Chapter 9- Fallen for a trap Turkish Delight, platter and cover
While the investigation of the Forest Flish incident was underway, Voltasu made his return journey to Cair Paravel Castle, a large box decorated with metallic coloured ribbons wrapped around it, those metallic colours designed to reflect royalty, such as gold and purple. As he walked along, he admired the greenery and the colour of the surrounding plants and trees and listened to the joyful melodies of the songbirds emanating from their sources into the air, things that did NOT exist, if barely, during the Age of Winter. He also flashed a small robin a smile as it chirped nearby in a shrub before continuing. However, the Yatagasaru was not aware that the same cannot be said for a certain forest where some Forest Flish carcasses had been found, but he had been at the market at the time of that disturbing scene's discovery and he had his mind on one thing for another. Pulling his eyes and ears from the scenery and the songbirds, Voltasu waddled on via his three-legged steps, his large present box in his wings.
As Voltasu neared the outskirts of the castle, a Bipedal Sheep with shining golden fleece walked in. It was a Ram based on the size of his horns and the intensity of the gold colour in his fleece. Ewes, or the females, had less gold in intensity in their fleeces and no head horns, and the Lambs were yellow in colour. Voltasu looked up and smiled at the Gold-Fleeced Sheep.
"Hi, Chrystós, nice day, isn't it?" said the Yatagasaru, "I've just been to the market to buy Their Majesties a cake."
"I can see but that's not the reason why I have come to meet you," replied the Gold-Fleeced Ram named Chrystós, his face creased into one of seriousness. Voltasu stopped when he saw that look on the Sheep's face.
"Has something happened?" he asked.
"Some of the youngsters have just discovered multiple Forest Flish carcasses strewing a thicket and based on how many had been killed, it is clear that it was NOT the work of a flying predator or hunter," replied Chrystós, "Further, Rattus and some others have seen something suspicious in the darkness of the thicket and Queen Susan has ordered an investigation into the case. To add, Larimar, Ahhuayo's granddaughter, has reported of an insect-like creature in the same thicket but in a different area of it."
Voltasu stood there, a disbelieving look on his face while his wings clutched the beautifully decorated gift box containing the cake.
"Are you meaning to say that there could be something afoot near Cair Paravel, or..." the Three-Legged Crow began but he trailed off, not wanting to say the name of the most wanted minion of Jadis, one that, according to Queen Lucy, resembled a cartoon feline character from her and her three siblings' world, Earth. Chrystós didn't reply but commanded Voltasu to make his way to the castle and drop off his gift and then suit up for duty on the castle grounds, which the Three-Legged Crow obeyed.
Meanwhile, back at Cair Paravel School
Malachite's group continued to occupy themselves with the books in the classroom with one of the older Skvaders who was one of the grand-kits of Snowwing, a deceased adopted family member of Kushanku and company, reading the creation story to a subgroup of children. The others kept themselves occupied by drawing and writing using the paper and pencils available in the room. While everyone else did these activities, one of the Nekomata, Malachite, gazed sourly out of the window. The bright green and dark green striped young Yokai Cat with a partially split tail due to her age stared longingly into the greenery of the surrounds of the school. However, the strict rule that she stay with the others in the classroom as ordered by Kushanku and company was for GOOD reason. There were suspected intruders prowling around the grounds and Kushanku and company wanted to make sure that the children were kept safe. Up and down the area surrounding Cair Paravel, other children had been sent home or escorted to other places of safety with Larimar being in the house of Merida, one of Padparadscha and her late husband Satoshi's daughters and Kushanku's nieces and who taught at the school. Furthermore, the key to the door to the classroom had been entrusted to one of the older members of the group who had excellent sense, Leon the Jackalope and Dahlia's grandson. Leon was very good at keeping to the safety rules and was EXTREMELY adamant with them and will NOT tolerate attempted disobedience so he had been selected and entrusted with the key until Teal'c and Paddy returned with the food for the group and until the situation on the castle grounds had been dealt with. Malachite turned to look at the teen Jackalope Buck who had brown fur like his grandmother as he taught some of the younger members, among them Seishan and Elsa, Malachite's cousins, the evolution story of Narnia and how it was false and contrasted with the true account of Narnia's creation, using the blackboard and chalk to draw a diagram of the 'microbes-to-fauna' 'family-lines'. As Malachite glared at the teen Jackalope, Lymphocyte came in. His cousins Eosinophil and Basophil were reading a storybook to a group of young Rabbits and a Toucan who were also part of the group.
