiting patrolling Tenome and a Dryad who was loyal to the Queen, both who had overheard the commotion to be taken to Her Majesty," added Satoshi. Kushanku and Nyarth, at this, flinched, before their saddened gazes travelled to the Griffin chick, Desdemona, whose eagle-like head, front legs, wings and upper body plumage were an auburn colour and her lion-like hindquarters and tail were burgundy, her front leg talons and beak a golden yellow colour and her eyes like massive onyxes, piercing and fierce. Griffins, also called Gryphons, were winged four-footed creatures whose heads, forelimbs and wings were like those of an eagle and their hind legs and tail like those of a lion, except that their lion-like tail had a fan of feathers on the end, rather like an Archaeobird. Hippogriffs were similar but instead of lion-like hind legs and tail, their hind parts were those of a horse. Both species possessed cruel, lethal looking talons on their front feet, hooked beaks, a pair of ears like a horse and a piercing pair of large onyxes that sometimes made them look intimidating. Desdemona had been trying to hoard some of the food intended for the Queen in the hopes of secretly distributing it amongst some of the animals of the community as well as increase the supply of food in the home of her family, headed by Soran the Dog's father, but her hoarding was discovered and she was punished for it. It was totally unfair, but these poor, poor creatures had no choice but to abide to the strict rule that ninety-percent of it is to be given to the Queen and her followers without question, regardless of whether they risked facing starvation or not, and any who object or complain must be punished, or the Queen's watches would do it for them.

As Kushanku, Satoshi, Akira and Nyarth continued talking, Gingerfur, Amberpaw and two of their Dog friends, Soran and one of his sisters named Zira, came by. Zira, the female Dog then smirked at the two forked-tailed cats and moved her muzzle to Amberpaw's ear to whisper something into it. Amberpaw's mouth widened into a smile and her eyes lit up, before she turned to Zira and nodded. Soran and Gingerfur also formed smirks on their faces. After this, the quartet approached the Nekomata siblings, prompting Kushanku and Nyarth to resume shovelling snow and Satoshi and Akira to back off. However, the latter two stopped when the Cheetah and Dog quartet were not here to check on them and their two brothers on Dashiell's behalf, for he was still talking with the Stag, but they were here for a different reason entirely, especially based on the mocking smirks lacing the faces of all four of them.

"Hey, Kushanku," said Amberpaw in a low voice, a brief glance on Dashiell not too far away, "Nyarth, Satoshi, Akira, you four remember five days ago when we were studying Narnia's prehistory?"

"What about it?" asked Kushanku rather disgruntledly.

"It was before you blurted out that stupid 'A' word," said Gingerfur with narrowed eyes and a widened smirk. The two Dogs, Soran and Zira, also widened their smirks.

"Your adopted brother and sister were just talking about it with us," said Soran, "and we are wondering if you still believe in that fairy tale about Narnia being sung into existence."

This sent chills down Kushanku and his three older siblings' spines and made wary looks appear on their faces. Talking about the creation of Narnia was strictly forbidden and the eight of them could get into serious trouble if any of the adults caught them discussing it, and Kushanku and Nyarth could potentially face even greater punishment from Dashiell and Honeycomb while the other six could be penalised but with a penalty of a lesser severity. However, because the eight were out of the earshot of the adults including Dashiell, Honeycomb and also Soran and Zira's parents, who were busily talking with the other animals or watching over the other kids, this had opened an opportunity for Amberpaw, Gingerfur, Zira and Soran to tease the four Nekomata about their beliefs in Narnia's creation.

"Do you think this world was sung into existence by some… tiny, puny lickle pussycat?" crooned Soran in a mocking voice, a paw gesturing to Narnia's landscape and sky. Kushanku, Nyarth, Satoshi and Akira did not reply to this. Then Gingerfur's smirk widened.

"Sounds awesome, though," said the oldest son of Dashiell and Honeycomb, "that a cute lil' puddy-tat could me-e-e-ew the vast expanses of Narnia into existence when in fact the lands formed all by themselves out of that disc of molten rock with the sun that formed it so dangerously close to it."

