A/N: The song for this chapter is Cemetery Bloom by Reverence. It's a rather calm soft music piece with enticing lyrics, so don't be afraid to listen to it.

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"Predators are fundamentally different from us, prey. They are created with a need that makes them kill from the early days of their lives. It creates a paradoxical culture of life value.

For prey mammals all life is sacred and it is nearly unimaginable for us to take it away for any reason other than defending our own. We don't really have warriors who would live just for the sake of killing others. There are, of course, deviants, and I am not sure whether or not should I be ashamed of having to say I am one of them, but they are few.

For predators (huh, I wonder why we never call them predator mammals, in analogy to prey mammals?) killing is life,and life is killing.

Most men become warriors as early as eight years of age, and train themselves for the next eight to dedicate the rest of their lives to either protecting their lord and land, or roam as a mercenary. Being a warrior is an honorable deed. I didn't see anyone scowling on the other crafts though. They all recognize the interdependence between warriors and others, so even in the most cruel wars of the predators, they usually do not touch those who are not warriors, unless they pick up weapons to fight…"

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- If you think you can just say this is over, you better think again, captain. There is no place for compromise here. - Many who saw Tyhja had certain expectations of his voice. Low and grim and probably raspy with age. Instead their ears were met with a clear, if slightly quiet, voice of someone used to giving out orders and have them obeyed immediately. He spoke with steel and finality, as if it was a law for everyone to adhere from the moment the words were spoken out loud.

Wilhelm Tail, a tall deer in his forties, despite looking down on the relatively small wolf, was sweating. He was scared of several things.

First, was the fact that just until five months ago he was just your average seafarer. A captain of three ships, who traveled both the Zoo river and the Sunset sea with his ragtag crew of seasoned sailors, delivering land merchants to places fast and safe. He was approached and commissioned by the Portuan army to fare a hundred strong squad up the Zoo river and await further instructions. He was promised a good pay and that he would be the one who stayed in control of the whole expedition. Yet that happened to not be the case.

Second, he didn't want anyone to die. He hoped to quickly persuade the inhabitants of the forest village that was rumored to be located not far from the harbor (proved by the amount of fishing boats resting here) to surrender and join the Portuan Kingdom. After all, Wilhelm was responsible for bringing those monsters here, and he would have to make sure everything went as peaceful as possible.

But he never expected the one who called himself a representative to be both a predator and a stubborn old fool. An intimidating one, true, but not as much as mammals he had to ferry. Who were going to land any moment now.

- Look, bruwa, I know you don't want this. Believe me when I tell you don't want it too! But, you haven't seen these soldiers in action, I did. They will rase the village, they don't know when to stop and when enough is enough. Unless you have a garrison numbering at least five, no, make that six hundred warriors, and a place to hide all of the villagers, you can't win. Please, bruwa, I don't want anymore innocent blood to fall upon my horns, lest my children carve out my name from the clan history! - The desperation in the deer's tone couldn't be missed even by someone nearly deaf.

- Have I not made myself clear? Than allow me to rephrase. You don't get out of here in an hour, and you all shall die. - But the wolf was apparently deaf to the pleading and reasoning of Wilhelm. And the captain didn't have time for no more talking. The soldiers he was ferrying has arrived.

Nearly thirty boats have reached the shore and the mammals inside them started landing. There was a strange quality to them though. Predators of different species native to the warmer zone, like coyotes, cheetahs, jaguars, desert foxes, hyenas and even several lionesses, were all moving on their fours, dressed in rags of what was left of what could previously be everyday clothes, snarling and snapping at each other, but retaining some semblance of order.

Their supervisors were two donkeys, two deer and two rams. And over them all stood a tall brownfurred horse with a black muzzle that sported a white stripe going all the way from his nose to his forehead. Who seemed to be more interested in the wheat stalk he held between his teeth then in his surroundings.

- Wilhelm, give me the good news. Have the savages seen the light of reason and submitted to the crown's mercy that would deliver them from the misery of their lives? - Despite the merry tone of the question asked and the implied interest in the answer, the horse still managed to seem more interested in his chewing stick as he neared the deer.

- Eh, Master Oates. I am in the middle of talks, sir. If you would please… - Wilhelm knew he was losing his only chance to avoid bloodshed. Maybe if the horse had waited for a bit longer, like they agreed before, he could find some argument to reason with the stubborn old wolf. And where was that weasel assistant of the horse? Though, the wolf seemed to be intent on turning this into massacre of the village he claimed to be representing.

- Yes, if you would please get lost, I would be grateful to you for sparing me and my people the labor of burning down your corpses, since we don't have the facilities to take this many prisoners. - This time around the wolf's voice was anything but quiet, catching the attention not only of the deer who tried to negotiate, but also of the horse.

