Chapter 43

Righteous Fury

Ahlrath Palaechia narrowed his eyes as he crouched on the grass and examined a faint set of pawprints in the dirt. "Looks like whoever was here went straight in that direction," he commented, motioning to the south. "So ah think we should go over there."

Gurnilal Speareye tilted her head, impressed. She could hardly see the tracks Ahlrath was talking about even after he pointed it out. "Huh. Neat." The weasel then looked to where Ahlrath was pointing and frowned. "But I don' think they're headin' in that direction."

"Why no'?"

"Cause if ya think 'bout the other tracks we've been followin', whoever these belong to clearly wanna stay hidden. Down south looks to be flatter an' harder t'hide in. I'm bettin' they turned… east, since west is towards th'ship," Gurnilal explained. She glanced at Ahlrath, expecting her to disagree, but the mountain hare seemed into the idea.

"Huh. Ah didnae think 'bout that. Aye right, we're headin' east." Ahlrath nodded and led the pair forward, and sure enough, he caught a whiff of something in the air. He stopped and sniffed, face twisted with concentration as he tried to pinpoint the source. "Ah smell wet fur. 'S very faint, though. Good job, lass."

Gurnilal smiled slightly. "Thanks, but how're ya gettin' some o' this? I ain't see or smell half the stuff you do."

"Ah've had practice," Ahlrath answered vaguely. "Ah'm guessin' this ain't yer first time trackin', either."

Gurnilal nodded, recalling the times she was forced to help find a fleeing villager or deserter. "Aye." Neither of them wanted to pry, but the way Ahlrath's ears twitched in thought suggested he was thinking the same thing she was: both of their experiences were stained with blood. Although Gurnilal didn't have strong feelings about the task itself, she got the sense that Ahlrath felt more negatively. Then again, the way he spoke reminded her of a field leader, so maybe this was just what he was like when he was on the job.

Ahlrath slowed to a halt, tapping his footpaw against the ground. Gurnilal was about to ask what was wrong when he asked, "Ah need yer insight. Does any o' this seem wrong to ye?"

"No," Gurnilal answered immediately. However, Ahlrath only speaking when it was related to the task at paw compelled her to think deeper. Th'mountain hare- Ahlrath, smelled wet fur even though they're headin' ter th'river. Am I wrong? Maybe I should just… No, Ahlrath asked fer my input, so I have ter try. Th'question is, why're they goin' ter th'river? If th'lack o' missin' berries, roots, or fruits from any plants're any indication, whoever we're trackin' ain' lookin' fer food. The lack o' tracks suggests they're trained if even Ahlrath had trouble findin' 'em at times, so… Oh no. "I ain' completely sure, but I think 'tis possible we're on th'wrong trail."

Ahlrath frowned. "Ye dinnae mean…"

Gurnilal nodded and whispered, "This trail may belong ter th'guards, especially considerin' th'roster back in th'brig."

The mountain hare sighed and stared at the ground. They had a choice to make. They could either turn and run, or continue pursuing the lead on the very unlikely chance that it belonged to a prisoner, or even more unlikely, Toran or Crookedfang. Logically speaking, it was an easy choice, but as Gurnilal and Ahlrath made eye contact, the answer was immediately clear. Desperation shone on both of their faces as they nodded. "Ah wanna go onwards," Ahlrath mumbled.

Gurnilal lightly scratched her palm. "Aye."

They remained in silence for a bit before Ahlrath shook his head. "Ah admit, this is stupid, but…"

"Aye, I know." Gurnilal nodded. "If it is Crookedfang, I don'..." She trailed off as it seemed Ahlrath knew what she was talking about. Without further discussion, they continued forward, working to decipher where these tracks led to. The mood seemed to take a hit, with both beasts constantly looking over their shoulder and wincing every time one of them made a noise. Their attempts to be silent only made it stick out more when Gurnilal realised Ahlrath was panting. She raised an eye and looked at the mountain hare. The fur on his head was matted like he was sweating, which, granted, was likely a coincidence considering how thick and long his fur was, but that combined with the odd colour coming from a couple of the cuts and bruises covering his body concerned her. "Hey, I ain' tryna pry, but are ya doin' alright?"

Ahlrath snorted. "Aye, don't worry 'bout me."

Gurnilal narrowed her eyes sceptically. "Did that otter-?"

