"Where there is preparation, there is no fear." ~Hwang Kee.

A series of shrew fights occupied the morning as it drifted on.

Remy and Gavlin drew thin trenches in the dirt amidst their frenetic and breathless spar. Tillie demonstrated her own adeptness with Timakwo in the ring against a Guosim named Laurel, and her signature specialty of Rtuyoshi. Samson guarded himself with Kōnōtash against Fritz's whipping Gōryjūn backfists and roundhouse kicks.

As late morning departed and early afternoon settled in, Tiraqoo visited Jacob and Jared in the infirmary. Tipuka remained in the main hall to organize the next series of fights.

"Hey, Jared! Madeline!" He heard Jacob prompting the Sandeyes from across the sickroom. The towering wolf leaned back against his oak headboard. His large and tall canine body practically dwarfed the smaller shrew-sized bed. His long legs and arms hung off the end and sides of the wooden frame. Three giggling and blushing teenage shrews encircled him. They were cleaning the dirt from his body using wet rags. "Maybe you two should try sparring against each other!"

"Oh, that would be awesome to watch!" Remy agreed, sitting upright in the same bed he'd occupied before. He shook his fists, eyes widening with excitement.

"What would a fight between Kōnōtash and Tuah Mann would look like?" the Guosim shrew Laurel wondered aloud, accepting a cup of piping hot chamomile tea from Matilda.

"Oh, believe me, guys," Jared snickered. He and Madeline shared a smirk. His dirt-coated tunic hung on a metal laundry rack that stood adjacent to his bedside table. In its place, he wore his knee-length trousers. "You don't want to see that."

"Jared's right." Madeline giggled and dropped her rag into her ceramic bowl full of water. That's not a question you want answered." She took a dry rag and proceeded to clean the excess water from her brother's bare fur.

"Aren't you going to tell them to leave you alone?" Jared pointed a suspicious claw at the Guosim shrewmaids. They laughed and sighed amongst themselves while they washed and dried Jacob's upper body.

Jacob released a bark of amused dismissal. He lifted his paws to stroke the backs of two of the shrewmaids' heads, gazing at them with fondness in his eyes. "Why should I? Who am I to deprive the ladies of their pleasure?"

"Eeep!" "Eeek!" The two shrewmaids having their headfur stroked squeaked aloud and clapped their paws to their mouths in unison. Their faces turned bright red. The third shrewmaid pointed and laughed.

"Hey, Phoebe, be nice," Jacob admonished the juvenile teen shrew. Though he allowed himself an amused fanged grin.

Tiraqoo chuckled and approached Jared's bed. "How are you feeling, Jared?"

Jared sat up straight in bed. "A little shaken up. But I'm fine." He let out a breathless exhale of surprise. "I've never been pinned down like that before, that's all."

He met the Guoraf Log-a-Log's look of concern, and promptly added, "I'm primed to do another fight if anybeast is offering, sir."

"What about you, Jacob?" Tiraqoo called to the wolf.

Jacob responded in an affirming nod. "I'm feeling better as well, sir. I appreciate you asking. But I think I'll duck out from the exhibition fights from here on out."

At the Log-a-Log's furrowed brow of skepticism, he explained. "Your shrews would be at a great disadvantage against me; in size, shape, and skill. I don't want to be responsible for any broken bones or strained muscles, sir."

"Hmm," Tiraqoo agreed, and made a thoughtful nod. "That's very caring and considerate of you, Jacob. I appreciate you thinking selflessly of us shrews. We look like mere children next to you. I'm sure Tipuka will be glad to hear that as well. Anyway…"

Facing Jared again, he let out a relaxed exhale. "I'm relieved to see that you two are both recuperating well after your fight. It was quite intense! You had me on the edge of the tree stump, for sure!"

Putting his paws in the pockets of his trousers, he added, "Well, I thought I'd let everyone know that Tipuka and I have decided to trim the fight time down to two minutes. I hope that's agreeable with all of you."

As he expected, murmurs and exclamations of assent coursed through the infirmary. A mix of gentle and vigorous nods accompanied them.

"There's more, isn't there, sir?" Jared asked Tiraqoo, trying his best not to sound suspicious.

"Indeed," Tiraqoo stood to his fullest height, puffing out his chest. "Jared Sandeye, you have thoroughly impressed me with your physical strength and skills in the styles of the Akret Branch. Therefore, I would like to challenge you to an exhibition fight. My Kuanzai against your Kōnōtash. What do you think?"

Both rounded on Madeline when she started giggling. "Wow, Jared, you're becoming popular! Pretty soon everybeast in Brockhall will want a go at you for a Wungkan fight!" She wrung excess water out of her wet rag, spilling it all into a hardwood bowl.

