Nadia hadn’t really experienced travelling often before, as he tended to prefer the comfort of the known over the probable dangers of the unknown. It was quite the opposite to his approach in science, and as he sat on the dusty floor of the hut filled with foreign tongues, he finally had a chance to reflect on his life. For so long, he had thought of himself as the only one in Whitewall University truly pushing the limits of what alchemy could do. While everybody around him had been asking why, he’d been the one asking why not? 

Normally, of course, it had lead him to being punished; such as being sent across the continent to fetch some seemingly arbitrary ingredients, but in thinking about it, part of him started to realise that perhaps it wasn’t the ingredients that were important. He was travelling, learning, meeting new people… sure, the university head had probably not exactly expected personal growth from Nadia, and it was likely the first thing he thought of to simply get the rabbit out of the way, but the end result was the same either way. He had gained experience, and that was something that wouldn’t simply disappear once he had finally returned home. 

His stomach churned a little at the thought of getting to lay down on his own bed once again. He wasn’t exactly sure what the feeling of homesickness was meant to feel like, but he was pretty sure that it pretty accurately described his current feeling. Either that, or the leaf berries Acts had convinced him to eat the previous night weren’t as ‘safe and good for wellness’ as the frog had proclaimed. 

Nadia’s ear perked up at the mention of his name. Without turning his head, he managed to slowly swivel one ear around to his right, where his new lizardian cohort was speaking to the two female rabbits. It wasn’t quite the same language the frogs had used when he first met them, but it definitely had similarities; he managed to pick out a word or two. “Calfer” was occasionally muttered, and he noted “Walled” here and there. It was clear they were talking about him, but he mentally shrugged it off, and continued staring out over the planes that stretched to the forest line through the opening of the darkened hut. 

“Ch’gel glatter Walled, log natrel visa kagge!” The lizard whispered at a volume louder than his regular speaking voice. Nadia could tell by the sound of his inflections that he was grinning, which was all but confirmed by the soft, giggling response by the girls. Curious, Nadia turned his head a little to see if he could tell what they were talking about. The lizard had his hands held wide apart, with (of course) a wide grin on his face. Nadia’s confused look must have announced his curiosity, because out of the corner of his scarred eye, the lizard caught the rabbit looking, and turned to him. Despite his instincts, Nadia didn’t look away; Yeah, I was looking. He thought to himself. What about it? I can look anywhere I wan--

“Nadia, yes?” The lizard piped up. The rabbit girls were both looking at him too, now, so Nadia cleared his throat and shuffled around to face the small group. “Yes?” 

“You said you come from Whitewall.” The lizard continued. For whatever reason, the two rabbits glanced at one another with a knowing look. Nadia narrowed his eyes a little. He felt like he knew the tone of this questionnaire, but shouldn’t jump to conclusions considering the possible cultural differences. 

“Yeah, I did say that.” He answered cautiously. The lizard grinned.

“Did you know I visited Whitewall once?” The girls giggled. Nadia was beginning to get annoyed. 

“I can’t say I’ve heard it mentioned. There are a lot of people there.” 

“Yes, there are a lot of… people.” The lizard continued, narrowing his own eyes. “You know many from there? Different people?”

Nadia sighed slightly louder than strictly necessary. “There are a lot of people at Whitewall. Mostly I just know people from the university. Why are you asking?” 

“Hah, well…” The Lizard scooted a little closer, shooting the other two rabbits a toothy grin as he did so. “...Tell us about the ones with no feet.” 

Nadia felt himself become dumbstruck. “No… feet?” 

“Yes!” The lizard barked hoarsely, his grin never fading. “The ones who have those weird cloppy bits instead of feet!” 

Cloppy bits. Nadia repeated that to himself a couple of times in his head, just so he made sure what was being said really was what he had heard. “...You mean like, horses?”

The two rabbit girls giggled again, which was very a strange sight to see considering how much apparent muscle mass they had. Nadia mentally shook himself; I guess hunting parties can have a sense of humour, but… 

The lizard cut off his train of thought. “Have you bedded them?” 

“Have I… Excuse me?” Nadia was so taken aback by the mix of casual speciesism and abrupt invasion of his private life that he was almost physically knocked back. “Are you asking me if I’ve…” 

“Layed with them?” The lizard asked curiously, wording himself carefully as to properly communicate. “You know, like… done the deed? Fornicated? Slipped in the mud? Bitten the bedshee--”

“Yes, I get it, thank you.” Nadia said firmly. He took a breath between heartbeats and cleared his throat a little. “I’d rather not, uh…” 

“Oh, oh, no judgement here!” The grinning lizard said, holding his palms out defensively. “It was only a question, after all. You see, the ladies and I, we were just comparing…” He glanced seductively over at the rabbits, who giggled again. “...Experiences abroad, so to speak.” 

“W-well, I don’t exactly have… I mean, this is the furthest I’ve travelled before.” Nadia muttered, glancing once again out of the entrance. He felt three sets of eyes burning their way through the back of his skull. The lizard sniggered. “Clafer drognet log glatter. Silg konotis.” The two rabbits laughed softly, and the lizard could be heard shuffling back to be by their sides. Nadia huffed under his breath. Perhaps he was wrong; the sooner he was out of this place, the better. At least when he was ostracized back in Whitewall, he could tell what they were saying behind his back… 

“Luckyfoot.” A voice just above Nadia’s head announced. The rabbit shook himself and looked up; squinting against the dying sunlight, he could just about make up the shape of Acts. Finally, he thought to himself. 

“You took your--” 

“Get up. Come with me.” Acts demanded. His tone was… somewhat different from the jovial frog Nadia had come to expect. Still, he did as he asked and stood up, making his way out of the tent to greet Acts. 

“Where are we going? Can I see the chief yet?” Nadia asked, hoping not to sound too impatient. Acts seemed too distracted to care, and waved for him to follow. “Yes,” Acts muttered. “You will have ten minutes. Tell the Chief what it is you came here for, why you came here, and show respect when you speak.” 

Nadia suddenly didn’t feel quite so home sick. “Alright, there’s no need to lecture me, Acts. I know the basics of foriegn affairs.” 

Acts stopped dead, and Nadia turned to face him. “What’s the matter?” 

The frog’s face, now that Nadia could make it out more clearly, was anything but jovial. His normally perky and bright eyes looked tired, and his posture seemed significantly stiffer than before. “Acts… what happened?” 

“Do as I say.” Acts commanded. A shiver ran down Nadia’s spine; the tone the frog had used was not one of negotiation. There was no room for error in those words, no mercy or kindness. Acts must have seen the effect they had on the rabbit, because after sighing heavily, he placed a hand on Nadia’s shoulder and looked at him with a somewhat brighter expression. “...Please. It is important at this time that you… that we all act as we should. Yes?” 

