Mender's Tale

by The Rhombus

Based upon a roleplay with Historian1912 and set in the Seven Hunters continuity. Mender has the reputation as being the best healer in the Mysterious Beyond, helping all who require it, but that was not always the case. Follow Mender as she recalls how a lowly fastbiter eventually found her place in life once she met a most unusual pack. This is Mender's Tale.

33. Chapter 27: Duties and Vigils

v

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Chapter 27: Duties and Vigils

"Societies in the Consortium range from the highly individualist culture of Altar-4 to the collectives of the Balisec Sector to the Omnimind of the Disperse Field, but all have a concept of personal obligation. If you wish to know a culture find out what it is most loathe to lose - that is its most valued commodity. Then find out what it is willing to sacrifice its most valued commodity for - that is what it loves. The details always vary, but it has always been the Consortium policy to deny membership to cultures that have no concept of altruistic sacrifice."

~ Excerpt from 'Consortium Diplomatic Policies: A Primer'

---

Orchid's body jerked as a gasp left his beak. As the luscious surroundings appeared in his sleep-blurred eyes he slowly became aware that he was now awake.

Urgh… even in my dreams I suck at catching ground fuzzies.

Hesitating briefly the fastrunner rubbed his eyes and groggily rose to his feet. As his slender legs rose to the occasion he almost looked ready to tumble back to the ground, but in the end his legs held firm as they always did. Within the span of ten seconds he was wide awake and ready to run. It was both the blessing and curse of his species.

Orchid slowly walked towards the only thing that mattered in his mind. As, even in the sleep-induced delusions he called sleep stories, he was trying to catch ground fuzzies for his recovering patient. He audible increased his pace once a horrifying realization reached his comprehension. What if she never did recover? What if…

It took only a few moments for him to arrive at Mender's side. In that moment he grew still. Not even a breath left his beak.

It was only when Mender's chest rose and fell once like a rising and receding tide, that Orchid let out the breathe he did not realize that he had been holding.

It was only then that he noticed the pair of yellow orbs residing in the tall grass in the distance.

Orchid gave the ghostly figure a nod and then tapped himself on the chest. It was time for Verant to rest and for Orchid to take over the watch.

Verant reluctantly nodded in acknowledgement before disappearing entirely.

With the departure of their dedicated overseer Orchid looked down once more at his fallen friend. He carefully placed his hand on her feathered abdomen. At least at this moment his friend was still alive. At least at this moment her life blood still gave her warmth. But he knew all too well what was most likely coming in the days to follow. If the Orange Death causes unconsciousness then it almost always had the same result.

He sucked in a breath. Mourning would accomplish nothing here. All that could be done was to defend his friend until the last moment. With the greatest reluctance he walked towards the tall grass in order to follow Dodger's well-worn sentry paths. At least during the night Orchid's obnoxious colors would not invite easy detection. At least during the night he could be useful.

He bit back the bitter taste in his mouth. Despite telling himself that he did all that he could it obvious wasn't enough.

He peered back through the tall grass, again at Mender's sleeping form. Sleep well, Mender. And… please… wake well.

Verant reappeared for a moment, giving Orchid an understanding look before silently disappearing again.

Orchid needlessly gave Verant a nod. He would have also rolled his eyes if his heart was into it. I knew he wasn't gone.

And then the relative silence of the night took hold. The tall grass swayed a bit in the cool breeze and the plentiful trees jostled their leaves in a symphony of nature's creation, but the air was devoid of discussion or song. The snores of the residents of the valley being too distant to register in the young dinosaur's ears. To resist the temptation to let his mind wander he allowed his eyes to focus on the sleeping forms of his packmates one by one… Mender, Buse, Cynnil, and, at the moment, Verant. This would serve as his frame of reference for the night. It was something to keep his mind off of the fact that this watch was quite possibly a death vigil.

He had gotten to his thirteenth instance of looking at Buse when a cascade of color assaulted his eyes. He had to take a double take to confirm what he was seeing. But his eyes did not lie.

One of the young rainbowfaces was peering through the tall grass at the clearing. He took no more than a cursory glance at each of the dinosaurs before confidently walking into the opening.

Orchid could only shake his head. Kid, you're lucky Verant is asleep. He then looked with concern at the slumbering fastbiter to make sure he was still asleep. The fastrunner could only assume that Chronos and Logos would not find the news of Verant mauling one of their children as welcome news. Thankfully it appeared that the long watch had done its work as Dodger was snoring with the subtlety of a two footer's roar.

This allowed him to contemplate the next question: why was the rainbowface here?

He watched with a mixture of fascination and apprehension as the young rainbowface walked step by slow step towards Mender's slumbering body. Ever since the rainbowfaces' antics had become known to practically everyone they had taken on the reputation as almost magical beings. New ideas and weird occurances always happened wherever they appeared. Though in most cases a clear cause and effect was never found, everyone simply knew. Where some used to thank or blame the ancestors for such occurrences, now a new epithet sometimes appeared. 'Rainbowfaces!' could be either a blessing or a curse. And Orchid could only imagine that the reputation was both a blessing and a curse to the famous family.

Not that that reputation would save the rainbowface if Verant woke up and let instinct guide his actions.

Orchid stepped out of his cover in preparation to save the rainbowface from himself. He now could see from the pattern of his snout that this rainbowface was Datum. But male or female, friend or foe, he had to see what the child was doing. Any verbalization might cause more harm than good, and doing nothing would be a dereliction of his duty. All that he could do was live up to the attributes that earned his kind its reputation: run fast and observe.

He picked his target well as Buse did not so much as stir as Orchid dove behind him as if he were a random boulder in the scenery. He then peered over his body and gazed at scene playing out in front of him.

The rainbowface slowed as he approached the fallen fastbiter. As his footsteps finally ceased Datum examined Mender's body in complete and utter silence. Against the backdrop of the night his eyes gleamed. They were calculating, yet not cold. Determined, yet kind. Even if he did not admit it at the time, it was in that moment that Orchid decided to let the rainbowface do whatever he had in mind. It wasn't like his pack could do anything more.

The rainbowface then kneeled down onto one knee as he touched something on his arm. It took Orchid a few moments to realize that it was a vine. A vine with several colored rocks on it.

A carrying vine?

As if sensing that he was being watched Datum suddenly turned his head in Orchid's direction as the fastrunner ducked behind Buse's oblivious sleeping form. The fastrunner sucked in a breath. He counted to five before he finally peeked over his friend's body once more.

The rainbowface was again staring at Mender's chest as he took out one of the rocks. Against the light of the Night Circle it shined an eerie blue. Datum appeared to watch it in fascination just like the unseen fastrunner before suddenly lurching over and grabbing one of Mender's scales.

Orchid cringed in mutual pain as his friend barely stirred from having the scale forcefully removed. Tangentially it reminded him of when swimmer children had grabbed one of his feathers out of curiosity when his family had sought temporary refuge in the valley years ago. What the rainbowface did next, however, confirmed that this had a very different purpose. For as he placed the scale against the rock and whispered something the rock turned a bright red.

If Orchid dared to speak it would have simply been the exclamation that many had spoken in the past years. Rainbowfaces! Now he knew, for good or ill, he would simply have to let this run its course.

Datum appeared to mouth something apologetically as he placed the rock into his hand and walked slowly to Mender's prone head.

Orchid held his breath.

The rainbowface carefully tilted the fastbiter's head, an act that would have been suicidal if Mender were not in a deep sleep, and then raised his hand to her snout. It was then that the spattering of red dust going into her nostrils confirmed that the rock had been crushed in his small hand.

And then he stepped back from Mender's body, breathing heavily. It was as if he were surprised by what he had just done. Or, perhaps, surprised at succeeding.

This time his head swung around so quickly that Orchid had no time to hide.

Orchid let out the breath that he had been holding as the child's piercing eyes stared back at him with all of the intensity of a fastbiter's glare. There was no condemnation in the stare, nor any judgement. It merely was an acknowledgement. From the demeanor of the rainbowface's raised shoulders confirmed to the fastrunner what was being said: I have done what I can.

The fastrunner merely nodded in acknowledgement. In the end that was all that they could do.

Datum nodded back before raising a single digit to his beak as if to hush the utterly silent fastrunner. Then, with much more speed and silence than he had shown in his entrance, Datum disappeared into the night.

The fastrunner walked up to his friend's slumbering body. She was still as lost to the world as before, but there was an unshakable feeling in the air that he could not explain. It was almost like the feeling that made his feathers stand on end before a lightning strike. A physical manifestation of anticipation. A sign that something had changed. But what it was he could not say. Reluctantly, and with a reassuring pat on the oblivious fastbiter's body, he walked back to his sentry point in the grass to resume his lonely vigil.

Once more all Orchid could do was wait. But this time he could wait with hope.

---

Wrok's territory:

Greenshade gestured at the long row of dried excrement as if it were merely another amenity to a new member of the pack.

"This is where you can relieve yourself. The western line is used in the morning, the eastern line in the evening. The north and south are handled by the guards. It is everyone's duty to mark the territory of the pack, but we have a more hands off approach here."

It was then that a voice that Penol had not heard in days interrupted the little tour.

"What she is saying is that Wrok does not want to keep track of where everyone shits, so we just follow some simple rules."

Greenshade took a deep breath and opened her beak. Her mannerism changed in an instant as if she had originally intended on saying one thing, but instead took another path. "Penol, I do believe that you met our messenger. This is Bluntbeak, my former scouting partner. He is now the speaker of the pack."

Bluntbeak appeared surprised by the warm response but bowed respectfully nonetheless.

"How did that happen?" Penol asked before she fully realized she was saying what she was thinking.

If the loud snort from Greenshade was the first hint that she had committed a faux pas, then the amused glint in Bluntbeak's eyes was first hint that it did not matter.