The four Nekomata still didn't reply but continued to gaze at the Dog and Cheetah quartet. However, a frown began to form on Kushanku's face. Then Amberpaw's head tipped to one side.

"Which do you think is most awesome, naïve lil' adopted bro?" she crooned mockingly, a hint of condescension in her voice, "Narnia's formation out of that molten disc with that meteor bringing in the seeds of life… OR… that cutesy lickle ickle pussycat mewin' the lands and life into existence?"

"Maybe that little pussycat sung the disc of Narnia into existence as a flat pancake of molten rock close to its sun and let nature take its course," cooed Soran, ending his sentence with a slight titter. At this, Kushanku shot the Dog and his adopted Cheetah sister a look.

"I don't recall the Creator of Narnia being some cute cat OR do I recall him making Narnia as a molten rock disc near its sun and then having nature finish the job with that meteor bringing in the microbial seeds of life to evolve over millions of years into the creatures that inhabit Narnia today."

"I find it difficult to understand this evolutionary process thing anyway," said Satoshi.

"That's right," put in Akira, "How can a bunch of microbes survive a catastrophic explosion like that meteor blowing up and then just suddenly mutate and develop into more complex creatures such as us?"

"Or how can they even form from non-living chemicals on that meteor in the firs place for that matter?" added Nyarth. At this, the mocking gazes of Soran, Zira, Amberpaw and Gingerfur hardened.

"It's obvious that your puny little Nekomata minds are too small to understand the a-maaa-zing power of evolutionary processes, especially over millions of years," crooned Soran in a gravelly voice, hoping to belittle the four forked-tailed cats. Then Gingerfur sat on his hind legs in the snow and crossed his front ones, his eyelids half covering his eyes and a mocking smile stretching his mouth across his face.

"Yes, fa-a-a-ar more amazing than a scrawny little puddy-tat with a brain the size of a pea mewing and howling Narnia into existence," he crooned. At this, Kushanku felt a flash of anger spark through him and the white sheet of his head hair suddenly rose.

"Knock it off!" he hissed and raised a paw but felt it get caught in something. At this, the little metallic icy blue, pale grey and white Nekomata shot his paw a surprised gaze and saw that Akira had seized his paw.

"Don't… even think about it," she hissed in rebuke. Kushanku, at this, lowered his paw and returned his gaze to the sneering Amberpaw, Gingerfur, Soran and Zira as the four Cheetahs and Dogs then attempted to push Kushanku's other sensitive buttons in an attempt to wind him up. Nyarth, Satoshi and Akira didn't seem to react much to Gingerfur's quartet's mockery but that mockery certainly was stinging Kushanku, and they could see that. Then Zira decided to attempt to poke at the youngest Nekomata's nerves.

"Maybe that cute little cat was so mournful," she crooned, "soooo… lonely amongst that big black void, that he decided to wail and howl and POOF, unexpectedly, the scenery of Narnia popped into existence…"

"Stop it!" hissed Kushanku in an angrier, low-voice growl and a lurch towards Zira but Nyarth and Akria restrained him while Satoshi flinched. Suddenly, a voice spoke nearby.

"Oi, you eight, take it easy," it said. At this, the heads of all eight of the youngsters turned to the speaker, which was Trotterfoot the Pig who was glaring sternly at the group with a Doe (female deer) and another animal in the community, a large featherless bird-like creature with wings like a bat but wearing a coat over its wings and body to protect it from the cold; a Pterosaur, also wearing stern glares directed at Amberpaw and the other seven.

"Yes," said the latter creature, "we don't want your parents Dashiell, Honeycomb, Growler and Silver-Ears losing their tempers with you eight for fighting."

Amberpaw, Soran, Zira, Gingerfur, Kushanku, Satoshi, Nyarth and Akira just returned the gaze of the three adult animals as they mentioned the parents of the former four (Growler and Silver-Ears being Soran and Zira's parents) and shuddered slightly at what penalty they would face if said four adults were told of their messing around. Then the Pig, the Pterosaur and the Doe resumed chatting.

"We'd better return to shifting snow," said Nyarth disgruntledly, "C'mon, Kushanku."