Nadia nodded in response, and covered Acts’ hand with his own. The strange, smooth skin felt different under his sore paws, though the connection the two shared for those few moments together in physical contact made him feel significantly better. Somehow, it also made him feel a little worse. Something clearly had the frog troubled, but it was clear to both of them that now was not the time to address it. With a thankful nod from Acts, Nadia withdrew his hand, and the two made their way through the encampment. 

The foot traffic Nadia had noticed outside the guest tent was clearly just a sign of bigger things; there were groups of many types of lizards and mammals gathering here and there, some slightly younger ones often busily running from one to the other, and all of them were wearing the same graven expression. He couldn’t see signs of anybody under the age of fighting, and for that matter, nobody over the age of the chiefs he’d met on his way in. This only went further to instill the creeping feeling of unease. There was something in the air, something Nadia could barely detect - but it was there, nonetheless. 

Finally, Acts stopped Nadia just outside the entrance of a particularly large conical hut. Its outside walls were painted in all manner of bright and colourful lines, and while at first Nadia had mistaken them for tribal graffiti, the closer he looked, the more he noticed that they all had one thing in common. 
“Lines…?” He said out loud. Acts tilted his head, and followed the rabbit’s eyes to the linear graffiti. He smiled; something Nadia was incredibly thankful to see. 

“Ah. Our tribe’s leader has an… he enjoys order. These markings are tributes to him, thankings for the different things he has done for our tribe.” Nadia nodded. There were a lot of lines, all scattering off in seemingly arbitrary directions, yet each set aligning parallel to others within its own colour group. There was no uniformity between any two lines, and the thickness of each group seemed to change for no particular reason. Acts snapped his fingers, drawing Nadia away from his artistic critique. “Sorry.” he muttered. Acts sighed. 

“Remember what I said, luckyfoot.” Acts muttered back quietly. There were no guards nearby, but for some reason the frog glanced both ways before speaking. “Keep your talking short, and show respect. It is not often the chief will see those from… from outside our village.” Acts coughed softly. 

“...You mean the Walled.” Nadia said matter-of-factly. The xenophobia wasn’t exactly well hidden here, but Nadia’s comment seemed to strike Acts by surprise. 

“N-... Listen, we are not… it is…” Acts trailed off and pinched the bridge of where his nose would be. “This is a fragile time! Just do as I have asked, please. It was my task to get you here only, luckyfoot, and I do not enjoy pushing my head out for you.” With that, Acts headed inside the hut. Nadia stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what the frog meant by that last comment. After a few seconds, he nodded; sticking your neck out. He thought to himself. That frog really needs to learn better sayings. 

As he entered, Nadia felt the heat from within blossom against his fur. This hut was significantly lighter and larger than he had expected from looking at the outside; glowing coals crackled softly in a wide, circular pit just in front of a slung seat, on which Nadia assumed the chief sat. To Nadia’s left, a short table was being hotly debated over in muttered tones by two well-muscled and relatively underdressed frogs. To his right, two overdressed frogs in dark robes and hoods stared at him, either assessing his every move, or not even acknowledging his existence. He couldn’t quite tell. Regardless, he was here for one reason, and one reason only; to either side of the chief stood two frogs, no doubt a form of royal aides. Nadia looked at first; a tall, elegant looking frog with a delicate looking head covering made of some sort of silk. The rabbit nodded in respect, which was returned. He looked to the aide other, and-- 

It was Acts. Acts was stood there, staring straight forward with a serious expression on his face. He didn’t even glance at Nadia’s face, which was stricken by an expression of utter disbelief. When Acts’ eyes did eventually look into Nadia’s, the rabbit suddenly remembered where he was. He knelt at the opposite end of the coal pit to the chief, and bowed his head. 

“I am Nadia Aximand, serve of Whitewall. Thank you for seeing me as I am. I recognise your leadership over this tribe, and bow to your rule.” He said clearly, with defined articulation that he preserved for especially difficult oral exams. He glanced up to see the chief’s lack-of-ear being whispered into by Acts, after which the chief nodded and spoke. 

“I see you as you are, Nadia.” The chief said, his tone low and showing respect in return. “We do not see citizens of Whitewall here often.” 

Nadia sat up, but tucked his legs under himself as to keep himself in a kneeled position of respect. “Yes, I had… noticed, sir.” The chief’s eyes narrowed, and once again Acts whispered something to him. What on earth are you doing there, Acts? I thought you were just an escort!

“Why are you here, Nadia of Whitewall?” The chief asked. Nadia let out a slow breath, and tried to recall everything he had been told to get. It seemed like so long ago, and his list was probably strung up in some tree somewhere, suspended by some slutty spider’s web. Regardless, he was here now, and had to press on. 

“I come seeking ingredients for import, sir.” The chief shifted from side to side, making his swing seat shift slightly. “Why did you not speak to our export officer?” He asked. Before Acts could whisper anything else, Nadia locked eyes with the mysterious little escort and piped up. “I was told I should come to you directly, sir, by Acts.” 

The chief tilted his head to one side. “Acts?” 

Nadia paused, breaking his official demeanor for a moment. “The, uh… the liz-- boy on your right, sir?” Nadia noticed a change in expression; the chief’s eyes widened slightly, while simultaneously Acts’ eyes narrowed down at him. “I… see.” The chief said slowly. “What ingredients are you seeking?” 

“One sling of star pebbles, sir--” 

“I do not think this will be a problem, young rabbit.” 

“...As well as two skeens of cloth bark, three pints of rubber sap, eight flash fish hides, two carbonated sea water flagons, two eighteenth-and-a-quarter fire quartz axles, and four slings of spider silk. Sir.” Nadia finished. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other chief-adjacent frog had taken out a notepad and a piece of charcoal and had begun taking notes. Thank god someone had, Nadia thought to himself, I doubt I could recite that again. 

The chief sat there for a moment, blinking, before turning to look at Acts, who paused glaring at Nadia to partake in a short, muttered discussion with the chief. There was some back and forth, with Nadia sitting patiently as the note taker finished taking down his list. 

“Oh, uh… Sir? If I may?” Nadia interrupted; a big no-no as far as foreign relations go, but he figured he could get one more shot at getting back at Acts for speaking to him like a child outside. “Those four slings of spider silk are already taken care of. Acts and I encountered a source on our way here.” Nadia dared himself a little smirk, which was once again returned by Acts’ fiery eyes. The chief looked from Nadia to Acts in what seemed like genuine surprise. While Nadia may not have been able to understand the language even if he had wanted to listen in, he did recognise the body language; the chief was definitely, genuinely shocked at the revelation that Acts had done more than simply escort the rabbit here, and Acts seemed to be having a hard time reassuring the chief of something. From the rabbit’s perspective, it was an entertaining thing to watch indeed. 

“Very well.” The chief eventually said, after the discussion between the two had finally reached its end. “My assistant here,” He gestured to the note-taker, who stepped forward. “She will show you to our herb mixing hut, and assist you in gathering your ingredients for you. She will also help you gather some less… revealing clothing.” 

