The two of them were quiet as they stepped out of Reina's hut, the deep, dark chill of the swamp night washing over them and draining what little warmth they brought from the snug little dwelling. Terra shivered, and pulled her coat tighter around herself.

"So what do you think," she said quietly. Everyone else had gone to sleep, and only the fire still burned in the middle of the buildings, driving away the encroaching darkness that beset them on every side. Terra walked towards it, and warmed her hands in its glow, seeking comfort in both the light and the gentle crackle of burning wood.

Cecil came up next to her, and looked down at the piece of leather in his hand. "We don't even know what the thing does beyond what we've seen and what Reina's told us."

She sighed. The man couldn't be depended on to help a starving orphan without assessing the risks first. "So I guess you're going to stay here for a few more days?" she said, turning to look at the man's distant expression. She'd need help, but if he wasn't going to be enthusiastic about it, then she'd have to do it alone.

Shrugging, Cecil handed her the piece of leather. "I know what you're thinking, and I want to kill the thing just as much as you do, but it's a little pointless rushing in without knowing what we should be doing, isn't it? We're the first people to come to village in years. You heard Reina, what happens if we die? No one else knows about this place, who's going to help them then?"

"If you want to be cautious then fine, but I'm going after the thing tomorrow," she waved the piece of leather in his face. "-With or without your help. So if you don't want to do this, then at least be honest and say it out straight instead of beating around the bush," she hissed, not wanting to yell and wake everyone up.

Not waiting for an answer, she stormed off. Closing the door to her little hut behind her, she leaned on the door, and rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "Men.. they can't be counted on after all," she muttered to herself as she placed the precious leather down near her pack, and collapsed on her bed.

--

It was still dark outside when she woke up again. The entire night had been taken up with the same nightmare. Darkness, rain, and something immeasurably huge- was it a God, or something just as fickle and destructive?

She couldn't remember how long their laid there, staring up at the ceiling and fighting off the last of the nightmare. Eventually she staggered out of the makeshift bed the cats had put together for her, and dressed. Terra paused in the process of putting on her coat. Changing her mind, she stripped it off, and instead donned her armour.

It was freezing cold. The fire outside must have died. Her teeth chattered like rattling bones as the icy metal of her armour slid over her barely-clad skin. She wished she had armour like Cecil's, more leather and hide than cold iron and shell. Briefly, Terra wondered what it was like where he came from. Up in the mountains, where snow blanketed everything.. it must be beautiful. She sighed wistfully, and gritted her teeth. Her breaths condensed into small puffs of white vapour as she stretched her muscles rigorously, trying to get warmth flowing through her body in this bastardly cold weather.

She giggled to herself as the thought registered. People back home would have fainted if they knew she had used language like that.

It cheered her somewhat to think of home, and familiar faces. It had only been a few weeks since she had left, but she missed those that had taken care of her all her life.

She wondered if they missed her as well. She smiled happily. It was hard not to miss someone like her.

Slightly more cheerful, Terra hummed to herself as she tidied up the little hut. Packing all her belongings back into her bags, she debated whether to take any food. The cats had already given her enough as it was, and she'd feel guilty if she just took their food like that.

The piece of leather was the last to be packed away. She wasn't sure whether to take it or not, but if Cecil didn't want to get involved then tough, she'd do it herself. No point leaving it for him.

'That's what I get for thinking guild people would ever do something that didn't involve money,' she grumbled silently. Last night she had debated whether she should offer him a bounty or reward to help her, but she had rejected the idea. With each passing second her distaste for him had grown, and it had reached the state that she didn't want anything to do with him.

The hut was finally tidy- everything was folded up neatly and stacked. She nodded in satisfaction. No one could say she was ungrateful for their hospitality. Terra picked up her hammer on her way out, and rested it on her shoulder as she stepped out into the still-dark morning.

The girl closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of the frozen, morning air. As it seared through her nostrils, it washed away the last of the sleep hovering around in her body, and made her instantly awake. It was dark, the impenetrable darkness that always came just before dawn.

She couldn't see a single cat around. Good, they weren't up yet. That saved awkward farewells.

Cecil didn't seem to be up either. Thank Gods for that.

The bonfire from last night still smouldered in the huge pit the cats had dug for it, nothing more than small, glittering embers like stars. It provided enough warmth for her to stop shivering, and she was glad for it.

'That coward..' she thought bitterly. Cecil was a hunter wasn't he? Where was his fire, his passion, to destroy such a plague upon the land? To hunt something of this magnitude? She stared into the dull orange glows and the shimmering heat haze that hovered above it, her expression darkening as Cecil lingered on her mind.