"Aye, tough bastard got a few hits in," Ahlrath replied, which Gurnilal felt was downplaying it a bit. The mountain hare seemed to get what Gurnilal was getting at and added, "Ah'm fine, aye right? Ah've handled a lot worse." His tone made it clear he wasn't going to speak any more on the subject so Gurnilal dropped it. After that, she assumed Ahlrath wanted to be left in silence, but something else had been bothering her ever since they met, and now felt like the right time to ask.

"So, what's with ya an' th'otter? Toran, I mean."

Ahlrath sighed. "Ah dunno. When ah was first captured, he was scared, so ah took the time tae comfort him. 'S no' like we had much else tae do. But now, he trusts me, a lot, and ah feel…" He gestured vaguely with his paws, unsure how to phrase it. Gurnilal had an idea what he was getting at, though. She didn't know much about Toran and Ahlrath to say anything definite, but their relationship vaguely reminded her of Vhynias and his mother before she passed. Ahlrath shook his head. "Ah cannae let anythin' happen tae him. How stupid am ah tae leave him with the hogmaid and Durkfor? She cannae fight and Durkfor's a traitor."

Gurnilal couldn't help but wonder how Crookedfang was doing, but the further she got to thinking about it, the more she began thinking about Tornear. Tears welled in her eyes and she scowled. Ahlrath turned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Gurnilal wiped her face and shook her head. "Nothin'. Let's just keep searchin'."

The two decided to keep quiet after that. Not out of any bitterness, but because Ahlrath got the sense that they were nearing the end of the trail. They prepared themselves for whoever they were about to find, whether it was Crookedfang or Toran, another prisoner, or guards. Ahlrath stretched his arms as if he were preparing for a fight while Gurnilal picked up her chains since she didn't have a weapon. Eventually, they stopped. Ahlrath whispered, "Do ye mind scoutin' ahead?" Gurnilal nodded and headed forward, keeping her steps light and crouching low to the ground. She could hear the river up ahead. As she weaved through the trees, she looked around for an escape route, just in case she was spotted. It then began to dawn on her just how dumb of an idea this was. Both she and Ahlrath were obviously readying themselves as if they were about to face off against the guards, and while she could've rationalised this as being ready for any possibility, it very much seemed like they were expecting just one.

But still, if there was any chance it could be Crookedfang, she had to keep going. She couldn't forgive herself if it turned out to be him and she left.

However, with that in mind, she wasn't surprised with who she found. No, she was more surprised by how many.

She peeked through a bush to find the river. On the opposing riverbank was none other than Tiviko Polonuk with a group of beasts trailing him. She counted ten before realising she and Ahlrath needed to leave as soon as possible.

As Gurnilal lay eyes on the wildcat, an explosion of emotions flew through her mind: fear, sadness, regret, jealousy, but most prevalently anger. Given what Miena had told everybeast at the temple, Borsen may have been the one to bring Tornear back to the ship, but Tiviko was the one who came from the shadows and apprehended him. If it weren't for Tiviko, Tornear would still be here. She gripped her chains tightly in her paws as she glared at the wildcat. She wanted so badly to run over there and get revenge, but fear made her turn away and return to Ahlrath.

The mountain hare was waiting by a boulder. He immediately knew something was off when he saw the look on Gurnilal's face. "So were we-?"

"Aye. 'Tis the guards. Not just that, but the wildcat's there."

Ahlrath bared his fangs. "He's there?"

"Aye, on the other side o' th'river, but he has a large group," she said with a hint of bitterness. "We have t'go."

Ahlrath growled and turned in the wildcat's direction. "How many?"

"Um…"

"How many of 'em are there?" He asked in a guttural tone. "Ah can take 'em."

Gurnilal stepped between Ahlrath and Tiviko's group. "I don'... I counted at least 10."

Ahlrath grinned slightly, although it went away quickly as soon as he thought about it more. He scoffed and flexed his fists. "What a coward, hidin' behind his subordinates like that. Ah wish he'd fight us one-on-one and see how he deals not havin' a million beasts defendin' his tail. If only we were armed, ah know we could kick their tails straight tae Hellgates." He glanced at Gurnilal and asked, "How fast can ye run?"

Gurnilal looked down at her short legs. "Not well."

"In that case, we have tae be quiet an' leave. C'mon."

