Naile's moonlight whips cracked like thunder as they made impact. The air around them was electric, dancing with distortions and vivid light. Under the bent braid of shimmering whips, Thimble stood with his shield raised over his head, and Nisa huddled under him.

  Naile screamed in rage, stepping forward and thrusting her claws forward like spears. Thimble wrapped his arm around Nisa's waist and spun in place, knocking the sharp nails to one side with his shield. He came to a stop with his sword pointed forward, levelled at Naile's throat.

  She took an involuntary step back and looked upwards with a mask of frustration. The false night sky above them started to break apart, and sunlight peeked through the spiderwebbing cracks. Naile flexed her hand with a whimper of pain as her magic nails flaked and crumbled to the ground. She was winded, and the crowd of Hodekin ringing their theatre of battle started to murmur.

  "They survived Naile's dance?"

  "You ever seen that happen before? Even those Catach fools ran from it..."

  "Pah, all that work for nothing. Naile's gone softbones."

  Naile whipped her head towards her dissenters and glared, baring her teeth at them. A few shut up and flattened their ears, but others raised their lips and exposed reddened gums in return. Thimble set Nisa back up on her feet and ran forward, slashing at Naile's thigh as she quarreled with her own people.

  Naile turned on him with a trio of wicked swipes, but they sparked off his shield and he retaliated with nimble ripostes. His usually light attacks were nearly twice as strong under Plin's ability, and Naile was forced to shrink back from them. Shelby caught herself staring unthinkingly as the entire scene unfolded, and only snapped back to her senses as one of Nisa's healing blobs splattered across her cheek.

  "Great timing Thimble!" Shelby shouted into their chat as she scrambled to draw another arrow.

  She gripped her bow and bounced on her heels, then took a steadying breath and resumed her focused attacks. With Thimble corralling Naile, Plin and Shelby could attack without reservation. Thimble was still taking heavy damage from Naile's attacks, but much less than Shelby had been. His shield was cutting the attacks down 9s and 10s, and he ducked and sidestepped many of them. He couldn't last forever, but Nisa's healing was keeping him healthy for now. In stark contrast, Naile's health was quickly melting away.

  Thimble ducked another swipe, then slashed out into Naile's stomach. She snapped down at him and caught the edge of his cloak in her teeth. She had raised her arm to punch him down into the stone when Plin and Shelby's arrows met at her neck and sent her stumbling to the side. Thimble yanked his cloak free and lashed out with his shield, clocking Naile on the underside of her chin and sending her toppling backwards.

  Two more arrows pushed Naile's health below 25%, and she planted a foot on Thimble's shield as he charged forward. The raw power of her kick sent him flying towards the inn, where he pancaked against a wall. Naile clutched her face, wheezing in agony as her bestial rage took over for a second time. The eerie neon ribbons the ability created drifted down from her eyes like a curtain of bloody tears. She shuddered as she rose to her full height.

  Nervous laughter and hissed whispers echoed around the perimeter of the courtyard as the Hodekin spectators nudged each other and pointed at her.

  "Final bloodlust. This is all we have left. Kill them, Naile."

  "Make it count boss..."

  "Rip them apart, chief..."

  Naile cracked her neck, then dashed at blinding speed towards the wall Thimble was slumping down. Two quick jabs rung out on his shield, but he was forced down onto a knee. The damage spiking off him was growing as Naile followed him down, a 14 and a 16. He grimaced as he moved to retaliate but his sword cut through empty air. Naile jumped 6 feet up and then dropped with an extended heel.

  Thimble wisely bolted to one side as the kick shattered stone behind him, and he dashed towards the center of the courtyard. Nisa flicked her ladle overhand and her magic washed over the small mouse as he braced for another attack. Naile leaned forward and fell into a runners pose, then sprung forward into a blur of movement. Her claws raked over Thimble's shield as she flew past him, then landed, turned, and swept past again in less than a second.

  Shelby swore as her third arrow in a row missed. Naile was moving like a smear of light through the battlefield, but she had short moments where she was vulnerable. Plin looked similarly vexed from her fortress of splintering wood. She glared through slitted eyes at the wolf and held her next arrow, searching for an opportunity. Shelby wracked her brain, then made a request in chat, "I can't track her, can you get her to stand still, Thimble?"

  Thimble spat out a pained, "Do I look like I can do more?" into the channel, but shifted his posture as the next attack streamed by.

  He stepped forward and caught Naile across the chest with a downward chop, but the attack left him open. Naile shrugged off the blow and raised both of her hands to deliver a hammer blow on top of the mouse's exposed crown. He squeaked out a, "There" before he turned in midair to position his shield between his face and the massive fists coming for his life.

