I've got another installment for all of you... fresh from the oven... or whatever normal writers use to prepare a story...
Anywho, I do hope you all like this little wrap up installment of the previous rescue chapter.
I know I enjoyed finally getting it done. I'm not held up by any real issues as of late, though I will warn that I might be a bit sporadic and spaced out with certain updates. To explain in short... I make wooden props for use in cosplay/costume for conventions. with Halloween approaching and a huge con near me being up around that time every year, I'm overwhelmed with orders to complete. I have several Keyblades to create and ship out. So... I'm doing my best to keep updates regular but don't be too worried if I have a lack of doing so for a longer period than you think I normally do.
Now then... enjoy, fav, follow, review, and grab that strange snack. today, I have peanut butter and jelly pizza with chocolate pieces on top. mmmmm.
The last volley of pitch bombs had been thrown, causing a waiting game to be enacted.
Nicholas's ears twitched at the sound of screeches and screams, the burning fluidic substances likely having done their work. It wouldn't be long before a deluge of the mercenaries would be flooding from the more substantial gaps in the crags and into the ambush they set up.
Pulling back on the bow he held, the fox took a breath and let the nocked arrow rest, arms tensing and flexing as he waited patiently for his target. Smoke and flickering light of sporadic flames poured from the crags, as many other mammals next the tod did as he had, shakier paws than his own trying to keep steady.
"Only release your arrow when you exhale…" the red fox explained to those around him that could hear his voice. "And only do so slowly. It will keep you calm enough to make your aim truer than firing from stress."
There were some grunts of appreciative approval as a few of the mammals around him took deep breaths, their paws steadying slowly.
I take no life for my own benefit, nor for my own pleasure, the fox mentally prepared himself in such a fashion as was ritual for him. I do so to protect others from their wrath and their indifference for life. I do so against their greed and their spite. I will not fall to such poison and may this knowledge keep me humble in victory… or resolute in defeat.
The first mammal exited from a larger crevice in the crags, doubling over to catch their breath, followed by another, then a whole herd. Most of them appeared to be medium to smaller prey, probably a selective means to have an easy to feed and relatively quick force to command. Too much diversity meant too much food to bring of varying types.
The mammals in wait kept their paws steady, waiting for a steady crowding to reach a peak. When it was clear that few more mammals would be vacating the jagged housing of rocks, the tod loosed his arrow, a whistle following to tell the others to do as well.
Nicholas missed…
The heart at least. He still struck the deer that he aimed at, but only punctured a lung. He shrugged, figuring it would be the same effect. He would be immobile and die quickly enough.
Everybody around the fox had loosed some form of a projectile. Unfortunately, bows were not able to be used by all. Bogo and Gazelle were among those without a bow, the two taking improvised shafts with tips sharpened by knives shortly before paw and throwing them into the crowd of mammals. They hadn't the night vision the predators of their group had, but apparently, Gazelle was a skilled scout and of course Bogo was a powerful fighter with battlefield experience.
Penny was around somewhere as well, though it wasn't entirely clear as to where. It was made crystal clear, mainly by her wordings before the battle, that she was no soldier. Her strengths lie in being a saboteur and stealthy fighter.
The red fox nocked another arrow, trying to find a viable target. His eyes narrowed, focusing upon a beaver popping their head over a boulder to scan outwards. The volley of projectiles around him ceased in response to a lack of targets, or lack of visible ones.
"What's going on?" the bull inquired in a low tone, with his vision rather limited in seeing the finer details upon the battlefield in the pervading darkness. Even the moon gave a lackluster amount of light to help such a mammal as himself.
"They're hunkering down behind some cover," Nicholas explained. "We have them pinned, so they're not going anywhere, but we can't approach without compromising our position."
"Any more of those hot pitch bomb things?"
"Not a one, Captain," the fox replied. "We could continue firing arrows… but… we have no line of sight."
None too soon after saying that, a series of rumbling battle cries were heard and the remaining mammals darted from their cover, weapons and shields held aloft. Either they came out ready to fight to a certain extent, or a couple mammals snuck back in the crags to equip the others with the nearest arms.
The tod nocked and loosed another arrow, grazing an antelope in the thigh, dropping the bow and arrows directly after to unsheath his two swords, yelling in the process, "TO ARMS!"
All other mammals did as he did, charging into the fray upon dropping their ranged weapons. Now within even a prey's limited line of sight, the battle became more on equal footing. Bogo and Gazelle let out dual cries and powered forward, hoping to use their taller stature to frighten the oncoming leftover forces.