Gurnilal nodded. She glanced over her shoulder and followed Ahlrath as he led her away from the river. As the two moved through the trees, something occurred to Gurnilal. She paused, looked at the ground beneath her, and raised a footpaw. She couldn't see any pawprints because they were travelling on the grass, but she couldn't help but wonder if they were leaving any trails while fleeing from Tiviko. Nervous, she looked at Ahlrath and muttered, "Do ya think 'tis possible the wildcat's trackin' us?"

"That depends, now." Ahlrath's ears twitched as he asked, "Ye said they were on the other side o' the river?"

"Aye."

"Did they see ye?"

"I don' think so."

"Then they shouldnae be. However, we also cannae assume they havena found our trail and are followin' us. Let's stay on guard and keep an eye behind us just in case. Aye right?"

"Right," Gurnilal nodded. "On th'bright side, there're so many of 'em that they'll slow each other down. Well, unless the wildcat tries t'chase us alone."

Ahlrath chuckled grimly. "Nae, he willna do that. Ah know he's scared o' me." He cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Ah reckon that without his precious bow, he'd be scared o' ye, too."

"Ya sound really confident 'bout that," Gurnilal commented suspiciously.

"Ah fought 'im earlier. Broke his bow, too."

"But there're many of 'em. He'd send 'em after us, aye?"

Ahlrath snorted. "Aye, obviously. We are outnumbered and 'tis no skin off his nose if somethin' happens tae 'em. I'm sayin' he wouldnae go alone."

Gurnilal looked over her shoulder. Sure, the idea of Tiviko not caring about his crew wasn't a new one, hell, she expected it, but it was a far sight compared to Vhynias. It only made her miss him that much more. "Is our capture really that worth it t'him that he's willin' t'sacrifice his crew like this? Even if he doesn' care, that's a lotta manpower goin' t'waste."

"Ah dunno. Honestly, this seems really excessive and stupid. Ah would've just given up and sailed away. Either we're really that important, or he has that much pride. At the very least, ah know ah have a lotta beasts who'd pay a large sum fer my head."

Gurnilal pondered for a moment about her friends and the prisoners she had met thus far. "Well, I know Vhyn, Bolgash, Crooked, and… I know we've done stuff. I can' imagine what Noruth or th'vole did, though. I don' see either of 'em bein' criminals. I dunno why they went to that Abbey, either."

"Eh, ah can hazard a guess," Ahlrath said, rubbing his neck. "Let's just say that Art kid knows a friend o' mine, and neither of our paws are the cleanest."

Gurnilal nodded slowly before glancing over her shoulder. Her heart lept in her chest as she caught a glimpse of red fur far in the distance. A brief flicker of excitement ran through her as she thought it was Vhynias, but it faded quickly. He wouldn't be hiding in the trees like this. She quickly turned to Ahlrath and urged him to run. "We've gotta leave, they've been trackin' us!"

"Damn it!" Ahlrath hissed. Wasting no time, he grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

The forest exploded with sound as Tiviko's group broke into a run as well, punctuated by Tiviko giving orders in the back. "You eight, cut them off! The rest of us, go, hurry!"

Gurnilal's footpaws skidded against the ground as Ahlrath practically dragged her along. As expected, Ahlrath was too fast and it led to Gurnilal falling to the ground, bringing Ahlrath with her. Ahlrath snarled, scrambling up and pushing Gurnilal to her footpaws. "Meet at the twisted tree we saw earlier! Ah'll lead 'em off! Run, now! Ye can do it!"

Without another word, Ahlrath ran towards the group, startling the group who weren't expecting to fight the mountain hare. Tiviko screamed, "Back up, back up, throw!" Ahlrath's approach shocked them enough for Ahlrath to abruptly turn and run to the right, leaving a few javelins flying harmlessly through the air. Tiviko turned in Gurnilal's direction, but the weasel had already left. No matter. Eight of his crew should already be after her.

Gurnilal's lungs burned as she sprinted through the woods as fast as her body could handle. She looked over her shoulder. They were still quite far and she couldn't tell if they were getting closer or not. Her breathing hitched as she whipped her head around, looking for an escape.

What do I do?! I can' do this on my own! I dunno how t'get 'em off my tail, what do I do, what do I do?!

Her eyes widened as she approached a ledge. She panted and jumped down, landing safely on the grass as he did so. When she turned around, she realised the guards were out of sight. No doubt they still knew where she was, but it gave her an idea.

Don' run straight an' keep tryna block their sight of ya. Right now, ya have a head start, an' havin' t'chase a beast wit' seven others is gonna slow 'em down a bit. I just need t'shake 'em off.

