The celr echoed loudly with each spsh as the group of women crossed through, feeling the icy waters climb up their legs the further they ventured. Syri's green eyes lit up, her tails gently coiled around Janette's waist and arm to keep her close.

  "I see a dder not far ahead!" She gasped, her heart fluttering with hope as she fast walked forward.

  Janette stumbled and held onto her back to keep from falling over. "Hey, watch it!"

  "Oops." Syri helped her back up, this time csping her arm. For Janette, it was like stepping into nothing as the celr was deeply rooted beneath the building that no glimpse of light slipped through. It wasn't just hollow, but the sound of wood crumbling over and ashes spilling out echoed through the room, and the stench of smoke followed.

  "You can see my eyes, right?" Syri asked, seeing Janette nod in silence. "Then follow my gaze. Just gentle steps, okay?"

  Janette took a few steps before hesitating. "You're not worried about falling over?"

  "It's closer now, I'll be fine." Syri smiled, holding her hands. "But I can hear your heart racing."

  She swallowed and breathed in, struggling to compose herself and calm the rapid thumping in her chest. "H-How could I be calm when my house is burning down?"

  This time she had no answer, and for a moment Janette regretting saying those words. But still, Syri was trying for her. She could hear the others following in silence, perhaps their minds were riddled with their own thoughts as well. Once her green eyes stopped moving back, she felt her hands guided forward until her fingers wrapped around a rusty cold handle.

  "There you go, we made it." Syri noted, looking back at Dimyri and KuliKuli.

  Dimyri gazed up toward the dders reach. "Seems like a small hatch."

  Janette wasted no time in climbing up, carefully feeling around until her palm met resistance. It felt wet and mushy, like if she were mixing her hand into mud. Feeling around, she twisted the little lock and pulled it free, then pushed the hatch forward. From the surface it looked like a patch of moss and mud was flipped over, with Janette poking her head out and breathing in.

  The intake of fresh air never felt so relieving.

  The celr led to a hidden escape route several meters south of the building. From their vantage point, they spotted some of Perdilius' men gathered around the back of the mansion, with some soldiers carrying the wounded out of the house. One of them had to be carried by his shoulders and knees from two others, and his chest pte held three cuts dented in.

  "They really did a number on them." Janette commented, squinting her eyes under the cover of her hand to shield from the fiery bze. Her bottom lip quivered as the rooftop caved in, colpsing under its weight with a loud crash, leaving a cloud of ash and soot flowing into the starry night sky. Whereas normally the moons would illuminate the dark in a beautiful blue hue, her fields and house contrasted their light with red. Even from their distance, she could feel its warmth.

  Syri held her arm, unable to fake a smile for her in this time. Not saying a word, Janette held her paw back and sunk to her knees, hanging her head in defeat. The memories of that house, her fortitude, it was all gone. Ashes rained down around them, with KuliKuli and Dimyri standing behind them. Even the little pixie named Tootsie held her tongue out of respect.

  Dimyri wiped her forehead and licked her lips, breaking the silence. "We need to move."

  "Where can we go?" Janette asked in a soft whimpering tone.

  "Mum said that... that with Vee and MiMi here, that means the clutter might be safe." Dimyri expined, holding onto that feeling of hope in her mother's words. "It's a far cry idea but what if our best chance is to find them?"

  "And then what?" Janette spun around, confronting her with anger in her tone. "We go out, find someone else to take refuge and wait until he comes and burns their house down too? Is that it?"

  "I-" Dimyri stuttered, stepping back when her youngest sister stepped in.

  "That's not fair, we all agreed to stay together in that house!" Syri reminded her, "I'm sorry, we all are, but this isn't going to help."

  Janette bit her tongue and in a huff chose to walk away. Finding a tree to lean on, she sat down and hugged her knees, burying her head in silence. She tried hiding it, but their ears picked up on the sound of sobbing, her tears running down her thighs as she wept.

  Syri's ears hung low as she sat beside her, her paw hovering nearby with uncertainty as to how to approach her. With a sigh, she hung her head and curled up next to her instead. Tootsie climbed up Dimyri's arm and sat on her shoulder, while the Nekomata approached KuliKuli in private.

  "You really think our clutter is out there?" KuliKuli questioned her in a low voice, noticing her uncertainty.

  Dimyri shook her head. "I don't know what to think anymore. I spent more time trying to figure out mother's secrets that I... that I neglected to figure out a way out of this mess. I'm sorry, sis."

  "Hey, we'll figure something out." Her ear twitched as her face lit up, turning toward the hatch. "I hear them, they made it!"

  She jumped in joy, holding her sisters' paws, but Dimyri didn't reciprocate. She looked defeated, falling back against the tree.

  "You're not listening, I never should have gone looking for you. We should have left you there with Felix, and maybe we could have avoided this entire mess."

  KuliKuli blinked, her ears and heart sinking down as she came to understand her words. It wasn't panic that filled her sister with dread, it was remorse. A feeling of regret, of doubting her decisions. Dimyri was baffled and crumpled, shrinking into a state of surrender.

  "Mum chose me to be the next Head Mother, to take charge and look after the clutter after her. But look at the mess we're in, we-we are arguing over far-fetched ideas, grasping at straws. We're pushed up against the wall and-and I haven't a clue how we can get out. Maybe... we can't win."

  KuliKuli fell to her knee and lifted her sister's face up by her chin, responding with a sincere look. "You're right, we're in a bad spot."

  Dimyri frowned, "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

  "Did you want me to lie?" She scoffed, "Months ago, I didn't know what my name was or where I came from. I lived with the nicest hoo-man master and a grumpy little wolfy and my close hoo-man friend. I didn't ever think things would get like this. No one could have, but here we are. And do you know I always felt... missing?"

