A/N: Song for this one is Meet my maker by FFDP. Do suffer.

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The Hindspaw clan marched to the lands of Hopps clan late in the afternoon, when the sun have long passed its highest point. Their armed forces counted around 870 strong, and they planned not to return back home until each and every last one of the Hopps was killed. Nathaniel Hindspaw, the head of the clan gave just one order - not to spare anyone.

It could be understood, really. To have been awaken in the middle of the night by a fire catching one of the burrows and to put it out only to find that everyone inside was slaughtered… Sons and nephews of his mutilated beyond all recognition, even worse than what the fire could have done have they not stopped it. Maybe they should just have left it alone to burn away the corpses, if only they have known.

But what actually made the clan head snap was the message left on another burrow. That burrow was actually inhabited by three branch families of his eldest sons. There lived kits. Kits who were found huddled up in the morning, fearful of every sound coming from the outside. They spoke of strange scraping sounds in the middle of the night, loud growls and scratchings on the windows. What was found, written in blood, with heads of their dead adorning it like a frame, was: "I come toャeaq this night again. H"

With just around 300 of their actual militia alive and a threat of Hopps raiding their burrows in the night, Nathaniel gave the order to gather everyone and march onto the Hopps. This was an unexpected move, but one he was sure he had no choice but to make, because the alternative seemed to only be slow extinction. Not that he did not plan for the same to happen with the Hopps, but this turn of events was not something he took into his calculations.

Regardless. Just letting this go looked better down on paper. Not in real life.

\m/

Stuart was thrilled, despite trying hard to show a somber look to his wife and the terrible understanding of the fact his children would die this day. The buck was not really worried about his own life. He could stand for himself and he lived a good life. His only regret would be leaving Bonnie behind.

The head of clan Hopps looked over his clansmen, armed and ready to repel the intruders. They were determined and sure, he ensured with the speech given at the sunrise. Laced with love towards his sons and daughters, their offsprings and all those who joined the clan over the years of his leadership, Stuart called out to their familiarity with the land that was rightfully theirs. How they never wanted to take away or steal from others, but instead shared and deeply cared for what belonged to them. How the land took in their care and gave back with fruitful harvests. Slowly, Stuart directed it all towards anger on the Hindspaw clansmen, who were envious and wanted to steal from those who worked harder then they, all to ensure their profits. Finally, he ignited and flamed the hatred of his clansmen. Two missing bucks from his eldest litter, Jason and Thumper, along with the does they courted, never seen since after the Harvest Moon of two years back. Everyone knew they were killed by some of the Hindspaw, but no action could be taken, since no bodies were found and no witness spoke.

Stuart was not a naive buck. He fought and killed during the long gone days of his youthful adventures. He knew what constituted a ready to kill mammal. Pride and hatred were pivotal in that. Pride will justify and hatred will ensure the final move to take away life. He hoped his clan would never have to experience what he did, since it was an awful experience and many would need help to get through it, and his clan was underwhelmed when it came to actual combat prowess and numbers, but this hope was not to be. Yet, he knew he could be calm. Even if he died, the Hopps clan would emerge the victor and live on. For fate has bestowed upon him a weapon that knew not what failure was.

Stuart just had to do what he did best in his days. Hack and slash with his curved sword. Because letting old griefs and wounds go looked so much better written down on paper. Not in real life.

\m/

Judith was extremely nervous and excited. Her father separated her and twenty other militia to cooperate with their fox mercenary in a flanking maneuver. They were to enter the fray when no one would expect them and give her clan additional advantage over their foe.

Most of the bunnies lay in wait in the thick cropps of their wheat field, where the enemy would not really want to venture since their goal would be the main burrows area, located a bit further to the sunrise side of the horizon. They kept silent, either too nervous to talk from the upcoming battle or just uneasy in the presence of the blind fox.

Judith did not really care for their reasons though, since it allowed her to actually pay attention to the mercenary during daylight, something she did not have a chance or wish to do before.