The mercenaries seemed cohesive, as a unit, though lacking in leadership. Nicholas hoped that meant they killed him or her in the pitch bombings, leaving them without a proper leader to coordinate a defense. The point of their lack of direction came when the bull charged first into the battle and used his axe to break the shields of three mercenaries, brutally wounding two and knocking back the third. It was unclear as to whether the two were still living, but their unmoving bodies made for enough evidence to continue moving.
The four tigers that accompanied the buffalo and his mate followed in and formed a delta formation to break the group into two.
With their size and heavier armor, they acted much like a defensive barricade to keep the enemy at bay...
Allowing Nicholas and company to swoop in from their flanks and try to decimate their charging assault. Akela, old as he was, was the quickest to a kill, using a two pawed sword to knock an armored leg out from under a mercenary and bringing the follow up blow to their chest, crushing their armor in on their ribcage and causing too much damage for recovery. The red fox tod twirled his blades, using the short one to knock a shield to the side and the longer one to stab straight through the chainmail into a beaver's abdomen. He gurgled a passing curse that was unintelligible and fell to the side, bleeding out slowly.
Even Nathan was closing in, hoisting a buckler shield and hammer, with the grip capable of being wielded both one or two pawed as needed. He swung the hammer, missing a mammal that backstepped to avoid his blow narrowly. Another mercenary, a gazelle, charged forward to take advantage of the slow recovery, swinging down with a halberd.
"Nathan!" Nicholas yelled out, swapping the hilts of the swords in his paws to backpaw them. He crossed the blades and intercepted the smaller axe blade of the hybrid weapon.
While the fox held back the blade, the young wolf recovered enough to swing his hammer again, knocking into a leg and bending it backwards in a sickening crunch. The gazelle screeched out in pain and collapsed in a heap, clutching their shattered joint in agony.
Nicholas braced himself and used the short blade in a backward thrust to go though his neck padding and pierce the spine. Both life and pain severed from the mortal coil, the gazelle slumped over.
There was no time to lament his dealings as the tod was engaged by another mammal.
With the mercenaries at a disadvantage, their group closed the gap and fought in rotating shifts. Certain mammals would deflect or parry blows, with others like Nicholas switching in to deal a devastating counter strike. Nathan acted as his shield breaker for the short while they fought, with the tod feeling like he needed to watch out for the younger fighter.
It was too bad he couldn't fight with his mate, but her sight wasn't fair enough in the dark to properly attribute to the battle in that way. Her role was helping with Meeko's supposed wounds after they would apprehend him from his captivity, should be hopefully be alive.
In the distance, the fox could see a fallen member of their group. It was one of the people that came with them from Upendi. An ocelot named Flora, if he remembered correctly. Akela stood next to her in a protective manner, using his sword to swing in a wide arc, keeping three mercenaries from closing in for the kill.
"Nathan, Captain, need some help here," the red fox called out, pulling Bogo's attention. He snorted an affirmative and gestured for one of the tigers to follow him.
Flora stirred, an indication that she was still alive, for the time being. Coming to the rescue, the multiple mammals were cut off by the remnant of their forces, either too stupid or devout in their loyalties to surrender. Roughly a full dozen were left, the rest having been dispatched by various means.
Akela saw this, as did the three mercenaries closing in. Taking a deep breath and a steady stance, blade held close to his chest and upright, both paws gripped tightly at the hilt, the old wolf prepared for the inevitable advance.
The tallest of them, a kudu, made a stabbing strike with his halberd, the weapon being parried by Akela's own. The second, a ram, made a quickly following strike, with the wolf's rising block skewing the thrust from hitting his gut. The third of them, a shorter goat, finally hit his mark, the older wolf letting out a yowl of pain as a spear struck his hip.
He nearly dropped his sword, only able to brace it when his pain addled mind processed that the other two would take advantage of this lapse in defense. The kudu made another lunge, stabbing Akela in the chest, under his rib cage, a glancing parry from his sword kept it from going too deep but made way for the ram to get the final strike into his midsection.
The pain was excruciating. He felt like some sort of pincushion.
It was over and he knew it….
But this old wolf wasn't going down without a fight. Seeing the shafts of their spears intersecting in front of him, the wolf grabbed it and staggered back, yanking the weapons with him. The three mercenaries were pulled forward and stunned at the move, fully expecting the mammal to keel over and die.
