With every slash, Mint pierced the air with Fir's spirit edge; if it weren't for the burning soreness in her arms, she would not have known that nearly two hours had passed!

She ended the five-strike form Fir had taught her with a final stabbing motion, straight and true. If anything had been standing in front of her, it would have been impaled without feeling a thing.

"Good! And just know that any strike can be used at any time," Fir explained. "It just depends on the situation and the context of the fight."

"Thank you," Mint said breathlessly. "I hope it's enough!"

"I have to say, you learned this quite quickly!"

"I know! I think part of that comes from watching dad use it in his memories…"

Fir let that sink in for a moment.

"The connection you have," he started. "Is truly something special...I can't even begin to imagine what it's like…"

"Trust me," Mint replied as she laid down on her back to rest. "I don't think you'd want to see all of it."

"True...I almost forgot about those nightmares you were having..."

Mint was so thankful for Fir; he didn't have to do any of this...save her, teach her, much less even believe her! Heck, it was even his idea to get the howler's fang to, hopefully, get back on everyone's good side!

In that moment, the craziest thought came to her mind.

"Fir? Can you come a little closer?" she asked of him.

He wordlessly obliged.

"Closer."

"What's this about?" he chuckled.

He continued until he was just over her face. She didn't know if it was the hunger in her stomach making her go insane, but without any hesitation, she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him on the lips!

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity by the time she pulled away. The two of them just stared into each other's white pupils after that, both equally speechless. Mint was about to apologize when, to her surprise, Fir lowered his head and kissed her back!

A few moments later, he pinned one of her paws to the grass and brought the other one behind her back as they continued to make out. He then grabbed her thigh and started lifting it. Gradually, he pressed himself onto her soft form, moving downward to kiss her neck and allow her to breathe. The paw that pinned Mint's to the grass gradually joined its palm to her own, and the two of them laced their fingers together in their embrace.

Mint relaxed as she felt Fir inside of her. After their climax, they briefly laid there, motionless with the exception of the gentle rising and falling of their chests. Then she shuddered and let slip a high-pitched grunt as he pulled out.

Blinded by his infatuation, he grabbed her head with both paws and continued kissing her. Equally lost in lust, Mint wrapped her paws around his thorax and passionately kissed back. It was the happiest moment of their lives...until they heard his voice.

"Fir? Mint?...What's going on?"

. . .

When Keo woke up, Fir and Mint were gone. He was alone in a field of flowers with no explanation. He did, however, hear two people swinging spirit edges around at the top of the hill before him.

Reaching behind him into the lake, he took a paw-full of water and splashed it on his face. He figured it had to be them as he started up the incline.

Oddly, before he was even halfway up, the slashing stopped. It wasn't a long climb by any means, so he knew he wouldn't have that much time to wonder what they were doing.

But upon cresting the ridge, what he saw before him was the last thing he expected to see.

At first, he was confused, not knowing what the glowing blob of light was in the grass and flowers, but it wasn't long before he connected it with the kissing noises he was hearing!

"Fir?" he said cautiously. "Mint?"

Upon hearing his voice, they were instantly broken from their trance.

"What's going on?" he asked with a smirk.

They looked at him, then back at each other, before Fir scurried off of his sister and faced away from her in shame.

"Keo! You pervert!" Mint shouted angrily.

"What did I just do?!" Fir gasped, on his knees with his paws up to his face.

"I knew it! I told you you'd have to bring out your romantic side at some point!" said Keo to Fir.

By now, Mint had gotten back to her knees, her eyes shut and doubled-over, holding her crotch with both paws.

"Mint, I'm so sorry," said Fir. "I'm so, so sorry! I'm...I'm disgusting!"

"Fir, no!" said Mint, wincing in pain as she shuffled back over to him. "Don't say that about yourself! I started it!"

She placed tentative, and consoling, paws on his shoulders.

"But I am!"

Mint turned to Keo.

"Keo, I swear to you: I started it! It's not his fault!"

"Guys, it's okay!" Keo chuckled. "I'm telling you, this is totally normal!"

Mint stole a glance back at Fir.

"It-it is?" she asked.

"Yes, what are you two? Seven? Eight months old?" said Keo.

They both nodded.

"Yep, it's about that time," he continued. "When you get...feelings...for each other."

"You're saying this is normal?!" Fir asked.

"One-hundred percent!"

Fir just put his head in his paws.

