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XXIII

Damaged

He had it all: friends, power, respect, and the ability to trounce his enemies just by saying enough caustic words. He had the ability to fight too--what happened with Clannin, and even Benrath, didn't count. They sabotaged him. They blindsided him. They fought dirty, something even he knew was disgraceful. The shrew had everything he could ever want, yet now he was sitting by a tree, alone in the middle of the night, while all his former friends would look at him and sneer "Shit-Breath" with a hushed voice. Jurlick took off his red headband and rubbed some of the sweat off his forehead. He rolled his tongue around his mouth before he grimaced and spat on the ground again. Calm the fuck down, he told himself. It happened over two days ago--there's no more shit in your mouth. At least, in reality there wasn't. But Jurlick could still feel the excrement filling up his maw. He could still taste and smell it. He still remembered how pitiful he sounded, whimpering and throwing up constantly while his former mates walked away snickering. Jurlick covered his mouth and retched, almost feeling more bile coming up his throat. He closed his eyes and sighed, forcing himself to swallow hard. The shrew wiggled his nose before he turned to his left and scowled. Oh, great, the shrew said in his mind. As if this night couldn't get any fuckin' better!

"Can't sleep, Shit-Breath?"

Jurlick cocked his head over at the son of his Chieftain and snorted. "Fuck you, Benrath."

"Judging by all of ye, err, 'colourful' comments, I think the last thing ye wanna do is fuck me."

Jurlick scoffed and shook his head, turning away. "Fuck you want then? Ain't got time fer more o' ye bullshit."

The shrew blinked and watched as Benrath sat down on the ground beside him. He sighed heavily before he rubbed his nose and glanced at Jurlick. The shrew scowled and shifted away a few inches.

"How long has this been goin' on, Jurlick? At least two seasons, yeah? Maybe more?"

"Wot are ye talkin' 'bout?"

"The way ye treat me...always callin' me a faggot, sayin' my dad's a cocksucker, actin' like I'm some pile o' garbage or a lump of shit only fit fer bein' stepped on. Don't ye jus'...aren't ye tired of it? Aren't ye tired o' fightin'?"

"No," Jurlick answered bluntly.

"Well, I am. Fer fuck's sake, Jurlick, you were askin' fer me t'do that to ye."

"Ye beat me to a pulp an' ye took a shit in my mouth. My fuckin' mouth, Benrath. Piss off."

"An' you threw pine cones at my face and damn near tried to rape me."

"Pssh! Sure, yeah, go straight fer thinkin' I'm a cocksucker too!"

"Ye were on top o' me, grindin' yer arse against my cock jus' t'see if I would get hard!"

"I was only fuckin' around!"

"YE DON'T--" Benrath smacked his paw against his forehead. "I didn't come here to get in another pointless argument with ye."

"Then I ask again: wot the fuck d'ye want?!"

Benrath paused for a very long time, leaning against the tree as he sighed and put his paws on the ground.

"A truce."

"Get the fuck outta here."

"I'm serious. Jurlick...ye know wot my father does is...well...I love 'im, but I think he'll get himself into a hole one day. An' I fear that he won't be able to crawl out. We both know it's gunna happen sooner or later...hopefully not sooner. An' if it does, then we all have to be there to help 'im. If we're constantly fightin' each other, then we're gunna be stuck in the same hole together, gnawin' an' clawin' at each other until we're all dead."

"Tch...course ye would use the word 'hole' in this situation." Jurlick shook his head again. "It's always a joy makin' fun of ye, Benrath. Not sure I'm willin' t'give that up just yet."

"An' why is it fun makin' fun of me?"

The shrew shrugged. Make up some bullshit, thought Jurlick. Say somethin' to get him to trust you.

"I dunno. Me father always went around makin' fun of all ye cocksuckers. Guess it just rubbed off on me."

"Hmph...wot else did yore father like to do with ye?"

Jurlick scratched his head. "Wot, ye askin' if he put his grubby li'l paws 'round me ballsack as a babe?"

"Did he?"

Jurlick paused and curled his toes a few times. He listened to the wind quietly blowing cool air against his face, carrying the scent of the river nearby. Then he turned, glared at Benrath, and snorted.

"Did yores?"

Benrath stared at Jurlick, and then turned away. Both shrews stayed very silent, listening to the wind blowing and tossing more leaves and dirt around on the ground. Benrath blinked twice, looking up and down before pausing, feeling uncomfortable now that Jurlick was delving into his personal life. Jurlick glared at the shrew and tried to keep a straight face. Don't grin, he told himself. Let him spill his guts...then you can throw it in his face. But Benrath didn't say anything Jurlick wanted to hear. He dodged the question, just like he did.

