Time seemed to stop as Kan dangled there, suspended painfully by the warlord's claws.
Then he was released, and forgot proper conduct as he trembled on the ground, eyes on the floor.
"Look at me, stoat," the coyote hissed. "Ye seem to have a problem wid that."
Unwillingly, Kan raised his head and met the fierce gaze.
"Now listen, traveler," he continued. "It is good that you have never seen one of my kind before, or I should 'ave suspected you of having...other allegiances."
Something stirred in the young stoat's mind, but fear pushed it away, forcing him to concentrate on the coyote's words.
A/N: Well, every villain gets a monologue, so here you are!
Orange eyes narrowed dangerously; deadly fangs showed in a growl. "So forget this not, stoat. I am Ferayor Razorclaw. My species is first among all beasts, and I am the strongest among them. Creatures dare not speak of me, for fear that I will hear it, and find them. I am your lord and master; betrayal or cowardice will cost you your meaningless life."
He nodded, not daring to speak.
"Good," he rasped. "Female, that goes for you as well."
Kan blinked; during the course of the interrogation he had almost forgotten Sakhyo's existence. Now the mink nodded and inclined her head respectfully, saying, "As you wish, Lord Razorclaw. I am yours to command, we will serve nobeast but you!"
The reply was evidently a good one, since although the coyote did not smile, he nodded and as he spoke, his voice had lost much of its fury.
"Now, leave my tent and assume your duties. You will serve under Captain Rend-"
Kan groaned inwardly when he heard this. Perfect. Just bloody perfect.
"-who will outfit you with proper uniforms and replace any weaponry you may have surrendered."
Watching Sakhyo out of the corner of his eye, Kan followed her lead as he stood and bowed deeply.
Ferayor Razorclaw's temporarily complacent mood vanished in a heartbeat. "Well?" he roared, his voice echoing around the tent. "Must ye stand there gawping all night, or shall I flay some sense into the pair of ye?"
Without further ado, they bowed once more, and raced out into the night.
Rend was waiting outside the tent, and though he raised his eyebrows upon seeing them still alive, he did not waste time in grabbing them by their scruffs to halt their mad dash into the open.
"Hold 'ard there, lunk'eads. Yer ain't goin' nowhere. I 'eard the Lord's decision, yer gonna serve under me, and when Razorclaw ain't around yer followin' nobeast's orders but mine. Now come wid me ter my tent, I got yer outfits 'n weapons."
With a mutual sigh, Kan and Sakhyo followed the tall ferret as he marched off to the Captains' tents. They were lined up in a row next to Razorclaw's, with Rend's being the second closest. Evidently, he was rather highly favored.
Inside, it was dark and rather cramped compared to the warlord's luxurious tent. Remnants of old meals, cast-off clothing, weapons, and other debris were scattered everywhere, and Kan held back a grudging awe at the speed at which the ferret located two uniforms-earth-brown tunics with a claw embroidered in orange thread, which they hurriedly donned- and their weapons. Kan was allowed to keep his curved sword, though Sakhyo's dagger and short sword were exchanged for the standard pike, a relatively short kind with an almost scythe-like blade.
"Polish that frogsticker up good, stoat," the Captain snapped. "Yer musta rolled it in dung, it's that filthy."
Kan bit his tongue to keep back his angry reply, merely saluting and replying "Right away, Cap'n!" in a forced monotone.
"Now, yer Halek an' the female's Neza, right?" Rend questioned, though he'd been told their names that very afternoon and remembered them perfectly. Kan, still annoyed by his bad luck, had not been paying attention, and nearly fell into the trap. He was about to correct the ferret when Sakhyo immediately kicked him, so that the only sound he produced was a pained yelp.
"Yowch! Er, yep, that's correct, sir!"
The Captain grunted. "Right, then. Gerrout of me tent, yer can sleep around one of the fires wid my other soldiers. Don't worry about losin' yer way, somebeast'll see yer comin' outta 'ere 'n direct yer proper."
Saluting once more, the pair exchanged rueful glances and headed back outside. Sakhyo seemed impassive, though Kan's head was spinning with the rapid pace of events.
True to Rend's word, nearly the instant they exited the tent, two soldiers came trotting over. "Hoi, so yer the new recruits?" a ferret questioned. "Huh, everybeast thought yer was dead- nobeast goes in th' boss's tent fer tea 'n cakes. Ah well," he remarked, throwing a comradely paw about Kan's shoulders and winking at Sakhyo. "I'm Drift, looks like we're in this t'gether, eh...?" He trailed off.
"I'm Halek," Kan replied, " An' this 'ere is Neza."
Okay, you remembered the names, an inner voice remarked, but can you act like a hordebeast?