"Leon certainly is very knowledgeable in the Aslan-less story of how Narnia formed isn't he, and how it contrasts with Narnia's true story of its creation, eh, Mal?" said the Terror Bird in admiration of the Jackalope's understanding of this subject. An envious glint sparkled in Malachite's eyes as she continued to watch Leon explain to his audience that Aslan formed their ancestors out of the dirt fully formed and that they did not evolve from their own microbes.
"Wish I could teach like he could," muttered the green striped Nekomata jealously.
"Leon told me that he would like to be a creation teacher when he becomes an adult Jackalope and also husband and father to kittens of his own," said Lymphocyte, "So do I to a degree but to my own chicks."
"It still surprises me that the evolution story teaches that Narnia formed as a molten disc or something with the burning sun close to it," said Malachite, "before that sun inched away and Narnia cooled into the land it is today. Not to mention some meteor appearing with our supposed-microbe ancestors flying in, exploding and seeding the early oceans with Narnia's first life which then evolved into the various creatures we see and know today."
"With one type of microbe becoming Cats, another, Dogs and so on?" said Lymphocyte in a slightly sarcastic voice in mockery to the anti-creation story, "Oh, yeah."
Malachite continued to stare at Leon as he used a pointer stick to 'draw' a cross over the drawing of the 'evolutionary microbe orchards' diagram intended to represent the alleged microbe ancestors evolving into the various lifeforms of the Narnian world to show that it was false and then continue to describe how Aslan formed Narnia by singing it into existence, and then returned her gaze to out the window.
"Oh, I wish I can get a job or fight wars or something," she muttered sourly, "But every time I tell that to Grandpa Kushanku or another grownup, the only answer I get is 'you're too young'."
"I longed to participate in hunts for my clan when I was a chick, to help find food for them," said Lymphocyte, "And like you, I grumbled about being too young but eventually, I came to understand that hunting trips were FAR too dangerous for young Terror Bird chicks. We had to be skilled in running and stamina first."
"Your chick-hood days were during the final years of the White Witch's terrible reign wasn't it?" asked Malachite. Lymphocyte, a scowl on his face at that terrible time, nodded.
"Unlike your grandparents and some other Terror Bird clans, we didn't migrate to Archenland, especially when the Witch tightened her grip on our lands and rules," said he, "Our home was in a remote area of the countryside but still, we had wretched spies like Slender-Men watching us, but enough of that, when the Dawn of Spring finally came, I was finally able to participate in my first hunt, along with my friend, Chert, and we were successful in making our first kill."
When Malachite gazed at him with a slight frown, Lymphocyte formed an assuring smile on his deadly looking beak that was ONLY used to dispatch game, foes and as a tool to break open hard-shelled fruit and put a short clawed wing onto the green and dark green striped Nekomata's shoulder. "Your time to fight or participate in wars and jobs will come eventually, Mal. Just be patient."
Malachite just breathed a sigh and returned her gaze to outside while Lymphocyte decided to leave her alone by leaving to find a book to read.
The group continued their activities and waiting for Teal'c and Paddy to return with their food from the market when suddenly, one of the young Rabbits and a great-grandson of Faline the Rabbit saw movement outside the window, the exact same window Malachite had been looking out of before she decided to find herself a book to read, and she was doing so near it. Upon seeing the movement, the Rabbit Kit bounded to the window and peered out. As the Kit did that, Malachite flashed him a look before resuming her book. Then Elsa walked in.
"What are you reading about, Mal?" Seishan's twin sister asked.
"The Four Corner Talking Beast Nations," replied Malachite, "They are the Eastern Azure Dragons, Southern Vermillion Phoenixes, the Western White Tigers and the Northern Black Tortoises. Apparently, they live in a Domain of Narnia where the Sky Dome meets the Land. It is also where Father Christmas is from..."
"I think I remember some ambassadors coming from those areas to celebrate the filling of the Four Thrones of Cair Paravel after the White Witch was defeated," said Elsa as Sisu the young Kirin walked in, "The Azure Dragons resemble Serpentine Dragons with shimmering scales like the Eastern Sea; the Vermillion Phoenixes bore vivid red-orange plumages, the White Tigers of the West had pure snow-white fur contrasting with their jet-black stripes and the Northern Black Tortoises were giant Tortoises with jet-black scales and obsidian shells."