With that in mind, Gurnilal kept running. She yelped as a javelin slammed into the tree next to her. She scanned the area, and it appeared that she could either run into a forest leading towards the river, or towards the hillier part of the island. She chose the hills. With a head start, she leapt and grabbed onto a high ledge, using her height and strength to pull herself up as fast as she could, running off before the guards could climb up as well.

That was sure to get rid of the shorter members of the search party, but what now? Gurnilal decided to try to confuse the guards further, turning, climbing up and jumping down hills and ledges, running behind cover, even if for a little bit. Eventually, it reached a point where although they were still chasing after her, she couldn't see them. Gurnilal looked around for one final trick, which was simply to hide. She removed one of her vests and tossed it on a tree branch before going in the opposite direction, crawling behind a thick copse of vegetation. And then she waited.

In no time, a few of the guards (only the taller ones, it seems they didn't bother pulling the shorter ones up) ran past. One of them pointed out the vest in the tree and they went in that direction. Gurnilal still didn't move, keeping as still as possible until she knew for sure that they were gone. In the deafening silence that followed, Gurnilal heard a faint scream in the distance. She turned and grimaced. Was there fighting going on the entire time and she was too focused on running to hear it? Was it Ahlrath? No, a beast as strong as him must be alright. Gurnilal slowly got up, scanning the woods as she did so. It didn't seem the guards were nearby. She cautiously got out and grabbed her vest.

Is it safe? Seems like it. I should get ter th'weird tree right now. First, I need t'find out where I am, though.

Gurnilal walked to the nearest tree and climbed up. After taking a moment to determine her position, she dropped down and headed straight for her and Ahlrath's meeting point, making sure nobeast was following her there.

Gurnilal sat against the twisted tree and rubbed her tired eyes. Ahlrath still hadn't returned. Considering he had more beasts to chase off, she wasn't surprised, but it still made her shiver wondering what would happen if he ended up dead.

No matter how strong ya'rr, anybeast can die just like that, so what if… no, he has t'be alive, aye? He's…

She couldn't rationalise a reason that he'd still be alive, and it made her queasy. What if he died because he insisted on taking on the larger group of beasts? After all, he was very outnumbered. So what if he-

A rustling drove Gurnilal's attention away from her thoughts and she spun around. Ahlrath emerged from the bushes with a javelin and a sword in paw. If she ignored the wounds the sea otter had inflicted on him earlier, he was mostly fine. The mountain hare grinned and tossed a sword to the ground next to Gurnilal. "There ye are, ah knew ye'd be fine."

"Yarr alive!" Gurnilal exclaimed.

"Aye, why wouldna ah be? Trust me, if ah went down, ye'd be hearin' a lot more yellin'. Ah ain' goin' down without a fight."

Gurnilal stood up and let out a deep breath. "I dunno, I got so worried that somethin' happened, an' that I'd be alone again!"

"Ah'm fine, really, but look at ye, ye shook yer fair share o' beasts off, too. Give some credit to yerself, eh?"

"Ya led most of 'em away," Gurnilal replied guiltily.

"Aye, true, but ah'd have tae deal wit' more if ye werenae here. Ye did a good job, aye?"

Gurnilal shuffled her footpaws. "Ya don' have t'flatter me."

"But ah do, we're both alive, aren' we? What's not tae congratulate?" Ahlrath said. Gurnilal could tell he was putting on a bit of an act, no doubt after what she told him when they met in the shack, but admittedly, it felt nice. Ahlrath motioned towards the sword on the ground. "Now, c'mon, we should leave 'fore Tiviko comes back. 'Sides, we still gotta find yer friends."

"An' Toran," Gurnilal nodded.

Ahlrath nodded as well. "Aye. Let's go." He and Gurnilal swiftly left the area with their new weapons, more determined than before to find the beasts they cared about before anything happened to them. Gurnilal looked up at the mountain hare with admiration. She was glad he was with her, but what he told her made her think. Could she really be fine on her own? She knew that she couldn't, but Ahlrath seemed to think so. Regardless of whether he was right or wrong, it made her feel better knowing somebeast thought that she could.