In an instant, Jared threw the blanket off his body and swung off the bed. He put his paws on his hips and puffed out his bare chest.

"Log-a-Log Tiraqoo, sir! I'm raring to go for another fight! I'd be honored to spar with you! I accept your challenge!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Larina objected, appearing abreast of Jared from the other side of the room. She held a cleaning rag in each paw, with which she'd been treating Samson's and Fritz's bruises. "After you've already had a fight? You're going to jump right into another one, just like that?"

"Yep!" Jared responded; his eyes gleaming. He set his jaw, his gaze alert. He seized his tunic from the laundry rack and climbed into it. "That's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"Yeah, Jared!" Jacob called to the squirrel, and he shook an energetic fist in the air. "Go for it! Give that shrew what for!"

"Jake, he nearly got snapped in half by you!" Larina rounded on the wolf, protesting. "You shouldn't be encouraging him!"

"If it's what he wants to do, then who are we to judge?" the nonplussed Jacob shrugged. "It's his body! Let him do what he wants with it!"

"I'm going to fight Tiraqoo, Larina," Jared asserted, and he spun on his heels to face her. Courageous fire burned in his pupils. "This could be my chance to impress upon Tipuka of my skills in Wungkan, too! He told me at Nameday that I need to earn the privilege to fight him. I've gotta show him what I'm capable of! I'm not passing this up!"

At this point, all the males in the Infirmary raised their voices in encouraging and delighted cheers.

"Ugh!" Larina threw her cleaning rag in the air and stormed out of the infirmary. "Boys!"

Madeline, holding her stomach as her giggles turned to full-on laughter, tailed Larina out into the hallway.

Larina was leaning against one wall, arms folded over her chest and a footpaw perched flat on the tree bark. At the younger squirrelmaid's approach, she glanced up and managed a small but genuine smile.

"I guess there's nothing I can do to convince Jared to fight Tiraqoo so soon after Jacob, is there?" She shrugged in resignation and pushed off the wall, unfolding her arms and planting her foot on the ground.

Then she reached out to take Madeline's paws in her own. "Listen, Maddie, I wanted to properly apologize for misjudging you. Your spar with Antonius really opened my eyes to the truth of who and what you are. I'm truly sorry for the way I acted before. I shouldn't have talked to you and Jared the way that I did. I see now that it was very selfish and closed-minded of me to do that. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."

Madeline matched her smile and drew close to the older squirrelmaid, lacing their fingers together same as she had before in the study. "Larina, I properly forgive you. Wholeheartedly."

She beamed at Larina, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "You simply didn't know. All this Wunkgan stuff is so new to you. You're still learning. It's not your fault; none of it. Jared I can't speak for. But I can tell you that I don't hold any of this against you. Neither does Antonius."

She unlaced one paw from Larina's and placed it on her shoulder. "The last thing I want you to do is blame or criticize yourself. What's done is done between you, me, Jared, and Antonius. Let the past be the past. Think of this as a learning opportunity."

Larina inhaled deep, and at length let it out through her nose. "You're right, Madeline. I need to keep an open mind. I'm already learning so much. I mustn't let my ego get the better of me like it did once already!"

"That's the spirit," Madeline chuckled and returned her paw inside Larina's. "Remember when you figured out the concept of Kuanzai, the drunken style? How it's designed to imitate the movements of a drunken beast? You're already more perceptive than you realize, Rina."

"Yes, I do remember," Larina nodded her head, the memory of Tiraqoo's drunken style demonstration still clearly fresh in her mind.

Madeline squeezed her shoulder and added, "When we get back to Redwall, Jared and I can teach you even more meditative Wungkan styles and techniques to supplement your Halichit learning. For now, just stay focused on the present moment. Center your focus in the here and now."

She touched a finger to the center of her forehead, then traced a straight line in the air to touch the same on Larina's head. "Keep your mind's eye open. You never know what you might pick up on!"

"I will do my very best, Madeline." Larina's face brightened, and she reached out to pull her fellow teenage squirrelmaid into a tight hug. "And thank you from the bottom of my heart for forgiving me."

They passed a few seconds cradling each other in their arms. Then, as they separated, Larina wondered aloud, "But then, your initial reaction to seeing Gavlin and Jared fighting…"

Madeline responded with an awkward chuckle and averted her gaze. "I guess I was initially taken by surprise. I wasn't expecting to see them fighting, especially since Gavlin is such a good friend of ours. But after Gavlin told us that it was all just a test, I felt better after that."

"But why not fight him?" Larina asked, head tilting to one side in earnest curiosity. "He even offered to you, to all of us."