Apparently, his everyday wear was exactly what he fought in. Black lizard skin, processed and sewed into long sleeved tunic covered his torso. Strange metal plates were sewn over the tunic's material in an elaborate show of craftsmanship, able to protect the mercenary from almost any angle, while not restraining his array of movements in any way. Same went for the fox's trousers. His footwear covered his feet from toes to ankles and was made of several layers of lizard skin.

But the equipment, no matter how unfamiliar could not compare to its owner. Judith could swear that with that fur color of his, the fox could easily pass as a mound of fallen leaves during the last months of autumn. His undermuzzle was cream colored though, and the tips of his ears where of much darker red, closer to black, than the rest of him. Judith knew his eyecolour was green, like the early spring grass, but once again, she could not see them due to the black silken cloth covering them. As one of the reasons he cited the need to protect his eyes from the sun, since red foxes are nocturnal and are not that used to the bright glare of the star of fire.

But the most strange habit of the fox was the way he walked. While she saw him leaning on his flat feet, while standing straight, when walking he only leaned on his toes. This gave him a strange gait, and also made a full head taller. Her inquiries were left unanswered, with the fox shrugging and simply stating this was how most of the warriors he knew moved when fighting.

Even more fascinating was the tod's tail. It never stopped, even for a slightest movement, always moving, if only just the tip was twitching when Nicholas actually freezes up to allow his senses to claim all his attention. Judith was mesmerised by the long and furry appendage that was so unlike her small "cotton ball". The doe noticed how it was used as a means to counterbalance his body, when leaning sideways or forward, and how it was kept close to the body when the mercenary tensed up in anticipation. She presumed it was due to the fact the tail was the only part of his body that he could not easily protect. Anyone could strike at it, and tails were often among the most sensitive places of any mammal, along with their noses. It would be interesting to see how the fox circumvented this in an actual fight.

The mercenary was armed with his usual throwing knives, strapped to his chest, thick but short battle knives strapped to the outer sides of his shins, a battle axe behind his back and a straight longsword in his paws. The longsword's pear shaped pommel reached Nicholas's eye level, while the blade ended at his solar plexus when he stood straight, making for a very long handle. The crossgard was straight with small rings running out of its center towards both sides, made of metal and almost as long as the handle itself.

Judith never saw swords this up close, since they were a rarity. The closest thing were battle knives and her father's curved longsword. The tod's was much different from both.

Finally having seen everything that could be of interest to her, Judith decided to finally grab that patent bold courage of hers and go ask Nicholas the questions that ran through her mind.

The tod never indicated that he noticed her presence and continued his silent observation of the lands where the fighting would presumably take place.

- What was it like? Your first kill? - Judith knew this day would eventually come, but the knowledge never actually helped her and there was nothing she could actually do to prepare herself. Despite being a fisherman and a hunter for the Hopps clan, killing a spiritless fish, bird, or lizard was completely different from killing a fellow mammal. She wanted to be ready, since she always was prepared for everything.

Nicholas seemed to be muling over her question for some time, since he turned away from his observation to look at the doe. His face scrunched a bit, brows furrowing and creating a crease on his forehead. The bunny was fascinated by the amount of actual emotions vulpines muzzle was able to produce when he wasn't deliberately blocking emotions.

- That was so long ago, I don't actually remember, Carrots. You stop feeling anything negative when killing, somewhere along the way, provided that you are good enough to survive every time. - That was the truth. The first time he spelt blood of another mammal was a story he stopped caring about too long ago, eventually forgetting it and everything that accompanied it. What remained were only the instinctual recollections of blows exchanged, tricks used and means to defeat one's enemy employed. What remained was raw experience, ingrained deep into the shadowy realm of his subconsciousness.

- Have you used the spear to kill anything before? - This time it was the tod's turn to ask questions. Judith was glad to hear it, because it meant the mercenary was trying to impart something. But he wanted it to be understandable, something she could associate with and thus easily understand and use.

- Hunting and fishing. - She replied almost instantly and without much thinking, focusing on what the fox was about to say.