Yos Peonymaid didn't know where she was running. All she knew was that she needed to get away from Crookedfang as fast as possible. That damn rat, how hard is it to do what you're told? If he just killed Miena, then the ottermaid wouldn't have snitched about what happened at the temple. Besides, in Yos' defence, she already felt unsure about working with the guards. It wasn't as if she intended for Noruth to die. Actually, she didn't even kill Noruth in the first place. The ferret did. All she was doing was playing with the cards she was dealt. She shouldn't have even been blamed for this.

Eventually, Yos ran out of breath and had to stop. She leaned against a tree, panting raggedly. It didn't seem like Crookedfang was following her, but she couldn't even be sure of that. Who knows? Maybe the rat had done this kind of thing in the past. He's definitely killed beasts before, at least.

Yos wiped her forehead with her sleeve. It was still baffling to her how Crookedfang could just work with Miena. She heard the two from the tower. The two had a fight and a heated and violent one at that. Yos couldn't fathom how they could make up. Did they have some kind of deal to fulfil or a previous connection? To her, that was the only way she would ever work with any of these prisoners.

At least, that's what she thought at first.

As time passed and she kept wandering through the woods, it quickly dawned on her that she might've screwed up a little. She was alone, had no weapon, supplies, or shelter, and most importantly, She reasoned that a few of the prisoners were now coming after her. Ulfrad, Miena, and Crookedfang knew that she was a traitor. Those are three beasts that she hoped would never be after her, and who knows else who the otters had told? More than anything, Yos knew she needed one thing: protection. Even though what little she gleaned from the prisoners in the brig wasn't great, she solidified her decision to find someone to work with.

A yelp tore through the sky. Yos froze and turned towards the noise. Not too long after, she heard angry shouting followed by a scream.

And then it was silent.

Yos' paws shook as she looked around. Was there someone dangerous nearby? The vole anxiously clutched her poncho. None of the screams sounded like any of the prisoners if what she heard in the brig was any indication. Then again, screams were a bit hard to discern. Could that have been Crookedfang or Miena? No, I don't think either of them could have made it this far, especially after their fight. If it is a guard, then would Marlus' deal be enough to protect me? Maybe. If it is a prisoner, I should be fine. Crookedfang and Miena were both at the tower, so this is likely someone else. Maybe I should check it out? If all else fails, they might have things to take.

Still, the idea of going towards a fight made her quiver, but she took a few deep breaths and headed there anyway. The silence as she trodded through the woods was nerve-wracking. It reminded her of what happened at the temple last night. There was a lot of screaming for a while, and then by the end, it was quiet while Noruth and Vhynias were lost. The mole's vacant eyes bore into her mind and she shivered. I'm not going to end up like them, she declared. Not too long after, the sharp, metallic scent of blood filled her nose. Yos gagged and covered her mouth with a paw. Faintly, she could discern somebeast talking to themselves past a set of trees, likely a male. She took one more breath before stepping into a clearing.

Yos let out a scream. Two familiar-looking bodies lay on the ground covered in slash wounds. The larger one, a fox, sat slumped against a tree as blood poured from a deep cut in his throat. A few metres away, a weasel was curled up into a ball with gashes dotting his legs, back, and arms. Yos realised it was one of the pairs from Marlus' group that left to search the woods after the attack on the temple. A voice to her left spoke and she swivelled around. It was a squirrel leaning against a tree, nursing a bloodied arm. A curved blade lay next to him on the grass. It was Art Swiftpaw.

"Shut it," he snapped with a shallow breath. "Somebeast will hear you."

Yos backed away, trembling. "What? Who are you? What even happened here?"

Art scowled and reached for one of the guard's discarded bags. "What the hell do you think? They're trying to kill us." Yos watched as he rummaged inside the bag before tossing it aside dismissively. "Great. Do these freaks really not carry any medical supplies around? You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"

"N- no," Yos answered. Her mind was too hazy to make sense of what was happening, and the squirrel's oddly calm demeanour didn't help things. Art paid no mind, of course, and went through the second bag. He grabbed a waterskin from the inside, before tossing the rest away.

"No stitches, bandages, herbs, or anything. Great. I sure hope none of them were expecting to get injured. Bloody hell, they're pissing me off even after they're dead." Art grumbled harshly, picked up his sickle, and began slicing through the hem of his overly baggy habit. Yos shook herself out of her daze and watched the squirrel closely. She knew an experienced beast when she saw one, and Art somehow looked like he was and wasn't at the same time. He moved with a purpose, however the exact movements were clumsy. Then again, considering the fact he appeared to have been slashed in the chest and had a hole in his arm, it wasn't a surprise. Art was about to pour water on his arm when he looked up at Yos. "What are you lookin-? Do you need something?"