Akela quickly pulled the weapons from his flesh and hefted up his own, knowing he had but seconds before his body's strength would leave him entirely. He twisted around, using the spinning momentum and shocked stillness of his adversaries against them. His longsword swung around in a final, powerful strike to cleave through armor, fur, and flesh. All three suffered a similar and very deep gash that bled liberally, giving them only slightly more time than the wolf knew he had.
Stabbing the sword in the ground as a final act of defiance, he smiled at the three, their expressions turning to a horrified recognition that he dealt them all a killing blow. It was satisfying to him in his final moments, to know these mammals would be dying for naught but monetary gain… and he… he would die for the family that he had so come to love.
"Bogo!" he yelled with a sputtering breath. The bull was still desperately trying to dispatch the interfering mercenaries, ferocity rising as he saw his compatriot collapsing to the ground. "Take care of Nathan for me!"
"You stay alive, you daft old wolf!" the buffalo fired back. "Don't you dare give up on us!"
Whispering to himself, as he saw the wounds in his body, "If only it were that simple… my friend." Akela chuckled softly, looking back to see the ocelot opening her eyes and getting up slowly. "At least I protected her. Wish I got to know her."
With the last of his vision being of approaching friends with concerned expressions, the old wolf let it all slip, embracing the fall into the abyss.
Bogo caught Akela from falling in a heap on the ground, his sword firmly planted in the soil, swaying slowly with the wind that now flowed over the landscape.
The last of the mercenaries were either captured, chased off, or killed.
"You old fool," the bull spoke softly in lamentation. "You fought bravely. We won't forget this."
Flora got up slowly, with the buffalo nodded for someone to help her up. Nathan rushed to her aid, dropping his hammer in the process. He looked at Akela, eyes squinting shut at the sight.
A paw landed on his shoulder, with Nicholas offering him a cautious glance.
"I'm sorry, bud," he voiced gently.
The injured ocelot gripped the younger wolf around his waist, using him for support. It appeared she was knocked over the head after suffering a small cut to her leg.
"We have more to worry about," Nathan spoke in an uncharacteristically low tone. "Let's get you patched up…. What was your name again?"
"Flora…" she muttered in a haze, still groggy from the head wound. The wolf scooped her up in his arms, not willing to let her attempt walking with her leg and head messed up as they were. With tears pricking his eyes, he focused instead on the individual in need of his assistance in his arms, walking off to find someone to help tend to her injuries.
The red fox turned to the rest of the group, their expressions somber as they saw the result of their victory.
"How many did we lose?" came the simple question, to which all became nervous and looked around to survey others and themselves for wounds and whoever may have been missing.
The tigers approached… at least three of them did… with the tod attempting to remember the names of them. Apparently they were four brothers of the same litter, saved by the Captain years ago from being bought and sold off in separate parts of the provincial state. If he remembered correctly… they were Darren, Daniel, Damian, and….
"Daryll is gone…" one of them stated in a raspy voice. "Got his leg cut up pretty bad near the beginning and just… fell over eventually. If we only knew… we could have…" The large tiger began to break down, letting his tears fall freely. The other two did as much too, comforting their more vocal brother.
"Anyone else…?" Nicholas dared to ask.
"I don't see Penny anywhere… you think she…?" Gazelle dared to ask from nearby.
"Oh, don't write me off yet," a soft tone purred from nearby, closing in on them all. "I made sure those taking less obvious routes would be dealt with. Also… I found Meeko and took him to Honey and Judith. So… mission accomplished?"
As the snow leopard approached, she noticed the sullen expressions and Akela's body being slowly lowered to the ground by the bull, making sure his eyes were closed properly.
"What do you mean by 'I found Meeko'?" the fox inquired with a tilted head. "You went in there and got him out?" The feline shook her head in the negative.
"He found his way out," she began to detail, "and apparently used our rescue as a distraction to sneak away. I didn't have much time to ask before trying to get back here to help. I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner."
"No sense regretting what we can't change," Bogo spoke up, stepping over to the sword Akela planted in the ground and pulling it up, carrying it carefully to set it in the paws of the dead wolf. "You did well and we needed to be void of these pests on our rear. They would have found us and eventually caught us on their terms."
Most mammals present nodded their heads in agreement, leaving the thought unvoiced but all feeling rather relieved that those chasing them were finally dealt with. It was over.
"We have one more little loose end to tie up," Meeko's voice cut clear across the air, his grunting permeating his tone as he used a walking stick with one paw and had the other cradled to his chest in a sling. "I believe I trapped the leader of this little outfit within the confines of my previous impromptu prison." Bogo straightened up and stared down at the raccoon, hooves clenched tight as he ran some thought through his head that no other mammal had clear insight to.