"My father loves me...he does, Jurlick. He's not the best dad around, but he loves me...he does. He-he wouldn't violate me like...like that."

Jurlick watched as Benrath slowly opened his mouth and bit down on his thumb, slowly grinding his teeth against it before he nodded.

"He loves me..."

Sure, yeah, love you enough to stick his cock in yore mouth, thought Jurlick. Jurlick didn't say anything out loud though. He kept all his condescending, slanderous remarks to himself. The shrew sighed heavily and closed his eyes, not sure of what Benrath wanted from him.

"You humiliated me. You used my mouth as a receptacle. It's gonna take a while 'afore I befriend ye."

"I'm not askin' for friendship. Just partnership, Jurlick. I need everybeast in the Guosim to have each other's backs whenever trouble arises. If we can't even walk in the same direction without fighting, how d'ye expect us to fight off the vermin or whoever else tries to kill us in the future? We'd end up killin' each other first. Is that wot you want?"

"No..."

"Then stop all this pointless bullshit. Let's set aside our differences, Jurlick. Let's just...start over. Erase all the grudges we've had against each other in the past."

Jurlick watched as Benrath shuffled around on the ground, crushing several leaves and blinking as he looked at him. The shrew smiled and suddenly extended a paw forward.

"I'm Benrath Brugo."

Jurlick could see what the beast was doing now. After everything they did and said to each other, the son of Log-a-Log wanted to make peace. He wanted them to move forward, as opposed to staying glued in the same spot, constantly snapping and bickering with each other back and forth. As fun as it was, Jurlick was beginning to wonder if he should grow up and do the same. After all, he couldn't spend the rest of his life tormenting the beast. He'd get bored, restless. He'd find himself wandering around trying to figure out how to make his life better. At worse, he'd go insane after realizing that teasing and picking on beasts like Benrath never gave him any sort of pleasure. So Jurlick smirked at Benrath and grabbed his paw, shaking it firmly.

"Jurlick."

"Jurlick, huh? Has a nice ring to it. ...Think I'll call you 'Shit-Breath' instead though. Much easier to remember."

Jurlick chuckled. "Yeah, well, I think 'cocksucker' is fitting for ye, ain't it?"

Benrath couldn't help but chuckle too after Jurlick playfully insulted him right back. "Suppose it is!"

And just like that, both shrews were sitting together, laughing and playfully jabbing each other's shoulders as they called each other names. Jurlick stared at Benrath's easy-going smile and growled in his throat as he stared at him with a leering smirk on his face.

Now you can grin, thought Jurlick.

---

Same outcome, different location. This was no different than any of the other battles he fought in that ended like this. Dead beasts on the ground, blood, organs, and maimed body parts spread across the soil, the sound of beasts groaning as they tended to their wounds, or sobbing as they mourned the dead, and the smell of beasts whose bowels emptied upon death, or emptied from fear of death. And Urthquake would always watch the scene unfold, asking himself what he did wrong. Maybe he wasn't fast enough. Maybe he wasted too much time killing one vermin and not slaughtering several of them at once in a group. Perhaps he hadn't trained his hares hard enough. The badger looked around Tearmann, glancing at the fallen hares and innocent Tearmannians who were all killed for no reason. He didn't feel like giving up or mourning--this wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to gather up all of his hares and go after the beasts who caused all this pain. Urthquake walked around the community with a scowl on his face, breathing deeply or growling as he stepped cautiously to make sure nobeast tried to ambush him again.

He walked alongside the small building all the young ones slept in, moments before he found young Kleewyn sniffling and crying after seeing Morrvin's mutilated corpse. The badger walked over to the small creature, looking down at him as if he didn't deserve pity.

"See?"

Kleewyn sniffled a few more times and wiped some of the tears from his face. He glanced over at the giant badger and blinked a few times. He didn't see the funny, playful beast who was laughing with him and answering his questions earlier, nor did he see somebeast he thought could be a good role model. All he saw was a naked creature drenched in blood, scowling at him as he towered over his body like a common bully.

"You see why we can't be friends with 'vermee'?"

Kleewyn didn't answer. He just stared at the badger for a few more seconds before he turned and continued to mourn Morrvin, rubbing his watery eyes and sniffling. The Badger Lord scoffed and shook his head, walking away to go find other beasts who were more willing to go after the Red Sand tribe. But nearly everybeast he came across was busy trying to help out the Tearmannians, either by cleansing the community of all the dead beasts or by comforting them when they needed it most. He passed by the gallopers Lakler and Floswirth, who both seemed unfazed by all the tragic events that took place and were busy gathering up all the dead corpses. Lakler grunted as he hauled a dead ferret over his shoulder and started to walk over to the pile of other deceased vermin. Floswirth followed behind him, carrying a few severed arms that were dripping blood all over her clothing. Lakler huffed after tossing the ferret in the pile while Floswirth silently threw the limbs against the dead vermin too.