"As you may have noticed our esteemed leader is not popular right now with your cousin. So he thought that I would strike the proper tone," Bluntbeak spoke in a diplomatic prose but with all of the sarcasm that he had displayed during his visit to her cousin's pack.

The enemy's pack, she reminded herself, I have to act like she is the enemy. Or do I? Wrok saw right through me and acted like he approved. I should be dead. How am I supposed to do what I set out to do if he always has his eye on me?

"I was almost convinced you were trying to kill yourself," Penol said after a moment's thought.

Greenshade turned from the female back to the male and merely waved for them to follow. "Does Leader Wrok send a message, Bluntbeak, or is this commentary your own?"

Bluntbeak almost looked offended. "Commentary? I think our guest is doing just fine with her own… but I have been told to talk to the western scouting party, so farewell!" And with a polite wave and a wink he was off into the bushes. Like most other things in the dense jungle he disappeared within seconds.

Greenshade pretended to groom her feathers for a moment. "Don't mind him, High Hatched. Wrok is good at finding everyone's strengths. Even my friend's."

Penol forced down her embarrassment at Greenshade's understandable mistake. Don't let it show. "One of those strengths must be luck, because neither he nor I would likely be here had Ignis reacted like I thought she was going to."

Her escort nodded. "Wrok sensed that Ignis would react with bemusement to my friend and know full well that his tidings of ill will are simply part of the deadly dance of leadership."

It was then that she gestured at a small tree in a clearing. "As I am sure you can tell that is the marking tree. Do not worry about all of the ahem… interested males… your escorts are safely being kept away from the younger males in the pack. Wrok promises that the hostages will remain pure, unless they choose to dance with our own."

That's probably as much as I could've ever hoped for, Penol thought in relief, What happens if I try to take out Wrok, though? I really wasn't thinking when I got into this mess. Now my mission is unlikely to succeed, and a failed attempt will likely be worse than doing nothing. Worse, I'm not the only one in danger even if I succeed...

Though her thoughts were racing, Penol kept herself aware of her surroundings. She couldn't help but notice that, even though they were still going about their own business, almost everyone in sight of her seemed to be keeping an eye on her. Great... this again. I finally manage to get the high-hatched assistants to stop looking at me like I was something they stepped in, and now apparently I have to go through all of that again? I know I was pretty much an imposter then, and now I really am an imposter... Yep. This is going to be much worse.

"So that is the territory. Any questions?"

Penol started a bit, having only caught half of what Greenshade had said. "What was that last part again, ma'am?"

Greenshade hesitated a moment as if surprised, but then gave the slightest of nods. "I was just saying that is the territory. Everything else is family scrapes. We do not have caves in our parts like in your lucky pack, but we do have each other."

Greenshade appeared to size her up for a moment.

"Does anything concern you, ma'am?" Greenshade asked carefully, "You have given our pack hope for victory, it is only right that we lessen your burden any way that we can."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but what exactly am I doing wrong?" Penol carefully glanced over at a few hidden runners that were watching her more obviously than the others.

Greenshade looked up at the hidden runners in the distance. "Well, it is not every day that we get a defector. You have to try to see it like they see it, ma'am. They know that they are seeing the mate of the new Great Leader. One day they will tell their children of this moment, and their grandchildren." She looked back down at Penol. "So think of it as both a sign of respect and fear. You represent the two ways this can go for all of us."

"Are you sure it's just that?" Penol asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice. I wasn't exactly popular when I first became First Assistant, either.

Greenshade's eyes hardened. "If it was anything else then the attitude would be corrected quickly. That is nothing that a few whacks with a stick could not solve."

That doesn't actually solve the problem of them not liking me, Penol thought, Honestly, that would make me the only hidden runner hated by everyone.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something moving through the grass beside them. Despite hearing the same thing, Greenshade appeared to become annoyed instead of concerned.

"Alright, I actually do have a message for you, my friend."

Penol turned around and moved beside Greenshade. Well, I guess Bluntbeak is back. I still can't believe that's his actual name.

Greenshade nodded for him to continue.

"It seems that one of our scouts is back with news from the Mysterious Beyond. He ran through the defensive line using this…" He made an odd combination of gestures with his hands that alternated between making three circles with his right hand before clasping his hands together with two claws sticking up. "He said that his message is for you Deputies and Wrok only."

Greenshade sighed. "That means that there is some trouble out there… when is that not the case? Alright, let Wrok know that I will be right there. Penol needs to see the other deputies as it is."

Bluntbeak nodded before sprinting off in what Penol could only assume was the direction of Wrok's meeting area.

"Outsider trouble?" Penol asked, guessing what might've been the reason for concern.

Greenshade began to jog at a swift pace which Penol soon replicated. "This is both gon'sah and mon'sah, of ours and of theirs, so that must mean that it involves Questor in some way. Ignis would not want to land the first blow."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Penol wondered aloud. This is definitely not good. With Questor being a problem of some kind for everyone, he's making everything even more complicated than it already as. At least I don't have to pretend to like the guy. Apparently everyone has a poor opinion of him even if he's on their side.

"Because with our luck it can only be bad luck," Greenshade muttered as she continued her sprint. She had no idea how right she was.

---

"That scum-sucking piece of filth! We help him with his little problem, and how does he reward us? By shitting all over our pack!"

The spear slamming into the ground did not surprise Penol as much as the sheer rage on display and the fact that the pack leader was talking like this in the open.

Bluntbeak rubbed his head. "I take it that our alliance with him is over then?"

Penol stared at Bluntbeak in shock, hardly believing that anyone could ask at a worse question at a worse time.

Greenshade would have smiled at Penol's expression if she wasn't too focused on keeping her friend and former subordinate from being slammed face-first in the ground. She cautiously placed herself in front of Bluntbeak and gave him a look that would frighten a two-footer.

When she looked back at the four others in this meeting she was greeted by appreciation, apart from Deputy Corshin's disappointment.

He would look forward to Bluntbeak being punished. Sadistic fiend.

Wrok was either unaware or did not care about the nonverbal drama playing out around him as he sighed and attempted to collect his thoughts.

"This blow is a cold one. It is a blow that is meant to do only one thing - to isolate me and to give Questor, the insufferable bastard, a path to Ignis. I can just see his next message now…"

Greenshade watched as Wrok sarcastically moved his arms to his sides as if they were stubby wings. Penol's confusion and amazement were obvious as her beak went wide at the antics of the leader.

"...Oh Great Leader, Wrok has truly shown his true intentions. His attack on healers in valley territory shows that he is a threat to not only you, but to leaf-eaters, and even to the fastbiter packs. Despite our previous misgivings, I do hope that you will consider my assistance in resolving this unfortunate situation…"

When he slapped the imbedded spear with a loud slap Penol jumped back nearly an entire body length.

"With our attack on the sharpteeth in the area, no one will doubt that we have done this. We are now officially villains in the eyes of all. Fate smite him!"

Greenshade looked over at Deputy Corshin, as if inviting him to offer the first suggestion. For once he was hesitant to take the offer.

"We might consider taking on a more aggressive strategy at this point."

Wrok snorted which appeared to confuse Penol even more. Easy, Penol. He just needs to get this out of his system.

"Yes, yes, we must do that. It's not like we have another choice at this point."

Greenshade took a deep breath. "We could try to kill Questor. We do have two 'friends' of ours in his pack."

"Too obvious. He will be expecting a swift retaliation and will have made preparations." Wrok sighed. "Though we could use them in another way… his plan only works if his hands stay relatively clean. It would be such a shame if that were ruined by one of his own not following the plan."

"We have one of them kill one of Ignis's beloveds?" Deputy Argnis asked coldly.

"She cares too much for Viscond and her other beloveds to leave them unprotected, but I was thinking in another direction. A right claw cannot do much without its left."

Penol's gaze snapped towards Wrok, her expression unreadable.

A sign of regret… or its opposite? Curious.

"Wouldn't the Left Claw be as protected as the mates?"

Greenshade opened her beak to reprimand her friend before Wrok could do so, but for once Bluntbeak had a point.

"Yes," Wrok said stoically before turning towards Penol, "But Dravos has one of our friends in Ignis's pack under his control… or so he thinks."

"The guard, Kirea," a deputy noted, "Do we want to risk such an valuable runner?"

"He did help arrange Penol's escape," Greenshade added before giving her a quick glance. Penol stiffened a bit as if surprised.

Wrok took a deep breath. "It is risky, and he has already risked much… but we have to change things up now. If Ignis can be flustered then we can turn this to our advantage. The fall of a Left Claw would surely be seen as a sign from Fate by others… and that might motivate," he waved his hand, "...a preening of the other claw as well."

Greenshade nodded. "How should we give the order?"

Wrok did not respond immediately but instead slowly walked up to Deputy Corshin and gestured for him to raise his left claw. He did so after a pause.

"We will of course have to announce the joyous arrival of Penol as our 'guest'." He gave her a smile. "Which will yet be another sign of Fate's favor on us and disfavor of Ignis… so when our guard sees the messenger with dried blood on the left claw… he will know his orders."

Greenshade nodded. "I will relay this to Bluntbeak, sir."

Wrok nodded. "Good. Perhaps we can turn this unfortunate situation to our advantage… Fate does move in mysterious ways."

---

Penol wandered back to her sleeping spot almost in a daze. This is not what was expecting at all. Wrok is so hard to figure out. One moment he seems like he cares about the pack like Ignis does. The next I swear I'm listening to Dravos talking. It's so confusing.

But that was when she came across her sleeping area and noticed a very distinct white orb gleaming in the afternoon light. It was an egg. Probably from a swimmer if she had to guess based upon the shape and size. What's this doing here? This is supposed to be for leaders. Or is it different out here?

"Is something wrong, ma'am? If the egg is rancid we have others."

"That's for me?" Penol asked, confused.

Now it was the guard's turn to be confused before she nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am. Our scavengers found four swimmer eggs today. Leader Wrok insisted that you have the best of the set before the Deputies get their share."