Honey and Judith walked up next to Meeko, surveying the battlefield with their own eyes.
The bull heaved a breath, steeling himself before saying, "Alright then. You…" He gestured to Nicholas, Judith, Honey, Meeko, and his mate, "come with me… and the rest of you do what you can for your injuries and get ready to make our way back to the manor." A cacophony of salutes and mumbled confirmations met him, the group knowing they had much to do before they could properly grieve their fallen in peace.
0000000
With Meeko leading the way, as well as he could in his condition, the small group staggered and crawled their way over the rocks and uneven surfaces in the crags. Honey and Bogo both held up torches, properly lighting the way for them all.
The buffalo made impulsive and repeated mentions that he could hold Meeko to spare him further trekking, but the stubborn mammal refused him every time.
"Sorry, boss," he chided the larger mammal, "but the only arms I want wrapped around me are Sourbelle's here."
"Hey!" Honey yelled from the rear of the group. "What did I say about calling me that, you idiot?!"
"Not sure, I wasn't exactly listening," the raccoon unabashedly admitted. "Besides, your beauty was being louder than words."
"Are you being serious?!" the badger lividly shouted at him. "That doesn't even fit! You are just asking for me to beat you senseless."
"Sense?" Meeko coyly asked with a wide and devious grin. "Surely, you do not accuse a mammal such as myself of having such a thing."
Judith giggled as quietly as she could, heavily entertained by the exchange. She flicked her gaze up to her mate, who appeared complacent and thoughtful of the same exchange. The doe nudged her fox in the side lightly.
"I think they're a thing now," she mentioned obviously. "You gonna be okay with this?"
Without missing a beat, Nicholas grinned wide and his eyes settled into a half-lidded stare as he spoke quietly to her, "I'm actually on board with this whole idea now. Anyone who drives my mother that insane, is alright in my book. Plus,... when he screws up enough, I'm sure I'll also enjoy these 'senseless beatings' she mentioned giving him. Win/win for me."
"You have a strange measure of worth for who can date your mother…" the grey bunny observed with a raised eyebrow.
"...AND that's another thing," Honey resumed to some jibe or comment the fox and bunny missed. "You willfully defy me all too often."
"Oh come on," the raccoon replied confidently. "If I followed your will, wouldn't that make me less 'attractive'? I'm sure you're all too used to getting others to do or say as you please. I'll bet my rambunctious nature is what made me stand out a bit more than others."
The badger began to grumble something almost unintelligible.
Judith caught it though, hearing it as, "Damn it… I hate when that goofball actually makes sense."
The doe looked up at her fox, rolling her eyes in recognition of knowing all too well how that goes.
The exchange continued on quite loudly for a few more minutes until…
"Oh, by the blazes!" a mammal's voice echoed from a nearby chamber. "Would you two…. SHUT… UP!"
"Oh…. found him," Meeko mentioned anti-climatically, pausing for a second to add on in a louder voice, "No?"
A resounding, frustrated yell echoed outwards, the mammal that lie beyond clearly having had enough of hearing the strange flirtations by the badger and raccoon.
Leading the mammals to the doorway, Meeko pointed to the broken mechanism, with Bogo gripping the remains of the counterweight and using it to pulley up the door enough to allow the others to wiggle in.
The bull then anchored the doorway open and stood in it, clearly large enough to block the ram's escape.
"Question time for you this time," the injured raccoon cheerfully chirped at the surprised sheep ram, with him having been caught off guard and standing defensively at the back wall of the chamber.
"What do you want?" he muttered in a low tone, doing his best impression of a growl, with bleating bleeding into the tone.
"Well, my dear Craptain…"
"Captain," Douglas impulsively corrected him, wincing as he noticed the weapons trained on him, including Judith with her bow and arrow aimed menacingly towards his body.
"If he would like to correct me again…" Meeko started with a devilish grin, "feel free to use him for target practice."
"My pleasure," the doe responded, holding her own mischievous glint in her eye, though internally hoping she wouldn't have to do that. She might have come to terms with defending her mate's life, but willfully taking another's when she had the obvious advantage was a bitter root to chew on. Thankfully, she knew the raccoon wasn't actually going to ask her to hurt him aside from saying it as a threatening measure…. Maybe?
"Now… back to our matter at paw," he resumed, "are there any other groups in the region for us to worry about?"