Nadia blinked, then lowered his ears fully in realisation. All this time… he thought to himself, subconsciously closing his knees together, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’ve been basically bottomless since that fucking spider attack! 

Managing to hide his shame long enough to pass his thanks unto the chief, Nadia slowly raised himself back onto his naked legs, bowed in thanks, and followed the note-taker out of the hut. He hadn’t realised it until he stepped outside, but he had been holding his breath for most of the heart-wrenching encounter. He breathed heavily behind the back of the note taker, who didn’t seem to take any notice. “Fucking hell…” Nadia said softly under his breath. “I should have paid more attention in foreign languages…” The note-taker chuckled to something probably unrelated to what the rabbit had just muttered to himself. Regardless, Nadia made a mental note not to say anything too embarrassing around this particular frog. 

The lizardian tribe’s settlement looked as though it was built to be moved upon a moment’s notice. All of the structures seemed to be temporary fixtures on the landscape, built not to disturb the natural path of the land or leave markings any more notable than the tracks of tent pegs and make-shift roads between it and the settlements nearby. Nadia had assumed that this particular spot had been home for many travelling tribes, but as he was led into the dark storage tent, those presumptions vanished. On the outside, this tent-like structure seemed no different from any other, aside from some tattering of the door flaps and deeper groove of the incoming path signifying constant use. As Nadia’s eyes acclimated to the shaded inner structure, however, he realised that this particular tribe was deeper rooted than most. Literally, in this case. 

The walls were made of solid wood; vines overlapping and stretching up towards the roof, intertwining across one another and held by iron nails to the outside cladding. The floor began as typical trodden dirt, however quickly descended by way of many twisted, viney steps, to a much wider circular area, decorated by shelves and tables all made by the same strange organic material. 

“How… did you build this?” Nadia asked, staring down at the storage room. He couldn’t see very far into it even despite his high vantage point, but he could certainly hear the rummaging of a lizard or two busily sorting through their supplies. He glanced at his new guide, who simply smiled at him. “Oh.” He muttered.

“Wait.” She said softly, before descending the thick organic steps. Nadia shrugged to himself, thinking I guess I’ll wait here, then. He slipped his naked furred butt onto what he hoped was a small waiting bench near the steps, and stared out into the dusty entrance road. The sun was getting low, and the long shadows cast by the conical buildings etched pointed arrows into the dirt. Despite the warm weather, Nadia felt a sudden chill in the air from some unseen gust of wind. I hope I make it back in time. He thought to himself idly. What if they’ve forgotten about me? If they think I just haven’t showed up to class in a while, they’ll probably kick me out for good. Nadia smiled, musing on his thoughts of a search party going out to find the most accident-prone student in the entire university. Then again, he thought to himself, they’d probably just assume I got caught up in one of my own experiments and… melted, or something. The thought of being trapped outside of the university didn’t quite hold the terror he thought it should have. Perhaps his travel really has broadened his priorities. 

Nadia was cut off mid-thought by a sudden impact to his face. Cloth stifled his breathing, and once he’d wrestled the beast off of his face, he realised what it was; clothing. A simple hide tunic, by the looks of it, woven together with the same organic material coating the walls. As he turned it over in his paws, he saw it was quite flexible, and used as a kind of thick thread to hold the piece together. A pair of opel eyes shone out from his peripheral vision; two lizards, along with his ‘friendly’ guide, were grinning at him from amongst the shelves, clearly not letting their amusement of his nakedness get in the way of whatever real work they had been tasked with. 

“...Thanks.” Nadia said, a slight inflection coupled with his scowl. The tunic itself slipped on rather easily, almost as easily as his tattered crotch coverings fell to one side. He didn’t care about modesty at this point, only in getting dressed; once he had the tunic on and had rearranged the shoulders a little to match his somewhat broad physique, he found it to be rather soft and warm, stretching down half way to his knees. This was an especially good thing, since apparently his lizardian guide didn’t think to throw him anything to wear under the tunic. All he needed now was a glass mirror or something to admire himself fully…

Nadia’s ears turned sharply. He felt the sound before he heard it, but as he turned to face the entrance it was clear something was going on. Just like before, there were many lizards running in the same direction, but this time Nadia could see the serious expressions on their faces. That, coupled with the fact that every one of them was carrying at least one sword or spear, heightened his heckles slightly. “H-hey, uh… should… is something happening?” He called out, but didn’t get a response. Anybody who would have heard him seemed to have passed before they could consider a response, and those who couldn’t didn’t pay his worried expression any notice. 

“Stay.” A sharp voice behind him commanded. He quickly swivelled around, and found his guide had not only snuck up the stairs silently behind him, but had also adopted the same serious, slightly worried expression as those outside. She pushed past him without another word, despite his protests. “W-wait! What am I meant to do? I can help!” He called out after her, but she skillfully slid between the rush of lizard bodies until she, too, was lost in the crowd. Nadia sat back down on the natural bench, feeling anything but relaxed. Something Is Happening, all of his senses screamed at him. While all the lizardian soldiers certainly seemed to be confident in their stride, Nadia could smell the fear. It was like an ocean current, rushing through the camp, as if every single one of them was terrified. He called out as he saw Acts in the crowd, running with two short swords and a very focused look on his face, but the lizard apparently didn’t hear him over the general commotion. He even looked like he was yelling at the other lizards in their native tongue; Nadia reasoned it was probably last minute advice or battle strategy. He was an advisor, after all. He watched until Acts’ tail disappeared over the wooded path e east.

Before long, the traffic died down, leaving barely anybody left in the camp at all from Nadia’s perspective. Occasionally he would see one or two lizards dressed in a kind of sterile cloth dress, wearing face masks and gloves, but they would disappear busily into one hut or another before he could get their attention. “God dammit…” he muttered under his breath. “The most frustrating place to be during a disaster is on the side lines,” he grumbled, standing up confidently. “Yet here I am. Well… fuck that.” With those words of wisdom, he strode out of the storage hut and into the baking sunlight. The two lizardian scribes who had been watching him from down stairs looked at one another, and shrugged. “Calfer hackult?” One said. The other grinned. “Calfer’l leninon et hasofen.”

“Fucking lizards.” Nadia spat between gritted teeth. He wasn’t not terrified, but he’d be damned if that would stop him from doing something. Brimming with confidence held up by burning fear, he pushed his way into the chieftain's hut and slammed his knee to the ground in a bow. “Sir, you need to let me help. Whatever is going on, I know I can be of assistance. As chieftain, I humbly ask your permission to … do… something.” He ended lamely. He looked up, his eyes burning in the slightly smoky atmosphere. The large lizard in the middle seat looked confused, and turned to one of the silent scribes nearby, who shrugged. He turned back to Nadia. “I cannot give you the permission you seek.” 

“You must!” Nadia shouted, slightly louder than he intended to. He stood up confidently, and pointed out of the wide hut’s entrance. “There’s something going on out there, and as an ambassador of Whitewall I… I want to help!” Nadia paused for a moment. I really need to think of what I’m going to say before I say it. He thought to himself. Well, too late now.