"Really?" Penol asked in surprise, "Thanks, I guess."

The guard nodded upon seeing that the food met her satisfaction and then promptly sprinted off. No doubt preparing to give Wrok and Deputies their share of the prime bounty.

Wait a moment... The guard said that the deputies would be getting eggs as well as me. She didn't mention Wrok. Why would he give me an egg and not claim one for himself?

She examined the egg curiously as if it were a mysterious alien object. Back when she had been of the lower hatched she could only dream of others even paying her any attention at all. Then, as First Assistant, she had on occasion delivered large eggs to Ignis, Dravos, and Viscond. But such a delicacy was not something she had actually ever tasted before.

Or, for that matter, had ever tried to open. This wasn't like the egg of a tiny biter or ground crawler. This was something else entirely.

So how do I do this? It's almost too big to eat whole and probably not that great if I did. Penol stared at the egg in puzzlement, unsure how to solve the problem. "Hm... Maybe if I try this," Penol carefully cracked the top of the egg with her teeth and knocked the broken part away. I hope I'm doing this right. This is actually really good. At least something good came out of this mess.

She quickly dug into her unexpected meal and became distracted with its delights. As such she did not notice a familiar hidden runner in the distance nod as if something suspected had just been confirmed in his mind. It was always the little things that won you supporters…

---

The Great Valley:

"Yes, threehorn, I understand the objections of some. But five of our sworn allies are in your valley, as well as one who is an ally to all," Littlefoot added with a notable emphasis on the word 'all', "If Mender meets her end here it is in the interests of your valley that the world knows that you all had nothing to do with it."

"How dare you!"

"It is not a dare; it is simply how people will see it. These are not trusting times. And I did not shed some of my blood to see the valley fall to this paranoa. Please send my request to your leaders. I will not hold you responsible for their answer… I merely ask for the request to be made."

"Hmph! Wait here!"

Staza tried to follow the conversation, but she only knew a few words of leaf-eater and soon gave up. Why won't they let us in? We're running out of time. Maybe if I tried sneaking in on my own...

She was startled by Ducky's hand on her shoulder. "Threehorns are always like this. But I am sure they will let us in."

Littlefoot sat down on the ground and rubbed his crest in annoyance as Ruby gave him a reassuring nuzzle. "I should have seen through that flyer. Now Mender might end up paying the price for my mistake."

"We could not have known what we did not know. I am sure Mender will be fine… she is part of the best healer pack." Ponder tried to reassure him, but to no avail.

"She's entered the deep sleep, Ponder," he said, his voice hoarse, "You know what that usually means."

"You didn't tell me that," Staza said before starting to head out on her own. She could die while we're just standing around here.

"Staza."

Staza simply ignored Ducky and kept going.

"Staza!"

This time the green fastbiter blocked Staza's path, putting her hands in a placative gesture in front of her body. "I know that you are upset right now, but getting trampled by threehorns will accomplish nothing. Nope, nope, nope! They will let us in soon I am sure."

"How can you just stand here?" Staza demanded, "My little sister is dying, and I'm stuck here waiting and hoping she's still alive by the time I get to her." I don't want to lose her, but if I have to, I want to be able to say goodbye. She felt a bit sick at the thought.

An audible sigh arose from Ruby as she stomped her foot to direct Staza's attention. She then pointed at an odd hill in the distance.

"What do you see there, Staza?"

"A bunch of rocks." What do you expect me to see, Ponder? It's just grass and boulders.

Ducky nodded as if understanding Ruby's question. "That pile of boulders is where those who fought Redclaw and Calin lay. The valley built that. The same valley that we are at now. Do you think the same valley that bleed with us will force us to abandon our friend?"

"We just need to give them time," Littlefoot noted reluctantly, "Some in the valley are more trusting than others."

"Mender might not have that kind of time," Staza objected.

"You made them wait?" came an angry roar in the distance as a grey threehorn barrelled straight towards the four fastbiters.

Staza turned towards the noise, rather alarmed. What's going on?

Topps came to a stop and hmphed as if irritated by his own people. "They're by the mud pits! Come along!"

None of the fastbiters wasted any time as Littlefoot sprinted ahead and dictated their path. It was then that she had to remind herself that all three of these biters used to live here and presumably knew exactly where the mud pits were.

I never thought I'd be happy to see a threehorn, Staza thought, realizing that the threehorn was allowing them to enter the valley. She wasted no time in following the others as they descended into the narrow crevice that led into the valley proper. Though this was the first time she had ever entered the famous valley of the leaf-eaters, none of its sights or sounds mattered to her panicked mind. The only thing that mattered was Mender.

She carefully followed the others, following a confusing path around trees and through bushes, even crossing a stream a couple of times that had more convolutions than that of a coiled snake. Staza kept close, not wanting to get lost. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached their destination.

Staza realized they must be getting close when Topps started to visibly slow down. She rushed forward through the tall grass until she was at the head of group. When the tall grass finally stopped, revealing a clearing, Staza wished it hadn't. Oh, Mender...

The gasps of the others said it all. Her sister's body lay where it must have been dragged with only the slow rise and fall of her chest conveying the sense that life still resided in the lean, violet body. Only the recently scabbed wound on her tail hinted at the source of her fall. And only the drooping flesh on her body confirmed the extent of the damage. The Orange Death was near the completion of its work. The muscles no longer obeyed the directives of the sleep-addled mind. Her sister was in her final sleep story.

A hand fell upon Staza's shoulder. She did not need to look back to tell its owner.

"There really isn't anything that can be done, is there?" Staza asked Ducky, though she already knew the answer.

All that she heard for a few moments was her friend's heavy breathing and the shaking of the hand on her shoulder. That was answer enough.

"We gave her the cure leaves as soon as possible. But she got too much, too fast."

Staza was slightly startled to see a hidden runner appearing as if out of nowhere. It looks like they have some of those no-pain leaves, but that's not really going to help, is it?

"It is for if… when she wakes up," Cynnil finally said as she put the leaves down in a pile. There was easily enough such leaves to put asleep several threehorns, but it seemed that no one had the heart to tell her that she had enough. Not even Cynnil's own experience.

"Staza?"

Staza turned around, her mood lightening slightly at seeing her mate. "I'm glad you're safe," she said after a moment. Almost subconsciously her body swooned towards that of her mate's as their sides met in mutual contact.

"I wish the same was true for Mender. She should have been perfectly safe, finally getting to see the one place she's always dreamed about," Verant said in a dejected voice.

"At least she got to see it," Staza replied.

Ducky hesitantly walked forward towards Mender's fallen form as Buse and Orchid took their places beside her. It took Staza a moment to realize what they were doing. It was the same mannerisms that Mender had showed during her training. Standing at the ready in case the main healer needed assistance with the patient.

But now the great healer was the patient. And the prognosis did not look good at all.

"Verant."

"Seeker." Verant nodded in acknowledgement but otherwise made no effort to continue the conversation.

Come on, Verant, Staza thought, I know you're not going to want to talk to me about this for awhile, but you need to talk to someone, and Seeker's probably the best option. Maybe the two of you can make sense of all this.

Littlefoot sighed as he looked down slightly. "We came here as quickly as possible. Your children are with the rest of the pack so that they have the safer journey."

"Journey?" Verant asked, "What journey?".

That was when Staza saw something in Littlefoot's eyes that she had not seen since the fateful day when her pack met his. Pure rage.

"No one is safe while Wrok lives. Not our children and not our friends. The only option is to take the battle to him."

Littlefoot gaze then shifted to something behind the duo, in the direction of Mender.

Staza followed the other fastbiter's gaze and looked back towards where her best friend lay.

"No one attacks pack and lives to tell about it. No one."

Looking back at Littlefoot, Staza couldn't help but take an involuntary step back. I believe him. Can he please stop looking in my general direction now? It was then that she noticed three bobs of his head: one towards her; another towards Verant; and one more to the fallen fastbiter behind them all. An apology, but why would... I guess Verant and Seeker are more alike than I realized. They have similar ideas on how to 'fix' things.

There was a moment's hesitation. But then, without fanfare, Verant replicated Seeker's gesture. A maneuver that his mate soon followed, subconsciously bobbing twice on account of her fallen friend. For, like Mender, now their lives were on the line.

But then again, they already were.

"Mender, can you hear me, because we cannot hear you?"

Ruby cautiously stroked Mender's forelimb for any sign of movement that might be indicative of a subconscious jerk. Any sign whatsoever of consciousness, even if subsumed in the world of dreams. But the limb remained still and placid.

Staza moved closer to see what Ruby was doing, sighing resignation when she saw no signs of reaction to what Ruby was doing.

"When was the last time she had any sleep signs?" Ducky asked.

"Yesterday, in the morning," Cynnil confirmed, "I… well…"

She looked hesitantly in Verant's direction. "Usually when that happens it only takes a day. We kind of thought… by this morning…"

"But she still fights," Buse interjected, his voice betraying more confidence than his eyes indicated.

But that was when Staza noticed something odd. Orchid was not looking at the same thing the other healers were. Where they focused on her limbs and abdomen his gaze was firmly planted on her snout. His scent betraying much more hope than was radiating off of anyone else.

Well, at least someone's thinking positively, Staza thought, I don't know whether that's inexperience or if Orchid knows something the rest of us don't.

And that was when it happened. It was so subtle that even a blink could have hidden it from view, but it was there all the same. A nose twitch. As if her sister were trying to smell.

And then it happened again.

"Guys!" Orchid exclaimed before he was nearly trampled by Staza's excited form. Could it be?

It took a third twitch for Staza to truly believe it. The reaction among the healers was something else entirely. Less one of excitement and more one of awe.

"No one has come out of the deep sleep and gone into a normal sleep," Ruby gasped.

Ducky merely patted Mender on the arm. "That is right, Mender. Do not give up without a fight. Nope, nope, nope."