Surprisingly, Madeline closed her eyes and shook her head in affirmative disagreement. "No, Gavlin already got a beating from Jared. I wouldn't dare want to give him an even worse. Still, that being said…"

She raised one arm and flexed it. Her lips pulled into an innocent smirk. "I'm pretty sure I could take Gavlin on any day one-on-one."

"I've no doubt you could, Madeline!" Larina mixed a hearty laugh into her words of encouragement. The two laughed and squirrelmaids hugged again.

When they pulled apart the second time, they noticed Tipuka striding down the hall. "Everything all right, ladies?"

"Yes, Log-a-Log Tipuka," Larina rounded to face him, nodding. She took Madeline's paw in her own, the squirrelmaidens' fingers interlacing together. "Everything is well between us. We were just talking and settling some personal issues."

"I see," Tipuka bowed his head in return. Straightening up, he remarked, "I'm glad to see you two are settling whatever grievances you may have outside of the fighting ring rather than inside. Are Jared and Jacob still in the infirmary?"

"Yes, sir," Madeline pointed with her spare paw over her shoulder. "Tiraqoo is in there with them."

"Thank you, ladies," Tipuka resumed his walk and passed right by them into the sickroom. They followed closely at his heels.

When Tipuka entered, exclaims arose from the Guosim shrews. Jared held a fist to his heart and bowed his head. Jacob threw a paw up to his brow in a militaristic salute.

"As you were, friends," Tipuka grinned wide and chuckled, holding up his palms. "Have you made your request to Jared for a fight, Tiraqoo?" he asked the Guoraf Log-a-Log, stuffing his paws in his tunic pockets.

"Aye, I have," Tiraqoo responded in a vigorous nod.

"I accepted, of course," Jared tied his purple belt around the waist of his tunic. He brushed the last of the dust from the tails of his bandana.

"Astounding!" Tipuka shook his fists with unleashed excitement. "How epic of a fight this will be! Certainly, one worthy of the history books, I'd wager! Anyway, Tiraqoo, I came to report that Ruth and one of your Guoraf, Ace, have requested to fight next. I've already planned for their fight to take place before yours."

"You don't mind, do you, Jared?" Tiraqoo asked the squirrel. "If anything, it'll give you more time to make some last-minute recuperations."

"No, not at all, sir," the male squirrel shook his head. "I don't mind waiting."

"Your thoughtfulness is deeply appreciated, Jared," Tipuka put his paws in his trouser pockets and shifted his feet to turn towards the hallway. "You have my gratitude. I will let Ruth and Ace know. You're aware that Tiraqoo and I trimmed the sparring time down to two minutes, aye?"

"Yes, sir," Jacob confirmed to the Log-a-Log, raising a paw over the trio of fawning shrewmaids. They had now climbed onto the sides of his bed as they continued to treat him.

Tipuka snorted and grinned in amusement. Then he shuffled his feet. "I'll tell Ruth and Ace they can begin their fight posthaste. Jared, Jacob, please do take your time recovering." He went up to Remy and Gavlin's beds.

"When you're ready to fight, Jared, let me know." Tiraqoo informed Jared, who responded with a formal bow. Nodding in return, Tiraqoo walked past him to check up on Samson, Tillie, and Fritz.

"Oh, big, stron', 'andsome Jacob," one of the Guosim shrewmaidens lay down beside Jacob and placed a tender paw on his large chest. "Didja really mean it when ya said ya war'n't gonna figh' no more?" She stared up at him, her eyes pleading. "I'd 'ate ta see ya get 'urt more."

"Aye, we certainly wouldn't want any o' our fella shrews getting' 'urt, eitha," the second Guosim shrewmaiden pointed out.

"I couldn't agree more, Coco," Jacob stroked the back of the second shrewmaid's head. He let out a rumbling chuckle in response to the first shrewmaid's question.

"Don't worry, Gelaea." He planted a soft kiss on the back of her paw. "I'm completely done fighting for the day."

Following their treatments, Jared and Jacob returned to the main hall. They witnessed the bout between Ruth, the Halichit teacher, against Ace, a Guoraf, in the fighting ring.

Ruth demonstrated Halichit in its fullest and comprehensive form. She used all of the same moves and techniques which her student Antonius had against Madeline. These she paired with numerous advanced combat maneuvers never previously seen or known even inside of her academic circle. She remained mainly on the defensive against her more proactive opponent. Her wings-spread Sparra and creeped-down Adder stances appeared near-impenetrable.

Larina and Madeline watched from the sidelines in speechless awe. Antonius and his fellow shrews spurred their teacher on with subdued claps. They kept their cheers in hushed whispers and under their breaths so as not to disturb her clear-minded focus.