"It felt so wrong and so right at the same time! What the f-" he said. "Why couldn't I control myself?!"

"You're tired. You're hungry," Keo replied. "None of us are thinking straight right now."

"I don't suppose you have any more food?"

"If I did, I would've offered it to you both already."

Mint just heard Fir sigh in frustration when he said that. She had never seen him so vulnerable before...so much like herself. In that moment, she hugged him close and tight from behind, nuzzling her cheek against the back of his neck. She had figured out what he needed to hear.

"I didn't mean for you to feel this way," she said softly. "We don't ever have to talk about it again. We don't have to mention it to anyone. We can keep this between us...and him...right Keo?"

Keo just silently zipped his lips shut, held his paws in the air, and then gave a simple thumbs-up.

"That's fair," was all Fir could respond with. "Thank you."

The two of them then sat there for some time, rocking back and forth in silence.

"Come on," said Fir finally. "We need to set up for yellow-eyes. He's not gunna kill himself, you know?"

"Wait, what?!" said Keo.

. . .

"This is so crazy that it just might work," said Keo once the three of them had made it to the other side of the ravine.

"This way," said Fir. "When we fought them for the first time, I saw this other clearing that would be perfect in case there was a rematch!"

Mint just followed him like a terrier would for its master.

"How so?" she asked.

"If there are too many trees close by, they won't come," he explained. "By now, they probably know that we can climb them and get the high-ground advantage."

"So we go to a clearing to bait them in?" asked Keo.

"Exactly."

Fir sounded confident in his plan and, like always, it seemed that he knew every detail. Despite this however, Mint was still worried. There was something off about him, as though if he didn't have it all straight in his head, he wouldn't be able to focus.

He was distracted, and it was all because of what she did; there couldn't be any other reason!

"Here," said Fir as they entered the clearing. "One way or another, that howler dies today...right here!"

The canopy above still let through barely any light, and an ominous, violet haze surrounded the area. The place almost felt cursed as she followed him to the center.

"F-Fir? Are you sure you're alright?" she asked cautiously.

"What? Yeah...yeah, of course I'm fine!" he said. "Why would you ask me that?"

He wasn't fine, and this time Mint was sure of it. His tone was condescending and dismissive, angry even. His judgement was clouded and it was all her fault!

"Look, just stand right here," he said, pulling her into place before she could say anything else. "If you're directly in the middle of the clearing, you're as far away as possible from any trees."

"Wha-why me?!" she squeaked.

"I hate to say it, but he'd recognize me and Keo. He knows we aren't easy targets. But you...he still thinks you're helpless."

He started backing away.

"Stay there and wait. He'll see this as the perfect opportunity to strike, and that's when you'll let 'em have it! He won't expect a thing!"

"Where are you going?" Mint asked.

"Keo and I are going to stay up in the trees in case you need help. But I'm confident-"

He would never finish. Just as he turned around and started running, yellow-eyes pounced!

The lone howler was still scarred and wounded, but the way he moved wouldn't have suggested it. It held Fir down with its gigantic claws, silencing his screams by chomping down over his head and thorax. Its sudden presence had knocked Mint onto her butt in surprise, and she could only watch helplessly as Fir was lifted into the air and shaken around by its massive jaws, before finally being flung violently across the clearing.

His body slammed against a tree trunk before slumping unconscious down to the forest floor.

"FIIIIIIIIIR!"

She had dropped to her knees and had her paws cupped over her mouth before screaming his name. She got to her hooves, wanting nothing more than to heal him with regenerate as soon as possible, but before she could even take a step, yellow-eyes slid in-between with a fierce growl.

On her butt once again, she frantically backed away with her paws and hooves, unsure of whether to hyperventilate or to sob. The plan had gone astray, but before she called for help, a detailed memory flashed through her mind.

. . .

Ori scrambled upward, eager to get away. He'd finally found an opportunity to escape the corrupted creature, and so took it without hesitation.

But he was already regretting his decision to grapple into a narrow shaft of rock, for all he could see at the top were spikes!

Suddenly, he felt the shaft he was climbing break away from the walls around it; he was being pulled back down. Daring to glance behind him, he saw the vile, eight-legged pursuer pulling it down, all while screeching and baring her hideous mandibles.

The guardian spirit was shot full of adrenaline at the sight, whipping his head back around and using sticky to climb with rejuvenated vigor! At first, he wasn't sure what he'd do once he reached the top, but Mora pulling the hollowed and decayed tree trunk downward turned out to be a blessing in disguise: an opening had appeared to the side at the very top!