The ram was about to speak before Honey cut in, "Do remember that if we hear anything else other than what we perceive as truth, we WILL let our steel do the talking and leave you to paint the rocks here a lovely crimson."
Douglas cleared his throat to speak once more, "You make a fair point. And though I might be inclined to lie… I hold no real loyalties here. Lord Hopps hired only us, a complement of about two score of mammals. I'm guessing you've dispatched with them all?"
"I'm asking the questions here," the raccoon reasserted to the ram, "but yes… most of them. We have a couple captured, though I suspect they know little except what you order and tell them."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Everything," Meeko simply stated. "Your gait, overly cautious and contemptuous regard with your underlings, and the way you speak as opposed to their lack of obvious education. I'm guessing they are simply cheap hired blades with the basic level of fighting prowess but competent enough to command into an objective. You… Captain… are probably an ex-military officer sent on this errand as a favor and paid handsomely. Stop me if I'm wrong."
"You are right on all but one account…" Douglas carefully spoke. He took a breath, several seconds passing before the stares bore into him with enough awkward discomfort to force him to continue. "I am actually still with the military. This was meant as a scouting operation to follow your open rebellion and incite war with the kitnapping of two daughters of a well respected Lord of the Shire. We were to find out your contacts and pursue all necessary course to root out your runners and rebel cells, passing on that info to a waiting army that is to march upon the countries helping you."
All mammals present were struck speechless by the revelations lain out before them. If they had known this beforepaw, would they have cared to react sooner to the threat?
To Nicholas, something wasn't adding up.
"Why have a mercenary accompaniment trusted with such an apparently important task?" he voiced.
The ram laughed in sullen revelation of his own, explaining, "My thinking is that I'm just a scapegoat to blame when things go wrong and the whole operation gets ousted. Using the state's military with their tabard would be easily recognizable and political fallout would be enormous."
Bogo waved over Honey, to which the badger followed his lead as Meeko and Nicholas kept up the line of questioning.
"Do you think this is why we haven't heard back from my runners?" the bull asked.
The badger rolled her head ambiguously, replying, "I honestly couldn't tell you, but it's as good a guess as any. I'm still of the mind they fell back on the back up plan. Barring a lack of contact, they round up the other cells and head north as fast as they can for the Tundra Federation. I made some friends up there that are more than willing to take in our rebels."
"I see," the buffalo sighed in some form of relief. "So, when we get to this Ewe-topia, should we dispatch a courier to let them know where we are based?"
"Ewe-topia?" Douglas asked, suddenly interested in their conversation. He hadn't heard anything other than that name, but it was enough. He began laughing madly.
It was with great patience, combined with an overwhelming sense of curiosity, that they left the ram to his own recovery time to illicit a more natural response as to why he found the mention of the city so funny.
Finally, he calmed down enough to wipe a tear and explain himself.
"Sorry… it's just… it's been so very long since I last heard of that place. And rightly so. Are you going there to seek some form of refuge or sanctuary?"
"First of all," the fox tod cut in, "it's basically just a checkpoint to go elsewhere. And secondly, why is it so funny?"
"Because it's been razed to the ground," Douglas bluntly spoke. "At the end of the war, many nations were either absorbed into the Shire or taken under it by proxy. Some others…. Were abandoned. And that place…. Was destroyed entirely."
"How would you know?" Meeko piped up in a deadly tone.
"Because I was there when it happened!" spat the ram in response. "I was one of the many who lit the pyres that turned the city into ashes. The state deemed it too much of a threat and thusly wished it erased as one."
"You think he's lying…?" Judith asked hopefully. If any of this was true, she felt it would be but an empty pilgrimage to another land.
"I doubt it," the raccoon muttered. "He seems quite forthcoming. And Honey here is actually a pretty good mammal about rooting out liars. She would have said something."
To underscore his point, Honey nodded in affirmation of what Meeko was saying. The doe felt an anxious knot swell within her chest, fears and reservations now surfacing. If she hadn't started all of this in the furst place, maybe events would have been different. She left her home, dragged her sister with, pulled Nicholas into something he wanted no part of and put everyone in danger. Her missing would quite possibly push her province towards war with anyone they pleased.
Through her plethora of self depreciating thoughts, a paw rested on her head and ruffled her fur.
"Lay off the depressive aura, Fluff," Nicholas jibed. "You know you can't blame yourself for any of this. They would have found some way to forward their plans, with or without you."
"But it's because of me that they…" Judith began in a frantic rush, interrupted by the laughing ram once again.