"I'll kill it, and then it'll all be better.." she whispered, more for herself than anyone else. "I'll kill it, and then he'll be sorry he didn't want to come."

Terra took a deep breath, and stared out into the swamp. Her hands were shaking as she left the warmth, striding purposefully towards the edge of town.

--

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Cecil asked quietly as he sat in front of Reina. The old cat stopped washing herself, and fixed him with a look.

"Of course I knew, I've been around humans enough to know what they're like," she smiled quietly and purred a little. "I'm glad you've calmed down a little at least."

".. What, so that's it? We're just going to let her go and get herself killed?" he had forced himself to sit after realising Reina wasn't about to give up whatever she knew if he was pacing up and down. Terra had disappeared, and along with her the precious piece of leather. Why was Reina being so calm about it?

"It's okay Cecil. I know you're frustrated, and most likely annoyed that I didn't tell you, but I'm surprised that you didn't see it coming yourself," Reina said in the same, calm voice. "Don't you know her that well?"

"I only barely met her when that thing attacked us," Cecil protested.

Reina let out a little feline giggle. "I know dear, I'm just teasing you. Loosen up a little- our little princess will be okay. I promise you nya."

Cecil backed down a little, embarrassed. "Sorry Reina," he muttered. "I'm just-"

"Worried?" Reina finished the sentence for him with a smile. "That's good, I'm glad I wasn't wrong about you.

"Your weapons and armour were damaged when we found you. What if you had gone with her with the broken equipment, what do you think would've happened, nya? Terra told me you aren't from around here, so you would only have hindered her. The swamp isn't like the mountains- there are a lot more dangers here."

"But why did you let her go anyway? Wouldn't it have been safer to ask her to wait.." Cecil trailed off when Reina shook her head, wagging her little paw at him.

"There's no holding back someone like her. If we had tried to stop her, it would've only antagonised someone like her, and adversity isn't something we can afford to keep between us.

"Now then," Reina smiled, and stood up, clapping her paws. "I've had some of my sons work on your armour and weapons with materials we gathered locally, and they assure me they've done a good job of it."

Reina walked past him to the door, and gestured for him to follow. Cecil stood obediently, and held the door open for the old felyne. There was a crowd of cats outside, and they all stopped and stared up at Cecil as the two of them emerged into the cold, morning air. The fire had been banked, and fresh firewood added. Cats bustled around its warmth, cleaning up after the morning meal and organising foraging parties to scavenge for food for the day.

Reina shooed everyone away. "Go back to your work nya!" she meowed loudly. Turning to Cecil, she looked at him in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, my dear. Some of them have never even seen a human before, only heard about it from their parents."

"It's okay, I'm used to it," Cecil smiled despite himself. The two humans had been gawked at by most of the cats every time they made an appearance, and were horribly popular with the kittens who enjoyed trying to climbing up their legs whenever they had the chance.

A few of the smallest kittens milled around now. Still unsteady on two feet, they stumbled and hopped after Reina and Cecil as they walked away from the small circle of buildings that surrounded the fire. One of them leapt, and latched itself onto Cecil's calf, hanging on for dear life with its tiny claws dug firmly into his fur pants.

Cecil laughed, his worries disappearing briefly as he stroked the tiny body attached to his leg. The kitten batted playfully at his hand, losing its grip and almost falling off. Catching the tiny body, Cecil hefted the small ball of fur onto his shoulder, placing it in the hood of his coat. "There you go, little one," he said. Something this small and furry just could not be resisted. The kitten meowed, and snuggled down in his hood, burying its small, warm body in amongst the soft nest of hairs.

"Her name's Lura," Reina looked up at Cecil as she led him to a building near the outskirts of the town. "Always looking for attention, that little one," she smiled. "Well, here we are."

Four melynxes looked up from their work as the two of them stepped into the dimly-lit building. It had been a blacksmith at one point, but hadn't been used in years. Tools rusted to the extent that they were no more than rugged lumps on the workbenches and flaking stalactites hanging from what remained of the ceiling beams. It felt more like a cave than a man-made structure.

The forge had been coaxed back to life, and Cecil could see the cats had been busy with makeshift tools to repair his armour and weapons, which hung from surprisingly well-built frames.

"Wow.." he whispered.

"Grandmama!" the cats meowed happily when they saw Reina.

Cecil left the cats to their affections, and approached the armour. He could still see his old armour under it all, but a lot of parts had been replaced. Joints and the stomach area had been reinforced with the same shell that he had seen Terra wear, the chainmail definitely had signs of repair, and the leather was gone, replaced by a dark grey, rubbery hide.