Yos stared at the bloody arm and slowly nodded. If this squirrel was able to defend himself against two of the guards, he'd be a perfect beast to travel with. "Um, yes. Sorry. I- I'm just a little surprised." Art scowled at the answer but otherwise didn't react. "Um, would it be alright if we stuck together?"

"No," he snapped. "I can already guess what's going to happen if I let you. We're going to get into a fight, you're going to panic, and bad things will happen to everyone. Go away."

The vole flinched fearfully. At the same time, however, Art's response annoyed her. There's no need for the attitude, is there? We don't know each other. Do you treat all strangers like this? However, all of her irritation was overridden by the simple fact that she was terrified. The last thing she heard Crookedfang say suggested he wanted to get revenge while the deal that Marlus made to her a while ago implied that he was the only one in on the deal. The other guards would likely be after her, too. "Wait!" She yelped at the unamused squirrel. "Please, I don't want to be alone. At least take me with you until we find another beast, please."

Art scowled at Yos, but she noticed that the corners of his mouth were twitching as if he were struggling to keep them still. Eventually, he stood up and sighed. "Dear Martin, you're a moron. Fine, but only until we find someone else. I don't want you to be near me longer than you need to. Understand?"

Wow. Could you be any ruder? She thought to herself, but she nodded anyway. "I promise I won't be a burden."

Art grunted noncommittally and snapped, "That's not the problem."

Yos tilted her head. Really? Ok, so are you just always this cold? I mean, I understand, but you don't have to be so rude. Art stood and experimentally moved his arm, wincing as he did so. Afterwards, he grabbed one of the discarded bags, slung it over his shoulder, and continued without a word. Yos blinked rapidly. He didn't even check to see that she was following him. She stepped forward to go after him, but the stench of blood filled her mind again.

She turned for just a moment and immediately gagged. She didn't want to focus on it, but something about the two corpses made her unable to look away. She stared at the single wound on the fox and the many cuts on the weasel. She didn't know enough about injuries to analyse them in any way, but the slash in the front of the fox's throat jumped out at her, and she didn't know why…

"Hey! Are you coming?" Art yelled.

Yos turned and stammered, "Y-yes, I'm coming. Sorry." She got up and left the deceased guards, taking one last glance at the stained grass underneath them. She caught up to Art, who decided to traverse an easier path now that she was following him. She couldn't tell if that was meant to be condescending or if he was genuinely concerned, but it felt a tad demeaning either way.

Her first impression of Art in the brig was that he was antisocial and never spoke to anybeast, and, well, that assessment wasn't entirely untrue. Most of what Yos heard was Art either angrily yelling at guards through the door or commenting on how they were screwed. It wasn't exactly a great look. Maybe because of all that, it surprised her when Art asked, "So, how are you holding up?"

"Who, me?"

"Are you stupid?" He snapped. "I'm talking to the sky, who the hell do you think I'm talking to?" Yos frowned. The squirrel rubbed his neck and sighed. "I'm trying to learn as much about our captors as I can, so I thought I'd ask you something while we're here. Can you tell me who you've seen up until this point and if you've seen guards wandering around?"

Yos' mind froze. When she thought about it, most of the things she had done would seem really bad to any other prisoner. It made her question whether what she was doing was alright, but Art clearing his throat made her remember that it was all in self-defence. Sure, admittedly, they weren't the best things to do, but everybeast does things they're not proud of when times get tough, right? "I… was just hiding."

"Where? Did you see anybeast?" Art asked impatiently.

"N- no. I was by myself the whole time," she lied.

Art snorted. "Seriously? Not even the guards?"

"No."

"Alright then. You're not going to get anything done by doing nothing."

"I… okay?" Yos was confused. What right did this kid have to talk to her like this? What had he done anyway? It seemed like the only progress he made was hurting himself. As much as she didn't like Vhynias, she had to admit that his bringing the prisoners together, in theory, was a good idea. It just so happened that he was a fox and unlikely to continue working with the woodlanders, most of whom were constantly fighting.

"So, why did you come out, then?"

"Huh?"

"It sounded like you were staying in one spot the whole time, so what made you leave?"