"So, she's back in the realm of sleep stories!" Cynnil exclaimed.

Buse nodded. "Must be. These are not Orange Death twitches."

Verant leaned down and viewed the scene with excitement. It was as if to him that each twitch of her snout were like a youngling's initial strikes against its egg. A sign of hope and new life yet to come from what had been something seemingly lifeless. In that moment nothing else mattered to him but his sister.

"You can do it, sis. You find the way out of that sleep story!" he encouraged in a hoarse whisper. For good measure he nudged her snout.

Staza copied her mate before giving him a reassuring nudge. Please wake up, Mender, she thought.

"I wonder what kind of dreams she's having," Staza wondered after a moment. I hope they're good ones. You definitely deserve to catch a break, Mender.

---

The past (the sleep story):

Littlefoot sighed as he looked at his pack mates. He was exhausted due to the lack of sleep, but his spirits were still high. "How are the swimmers, Mender? I can hear a lot more laughter this morning."

"Is that what that is?" Taunt groaned, obviously not taking his lack of sleep all that well, "They sound like ground fuzzies with their tails bitten off."

Cera snorted. "You would know what that sounds like, wouldn't you? Since you can't catch the whole thing."

"You couldn't sleep, Taunt?" Violet asked. The swimmers didn't cause me any problems, so why would they be bothering him?

"He was on watch duty. Just like we all were," Spike answered with a yawn, "We only got half a Night Circle time of sleep."

"Though I don't think Taunt can use that as an excuse to ruin my question," Littlefoot added with a slight smile, "Healers, how are the swimmers?"

There was a momentary hesitation as if Ruby, Ducky, Violet, and Breeze were all debating who should answer the question. Finally, however, Cera gave Violet a shove to speak.

"Um, m-most of the swimmers seem to be doing well, sir," Violet stammered, a bit panicked at being literally shoved into having Littlefoot's undivided attention, "The one we weren't sure about might be getting better too, but she'll need to be watched a bit longer to be certain she's going to be alright."

Littlefoot smiled. "You are certainly living up to your name, Mender. Though if the swimmers stick around then things are going to get weird."

"Yeah, I'm hungry," Path muttered. The slight pout in his voice would have been cute and humorous if it wasn't coming from a massive, hungry tyrannosaurus.

Littlefoot sighed. "Yeah… the hunting issue."

"What do we have in the area?" Breeze asked suddenly before quickly adding, "Um… besides the swimmers, I mean."

"There far-walker herd that Spotter see. Best bets an old threehorn and sick spiketail. Others look strong and loyal."

Littlefoot looked up. "Ah, so the spiketail and threehorn are not liked by the others? Hmmm… did either one look especially slow?"

Petrie thought for a moment. "Pack not want to have run practice?"

Taunt rolled his eyes. "If one of us dies, then that means more watch time for you and less sleep."

Petrie's glimmered with a humorous tint. "And me not want that!" He then looked at Littlefoot with a more serious expression. "Me think the spiketail be best option. He look sick and slow. So an easier kill."

Littlefoot nodded. "I will trust your judgement on this."

Violet immediately felt a wave of panic. "Sir, can I please sit this one out?" she pleaded. I don't want to know what it feels like to have my leg really broken.

Littlefoot stared at her for several moments as if he were trying to solve a complicated puzzle. "Well, the more that we have the safer the others will be," he then asked diplomatically, "Is there a reason that you feel unable to hunt today? Even if you are too tired to chase, we still need distractors."

Violet immediately looked ashamed. "I'm not tired, sir," she admitted, "I'm scared. The last time I went after a spiketail I got my leg messed up pretty badly; at the time I thought it was broken."

"Yeah, you have to be careful with spiketails," Cera admitted, "But when you have enough hunters it can be kind of easy to take them down. They aren't very bright."

"Neither are threehorns," Spike offered.

Taunt smiled at the old fault lines between the leaf-eaters. "Now let's be reasonable, you two, both of your old kinds were stupid. But now you are part of my kind. The best, fastest, smartest…"

"Taunt."

"Yes, Path?"

"I haven't eaten in two days. Shut up before I eat you."

Littlefoot rolled his eyes. "Focus, everyone. Focus." He then looked at Violet. "Perhaps you can be one of the distractors this time, Mender. That way you can watch how we handle the spiketail. This is a new one for you. Well, as far as our pack is concerned."

"Thank you, sir," Violet replied, relieved beyond words.

"Haven, since you are still exhausted from your run…" Littlefoot began.

"I am fine, Seeker. I am, I am."

"Which is why you have been rubbing your legs since you two got back?" he prompted.

Ducky opened her mouth for a moment, but quickly relented and gave Littlefoot an understanding nod. If one was going to be a chaser then they needed to be fully ready.

Violet glanced at Ducky. Are you okay, Haven?

"You will join Mender as a distractor. Alright, with that in mind the chaser groups shall be…"

---

The herd that lay before Violet might have seemed like a welcome dinner to the others, but to Violet it stood as if to mock her resolve. Longnecks, threehorns, and spiketails walked side by side in no discernable pattern. Except that any assault would be met by defenders on all sides.

And we're supposed to hit something in all of that. Yeah, this is going to go really well... Violet shifted a bit closer to the herds for lack of something better to do. Okay, so how exactly are we supposed to distract anything? It doesn't seem like anyone would bother noticing a couple of fastbiters out in the open. Not with so many there. "Any ideas, Haven?" she whispered back to her friend.

Ducky examined the scene with expressionless eyes. As her yellow orbs reflected the radiance of the Bright Circle towards her, Violet could almost imagine that Ducky was staring into her soul.

"The sick spiketail is near the back. See any weaknesses, Mender?"

"I can barely see the spiketail, Haven," Violet said irritatedly. Too many other spiketails in the way.

Ducky smiled with some amusement. "I mean in the herd, silly. If the spiketail that is sick is in the back." She pointed at a particular spiketail's back end. "What does that say about the herd's priorities?"

"They're protecting their herdmate. They're not going to run if we're all they see." If it's anything like my last experience they won't run at all. We're probably going to die if they hold firm and we keep attacking. "I don't think this is going to work, Haven."

"They are keeping him on the water side," Ducky noted upon examining the herd's placement, "Unless we wanted to do the attack ourselves, they have him protected from attack… hmmm…"

"Are you insane?" Violet asked, shocked at what Ducky was suggesting.

Ducky stared at the spiketail, as if sizing him up. She did not say anything for several moments but quickly nudged Violet. "Mender, I used to be a swimmer. I can swim well, but you should get out before the stampede happens."

"Care to explain what you're thinking? Because from what I'm hearing you're suggesting we drown ourselves, or at least me," Violet replied. Did you forget that I can't swim that well?

Ducky pointed at the narrow area of dry land some distance in front of the herd. "Run through there and then I will attack our target over here… and then the others will attack the other side."

"Can we change the plan like that?" Violet asked uncertainly. Don't we have to check with the others? We're literally the two lowest ranking members of the pack, so...ugh... This is confusing.

"We will not, but Seeker will." She grabbed her spear and glared at her target. "Mender, run now!"

Violet gave Ducky one last uncertain glance before following her orders.

Screee!

The herd appeared to explode with energy as Ducky commenced her attack. Violet did not dare look back or slow down as the horrible cacophony of stomping feet and bellowing roars echoed into the distance. The only thing in her mind was escaping from the unseen danger.

Suddenly a rather more visible danger presented itself. One of the spiketails seemed to object to her presence rather strongly and rushed Violet. She barely dodged the first swing of its tail. The second she had to tumble away from to avoid getting hit. After that Violet decided that her best option was simply to run but didn't get that far before running into a new problem.

Violet nearly fell on her face when her foot didn't move the way she expected it to. A quick but failed attempt to free herself proved that she was stuck. Not good. Not good. Help!

"Shit!"

Taunt's voice could barely be heard over the deafening roar of the herd's panicked footsteps. What she heard next, however, was something close by.

"Try to float! Float on mud like water!"

"How do you do that?" Violet shouted back, angry both at herself and Petrie's almost absurd instructions.

"No struggle! Keep head up! Breathe air!"

Splash!

Violet did her best to do as Petrie had said, but with a threehorn having crashed into the mud somewhat nearby and now creating chaos by flinging mud and making his frustration known quite vocally, it was very hard to remain still. Haven, this is the worst idea you've ever had.

"Help him!"

"No, run!"

"Sharpteeth are everywhere!"

"Hold and fight!"

Violet understood just enough of what the panicked leaf-eaters were saying to realize that they were confused and divided about what to do. Wish you'd just run off and get away from me, she thought, Being stuck is scary enough by itself.

Roar!

"Everyone around me!"

"Would if I could," Violet muttered to herself in frustration.

"Shit! It's Chomper!"

"Run!"

Violet struggled to keep her head above the mud as the leaf-eaters began to scatter in terror. Horned faces, elongated necks, and spiked tails could be seen hurdling away from the thick mud as the now abandoned threehorn continued to struggle against his earthy prison. His panicked grunts and struggles only ended when he saw the massive sharptooth in front of him.

"Heh… I guess this is my final walk after all. At least I get to take one of you bastards with me."

Yikes! Violet thought in panic when the threehorn's foot landed rather close to her, completely coating the rest of her in mud. She struggled to put some distance between herself and the threehorn. And I thought I was going to die by being eaten...

The muffled sounds of roars and screams emanated from the world outside of her muddy prison. It gave her the feeling that the situation was not real. The sounds were so distant, as if from a dream and the mud so warm, like the dirt on a summer day. It was enough to almost make her want to close her eyes and…

"Mender!"

Without warning Violet felt her body being dragged away from the mud and into the bright light of the Bright Circle. That was when she finally took a breath.

Gasp!

"Mender, can you hear me!?"

Violet took a few more breaths before answering. "I can hear you, Haven," she finally said, still gasping for air.