Kushanku was about to do so while Satoshi and Akira were about to depart but Amberpaw, Gingerfur, Soran and Zira remained, a mocking and scornful look plastering each of their faces, and those glares were directed at one certain Nekomata as he was about to resume shovelling snow.

"We know you believe in that… oversized, overgrown, mutated feline with that flea-saturated messy mass of hair all over his head," hissed Soran in a more acidified whisper. Gingerfur, Amberpaw and Zira nodded in agreement. Kushanku then began to tremble as his anger began to boil.

"You're just talking a load of gibberish," he hissed in retort as he shoved his shovel into more snow and heaved the load over his shoulder. Nyarth looked on while he continued to shovel snow as well, wary of the situation's potential escalating into fierier temperatures. He wondered whether he should fetch Dashiell over but then he feared that Dashiell might just bark at him to return to work or else he would just face even bigger punishment. Not to mention the likelihood of Amberpaw, Gingerfur, Soran and Zira denying any teasing of Kushanku being high. Poor Nyarth was torn between one option and the other. Then the eyebrow above Amberpaw's left eye rose in a sneering manner.

"Oh, really, Twin-Tails?" she crooned, "Do you wanna hear what happened to that poor, poor puddy-tat?"

"If it existed at all," added Zira mockingly.

"Stop it!" hissed Kushanku in a harsher whisper and raised a paw to swipe the scornful smirks off of his teasers' faces but Nyarth jumped in and stopped him by grabbing his arm. Nyarth then turned to Amberpaw and her quartet.

"Stop this at once, you four, that's enough. Can't you see he's wound up enough as it is?" he rebuked the two Dogs and Cheetahs but to his dismay, the quartet continued pushing Kushanku's buttons and further pressurising his anger.

"Oh, listen to what Zira here has to say about this 'Great Lion', Nyarth, you're sure to find it hilarious," replied Gingerfur with a smirking smile, before he nodded to Soran's sister. Then Zira's smirk widened all the more until it practically bulged out the Dog's cheeks, especially as her mocking eyes relished Kushanku's boiling anger as it reached breaking point.

"Her Majesty the Queen has tamed that cute pussycat and now keeps him as a cutesy lickle, ickle pet in her back palace garden," continued the Dog, especially as she watched the anger shake Kushanku like how the frigid Narnian air would make you shiver with cold if you did not have sufficient insulator clothing. Amberpaw, Gingerfur and Soran smiled on while Nyarth looked on with an increasingly horrified look as Zira then began to enter a dangerous minefield, "and then when that pussycat refused to obey the Queen's commands, the Queen SLAUGHTERED that cat and had him for dinner…"

At this, the fire in Kushanku's amber eyes continued to rage higher and the Nekomata's white head fur really spiked out. The metallic ice blue and grey fur on his head and body also puffed out and his teeth gritted together. Nyarth then began to back away, knowing the inevitable. To make matters worse, Zira was deliberately not aware of the building pressure that was about to explode in her face any moment now.

"And that's about it," said the Dog to an ever increasingly-livid Kushanku, "You see how WEAK and USELESS that puny cat is compared to our MIGHTY Queen?" she turned to Amberpaw, Gingerfur and Soran for agreement who gave it to her in the form of nods and mocking stares. Then Zira returned her gaze to Kushanku, "He's as pathetic as a…"

Then an absolutely disgusting description came out of her mouth. That did it, Kushanku's pressurised anger finally burst through its confinements. With an enraged cat screech, the Nekomata threw down his shovel and leaped at the Dog.

"KUSHANKU!" barked Nyarth as he watched his younger brother leap at Zira. Amberpaw, Gingerfur and Soran also backed away as Kushanku and Zira spun in a barrel roll through the snow and began fighting and attracting an audience, but not a pleasant one.