"They're among some the noblest Talking Beasts, I've read," said Sisu, "Apparently they are as noble as Centaurs, my species the Kirin and centuries-old Kitsune."
Malachite was about to reply when suddenly, the Rabbit Kit's voice rang out and captured their attention. "Guys, look, there's someone advertising training opportunities for kids!"
Malachite, Elsa and Sisu looked up and saw many of the other kids including some teens like Eosinophil, Basophil and Leon crowd around the Rabbit Kit as he pointed a paw at something out of the window.
"What is it, bro?" asked one of the Rabbit Kit's sisters as the others peered through the window. Malachite, Sisu and Elsa joined the crowd and peered through the pane of glass. Sure enough, they saw what appeared to be a bipedal Humanoid, either a Dwarf or an Elf, double-bounce walk past. The creature was dressed in smart clothes and appeared to be looking around for something. It was also hollering something and in one of its hands it held what appeared to be a giant advertising board and on that board read the words 'Training opportunities for young Talking Beasts'. Then the bipedal creature began to walk in the direction of the School, shouting in the same way advertisers would holler their products in the market. As it got closer, the biped was revealed to be an Elf for it had pointy ears and no beard. If it had been a Dwarf, a massive lock of facial fur would have smothered its cheeks, chin and nose, though in female Dwarves, the facial hair was far less, and its ears would have been rounded.
"Come, children, training opportunities for you to take up to hone your skills for future jobs for when you grow up..." and as the Elf, which was a male, yelled these words, he raised his advertising board to back up his call and to entice the children. These words stiffened the ears of the children in the room, especially the Rabbit Kits. Turning to Leon the Jackalope, the first male Kit said, "Shall we go and meet him, Leon?"
"I have always wanted to practice wood carving as I am good at it," said one of the Kit's sisters. This excitement kindled that within Malachite and Elsa but in Sisu, not so much. Many of the other younger members also chatted with excitement and persuasion towards their older supervisors to be let out to meet the Elf. However, the elders remained adamant.
"No, you lot," replied Leon, "Remember Mr Kushanku's command to stay here."
"He would be STEAMED if ANY of us left the safety of this place," put in Eosinophil. Suddenly, another shout from the Elf outside seized the group's attention.
"Come on, kiddies, this is a ONE-TIME opportunity and you'll DEEPLY regret it if you miss out..." called the Elf. This added fuel to the fires of the excitement of the children who wanted to go out and meet the Elf.
"Oh, PLEASE, Leon," begged the first Rabbit Kit desperately, "Let us go out, just this once, please?"
"We will come back here once we've met the Elf and see what he has to offer us," said Elsa.
"Mr Kushanku told us to stay here," said another teen Jackalope who was one of Leon's sisters, her face mirroring the serious glare lacing Leon's and also the other teens, such as Eosinophil, Basophil and even some younger ones like Lymphocyte. While Leon had his attention on the crowd of begging youngsters, Seishan sneaked upon him, her eyes on the key to the door dangling on a piece of string clutched in Leon's paw. She, too, was desperate to meet the Elf to see what training opportunities were on offer. However, Leon was too preoccupied with reasoning with the persuasive youngsters.
"C'mon, Leon, you'll be able to see what opportunities that Elf out there has to offer you based on your abilities too," said a young Skunk.
"Yes, absolutely," said a Beaver who was the pup of Mr and Mrs Beavers, two of the Four Monarch's closest friends and helpers in their finding of Aslan. Then came a third shout from the Elf from outside. This time it was about something different. "Come on out, kiddies. I have some special treats for you if you will only emerge to see what opportunities I have got for YOOOUUUU!"
Now THAT caused a flash fire in the excitement of the children and even Lymphocyte and Sisu were starting to yield to the temptation. So did the older carers including Leon but they soon fought against it. Leon then began to angrily rebuke the persistent children; some of them even wearing puppy-dog eyes to add to their 'PLEEEAAASE' begging to convince him to change his mind and allow them out. Seishan was now close to the key held by Leon and was now reaching a paw to it to snatch it. Yardang the Cheetah saw the twin sister of Elsa, distinguished by her cerulean head bow from Elsa's pink, but assumed she was simply getting a book.
"Listen, you lot," the older male Jackalope Buck protested, "Do you want Mr Kushanku and the other elders CROSS with us for disobeying them? They didn't command us to wait in here as a joke y'know..."
