When we last left our adventurers, Acts the Frog had revealed their gender-changing habits, surprising Nadia the rabbit! With this still lingering in the air, we rejoin our animalistic friends moments after the last chapter ended...

Both of them stared at one another for a moment, each one daring the other to laugh at the accidental innuendo first. Thankfully, they both broke out into laughter at about the same time, and as the mutual understanding broke, they each returned to laying on the comfortable bedroll next to one another, staring up into the stars together.

“So… a nice dick?” Acts mumbled. 

“Pretty nice, yeah…” Nadia replied. Neither spoke for a while, but equally could neither stop grinning. “You could have told me.” 

“I guess now I do not have to.” Acts said.

“I suppose so, yeah.” Nadia snickered.

Another silence blossomed. Eventually, Nadia spoke up. “M-maybe we could…” 

“Another time.” Acts said with a smile. “I think it is time we begin to leave.”

“Oh, of course.” Nadia said quickly, urging his cheeks not to blossom. 

“We have a long trek ahead of us.” 

“Y-yeah, we do. Long long trek.” 

Acts giggled to himself again, in just the same way he had when he was a girl, and slowly stood up. The sun shone off of his naked green skin as he stretched up, facing away from Nadia. Boy or not, Nadia thought to himself, there was no doubt in his mind; that body was one of the most attractive he’d ever seen. The lithe figure with muscles etched into the frame, the smooth, rolling spine that lead down to his beautifully plump-- 

“Bunny!” Acts said, staring down at Nadia, snapping the rabbit out of his daydream. “Hrm? Y-yeah! Right.” Nadia said, shaking himself mentally. Acts’ glorious behind had been replaced by the curiously purple member of its owner. Nadia cleared his throat and rearranged his ragged crotch coverings, thankful that Acts had decided to turn away to continue packing his belongings. 

“You have food, yes?” Acts piped up as he slipped on his vest. Nadia looked around for his pack briefly, before remembering what had happened to it. “Uh… I guess not. All I have left is my alchemy satchel... ” Pulling the leather pouch to his side, he held the tattered container up for Act’s inspection. “...Or what’s left of it.” Acts rolled his eyes. “You will have to eat soon.” he announced. “Get yourself dressed. We will not stop until we have made good ground.” 

Nadia wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about this new authoritative Acts, but he had to admit, being bossed around by someone so much shorter and slimmer than him did make him feel… something. He looked forward to finding out exactly what that something was.

--

Life! Hope blossoms and spreads like fire. A figure is seen, amongst the wind and sparks and blood. It stands still, staring through leaves. The storm drowns out any calls for help. It suffocates sound and distorts the outstretched hand. 

Get closer. Must get closer. 

The figure moves. 
No! It must help. There must be help. 

Hope turns to desperation. 
Panic. 
Frenzy. 
An outstretched hand desperate for help becomes a weapon. 
Danger. 

A flash. 

The figure falls. 
The storm carries wails, and cries, and gnashing of teeth, but no help comes.

Life means hope. One means more nearby. 

First… first, we must feed. 

Waste nothing. Use anything. Use everything.

--

The journey continued eastward, across the thickening forest landscape. Nadia and Acts often found themselves waking up with the sun ahead of them, as if welcoming them along their path. At night, they both had mutually agreed to share Nadia’s bedroll, and although the rabbit had made a few choice remarks about Acts for some reason bringing his own, the answer was always the same; “I like to travel light.” How this slim frog had gotten a job as an official escort, Nadia had no idea. Regardless, they each enjoyed one another’s body heat during the cold nights, and occasionally spent whatever hours were not taken by sleep staring up at the shining night sky. Acts had begun referring to it as a ‘dark sheet littered with gemstones’, which made Nadia smile. Even if he knew better, he didn’t say so. 