"Damn it all!" Littlefoot's voice was edged with an anger that she had never heard from her pack leader. "What happened here?" he finally asked with more calmness as soon as he saw Ducky's pained expression. That was when he saw Violet.

"Healers, now!" he ordered immediately.

Violet looked incredibly apologetic, assuming she'd screwed up badly. Maybe I'm not going to live through this after all.

"Mender, are you alright?!" Taunt asked as he ran to the scene before practically being knocked over by his mate as Cera went to examine the prone fastbiter.

"Can you speak, Mender?" Cera asked as she carefully examined her snout, wiping away some mud, "Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Violet did as instructed, not entirely sure why everyone was so panicked. I'm just a little muddy. I think I know how I'm feeling.

"You're not in trouble, Mender," Littlefoot said after a pause as he examined her state. Had Violet thought about the situation more closely she would have realized that Littlefoot was becoming much better at understanding her perspective.

"I'm not?" Violet asked, completely shocked. I manage to not do a single thing right from the moment the hunt started, and I'm still not in trouble? How is that possible?

Littlefoot sighed heavily and sat down on the ground. It was only when he sat down near her that she noticed that he was drenched in the blood of the threehorn, and missing a few teeth. The others did not look much better, with Ruby, Breeze, and Spike all having haggard expressions.

"We just need to know that you are alright." His voice sounded exhausted.

"I'm just muddy, sir. I'm alright," Violet said as calmly as she could. She was surprised that being muddy was all that she'd ended up being.

It was then that Cera went into full deputy mode. "Thank goodness. Now.. what exactly happened back there?"

"Um, well..." Violet tried to explain.

"It was all my fault. I should have called it off…" Ducky shook her head. "I can swim well so I decided to go after the spiketail as a distraction."

"And what about Mender?" Littlefoot asked piercingly towards Ducky.

"I told her to go on ahead. But the herd panicked early and…"

Littlefoot raised his hand as if to command silence, and Ducky fell silent immediately. In fact the entire pack did. His face was unreadable, but his posture was grim.

What's going on? Violet thought worriedly. It was now uncomfortably quiet.

Ducky's face fell as she laid down in a submissive posture. It was obvious that she was barely holding back a sob.

"You made a mistake, and as a result one of us nearly died. What should you have done in that situation?"

Ruby hissed with worry, "Seeker, dear…"

"What should you have done?" Littlefoot prompted again.

Violet opened her mouth to interrupt, to point out she'd gotten stuck on her own. Littlefoot cut her off with a 'not now' gesture.

Ducky swallowed. "I should have made sure she was safe before I made my distraction… or I should have left with her and tried something else." She shook with a suppressed sob. "I am so sorry, Mender. I nearly killed my friend. What kind of friend am I?"

"It's not your fault I got stuck, Haven. I should have been more careful," Violet said in an attempt to reassure her friend.

Ducky was silent as she looked down, still ashamed. Though it took Violet several moments to realize that gesture that Ducky was now making with her deep bow.

"No. No way, Haven." Violet shook her head. I'm not doing that to you.

Littlefoot sucked in a breath as he made an apologetic nod to his mate. "It was a mistake, Haven. I've made them; Stern Claw's made them; Taunt makes them all the time…" His attempt to diffuse the situation through humor fell flat however as even Taunt was not in the mood. "but the important thing is that we learn from them."

He gestured for Violet to move back a bit. "But you are every bit the loyal, dedicated, and strong friend that I have known. You just made a mistake."

"A mistake that could have killed her!" Ducky shouted.

Littlefoot nodded. "But it didn't."

"Anything could get us killed, Haven. If I had gotten killed, I wouldn't want you blaming yourself for it," Violet said, "This actually went a lot better for me than my last encounter with a spiketail."

"How?" Ducky asked in exasperation, briefly forgetting her concession before moving back into her submissive pose, "What can be worse than nearly dying? Dying is as bad as it gets; it is, it is."

"I didn't get hit this time, and you came back for me," Violet replied, "Any incident where my leg isn't broken is a good one to me."

Ruby stepped forward and gave Littlefoot a look that said 'I'm doing this' before patting Violet on the shoulder. "Let's get you cleaned up so that you can be clean. Then we can eat."

As if taking this as her cue to leave, Ducky began to walk away with her tail downcast. It did not take long for Violet to realize that she was heading back to the sleeping area.

Littlefoot looked ready to order her to stop but held his tongue. He merely shook his head sadly and sighed heavily. Ruby gave him an understanding look. This was not a time for him to be the pack leader, but rather to be a friend. But he couldn't succeed at being either at the moment without failing at the other.

Seeing that no one was bothering to stop Ducky, Violet hurried to wash off, intending to follow Ducky as soon as she was clean.

---

Ruby carefully helped to remove the caked on mud from Violet's tail, an area that could not easily be reached by Violet herself. "You're going to talk to her after this, aren't you?" It was not really a question.

"Of course," Violet replied.

"We all have made mistakes in our hunts before, but I think she and Seeker take them the hardest. They both care so much about everyone that when they fail…" Ruby shook her head. "We would have had Stern Claw as a pack leader a few seasons ago if she hadn't threatened to beat up my mate if he offered her the position again."

"Wha-what?" Violet sputtered, unable to comprehend a pack leader stepping down voluntarily.

Ruby smiled as she struggled to remove mud from behind her friend's back leg. "He did something similar to what Haven just did, and even though Stern Claw would like to be the leader… she said 'no'." She shrugged. "She knew that he was speaking out of emotion and that he had led us through so much. She would not do that anymore than Finder would do it to Seeker after winning a spar."

"I didn't want Haven to concede; I put myself in danger, not her," Violet said, trying and failing not to sound upset.

"Well, that is something that you will need to work out with her. It is not something that she is working out herself." Ruby examined Violet's body to make sure the worst of the mud was gone. "Though, Mender, if I may offer some advice?"

"Yes, ma'am?" Violet replied, now a bit more rank-conscious after how she'd just spoken.

"She doesn't need a superior now, or a follower; she needs a friend." She smiled. "She is a friend to us all, and all of us are her friends, but she needs to be reminded."

Violet just nodded in response, not quite sure what to say or if she should say anything at all.

"Oh, and Mender?"

"Ma'am?"

"Even if you don't accept the rank - you have earned it."

---

There's no way she's right about that, Violet thought as she headed out in search of Ducky, I haven't done anything that would deserve that, especially compared to everyone else. I don't even know how to behave when I'm not the lowest ranked. Oh, this is going to end in disaster…

The sound of the swimmers bathing in the stream caught her attention, at least in the back of her mind. Their happy shouts and playing were a stark contrast to her inner turmoil.

Well, at least somebody's happy, Violet thought.

"Mender?"

"Wha-what?" Violet was startled out of her thoughts and barely avoided jumping into a defensive crouch.

"Dash… bleat… grunt… bellow..."

Well, I guess she knows Dash, Violet thought, I have no clue what else she said. Where's Haven when you need her?

The swimmer paused for a moment and stared at the fastbiter with a sad smile.

"You not understand much words, Mender?"

"No," Violet replied, shaking her head for emphasis, "I am learning." Thank you, Haven, for the simple phrases.

The swimmer nodded and dropped one of the healing plants near Mender, she then began to gesture towards the children in the distance for emphasis. "Children." She clutched her chest an imitated a beating motion. "Live."

She then pointed at the confused fastbiter. "Because of you."

Violet shook her head. "Help." She gestured behind her towards where the rest of the pack was.

The swimmer nodded. "You and help. But you save Dash. You understand?"

"Words, yes. Dash, no." Violet felt like she was a hatchling again, barely able to speak. Well, I really can't speak right now, so... She suppressed a laugh at the thought.

"Yes you did," Ducky's voice suddenly called out as she raised her head from the nearby bushes. Though the rest of the words were unintelligible to Violet. "You're welcome, Mama Swimmer. But Mender is humble and doesn't want to take credit. Don't worry, I will make her listen."

The swimmer nearly jumped at the new voice, but, seeing that it was one of the healers, she quickly nodded. "Thank you as well, Ducky. You may be what you may be, but at least for today you are our friends."

Ducky merely nodded slightly in a sign of saying she was welcome, before the swimmer returned to resume her watch over Dash. "I'm sorry, swimmer, you can have a better friend than me. Friends don't nearly get their friends killed," she spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"Are you calling me a bad friend, or rather a bad sister?" Violet asked, having heard Ducky quite clearly.

Ducky was stunned, "What? If anyone is a bad friend it is me, it is, it is! I nearly got you killed because I focused more on the kill than the ones that I love."

"I've nearly gotten Verant and Staza killed more than once just by existing, Haven. You can't control everything. Trust me. I've had many more close calls than this one, most of them being my fault, and most of those endangering someone else. You didn't do anything wrong as far as I'm concerned. I just wasn't very good at getting myself out of there. If I can't do my job without someone always watching, what use to the pack am I?"

Ducky gritted her teeth in irritation. "Don't do that, Mender! Don't blame yourself for other people's mistakes, especially mine. If I had not attacked the spiketail, then the others would not have panicked…" She shook her head. "What I did sounds as incompetent as that stuff that you said that Prowler did."

"Haven!" Violet snapped, now rather angry that her best friend would compare herself with her cousin, "Don't you dare compare yourself with him. Ever." Violet forced herself to calm down before even considering speaking again. "You came back and got me out of there. I don't care how much you messed up or think you messed up; you came back. That means a lot to me."

Partially out of instinct, but mainly out of surprise, Ducky bowed in apology to Violet and remained silent. It was as if she were afraid to put her foot in her mouth again.

"Haven, you're my best friend," Violet said much more softly, "I trusted you to have my back, and you did. I have more claws than I know fastbiters I can trust like that." She held up her hands for emphasis.

Ducky nodded slowly before taking a deep breath. "Do you know who we all had running distractions before you came along, Mender?"

"Not a clue," Violet answered honestly.