As Leon spoke, he suddenly felt the string and the key slip out of his paw and the moment he felt that, the Jackalope teen shot an alarmed look but when he saw that the key had been taken and one of the white head-bow-wearing Nekomata was scurrying off with something in her paw towards the door, alarm exploded through him. The other youngsters formed a path to allow Seishan through.
"Seishan, gimme THAT KEY this MINUTE!" bellowed Leon angrily as he chased her down but he tripped and fell flat on his face. Yardang and two other young Cheetahs rushed in and helped him up. Eosinophil and Basophil also saw Seishan dart straight to the door while Malachite and Sisu began to doubt the Elf's invitation to come outside and meet him. However, when they saw Elsa's twin sister then stuff the key into the lock and turn it as two colourful-spotted Terror Birds rushed in to help stop her, alarm exploded within the two as well.
"Seishan, NO!" cried Malachite. Too late; a click sounded as Seishan turned the key in the lock. The moment the door was unlocked; one of the Rabbit Kits rushed in, seized the door handle, pulled it down and yanked it open. The door swung open and knocked down Basophil, Eosinophil and another teen Jackalope who was one of Leon's brothers when they tried to seize some of the kids and Seishan. The moment the door was wide open, a full torrent of various young Talking Beasts rushed out of the dam that was the room, laughter of excitement jumping into the air from them, and behind the small floodwater gush were several drops as the remaining youngsters, among them Malachite, Sisu, Elsa and Yardang and their carers, Leon, Eosinophil, Basophil and several others, FURIOUS looks on their faces, gave chase, shouts of 'GET BACK 'ERE' exploding from, their beaks and mouths. As they pursued the kids through the hall, Leon felt dread turn his blood cold.
"We are SO dead meat," he cried, his paws clasping onto his face.
"Let's just apprehend those kids and get 'em back into the school!" shouted Eosinophil. Leon put aside his distress and continued the chase. Yardang, Sisu and Malachite ran alongside him, dread also exploding within them at Kushanku and the others' reaction at finding them outside the area they had been commanded to stay, or rather, Padparadscha and Teal'c's first for these two had gone to buy them some food from the market and will be the first to meet them.
The surge of young Talking Beasts continued through the school until they came to the entrance. They exploded from the main entrance and continued in the direction of the Elf once outside with Leon's group in hot pursuit. The kids ran and ran until they finally met the Elf, much to the Elf's delight. As the kids crowded around him, the Elf formed a sunshine-like smile.
"Ah, there you are, my children," he said in a tone of voice that was as sunny as his beaming face, "My name's Pettigrew and I have something special for you."
The kids, among them Seishan, Mr and Mrs Beaver's son and the Rabbit Kits began to jump up and down as their excitement boiled over. However, they were soon joined by the group of several more young kids and the older members, among them an EXTREMELY irate Jackalope Buck and two colourful Terror Birds. Eosinophil rushed in and yelled at the younger members in an authoritative voice tone while Lymphocyte began to try and lead some of them away from the Elf.
"KIDS, you REMEMBER WHAT OUR ELDERS TOLD US ABOUT STRANGERS," the red-pink spotted Terror Bird cried, "BACK AWAY FROM THAT ELF this MINUTE!"
"Yes, you DON'T KNOW HIM!" put in Basophil. Leon then began to try and drag some of the Rabbit Kits away but they only squirmed out of his grasp and rejoined the bounding crowd surrounding the Elf named Pettigrew. Sisu, Malachite and Yardang looked on worriedly as Pettigrew flashed a look at the older members of the groups and then gazed back at the excited younger members. He then reached into some sort of pocket with a hand.
"Here are my treats for you as thanks for coming out and some leaflets about the opportunities for you children," said the Elf as the kids jumped up and down with more excitement, expecting to be showered with sweeties and sheets of paper containing information about what the Elf had said. As he fumbled in his coat pocket and prepared to produce whatever he had hidden in there, some of the elder members looked on and exchanged looks.
"Treats and leaflets?" asked Eosinophil. Then Leon squinted carefully at the Elf's face and as he did, suspicion welled within him.
"Wait a second..." began the Jackalope Buck teen. Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, excitement and suspicion exploded to SHEER horror as the Elf's arm swung from the pocket. However, the hand did not pull out sweets and sheets of paper, but long, thin colourful vines but don't be fooled. These vines were no pretty strings, but a device used for something far more sinister and they kept coming and coming out of the Elf's coat pocket. The screams of excitement erupting from the kids suddenly changed direction like a broken branch into screams of sheer terror as these vines then began to wrap themselves around them. The Rabbit Kits were bound together and Seishan tried to propeller tail-fly out of the way but a blue vines rushed in and entangled her partially split tail, arms and legs, plucking her out of the air and rebounding her back towards the Elf. Leon and the others flinched in horror.