- Oh, what do we have here? A circus fellow? I suppose… - But Oates never got to finish his sentence either.

- I wouldn't suppose if I were you. - For the first time this evening, everyone on the shore has registered the fox's presence.

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It is no secret, that our consciousness can ignore things that would have otherwise driven us insane. We don't question the fact that our existence on the planet is only possible due to a thin layer of the so called "atmosphere" which could evaporate in an instant, leaving us vulnerable to the sun's searing heat and the void's great emptiness. We don't think about the possibility of us choking on the food we eat, or drinks we consume. We don't actually envision ourselves impaled on a spear or an axe splitting our skull before the battle, until the moment we experience it. If our minds constantly dwelled upon these and many other things, what would we be?

Nicholas of clan Wilde knew this principle well. And he employed it in his favor more often than not. Others couldn't help but ignore his existence and presence when the fox's true nature was being unleashed. Until Nicholas decided to announce it in a way that others would be forced to acknowledge.

There was only one being in the whole world that didn't seem to be disturbed by the fox's proclivity to appear out of thin air. While the horse, somehow Nicholas instantly disliked this Oates fellow, tried to comprehend how in hel did this strange, dressed in black lizard-skin clothes with small metal insertions all over and an eyecover over both eyes, fox get behind him without being noticed by either of his "subordinates". As the third generation follower of the Mother Earth, the horse was sure in his connection with the earth and it was incomprehensible for some lowlife to be able to evade his senses. Yet, the fox didn't seem to be paying him no attention, focusing solely on the old wolf.

- It is quite unsettling to see you in such a get-up while trying to act all calm and composed. Been quite a while. - Despite the confident and even cocky smile that played out on his muzzle, Nicholas could feel the hairs on his neck standing up. The fox knew there was nothing threatening him, knew he was more than able to take on this fellow, but still. One does not end up witnessing the deed of one's predecessor with own eyes and then walks away unscathed. And their fights didn't actually help.

- Have you not been the one to tell me to try and act more my age? And since you left me alone, there was nothing interesting to do, so bite my tail for feeling sleepy. - The wolf seemed to have lost interest in Wilhelm with the arrival of the fox.

- Oh wow, a compliment from you? That's a rarity I will treasure. Still, can you really stand here and let them go? After smelling it? - The tod indeed was a bit surprised by the fact his friend didn't go all out the moment these things, that were just mammals some time in the past, stepped on the land.

- Smell? - This time it was Tyhja's turn to sound surprised. The black wolf has raised his muzzle up and for the first time in awhile his nose twitched, inhaling, tasting the air as only the canines were able to. The cringe and disgust upon his muzzle were just as visible as him stepping back and covering his nose with the sleeve of his robe.

- I've smelled this stench before. - The wolf still didn't care to look at the lines of confused prey overseers and snarling predators. His head turned back towards the treeline, where he knew Sylvi and that bunny doe were hiding, quietly observing what was going on.

- Don't lay a finger on my prey, Red. I will…

- Rip me apart limb from limb and leave for the vultures to finish. I know, so I am going with you. - His hands out in front of him to placate the irate wolf, Nicholas made several steps back. Despite the two being friends for an immeasurably long time, the wolf was extremely possessive when it came to the matters of hunting. Old instincts, as well as the only fun left for the old ones in this world. Nicholas could understand, he was just the same with the exception of being younger.

Well, after you lived for a thousand years, age stops to matter anyway.

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Judith was nervous. She didn't poses superior vision but her ears could easily pick up the talk from even such a distance. And the way it progressed promised nothing good for any of the involved parties. As soon as she realized that there were a large number of boats with mammals ready to land, she left the lynx to watch over her father, while the doe ran back to the village. She had to warn everyone.

Sylvi though didn't seem to be worried at all. The lynx was happily murmuring some song under her breath in another tongue, while sitting on a tree branch and observing the beach. So when the wolf appeared under the tree she was on, the lynx plunged down into the waiting arms.

- Are you going to fight, Susi? - There was no denying the fact Sylvi was giddy with excitement to the point she seemed to be ready to burst.

- Yes. Nicholas will watch over you, so don't give him any attitude, you hear me? - Despite his stern tone, the wolf seemed to be smiling under that extremely long black fur that made reading his expressions nearly an impossible task.

- Uncle Nick is here too?! - With a paw Sylvi bent Tyhja's head to the side, finally seeing the fox that stood behind the wolf.

- Hey there, Halfling. Did you listen to your daddy like I told you to? - The question seemed to trigger a series of giggles from the lynx and…

- Get that smirk off your face before I do it permanently. - And the wolf was not amused with his friend. With exaggerated sigh of extreme weariness, he put Sylvi on the ground.