"Usually me. I am colored like the grass and can swim so if things went bad I could always run or swim away from prey." Ducky seemed to be recalling something. "I guess it is kind of funny. I am used to being bait. I was the bait for Sharptooth even."

"Try being the prey and being a fastbiter. That's why I was able to run so fast for so long. I guess I forgot that isn't normal," Violet said, feeling like she should share something as well, "Sometimes we'd get chased for days..."

"That brings back unhappy memories. Sharptooth chased us from the Gorge in the Earth to the outside of the Great Valley." Ducky sighed. "I guess I got used to doing my job alone, and I messed up. I should have made a plan that involved us both. With two runners we could have done this better. Instead I only thought about what I could do."

"What happened to that spiketail, anyway? And, now that I'm thinking about it, how is anyone supposed to get at that threehorn? I thought it was still stuck in the mud," Violet rambled. I wasn't exactly looking around once they got me out of the mud.

Ducky smiled as she wiped her eyes. "Even when the hunt is over your mind is still turning, Mender; never change… I grazed the spiketail, and he got away. As for the threehorn, well, have you ever heard the tale about how Path got his name?"

"I think I heard a bit of it," Violet said, gesturing at one of her ears to indicate that she'd overheard rather than been told any of it, "What happened?"

Ducky laughed. "Well as you may remember from our song, Dein was always direct… but he soon found out that the direct path is not very smart when it goes into thick mud…"

---

"Should we check on them?"

Littlefoot looked up at his massive friend but merely shook his head at Chomper's question. "No, this is something that is between them." Not to mention I have done more than enough to make the situation worse.

Taunt took another bite from the threehorn. "I wonder if they are trying to out-concede one another."

Cera growled. "Taunt…"

Taunt shrugged with honest exasperation. "Oh come on, dear! The thought surely has caught your mind. They have been awkward since our meeting the other day."

Littlefoot's eyes went wide. "I'm such an idiot."

This caused the attention of the entire pack to be focused on their leader, as Taunt restrained himself from saying anything.

"About what, dear?" Ruby inquired.

"I didn't think about that before I made them into our distractors. Haven would obviously want to impress… and Mender would be uncertain."

Spike slapped his head. "We all missed that, Seeker."

Littlefoot groaned. "Yes, but it is my duty to notice it."

It was at that exact moment that the sound of footsteps could be heard again as Petrie's arrival on the treetop above confirmed that the two wayward fastbiters had returned. As a result both of them walked around the disemboweled prey to a silent pack. Only Chomper dared to speak.

"Go ahead and dig in while the prey is still warm. This bastard was certainly enough trouble to bring in."

Violet glanced at Ducky uncertainly, as if unsure of what to do.

Littlefoot noted the hesitation from Violet, and the lack of response from Ducky. Ah, so Mender is of higher rank now. He didn't want to admit to Taunt or himself that he had expected Ducky to win the out-conceding competition. "Please eat." He then gestured to a spot beside Breeze and himself where the abdominal organs were still accessible. Well, the ones that they had not already devoured.

Violet gave Ducky another look of uncertainty, this time obviously looking for moral support. She got a slight nod from Ducky. it was not an order, but it was encouragement.

Littlefoot resisted the urge to say anything. It's an invitation to eat, Mender, not an execution.

Violet finally moved in to eat but made a subtle effort to ensure that Ducky was between her and Littlefoot. This was noted by Littlefoot, but he chose to pretend to ignore it for the time being.

"I hope that you understand that I was not mad at you, Haven. I was just mad at the situation." Littlefoot lowered his head slightly in a conciliatory manner. "I was upset."

"We all were," Ruby agreed.

Violet took another bite perhaps a bit too late to hide a smile at what appeared to be things mostly getting back to normal.

Ducky nodded. "I know, Seeker. I was upset as well. I was, I was."

Littlefoot smiled softly, happy to have the momentary chasm be sealed. If they ended friendships after every time one of them made a potentially fatal mistake then they wouldn't have even found the Great Valley to begin with.

"How are you feeling, Mender?" Breeze asked from the other side of Violet.

"Cleaner," Violet answered honestly. I never want to get that muddy again.

Taunt smiled. "Ponder used to take baths in mud back when she was a fast-food, didn't ya Ponder?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yes, when I was a fastrunner the mud bath was good for the scales." She then looked at her feathers. "But dust is better on these, keeps the blood-suckers away."

"Then why is Taunt still around?"

Littlefoot rolled his eyes as he watched Taunt turn towards Spike.

"Some blood suckers are bigger than others!" Taunt replied with an obvious bounce in his step. As if to make his point he quickly took another bite of threehorn.

Violet shot Taunt a look, not entirely getting the joke but being pretty sure he hadn't helped his case. She shoved her snout into the threehorn to stifle a laugh.

"My mother actually used sticky mud to help with flying buzzer bites," Ruby admitted, "So even sticky mud has its uses."

"I was covered in the stuff, and it still didn't make Taunt disappear," Violet said quietly to Ducky, not really wanting the whole pack to hear her.

"He could cover himself in the stuff, and he wouldn't go away." Ducky looked towards Taunt with a smile, earning the duo a toothy smile from the fastbiter in question.

"What did swimmer say?"

Littlefoot looked up at the flyer. "Swimmer?"

"Yeah, swimmer try to speak to Mender but speak to Haven instead. Me only catch some of it."

"Please don't answer that!" Violet pleaded to Ducky, though there was a hiss to her voice with how rapidly she spoke, "You didn't even tell me what she was saying."

Ducky obediently kept silent, which led to everyone else likewise holding their tongues. No one spoke until Petrie did some time later.

"Me, sorry. If it not affect pack then it not be important." Petrie acted like he was removing blood sucker buzzers from his wings, but he was obviously just trying to act busy after Violet's outburst.

"Sorry," Violet whispered to Ducky, now quite embarrassed but not wanting to break the quiet.

Ducky whispered back, "It's alright. We can talk about it later."

Littlefoot examined the situation in front of him as if it were a puzzle waiting to be solved. Mender is protective of whatever the swimmers said to her… she is not quite used to her new position… and she won't keep eye contact with me. I have missed more than enough today, so what else am I missing?

"So, um, Mender? Would you like some lessons on how to escape from sticky mud?" Littlefoot began in what was meant to be both a conversation-starter and a test, "It is something that we found out from Dein because of his… um… history."

Violet visibly flinched in response. "Well, um, I..." she stammered, barely able to speak.

It was then that the pieces clicked in Littlefoot's mind. I am such an idiot.

---

"Momma, why is the Bright Circle up?"

The swimmer sprung into action immediately, only calming down when the meaning of Dash's words were processed in her mind.

"It's up, silly, because you slept all night. How are you feeling?"

Dash tried to rise from her sleeping spot but nearly collapsed back onto the ground before her mother prevented it. Her second attempt was more successful.

Dash blinked as she looked around her. It was only then that the little swimmer realized that the entire herd was looking at her. The adults having looks of thinly-veiled surprise and the children with varying degrees of curiosity.

"Hungry."

Silence reigned for several moments after her little voice echoed into the warm air. But this did not last for long.

---

Laughter.

"What's going on?" Violet thought aloud. She quickly started looking around for someone to translate. You'd think I would have learned to stop going anywhere by myself. If the swimmers are laughing, I guess everything is alright, but I still want to know.

"Heh. They're like you, Finder. You know that they're better when they are eating again."

"If I ever stop eating, that means that I'm dead."

"I know, dear. I… I'm quite surprised that one isn't."

"Um, I hate to interrupt, but what's going on?" Violet asked, approaching Spike and Breeze carefully. After Ducky's rank concession Violet couldn't help but be overly focused on the pack's rank structure. Haven owes me an apology after this; I thought I was over worrying about everything.

"Take a look," Breeze gestured for Violet to take her spot as she rose. Spike rose as well, but kept his current position.

That was when she saw it. All of the swimmers laughing and celebrating with a certain small green youngling devouring a bush with all the ferocity of a teething tiny biter.

"She's alright!" Violet exclaimed excitedly when she saw Dash. And I think she's trying to eat more leaves than all of her siblings put together. She probably woke up starving, but at least she woke up. I know that swimmer said Dash was okay, but I wasn't sure I should believe her.

"It's amazing," Spike admitted, while Breeze looked on. "She might be food for our kind one day, but not today."

"Look, Finder! Small swimmer eat like…"

"My mate already beat you to it, Spotter." Spike snorted with some amusement, "And to think I really liked those bushes as a spiketail…"

"They smell that bad to you?" Violet asked, noting some bushes that she'd at least been told smelled really bad. Not being able to smell that well does have its advantages, I guess.

Spike turned to Violet and shook his head, "They are called piss weeds for a reason. Though it didn't smell like that when I was a leaf-eater."

"We called them stinky plants. We did, we did." Ducky's voice came from the bottom of the hill as she began to slowly climb its height. She was careful to stop some distance behind Violet.

"If they didn't smell all that great, why would you eat it?" Violet asked, now completely confused. Wouldn't it smelling bad mean something is wrong with it? Orange Death smelled horrible even to me.

"It just smelled a bit stinky," Spike answered.

"Kind of like you," Petrie affirmed before dodging Spike's playful swipe.

"Well, you were a spiketail, dear." Breeze winked at him.

Suddenly realizing what Ducky was waiting on, since she hadn't come up to the group, Violet hurriedly gestured in invitation to her friend. Sorry, Haven. I'm still getting used to this.

Ducky accepted the invitation and examined the scene in front of her. "I guess they are waiting on Dash to finish before they leave."

"Is there a reason there doesn't seem to be anyone on watch?" Violet asked worriedly. Please tell me they're not normally this stupid.

"They are by the water, so they have a way to escape," Ducky clarified as she gestured towards the beginnings of the forest in the distance, "And if you look closely at those bushes…"

"So they do have someone watching," Violet said, relieved, "I didn't think they could be that sneaky." She could just barely make out a swimmer hiding in the bushes. Very sneaky for something that big.