"NOOOO!" cried Eosinophil and with that, she brandished her mini-trident and charged at the Elf, whose face now sported a wicked and menacing grin as he watched his vine-like colourful and tough strings tie up the terrified and screaming kids, the three prongs of her weapon aiming for the creature's back.
"Eosinophil!" cried Lymphocyte as a red tendril seized his legs and began to tie them up, knocking him down. Malachite and Elsa were also seized and tied together while Yardang and Basophil, Leon and the other teens attempted to dodge the flying binds which appeared to have a mind of their own, as though magically imbued to go after their victims and tie them together. Eosinophil then prepared to skewer Pettigrew the Elf through the back with her trident but before her weapon could make contact, the Elf whirled round and whacked the female young adult Terror Bird away with his advertising board which was actually a fake. Then as Eosinophil crashed into the grass, Pettigrew flung some aqua blue string at her to bind her but Sisu jumped in and took the entanglement. Eosinophil watched in horror as the young Kiriness was tied up in the string, the Dragon-Unicorn creature thrashing and releasing screeches in a vain attempt to get free. She even chomped down onto the string but could not break them. Basophil then rushed in but he became entangled in a long, writhing vine of yellow string. The blue-purple-spotted Terror Bird fell over like a Dryad's tree being felled and his sword flew out of his small wing-claws. Eosinophil then stood up and prepared to throw her trident at Pettigrew but Leon rushed in and restrained her.
"Don't, Eosinophil," shouted the Jackalope Buck teen as he seized her trident, "You could hit one of the kids if you did that."
Eosinophil shot the Buck a scowl when suddenly, an ear-piercing whistle exploded from a device held in Pettigrew's mouth, a conch, prompting the young Talking Beasts to clasp their ears closed with their paws, hooves, talons (for the Terror Birds due to their short wings) and wings. Eosinophil and Leon did this with their talons and paws respectively and screwed their faces shut. Then suddenly, the thundering of hooves and wheels on grass began behind these two. Eosinophil heard it first the moment she withdrew her talons from her head, but she had already deduced the source of these sounds. Immediately, she scrambled to her feet, seized Leon by the small antlers in her beak and darted out of the way just as a pack of horses and a large container on wheels exploded out of the trees and bushes right behind them, narrowly escaping being trampled upon its emergence. Basophil, whose legs were hopelessly tied up, saw the incoming horses and wheeled object being pulled and also leaped out of the way as they slammed onto the grass, several blades of the green chips being whipped up with the smoke and dust from the impact. Then the horses and the wheeled container, a large, ellipsoidal carriage of sorts, swerved round and skidded to a stop as Basophil hopped towards Leon and Eosinophil. The bound kids released wails of terror as the new, and hideous, sight, was revealed as the dust settled.
The sight was indeed hideous but at the same time eye-catching. The two horses pulling the ellipsoidal carriage resembled Longma for they were Horse-like and had Bat-like wings like a Dragon but unlike Longma whose scales and wings were colourful, these Bat-Winged Horses were jet black, emaciated in appearance and sported demonically cat or serpent-like eyes. And instead of neighs, hisses emanated from their mouths, and their ugly Bat's wings swung at the air as they reared up in an intimidating fashion. The ellipsoidal carriage pulled by them via reigns resembling thorny vines resembled a giant, ellipsoidal pumpkin but its surface glinted in silver and gold. Its wheels were silvery but they had a thorny decoration to them. However, this gold-coloured pumpkin with silvery streaks decorating its surface was not at all noble and beautiful, unlike the carriages the Four Monarchs sometimes rode during their trips from Cair Paravel. A shiny gold-coloured pumpkin pulled by ugly emaciated, Bat-winged Pegasi, called Carcusi (single: Carcasus) was NOT at all a good combination. Eosinophil's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of the two Carcusi, their thorn reigns being held by the charioteer of the gold pumpkin-like carriage, another Elf and an ally and helper of Pettigrew.
"I thought ALL those demonic Pegasi have been driven to extinction!" the pink-red spotted Terror Bird blurted out.