As the brawling Nekomata and Dog continued struggling against each other with showers of white snow flying everywhere, screeches of acidic words exploding from their mouths in an attempt to verbally stab each other and their teeth and claws threatening to inflict scratches; a stampede of various animal feet (hooves, talons, etc.) erupted into the eternally wintery air as a variety of animals charged in to break apart the fight before it escalated into wound-opening territory. Growler, the father of Zira and Soran, rushed in and hooked his front paws onto Zira and yanked her away from Kushanku while the latter was pulled away by Rosemary the Monkey who had managed to reach the fight first. Kushanku kept screaming and squirming in Rosemary's grasp, volcanic threats flying from his mouth like lightning bolts at Zira as she also pulled away and screaming hateful remarks at the Nekomata at the same time. Not too far away, some of the other kids, among them Snowwing, Dahlia, Satoshi, Akira, Sandstorm and Crystal, looked on in utter astonishment as they watched the brawlers get pulled apart by the intervening adults.

"Alright, that's ENOUGH, both of you," snarled the Pterosaur as the squirming and screeching/barking Zira and Kushanku were pulled further away from each other, the urge to tear each other's fur out still erupting within them.

"Zira, you STOP THIS at ONCE!" barked Growler to his daughter but Zira continued to bark and holw at her enemy.

"I hope THE QUEEN has selected BOTH ME AND YOU for the FIGHTING LEAGUE, you FLEA-BITTEN, TWO-TAILED RAT-FACE," bellowed Zira at Kushanku, "Because if we ARE, I'm gonna KILL YA IN THE ARENA FIRST!"

Kushanku in Rosemary's grasp just released a volcanic hiss through his teeth, a few flecks of saliva flying from his mouth but then a large spotted cat came in.

"KUSHANKU!" barked Honeycomb furiously. Around the commotion, the onlookers continued to watch on and Nyarth, badly shaken by the whole scene, backed away towards an equally shaken and horrified Desdemona and Alexandrite, the colourful Nekomata living in Soran's family. Then Kushanku yanked himself out of Rosemary's grasp. Rosemary let loose a horrified gasp and prepared to seize Kushanku again but to her surprise, the Nekomata did not lunge at Zira. Then Kushanku, his anger and rage still boiling within him and making him shake violently, raked his furious glare over Rosemary, Honeycomb, Dashiell, Soran and his family (some of them looking on with smug looks on their faces, especially Soran and a furious Zira), and the other onlookers.

"I just WANT THINGS to be BETTER!" he barked in a fractured, livid voice, his eyes beginning to ooze tears, "FAIRER, PEACEFUL… NOT with this FEAR, STARVATION AND UNFAIRNESS causing ALL THESE PROBLEMS for ALL OF US…" the Nekomata then began to shake all the more as extreme sadness came over him, "AND YOU KNOW WHAT!? I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE the QUEEN! I ABSOLUTELY LOATHE WHAT SHE IS PUTTING US ALL THROUGH! I WISH she NEVER WAS THE QUEEN OF NARNIA IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"KUSHANKU, watch your TONGUE THIS MINUTE!" bellowed Dashiell at the top of his voice. However, Kushanku just darted off towards Dashiell's den in a shower of snow and disappeared inside it through the door, loud wails of distress escaping his mouth. Dashiell barked Kushanku's name and charged off after him but four prickly balls appeared and blocked his way. At this, Dashiel flashed the four balls a furious look but the four balls of thorns, which were Rosebush, Thorn, Quill and Spikeball the Hedgehogs, stood their ground and gently shook their heads as if to say, 'Let him go'. At this, Dashiell reluctantly relented and gazed at the entrance to his den and cooled his anger. Then Trotterfoot the Pig came in, his gaze also on Dashiell's front door.

"You know what, you lot," he said, "I second that Nekomata's remarks."

"Let's just resume our activities," said Dashiell in a quitter voice and with that, now that the fires had been quelled, the animals resumed their activities. Nyarth, Satoshi and Akira, as well as Sandstorm, Crystal, Snowwing, Dahlia and also some of the other animals such as Desdemona the Griffin and Alexandrite the colourful Nekomata, flashed Dashiell's den a sympathetic look as they listened to Kushanku's loud wails emanating from the inside but eventually they pulled their gazes from the den and resumed their activities. However, under their nonchalant demeanour, agreement with Kushanku on the Queen's ruling over Narnia was also manifesting. The amount of food the animals are forced to give her and her followers, the Fighting League and its fear and uncertainty it was having on the creatures and the wintery curse were indeed making them question the Queen's role as ruler over Narnia.