"Wotcha think we oughta do with all these vermin? Cannae dump 'em all inna river; s'tae far away. An' we can't exactly bury 'em all, not unless these beasts want their crops tainted."

"Burn 'em. After that we'll just dump the remains elsewhere, let the crows feast on wot's left."

Lakler snickered. "Burnin', eh? Those fumes are gunna release a dreadful pong, wot!"

"No worse than the smells you release from your lower body."

Lakler chuckled again while Floswirth walked beside the main building and started to grunt as she pulled on a dead weasel's legs. Unfortunately for the galloper, she had no idea that his body had nearly been sliced in half by Urthquake. So when she pulled on the legs, his body broke in half. Floswirth grimaced upon hearing the bones cracking and the flesh squishing, revealing some of his innards. Floswirth mumbled in disgust before she quickly hauled the sloppy flesh over to the pile.

"You seen Elonv anywhere? I thought he woulda been up by now," asked Lakler.

"He's probably in one of the tents or somethin'," responded Floswirth, as she grabbed the upper body. "I doubt he's far away."

"Awright. I'll go find 'im."

Lakler walked away from the galloper and started to head towards the tents. He sniffed the air a few times, trying to detect the hare's scent. But with all the dead beasts around him, along with the lingering smell of sex and sweat from earlier, it was hard for the beast to find Elonv. He peeked his head inside all the tents he could see, sniffing and gazing around the cots, thinking he'd find him slouched over in his slumber. At one point the hare revisited the same tent he spent time in and grinned, breathing in all the noisome odors he left behind. He still remembered how loud that hedgehog was when she had her orgasm, and he remembered how thorough the hogmaid was when he made her lick his tailhole clean. Lakler snickered lustfully, tempted to stroke himself as he stood in the tent drowning himself in all the heady odors. But Elonv was more important than his phallus--at least, now he was. Lakler headed over to another tent facing the woods and sighed; his gut told him that he had to be in there, probably having one of his "I'm So Fuckin' Happy to Be Alive" sodomy sessions, from what Elonv told him in the past. So Lakler grinned as he walked up to the tent and shoved the flaps aside.

And then he stopped when he saw Elonv's body still slouched right next to the otter's. Lakler blinked before his grin slowly faded. He walked up to the dead creatures and stared at them, examining how it all went down. Neither of them had their weapons nearby; they never had a chance. Whoever killed Elonv and the otter didn't take any chances and murdered them when they had their backs turned. And judging by the smell, while they were still fornicating. Lakler could see some of the dried-up seed around the hare's sheath and the otter's anus. He crouched down and looked at the two beasts, blinking a few more times before he suddenly chuckled.

"They got you tae, eh, Elonv?"

Lakler rubbed his nose with his arm before he nodded a few times and sighed heavily, glancing around the tent as if he'd find some sort of answer. But there was nobeast there except for himself.

"Yah, that sucks mate. ...Heh, least you got t'ave one final fuck 'afore you went tae the Dark Forest!"

Lakler laughed awkwardly, scratching in-between his ears, allowing the crumbs and dead skin to fall from his scalp or get underneath his claws. The aromatic hare rubbed his nose a few times before he stood up and sighed. He walked over to Elonv's body, bent over, and grunted as he picked him up off the ground. Then he turned and began to walk out of the tent, moving his dirty footpaws along the ground as he flicked his eyes at the hare's corpse.

"Hey, ya didn't even void yer bowels when ya passed! That's...that's guid, yeah? Least you died still lookin' somewot dignified!"

Elonv, of course, didn't answer. Lakler chuckled awkwardly again as he began to slow down, looking for a proper place to bury his friend. His ears started to lower and his half-smile eventually faded as he found a large patch of soft dirt near the woods that seemed perfect for Elonv.

"Oh...d-don't worry, buddy. I'm gunna be okay...I'll be fine without ya. We both knew this was gunna 'appen at some point. If-if not you, then me, or both of us. ...Hey, still got guid ol' Flossy t'keep me company, wot!"