"Don't forget, there is a good number of that White Witch's minions still loose," said Leon, "Why do you think Their Majesties have established these search..." suddenly, Eosinophil let loose a short shriek to shut him up and prevent him from divulging the Pevensie Monarch Quartet's projects in the presence of Pettigrew and his assistants from the carriage which were the charioteer Elf and also a Black Dwarf, a Slender-Man, a Stinger-Rat and two Hags, and several Blue Mice, as they emerged from the gold and silver pumpkin carriage to prepare to load the captured kids into the vehicle, especially as Pettigrew shot the pair a suspicious glare. Then Basophil began to cringe at the sight of the hideous creatures, especially at the faceless, tall Slender-Man that resembled a tall Humanoid with lanky limbs and tentacles dressed in a three-piece suit and with bone-white skin, as white as that of Jadis. One of those creatures nearly claimed his life when he ran away from his clan just before the Dawn of Spring. However, Basophil swept aside his fear of the Slender-Man and began to struggle to free his feet of the binds, knowing that he MUST fight back to protect the bound children. Then Leon and Eosinophil and the rest of the teenagers who had managed to escape the magical string binds in time then grouped and prepared to fight Pettigrew and his group as they scornfully and mockingly glared at the terrified and bound kids, among them Sisu, Malachite, an ashamed Seishan, Yardang and Lymphocyte whose short clawed wings were too tied up to utilise his crossbow and arrows.
"They sure fell for THAT trap Turkish Delight, platter and cover, didn't they?" chuckled the Black Dwarf, a female whose chin was fringed with a little ashen grey hair for female Dwarves of both the Black and the Red groups had far less of it than the males. However, her eyes were building and her face resembled a Hag's.
"Great job, Pettigrew," said the Stinger-Rat, a creature resembling a cross between a Humanoid and a Rat with a tail ending in a stinger like a scorpion or Manticore, and its skin colour like that of a waterlogged corpse. Pettigrew, a smug smile on his face, accepted the compliment.
"Right, let's pack our catch into our carriage and flee before anyone shows up," said one of the Hags, her ugly hands clasping together with glee and her ugly Bird-like face raking over the writhing and wailing children.
"SHUT UP, you LITTE RATS!" screeched the other Hag, startling them in the hopes of silencing them. However, their wailing only increased. Then Malachite shot Pettigrew a caustic glare.
"Just WAIT until Grandpa Kushanku and the others hear about this, you UGLY CADAVERS!" she snarled; her neon green and dark green fur puffed out.
"They will NOT hesitate to TAKE YA DOWN EITHER BY SWORD OR..." put in Yardang but the Stinger-Rat lunged at them and snapped its tail-stinger at them, dangerously close to Yardang's face. However, it did not allow the stinger to hit the young Cheetah but purposely missed to frighten him into silence.
"SHUT UP, YOU MAGGOTS!" bellowed the ugly Scorpion Rodent resembling some hybrid creature formed from horrific and unnatural gene splicing, "Or I'LL SHUT YOU UP... with THIS!" and to enforce its threat, it thrashed its tail stinger like a whip, to the UTMOST terror of the children. The Blue Mice which resembled cute blue Rodents but were EXTREMELY bloodthirsty and always used their cuteness to charm their opponents before attacking, then brandished their weapons, mostly swords and rapiers, and further enforced the Stinger-Rat's threat by pointing the tips of these at the throats of the young Talking Beasts. Sisu, whose feet were hopelessly tied in the binds, winced as one of these sword's tips hovered dangerously close to the vital area of her neck, so she stiffened. However, Pettigrew and company briefly forgot that there were some young victims still free, as evidenced by a spinning three-pronged weapon fork which flew in and landed square in the lower back of one of the Hags. Pettigrew and the others shot astonished looks at the mini sorceress as she stiffened from the agony from the impalement of the small trident, her hands having gone to there to grasp the weapon. Then a teen flightless Bird of Prey with white plumage and pink-red spots ran in, seized the Hag and arched her upper body backwards to expose the vulnerable frontal areas. Then without hesitation, Eosinophil brought the hooked part of her massive beak directly down onto the Ugly Woman-Humanoid's chest where the ribcage was, inflicting the deathblow with the Axe-Beak technique. The Hag was killed within seconds.
After Eosinophil killed the Hag, withdrew her small trident from the Hag's back and tossed aside the now-dead little Witch, she shot Pettigrew and company a THUNDEROUS glare while Leon unleashed a MASSIVE "ATTAAAAAACK!" command. Then within a crack of lightning, Pettigrew and company were confronted by a pack of ANGRY un-captured teen Talking Beasts of various species as Leon and the others, alongside Eosinophil then launched into battle against them to save the captured kids.