During one of their many exhausting yet thankfully uneventful walks, Nadia had noticed something; He’d stopped counting the days. Normally, his excursions from the city hadn’t been long enough to justify keeping a record, but the first few nights with Acts had Nadia’s mind reaching back to his home. It was where he’d spent most of his life, after all; it was only natural, he reasoned as he stepped over some fallen branches, that one’s mind wanders back to a place it feels most comfortable in times of change. He found himself mindlessly staring at Acts, or at least the back of the frog’s head. He began to wonder where the frog’s mind went, during such outings. The two had spoken little of Acts’ origin. Typically, such conversations ended prematurely, with the frog waving it away dismissively and telling Nadia that “What is not hunting you should not be minded”, which Nadia figured meant he just didn’t want to talk about it. He shrugged to himself, and cleared his throat. 

“Say, Acts…” Nadia said. The frog slowed his walking, but only barely; he had made it quite clear that he wasn’t fond of giving the rabbit any breaks. “What is it, luckyfoot? Are your feet sore again? We did only stop thirty minutes ago...”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Nadia lied. His feet were hurting, in fact they hadn’t stopped hurting since they had set off. Rough ground was never meant to walked on for so long; that’s why they invented paving. 

“I was just wondering about the whole… y’know…” He gestured wildly, with great inefficiency. “...Boy to a girl, girl to a boy thing?” 

Acts smiled. They hadn’t really spoken about it since that night, supposedly because neither of them had found it necessary. Apparently, it had been weighing on the mammal’s mind. Acts cleared his throat. “It is not uncommon among my people.” He said, looking ahead. 

“I know, you said that.” Nadia went on. “But I was just wondering, from a… biological point of view, how does it… happen?” 

“Are you going to pester me about it until I describe it in detail?” Acts asked, half-jokingly. Nadia grinned awkwardly. “Well, not in great detail… I’m curious, that’s all. The rest of us seem fairly stuck to our rolls, so to speak.”

“Well, I am thankful that not everybody is as… stuck, as you say, as the rest of you.” Acts said. “The truth is that I rarely find a purpose to ah… change. It is fairly simple, and relatively painless, though it does cause me some discomfort.” 

“Then why do it at all?” Nadia asked. Acts looked at him with what would have been a raised eyebrow, if he had any hair on his body. “Would you not?” 

Nadia left the conversation hanging for a while as the two trotted forwards in silence, occasionally helping one another over an upturned tree or unturned rock. To his surprise, Acts was the one who broke the silence this time. 

“Males have different attributes, which are more useful in different places.” He said, surprising the rabbit again with his fluent use of his larger vocabulary. Nadia tilted his head a little, and cleared his throat. 

“You mean like… muscle mass? Because that doesn’t seem to change when uh… you… do.” he ended flatly. Acts shook his head. “No, stupid bunny. Like… what you study. The juices. Yes?” Acts gestured to his arms at the dumbfounded rabbit, before finally it clicked. 

“Oh!” Nadia exclaimed with a grin. “You mean like… hormones and stuff!” 

Acts shrugged. “Yes, sure. Horn-moans.” He shook his head a little and muttered “You mammals and your dirty minds…”

Both frog and rabbit left the conversation settled. After a long time of contemplation, Nadia almost walked straight into the back of Acts, who turned out to be nigh immovable, despite his somewhat short and sleek stature. The rabbit stumbled backwards, but caught his footing at the last moment, and grunted. “What’s the hold-up?” He asked, glancing curiously over Acts’ shoulder. “...Oh.”

The two stood at the top of a hill which overlooked what seemed to be flattened farm-ground, trampled down by constant foot traffic. Dotted across the four or five acres were a series of small, beige, conical structures. From this distance, Nadia couldn’t quite tell what they were made of, but he could tell they were definitely in use by someone, or something. 

“This…” Acts said, in a voice lined with a hint of pride, “Is Skysoil!”