Jumping to it and dashing through, he saw another piece of hanging, blue moss. Grappling onto it and swinging to the opposite wall, he narrowly avoided the poisoned spikes beneath him.

More blue moss, another hollowed tree to hide in, more spikes at the other end; how much longer could he keep this up?!

Finally, after the spider used her weight to tip the tree and reveal another exit, Ori found himself back in a large cavern, where he was before being dropped into her trap.

She's too big...too strong! he thought. I can leave. I can't fight her. I shouldn't fight her...I have to run!

But just as he turned to go, that's when he saw it again: the wisp. The Eyes of the Forest were still trapped in her webs, and Ori was reminded of why he was here.

Maybe I can free it! Free it before she-

Too late. The vile, eight-legged monstrosity had caught up! She was quick despite her size, rapidly scuttling in-between him and his goal. The wisp was blocked from his sight, and as Mora released a blood-curdling screech to the heavens, Ori felt something he hadn't felt for a long time; it was beyond fear or courage.

...Anger...pure and focused FURY...

His eyes narrowed in rage. Taking a fighting stance, he drew his spirit edge. The sword glowed and sparked like it never had before. He needed that wisp to save Ku, and this damn spider was in. His. WAY!

Spiderlings emerged from the ground, answering her call to battle. She then sucked in a breath before shooting her acidic spit directly at Ori.

In response, he jumped over her children and bashed the first spitball back into her face before she could shoot another. While she was dazed and reeling from the sudden impact, Ori then dashed forward, aiming straight for the corrupted fungus on her carapace that was clouding her mind.

. . .

As instantly as her vision had started, it ended. Mint snapped back to the present, now invigorated with the same fury and focus that she felt from her father. Without hesitation, she drew her sword and charged.

She didn't need a tree nearby, instead she double-jumped directly at its face and struck it three times. It flailed a claw at her in response, but she used her fourth strike to swat it away, and with an enraged grunt she used her fifth to pierce directly into its brain.

The howler started to fall limp, but that wasn't enough for Mint. She wanted it to stay dead! Having spent so much time in mid-air, the strength had returned to her legs, allowing her to once more kick the air away from her at high speed and arc until she was behind its ears.

With a mighty battle-cry, she sliced its spinal-cord in half before the howler could hit the ground!

Landing on its back, the sudden stillness in the clearing caught Mint off-guard. The whole exchange couldn't have lasted more than twenty seconds…

...The beast beneath her wasn't breathing...she did it. She'd done it! She'd killed the howler!

She gracefully tumbled off the carcass, landing next to its severed head. She had to lift its lips to see the fang she needed, but was able to slice it off nonetheless. Before she could stow it away however, the forest started to turn around her and she collapsed onto all fours. Her rage had receded, and the dizziness had returned.

I still haven't recovered from the bloodloss! she remembered. I still haven't...recovered...but I still managed to kill yellow-eyes!

She was in disbelief as she rubbed her head. How hard had she pushed herself?

"Mint!" came Keo's voice behind her. "What in the world?! You were amazing!"

He helped her back to her hooves.

"I...I don't...know...what came over me…" was all she could say, putting a delirious paw on her forehead.

Even her legs were shaking. Her body wasn't ready for this much adrenaline.

"Well, you got what you needed," said Keo as he picked up the severed fang. "Fir's plan actually worked! That clever spirit-"

"Fir!" Mint gasped, remembering what had happened before.

"Oh, uh, Mint?...About that-"

"FIR!" she screamed, ignoring Keo's somber expression and rushing over to Fir's limp form.

"Mint! Wait!"

But Mint had to know. She had to know that he wasn't dead! Ignoring her own dizziness, she slumped down next to him. His body was covered in bruises, marred with gashes and holes from the howler's teeth, and some limbs were horribly disfigured. The sight brought her so much emotional pain, she had to fix him!

Without hesitation, she grabbed his paw and started to cast regenerate, willing her energy to travel down his arm and into him, but she was shocked when she felt it get blocked. The green aura of her spell fizzled out uselessly.

"What?!" she said, genuinely confused. "Wh-wha-?...NO!"

She tried again, but to no avail. Once more, the green aura petered out as it would if there was nothing left to heal...but there was clearly everything to heal! In that moment, she heard her father's voice once more.

KUUU! she heard him call.