A/N: There are two songs for this cahpter. If you wan't to experience it from Judy's perspective, you listen to/ read Warriors by Freedom Call. If you wan't to experience it from Nick's perspective, you listen to/ read Live without regrets by Amon Amarth.

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Judith was a peculiar bunny from the very moment she was born. From her exotic eye color to the very ordinary gray color of her fur, accentuated by the black tips of her ears. From her jovial life loving attitude to an unquenchable thirst for bringing justice and protecting the weak.

She was like this from the very moment she could stand on her own paws and comprehend what was happening around her. The doe looked after all of her brothers and sisters. Being a part of the first litter definitely encouraged this, but more so her father's unending stories.

After hearing Stuart tell stories of his travels and the mammals he met, Judith had a very idealized outlook on what being a warrior meant. To serve her liege, to protect his servants and defend the weak and innocent.

It never ever occurred to the doe that her father could sweeten them or specifically omit some parts of the stories. He always mentioned how scared he was at the beginning of his journey. How he honed that fear into a weapon to ensure his survival. The mammals he met were numerous, both prey and predator, and all of them seemed to be able to do so much more than one little buck. But in the end, they were incapable to complete something and were forced to ask for help from the small adventurer. He would finish the erand, and then leave to travel somewhere else, new friend made and a reward well earned.

Only when she got much older did she learn of the fact that these tasks were as much a fairy tail as the mammals he mentioned were real. But by then Judith was adamant. She would become a warrior, one whose name will be sung be the traveling bards. Revered by the prey. Feared by their predator adversaries.

Never in her wildest dreams did the doe imagine clashing with other prey, let alone other bunnies, in a battle. Not a fight that happens because someone somehow displeased the other party and a retribution was in order. But in a fight where only one would live and tell the tale. So even this afternoon, when she saw dead bunny bunnies, this whole situation still seemed surreal. Judith felt like she just had to blink at the wrong moment and she would wake up in her own little dug up room, and find out it was all just a dream.

The realization was not merciful when descending upon the bunny in the form of a blind fox throwing cut off bunny heads to her legs. Judith was not sure she would ever be able to forget the sight or the glee with which the mercenary announced his achievement. As if it was all just a game and life was meaningless to him.

- Do pray tell, fickle bunny. What is life that you treasure it so much? - The voice, seemingly coming from all around, caught Judith off guard, throwing her instincts into a jumbled mess of screamed out orders. That her body absolutely refused to to obey, freezing up. Something was not right and she knew it. Even though her last thoughts were whispered out loud, the was no one to hear the bunny. Judith was sure of it. Her sight might be unsuitable for the night, and what little light was provided by the glowing fire didn't do her much good, her ears were another case. And the doe was sure she heard not a single sound, that would announce arrival of any other living creature. Not a sound… Absolutely no sound, not even insects and night birds made any sound.

All because there, just several jumps away from her glided a shadow… that in an instant was replaced by the mercenary fox whom her father hired just previous morning. Who brought more turmoil into her life during a single day than Judith experienced in her bunny life.

- You there, Carrots? Don't just go up and freezing on me. There is no fun if you at least don't try to fight back. - The fox seemed to be oozing mirth, whether at her predicament or at something else it was hard to tell. His grin was wide but fangless, tone merry and full of amusement, gait relaxed. The fox carried no weapon at first glance, but the bunny remembered he carried throwing knives in holders strapped to his chest, so she could not be sure.

Judith finally moved her head. There was a little detail that caught her attention. She could see his eyes. Unnatural in color, deadly emerald, they never stayed in place, constantly roaming, tracing patterns only the fox could see.

It is said that a mammals eyes are the windows to one's soul. Judith prided herself in being able to read others through their windows. The fox though? She could not comprehend. His eyes seemed devoid of life, cold as steel and blacker than night itself. But deep down in that darkness something was calmly gazing back at her. Something ancient, infinitely confident and sure of its superiority. This was something Judith experienced for the first time.

- Cat got your tongue? - The thickness of sarcasm in the one sentence could easily be enough to drown Judith in embarrassment were she someone else. But being herself, the embarrassment did little to actually make the doe turn tail and scamper off. Instead, she focused on the question she was asked and tried giving an answer that she felt was hers.