“...Sky soil?” Nadia asked, receiving a quick elbow jab in the ribs for his troubles. “...It sounds better in our tongue.” Acts grumbled, quickly skidding down the grass-clad embankment with practiced ease. Nadia rubbed his tingling chest and shrugged. “I’m sure a lot of things do.” With less gusto than the experienced, slippy-footed frog, he gradually began to make his way down the hillside. By the time he got to the bottom (though he almost fell all the way a few times), he was half covered in mud and was very aware of the scowling he was receiving from Acts. 

“Any time this day, luckyfoot.” He said pointedly. Nadia shrugged, and stumbled the last few steps down to the soft, relatively flat ground where Acts was waiting. 

When he looked up to give what would have no doubt been a witty and quick-minded comeback of his own, his eyes were instead drawn to the several figures who had seemingly emerged out of nowhere to stand at Acts’ side. They were each tall - very tall, yet lean enough to rival the escort’s own frame. They were similar to him in many ways - hairless, for one, and each having subtly different rounded features. One or two appeared to be different from the rest; one had fins and quite clear gills which expanded slightly with each breath, and another had a smoky, matt finish to its skin, which contrasted against the almost slick look of the rest of the small crowd. Each was clothed differently; Mr. Gills was covered roughly with different pelts and supported some of his weight on a crude staff, Mr. Mattskin’s torso and lower half seemed to be bound by some stretchy and shiny opaque fabric, and the other smooth-skinned tribespeople, whom Nadia hadn’t had a chance to mentally name yet, seemed… naked. Well, Nadia thought to himself as he stood in front of the small gathering, at least now I know where Acts gets his sense of privacy from. 

**

“T’chel.” Mr. Mattskin said, his eyes affixed onto the rabbit. Nadia didn’t know what it meant, but the sound of it and the glare it was delivered with made the intent quite clear. Dismissing what was likely an insult, Nadia cleared his throat, and held his hand palm-up. Foreign diplomacy was quite important in Whitewall, and while he hadn’t exactly been paying attention during such classes, he was fairly sure how to introduce himself. “Hello, my name is Na--” 

Contrary to what he had been taught as polite introductions, Mr. Mattskin turned his back on the rabbit, addressing the escort instead. “T’chel maln. Calfer d’renta?” 

Acts shot Nadia an apologetic glance and somewhat awkward smirk before returning the greeting to the large man. “Maln, calfer des… Nadia, dan buut--” 

Mattskin scoffed, or made a sound close to it. “Calfer desogin, Mjartio. Des nad baleroin.”

Nadia, feeling like the window for introductions was probably over, lowered his hand and glanced at the other members of the group. Mr. Mattskin was almost standing between himself and Acts, while the others’ eyes seemed to scan over the bunny’s body as if he were a meal being inspected for hidden rot. “Uh, Acts? Care to introduce me to your friends?” 

Acts didn’t look at Nadia, but held up a smooth hand for him to hold on for a moment. “Calfer desogin nad baleroin, fush del-- Look, can we speak walled? My friend here is safe. He has my voucher. He is a client who has passed the Walls’ backing, this is fine for me. It should be fine for you also.” Acts glanced very quickly at Nadia, treating him to a friendly wink. Nadia wasn’t sure why, but he did feel somewhat reassured. At least he knew that Acts was sticking up for him now, though considering how open to the forest this position is, he couldn’t really get behind the added security measures. 

Mr. Matt turned his head, glaring down at Nadia again. “Hoff Walled, calfer des hoofen hef closser aken!” This seemed to annoy Acts who very subtly flexed the muscles on his back. Mr. Matt tilted his head for a moment, perhaps in annoyance, before letting out a fishy sigh. “Walled not welcome.” 

“Walled not welcome.” Acts agreed, but stepped back and wrapped an arm around Nadia’s shoulder. “He is welcome.” 

“He is Walled.” Mr. Matt glowered. Seemingly done with negotiations, he turned away and walked from the group, grumbling under his breath in a language Nadia wasn’t sure he’d ever understand. Acts exhaled, and relaxed his posture a little. “Did… I do something wrong?” Nadia asked sheepishly. There were still three towering beings stood staring at him, but Acts patted him reassuringly on his fluffed up chest. “No worries, luckyfoot. They are just not used to your… kind.” 