Ace—a young adult Guosim some three or four seasons Ruth's junior—fought back with fearless aggression. Unlike Ruth's more meditative and calculating Halichit, Ace stayed constantly on the move and consistently changed his posture. He never stayed in one place for too long. No longer than a single second did he keep the same offensive stance.

He utilized a full array of hard kicks and strikes, and heavy throws and grapples against the flowingly swift, fluid arms and paws of Halichit. When he wasn't attacking, Ace paced around the borders of the fighting ring, facing the center and periodically changing direction as he executed his various forms.

"Inijashi," Madeline explained to Jacob and Larina at the end of the fight. He and Madeline stepped to one side, and Jacob and Larina to the other. Theresa passed by them escorting the two shrew fighters to the Infirmary. "The Githinics call it the 'Eight Stripes Palm'. Another Wungkan style created by the monk fighters of Githinien."

Jared bobbed and weaved through shrews on his way to Tipuka and Tiraqoo's tree stump.

"Log-a-Log Tiraqoo, sir." He stopped before the tree stump and bowed. "You told me to seek you out after Ruth and Ace were finished."

"You are ready, then?" Tiraqoo handed off his long-since empty shrewbeer mug to Tipuka.

Jared exhaled and gave the Log-a-Log a firm nod. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Tiraqoo nodded and dismounted the tree stump. He made his way to the fighting ring, Jared in tow.

"Dear friends and family!" Tipuka raised his voice over the conversational din that had filled the main hall since the end of Ruth and Ace's fight. "I have an exciting announcement! We have our very first Log-a-Log and adolescent fight of the day! Log-a-Log Tiraqoo challenged Jared Sandeye to an exhibition match earlier. Jared has accepted!"

Nobeast cheered and clapped louder than Madeline, Larina, and Jacob (the latter mixing in small excited howls).

"Kuanzai against the Akret Branch!" Tipuka continued, and he clapped his hands in anticipation. "Let us see how Jared's aggressive Kōnōtash and Hoskinyuk fare against Tiraqoo's drunken style!"

The contestants took their positions in the fighting ring. Jared stood with his back to Tipuka, Tiraqoo opposite him, his back facing Brockhall's main entrance.

"Is it safe to assume you won't go easy on me, sir?" Jared asked, not a trace of sarcasm in his usually blithe voice.

Tiraqoo responded with a hearty laugh, holding his shrewbeer-filled belly. "Go easy? You remember my demonstration of the Eight Kuanzai Warriors, don't you, Jared?"

"Of course, I do, Log-a-Log Tiraqoo," Jared nodded, already snapping his legs and footpaws together in preparation to bow. "I saw everything. I was there."

"Then know this now, young lad," Tiraqoo chuckled and dropped his paws down by his sides. He pointed a finger of emphasis at the young squirrel. "That demonstration was only the lecture."

He threw up his hooked fists out in front of him. Not to his surprise, Jared hardly even flinched.

"Now think of this as the exam!"

"If this is the exam," Jared bowed, then assumed his Hoskinyuk stance. "Then consider me a learning student!"

"Then let this exam begin!" Tiraqoo pushed himself up on his tiptoes. He rocked from side to side in an ungainly manner. "Tipuka, start the clock!"

"Hit it, Saffron!" Tipuka prompted the shrewmaid standing at attention by her gong.

Brrrooonnnggg!

"Remember!" Tipuka reminded the two fighters as the gong's reverberation faded into silence. "Two minutes!"

Tiraqoo didn't waste a second. He dropped into a push-up position and shot out his right leg towards Jared. Jared shuffled his feet to retreat from the whipping, swinging leg. He hopped over each swing of Tiraqoo's right leg and landed light on his toes.

Whoof!

The shrew's foot caught one of his ankles mid-jump. Before Jared could react, Tiraqoo's entire body spun round. He swung his leg from the opposite direction.

Whump! His footpaw struck Jared's other ankle. Jared stumbled back. Tiraqoo hooked his foot behind and tripped the squirrel's feet out from underneath him.

Jared yelped and slipped upward, shoveling dirt up from underneath his feet. He landed flat on his back.

"Jared!" Madeline, Jacob, and Larina cried out in unison.

Jared leaped back onto his feet and resumed his Hoskinyuk stance. He sidestepped and swerved his body to avoid Tiraqoo rolling towards him. He stepped and spun into the Log-a-Log's former spot; they had now switched places in the ring.

Tiraqoo staggered and stumbled from side to side. He rocked back and forth and stepped in circles in a convincing mimicry of inebriation. He planted his left foot into the dirt. His right leg kicked out at Jared.

Jared turned his left arm inward to the right into his guard position. He lowered his arm to swat Tiraqoo's leg coming at him from the left.

Tiraqoo turned his back and threw his foot at Jared's right shoulder. On instinct, Jared switched his arms in the same block maneuver.