“No, you do not understand.” The chieftain said, letting out a short sigh. “I cannot give you permission to act, as I am not the leader of this tribe.” 

Nadia froze, blankly staring at the lizard in front of him. His brain took in this information but refused to process it. “But… you are the chieftain.” He muttered. “I mean… right?” 

“No.” The large lizard said flatly. “I am an advisor to the chieftain.” 

“Then… who’s…” Before Nadia could even finish the sentence, his face stiffened up with resolve. “I’m going outside to help.” he commanded in an authoritative tone. “You can tell the chieftain that you advised me not to, and that I said I don’t care. Better yet, I’ll tell him myself.”

With that said, Nadia turned on his heel and stormed out of the hut. He held his arm out towards a passing lizard’s spear, and grabbed it firmly. When the warrior looked in surprise at the rabbit, the sheer expression on his face made the lizard’s steps falter and slow, relinquishing the weapon in the process. “I’m coming for you, Acts.” He grumbled under his breath as he made his way over the fresh footprints. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

As Nadia stepped over flat-trodden ground, he tried his best to ignore the sensible part of his mind screaming about the madness of following the others into a potentially dangerous situation just to have a heart to heart with Acts. He shook his head, breaking through the tree line and keeping his eyes on the tracks ahead of him. “It’s his own fault,” He muttered to himself. “Running off like that when he knew, he KNEW I’d have questions for him.” There was an upturned tree, smoldering at the roots. It took only a moment for Nadia to jump over it and continue on his way. “He could have said something the entire time we were walking. Days!” 

After briefly losing the trail, a short glance around revealed two trees with arrows plunged into them. Nadia nodded, and headed that way. “Stupid lizard.” He said to himself, noticing that he wasn’t out of breath. This much of a workout even a week prior would have left him panting already. It was all the rabbit could do to focus on his physical changes, rather than the creeping thoughts of concern for the frog he desperately wanted to lambast. 

I hope he’s alright.

“He’s probably fine.” He whispered, turning his feet to match pace with the scuffled footprints. Probably. 

“He can take care of himself. Otherwise he’d never have come to get me, or… run off to get me out of that stupid spider nest.” Despite the conviction with which he spoke to himself, he couldn’t help but feel unconvinced. Thankfully, the opening to the forest was nearby; Nadia could see faint traces of sand where the wind had blown it through the trees and underbrush. After a few more minutes walk, his paws finally landed on soft sand. He looked up from the tracks, and realised he’d been so focused on his own inner thoughts, he hadn’t seen what was around him. 

It was then he noticed the bodies.

The first thing Nadia noticed were shapes in the sand. Lumpy, darkly shaded lumps, twisted and half buried by the sand. It wasn’t until he took a couple of steps closer that the smell finally hit his nose. It was so pungent he was forced to step back, covering his nose with the fur tunic. It smelled of death, and the reason was clear; those twisted shapes in the sand were lizards. 

“Fuck…” Nadia exclaimed from under his makeshift nose mask. “...Fuck!” He muttered again, the horror blossoming in his eyes as the full reality of his surroundings was revealed to him. There wasn’t just one body; there were dozens. Some weren’t as badly burned as others, but all of them had clearly been cooked by something, and none of them appeared to be moving, save the occasional wisp of sickly smoke. For a few moments, Nadia closed his eyes, afraid he’d throw up. “It’s… it’s just… it’s okay…” He muttered to himself. He took in a deep breath, and immediately regretted it; he made it through exhaling by gritting his teeth together, before standing up tall, letting his tunic fall back into place. Something had happened here, and whatever it was, it was probably happening further up. He clearly couldn’t help these people, he rationalised to himself, but he saw others coming this way, and-- 

“...Acts!” He called out. Nothing but the wind answered. Convincing his solid legs to finally move again, he struggled up the nearest dune to get a better view. From his vantage point, he could see quite clear trails of footprints going to and from the area he was currently in, and then a few more sets going westward, towards a wall of dust. “Is… that a sand storm?” He asked himself, then shook his head in disappointment. “Talking to yourself already, idiot…” He braced himself mentally, gripped the spear a little tighter, and skidded his way down the dune. 

It did certainly look like a sand storm, except that it didn’t. In Nadia’s studies, he’d read about them; great clouds of sharp sand, stirred up by eastward winds. It was said they could tear the bark off of a tree in seconds, and that they were often miles wide, rolling across vast distances with the wind. This one, however, seemed barely thirty meters wide, and from what Nadia could see, it was fairly stationary. Occasional flashes of blue lightning cracked across the perimeter, forcing the rabbit to slow his pace slightly. If Acts was in there, or even near there, he wasn’t sure how much help he could be. After all, all of his medical and alchemical supplies were back at the camp. He cursed himself for being so stupid, and stared up at the swirling vortex. 

Now that he had a moment of peace, he could swear he could hear something. The swirling sands did make a noise similar to wind, but there were other sounds, irregularly punctuating the gentle hiss it produced. It sounded like… shouting. 

It sounded like Acts.

Nadia went from a dead stop to a full sprint in record time. Well, a record for him, especially considering the sand made it so difficult to move properly. He surpassed one dune, and then another, following the pitted footsteps of those he followed. “I’m coming, Acts!” He yelled, no thought of his mind remaining fixated on his need to yell at the lizard. At least, almost no part.

“Stupid frog…!” He yelled into the howling winds. 

Just as he began to crest up a dune closest to the crackling vortex, he paused to gather his thoughts and catch his breath. “Okay, okay… you can do this.” He said to himself. He couldn’t hear his own voice over the shouting, which had become equal parts clear and desperate as he had gotten closer. He still couldn’t make out any words, but the intent was clear; they were commands, given less and less often. To Nadia, that implied Acts was running out of soldiers, and out of time. With one deep breath, Nadia rose to his feet and jumped over the crescent of the final dune. “I’m co--”

Nadia didn’t get to finish that final thought before everything went white, with a tinge of blue. He was less than a hundred meters away from the shifting sands. Right now, however, he had no idea where he was. Everything was… warm. Hot, even. He tried to move his left arm, but found it held no strength, not even enough to lift itself. He tried to speak, but his mouth filled with something hot. “Gnhhghl.” He managed. Finding his nose was also blocked, he summoned the strength in him to move his arm. At first, it was surprisingly heavy, but after a moment it was light again. He struggled until he could turn over, and threw up sand.

“   ...uck.   ” He coughed out. He was blind, but he could feel his surroundings. His head was trying to tell him something, but that could wait. He spat out more sand and breathed heavily. The air tasted of tin and sand. Everything was sand. Something was dripping from his lips. He tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell back onto the hot sand. His fur felt… strange. His right arm was numb, as if it was still buried deep in the sand. With his functioning left arm, he scraped away the caked on sand that was covering his eyes until he could at least make out shapes. Yep, he thought groggily to himself, that’s definitely my arm. Alright. Good.

