He leaps at me, teeth bared and fangs dripping with drool and probably quite a bit more and he almost gets me and I dive out of the way and flock this I love the mammal but scat he's coming for me and the seconds are winding slower and slower and even still my heart is beating faster and faster and I don't know if that's me screaming? Is that me screaming it's probably me screaming I sure as hell hope it's not but geesus Celestials above it sounds like me…

I can't do anything and then he's getting closer and I'm trying to get off a kick and he's snuffling around my hooves and want to kick him and he's coming closer and he's trying to bite me oh gods oh gods oh gods and I get a look at his face and there's nothing in his eyes and well scat… I don't want to hurt him, you don't hurt someone like this, my parents would have told me- or at least you don't hoof him in the face, not someone to whom you've promised you'd spend the rest of your life… but yeah, hey, I think I'd be able to get away with claiming extenuating circumstances here, yeah yeah I'm pretty pretty freaking sure of that…

Jason, please, I plead with him silently, just hoping that he can get it, that he can hear me, please please please please but even still he doesn't back off and he's coming and scat I'm sorry Jason-

-and I rear back and slam my hoof into his snout and I hear something creak below us… something's moving but no Jason's leaping and there's someone muttering bye bye sheep I hope the bastard enjoys his meal and we're falling and Jason's got ahold of my arm ow ow ow pain pain pain blinding pain kick kick kick kick and more screaming more screams more and more and flock's sake can't whoever's screaming shut the flock up and my throat hurts…

"You wanna- for carp's sake you weren't planning this out at all, were you? You thought we could just get away with this?"

"Look, jackarse, you okayed this, and I don't see you wanting to jump down in that ring with them… unless you're just hesitant? You wanna get in?" I can't tell who's shouting at who but at this point I don't really wanna hang around long enough to find out, ya know? Especially not with a rather ravenous savage fox chasing me down…

"No, no! Gods no!" one says, and I can't see them from where we are down here, but I have a feeling that it's Woolter getting shoved closer to where we're stuck.

"Then, unless ya wanna be fox good- and that bastard looks mighty hungry- I think we ought ditch 'em both… you take the fox and I'll take the dam sheep…"

-and they're diving for us and I'm rolling out of the way and I see out of the corner of my eye that Jason's diving forwards and I'm just trying to plug my ears, hearing growls and screams and things getting torn and torn into that really shouldn't be in order to be all that conducive to life and living and these folks have to be idiots or something, right because you wouldn't leave a hallway leading out of the pit for real, would you?

But screw it I see a way out and I'm gonna freaking take it so I'm tearing down hallways and well, I love an open door and time seems frozen for a quick sec and I'm skidding past the door and then one of them's caught me and well hooves are sharp and do we really need eyes- I mean, maybe I do but I think this tailhole can do well enough without them… fluff 'em and they're screaming and they're down and I'm up and everything hurts and I shouldn't be able to see bone sticking out of my arm, right? That's not not normal, right? No, that's not right, yeah, no and pain and I'm running and I see Jason's nose twitch ever so softly, twitch twitch twitch and he's looking at me now and is that sheep alive anymore I can't see them breathing but hell I have a very likely savage fox with rather sharp teeth eyeing me, and he may be really special to me but I don't know if Jason's in there anymore, I don't know but flock this I'ma going to get the flocking hell out of here-

-and we're outside and we're running and shit I know this part of town, hell, I have no idea how- how did I not recognize it, freaking hell- the orphanage, it's a few blocks down, which means that the prison isn't too far from here and there are guards there and they should be able to help us oh gods above I can't believe that I'm doing this but I need to go see my mother…

Provided that Jason Wilde doesn't eat any mutton first… what would I even do then, well, let's see, before he manages that- well-

Stop thinking and start running please Mary please, my conscience is screaming and-

And I'm shoving myself back to my hooves and then there's a snarl from behind me and I feel a snap close to my back and a little pinch and that's- well, if my heart wasn't pounding before, it was now and I'm screaming and running and I'm almost to where I'm safe, almost almost almost and I'm passing the orphanage and running running running but no, of course I'm not getting away and oh gods I'm almost there-

"Please, you've gotta let me in this guy is after me!" I cry and the guards- who, if I had to guess, were just sleeping- spring awake and they're pointing their guns at Jason and there's a flash and a bang and Jason stumbles and he's down he's down and there's so much blood and I'm running to him now-

-scat it looks like they got him in the arm and I probably shouldn't be doing this he's probably still savage, but if he attacks me, screw it I don't care…

"M- Mary w what's going on?" he groans, and he sounds like he's just coming out of a coma…

"Hush, honey," I'm whispering and there's a commotion inside and then I see her, my mother, she looks ancient now…

"Mom you've gotta stay calm you've gotta stay calm you've gotta stay calm," I'm mouthing, and she's pleading with them to let me in, to take care of me, that they can't leave me to die out here and I'm not passing out no no no the pain the pain of gods the pain and I wanna pass out but I can't I won't, no no no…

"Miss, the only way you're getting in here is if you admit what the hell it is you're doing with that fox…. You do realize that he's been the target of city-wide mammalhunts, right? And that you're not exactly the most welcome face around these parts, right?"

"What do you mean by that? He's my boyfriend, come on… please I need help…"

"Fine, but first, miss, you're under arrest for kitnapping an officer of the law…"