Finally, Tiraqoo aimed his foot in a direct kick to Jared's chest. The squirrel threw up his arm and elbow up at a vertical angle to brush aside the attempted blow. His other arm defended his chest, catching the shrew's foot clean at the ankle.

"Ahhh!"

Tiraqoo's paws chopped into his hips. Distracted by the sudden blows to his waist, he dropped his arms and Tiraqoo's foot in the process.

Tiraqoo moved in. His thighs struck Jared in the torso and stomach. Winded and breathless, Jared staggered out of the ring.

Tiraqoo stepped and bent backwards. He raised a paw to his mouth to drink from a pretend cup. Jared snickered and stepped back into the ring, gathering his focus.

He had hardly a second to reassume his stance when Tiraqoo coiled up. The shrew came lunging straight at him.

His left fist locked tight around Jared's throat. His right fist clamped around the squirrel's left shoulder blade.

But Jared tensed up on reflex. He tightened his muscles and joints and dug his feet into the dirt. Tiraqoo grunted as he pulled in his effort to lift the squirrel off the ground, to no avail.

He kicked at Jared's ribs and knees. Jared pulled in his stomach to contain the wind from being knocked out him a second time. Tiraqoo closed the distance growing between them. His fists clamped around both of Jared's elbows. The squirrel hissed in response to the sudden sharp pains shooting through his body.

His legs snapped up one after the other in a pair of front kicks. Each blow to his torso reeled Tiraqoo back, his body crumpling. Jared threw his knees into the Log-a-Log's thighs. A final punch to his solar plexus slammed him clear out of the fighting ring.

"Ah-ha!" Tiraqoo burst into hearty laughter, now holding his belly in pained surprise. "Caught on, have you?"

"Mixing up the Eight Kuanzai Warriors?" Jared moved back into his Hoskinyuk stance in two smooth, seamless movements. "I got suspicious as soon as you switched from Gromzayl Kundun's throat locks and joint breaks to Chuta Baé's waist attacks."

"Hohohoho!" Tiraqoo clapped his paws and pointed a finger of pride at the squirrel. "I never had a doubt. You've got a sharply observant mind about you, Jared! It'll save your life someday!"

Ever humble, Jared responded with a pragmatic shrug. He spread his legs at shoulder-width, settling himself into the mindset of Gōryjūn. He opened one fist into a palm. His fingers made a small beckoning gesture.

"One minute and forty-five seconds, fighters!" Tipuka called out.

Tiraqoo lurched back into the fray. Drunken groans and grumbles mixed with his rumbling laughter. He raised his hooked fists at Jared once more. The youngster narrowed his eyes, watching the shrew's paws close.

Suddenly, Tiraqoo pulled his fists into a vertical line and bent his two middle fingers. They drew little semicircles in the air. He turned his body sideways, jutting out his left hip.

Fassal Gumiss! Jared thought, bracing himself. The flirtatious haremaid flaunting her twisting body!

Indeed, Tiraqoo tiptoed straight at him. His front index and pinky fingers jabbed at Jared's eyes. Jared threw up his arm in a clean horizontal block.

Undeterred, Tiraqoo threw a backpaw punch to his gut. Jared drew in his stomach a second time, swatting the punch aside with a vertical forearm block. He replied by throwing his own Rtuyoshi backfist strike using his free paw.

Tiraqoo allowed himself a decisive smirk. He twisted his body sideways to untangle his paws from Jared's arms. Spinning round, he threw out his backside. Jared grunted and slipped towards the edge of his side of the ring. Tiraqoo turned profile and smacked Jared's waist again using his right hip, then his left.

Jared flew one instinctive paw to his waist and groin each, wincing in pain. But he dug his footpaws into the dirt to stop himself at the edge of the fighting circle. He reassumed his Gōryjūn posture.

Then he too twisted his body. He uncurled his fists and flung out his open palms, smacking Tiraqoo left then right. Before the shrew had even a second to react and adapt, Jared switched to a flurry of wild brandishing punches – the same he'd earlier attempted on Jacob.

Tiraqoo eased into the retreat. Fassal Gumiss' fluttering fingers and swinging shoulders repelled Jared's nearly-feral barrage of punches. His back footpaw brushed against the edge of the circle.

He coiled outward to palm Jared's face and forehead. But the squirrel ducked and weaved beneath his flying paws. He switched his mind into Kōnōtash. One heel placed itself behind the shrew's ankles. His other foot pulled in a contrary motion.

"Whoa!"

Arms spread-eagled, Tiraqoo floundered back over Jared's feet. He landed flat on his back on the ground, the impact throwing dirt in all directions.