"We've reinforced your armour with cenataur shells, and the leather with gypceros hide nya. The leather was far beyond repair, and the gypceros hide would survive better in the humid swamp air nya."

Cecil looked down, one of the melynxes stood next to him, appraising his own handiwork with a proud expression on his face. He had a single white stripe running down the side of his body, but was otherwise completely black. His yellow eyes glowed eerily in the dim, orange glow of the forge.

"It was hard gathering the gypceros hide, but some of my brothers are absolutely wonderful at finding the most obscure materials nya, should really thank them for all this."

"What's a cenataur?" Cecil asked curiously, touching the pale blue shell that now covered parts of his armour. It was smooth and icy cold to the touch- like steel, but not as solid to the touch, and didn't feel anywhere as heavy, either.

"Well, it's a giant hermit crab nya. Probably about your size if you went down on all fours nya," the melynx giggled.

"What's a hermit crab?"

The little cat gave Cecil a look that made him feel horribly self-conscious. "It's like an insect nya, only it has four legs, wears other monsters' shells for protection, and tastes delicious nya."

Cecil cringed with disgust inside. They eat insects? He gave the cat a brief smile, and looked around the dark and gloomy building. "Where are my weapons?" he asked curiously.

"Thought you'd never ask nya! This way," the cat tugged at his leg, and padded off to another corner of the workshop. Cecil followed, noticing that the other three melynxes and Reina were still huddled together, talking in low voices about something.

Lura stirred in his hood, and poked her head over his shoulder. Her claws scrabbled for purchase as she clambered clumsily out of the warm fur pocket and onto his shoulder. Cecil placed a hand gently against the side of her tiny body, steadying it and giving her time to get a firm grip on the fur. She meowed in a tiny little voice that made Cecil melt inside.

The melynx gestured for him to stop, and walked off into a dark corner, returning a second later, staggering a little under the weight of his burden. Cecil stared at the weapon, barely recognising it as having been his own blade.

Picking up the weapon, Cecil hefted it, testing for it weight and balance. It was longer, and heavier than it used to be. The heavy blade was curved back gracefully, turning up near the tip to form a vicious stabbing hook. The back edge of the blade was also festooned with a series of jagged barbs that ran down its entire length. Cecil smiled in appreciation. Smooth, cutting edge on one side, and- he flipped the blade over- cruel, tearing barbs on the other.

There was one peculiar feature to the blade, however, a small lump the size of the ball of his thumb at the base of the blade. He rubbed it curiously, it was felt like piece of shell. A groove ran along the blade from the small anomaly. "What's this..?" Cecil asked curiously, tapping it.

"Be careful with it nya!" the melynx meowed, Cecil stopped playing with it, and lowered the blade. "It's a poison sac from an ioprey, a poison-producing monster. As you swing the blade, it'll produce venom, and run down the grooves. Be careful with it though, nya, the venom is fairly potent to humans."

'Wow..' Cecil stared at the small melynx with admiration. No one back in his home village could possibly have come up with something like this. And the craftsmanship.. he ran his hand along the cold metal, reflecting the orange embers like a blade forged from a dying volcano. "It's beautiful," he whispered. "I can't thank you enough for this."

"No need to nya," the cat smiled, preening itself. Turning, he picked up something else, and offered it to Cecil. "We couldn't save your other blade, though, so we melted it down and made a shield nya."

Cecil took the shield. No bigger than a simple buckler, it was heavy, and felt comfortably solid in his hands. Reinforced by the same cenataur shells that adorned his armour strapped and secured to the metal base of the shield. Slipping his arm into the straps, he tested the weight of both weapon and shield. It felt comfortable enough, making him smile. He had missed the feeling of wielding weapons, and with this he regained some of the old feeling he thought he had lost.

Reina padded up silently behind him. "Having fun, dear?"

"I can't begin to thank you all for what you've done for me," Cecil crouched down, placing his sword carefully down in front of him. "I'll do my best, for all of you."

"I know you will dear," Reina smiled, placing a paw on his shoulder. "But you won't know your way around yet, I'll send some of my sons and daughters with you." Her expression turned wistful, "I really wish I could go with you.. I really do.. like the old days, when Nara would take me with her on her hunts."

"Don't worry Reina, I'll take care of it," Cecil promised solemnly, picking up his blade.

Reina sighed, and gently stroked the kitten still snuggled on Cecil's shoulder. "It's not.." she stopped and looked into his eyes. "I want the thing dead for destroying our way of life, but what would it achieve even if it dies? It won't bring me back my Nara.. it won't bring back anything.."