"COUNTER-ATTACK!" cried Pettigrew and with that, his group produced their weapons and clashed with Leon's group. The two Carcusi also joined in and began to use their hooves and Bat-like wings, particularly the claws on the thumbs of them. As the Dawn of Spring air above the area was shattered by the sounds of the erupting battle, Basophil continued to struggle to free his bound feet using his beak to cut them but to his dismay, the string wouldn't come loose. However, Basophil failed to realise that this string was magically imbued to be unbreakable and so make escaping these binds more difficult, even impossible, for the victim. Frustrated and giving up and unable to help his allies and sister to fight Pettigrew and company for the captured kids, Basophil began to hop away to think of how else he could help his allies. Terror Birds were helpless if their main method of propulsion, their feet, were bound and Basophil knew that he would be easily captured if he tried to help in this state.
Malachite and company, who were hopelessly tied in this unbreakable magic binds, watched as Leon's group bravely fought Pettigrew's group, Leon taking on Pettigrew himself with his antlers and paws. Pettigrew tried to fling some magical binds at the teen Jackalope but the Antlered Jackrabbit was too fast for him and managed to jump onto the Elf first. Pettigrew was bowled over by the weight of the young teen Buck and as soon as Leon had his opponent on his back, he began to apply his stubby antlers, teeth and claws full force. Though his antlers were short for Leon was only a teen, they still inflicted damage on his opponent, and he managed to do so, on Pettigrew's face and chest. Then Leon, his face saturated with PURE wrath, proceeded to claw the Elf like a savage Cat, carving claw marks on the writhing Elf's face and arms as the wicked Elf desperately tried to seize and throw him off of him and drawing blood. Close by, Eosinophil lashed her beak, trident and clawed feet at some of the Blue Mice as they jumped at her to attack her while close by, one of Leon's sisters killed one of the cute-but-savage Rodents with a fatal slash to the throat with its own sword which she had managed to seize from it. After this, the teen Jackalope Doe twirled the sword and glared wrathfully at more Blue Mice as they closed in on her. Nearby, the other teen Talking Beasts, among them, another of Leon's sisters, confronted the Slender-Man as it swiped its tentacles and long, thin arms at them.
"We gotta try and do something, Mal," said Rainbow Quartz whose wings and hooves were tied together by the magic binds near Malachite.
"Do any of you Nekomata know telekinesis, if you're born with it, that is?" asked one of the Rabbit kits. Malachite then looked around and spotted a rock. As soon as she had done that, she began to try and mentally grasp it to fling it at one of the enemies. However, because she was still young, her telekinesis, which she had indeed inherited, was still very weak, but she tried nonetheless. Suddenly, the remaining Hag and the Black She-Dwarf rushed in and seized some of the bound kids, among them one of the other Rabbit Kits. These kids launched into a MASSIVE and MOST VOLCANIC tantrum they could EVER muster by kicking and screaming as violently as they could as they were carried away by the two ugly creatures but their captors stuffed them into the back of the shining gold and silver pumpkin carriage anyway.
"QUICK, LOAD THOSE KIDS INTO THE CARRIAGE!" Pettigrew's voice exploded into the air as the Elf received a MASSIVE bite from Leon into the shoulder. The Elf's face and arms were crisscrossed with countless bloody claw marks and puncture wounds, evidence of Leon's savage use of his stubby antlers and claws and now the Jackalope Buck was using his teeth, and these had the potential to deal more damage than the stubby antlers and the claws. Pettigrew launched into a MASSIVE screaming fit of pure agony as the Jackalope proceeded to try and damage his left shoulder as much as possible. He seized the Buck with his other hand by the ears and tried to yank him off his shoulder but Leon savagely fought back. Around the pair, the other teens continued their vicious attack on Pettigrew's assistants, the Elf charioteer taking on a teen Skvader as the Bird-Rabbit flapped above him and lashing his claws at him.
"Come on, Malachite," cried Elsa as the neon green and dark green-striped Nekomata tried to mentally shift the rock, her face twisted in effort as she strained. Her eyes flashed cyan briefly and a cyan aura flashed around her target rock but it was only brief, as was the rock's movement. Malachite tried harder but the flashing of the cyan aura in her eyes and around the rock went in a literal blink. After trying for a third time, fatigue set in and Malachite was forced to give up, her brain feeling like an overworked muscle.