  The attack whipped the air into a frenzy and Thimble ricocheted off the ground. His body floated high in front of Naile for an eternal moment as she cocked back her arm to follow up with a deadly blow. The moment wasn't wasted. An arrow swept under Thimble's back and sliced into Naile's left eye, and a wave of black liquid assaulted the right. Mallow's jelly bounded up and embedded itself in Naile's chest, bursting with a wet pop and sending scouring gelatin up into her chin and neck. She fought through it all, but Thimble's power was ready. His body distorted like a mirage as he repositioned and caught the blow dead-center on his shield. The attack spun him in mid-air, but his free attack was right on target as he hacked into Naile's neck. Numbers poured off of her as the attacks piled on, and Shelby dashed in right behind.

  She caught Thimble in outstretched arms and sprinted beneath Naile's legs as two more swipes ripped through the empty air. Thimble's health was dangerously close to zero, but this was their big chance. With Naile temporarily blinded, Thimble and Shelby could dance around her. Thimble's blade flashed out relentlessly as Shelby and Plin peppered Naile from every angle. Each time the wolf turned in Thimble's direction, an arrow would cut across her back and she would be sent reeling. Likewise, every time she lunged for Shelby she would be hamstrung by a well timed stab. As the wolf turned desperately, lashing out at every sting, her health plummeted towards the barest sliver.

  A few seconds later, the last remnants of inky poison slid down her cheeks and she sunk to her knees. Shelby held her hand up to stop her allies' attacks, and read Naile's status:

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  Naile glared into Shelby's eyes with her last dregs of defiance, weakly raising a handful of dried meat to her mouth and opening it with painful effort. Shelby grasped Naile by the wrist and threw her hand to the side, shouting at the wolf, "Enough! No more fighting! This is over!"

  The Hodekin surrounding them stood, some readying their weapons and others tensing their legs and preparing to run. They looked across the stone wall at each other with nervous, dilated eyes, unsure of what to do.

  Naile heaved out an exhausted sigh, her face sagging as she turned to look down at the stone beneath her. Shelby raised her hands out to stop Thimble and Plin as they closed in. Naile's shoulders slumped, and she choked out a few raspy words, "I submit. You have beaten me."

  A few angry yelps rang out from the periphery, followed by snarls in return. A voice cried out, "I will never follow a rat!"

  A Hodekin standing next to the speaker bit down on their shoulder with a vicious snarl, and they both fell to the ground in a brutal scrap. Others climbed on top of them and slipped in kicks and gouging swipes. Their horrible screaming and shouting surged over the area like a flood.

  "I said ENOUGH!" Shelby screamed into the fray, her voice lancing through the turmoil with perfect clarity, and the majority of the Hodekin froze in place. The dissenter broke away from his assailants and scampered over the stone berm. He gave Shelby one hateful glare before running out of sight.

  Shelby restrained her face. She didn't know what the heck was going on, but they seemed to be listening. She pointed at the gaggle of wolf people staring at her, and shouted a terse, "Sit! Sit down! Be quiet!"

  They grumbled, but arranged themselves around her in a loose half-circle, watching her unblinkingly. She pursed her lips, What in the world is happening, AIDAN?

  "I believe they are recognizing you as the successor to their leadership," AIDAN said with the slightest hint of amusement tinging his normally flat voice.

  "You're joking..." Shelby groaned in her private channel.

  "I am not, but I will make note of your assessment of this moment as comedic."

  Shelby's winced as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She took a steadying breath, then turned towards her friends, "Is everyone okay?"

  "Super," Nisa said with a quirked lip.

  "What is this?" Plin asked incredulously.

  "Are you really going to let this monster live?" Thimble demanded, his sword quaking in his furious grip.

  "We'll figure it out, okay? No one else has to die," Shelby said, "This whole mess wasn't entirely her fault."

  Thimble huffed dramatically, but slammed his sword back into its sheath and crossed his arms, "Explain yourself."

  "Well, I don't think they started those fires, for one... I caught two wolves from another tribe going around lighting people's homes on fire before I got here!" Shelby said.

  "They did WHAT?!" Naile roared as her head jerked up.

  Shelby flinched back, "T-two of them, from Catach Bleak!"

  Naile's claws screeched as she gripped the stone under her hands, "Those cowards! I'll kill them!"

  "No, you won't. I already, uh, did that..." Shelby looked towards Thimble, and he gave her a complicated look, but sympathy was the key ingredient in it.

  Naile bowed her head and returned to studying the floor, "Ah... thank you. My debt to you grows..."

  Shelby scrunched up her nose. This is getting complicated... I wish Tara were here. I need help...