Yos didn't have a response. "Um… Well…" Art was waiting for her to answer, so she had to come up with something. "Well, the temple was attacked, so I left." At least it wasn't entirely false, but she wanted to hide the fact that she indirectly caused it.

"I thought you were by yourself? Being attacked means you weren't."

"I must've forgotten," she quickly said. Art scoffed. She looked defensively at the squirrel and said, "Why are you asking all this?"

Art swung the sickle over his shoulder and said, "I already told you, I'm trying to get information."

"Why, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? The only way we're getting out of here is if we put every single one of those bastards into the ground," Art said with a growl. "They brought us here, so what the hell do they think what's going to happen? Do they think we're not going to fight back? They're taking everything away from us, so of course I'll…!"

Yos backed away as Art started ranting, but she was glad he was doing so. If there was one thing she learned back home, it was that sometimes, staying quiet while your enemy talks themselves into a corner or blabs out information was a virtue… Wait, was Art an enemy? At this rate, probably.

"... Borsen, hell, even Durkfor, anybeast working with them is going to burn with the rest of us."

That line gave Yos pause. Anybeast working with them, huh? "Uh-huh," she hastily agreed. I didn't come across the worst beast to work with, did I…?

Art looked at the ground, tapping the sickle against the dirt. "Well, judging from how you're acting, you for some reason don't hate the very beasts that put us here, so I have one last question. Why did you lie?"

Yos froze. "What do you mean?"

"You said that you haven't seen anybeast, not even the guards, and then you said the temple was attacked, and that's why you left. Then you said that you forgot. That's like the dumbest excuse I've ever heard," Art explained with an ever-present growl. Yos' head began to burn like a star as fear crept into her mind.

The vole gulped. Logically speaking, nothing she said confirmed or even suggested that she was working with the guards. She just needed to play it off as fear and she would be fine. "Why are you assuming I'm lying on purpose? I was scared, alright?" She explained pleadingly. In a flash, Art grabbed Yos' chains, preventing her from running away. She yelped with wide eyes. "Stop! I didn't say anything!"

"You're on their side, aren't you?" Art snarled.

"What the-? No! I'm not! Why would you even guess that?" How did you come to that conclusion?! Just think about it! Sure, my forgetting might seem suspicious, but nothing I said suggests I worked with them! What are you saying?!

Despite the cut on his arm, Art pulled the vole closer and held the sickle up to her quivering face. "How did somebeast like you get away unharmed, huh? How did you get away when other beasts I know-!? You're telling me that you just hid for the whole time and nothing happened? You expect me to believe that you're somehow that lucky when other beasts weren't?!"

"Yes! Yes!" Why aren't you listening? Nothing I'm saying is impossible! Everything I said is true except I omitted Vhynias! I'm not lying! I'm not! I didn't say anything wrong!

Unfortunately for Yos, even if everything she said was true, it didn't matter if Art was too paranoid or angry to believe her, and she knew it. She saw it back home. She saw it with Ulfrad and Vhynias. Heck, in the back of her mind, maybe she saw it in herself a tiny bit. Art threw Yos to the grass and raised his sickle. "I'm not taking any chances. If you're with them, then you'll pay in the same way!" She screamed and twisted aside as the blade dug into the grass. She scrambled up and bolted. Her short legs pounded on the grass as she tried to flee, but try as she might, Art was much faster.

Art's paw latched onto her chains, yanking her to the grass. He pounced in an instant, eyes burning with misplaced revenge as he raised the sickle.

"Stop! Please! Believe me! BELIEVE ME!" She shrieked. Why won't he believe me? He shouldn't know, he… doesn't! Why doesn't he trust me? Why doesn't he trust-?!

A fireball of pain exploded in Yos' body as Art buried the sickle into her stomach. She howled. The pain worsened as Art dragged the blade down and through the rest of her torso, tearing the sickle out of her body in an arc as flecks of blood and gore landed on Art's habit. The pain was blinding, too much for Yos to scream any more, so she simply stared wide-eyed at her soon-to-be murderer as he growled and wiped his forehead. Without another word, Art simply turned and left, leaving Yos to bleed to death on the ground. If she knew more about wounds, she probably would've realised that the scene she found Art in wasn't him defending himself, but ambushing two guards and slashing one of their throats before they had a chance to react. Unfortunately, she didn't and decided to trust somebeast for the first time on the island, and it cost her her life. All the while as she lay there, a single phrase repeated over and over in her mind.

He didn't know… He didn't know…