"I-I-I can't move that rock," she said, "My telekinetic abilities are too undeveloped."
Suddenly, a pair of ugly hands appeared and seized Seishan and Elsa by the binds and lifted them clean into the air. The two twin Nekomata screamed and thrashed but the Hag nonchalantly carried them over to the carriage's rear as though they were mere objects and threw them into there without hesitation. The Black She-Dwarf did the same with Yardang and short shouts of pain exploded from the young Cheetah from within the pumpkin-carriage as he landed painfully inside. OUTRAGE flared within Malachite. How DARE those two ugly beasts treat her second cousins and adopted Cheetah family member, and the other kids like THAT!? Then when the She-Dwarf came to pick up Malachite, the green-striped Nekomata youngster, volcanic wrath flaring on her face, twisted her bound body sharply round and slapped the She-Dwarf in the face with a spin of her partially divided tail, the branches spinning like a propeller which were thankfully not tied together by the binds. Though she was young and her tail was only split nearly quarter of the way down, Malachite was able to twist the tail branches and spin them. As she got older, she will be able to spin her tail branches more and more and possibly even fly like her grandfather Kushanku and aunt Merida. The Black She-Dwarf shook her head with brief stun before she shot Malachite an enraged glare.
"Why you LITTLE..." she snarled in a Hag-like voice and with that, she lunged at Malachite, seized her by the ears and head hair and carried her towards the carriage's rear, causing her a great deal of pain. Then Rainbow Quartz struck as the Dwarf went past with the crying Malachite in her clutches. With her rear hooves bound together, the young Pegasus squirmed and with all her might, lashed those hooves at the She-Dwarf and slammed them HARD into the Dwarf's right leg as fast as the action of the Stinger-Rat's whip-like stinger, hitting her just below the hip. SHARP AGONY ripped through the She-Dwarf's right leg and she fell forward like a tree being felled by a logger, dropping Malachite onto the grass and briefly stunning her. Her hands then seized her kicked right thigh and she began to cry in UTMOST agony; that cry piercing the air in a high-pitched shrill. Malachite flashed the Dwarf a smug glare but she was immediately seized by the Hag and flung into the carriage's cargo section like a toy with the others inside. Then Rainbow Quartz was seized by two of the Blue Mice and she was tossed into the carriage but she shot the downed She-Dwarf as she continued to scream and grasp her kicked thigh a caustically scornful glare as she was carried past. However, she could not lash out at the Blue Mice for they had their rapiers pointed at her and they threatened to injure her if she ever did. After they had dumped Rainbow Quartz into the carriage, the two Blue Mice hurriedly raced back out to seize another victim.
Eosinophil narrowly managed to escape receiving an EXTREMELY painful sting from the Stinger-Rat as it lashed at her with the flexible Scorpion-like tail in an attempt to whip her leg and maim her only to miss. However, the tip of the stinger managed to shear out some feathers. Then after Eosinophil seized her little trident and made her escape along with two of Leon's sisters and the teen Skvader, Leon, as he struggled in an ENRAGED and bloodied Pettigrew's grasp, shot the four a desperately pleading look.
"FETCH MR TEAL'C AND MRS PADDY, QUIIICK!" cried the teen Buck Jackalope before Pettigrew swung his arm around his neck to choke him only for the Jackalope to counter with a bite to the arm, sinking his buckteeth into the section between the elbow and the wrist. Eosinophil and the three half-Rabbit creatures stood there, torn between helping to fend off the kidnappers and obeying this request. However, when they saw Lymphocyte get loaded into the carriage by the Stinger-Rat and the Hag kicking and screaming, and seeing Basophil hopping away into the trees, that same thing on his mind, the four bolted after him.
"Let's run like the wind, you three," shouted Eosinophil as the two female Jackalopes and the Skvader seized Basophil to help him along, "We cannot defend our younger members ourselves."
"Sorry I had been unable to help," said Basophil as he struggled to free his feet and was hoisted onto his back by the three half-Rabbit creatures to be carried, "My feet are bound..."
"Your bound feet will serve as evidence, bro," said Eosinophil before flashing a look behind them. When she saw the Stinger-Rat pursue them with some more magical binds given to it by Pettigrew, she screeched, "Let's GO!"
With that, the four took off as the Stinger-Rat tossed the binds, coloured green, at them only to miss. Giving up and recovering the magical binds, the Stinger-Rat returned to the fray to help Pettigrew and company fend off the rest of the teens and pack the other younger victims into the carriage.