Spike jumped up. "Huh?"

Breeze nudged her mate. "You see, dear? This is why we have Ducky scout for swimmers."

"Alright, what is everyone looking at?"

Littlefoot came strolling up the hill with Ruby, Cera, and Taunt in tow. His voice was not commanding but rather amused. When he looked over the hill, however, his demeanor changed to a satisfied smile. "So they all lived, then?"

Violet glanced around at the others, unsure who was supposed to answer. When no one did, she decided to do it herself. "Yes, sir," Violet said, "They all made it." Barely.

"It looks like Dash is going to murder all of the tree stars!" Taunt noted with some amusement, "Though it is odd to watch a bunch of swimmers in our territory and to not be planning a hunt."

"Does anybody know where they plan on going?" Violet asked the group. I'd rather not be having to hunt any of them after all this.

"Well, I guess we could ask," Cera said with a snort, "This would have been so absurd before that fucking stone changed us."

Taunt smirked. "Oh, trust me, dear. It is still absurd."

"That might be because you're here, Taunt," Violet muttered to herself.

"Ha!" Littlefoot exclaimed as he nudged Taunt playfully, "But I think we should hold off on that awkward meeting until after Dash is done, because…" He stopped for a moment. "Ah, here we go…"

The swimmers began to form a more coherent group as they gathered their children towards the center and kept the adults to the sides. It was obvious that they were preparing to disembark.

"Out of curiosity, do all herds act like that?" Violet asked, gesturing at how the herd was organizing itself, "I've never gotten a view quite like this before."

Ducky nodded before stepping forward. "Swimmers do. They are slower walkers, but faster swimmers, and the young ones have to be protected. So when near water the younglings are kept near the water, and on land they are kept in the center."

Littlefoot nodded. "Many herds use that strategy, but only swimmers use a different one when near water. Though there is something that I find interesting… that male lookout obviously is good at this."

"What's so interesting about that?" Violet asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well, usually the swimmers aren't the best at that." Littlefoot continued to look at the swimmers as they began to slowly move forward. "I wonder what that elder has seen."

Probably a lot of scary things, Violet thought.

The pack continued to watch the swimmers slowly leave their immediate vicinity. This took the better part of an hour as the herd stopped every few moments to examine the area. Finally, however, the swimmers had crossed the stream which marked the edge of the pack's territory. That was when Violet heard it.

What's tha- ouch. Ow, ow, ow. She hurriedly covered her ears as the, for her, rather pain-inducing noise continued. Now I feel like I'm shaking. What next? She stifled a whimper as the pain refused to go away.

Littlefoot winced. "Haven? What are your people doing?"

Ducky rolled her eyes. "They have not been my people, Seeker, since I started eating them. But that is a gratitude call. They are thankful." She then noticed Violet's discomfort. "Crap! It will be over soon, Mender!"

Ducky's words were useless as the strickened fastbiter clutched her ears, but within moments the call was over.

Ow. That hurt. That really, really, hurt. Violet forced herself to stand back up and act like nothing had happened. Could that have been any more humiliating? I ended up on the ground because of my ears!

"You alright, Mender?" Littlefoot quickly moved in front of her center of vision, a look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine, sir," Violet replied steadily, not wanting to look weak, or at least not weaker than she already did.

"Yikes! With your good hearing…" Taunt began, "I guess it is a good thing that is not a swimmer's usual alert call!"

Violet couldn't help but cringe at the thought. I'd either go deaf or insane; I never want to go through that again.

"Me tell them they welcome and not need to tell us again!" Petrie screeched as he landed with a thud, "Mender alright?"

"She's fine," Littlefoot affirmed, "Though perhaps some of us should do a quick check of the markings. It was not a question; it was an order.

"On it, Seeker!"

"Yes, sir!"

Violet shook her head, still trying to get herself back to normal. The affirmations of the others was more of a hum in the background than anything she could focus on. "Yes, sir," she finally said and turned to leave.

"Actually, Mender, I was wondering if we could talk for a moment?" Littlefoot asked in a calm voice, his hand gesturing for a spot in front of him. It was only then that Violet realized that she and Littlefoot were the only ones left on the hill.

"Sir?" Violet asked nervously, not liking the idea of being alone with the pack leader. What's going on?

"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk for a moment. We haven't had a chance to chat in a while," Littlefoot offered carefully, "First Leap, then the tiny biters, then sick swimmers… we have all been busy."

"Yes, sir," Violet agreed, still feeling extremely off-balanced by her current situation.

Littlefoot gestured at the ground upon seeing that Violet remained standing, but then quickly dropped the request. "Would you feel more comfortable standing or sitting, my friend?"

Violet was having a bit of trouble focusing on what Littlefoot was saying, focusing instead on possible cues that things were about to get violent. I really wish we weren't alone. That never went well in my old pack. She reluctantly sat down carefully.

Littlefoot stopped himself from asking the question again but instead waited on Violet to react. It was when she finally sat down that he sighed deeply.

"I wanted to apologize to you."

Violet couldn't help but jerk a bit in startlement. Littlefoot's words were exactly the last ones she had been expecting. "Sir?" she asked quietly.

"You have grown into this pack very well and found your own way in the world. But I have been negligent in my duties." Littlefoot gestured towards himself. "It is my duty as pack leader to make sure that I know my packmates and to understand their problems, but I missed yours."

Violet flinched a bit. I'd rather you just forget I exist, sir.

"I scare you, don't I?" Littlefoot asked sadly, his eyes noticeably downcast.

Violet nodded her head slightly and carefully readjusted her legs to get herself on her feet in an instant. This can't possibly be going in a good direction...

Littlefoot nodded and averted his eyes, as if ashamed. "I am not Prowler, Mender. You can be honest with me. If there is something that I have done that upsets you, or some failing, you can tell me now. No one else is here. Just me and you. I want to make right whatever has gone wrong between us."

Violet looked down, unsure what to say. There's nothing you did, sir. It's what you are. "It's not anything you did, sir," she finally forced herself to say but couldn't finish the thought. How do I explain this?

Littlefoot took a deep breath. "My adopted brother, Shorty… did I ever tell you about his story?"

"I don't remember," Violet said as she struggled to recall whether or not she'd heard the story before.

"My dad found him in the Mysterious Beyond when he was searching for me. He thought that I was lost, but he kept searching…" Littlefoot's eyes seemed suddenly focused on something far away. "Shorty was with some younger longnecks that followed him like a big brother. But after some of the mothers in dad's herd began to adopt them, Shorty went back to his old ways…"

What were his old ways? Violet wondered.

"You see, Shorty had no one. It was amazing that he lived out there… and he learned something that I didn't realize at the time, but I see all of the time now. He learned that the world only works if you make it work, and that you could only rely on yourself. His parents were dead, and the rest of his herd had run away. It was only him." Littlefoot shook his head. "He couldn't see what was in front of him. That he was not alone anymore. That his past did not have to be his future."

Where is he going with this? Violet wondered even as she found the story itself fascinating.

"It wasn't until I became friends with him, which is a song in itself, that I think he began to see that his past with outsiders… the death, the cowardice, the weakness… that that did not describe them all. That he could have friends that were not reliant on him, and that he could have a parent that would love him." Littlefoot smiled. "Bron adopted him as soon as I told him that I was staying in the valley."

"What's 'adopted'?" Violet couldn't stop herself from asking. I never heard that word before.

Littlefoot paused for several moments. "It is not something that happens in sharpteeth too often, I think. Not unless a mother gets some of her eggs mixed up. But it is when a parent takes in a child who is not their own." He struggled for a moment as if searching for the right words. "Kind of like accepting a person as a packmate, except it is accepting them as one's child instead."

"Ugh, my head hurts," Violet muttered. That doesn't make any sense.

Littlefoot nodded. "It may help to think of it like a game, Mender. Don't think about new things like they are something you have to understand right now. Think of them like how you learned to heal, something to explore piece by piece." He smiled. "Where did I lose you? I can help you find your way from there."

"How can someone decide to look after someone else that they're not even a bit related to? I know Verant decided to help Staza, but he didn't have to do everything for her, and Prowler quite frankly is embarrassed to share a grandparent with me, so... I'm really lost here."

"Why did you help Dash?" Littlefoot asked softly.

"She needed help," Violet said, "She was sick, and there was something I could at least try to do about it. Oh. Is that why someone would adopt a youngling? Because they needed help?"

Littlefoot nodded with a smile. "Exactly!"

"I wonder why I've never heard about that before. Seems like that would be a good thing."

Littlefoot shrugged. "Instincts, I guess. It was not common with leaf-eaters either. Well… unless you were Haven's mom… but that brings me back to my point. Until you heard of this you didn't believe it was possible, did you?"

"No, sir," Violet replied with a shake of her head.

"Shorty didn't believe it was possible to be loved either. He thought that life was just struggle and pain. That anyone in authority was useful at best, and a threat at worst. Does that remind you of anyone?"

Violet tensed a bit at hearing 'threat', but forced herself to calm down after realizing the word wasn't spoken in alarm. "Um, maybe," she said, now feeling increasingly embarrassed.

Littlefoot offered his hand to her, "I know that your only experience with pack leaders are bad ones. I know that Prowler was a scary, dangerous fool. But I am not him. I may be scary when I need to be, but I am not him." He paused for a moment. "I do not expect you to be comfortable around me overnight, but I do hope that we can try to work through it. Please, always feel open to talk to me if something is wrong."

"I'll try, sir," Violet replied with more confidence than she felt. I really don't know if I'll be able to tell him if he's part of a problem I'm having. That would be scary and rude. Not a good mix. After a moment's hesitation she took her pack leader's hand.

"That's the spirit," Littlefoot replied with a beaming smile, "But I think we should mark the borders now before the others wonder what we are up to. Care to join Ponder and I?"