"Pleased ter meetcher, 'Alek," Drift remarked, extending a grimy paw for the young stoat to shake. Indicating the other soldier, a sullen-looking, stocky male weasel, he continued, "This's my pal Jiha. Jiha, this is 'Alek an' Neza." The weasel grunted in reply.
As the little group headed toward a nearby fire, Drift leaned over to Kan's ear, hissing in a highly audible stage whisper. "Say, 'Alek, wot appened t' yer matey Neza? She looks like a weasel wot got left out in th' storm all night."
Jiha chuckled, as Drift grinned expectantly .
Peering over her friend's shoulder to get a better look at the ferret, Sakhyo snapped, "I'm a mink, snipenose, so wipe that leer off yer face."
Drift did not lose his smile, which was exposing all of his remaining teeth, as he nudged Kan in the side. " "Ey, feisty liddle wench, ain't she? Never seen a kink afore. Are they all as cute an' fluffy as yerself, Neza me darlin'?"
Kan was unceremoniously shoved aside as Sakhyo chased the ferret all the way to the campfire, where she proceeded to pin him down and give him the thrashing of his life.
The other soldiers cheered and whistled at the display, one of them handing her a flask of grog when she finally sat down by them, allowing a severely beaten Drift to crawl over and flop down by Kan, sullenly nursing his numerous bruises, scratches, and bites. "Huh, that 'un could teach ol' Razorclaws a thing or two!" he muttered. Kan could not help laughing, both at the ferret's displeasure and the triumphant smirk on Sakhyo's face.
The singing, eating, and drinking gave way to snores later in the night, and only Sakhyo was still awake as Kan was drifting off to sleep. "Well, mate, looks like we're 'ordebeasts, now, eh? How d'ya like it? That Razorclaw is somethin' else... those stories weren't kiddin'!" she added, shuddering.
The young stoat did not answer, feigning sleep. How do I like being a hordebeast? he wondered. Maybe it's better the second time around...
He thought no more, his body exhausted by the eventful day, and his eyes closed as quiet darkness surrounded him and carried him away. His sleep was deep and dreamless, though it ended a few hours later when a footpaw nudged him hard in the side.
"Lemme 'lone, Sakhyo," he grumbled, barely half-awake and under the impression that he was back in the Shadowtide barracks, about to start another morning of training.
Drift's voice came from above. "Sack-what-oh? Who's that, 'Alek?"
His mind cleared by panic, Kan scrambled up and shook himself. "Huh?" he said quickly. "Er, back where I lived, my sister Sakhyo always used to wake me up real early, so y'know, I wasn't thinkin' an' all.." He trailed off, aware of how feeble his story was.
Drift laughed, however. "Yah, I knows what yer talkin' about. Huh, one time Jiha woke me up after I'd been drinkin' a bit, and I thought 'e was one o' th' ladies fer a moment...Huh, that was awkward, I can tell yer! Thought 'e'd never fergive me fer that one... Anyway," he continued, still chuckling, "We're marching now, so wake up an' get trampin'! That stripedog mountain won't conquer itself- Razorclaw's gotta do it, an' yer know our lot, mate, follow th' boss an' don't ask questions. C'mon, Cap'n's waiting, everybeast but us is on their way!"
Pulling on his horde tunic and grabbing his sword, Kan raced off after the ferret as they caught up with the swiftly advancing army. Salamandastron reared above the horizon; they would reach it very soon at this pace.
After an hour's worth of the brutal marching, the young stoat felt as though his footpaws were shredded to the bone, and breathing was an agony. He knew, however, just like every other soldier, that to stop and rest was to forfeit your life.
Fervently, he hoped the hares would be ready when they arrived. The mountain loomed ever closer, as the day wore on and the march continued.
General Ixora had been unable to sleep; as dawn broke the tall hare was pacing outside the mountain with Sergeant Merrond, trying to relax herself with some good old-fashioned patrolling.
"D' you hear that, old lad?" she inquired. "Sounds like thunder t'me, eh wot?"
"Nonsense, Ixora," he replied cheerfully, "look up, there ain't a bally cloud in the sky! Clear an' azure blue as ever 'twas, wot!"
As the sound continued, both hares looked at each other in horror as they realized what it was. Far away, a cloud of dust was rising, stirred up by scores and scores of tramping footpaws. All heading straight for them.
A/N: Just a heads-up- Chapter 13 is going to be really short, while Chapter 14, in which the climactic battle takes place, is going to be LOOOONG. Just warning you. Then everything ends with chapter 15!
But fear not, my loyal fans (you'll all get shout-outs later), for there is a sequel in the makings!