"Don't think so highly of yourself, little rabbit," Douglas sneered at her. "The state would have spun some elaborate lie if you hadn't come along as a lazy excuse to send soldiers North. Making this seem like a personal vendetta was just a way to get a scout force this far north without others taking action against them. Their thinking was the force would either succeed and come home or get decimated. Looks like my confidence we would succeed was for naught."
"What's the point of sending anything?" Gazelle spoke up from her previously sullen silence, voice as soft as ever.
The ram grumbled, "I wasn't told this… but my guess is it was to gauge the potential strength of the rebel forces we've heard are gaining power and influence."
"So, since your forces were dispatched," the fox said, "I should think that means the state won't care to fight without first shoring up its own forces?"
"You'll have a crusade on your paws," the sheep spoke in a low tone. "They will use this failure to stir fear in the masses… tell them that predators are gearing for war and call for equal action in kind. Families will be called en masse to battle and a many tens of thousands will be made to march to rival and overcome what remains of the Northern provinces."
Silence.
All present wanted to say this was a lie, to believe it could be, but the evidence was clear. No matter the outcome of their venture, Savannah Shire and their controlling powers sought war and to expand their influence ever further. They would use a success to their advantage or a failure to incite the masses to fear driven pleading for the state to protect them.
Nicholas let out a snarl and slammed a clenched paw against a wooden plank that leaned against the stone spires.
Seeing that no one seemed to wish to speak, Douglas sought to further talk, "You will all die beneath their trampling hooves and paws, cursed to be subjugated as all predators must be to keep the peace and mitigate the fear of the overwhelming masses of…"
There was the glint of steel and slice of flesh, causing the ram to stop talking, but continue some form of terribly disgusting noises. All mammals present turned to see the blade that wrought its edge upon the Captain.
Gazelle stood there with steely eyes and a saddened expression.
"Such ideals do not belong in this world… and so… I'm sorry you had to die for them," came her gentle voice, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. "This is not the world I see… the world I can see…. Is better than that."
Bogo laid a hoof on his wife's shoulder, turning her around to pull her into an embrace.
Nicholas left the chamber, to which everyone else followed, worried over their comrade.
"Nicholas," the grey doe called out behind him. He turned, but didn't stop walking forward. The rest closed in, but said nothing as the fox finally slowed to a stop. "What are you thinking?"
The tod's eyes raked over something unseen, as if speed reading a map or book with exceptional speed.
With eyes still giving a piercing stare, his muzzle curved in a tentative smile.
"We don't give up… we don't give in. Not until we reach the end, and then we start again," he detailed to them. "If, as the ram said, this place was such a threat, we still go there and find out why… then rebuild, revitalize, and rally to that advantage. If these power hungry mammals want a war…"
The red fox paused to take a small breath…
"We'll make them regret it…"
Hehehe.
I do hope all of you enjoyed this.
Lots of questions and curious inquires in there to be answered. All in due time.
XD
I'm off to go make mythical weapons that are used to bludgeon quite probably the cutest monsters you will ever see in a game.
REVIEWS!:
USA Patroit: Thank you very much. and yes you spotted a HTTYD reference. it wasnt planned... but when the opporunity presented itself... i couldnt resist putting it in. also, I'm not too caring about the gender thing. I'm just glad people like my stories, regardless of how people view me as a person. and you raise some good points about the donut thing. I'm not a big donut fan myself but still good points nonetheless.
GusTheBear: I do pride myself somewhat on being hard to predict. XD hehehehee.
Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: High praises from a well respected author. I'm glad you think so. I don't aim to be the best, but do aim to do my best never to disappoint. I'm glad to have done that. And you are right, Judith will get her chance. I would have had her fight in the night battle... but felt there was too much i couldnt explain or account for. XD but it's not like all battles will happen at night for them.
thank you very much for your complements.
ShadowRaven27: I love the name Honeeko! beautiful and isnt overly difficult to say. it sounds like a brand for some sort of Peach and Honey shampoo. probably doesn't sound right but it was the first image my mind went to. XD
DrummerMax64: Glad you liked the quote. It was on accident that it made it in there but couldnt resist when i found the opportunity. and thank you for all your positive remarks. I'm loving finally getting in depth with a ship of my own making. I've made a few pairings before but never really invested much thus far in showing the dynamics of their character together like Honey and Meeko. I'm pretty happy with the feedback concerning them. (is also glad i could create lovable OCs that arent too much of a rip on something else)
DONE!
Well then...
Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts.