Disclaimer: Not mine.
*
Running, Rapieratce caught up with the patrol after the talk with the badger lady, quickly dashing up to the head of the rather small pack of sprinting hares. Breathing in deeply, he moved in front together with Daleria and the brigadier, while the sergeants, the lieutenant and corporals loitered around. Glamoren was out scouting ahead, keeping as low a profile as he could, as Rapieratce's trained eye could see from a faint fleeting figure dashing off in the distance. Keeping silent, they solemn party marched on, always with somebeast covering their tracks in the sands as they left them. The pace they set was scorching, leaving the fire mountain far behind in less than three hours. Military precision and training resulted in absolute obedience and silence, which led to the covering of the entire way from the mountain to the hills far in the east in a full, tiring day's good march.
By the time they had reached their destination, the sun was already setting in the horizon, making it a full day's march that few other hares had ever gone through, even most of the more experienced veterans had never gone on such a long march before. By the time they had set camp, arranged sentry duties and all, Daleria had collapsed fully onto her knees, gasping deeply for breath. The slow working poison in her veins was taking a harder affect than she had expected.
Trying to force the numbing blackness that had been hanging around her since the first hallucination attack away from the back of her mind. Her eyes dilating and refocusing alarmingly as she hung her head and shut her eyes tightly in a effort to fight it off. The newest blow to her head was not a improvement to her condition either, the throbbing making her want to slip away into nothingness, though she knew that she must not. Breathing in deeply and forcing her blurred eyes open, she knelt on one knee as the world swam dangerously about like a struggling fish. Her vision wavered, until she could take it no more and focused her eyes on the blissfully seamless sand beneath her, which provided solace from the dizzying movement above the patterned ground. Somewhere along the infinite areas of subconsiousness, the hare captain slowly grew aware of somebeast trying to pull her off the ground, but kept her head down and refused to move from her position, kneeling heavily on her one knee for support, greatly doubting the steadiness of her paws if she braved the risk of standing. Her knees were slowly leaking energy though, and she felt herself swaying dangerously from left to right, and instinctively her paw stuck out of support herself. However, instead of hard sand, she found her hand being grasped by somebeast, her eyes were not working enough for her to trust. Vaguely, she heard the firm yet worried voice of what sounded like the colonel telling her to stand up.
'Stand up, m'gel! Are you all right? Captain! Answer me, for the sake of Mossflower! Don't scare us! Dale?'
Tottering wildly, Daleria fought for control of her footpaws, only resulting in crashing backwards into Rapieratce, who paced backwards as he caught her. Setting her down on a ground sheet that had hastily been laid out by Longrunn, he ransacked Taremin's prepared pouch, reading the labels that had been stuck onto the various medicines and pulling out something that would help. Hurrying over, the waved an anxious paw in front of Daleria's face, popping something into her mouth.
'Chew Dale. Just chew.'
The captain somehow managed to register the fact into her head, chewing slowly as she gave in to the blackness. A sharp shake brought her back into reality. Rapieratce's face slowly swam into blurred focus, and Daleria could distantly hear him talking sharply to her in worry.
'Don't close your eyes, m'gel, whatever you do, don't! Mossflower knows when you'll wake up if you do!'
Slowly the blackness receded, and Daleria breathed slowly as her vision was finally restored to her. Remora and Longrunn were also by her side, as well as all the other hares save for those on sentry duty. Pushing herself up, the captain shook her head furiously to clear the fuzzy images that clouded her mind. Groaning, she held her still throbbing head in a one shaking paw.
'Sergeant, you know that I am going to kill you for this the second we get back.'
Longrunn looked at her angrily.
'This is not the time, captain. You are already falling victim to the poison.'
'Lighten up, 'Runn. I'll survive one way or another. Once I get the matter straight that 'Atce over here had one head and not three.'
Shrewdly gazing at the captain, Rapieratce frowned.
'Very funny, captain. Lie back--'
Suddenly, Daleria pushed him away, rolling in the other direction at the same time as a shaft zipped and struck the sand where to colonel was barely seconds ago. There was shock in the camp for about a split second before the hares sprang into action. Seemingly, the travelling band of vermin happened to be on the other end of the camp, away from the vermin horde. The others were already charging them as Daleria struggled to rise. Muttering, she got up on shaky paws as she unsheathed her sabre bravely,
'Those blinkin vermin always choose the worst blinkin times!'
After running forward and slaying the first few vermin and reaching the head vermin, everything ground to a standstill. The leader of the roving band screeched for a stop as he held a bow with an arrow notched and taunt tight as Daleria's sabre strayed dangerously close to his neck vein.
'Stop! All ya scraggy hares, stop!'
Everybeast stopped, but Daleria scowled venomously. The vermin snarled into her face.
'Make one move, you rabbit, and yon big un over there won't live to see another day!'
Daleria followed his train of sight and saw Rapieratce directly in the firing range of the bow. Growling, she pressed her sabre further.
'One more move, rabbit! Now put the sabre down!'
To prove his point, he pulled the arrow back even further. Daleria saw she was cornered with no option. Glowering, she made a move to put the sabre down. Rapieratce glared at Daleria just as she did, growling fiercely as he held a vermin at rapier point, not moving at all.
'Don't do it.'