With more effort, he managed to scrape away the worst of the sand from his nose and eyes, allowing him to see a little better. The sand was holding together as if in a liquid, but as he closely (and a little unsteadily) held his paw close to him, he could see that the individual grains simply… stuck to one another. Nadia shook his head. This was not important right now.

“ ‘cts?” He tried to call out, before coughing up more sand. “A-Acts?” He tried again. His throat felt like he had just swallowed his body weight in sand, which confirmed what his stomach was telling him. “Acts, are… you out here… ?” Nadia pushed himself up on his good arm, and laid back against the dune he had just surmounted--

Only to fall flat on his back with a soft crack. “C-chrr…” he tried to swear. He sat up unsteadily and looked at his paws. The right one was still there, for sure. It had gone a bit of a funny colour, but that was fine. His head was still trying to tell him something, but he couldn’t quite tell what yet. He pushed against the hard floor and managed not to fall over. Advancements have been made in the art of standing. He made himself smile, which hurt for some reason. “...Acts?” He called out hoarsely. He glanced around, but what his eyes told him didn’t make much sense. According to them, the dune-filled desert around him had become entirely flat, at least as far as he could see. The area around him for about a thousand meters had become… stiff. 

He shook his head. None of this makes sense. Doesn’t matter. Find Acts. 

Nadia shuffled on unsteady feet in a roughly westward direction. It didn’t take him long to find Acts; he was laying on the flat, solid ground next to one of his lizardian soldiers. None of the others seemed to be nearby, and the one that was there had seemed to have grown some hair. Nadia shrugged, then half stumbled, half fell into a crouching position. “Acts.” He said again, coughing away from the lizard’s body. He put his working hand on the frog’s smooth green chest and shook it. Acts’ head lolled to the side, expressionless. 

“...Don… don’t make me drag… you back…” Nadia muttered. “Already did… work out…” 

Dazed and functioning as if half conscious, Nadia grabbed one leg of Acts, and one of the furry lizard. He tucked one under each arm after checking again that his right arm was indeed still attached, and pulled. He grunted as the two bodies shifted behind him, pulling them along awkwardly as he began walking across the same tracks he’d left on the way there. They ended about ten feet later, but it was at least some indication of direction. “Stupid… frogs…” he muttered to himself. He could see the tree line. If he could just make it there, then maybe, maybe there would be someone who could help. Then he could finally sleep. 

Nadia stumbled and fell to his knees. “F--ucking sand!” He yelled at the floor, thumping it with his fist. Finally, his brain seemed to switch on. “W-wait… sand not hard.” He muttered. Grammatical faux pas ignored, he gently brushed the surface of the sand, which bunched up and stuck to his paw as he swept it to one side. Under a thin layer of the sand was a hard, smooth surface, uneven as the desert prior, but definitely there. He tapped it with his claw. It went ‘tink’. 

“Glas…?” He slurred. Nadia shook his head. This is weird enough already, Some part of him thought as his body grabbed the legs again and began pulling. Best not to think about it. Conserve energy. 

So he did. Nadia Aximand pulled those two bodies over the sand-covered glass, slipping occasionally due to the low friction, but not stopping until his feet had leaves underfoot. Unfortunately, since his feet were utterly numb, he had to trust his eyes to tell him how far away the trees are, and they proved to be at least somewhat unreliable. He knew that he’d closed his eyes for only a moment to rest them, and when he opened them again he was surrounded by trees. He was also very, very tired. He didn’t have the time or the energy to think about that, though.

“Got’ get bac’.” He muttered. “Got safetuh’.” 

He barely noticed when green hands grabbed him. His eyes saw leaves part and concerned faces emerge, he heard muffled screams that sounded so very far away. He tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. His breath was gone. The floor began falling up towards him, and that’s when everything finally went black. 

First there was one.
Then another. More came quickly, shouting things it couldn’t understand.

They tried to push it away from the tree line with sharp sticks tipped with sand that hurt. 

It didn’t want to hurt them, but they were hurting it. It reached out, and they stopped. It could smell blood, more blood than before. So much blood.

It tried to run, to crawl away, but there were more behind it. It screamed out for help, pleaded with them, but they didn’t understand. They threw more sharp sticks at it, hurt it. It couldn’t tell what thoughts were its own anymore. It was so desperate. It hurt so much...

It had to defend itself. It couldn’t let the ship fall into enemy hands.

Blue fire blossomed.

Nadiaai was no stranger to waking up in odd places. From exhaustion after an especially taxing experiment leaving him sprawled on the grass outside his house, to simply having overdone his research at the university library, it wasn’t rare that he found himself waking up in less than ideal positions. 

This was the first time he’d woken up to blinding pain, however. As soon as his mental faculties came online, he instinctively rolled onto his stomach and reached for the nearest open receptacle. In this case, it was a wicker basket. His world turned inside out.

“Good morning to you too.” Said a voice nearby. When Nadia had finished throwing up the last remnants of his stomach lining, he returned to resting on his back. “Guh.” He muttered groggily. He opened his eyes, or one of them at least, and tried to come to terms with where he was, who he was, and what was going on. 

He remembered the trip with Acts, that was good. He’d arrived at the village, there was some commotion, he’d gone into a desert at some point… 

“Am I dead?” Nadia groaned, his throat raw and filled with pain. 

“Not yet.” Said the voice. Nadia hadn’t bothered to try and identify it yet; it was enough trouble just focusing his eyes on the smooth, slanting tent roof above him while trying not to vomit again. 

The pain was intolerable. 

He raised his right hand to his face. His vision was blurry and monoscopic, but he could definitely see his hand. He still had all five fingers, so that was a big plus. 

“Am I going to die?” He asked the air. 

“Not if I can help it.” The air answered back. Nadia nodded in silent thanks. He tried to raise his left hand to his face, but found it tied to his chest by some kind of cloth sling. He was shushed by the voice, and heard a couple of footsteps as the speaker came towards him. A gentle hand was placed on his left arm to keep it still, and a kind face peered down at him. He couldn’t make out the species, but he was secretly thankful to see a face full of fur, with real ears.

“Don’t try to move. You were badly damaged in the attack.” The voice said. It had an analytical, almost robotic tone to it, though the expression remained calm and pleasant. Nadia gave up trying to move his arm and coughed upwards. “Wh… what attack?” 

“Memory loss is to be expected. In this case, I would say it is fortunate you don’t remember. Just try to rest for now; all of your questions will be answered in time.” With that, the kind face left Nadia’s fuzzy field of vision. 

“I’m… I’m not… tired…” He muttered, moments before he passed into a soft sleep. 

---

The flap of the medical tent were gently pulled aside as a mottled brown feline exited, letting out a sigh of relief. He patted down his leather apron, and stuffed his face cloth into his skirt pockets. His tail twitched in the morning air, very aware of the amount of eyes staring at him. “[The calfer is alive.]” He muttered, glancing around at the five expectant faces. Their expressions didn’t change. 