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Way to go, Jared!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

Madeline, Larina, and Jacob cheered and exclaimed one after the other, all three clapping together. Around them, Samson, Fritz, Tillie, Saffron, and the rest of the Guoraf all clamored for their leader.

"A minute an' thir'y secon's!" announced Matilda.

Tiraqoo flashed Jared a smile of approval. The squirrel moved in, readying his fists for another series of punches.

But Tiraqoo threw himself away from the squirrel, his body halfway out of the ring. His legs spun around him as he oscillated back onto his feet.

"Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay!"

Tiraqoo's hooked paws rolled over and over each other at Jared's face. Jared dodged every which-way, searching for any opening he could find. Tiraqoo did not relent. Jared bent over backward, curving his spine and pulling his upper body down low to dodge the incoming shrew. He lashed out one leg in a desperate roundhouse kick to those of the shrew.

But no sooner had the Log-a-Log hit the floor did he flop flat onto his paws. He pushed himself upside-down into a pawstand. Without so much as a warning, his legs and footpaws flagellated Jared's face and head.

Dus Tuthu the stoat and his swift double kicks! Jared noted. Now it was his turn once again to retreat.

He ducked, blocked, and swatted away Dus Tuthu's furious flagellating legs. At the edge of the ring, he clamped his paws around Tiraqoo's ankles and squeezed tight.

Whump! "Oof!"

Tiraqoo sprang up on one paw and threw a punch into Jared's diaphragm. The squirrel reeled, breathless from the blow. Tiraqoo dropped his freed legs on the ground and pushed into a standing position.

He whipped his right leg at Jared's forehead, nose, ribcage, and diaphragm. Jared threw up horizontal and vertical blocks using his arms and elbows. For good measure, Tiraqoo circled his leg around Jared's to try to knock him onto his back. Jared hopped over his approaching leg and caught it in his foot. He drew a wide arc and pinned it to the ground.

Perhaps sensing his resilience, Tiraqoo dropped his leg and unsheathed his rapier in one swift motion.

Kalayn Garloun! Jared recognized, his eyes locking on the pointed two-edged blade, never wavering. The bankvole with internal strength and a sword to banish evil spirits!

Time to switch tactics.

As if sensing his intent, Tiraqoo held his rapier down by his side, blade angled to the ground. He gave Jared a nod of patience; the squirrel returned it in grace.

He placed his back foot outwards at a 45-degree angle. Front foot faced forwards, lifted high positioned about one-and-a-half lengths in front of the back foot. He stood tall and turned his shoulders to face Tiraqoo at a right angle to the direction of his stance. He looked across his rear leg. Knees tucked in behind each other.

"All right!" Madeline pumped her fists high in the air. "Rtuyoshi and the Stance of the Wildcat! Show Tiraqoo who's boss of the Akret, big brother!"

Tiraqoo's lips pulled into an ear-to-ear grin. He lunged his rapier at Jared's shoulders. The squirrel swerved left and right to dodge. The rapier's sharp point stabbed through empty air above his shoulders.

Tiraqoo's fists arced towards him in a sequence of uppercuts. Jared parried or evaded each blow by changing his stances. Feet spread apart at shoulder width. Front leg bent. Body tensed inward like an hourglass.

Tiraqoo turned his rapier blade flat and brought it swinging down upon Jared's head. Jared crossed his wrists, catching the blade just above his scalp, right between his ears.

He retaliated with a pair of stamping and thrusting kicks to Tiraqoo's gut. The shrew undulated in circles to avoid each one. He curved the flat of the blade once more to Jared's head. This time, the youngster caught it clean in his palms.

Tiraqoo waited until Jared had released his sword. Then he launched into another series of attacks.

Now the rapier stabbed at Jared's torso and ribs. But Jared swept it aside with flowing cross-body open paw blocks. His palms pressed down on the flat of the blade, pushing it down to the ground.

Tiraqoo let the blade fall and ducked into a defensive crouch. He flipped the blade behind him and lifted his right knee. His hooked fist tossed right into Jared's face.

But Jared didn't wince. His forearm blocked and punched Tiraqoo's fist in the same motion.

"Urgh!" Tiraqoo let out a grunt of pain and frustration.

He withdrew his fist, only to launch into a barrage of punches at Jared's midsection. Jared defended himself by way of sweeping low-level downward blocks. Tiraqoo shot straight up at Jared's jawbone. The squirrel backed up and circled his fists around the shrew's, pushing it back down to his side.

Tiraqoo ceased his assault on Jared's body and jaw. Jared shrugged a nonchalant and meek shrug. It was at this point that Ruth and Ace returned from the Infirmary, Therese between them.

"It's not too late to give up now, sir," he teased in a lighthearted but respectful tone.