- Keep this for me. - Tyhja gently put his obnoxiously long staff into Sylvi's outstretched paws. When she nodded, the wolf exhaled once more and was there no more.

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Oates was beside himself with anger. The two pelts just up and vanished into thin air, leaving not a trace. His underlings couldn't spare a moment due to watching over their "tools", and the ships' captain was as uncooperative as possible, claiming he has already spared two of his men to guard the horse's aide, a weasel, on the search for the village with the otter they captured. As such, Oates was left with nothing to do but wait.

The wolf appeared just like he has disappeared, but this time without the strange fox and his stupid staff.

- If you came to ask for mercy, than… - The horse's speech was rudely interrupted with a handful of sand thrown into his face.

- Yiff it! Rasmussen, kill that son of a bitch! - Coughlin and spitting the sand that got into his mouth out, Oates lost any remainder of patience he was left with. The stupid defiant worthless pelt would die a gruesome death from his own kind.

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- So the rumors were true. They really do make them go savage. - Nicholas was angry yet his heart still bled. For his fellow predators who were forced to suffer a fate worse than death. He knew not them, but they still were his responsibility, no matter how far away in time and place they were from his dominion. Sylvi silently stood by his side, her explosive energy giving room to attentive observation.

One of the rams made a gesture, and a large lioness dropped to all fours. She started towards the wolf, snarling and baring her teeth on the immovable target. A moment later, the lioness jumped, sinking her fangs and claws into the flesh of the predator.

And then, it happened.

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Tyhja was curious. Yes, the stench was unbearable from the seven prey mammals, but the predators seemed somehow not to be touched by the taint. Yet, their mind and will were gone. Instead, constant aggression and hunger led them towards their prey. A crude but efficient pact was bestowed upon each predator of the group, allowing for the seven elementists to control them. There was nothing left of the different mammals and the lives they led before such a fate befell them.

The wolf didn't even flinch when large fangs clamped around his deliberately exposed throat. The idea of soldiers that had no fear, operated only on the basest of instincts and obeyed every order, was not a new one. Every once in a while there appeared a deluded guy, who somehow got to command a lot of mammals at once, and would start spouting such nonsense. This was the first time someone managed to achieve such a goal and the wolf wanted to see what these predators could do. But as the lioness kept on clawing his robes and trying to pierce his skin with her fangs, there was no doubt left in the black wolf's mind.

- Is that all? - To the astonished bewilderment of Wilhelm, who thought the stubborn wolf got back to face his death, he was still alive and well. If one would to look closer, under the light of several torches burning from the time of their negotiation, there didn't seem to be any blood, despite large and small pieces of cloth flying in all directions from the lioness's desperate attempt to claw at something. It occurred to the deer only much later, that no wolf would be able to withstand the initial impact of the much heavier lioness, nor would one be able to stand calmly under that weight trying to pull you down to the ground. All of this on uneven sand of the riverbank.

A sound of bones cracking would not be heard by anyone, but the sudden silence that followed a paw emerging out of the lioness's back got everyone's attention. Her large body, now impaled upon the wolf's right hand, was still and limp.

- This is disappointing. No additional wards, no reinforcing lines. Not even armor. Granted, this is a wonderful example of a scare tactics, used to keep the masses obedient and complacent, but to think that you would not care to modify it for battle purposes? Worthless. - Something was happening with the wolf. A sound of rattling, straining chains could be heard coming from him as an eerie glow escaped his eyes. This was the first time Wilhelm caught himself thinking about the fact he seemed unable to remember what color they were before they were engulfed with the flames. And was this wolf always so tall?

- What are you waiting for, dumbasses?! Kill him! - Oates didn't like the sight he was currently presented with. Where the destitute village representative was before, now stood a monstrosity he never before laid his eyes upon. He has once seen a rhino in full battle armor standing guard at Lionheart's castle. That paled in comparison to the black wolf, who could easily be just as tall and broadshouldered, covered in fur color of raven's wing, the fur at the back of his head so long it could actually be a lion's mane, eyes glowing with molten gold. The clothes he wore before were now represented only by the black trousers barely reaching his knees.

Unlike horse's underlings, the wolf needed no order. Standing on his toes, Tyhja angled his torso forward, and lunged. The startled prey supervisors barely managed to start their gesturing to give orders to the predators under their command, when the black figure cut into their rows. Without their own will, while under the influence of the pact, the deranged predators were unable to put up any resistance. And before the order to attack was given, Tyhja has managed to off at least a dozen.