“[As is your chief.]” The expressions softened slightly, and there was a general air of relaxation. Two of the green lizards departed, but the other three remained stood. “[What are the chances they will survive?]” One of them asked. The cat paused, and stuffed his paws into his pockets. “[I’ve done all I can, you understand.Your leader is strong, and the likelihood they’ll recover is high. I don’t want to give you false hope, but...]” 

Once again, the faces didn’t change. The cat tilted his head slightly, and reframed his response. “[The chances of health are good.]” That seemed to be the answer they were waiting for. The other two lizards nodded in gratitude and left to attend to other matters, but the concerned question asker remained, arms crossed and blinking away potential tears. 

“[Sam, I saw the burns. Everybody did.]” The lizard said hotly. “[I can’t lie to them anymore. Not after this.]” 

Sam quickly looked around. There was nobody else nearby, and nobody seemed to be paying them too much attention. He quickly put an arm around the lizard’s shoulders and turned them away from the general populace. “[I’m not asking you to lie about what happened, but we don’t know what--]”

“[It was the fucking salamander tribe and you know it!]” The lizard spat in hushed tones. “[We can’t wait any longer, we must send--]”

“[We don’t know anything yet!]” Sam pointed out quickly. “[If we go to war with the salamanders, you know what that means.]” The lizard looked down, grumbling under their breath. “[War.]” Sam said pointedly. “[War, and blood, and death. Lots of it. You’re a nurse, surely you understand the value of seeing the full picture before we resort to something like that.]” 

The lizard turned its head away, but didn’t object. “[What about the other one?]” It muttered, begrudgingly changing the subject. Sam relaxed a little. “[Still no clue who they are, or how they got out there. Seems to be a pretty typical wolf, but--]”

“[Typical? I have seen wolves, Sam Chlester, and that is not like anything I have seen before.]” 

“[Yes, well…]” Sam shifted his footing uncomfortably. “[I’m sure it’ll all make sense when they wake up.]” 

“[And if they’re the cause of all of this? If they’re working for the salamanders? My brother, our chieftain, almost died. What do you expect me to do about them?]” The lizard asked, narrowing their eyes. Sam shrugged. “[Then I guess you’ll execute them.]” 

“[Yes.]” The lizard replied, turning sharply on their heel and striding away with purpose. “[Yes, we will.]” 

Pain fills its mind. It can’t think straight, but it… it wasn’t as bad as it was before.

Repairs failed.

There was something soft under its fur. Something like a bed. It remembered beds.

Energy low.

Beds were comfortable, used by … ugh, what was the word. It was right there.

Reboot failed.

People! They were used by people. Was it a person, too? It reached out, and saw its own flesh move and twist. It seemed to have control over a body. If it was a person, who was it? 

Hibernate.

It pulled itself up to a sitting position, finally aware of its own body. It looked like the fur here was hard, matted by something. Everything was numb, but slowly, feeling was starting to return. It had legs, and a tail, and two arms ending in hands.

As feeling returned, so did memory. 
The pain in its body was a fraction of the pain it had caused. So much death, so much blood…

It gripped its newly discovered head, and howled.

The howl rang through the clearing like a bell made of flesh and pain. Sam, who had been leant against one of the sturdier struts of one of the medical tents chewing on some leaves, rolled his eyes. “I guess that’s my cue.” He muttered. He threw the remaining leaf to the ground, cleared his throat, and put on his most hospitable smile before entering the tent. The stench of burned fur made his eyes water. 

“Hello.” He said softly, reaching out one paw. “My name is Sam.” He spoke carefully, slowly, and in as deliberate tone as he could muster. The unidentified wolf looked at him. The expression behind those eyes was worse than the smell. 

Ears folded back, fangs hidden, probably scared out of his goddamn mind. Sam thought to himself. He took one slow step forwards. The burned wolf looked at his feet as they moved, then back to the cat’s outstretched paw. Very instinctual. That’s fine, but if you try to chase me I’m going to put you through the floor. Sam didn’t let any of his inner reflections show on his face, which remained calm and kind. “My name is Sam.” He tried again. “I’m a nurse. I help.” 

“K’Kj’rau.” The beast growled. Sam’s ears flicked. “I am sorry,” he muttered softly, taking another step forwards. “I do not recognise that language.” Barely five feet away, he gave the wolf a reassuring look. “[Are you hurt?]” He tried, but the wolf’s expression didn’t change. “Okay, no lizard, so maybe…” Sam ran through his mental library of languages. “{HuRt?}” His salamandian was rusty, but it was worth a try. Once again, the wolf’s look was unchanged. 

“Well… alright, that’s not a bad sign at least…” He muttered. He was almost at the bedroll now, with a couple more slow steps he could just about make it there. “Do you mind if I examine you?” Sam asked, gesturing from himself to the wolf. The wolf looked from sam, to himself, and let out a loud yelp. 

“K’Sach N’Jakt’rah! Ba’l! T’Sekora S’jga N-Nahja!” It yelled in a panic, staring down at the red orbs attached to his arm. Sam nodded understandingly. “I have no idea what you just said, but I hope you don’t freak out and try to kill me.” He said softly. His reassuring tone seemed to help the wolf relax a little. It was still shaking uncontrollably, but at least he had stopped yelling. 

“[What is this… racket…?]” Groaned another voice. The wolf looked around wildly, frightened by the unseen voice. Sam rolled his eyes. “[My chief, it’s just me.]” He said. “[Please do not try to move, you were quite badly--]” A soft thud confirmed that the chief was not listening to him. 

“[What is the… whimpering noise…?]” A thick coughing could be heard from behind the concealing flap draped across half of the wide room. “[I told you not to get up.]” Sam said, closing his eyes in frustration. 

“[I am the... chief of this... settlement, I will move… as I wish.]” Laboured groans could be heard as the chief attempted to stand, and another soft thud confirming his landing back on the raised bedding. Not one to admit defeat, the voice rose again. “[Where is that rabbit? I expected him to be with me, considering my current state.]” 

Sam sighed, nodded kindly to the injured wolf, and slowly made his way across the room and through the flap. The lizard was laying there, elbows against the flat bedding and his one brilliant purple eye glaring angrily at the cat. “[You can glare all you want, I’m just doing my job.]” Sam said, crossing his arms. 

“[Where is the rabbit?]” The chief demanded angrily. Sam shrugged, and nodded towards the exit flap. “[Next tent over. We had to put up three more medical tents just to account for the bodies.]” The chief grunted and forced himself up to a sitting position. Sam rushed over and carefully pressed him back again. “[No, you are to lay down and rest. Do you want to heal, or not?]” 