“...Rabbits?” Nadia asked, quickly glancing at the three still immobile beings. One of them, the one Nadia had named Mr. Gills, crossed his arms. 

“Whitewall livers.” Acts furrowed his hairless brow. 

“Residents?” 

Acts brightened up. “Yes! Whitewall resinders.” 

“That’s not--” Before Nadia could protest further, Acts tightened his grip on his opposite shoulder. “Let me introduce you. This--” He pointed to Mr. Gills with a closed fist. “-- is the champion of Keln Pass. That is the captain of the royal guard for Her Majesty in the western, and this is the chief of my tribe.” Acts noted happily, gesturing to the one Nadia had noted as having the closest resemblance to the frog he knew, and the oddly not-naked, opaque-fabric clad individual in turn. Nadia thought it a little strange, wondering if Acts had simple gotten the two mixed up, but he knew better than to ask. 

“S-so… nice to meet you.” Nadia said, raising his palm once again. Only the leader of the western tribe placed his hand above Nadia’s with a sharp “J’ket.” The rabbit assumed this was a greeting, and nodded in respect. 

Nadia looked over to his frog escort, who seemed to be staring off into the distance. When he failed to see what he was looking at, Nadia nudged him in the ribs as subtly as possible. “Huh? Oh, uh… yes. Glad you have met with them. My tribe leader will… I will set you a time to see him. Go over there,” Acts waved absent-mindedly towards the nearest conical structure, “wait for me. I have things I must see to.” With his voice trailing off at the end, Acts slowly wandered off. His cute young escort now replaced by three men who could seemingly each tear a decent chunk out of him, Nadia sheepishly scooted around the edge of the group before making his way towards the designated structure. He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally parted their company. He was sure they were nice people, but jeeze, they were not great at cross-societal greetings. Maybe he could write a paper about it once he got back home. 

With a his confidence grown a little from being officially invited into the tribe’s space, Nadia stepped into the pointy building. It wasn’t much larger than his own hole-riddled shack, but significantly stronger in build quality; the walls seemed to be made of a sturdy clay, likely a local deposit the rept-- the frogs were harvesting for temporary housing. 

Another thing that set the building aside from his home shack were the chattering voices he could hear from outside. They seemed light, even jovial, and ceased the moment he stepped inside. Nadia wasn’t exactly the social type, but he thought anybody who suddenly had ten pairs of eyes staring at them from out of the shadows may have felt a similar feeling of utter dread that he did. 

Still, he thought to himself, I didn’t go through two years of diplomatic studies for nothing. He raised his paw, palm upwards, and smiled hopefully. The others seemed to relax, and some muttering could be heard from inside the dark structure. As he stood there, his eyes slowly started acclimatising to the darkness; he could see shapes and faces, a couple somewhat similar to his own! This only made his smile wider; there was not only one, but two rabbits in here! Sure, they looked like they’d been dragged through a bush backwards (like he could talk), and had clearly un-walled tribal markings, but they were still like him. 

“Tsh. Calfer, Walled.” One of the rabbits muttered, looking away from the entrance. The others nodded, and there was a general air of agreement. Nadia decided that standing there like an idiot while being judged was probably worse than sitting while being judged, so he found a spare patch of trodden-down mud and sat down cross-legged. “Uh… yeah, I’m from Whitewall.” 

“Yeah, we know.” A lizard next to him… breathed. Every word sounded like the wind trapped in a rusted cage. The lizard nodded towards the tribal rabbit with what seemed like an ever-present grin. “She doesn’t think you should be here.” 

“Oh.” Nadia said. Maybe he didn’t have cool feather earrings, or weird markings on his fur, but at least he was invited. He glanced up at the lizard, who was leaning against the awkwardly tilted wall. “What about you?” 