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- He didn't change at all. Still relying on brute strength and only dragging out his sword when fighting me. Argh, why am I the only one who gets the special treatment?! - Nicholas of clan Wilde was many things. But rarely was he showing anyone the remains of who he was when the notion of being a god didn't loom over him, bestowing expectations and restrictions upon the fox. Sylvi found herself being amongst the lucky few Nicholas trusted with that.

- Because you are the only one who is still walking the face of the land after he takes it out, Uncle Nick. - Sylvi was sitting on a nearby tree branch, as was her custom. Her gleeful statement only caused the fox to throw her an irritated glare. Right now he didn't wear his eyecover, which was also a rarity for him.

- So, he goes by Tyhja now? Eh, it does suit his tastes. Just not his character, really. - Nicholas never knew his friend to just laze around at one place for long. Or being calm in the face of adversity.

- Susi had to fight some strange thing several decades ago. He was feeling sleepy after that, so we just stopped at this village. - The lynx was rocking from side to side on her branch, kicking her legs in the air. Nicholas knew she would rather join the fight herself, than sit and watch it unfold. She was her "father's" daughter after all. But both knew the consequence of entering the wolf's battlefield and both still wanted to be on his good side, even if the reasons were slightly different.

- Hey, Halfling. You found your pillar yet? - Most gods would find a certain element in the universe that their powers were connected to. Like fire, water, wind. Sometimes it would be something more exquisite, like words, thoughts, or speed. There were some unique existences among them, and some that had more than one pillar. Sylvi was eight hundred years old and way past the time one would find his pillar.

- Not telling you, Uncle Nick. - Replied the lynx this time, just like she did every time he asked, and stack out her tongue at him. Nicholas rolled his eyes, and turned back to the battle that was nearing its end. Of course Sylvi wouldn't tell him. Or anyone, for that matter. The girl was attached to the wolf, that much was apparent to anyone who knew the duo well enough. But the wolf has stopped changing or trying to change a long time ago. He would not open his heart to those who were late to the closing of the door by several millennia. It was a miracle in itself Tyhja felt anything at all towards the lynx he considered his small daughter. In Nicholas's opinion, the fact Tyhja paid no heed towards the flow of time after living for as long as he did, was a blessing for the pair. He wouldn't want to see them part ways as adults are prone to do.

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The prey supervisors of the deranged predators tried to somehow aid their subjects. There were bouts of energy zooming on the rampaging black giant of a wolf. But they did little to deter him. And after smashing the last of the poor predators into the ground, no doubt pulverizing a good number of bones and organs, instantly killing the thing, the wolf turned towards the tainted prey. Even were they more experienced in battle, or possess greater powers, no chance presented itself for them to survive. Fenrir never liked to play with his prey. Their bodies were left in pieces for the birds to feast come morning, while Wilhelm and his crew, untouched by the taint and the wolf, rowed the boats back their ships, hoping beyond hope, that tonight was not their time to die.

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- It's never a pleasure to see you after a fight. - Nicholas couldn't hide his disgust at how his friend looked like after transforming back into his current everyday form. The wolf once more stood only a head taller than the fox, his long fur sticking together and making him look like some kind of beggar, especially considering his only item of clothing being torn pants.

- You can always see me during one. - The suggestion was not a threat, at least not to anyone who didn't know Tyhja. And since Nicholas of clan Wilde preferred to keep his limbs attached to his body, he simply smiled at the suggestion, making a locking gesture over his closed muzzle.

- I'll go and retrieve my steed. Wait for me here, we might as well talk on the way back to the village. - With that, the tod sprinted back to where he left his gheko strider. And just a few moments later, a certain bunny jumped out of the forest in front of Tyhja and Sylvi.

- I have alerted the villagers, they are gathering supplies and going to lockdown the fortress. We should… - And this was when Judith noticed the state in which the black wolf representative of the village stood. As well as the fact that aside from the three of them, there were no sounds that would announce any other life around. Looking towards the riverbank, where the landing boats still stood with torches lighting them, the doe tried to locate any movement, but to no avail. With a suspicious expression on her face, Judith of clan Hopps turned towards the only other mammals present. But before she was able to voice the question forming in her mind, she was jumped by a heavy lynx.

- Judy! You won't believe what you have just missed! - And just like that, the bunny found herself wondering what indeed did she miss?

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A/N: A small sidestep to introduce some concepts for the future. Not much for this part, and nope, no meeting for the duo. I didn't find a suitable song for this. And I am frustrated by this a lot. Meh.

Combat Engineer - Judy is around a century and a quarter at the moment. I lost my previous timeline somewhere so I have to redo it again, which means I will be rereading the whole story again, not to mess up anything. I'll try to answer these questions next chapter.

Now, back to your suffering.

Howleys.