Disclaimer: I don't own what I do not own, but I own what I do own.
A/N: It's over! Well, the war, at least. The main story isn't. The war is over and done with, and now they pick up the pieces.
*
Daleria sighed raggedly as she view the carnage before her. It was done, but not without price. Fortunately, all of her closer friends had survived, though with injuries, were thankfully alive. Glamoren at that moment was conversing with Consellariel, Remora walking around congratulating some of the younger, and shell-shocked, younger ones who survived, and Longrunn was heading her way, though he was pulling up numerous hares as he went. The foxes were all dead. After she had beheaded Seppak, it had taken less than half an hour to eliminate the rest of the foxes, and thus now the entire battlefield was one of destructive carnage. The slaughter on both sides was devastating. At least a hundred hares out of the five hundred strong force had gone down to the five hundred of the foxes. Surprisingly, none of Daleria's patrol had gone under, and for that she was grateful, but to know that she was one of the main causes of the massacre before her was pain enough. She was glad that it was over, true, but the outcome was less than exactly pleasant. War never was. Sighing again, she pulled her half dead self over the the sergeant, weary to the bone and stumbling slightly due to a wound on her leg. The sergeant, not exactly in mint condition himself, helped her along, asking concernly along the way.
'Are you all right Dale? That last play was quite amazing. You looked bally drained.'
'I am, 'Runn. I'm not exactly sure what came over me then, though. I'm too tired to care anyway.'
'Rapieratce would have been impressed.'
'Indeed? Come on. Let's just get back in the mountain.'
It was, however, unavoidable that the Lady Consellariel eventually made her way up to them, Glamoren and Remora in tow. Daleria immediately stiffened at the sight of her coming over towards her. The lady sighed deeply, seeing all too clearly the expression that was planted directly on Daleria's face. The captain looked away from her gaze. Consellariel raised a scarred paw.
'Peace, Daleria. Why must you hate me so? You know yourself that I could not move you away, nor try to rescue them, lest give them up totally. I tried to do the best that I could. I tried so hard. I do not know what I did wrong, but I know something went awry. Truly, Daleria, what was it?'
Daleria looked up at Consellariel in anger, thinking back to all the damage that had been caused. Anger was seething off her.
'What was it?! You left five innocent hares out in the open, right in the middle of the territory of a fox that could have easily killed them, had his will been to, and nearly got the colonel killed by not letting me go and try and right things out. That is what is wrong.'
Consellariel looked pleadingly over at Daleria, trying to get the stubborn captain to understand her point of view. The badger lady knew from the start that the captain would not have agreed to her plan of leaving the hostages where they were, and the aftermath of the disagreement was deeper than ever. Daleria had never been so angry with her before.
'Daleria, you know that there was no other way. Forgive me for my frankness on those days, but I had to put the rest of the mountain as my first priority. I could not just put all my thoughts on a way to get them away. Their safest position was in the most dire one.'
Daleria's eyes were blazing with an emotional fire.
'So you wanted them to be tormented by leaving them there?'
'No! You miss my point, captain. What I meant was that the five of them would have been safest if we had not interfered. Seppak would not have touched them.'
'But he did! Look at Rapieratce!'
Consellariel stopped responding then, and looked guiltily at Daleria for a moment. The captain sent a spiteful glare back in response to that action. The badger lady opened her mouth to speak, but Daleria raised a paw to stop her from going on further than that.
'Do not ask for forgiveness when
you know that I cannot. Not now. I have been hurt too deeply, and the wounds
are fresh. The sight around you should be enough to express what I must
say. I have no pity for those that had no pity.'