Not to his surprise, Tiraqoo's face broke into another wide grin. "Give up? Why, my dear squirrel. There's still two Kuanzai Warriors to go!"

Twirling his rapier, he returned it to its sheath hanging on his back. Then he unstrapped the sheath from his body and tossed it into the crowd. Ace caught it in a reflexive outstretch. Meanwhile, Tiraqoo spread his arms wide in front of his chest.

Jared returned to the Wildcat Stance. Dovacon Merkle and his heavy wine cauldron!

"One minute, friends!" Tipuka proclaimed.

Now Tiraqoo advanced on weighty, deliberate steps. He carried Dovacon Merkle's wine-filled "cauldron" in front of him. Jared shuddered, his fists making mild shakes. "Cold wine" spilled from the hefty "cauldron" and onto his and Tiraqoo's clothes and fur.

Tiraqoo arced the "cauldron" towards him in broad attacks. Jared raised his feet from the dirt and turned his body to hurry away from the falling weight. He started to circle Tiraqoo around the perimeter of the fighting ring. He sidestepped and leaped over the "pouring wine", his feet light and toes bouncing.

Tiraqoo spun and attacked now from the opposite direction. This time, Jared was ready.

Palms stretched out in random sequences of various rising upper-level and sweeping side blocks. They pushed firm against the rim of the "cauldron", pushing the imaginary "wine" back into its rotund container.

Tiraqoo struggled and pressed the backs of his wrists against Jared's. But Jared augmented his blocks with his wrists. He pushed and scooped Tiraqoo's paws up and away from his own.

His palms shot out in a chopping "knife" strike at the sides of Tiraqoo's neck.

Tiraqoo squatted into a neutral Kuanzai stance. Jared's paws chopped through the clean invisible air. Tiraqoo's arms drew apart to drop his "cauldron", spilling its "wine" all over the dirt and root-riddled floor.

He pulled them in close to his mouth. Right paw sat closest to his mouth. Left paw hung outstretched. Middle and ring fingers bent. Thumbs curled underneath. Index fingers stood upright.

Jared's face cracked its own wise smirk. "Adam Corbeau, the drunken flute player!"

"That's right, I saved the best for last!" Tiraqoo chuckled, and wiggled his fingers as if playing said "flute". "The squirrel like yourself!"

He danced and twirled around his opponent. Jared locked his unwavering and determined eyes on the shrew. Tiraqoo whistled a shrill, airy melody while his fingers pressed up and down on his "flute". Jared watched for an opening between the shrew's extended and animated paws.

He threw out two forefist, straight punches. Tiraqoo's wrists blocked them both. They pulled the fists around in small circles through the air before pushing them back onto their owner.

Whoof! "Ugh!"

Jared stumbled a couple steps from the fists driving into his collarbone. But he dug his feet into the dirt to regain his balance.

He mixed his punches together. Rising punch, hook, vertical fist. Double punch, lunge, backfist. Tiraqoo either blocked or eluded each one by way of his unbreakable wrists and gyrating body. His melodic whistles grew louder with each revolution around the circle. Every now and then, his paws switched places with each other to block in accordance with Jared's changing attacks.

"Thirty secon's!" came Matilda's voice again.

All of a sudden, the tune of Tiraqoo's flute changed. More breakneck now, relentless and bold. His whistling increased in volume and confidence. He rocketed his wrists one after the other at his opponent. Jared shifted his weight. He turned his body from side to side to veer away from Tiraqoo's bolting paws.

Whump! Whump! Not quick enough! The shrew's flute-playing paws collided with his shoulders.

The final thirty seconds passed in a blur. Tiraqoo and Jared kicked up dirt from their elaborate ballroom dance around and through each other. A circular veil of dust surrounded them, swirling in every direction.

Jared shuffled between Hoskinyuk, Gōryjūn, and his signature Kōnōtash. Tiraqoo refused to budge from each attack or give out from draining stamina, even after numerous paces around the fighting ring. Sweat coated their brows and the backs of their heads.

"Time!" Tipuka bellowed, clapping his paws once in a near-earsplitting smack!

Jared and Tiraqoo ended their bout locked within each other. Jared's paws rested trapped in two lunges between Tiraqoo's iron-grip wrists. Jared grunted with each pull and push to free himself from Tiraqoo's. Ten whole seconds of this smirk and laugh-inducing entertainment passed. Then he pulled his wrists apart, setting Jared's free.

"Are you all right, Jared?" Tiraqoo placed a concerned paw on his shoulder.

"Yes, sir, I'll be fine," Jared responded with a reassuring nod. Tiraqoo gave him a comforting pat on the back.

