Disclaimer: Back off!
A/N: I am going to make this very, extremely, ultimately, totally and ABSOLUTELY clear. There is NOTHING nil, zip, zero, none, mei you, kusong, zing, no, not at all between Dale and Atce. DO IT MAKE THAT CLEAR? DO I? DO I? DO I? I had better, or a few ROC people will end up dead if they decided to pretend to be thick headed. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Yes? GOOD. Now read on.
*
Glaring in mock anger at the still laughing Daleria, Rapieratce got up and dusted his sand covered fur off, sending sand flying around even more. Rubbing some stray particles out of his eyes, he chose to ignore her insane chuckling from across the camp, settling instead to talk with the returned Glamoren after sending a glare at the captain. Daleria only laughed louder.
Moving to sit next to Sergeant Longrunn, she chatted with him and Dallaw for a while before tiring of conversation and laying out her ground sheet. After removing her sabre and sheathe and laying them close to paw as she always did, she lay back on the sheet, rested her head on her paws and looked up into the star studded navy blue sky. The sun had already long set after all the action, and the cold was beginning to kick in full force once again, but Daleria for one did not seem to mind or care the slightest. For a while, she was content just lying there, not moving and watching the full moon standing there, wavering slightly across the black background. In the back of her mind, her conscience told her to get some rest for the long march that would come the next day, but Daleria chose to blissfully ignore it and kept her eyes open. The crackling fire nearby, the quiet and the sky melded into a comfortable atmosphere that she was reluctant to leave behind. But eventually, the scene faded away, slowly dissolving and she then slipped gently away into sleep.
Four hours later, she was shook awake by Longrunn to take her watch. Yawning and stretching, she picked up her blade and walked to her position, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she went. Standing there, she only heard the soft sounds of wind and the occasional shuffle of one of the hares behind her in camp. Still, she kept her senses alert and her vigilance high, eyes roving the area and scanning her surroundings. Seasons of training paid off well.
For neigh half an hour, nothing stirred, and Daleria just stood there patiently waiting. One of the reasons she was waiting more patiently than usual was the fact that pay back to the colonel was in sight. He was the next on watch. The possibilities of how to wake him were endless. Another half hour passed, and she was just about to turn and wake the slumbering Rapieratce when a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Sharply turning her head and focusing on the area, she saw a hint of movement. Daleria wasted no time in accessing the matter, slipping silently away from her post. On closer inspection, there was a hedge of shrubbery where she had detected the slight movement. Quietly pacing along the hedge, she reached behind and grabbed the beast who was hiding there. It was a black fox, seemingly from Seppak's horde and patrol.
Snarling, Daleria knocked the sword out of the stunned vermin's paw before dragging the shocked beast by the scruff back towards the patrol, kneeing the fox hard in the stomach in the process when he started struggling against her. Her grip was relentless, and red welts and scratch marks appeared on the fox's skin as she half lugged half dragged the beast back towards camp. Daleria managed to drag the black fox all the way to Rapieratce's side before dumping the beast down like he was rubbish. When the fox tried to scramble up, holding his stomach in pain, she dealt it a swift, hard and cruel kick in the ribs, sending it crashing back down into the sand, bleeding, groaning and clutching his ribcage in pain. No mercy showed on the hare captain's face at the sight. She looked ready to repeat the process when Rapieratce jumped up and pulled her back from the fox, who was by them writhing in agony, paws bloody. The colonel looked absolutely furious at her. Green eyes blazing, he signalled for Glamoren to finish off the job before pulling Daleria aside away from the camp. His voice was trembling in near unconcealed rage.
'Dale! Wot on Mossflower has got into you?'
Daleria stood defiant, offhandedly commenting.
'The thing deserved no better.'
'No better?! Daleria, that fox was still a living creature. You could have made it clean and put him out of misery instead of inflicting cruelty. Let it go, Daleria, you cannot blame the fox for what happened to Clandestine.'
Daleria's temper was starting to make its famed reappearance.
'Not blame that fox? How can I not? He was not worth a shred.'
'Daleria. Stop acting like some kind of uncivilized, crazed madbeast.'
Daleria turned her head and ignored him. Rapieratce looked at her half pleadingly and half angrily.
'You are pushing things very far, captain. Stop acting wilfully. You cannot have everything your way.'
Daleria closed her eyes in momentary pain, and anger was flashing through them when they reopened.
'You, Rapieratce, know not what goes on in my head. You never lost what I did, and you cannot say how I feel and how I will act. I will not show pity to scum which took my last family away from me!'
Rapieratce shook his head.
'Let not anger conquer you, Dale. What you did was unacceptable.'
'What, then, would you do in my place?'
Sighing at her in frustration, the colonel strained his patience.
'Just next time, make the affair
clean, please.'
