Hello,

Just wanted to say a few words to people who follow my other stories.

I'm sorry that you have to wait for so long. I wish I could deliver updates more frequently, but I can't. I scribble these short stories as a coping mechanism. A way to stay sane while my whole life seems like it's going to crash to hell at any point. I AM working on other things, but that takes time, heart, and mind. Lately, I have very little time to do things by myself, while my heart and mind are numb. I am hoping to get myself a stable routine of visiting a therapist, or I really might go insane.

And that's all of my rambling...

The gathered mammals shared a gaze filled with worry, as they peered down at the raging battlefield. Many of them wore scars that were a testimony of their experience in combat.

A towering figure of a water buffalo turned away from the broadside and sought out the face of the ship's captain.

"How much longer till the drop zone?" he demanded with a deep voice.

An otter by the steering wheel shrugged at his words. "Very soon, General Bogo. The wind is on our side today."

The huge mammal crossed his arms on his armor covered chest. "I need more precise information, Captain Otterton. This operation is far too important to ignore even the tiniest details."

The mammal at the wheel seemed unmoved by the harsh tone. He simply flicked his hat with a finger. "Trust me, I've been flying for over twenty years. The moment I can make a precise judgment, you will be the first to know."

"Very well," the general seemed satisfied with the answer and returned to observing the blazing ground thousands of feet below.

Their flying barge was far from being a cutting-edge technology. These models were old, slow, and not suited for aerial combat. Made mostly from wood, unlike battleships, they were used for transporting goods. They weren't something that would be considered a serious military threat. Still, it always paid off to have extra precautions.

The water buffalo turned his head towards his soldiers and bellowed, "Hopps!"

"Sir!" a female voice answered from the armed group. A moment later a small, grey bunny stepped forward. She was geared up in a similar manner to the rest of the mammals. Leather armor, short sword strapped tightly to her body, a parachute, and something that only she was wearing - goggles on her head.

"Since we'll soon be crossing the enemy lines… You know what to do. Get ready," he ordered.

She saluted sharply. "Yes, sir!"

After that, the bunny turned around and headed towards the stern of the flying ship. Her goal was quite easily visible, due to distinctively different clothing. A red fox was laying flat on the deck, with his legs resting up on the broadside. Unlike the armed mammals around, or even the captain, he didn't look like anything such an operation would require. His attire consisted of a green, loosely tied shirt and a pair of brown trousers. Nothing more. He didn't have any weapons either.

"Nick, it's time." The doe approached the lying figure.

"Aww," he pouted, "but I still haven't finished my juice."

The bunny eyed the glass in his paw. "That's wine."

"I was told it's made from fruit, hence it's juice." He gulped down the crimson liquid. Only then he moved, rolling to his stomach, and showing her a toothy grin. "What can I do for you, Fluff?"

"You could stop goofing around and get ready. It's time for our part," she said in all seriousness.

The fox yawned, "Aaaalready? But I still didn't get any entertainment yet." He lazily reached out to her, but she swiftly stepped back.

She lowered her voice to a whispering grumble, "Not now. You're incorrigible!"

"I'm insatiable." He rose up on his paws. "And I want my bunny now…" Once again, he reached for her body.

That's when she smacked his wrist. "Not. Now."

"Ow," he theatrically shook his paw, adorning a painful expression, "you're hurting me."

The doe huffed, crossing her arms on her chest, "You wouldn't feel a thing, even if I were to smash your face with Mjolnir." She nodded towards the massive sledgehammer on the general's back.

The fox shifted, sitting on the wooden deck. "Touche…"

"Will you please move? Everyone is counting on us."

In response, he stretched his arms over his head. "Fine, fine…"

Seeing how he got up to his feet, the doe sighed with relief and headed back to the general. On her way, she was tapped on the shoulder by one of the soldiers. It was a middle-aged tiger with a morningstar at his side. "Hopps, are you sure we can trust him?" the feline asked quietly. "I mean, I know that you have your circumstances, but-"

"What's the matter, kid?" a joyful voice asked behind his back. "Scared I'll bite your head off?"

The tiger flinched, spinning around with his paw shooting to the handle of his weapon.

A pair of fox eyes stared at his actions in amazement. They were… For some reason nobody could exactly tell what would be the precise name for their color. In general, they could be considered green. "Oh, not to worry, little kitten. I won't eat you." The vulpine snapped his jaw right in front of the soldier. This move also brought a faint guttural sound from his throat.

The feline stepped back, not letting go of his weapon.

"Will you stow it?!" the doe growled and grabbed the fox's arm to drag him away. "Sorry! I'll keep my eye on him," she responded over her shoulder to the earlier question.

Following the small, grey-furred figure, the fox winked at the tiger soldier. "See? I'm on a strict bunny diet." He licked his teeth with a tongue that seemed slightly too long for a fox.

Few of the males surrounding the feline had to cover their mouths to hide their snorts.

The doe's keen ears recorded them, causing a rosy color to dominate her cheeks. She cursed under her nose and kept marching until they reached the broadside.

She looked to the side with a serious face, nodding at the general.

He nodded back in approval.

The doe performed the last, formal checkup of her equipment, making sure that everything was in place and wrapped tight.

"I say," the fox pondered, sitting on the edge of the broadside, "this evening might be very long. Do we get a vacation afterwards?"

That question got him no reaction from the doe, as she was busy climbing on the edge of the broadside. Once she was standing on it, she pulled the goggles over her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Then she jumped.

Her fox companion simply looked down, sighing under his nose, "Oh, well…" He tapped his heel at the wood, toppling himself backward. "See ya, Horny!" He made a lazy salute towards the buffalo and was gone.

.

.

The doe spread her arms and legs as she was falling, doing her best to analyze the battlefield below her. Even at this height, she could see occasional blasts of fire on the ground.

"You know," a leisured voice spoke at her side, "I think I know what we could do after this mission."

The bunny soldier rolled her eyes before turning them to the fox. "Enlighten me, Nick," she replied with forced jovialness.

Her aerial partner had his paws behind his head, as if he were laying on a pillow while the air was howling around them. "We still didn't finish reading the trilogy," he said. "How about we get to the last volume?"

The doe shot him a smug grin. "Only if you behave well today," she replied without batting an eye.

He showed a smile with more teeth than a fox should have. "Deal." The vulpine turned his head towards her. "Dibs on your lap!"

She huffed to that, "Not without a serious bath, you don't! Do you know how long it took me to wash off the blood you left on my fur the last time?!"

He visibly cringed. "Uhh… You drive a hard bargain… I hate baths…" the mammal complained with a pained face.

The doe's expression softened. "What if we bathe together?" She didn't miss how his ears flickered at this suggestion. It made her smile and she went on, "When this is over, I'm going to be very dirty. Are you willing to wash my body?"

Starting from small embers, as she was talking, now his eyes blazed with fire. "Vehemently."

"That's a good boy. Now," she nodded downwards, "do notice that the ground is getting closer."

Bearing a firestorm in his gaze, the fox shifted.

And his body blurred.

She saw it many times already, but to some of the soldiers back on the barge it was a novel experience.

Few couldn't believe their eyes as they were peering down.

"What the-"

"He's...growing?"

"Wai- Are those wings?"

"I thought they were shitting me!"

Many feet below them, a bunny landed softly on a powerful, scaled neck. Holding on to a pair of smaller horns, out of many, the doe locked her purple gaze on their closest target.

"Let's go, Nick!"