Cecil looked at the old cat quietly. He couldn't even begin to understand her pain, and it made him sad to think what she had gone through, to see everything around her destroyed, helpless to watch as her loved ones crumble to nothing.

"But I ramble.. I know it won't change a thing even if the thing was destroyed," Reina smiled weakly, looking down at the blade in front of her. "But it'll put us at ease- all my children and me. And perhaps one day, this village could come to life once more," she said softly.

Patting him gently on the arm, Reina turned. "I'll leave you to get ready. We will be waiting back near the fire."

--

The armour felt lighter. It fit his body better, and the rubbery hide felt pleasant compared to the leather he used to wear. His blade was sheathed carefully behind his waist, a specially designed sheath accommodated the blade comfortably while he wasn't using it.

Before he returned to the fire, he had gone back to the hut the cats had given him, and haphazardly stuffed everything he owned back into his pack, leaving the more important items on top while everything else he just crammed in whichever way he could fit them in. Dumping the full pack near the door, he set about trying to tidy up the room, except impatience and general untidiness meant that the room looked just as bad when he finished as before he had started.

Through it all, the kitten had stubbornly stayed with him, clinging onto his shoulder and watching him as he tried futilely to tidy. Occasionally she would meow, as if giving him advice. He wished he understood her, might have done a better job if he could understand the tiny kitten's advice.

Finally, with his bulging around his waist and Lura hanging onto his shoulder for dear life, Cecil rushed back to the fire in the centre of the village. Every cat in the village had gathered there, but a small group was set aside, huddled together with Reina at their head. Looked like she was giving them instructions, but they broke up when Cecil neared.

"These three will go with you, dear. They know the lay of the land around here, and I trust you are enough of a hunter to be able to follow our little princess," Reina said, pushing the other three melynxes forward.

"Shouldn't be too-"

A shrill roar split the sodden, grey skies, cutting right through Cecil's words.

"Khezu!" he snarled, drawing his sword. Looks like he'd get a chance to try it out earlier than he thought he would.

The cats milled around. In the organized chaos of near-panic, they streamed back into their dwellings, seeking refuge in the underground shelters dug under each house.

Reina was the last to leave. She gave Cecil one last reassuring look. "I trust you," she smiled, before she strode back to her own hut, dignified and unhurried.

Taking a deep breath, Cecil turned to the three melynxes. "It'll be after me, I think it's the same khezu I messed before you found me, and if I know those things it'll be angry. I'm going to head for the edge of town, so it doesn't cause any unnecessary destruction here."

The cats all nodded, and drew their own weapons. A long, thin, rapier like blade; a bow; and what looked like a giant fang strapped to a sturdy staff. "We're with you, nya, we won't let you down," one promised.

Cecil nodded in thanks. Though he had always hunted alone for as long as he could possibly recall, it felt good to know what someone had his back. He hurried away from the bonfire, sword held steady in one hand. Hot blood rushed through his body as he anticipated the impending conflict.

A small meow made him freeze, and almost stumble over a ruined wall.

Lura was still sitting on his shoulder! How could anyone have missed it?! Looking around, he started to panic, what was he going to do with her? He couldn't just leave her out here, but taking her into combat on his shoulder..

"Come here you," he muttered, picking the tiny kitten up by the scruff of her neck and stuffing her gently into his pack. "No matter what you do, don't come out, okay?" he told her sternly.

Another roar lanced through the deathly silent village. Cecil turned towards the source, he could make out the slow, ponderous beating of wings now. "This way," he said.

There it was- a lighter, grey smudge against the grimy backdrop of the sky. It approached them slowly, and soon Cecil could make out its stubby toes, the disgusting, phallus-shaped head, and its stubby, yet somehow functional wings.

Without warning, the thing screamed, and plummeted towards the earth. Cecil watched, bewildered, as it belly flopped amongst the buildings, crushing deteriorating masonry and wood under its tremendous weight. It lay there as he rushed towards the downed beast, unmoving but panting heavily.

'The poison from that gypceros thing must have been more potent than it looked,' Cecil thought to himself as he snuck closer and could make out more detail. The base of its right wing and its back was a mass of festering flesh, purple and discoloured in contrast to its normally pale complexion like a huge bruise. Vile-smelling pus leaked from dozens of pustules, the greenish-yellow fluid spilling onto the ground from where the khezu lay. Veins stained by the venom branched out from the horrendous wound, pumping a continuous stream of venom and toxins through the khezu's system. It was a wonder the thing could fly at all.