- Life is… a gift of the creator that allows us to comprehend ourselves as individuals and move according to our will. - Despite being very much focused on her physique and being fit for battle, Judith took her father's words to heart and actually spent a lot of time in discussions with scholars and elder people of the Burrows. The fox said nothing for a moment, buy nodded and went around her to sit down, leaning on the apple tree. His gait and soundless steps spoke of great cautiousness and experience in making himself impossible to locate. Which was one more point against Judith since she could not either hear or feel his presence until he announced it. Her teeth greet and paws clenched even tighter, the bunny's resolve only strengthened.

- Not a bad answer. Most would just confuse life with simply being, or existing, in other words. Eat, sleep, multiply, are all lower functions that support our existence, that define us as being alive. But I find that the most defining characteristics of life, the most prominent among others, is purpose. Life is the influence that you as a being leave upon this world. Take away the purpose, and there is no life, only existence. That is why there is a warcraft, something to what a warrior's life is dedicated. What do you think it is dedicated to? - Nicholas rarely took to talking these days. Mostly due to the fact that foxes were not regarded as wells of wisdom, rather liars and scammers. Even when the high and mighty mammals listened to him and agreed, the tod felt suspicion radiating off of them, disbelief and distrust colouring their perception. Still they nodded and smiled as if agreeing, trying to buy Nicholas with their insincerity.

Judith was surprised. The mercenary spoke with surety of someone who had similar discussions more than once. And his reasoning was sound to the point she could not find anything to counter it with. What he spoke was not claimed to be the only truth, but rather a focused approach to one of the many sides of the question. True, but not the only outlook.

The most shocking thing to Judith though, and the most disturbing, was how the mercenary shared it. The tod's tone was laced with cynicism and slight contempt. There was not a shred of appreciation or awe in it. As if what he just shared was not worth a single dime. She would wonder about that attitude for years to come, but at this exact moment, the bunny put it aside and concentrated on the question asked of her.

- A warrior's life is a life dedicated to the protection of justice, truth and those in need. - The answer she gave was met with a raised brow and a probing stare from the unearthly emeralds, looking straight into her soul and searching for something only the mercenary knew about.

- That life is more suitable to the description of a guard. City guard, army of a state, your clan's militia. For them, such a description holds true. If you think it matches a warrior's life, I have to disabuse you of the cute view on our profession, Carrots. - The smug smirk Nicholas sported on his muzzle indicated his deliberate use of all the bunny-irritating words in a single sentence. Judith just sighed, acknowledging that right now she was in no position to demand anything from the fox mercenary. With a resigned nod, the bunny doe prepared to listen to what the tod had to say.

- So, war. Wars are conducted with different reasons behind them, but the general purpose is simple - to kill. Warriors are those who excel at waging war, thus they know the best ways of killing. Be it executing the killing, which is the area of foot soldiers, or organizing the killing - role of warmasters or generals. A simple warrior knows that he must kill to survive. A good warrior kills because he knows it is the only way to achieve victory. Simple and food warriors kill to live. Now, there is a special breed of warriors. The best warrior. The one that kills because that is what he does best, because that is something he enjoys. The best warriors live to kill. It doesn't matter who or why. As long as it bring joy, killing you is fine. - The fox's gaze became less and less focused, and as his speech progressed, Nicholas seemed to be losing himself more and more in the words that left his grinning muzzle. Judith felt shivers running down her spine. The fox was not trying to scare her off. He believed in everything he said to the very core of the awful sense his words made. A verse from an old ballad came to her mind with the scene unfolding in front of her: "When I feel my end is near, when I fear the reaper is here, crackling fire I can hear". Clad in his black attire, silhouetted by the burning fire, the fox could easily pass as the reaper himself.

- Which is why warriors becoming mercenaries is a thing. That way we can at least bind ourselves by the contracts we take upon ourselves. And the only reason I actually accepted Stu's request. You bunnies are no fun, not even a challenge when I tried to make one for myself. Hope tomorrow's a bit more fun. Anyways. - Nicholas once more focused on the bunny in front of him. She might have been an interesting specimen, would she be older and more experienced, but that was just some wishful thinking on his part. With time's passage, she would become just as fragile as all the others.

Judith felt the weight of the fox's judging eyes upon her. Saw the slight, barely perceived cringe of his left cheek, as if he saw something unpleasant. It was then that he pulled out his silken cloth and covered his eyes, hiding them from the world. Or was he hiding from the world?

- What you misguidedly seek to put into a warrior's path, instead lies in a guardian's path. So stop moping and start moving. Despite the change of the name of your goal, the only thing that really changed is that you can actually look for some help now. And I can finally get some sleep. - The last sentence caught the listening doe slightly off guard. Foxes were supposed to be nocturnal, right? Although… he probably didn't get any sleep since this morning when she and her father apparently woke the fox from his slumber. She was forgetting something though…

- Forgive me. - The tod's ears perked up from their relaxed position once the two words escaped from the muzzle of the figure sitting opposite him across the fire.