  "Missing?" She questioned her approach.

  "Yes, missing!" KuliKuli spread her arms wide apart. "Like a puzzle piece! Even before you found me, it felt like I had this missing fragment. And when you guys came along, I was... okay maybe I was scared but I was also sort of... what's the word, eggs-static?"

  Dimyri snickered. "Ecstatic?"

  "Yea, that! Because now I had a family with me, people I can trust and love. You know it feels great not being the only cat girl around."

  "I can see that." She agreed, watching her sister pace around.

  "We're losing now, yes. Pretty badly too. But we only really lose if we give up altogether. Because if we keep fighting-"

  "We will inevitably lose." Dimyri groaned, "They have weapons, numbers, tools, all we have are cws, a pixie, a magic owl and a cute pair of hoo-mans. I mean humans, crud."

  KuliKuli lifted her up by her paws, offering a gentle smile. "I say we go out and find our missing clutter, and I think I know where to find them."

  "You do?"

  "Uh-huh!" She nodded furiously, her tails waggling in excitement. "That creepy forest where our clutter use to be, right?"

  "You remember our home?"

  She shrugged. "Not exactly, Master told me about it. Said you two talked a lot about what's in my head."

  "Oh." Dimyri pulled back, holding her arm in a shameful look. "Sorry."

  "Don't be! I needed the reminder, I might not be so smart, but I get ideas too! And we can get numbers; you forgot about why Tootsie is here?" She gestured toward the little pixie on her shoulder.

  "What-me?" Tootsie squeaked in surprise.

  "Yes you, cutie!" She giggled, "The Night Dweller's Hub! If we can get back to Kershin Market and meet with them, maybe they can offer to help us?"

  "That's a stretch." Dimyri frowned, rubbing her scalp. "Aren't we asking a lot from them? I wouldn't believe they would drop everything to help us fight back here."

  "Then just to give us some goodies so that we can look for our family to fight back with!"

  "You expect us to fight?" She asked, baffled by the suggestion.

  Syri and Janette lifted their heads, listening in on KuliKuli as she shot her paw into the air.

  "You bet your jiggly butt I want to fight back! Do you know the things that man has done to me and to our clutter? Because I don't, but if I did, I know I would be twice as angry with him!" She snarled, gazing back at the fire and Perdilius' men. "I know Felix is onto something, and maybe Mum hasn't been very honest. Sometimes I wonder if I had my memories, maybe that would help me know better. But I don't, and that's okay. I've accepted that I won't be Nityri anymore, but that doesn't mean that she's gone. I am KuliKuli, and I live for her. If Perdilius thinks he can scare us with this, well he's right. But I won't back down, no. I'm tired of running away, always running, from something. Anything. Hiding my ears, keeping my head low so that people don't see my eyes. I never asked to be born a monster girl, but I won't be shamed for being one!"

  Dimyri found herself begin to smile; her spirits being lifted by her sister's silly speech.

  KuliKuli looked back and helped Janette up to her feet, brushing her dress and holding her arms to lock eyes with her. "I'm sorry for what happened to our house, but I will always love you for being there for us. You kept me safe when I was a stranger, and now it's my turn to protect you. I promise, we will beat this man and build you a new house."

  "A new house." Janette repeated with a sniffle, wiping her eyes. "You know how long it takes to construct a building of that size?"

  "Nope! But that doesn't mean I won't try." She beamed.

  Janette meant to scoff, to look away. But her confidence, her genuine happiness was rather infectious. And when she looked at the others, they shook their heads with smiles, leaving her to decide.

  She breathed in and held KuliKuli's gaze. "You guys costed me my home, my way of living, and possibly my reputation. But... damn it all, I might be the most foolish woman in this pnet. Fine, what more can they take from me now?"

  "That's... kind of the spirit, I'll take that." KuliKuli grinned, hugging her friend close. Janette sighed, wrapping her arms around her and closing her eyes. Even if this was all naive, it felt good to be amongst people who care for her.

  They split up when Emyri cpped her paws ecstatically, jumping at the chance to join in. "That's my girl, my little sunshine!"

  "Mom!" KuliKuli whined, giggling back as Emyri held her in a bear hug. "Were you listening? You're covered in ash."

  "Well sorry, guess next time it's your turn to stall for time." Na'Vi grumbled, wiping the soot off her face. Felix stood behind her, shutting the hatch.

  "I uh, it's been a while since I've seen you smile like that." He admitted, making her blush. She broke away and ran into his arms, her weight causing them to crash into the ground with an oomph!

  "Ah~ watch the arm!" He groaned loudly, causing her to jump back when she spotted the knife buried to the hilt on his shoulder.

  "Ohmygoodness!" She yelped, csping her paws to her face.

  "Just leave it, it's fine."

  "Doesn't it hurt?" Syri foolishly asked, nudged by an annoyed Janette.

  "Only if I move." He chuckled nervously, wincing at the sheer pain he felt constantly from it.

  "Perhaps now is the best time to move." Emyri urged them, her cheery expression dropping immediately as she stared further into the woods.

  "Mom, what's wrong?" Dimyri asked, freezing once she followed her gaze.

  Felix winced, holding his arm as one by one, everyone looked toward the uninvited visitors. "Well, at least it sted."

  "I count three." KuliKuli pointed out, standing in front of him as she bared her cws.

  Out in the darkness stood a small wagon with three armed men, wearing leather armor decorated with the familiar sigil that Perdilius carried. They seemed to be chatting amongst themselves, far enough from their position to not have heard them.

  "We still have a shot, let's go." KuliKuli whispered, crouching on all fours and heading towards them.