'It would be a mercy to kill this thing..' Cecil clutched his weapon a little tighter as he slowed his approach to the almost certainly dying khezu. Just because it was dying didn't meant he should rush in, caution still had to be practised.

It seemed to sense him, its head turning uncertainly towards him and its lips drawing back. With each heavy breath, a cloud of white vapour condensed in front of its mouth, but it didn't do anything. Man and wyvern stood still, staring at each other and poised to see who would make the first move.

For a moment Cecil thought the thing was just going to lay back and die.

As if reading his thoughts, the khezu's throat rumbled. Its neck shot forward, incredibly fast for something so badly injured. Cecil barely had time to roll to one side, the slimy skin of the wyvern brushing ever so lightly against the side of his body. He got back up, in time to see the khezu's neck retracting, and the thing struggling to its feet.

The wyvern screamed, crouching down and throwing its entire weight forward in an attempt to crush him. Cecil rolled to his left, diving forward to avoid the giant wyvern's overwhelming weight as it shook the earth with its impact, pulverizing the rubble under its body.

Spinning, Cecil rolled to his feet, blade raised. Slamming the jagged hook deep into the khezu's wounded flesh, he tore downwards, the teeth ripping open its already rotten flesh like butter, letting loose a stream of viscous, black blood that hissed when it came into contact with the ground.

The khezu growled weakly, and spun around to face Cecil, bubbles of dark blood frothing at the edge of its lips as it prepared to attack once more.

A tiny arrow buried itself in the side of the khezu's head, making the thing flinch, throwing flecks of its blood all over the place as the cats advanced behind Cecil. One rushed in, stabbing its blade directly up at the khezu's throat, but grazed its flabby hide instead, barely cutting into it. The second kept up an almost constant stream of arrows, distracting the giant wyvern while the three of them attacked it mercilessly. The last melynx buried its bone pick in the khezu's flesh behind its leg, using it as a handhold to clamber onto the thing's back.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Cecil watched as the cat took out a small barrel from its backpack, planting it on the khezu's back and lighting a tiny fuse. The khezu spun, trying to find out what it was on its back, but too delirious with pain and the effects of the venom to think to use its shock.

Cecil raised his shield, and smashed it as hard as he could into the khezu's bared teeth. It didn't do much, if anything at all, but it provided a precious moment of distraction while the melynx leapt off its back, grabbing its weapon as the small bomb exploded with devastating effect.

Blackened flesh flew everywhere as the khezu thrashed in pain. A smoking crater where the wound used to be, the disturbingly pleasant smell of its burnt flesh filled the air around it. Cecil dove away from the beast as it collapsed, its broken body somehow still housing life as it hung on grimly by a toe.

Cecil's watched the dying khezu struggle weakly to get back up, feeling a mixture of sympathy and disgust at the creature. Approaching it, he got a firm, two-handed grip on his sword. He didn't bother with formalities, didn't bother waiting. Cecil swung the blade down as hard as he could, burying the sharp, cutting edge deep into the khezu's exposed throat. Bubbles frothed from the thing's ruptured windpipe, leaking what was left of its lifeblood onto the dirty earth below it.

'I'm shaking..' Cecil realised, stepping back and letting his sword drop to his side. His hands were trembling as he watched the khezu's movements weaken, and finally still. The stench of its death and its corrupt flesh filled the clearing, but Cecil paid it no heed.

"Are you okay nya..?" one of the melynxes came up, and looked up at him worriedly.

"I'm.. I'm okay.." Cecil said quietly, sheathing his sword and taking off his helmet. "Is everyone else okay?"

"We're fine, but I don't think Erial is.." the cat said sadly.

Cecil turned, in time to see the other melynx drag the broken body of the third from under the khezu. His mouth dropped. "How.." he didn't bother finishing his sentence. The khezu must have crushed the poor thing when it fell over in its death throes.

He felt something shift in his hip pouch, and it opened. Lura hopped out onto the ground, nuzzling around the little puddles of khezu blood, sniffing it curiously.

Cecil knelt beside Erial's crushed corpse. Her long blade had snapped, but the melynx had held on grimly to the handle even in death. Her broken body made his heart clench. He hadn't even gotten to know the melynx.

"I'm sorry.." he whispered.

He closed his eyes, and said a silent prayer for the departed one.

Standing up, Cecil looked at the other two melynxes. They were both quiet, looking up at him for guidance.

Shrill cries broke the solemn silence, dozens upon dozens of cries echoing and answering each other ringing out over the ruins.

"I think we better go, nya."