The lizard’s grin grew, showing off many sharp, pointed teeth. The scar above his eye and the blood stains on his plain clothing told a story of just how sharp they might be. “Ah, whitewall. I like it. Yes, lots of… people.” 

Nadia shuffled awkwardly in his spot. “Y-yeah, I mean… I guess it can get sorta crowded.” 

The lizard laughed a horse chuckle as the chattering amongst the other beasts resumed. “Yes, you are funny. I like that.” He slowly lowered himself to Nadia’s level, keeping his legs bent as if preparing to jump into action at any moment. “Why are you here, meat sack?” 

“Meat sack?” Nadia didn’t intend for his voice to sound so offended, but… well, it’s not like we live in pray times anymore. At least, most of us don’t. He hoped.

The lizard laughed again. He really seems to enjoy doing that. Nadia thought to himself, if only to avoid thinking about those very sharp teeth. “We are all safe here, yeah?” The lizard asked. Nadia nodded uncertainly. “It’s just a joke, my friend. A joke for those of us with these.” He tapped his teeth with one claw. There was a decidedly thick tapping sound. 

“...Good joke.” Nadia said flatly. The lizard grinned wide. Nadia didn’t. 

“Why are you here?” The lizard asked, somewhat more pointedly. Nadia shrugged, and began looking through his pack before realising the very limited space available, and gave up. “I have this… list of stuff I’ve gotta get from here.” 

“Ahh, an errand boy.” The lizard muttered. “Punishment, or joy?” 

“It’s not… I didn’t even really do any--” 

“Punishment.” The lizard said happily, absentmindedly cleaning his claws. “Thought so.” 

“Well, why are YOU here?” Nadia asked, glancing around the room. Nobody seemed to be looking at him anymore, but there three wolves huddled together along the wall, two cats standing at opposite sides of the hut glaring at one another, and the two other rabbits discussing… something. He was fairly sure they didn’t like him. 

“Not punishment.” The lizard said bluntly, flicking a speck of dirt onto the floor. “I chose to be here, just as the dogs did.” 

There was a soft growl from the wolves who had overheard the lizard, making the lizard’s grin wider for a moment. “Happy hunting, boys.” 

“What do you mean? What are they hunting?” Nadia glanced outside. Foot traffic seemed to have increased since he came in here, and he started to wonder when Acts would be back to fetch him. He was suddenly aware of some platemail pressed against his shoulder--

--Oh. It was the lizard, seemingly attempting to get ‘chummy’. Nadia did not like it. The lizard didn’t seem to care. 

“There is a monster out there, they say.” The lizard muttered, ignoring Nadia’s mild squirming. “A real monster, who eats the souls of them it catches.” 

Nadia shook his head. “So what, like a big boar or something? I’m pretty sure they settled way further south of--” 

The lizard rolled his eyes and nudged Nadia, almost sending him tumbling over. “No, stupid rabbit. A monster. Not like you and… well, not like me, and not like the rest of these around here.” He gestured vaguely to the others. “Nah, this is a new thing, a monster who cooks you with fire before you’re even dead!” 

“That sounds like bullshit.” Nadia muttered. The lizard smacked him over the nose. “Ow!” 

“You gotta respect the lore of the tribes, rabbit. Otherwise we’d not be around, you hear?” 
“I guess…” Nadia muttered, rubbing his nose better. 

“Besides,” the Lizard said, stretching his legs out under him. “If that monster isn’t real, I’m not gettin’ paid for killing it.” 

Nadia looked over at him in surprise, as did a couple of the more ragged looking members of their hut. “Yeah, you know it!” The lizard piped up. “I know some of you are here for the same reason, eh? D’jer G’alrr? Yeah, thought so.” He nudged Nadia again. “I’ve got myself a good haul back on my ship. Could do with a bunk mate, if you’re not dead by the end of it.” He laughed to himself another wheezing, rusty laugh. Nadia didn’t dignify his offer with a response. 