  As she thought the words, Pico came sprinting from the western road. She blinked a few times at the loose congregation of wolf people loitering amid a sea of ruined furniture. Her eyes swept over them and then locked on Nisa. With surprising grace, she hopped through the courtyard and threw her arms around Nisa's shoulders, and smothered her with a death grip of a hug. Pico muttered off a string of words as Nisa frantically slapped her on the back, "I was so worried... why aren't you safe inside... you silly little thing..."

  Pico turned a chilling glare on Shelby, who stood rubbing the back of her arm in front of two dozen Hodekin. Shelby sighed, "I can explain, or try to, at least."

  "No time like the present," Pico said, venom lurking under her words.

  "W-well, first, these people, the Hodekin, they were driven out of their homes and fled here, to Copperglade," Shelby gestured back at them as she spoke.

  Pico nodded, "I heard from our two guests earlier that there was an increase in conflict to the north."

  "Yeah, I guess so," Shelby sighed, "but, they turned to kidnapping after arriving here. Remember that Thimble and I went to investigate the farming village? When we arrived they were in the middle of being raided by this one and her followers."

  Shelby pointed down at Naile, who nodded but didn't speak. Pico's eyes practically burned a hole into Naile's fur as Shelby continued, swallowing down a nervous lump, "We failed to help the villagers, and a lot of the village burned down. Not all of it!"

  Pico had stepped forward as Shelby spoke, leaving Nisa behind and balling up her fists. Shelby stepped between Pico and Naile, holding her hands out to stop the tall rabbit woman, "I know what they did was wrong, but they didn't start any fires! I saw proof with my own eyes! Their own homes were burned by another group before they came here..."

  Pico frowned, then held a hand out for Shelby to continue, "Thimble and I snuck into the area they were hiding out in, so that we could free the people they captured. Naile, this one, agreed to free them if I showed them how to trade with you, and they kept their word!"

  Pico crossed her arms, "That's all well and good, but now they attacked us."

  Shelby turned to look at Naile, who remained slumped on the floor, "I still don't quite understand, but I think she wanted to capture this town. To... take its Heart away from you."

  Pico's lips tightened, but she didn't speak. Shelby rubbed the back of her own head. The pounding inside her skull was becoming unbearable. Just... focus, Shelby. Shelby bowed, "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I thought that if I brought them here, then we could make peace with them and they would stop taking people. I don't... I didn't think they meant to hurt anyone, until the end."

  Pico re-crossed her arms, "What a foolish, self-righteous act. You don't know anything. Do you know how many people you put in danger, huh?"

  Shelby blinked away a status box that punctuated Pico's words.

  "I can see now that it was reckless. I'm really sorry..."

  "You're just lucky no one was seriously injured..." Pico trailed off.

  "I'm glad to hear that," Shelby said meekly.

  "And you're sure that everyone was returned to their homes?" Pico asked.

  "They were," Thimble confirmed as he stepped forward to stand next to Shelby. He bumped his shoulder into her as he stood up as tall as he could. He still only reached her neckline.

  Pico nodded to him, "What do you think of all this?"

  Thimble shrugged, "I think it was a stupid idea, and it was clearly going to go wrong, somehow."

  Shelby gaped at him. Gee, thanks a lot, Thimble! Before she could speak, he continued, "But, it could have been worse. I think that Caramel risked her own life to protect many others."

  Oh, that was actually nice. Shelby flushed and turned away from him. Pico nodded thoughtfully, "Yet our people are still paying the price in lost homes and terror."

  "I... I can help rebuild!" Shelby offered, "I know how to gather logs and stones!"

  "I don't know if anyone will want your help," Pico warned, a fierce expression darkening her face.

  "Oh stop," Nisa said, slipping under Pico's crossed arms, "you're being so dramatic. Just let them make amends so we can move on and start helping people."

  Pico glared down at the inn mouse, and she glared back, putting her hands on her hips. Pico shook out her ears, "Fine, enough gloom and doom. We'll negotiate peace over shared food. Is that agreeable to you, Matriarch of the Syn Bleak?"

  Shelby looked down at Naile, but the wolf didn't stir. Come on... please just make something easy, for once! Naile didn't even seem to be considering the offer, and Shelby sighed loudly.

  Thimble nudged Shelby with his elbow and stage whispered at her, "She's talking to you."

  Shelby blanched, "Huh? Oh, that's me? That's me... Um, yes! I accept!"

  Pico suppressed the whisper of a smile, "Perfect. Nisa, charcuterie on a rush order?"

  Nisa gave a lazy half-salute, then turned to walk towards the inn door, "You got it. Probably ought ta' eat inside for this one."

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