- Spearfishing is a rather good analogy. Not much actually changes. A long time ago there was a saying: One thrusts the spear into a man, and another then into the fish. That was when mammals did not really care about each other much and females were not actually into fighting, as you can tell. Times changed, but the meaning did not. Spear another like you would spear a fish. It's not just a question of kill or be killed, its about either do what is needed to live or don't do it and die. One of my underlings once came to tell me how terrible he felt for taking a life on a battlefield, said he wanted nothing to do with killing anymore. Well, who am I to decide for other mammals, so I agreed. On a condition he will never harm anyone again. The cretin almost immediately agreed, without hearing me out. So I interrupted that young fool and asked him a question. What would he do when someone came to rape his wife and daughters, maim and kill his parents, then break and enslave his sons? That made him turn off that worthless thing called self pity, turn on his brain and reconsider all that bloody shit called "humanism", sprouted by the young rich pricks who had nothing better to do with their useless lives. At that time I think that he understood. No matter how bad he would feel for killing, he would feel much worse if his loved ones were killed. Or worse things done to them because he hesitated. Of course, he not only had no more qualms about killing, but actually started thinking about surviving through each and every battle. He actually got through the whole war and became one of the generals in the end. This should answer most of your question and give you something to think about. But don't think too much, only makes you worry and dulls your blade. - Nicholas was not telling about other s he knew, who would not think at all. He understood on an instinctual level that Judith was not one of those, and as such did not really need an incentive to become one.

A strange pinprick though was left sticking in his chest. The tod was surprised by its presence. Nicholas rarely felt anything, either positive or negative. He lived off emotions that he experienced while in a battle. Nothing really compared to the excitement of fighting to the death, or the joy of taking another's life while preserving yours, once more proving to the world who was worthy and who was not. And this? This guilt. Because he lied. Lied to a bunny. A bunny. She was no one, destined to be no one and then die as a nobody. Just like anyone else, she would only become more frail and one day her life would shatter. It did not matter to him.

So with a silent huff, the mercenary squashed that tiny feeling. Unaware of a brilliance shining in the light of the sun just beside, eyeing him with curious eyes of a rare amethyst colour. Forever cursed to wonder about the what ifs were he to listen to that little thing and truly look at one cute little wee bunny named Judith. But the moment passed and the ensuing battle would not allow for its repeat for a really long time...

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A/N: Its been awhile and we are nearing the final chapter of this arc. And the last talk and no action chapter too. Next one is supposed to be action oriented, so we will not get to hear that much talking, at the same time I dont really want to waste time explaining and describing too, so I make the most important part here. The bunnies are easier and are not that relevant to the story, so I conveniently ommit describing their equipment, aside from their weapons, and leave that part up to your own imagination. Just don't be stupid and picture rural vilagers wearing plate armor and using swords while fighting. They are small bunies too.

When I say it was a loaded these weeks I dont mean I was tired from working from 900 to 1800. I got freaking tired from working from 1000 to bloody 2100-2200. And just last Thursday my day started at 900 and ended on 230 Friday. I got to bed at 400, and was awoken at 800. Oh the joys of living in a big family. Well, at least I got that day off, so I dont really complain. And the presentation was warmly received. No kidding? I spent like two weeks compiling and drawing it, correcting it based on reasonable and not so much comments... I dare someone to try and tell me it was shit. It was good if I say so myself. Oh, did I mention the new matchmaking system in Dota2? I have to play with russians no matter the server now... And believe me, there is nothing pissing me off more than bloody loosers who dont even try to win to the best of their abilities and just flame flame flame. And thats like 75% of russian players. Muting everybody is the only way now...

Do you care for that rant? No? Me neither, so that makes two of us. But I can put it in, so, why not? Maybe Gaben reads it and changes it all back... Not bloody likely.

I will try to chug up a chapter ASAP as I have a lot of inspiration, but way to slow typing ability and little time. Factor into it my poor constantly hurting eyes and the need to prepare to take TOEFL and GMAT and my at-least-seven-hours-long beauty sleep... If I am to suffer, so are you.