“[I want to find the rabbit.]” The lizard grunted through gritted teeth. “[Why is he injured? He was meant to stay here!]” The lizard coughed heartily and fell back into a laying position with a hard grunt. Sam sighed. “[Seems nobody can follow orders today.]” The chief glared at him, albeit with his free eye. Sam smiled and carefully leaned forwards, pulling up the bandage over the other eye. “[Do you see anything through this eye?]” He asked. The chief shook their head. Sam nodded, and recovered the eye. “[Give it a few days, then wash it in silken water. I think you can expect a full recovery from the flesh parts, but you may have some trouble with seeing through it for a while. It looks similar to when kids stare at the sun too long.]” 

The chief glared at him again. “[I am no child, and it was no bright sun. It was lightning.]” Sam nodded. “[Are you well enough to tell me what happened?]” He asked, carefully checking over the rest of the lizard’s body. The chief nodded, laying back as he was inspected. With as much honour and pride as he had as a chieftain, he was still very aware of the role of doctors and nurses. He wasn’t above the laws that kept him alive. So, with occasional grunts of pain and responses to Sam’s probing questions (and paws), Xiactes Mjartio told the doctor everything he knew. Occasionally, the good doctor would fill in any blanks that he had gathered from other patients. On the other side of the hide flap, alone but not forgotten, the burned wolf listened.

--

“Fucking ow!” Nadia yelled out. A lizard nurse quickly scuttled into the room. “You are to be resting!” The lizard said, propping themselves up under Nadia’s arm as he attempted to stand. “Yeah, well, I never was very good at following orders.” The rabbit muttered to himself. 

“You will injure yourself!” The lizard protested, still assisting the rabbit as he hobbled slowly towards the exit. “Your wounds are not--” 

“Where’s Acts?” Nadia snapped. The lizard paused for a moment, then grumbled something under their breath. “I will take you.” It said after a pause, before adding, “The chieftain will be told you did not follow orders.” 

“Yeah,” Nadia said with a grin as he made his way through to the bright outdoors. “I’m sure he will. I can imagine his shock now.” 

It took far longer than it should have, and Nadia was fairly sure he’d passed out again at one point, but eventually he and his living crutch made it one tent over. The lizard nurse propped Nadia up against a strut of the tent and gestured for him to stay, with a stern look and a forceful pat. “I will see if the doctor is done.” The lizard said, narrowing its eyes at Nadia. “Stay.” 

“I’m not some puppy you can tell to stay.” Nadia muttered very quietly under his breath once he was entirely sure the nurse was too far into the tent to hear him. He painfully twisted himself around, and looked down at his full body. His injuries weren’t too bad -- he’d certainly had worse. 

There was a light layer of frazzled fur on his front side; checking his back half required the kind of flexibility not offered to him at the moment. His left arm was quite numb, but he almost move all of his fingers again. There had been some kind of poltrice spread over the burns he had received; two on his upper chest, and one across his side. It seemed similar to his own cooling salve, but gave off a much more pleasant aroma. He shrugged, although even that was painful. He didn’t sense any broken bones, and even though his left knee was quite swollen and painful to move, it didn’t appear dislocated. 

“All in all, not a bad day.” He joked to nobody in particular. He almost jumped out of his skin when nobody in particular responded.

“You and I have a very different idea of a ‘bad day’.” Once his heart had left his ears, Nadia looked across at the smiling cat from before. He was leaning against the same strut as Nadia, having somehow silently come out of the tent behind him. 

“You know, some part of me thought you were a vision or something. Some hallucination.” Nadia said, trying to distract from being so startled. The feline’s smile told him he hadn’t succeeded. 

“Is that what you think you’d see when you die? A beautiful cat man?” Nadia’s eyes narrowed. The cat pulled a thick leaf out of his waist pocket and began chewing on it. 

“You speak well, for some foreign doctor.” Nadia snapped. The pain was starting to come back in his left arm. 

“And you don’t follow orders well, for some whitewall calfer.” The doctor retorted, not missing a beat. “I thought you guys were all about rules and regulations. What are you doing all the way out here?” 

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Nadia fired back. The feline smiled again, letting his front fangs shine in the light. “I’m not one for rules and regulations, I suppose.” 

“Isn’t that a problem, for a doctor?” Nadia really wished he could sit down. He started wondering why he’d only seen one seat-like-surface in this entire village. He supposed it’d be good for leg strength. 
“Not at all.” The doctor replied, throwing the chewed leaf away and waving for Nadia to follow him into the tent. “In fact, I’d say it was rather liberating for my profession.” 

Nadia hobbled painfully into the tent, quite aware that the doctor had specifically chosen to not help him. His eyes adjusted to the room quickly, and were immediately drawn to the bloody heap in the corner. “What’s that?” He asked quizzically. 

“Luckyfoot?” Acts groaned from nearby. Nadia forgot all about his questions, and immediately hobbled through the nearby privacy flap. Acts lay there, grinning like an idiot, his upper half propped up by bails of soft grass. “You did not die.” 

Nadia looked down with a grin, spotting a nearby crate. He immediately limped over to it and sat, trying his best to act cool. “Try not to sound too disappointed.” He said with a smirk. 

“I see you are also injured.” Acts muttered, narrowing his eyes at the rabbit. His smile hadn’t faded, and neither had Nadia’s. 

“Takes one to know one.” Nadia said. Acts blinked, and both had a blank look before Nadia remembered himself. “Oh, uh… you also… seem to be injured.” Acts looked down at himself as if seeing the damage for the first time. He was definitely more injured than Nadia, perhaps due to his lack of protective fur. His skin looked… baked. Skin could be seen shedding slightly in places, yet utterly missing in others. Much of his body was covered in the same grey-green salve as Nadia’s burns, and yet more of it was wrapped with a fibrous gauze. Acts looked back up at Nadia and shrugged. Nadia noticed him wince slightly. 

“I have been better.” Acts muttered. Nadia slowly slid from the crate he’d been so thankful of, and made his way to Acts’ raised bedroll. “Oh, I don’t know… I kinda dig chicks with scars.” He said softly. Acts grinned, lifting his head so his face was inches away from Nadia’s. “I am not a chicken.” 

“I know.” Nadia muttered softly, his nose pressing against Acts. “You’re my frog.” 

Nadia dodged the first couple of playful swipes Acts had thrown at him, which was enough for him to hobble out of range. They both laughed, with Acts looking around for items to throw at the bunny. “Stupid luckyfoot!” He yelled. Nadia stuck his tongue out. “What are you gonna do, order your warriors to lock me up or something?” 

The noise lessened. Acts looked down at himself and put the bowl of poltrice back on the low table he’d got it from. “You found out.” He muttered. Nadia sidled up to him, still somewhat on the lookout for projectiles thrown his way. “Yeah,” he said softly. “You should probably have told me sooner.” 

“I did not want…” Acts sighed heavily and laid back. “I do not enjoy being treated as if…” 

“What, as if you’re in charge? From what I recall, you seemed to enjoy that very much when we first met.” Acts scowled at him. Nadia stuck out his tongue again. 