"Hooray, Jared!" Madeline half-sprinted to Jared's side. "That was so much fun to watch! That's my big bro!" She threw her arms around her brother's chest. Laughing, Jared hugged her close to him, planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead.

"You really gave that drunken shrew what for!" Jacob chuckled and rubbed the headfur between Jared's ears. "You two were going fang and claw at each other! I just couldn't look away!"

"I can't believe you pulled that off, Jared!" Larina bounced on the balls of her feet in between Jared and Tiraqoo. "I was so worried that you wouldn't be able to handle another fight. But you proved me wrong again! I've never been so much happier to be wrong! Way to go, Jared!"

She leaped and threw her arms around Jared's neck. Jared wrapped his arms instinctually around her waist.

"Oh!" Larina gasped out loud, and the two squirrels withdrew from each other in an instant. They both stepped away and averted their gaze from each other. Larina stood rubbing her arm up and down. Jared fidgeted with his wrists and fingers. A noticeable deep red flush crept across both their cheeks. Small awkward smiles spread across their faces.

"Congratulations on your captivating fight, Tiraqoo and Jared!" Tipuka dismounted the tree stump and hurried to the two combatants. "You had me riveted beginning to end! That is probably the best fight of the day, so far!" He brushed dirt from Tiraqoo's tunic, then from Jared's. He extended his other paw to shake theirs.

"Wait a second, Log-a-Log Tipuka, sir," Jared stopped short of shaking the Guosim Log-a-Log's outstretched paw. His eyes grew rounder than the tree trunk of Brockhall. "Does this mean—?" Madeline and Larina flanked either side of Jared. Jacob stood behind him, still rubbing his headfur.

"Is this what I think it is?!" Gavlin bolted to his uncle's side, opposite Tiraqoo. "Are you really doing it, uncle?"

"Yes, Gavlin, I am really doing it." Tipuka pinched Gavlin's cheek with a loving smile. "It is exactly what it means, Jared, my lad."

Tipuka's lips pulled into a confident smirk mixed with a proud grin. "Jared Sandeye, you have proven yourself a more than competent and capable fighter of Wungkan. You are able to adapt on the fly during a fight, as you demonstrated during your fight you just had against Log-a-Log Tiraqoo. You keep your mind disciplined and your composure cool even under deep pressure."

"You're stubbornly resilient, too," Gavlin added, elbowing Jared in the forearm. "Our little test bout proved that."

"To cap it all off," Tipuka tapped his claws together. "You approach any exhibition fight, regardless of the size and skill of your opponent, with bravery and courage. Your match against Jacob confirmed as much."

Tipuka puffed out his chest and put his paws on his hips. "Jared, you have more than earned your privilege to fight with me in the ring. I promised you at Redwall's Nameday Feast that you would earn that luxury when you proved yourself. Here and now am I honoring that days-old oath."

He pulled himself to his fullest height. "I challenge you to an exhibition match in Wungkan!"

"Sir!" Jared gasped aloud, his eyes widening. "I—I'm tremendously honored, sir! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this!"

Words poured out rapid-fire from his mouth. His voice increased in speed and volume, almost frenetic. "I've spent the past few days traveling to Brockhall formulating strategies and tactics in my mind. Figuring out which styles I should use against you and all that. Should I try to emulate my sister's Tuah Mann?"

He gestured to Madeline on his left, who suppressed a snicker behind her paw. Her other paw wrapped around her brother's arm above the elbow. "Should I use the style that our older brother Edoran favored? Should I stick to one exclusive style in the Akret Branch or try to use all of them against you? Or should I use the Wungkan styles that my parents specialized in?"

He threw his paws left and right and up and down. They gesticulated to emphasize his words. "I've been playing and replaying every single possible strategy and tactic over and over and over again in my mind. I wanted to be prepared for anything and everything. I wasn't sure if I should do this or do that, or—"

"Jared," Tipuka held out his palms to the youngster squirrel. His soft and assuaging voice cut the teenager's rabid ramblings short. "I understand that you take this seriously, and I do appreciate that. Truly, I do. All I require from you is a simple yes or no answer. I have complete confidence in you, dear boy."

Jared stopped his words short. He slowly shut his mouth and cleared his throat, dropping his paws by his sides. His face relaxed and his gaze lowered to the ground. "Right. I understand, sir."

"Jared," Tiraqoo once more placed a paw on his shoulder, this time of encouragement. "It's all right. You're in a safe space. You will not be judged here. Speak your mind, lad."

When Jared lifted his face again, a playful smile had overtaken his lips. A confident yellow-white light glowed in his cocoa-brown eyes. He clenched his fists and puffed out his chest the same as Tipuka had.

"I accept your challenge!"

His paws clamped around his ears as everyone cheered at the tops of their lungs.