"Sure," Violet said almost happily. As long as there's at least one other person around, I'm fine.

As Violet advanced in front of him through the tall grass, Littlefoot found his mind focusing on her sudden agreement with his orders. Most notably on its implications - how his pack's newest member was willing to take on any order immediately regardless of her fear of him, and her apparent view that she was expendable. It all pointed itself towards a disturbing conclusion: to Violet the pack was everything, and she was nothing.

Just remember that a pack is nothing without its members, Mender.

---

In Mender's Mind:

"Declaratory memory sectors working! Myelination repair at one hundred percent! Cardiovascular and urogenital optimization at ninety-five percent!"

Mender opened her eyes.

Or... at least she thought that she opened her eyes. Because what greeted her vision was something that made no sense. A white void extended in all directions without any sign of imperfections or distortion. It was like she had woken up in a cloud.

Um… okay. This is weird.

She turned her head around to make sure that she was not just staring into the Bright Circle or something. Sure enough all that she could see was the same white void. Confused, she decided to look at her claws in order to see some color.

Only there was nothing there. No claws. No scales. No body. That was when she remembered what she was doing before she had her sleep story. She had been dying.

It only took a second for the realization to sink in.

I'm dead? Oh no!

The white void continued without interruption as her panicked refrain repeated for several moments in the unbroken emptiness.

I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm…. um… uh…

She focused on the white void finally, putting her thoughts aside.

Well, um… okay… how uh does this 'dead' thing work?

The void did not answer.

...Do I float somewhere to find my ancestors? No one really explained to me how this dead thing works.

"Cardiovascular and urogenital optimization at one hundred percent!"

Cardi-whata? This sounds like one of those rainbow-face things. Oh, please don't let me meet Chronos's ancestors.

"Body image re-imposed!"

As if mocking Mender's confusion her body suddenly reappeared claws and all. Against the white void her violet body was a welcome sight.

Okay... This is just too weird. It's almost like a bad dream. A bad dream created by a tiny biter.

"General sensation recalibration beginning! Hot!"

Suddenly her 'body' felt like it was in the hottest desert as she screeched in pain. Ow! What the…

"Cold!"

Without giving her any time to react she felt a deep chill as if she were in the coldest hard sky water... Well, at least I got a warning this time.

"Pressure!"

At this point she was not surprised when she felt like that every single part of her body was covered in sludge. Okay, not dead… what the heck is this?

"Pain!"

She cringed, expecting the most terrible pain imaginable from the unseen voice. This made the very slight sensation of a pinch on her tail all the more terrifying.

Taunt!

But when she looked behind her there was no one there. Only the white void.

"General sensation optimal! Peripheral nervous system optimal!"

What is going on here? Mender wondered. She started walking forward, trying to look around. "Hello?" she asked, or at least tried to. Okay, so apparently I can't speak. Great... Is this weirdness ever going to end?

"Optimization complete! Returning neural function to subject in three…"

Um, what does that mean?

"Two…"

I'm not sure that sounds good...

"One…"

Dying is weird.

---

The present:

"Mender, can you hear us?"

The imperceptible white void was replaced by darkness and a nagging pain in her head that was almost endearing. Against her skin the warm embrace of humid air assaulted her scales as blades of grass settled against her weight. It was only then that her mind processed what it had just heard. That was not the creepy voice she had heard in the weird sleep story, that was...

"Huh, uh wha...?" Mender muttered in confusion as she reached out in the direction of Cynnil's voice. It was only then that she realized that everything was dark because her eyes were closed. The resulting assault of bright light made her promptly close them again. Not the white void again…

"She's awake!"

"Too loud," Mender groaned, closing her eyes again and covering her ears, "What's going on?"

There was the sound of muffled squeals and what sounded like a few emotional sobs in the background before she was enveloped in pressure once again, but this time not from the annoying voice in the void. She forced her eyes open and saw green scales against the harsh glare of the Bright Circle.

Staza?

"Hey, Mender," Staza said softly.

Mender blinked for a few moments as hey eyes adjusted to the scene around her. Beside Staza's tear streaked eyes was her brother, looking as protective as ever. On the other side of her stood her loyal pack of healers. Both Buse and Cynnil looked utterly dumbfounded at the sight that they were seeing, while Orchid had a relieved expression that resonated down to his disheveled feathers. It was only then that the truth dawned on her.

She was alive.

"How are you feeling, little sister?" Staza asked, giving Mender a critical once-over.

Mender did a double take before touching her scaled body as if to confirm that it was in fact there. "I'm… alive." she blinked in confusion as she tried to take in the scene around her. Staza had not gone with them to the valley… "How long was I out?"

Cynnil sighed. "Three nights. We thought that…"

Mender stared dumbfounded at the hidden runner as Littlefoot walked up to her. Confused as her mind was she knew that he had a pack to run and should not be here.

Littlefoot gave her a slight sniff before rising again and placing a hand on his chest as if he were making a vow. "No matter how long it takes for you… to recover. Rest assured that we are here for you, Mender. As far as I am concerned you will always be pack. Until you can get back on your feet again, we can provide food, water, anything you need. No matter how many days or seasons..."

"Food!" Mender tried to stand up quickly only to stumble and sit back down with a wince. "Agh... cramp." She looked back at Littlefoot hopefully. "Did you say food?"

She was greeted by flabbergasted looks from everyone present. Not a single voice answered her for several seconds as Orchid gestured at her tail in confusion.

"You… you can walk, Mender?"

"I think so, at least if this cramps would stop," Mender replied, somewhat confused by the others' reactions.

It was then that her rapidly recovering mind began to pick up on what she was seeing. Ponder, Haven, and Cynnil, the other healers that she trusted, were all looking at one another with astonishment. But why would…

If I was out for three days because of the Orange Death then I should be dead or dead on my legs...

That was when a familiar pair of hands lightly grasped her arm. "Then let's lead you to food so that you can eat. Yep, yep, yep."

"I will get the snapping shells!" Ruby's voice affirmed in the distance as soon as it registered in Mender's mind that it was Ducky holding her arm. Why is everyone here?

Ducky patted her on the arm as Staza leaned against Mender on the other side as if afraid her friend would topple over at any moment. "It is amazing that you are walking, Mender. We thought that we had lost you."

Mender thought about her predicament at that point as her stomach cried out for the promised snapping shells. She had been hit with Orange Death badly enough to go to the deep sleep and somehow lived… and was already walking from her resting spot. By all rights she should be utterly crippled at this point and asking for a release to the ancestors. Instead she felt… surprisingly well.

"I'm as surprised as you are. Happy, but surprised," Mender said, "Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be able to be talking with you at this point."

Ducky nodded in awe. "I talked with Cynnil and she said that they used only the normal plants. So I do not know what made you better, but I am glad it made you better. Oh, yes."

The green fastbiter pointed at a stream in the distance. "Ponder got some of her favorite shells from there. They never were as good in the lowlands as the valley. Eat your fill, I am sure the threehorns will not crush us if we catch a few more later."

Did you have to bring crushing up? Mender thought, It's nice to see where everyone else grew up, though. It actually is kinda pretty when nothing's trying to kill you. But that was when something that had been nibbling at her thoughts came to the fore: why was the pack here?

"It's not... that I'm not glad to see you guys, Haven. I am," Mender said after a moment, "But what are all of you doing here? Don't you guys have a territory to defend?"

Ducky turned around and gave Mender a look that bore no disagreement. "A pack defends its own, Mender. You may be of another pack, but to us you will always be pack."

"They attacked Verant, they injured Gyors, and now they've injured you…" Littlefoot noted with anger and hurt in his voice. "Now we will do what we should have done from the beginning."

"And that is?" Mender asked.

Littlefoot frowned with determination. "Fight them until we can't."

It was as she followed the faces of her comrades in that moment: from Seeker's grim determination to Verant's angry scowl, to Cynnil's cold glare, that she realized the full magnitude of what had happened to her and to her friends. Now there would be no going back.

The packs were at war.

---

Thank you all for your reviews!

Keijo6: No worries about the delay in the review! I know that I was quite delayed in my reviews as well during my time reviewing the stories for the Gang of Five fanfiction awards. Getting to the review itself, I must admit that the portion of the roleplay concerning the healing of the swimmers was one of the most enjoyable portions to write. In it I think that Historian and I explored Mender's development quite well as well as her ability, ironically, to get over the awkwardness of the situation. Mender certainly has an ability to be useful when she knows she can help others. In many ways this incident with the swimmers is the moment that she grew into her own - even if she did not realize it at the time.

As for the rainbowface medicine I do hope that I did not overdue to use of technology here as I do not want to turn this into Star Trek: The Rainbowface Generation. :p That being said, I did want to show a bit of the effects of the repair job and to show how utterly incomprehensible it would be to the one (Orchid) who witnessed it and also to the one (Mender) who experienced it. It is probably a good thing that Mender did not understand some of the things the nanites were saying. :p Rest assured, however, that I plan on this being the only incident of super-high tech in this particular tale.

gordhanx: Thank you for the detailed review as always! Now the health crisis with Mender has been resolved, but the political situation is all the more serious. The fastbiters, for so long trying to remain neutral in the hidden runner civil conflict, now have decided to avenge their own. Only time will tell how this proceeds and what blowback, if any, will come from Chrono's actions.

bryan mccloud: Those are some interesting theories about what will happen in the case of Mender. Let's just say that Cynnil is indeed going to appear soon, but it may not be in the way you current suspect. Rest assured, however, by the time the tale is done the questions about how the mixed pack came to be and its role in the drama ahead will be answered. (nods)

OwlsCantRead: I know that you are not caught up yet, but I wanted to thank you for your kind interest in my story. (: I realize that Mender's Tale is a long read and I deeply appreciate you taking the time to read a good portion of the story for the sake of the Gang of Five fanfiction awards. I hope that you enjoy the remained of the story!