“I want no special treatment from you, or from others. I make choices that are for the good of the tribe. I could not do that if I was not a part of the tribe. Do you understand…?” 

Nadia nodded. “I think I do. You want to live as a member of the tribe so you can like… see what’s really important, right?” Acts sighed in relief. “Yes, thank you.” 

“That doesn’t sound too bad to me.” Nadia said, shrugging. “Why wouldn’t you just tell people?” 

Acts shot him a Look. “It is… not… done. Not in our tribes, not in other tribes.” 

The two remained in silence for a few moments. Nadia cleared his throat, which turned out to be far more painful than he thought it would be. “Their… loss, I suppose.” He croaked. Acts gave him a kind smile, and nodded in thanks. 

“...If you two are quite done.” Sam said. He had been lingering at the privacy flap the entire time, the idea of which made Nadia blush a little. “N-no, yeah, I’m done here. I’m uh… glad you’re okay.” He added, giving Acts’ unburned hand a squeeze before leaving his side. 

“Well, that was about the most romantic thing I think I’ve ever seen from him.” Sam muttered as the two made their way across the tent’s enclosure. Nadia gave him a confused look. Sam gestured for him to sit on a low crate near the entrance of the tent flap, which Nadia graciously took. 

“I visit this place from time to time, normally when they have some… clash with nearby tribes. It’s the first time I’ve seen him do anything other than bark orders at someone.” Sam said softly, hoping Acts wouldn’t hear him. Nadia grinned wide. “That’s stupid.” He said, leaning back on the low crate. “Acts is all sorts of fun. You just gotta get to know him.” 

Sam nodded thoughtfully. “I see you’ve gotten to know ‘him’ quite well.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean, exactly?” Nadia narrowed his eyes, but Sam waved his concern away. 

“In this tribe’s language, they don’t use pronouns like ‘he’ or ‘him’. I guess due to their uh… unique physiology. They just don’t have any use for ‘em, normally.” 

Nadia sat in silence for a minute or two, only looking up when the doctor pulled another stick of leaf out of his pocket to chew on. “I guess that makes some sense.” He eventually said. 

After a few more minutes of silence, Nadia nodded towards the mound of blood and fur at the opposite end of the tent. “What’s that, then? Some kinda experiment?” 

Sam sighed softly. “Not sure yet. I was kinda hoping you would, though.” 

“Oh? How would I know, exactly?” Nadia asked. 

Sam smiled down at him. “Well, you’re the one who dragged him back with you.”

“...Him?” Nadia asked, peering over at the figure in the corner. Now that he looked closer, he could see it… shivering. Two eyes stared out at them from inside the curled up form of some kind of dog creature. Nadia could make out two arms, but one of them was distorted somehow. Bulbous, bloody red orbs protrude out from one if its biceps, and another from its fore-arms. From what little light made it through the mass of bloody and singed fur, he could even make out the gleam of a small red orb attached to its tail. 

“Damned if I know.” Nadia muttered. He glanced up at Sam. “Does it understand us?” 

Sam shook his head. “Nah. Tried three tongues so far, and so far he’s given me nothing to go on. I was considering teaching fruit, but I can’t risk anything until I know he’s not dangerous.” 

Nadia nodded. “That fruit that lets you understand each other?” Sam nodded in response, and both returned to staring at the shivering beast at the far end of the tent. “Is it safe to keep him here? You know with… the chieftain right there?” 

Sam smiled, and threw his chewed leaf to the floor. “Don’t worry about that, little bunny. I might not look like much, but it’s my job to keep mammals like your precious chieftain alive and well. ...Alive, anyway.” He added, pulling another leaf from his pocket. Nadia nodded to it. 

“What’s that you’re chewing on?” He asked curiously.

“Stimulant.” Sam responded shortly. 

“Oh.” After a few seconds of deliberation, Nadia delicately inquired further. “What kind of…?” 

“All kinds.” Sam said, grinning without looking at Nadia. “You want some?” He brandished a piece of half-chewed leaf at Nadia, who put up a hand in rejection.

“N-no, thanks.” Nadia quickly shuffled his weight around a little and resumed staring at the wolf. “Your loss.” The cat replied.

“What’ll happen to him, if it doesn’t work?” Nadia said, deciding to change the subject away from hard drugs. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well…” Nadia scratched the part of his head that wasn’t covered by bandages. “What if that plant… fruit, thing, what if that doesn’t work?” Sam glanced down at him with genuine befuddlement. 

“But it does.” He said flatly. Nadia rolled his eyes. “But what if it doesn’t.” 

Sam shrugged, and went back to wolf watching. “Then it’ll be the first time in twenty generations that it wouldn’t have worked.” He said. “The only reason it wouldn’t work is if this bastard--” he gestured to the shivering beast with his half chewed leaf. “--Is somehow non-sapient. And if that’s the case… well, we have a much different situation on our hands then, don’t we?” 

Nadia nodded glumly. Lizardian tribes weren’t known for being the most kind of types towards feral creatures. There was a good reason there weren’t any to be seen in the nearby forest or mud flats, after all. Morals don’t seem to count for much when there’s hunting practice to be had, and if the creature can’t be taught to communicate… 

“I’ll do it.” Nadia said firmly. 

“No, you won’t.” Sam muttered. “It’s only done by chieftains and escorts.” 

“Well, the chieftain of this tribe isn’t exactly up to it, and I don’t see any other escorts here. Do you?” Sam glanced around, looked Nadia up and down, and sighed heavily. “You’re hardly in a fit state to be trying this.” He muttered. “I already told you it could be very dangerous.” 

“Yeah, even more reason why Acts shouldn’t be put up to it.” Nadia said, a feeling of protective confidence growing in his chest. “If I don’t do this, he’ll insist on doing it himself, you know that.” 

Sam looked away, scratching the base of his ears. He did know that, both of them did. It wasn’t exactly in honour of the rules, but Sam was never really one to consider rules before doing something stupid. He got the feeling this rabbit wasn’t either. He sighed. “Alright, but if you die, I’m not to blame.” 

“Deal!” Nadia said chipperly. He bounced onto his feet, and immediately hit the floor. Sam rolled his eyes. “After you’re healed up a little more. I can’t have you passing out mid-way through the process, that’d leave everybody… oh.” 

Nadia hadn’t gotten up, but had began to groan softly into the dirt.  

“Maybe I made that salve a little strong.” Sam muttered to himself. He hoisted the bunny back upright with one arm, and with the help of a couple of lizards called in from the outside, took him back to his bedroll to rest. Just as he was about to leave the tent, Nadia cast his only working eye towards the wolf at the far end of the tent. Its face had been uncovered and he seemed to have been looking back with a strange expression. Apologetic? Mournful? Nadia’s thoughts drifted as he was carried back to his resting bed, and after a few minutes, he slowly managed to fall asleep. 

His dreams were full of dogs and blue flowers.

To Be Continued...