- I know that I have been unfair towards you, putting in the path you follow something that does not belong there, claiming it belonged to your path and blaming you based on that. I showed no respect and degraded you in front of others. While you were just doing what we asked you to, and even more. I was contemptful and demeaning towards you bases on my own assumptions without giving you a chance like I would to anyone else, just because you were a fox and a mercenary. I even offended you after being genuinely offered a challenge, as if I was your equal, when I am obviously not. - Judith was many things, but she was not perfect. Neither was she exempt from asking for forgiveness from someone she offended. Her parents taught her that the first step to betterment was to acknowledge ones failure. The second step was correcting it, which in this case meant to ask for forgiveness. That is why she came to find the fox in the first place. He just surprised her and went to ask the first question. A question that lead to her learning slightly more about him and his thoughts. And allowed the bunny to express herself better.

- I know that I am not worthy of being forgiven and you have no obligation to endure my company, sir Wilde. I regret my earlier behavior and treatment, and I will remember this experience till the day I return to the dust I am, never to repeat this mistake again. - Some would find this humiliating. Judith found it humbling. She sat straight, eyes stinging but focused on the relaxed looking fox, whose ears were attentively trained on her.

To say that Nicholas was impressed, was to say that he had slight dislike of water, which he hated. The bunny was actually properly apologizing. Granted, most he felt from interactions with her was annoyance and slight curiosity, but still. She was not wrong about her own feelings or deeds, and the doe tried not to hide or somehow shallow her blame. This bunny faced her faults head on and was decent enough to actually accept the punishment from the hands of the one she offended. Most would simply sprout some nonsense and several "sories", usually to keep up appearance or maintain some semblance of civil relation because they deemed you useful. Not only was this bunny curious to him, the tod actually found her a refreshing presence at this moment. There was no need to pass up such an opportunity to mess a bit with her.

- Hm… You need to actually work on your selling skills, Carrots. How do you even manage to pursue someone to buy your produce with that attitude of yours? Dust I am? What kind of a salesman describes his product like that? Though, from what I can gather you were way too busy chasing those trying to get a free sample and pummeling the mother of all bunny fears into them, am I right? - A light snicker was all the response the fox needed to know he got the doe's attention. And probably got her off the edge of the proverbial razor.

- What can I say, Carrots. I will think on your proposition and deliver my answer after tomorrow's fight. So you better stay alive until that moment, I have no wish to chase you on the way to hel just to say "Okay, I forgave you". I hope Stu prepared you all for tomorrow? - Judith was beyond herself at what she heard, her face beaming with happiness and joy at the subtle response. She decided that him calling her names was just after her treatment of him, and the change of subject she would let slip until tomorrow.

- Yes, sir Wilde…

- Nicholas is fine, Carrots.

- Okay, I will think about that and tell you what I have decided tomorrow after the fight. Oh, and yes, my father has issued necessary orders, our clan is prepared for tomorrow's arrival of Hindspaw and their mercenaries.

- Good. Since you have a cloak with you, you should get to sleep and get back to your burrow in the morning, when there is enough light for you to see. Waste less time and strength. - Judith was caught slightly off guard by what the fox proposed. She was actually ready to get back the moment she said her part, not to impose on the mercenary. The night was warm though, and there was a fire even, and with the extended invitation to stay, she would not need to spend time trying to get through the darkness her species was not used to. So with gratefulness and a cheerful attitude, the bunny prepared a sleeping place for herself near the fire. Setting in, she threw one last glance towards the fox, leaning against the trunk of her family's apple tree, legs and hands stretched out,

- Good night, Nicholas. - whispered the bunny, eyelids closing and drifting off to sleep. Her only answer a slight flicker of green flames over the silk cover, where the tod's eyes were located…

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A/N: I despise people who don't do their jobs properly. So, don't be them, whoever and whatever you are.

I had a bunch of songs for this chapter running through my head, but in the end, thanks to youtube's mighty neural network I was given a chance to compare two sides through two songs.

Combat Engineer: Well, I believed in you and you have proven this belief. Which is great. And yes, I read ARCF. Enjoyed it too. Too bad it was rather short and I did not see a sequel… But I am usually not that well informed and totally blind.

I am tired though, so I can't force myself to care about anything else for now.

Keep suffering, if you so desire.