So, a monster hunt. He thought to himself. Great. All I wanted was some fucking sand or whatever, and I happen to get stuck right in the middle of a bunch of idiots. 

The general chatter continued as Nadia sat staring out of the hut in no particular direction. A couple of times he caught a word or two; like ‘Calfer’ and ‘Walled’, but not in any context he could really grasp. The rabbits seemed to have a straight posture, as if they were priests or some other nobility. The dogs kept to themselves mostly, but seemed friendly enough. That is, when the lizard didn’t nip at their tails and laugh at their mildly frustrated reactions. The cats didn’t speak, but the intensity with which they stared at one another was as large a warning as anybody else could give to Stay Out Of It. Nadia sighed. “C’mon, Acts…” he muttered to himself. “How long do I have to wait for you?” 

--
There is more here. Many more. How long will they be there? Don’t know. 

Must get there. Must get… something. Help? Food? One of these. They are that.

Must get-- A bright flash --closer. 

Need some-- flash --thing. Wait. What was that? Something different this time. Different… smell, flavour, texture, chemist-- No. Different shape. 

New shapes. 
Must find more. 

Will be there soon. Douse the fire. 
Douse it with blood.
--

Acts could have smelled it right as he entered the area. Something was cooking, something that was alive and screaming. When he first climbed down the embankment, he’d sighed internally. Great, he’d thought to himself, the other leaders are here. Just what we need. His chief was there, looking… worried. Acts hadn’t seen him this worried since his attempts at making walled bread loaf didn’t turn out right. 

“[What’s going on?]” He’d asked. The western chief glared at Act’s travelling companion. 

“[Outsider.]” The chief said bluntly. The rabbit had cleared his throat, and Acts wished for a moment that the elements would swallow him up to save him from the oncoming awkward encounter. Sadly, no such luck. 

“H-hello, my name is Na--” 

Oh gods, he’s holding his palm up like some sort of child. Acts thought to himself. The western chief turned his back to Nadia signifying outsidership, and cast Acts a worried look. “[An outsider is causing trouble, and you bring a rabbit?]” 

Goddamn racists. Acts shot Nadia an apologetic glance, even though he was sure the rabbit wouldn’t know why. “[With respect, this rabbit… Nadia, is an outsider, but--]” 

“[The rabbit is an outsider, Waterskin. You know the rules.]” The western chief’s expression remained one of worry; for a warrior so supposedly strong and proud, he definitely didn’t look it at this moment. A short cry of pain sounded from across the flats, catching Act’s attention. The other four seemed to ignore it. 

“Uh, Acts? Care to introduce me to your friends?” 

Acts sighed internally again, but put on a brave face to the Chief, who had just shot a glare at Nadia. As if I wouldn’t notice, Acts thought to himself. He flexed his back a little, signifying his determination. “[The rabbit is an outsider, and that is against the rules, but--]” Acts got tongue tied for a moment. “Look, can we speak walled? My friend here is safe.” Acts continued to explain himself to the other chiefs, placing an arm around Nadia and casting what he hoped was a threatening glance at the others. “This should be fine for you also.” 

“Walled not… welcome.” The chief said, straining himself to speak in a tongue he was uncomfortable with. 

The western tribe chief, clearly done with this argument, conceded. “[Fucking Walled. Rabbits, then horses, just let them all in!]” He glowered at Acts, but looked at the ground in submission. “Walled not… welcome.” The chief said, straining himself to speak in a tongue he was uncomfortable with. “Walled not welcome,” Acts agreed, “But he is welcome.” 

The chief stomped off like a sulking child while grumbling to himself about “[Enough trouble already…]” But it was quite clear that Acts had won the argument. The other two seemed to be barely containing their smirks, which told Acts all the congratulations he needed. Those western guys are all the same… They seemed to be eyeing the rabbit up quite a bit, and not in a way that they had inspected the less preened guests. Acts grinned at them knowingly, but was caught by the ear hole by another far-off scream. There was something in the air, among the blood and barely hidden fear. Something like… burning metal, or crystallizing embers. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong, just out of eyeshot. 

Nadia nudged him gently. “Oh, uh… Go… over there.” He told the rabbit, wandering out from the group and towards the injury hut. “Over to that structure.” He said, vaguely waving towards the guest hut. The smell was getting stronger the closer he got to the injury hut, and as he crossed the threshold, his mind was utterly absent of his rabbit friend. 

“[What the fuck happened here?!]” He exclaimed. Two currently female frogs glanced at him before getting back to work on the scolded flesh writhing under them. The figures were indistinguishable from one another; two burnt bodies, still living, screaming in silence. “[Sky fire.]” One of them muttered. “[Some say there are dragons out there now.]” 

“[Don’t be stupid, waterleaf. Dragons don’t exist.]” The other said, bandaging over what used to be an arm. “[Hush now, that’s okay… It’s Salamanders, I’m telling you.]” 

“[In our plains? Has nobody seen them?]” Acts asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the mess of burned, flaking skin. “[We have heard nothing of them since the hard winter seven years ago.]” 

“[Yes, well, they seem to be back.]” The second frog muttered, trying to hush the soundless body she was tending to. Acts waved both the frogs out, and as they scurried out of the hut to fetch more supplies, he knelt by the disfigured head of one of the bodies. It almost crumbled as it moved, but turned its head towards him. “[You understand I am here? Don’t speak.]” It shuddered in response, the opening of its mouth contorting slightly. “[Good, good… you won’t be in pain for much longer, do not worry.]” Acts sighed heavily, and placed a gentle hand next to the figure’s head. “[Tell me, are you of water house? Was that nurse your brethren?]”  The figure contorted slightly, but didn’t signal one way or another. “[It’s okay.]” Acts said softly. “[We are alone, and I won’t tell them. Are they your brethren?]” 

The body shuddered in what could be considered a nod. Act’s jaw clenched. Julip Waterleaf used to be the first one he saw each time he returned home. She was missing this time, for the first time. Something caught in his throat for a moment, but he managed to subdue himself. “[It’s okay, it will be over soon. Tell me this; was it salamanders?]” The figure turned its head away marginally. Acts tilted his head in response. “[Then… dragons?]” A wheeze sounded from the figure, a sure sign in the negative. “[Then what--]” 

The figure’s arm crackled as it raised, clawing at the space near Acts. After clenching his jaw, Acts raised his palm to be held. The skin almost crumbled at the touch, with patches falling away like leaves being shed from a bloody tree. “[It’s okay. I know you want peace. Let me help you. I… I won’t tell Mjartio. I promise.]” 

Acts walked out of the hut slowly. His stomach was not agreeing with him. Thankfully, he found a very suitable spot just behind the hut to vomit. When he eventually rounded back over to the entrance, the two nurses were just leaving, their sullen looks telling all. “[What happened?]” Acts asked, as if he didn’t know. His voice, ironically, croaked. 

“[You know--]” One of the nurses cut the other off. “[The pain was too much for them. They passed peacefully. Thankfully.]” The last word had teeth, and they were pointed directly at the Waterleaf nurse. Acts nodded. “[I’m glad it was peaceful.]” 

“[Me too, brother.]” The first nurse said, blinking back tears and gritting her teeth. “[I’m glad they did not have to suffer long.]” 

The two nurses began walking away, even as the Waterleaf nurse lingered, staring at Acts. Acts couldn’t bring himself to return her stare, and was left alone by the hut before too long. He wanted to let out a long sigh, or a scream, or something, but nothing would come. Instead, he swallowed his feelings, cleared his eyes and his mouth, and began walking back to the hut he’d instructed Nadia to wait for him in. This was just what they needed. With any luck, Acts could get the rabbit packed up and going in no time, so he could deal with this whole… situation without him. The gods only knew he didn’t have time for a tag-along at a time like this. 

To Be Continued...