Lakler forced out a cross between a choking sob and a laugh, but he started to smile again when he reached the patch of dirt. The hare set Elonv's body down gently before he got on his knees and leaned forward. He reached over and put his fingers in the dirt, ready to dig the hole. And then he froze. Lakler didn't know why. He was fine a minute ago--he knew he was. But now that he was about to do it, his body wouldn't let him. He didn't look at Elonv's body, nor did he start whimpering or crying. The hare just remained still, unable to go on. He heard somebeast laugh, and for a brief moment thought he even smelled Elonv's scent, or saw him running out the corner of his eye. Lakler took his fingers away from the dirt and sat down. He sniffed noisily and exhaled, letting out a whimpering, frustrating gasp. He shook his head a few times before he flicked his eyes at Elonv. He immediately hated himself for doing that and slowly turned his head away. Lakler gritted his teeth and began to shake, his vision suddenly becoming watery. Lakler covered his nose with his right arm to try and muffle his sobs, just in time for somebeast to walk behind him.

"I can't believe this...Lakler?"

Lakler snorted and rubbed his eyes as he looked over his shoulder. "Oh! H-hey, Ashlyn. Glad you made it!"

"Um...are you all right, Lakler?"

"Yeah! I'm-I'm still alive, yeah?" Lakler sniffled. "Just, uh...jus' diggin' a grave."

The otter flicked her eyes at Elonv's body and frowned. "Who was that?"

"Oh, him. Eh, he was just an' ole mate of mine is all! Got a knife in the neck when he were stickin' his cock up somebeast's arse!"

There was a brief silence between the two. Lakler moved his paws against the dirt, trying to scoop up a large pawful so he could start digging the grave. The hare forced himself to smile before he laughed again.

"I'm awright, Ashlyn! Really--I-I'll be fine!"

"...Then why do you look like you're about to cry?"

Lakler snorted and turned around, not realizing how watery his eyes really were. He chuckled again as a tear quickly ran down his right cheek.

"C'mon, marm! 'Ave ye smelled me lately? I cuid make a fuckin' onion cry!"

Lakler started to laugh to himself, chuckling non-stop as another tear ran down his face. Ashlyn slowly walked behind him, and then Lakler's raucous laughter abruptly turned into a loud sob. Lakler shut his eyes and sniffled, whimpering and shaking his head. He kept trying to cover up the noises he was making, but Ashlyn could clearly hear the pain in the creature's voice. The otter reached over and embraced the hare, hugging him slowly and leaning down, pressing her cheek down on his scalp. Lakler sobbed again as the otter held him close. He didn't seem to care that he was crying his eyes out in front of somebeast anymore.

He just wanted Elonv back...

---

Lillen and Becker didn't know whether or not they would've been better off staying at Tearmann. By the time they got back, they could see that the community had been devastated, and that the beasts still alive were still tending to the wounded or burying those who had passed. Although Becker had lost a good deal of blood, he hadn't suffered any other injury besides the fall from the tree. Lillen, however, returned to Tearmann with a slashed face and a long scar across her back. The corporal panted a few times before she nearly collapsed, with Becker falling down beside the hare with a loud huff.

"Becker? You two all right?!"

Lillen panted a few times as she looked up and saw the chubby medic running towards them. "We're...we're fine, Lieutenant. Just a li'l beat up."

Hollis grunted as he helped Becker off the ground, shortly before he helped Lillen stand up too. The hare looked at the blood running down Becker's blue coat and swore.

"You got hit with an arrow!"

Becker chuckled. "You noticed, huh?"

Hollis scowled. "This is serious, mate! You better hope it ain't poisoned, wot! Now c'mon, let's get that shaft outta ya!"

Hollis grunted as he helped Becker walk along the ground, while Lillen winced and ran her fingers across the long scar running down her right cheek. She tried not to shake at the thought of what happened earlier. Just another inch or so to the right and her head would've been split in half. Just another inch backwards and that rat might've succeeded in cutting her spine in half and paralyzing her from the waist-down. She quickly shook the grisly memories away before she walked over to Hollis as he helped Becker sit down on a log.

"Wot about you, Lillen? You been critically injured?"

"It's just two scratches, that's all."

Hollis looked at Lillen and scowled.

"Well, they are! I-I can still walk and I'm not losing any more blood!"

"Show me."

Lillen turned around and lifted her tunic up, showing off the long, but thin wound she received from a long sword. Hollis huffed.

"That ain't a scratch! It's a fuckin' catastrophe--yore just beggen for that t'get infected!"

"Like I said, it's not bleeding anymore. Worry about Becker for now--you can patch me up afterwards."

Hollis shook his head. "You fuckin' hares--it's like all the shit I'm tellin' you goes out both ears, wot!"

"We can't prevent ourselves from gettin' hurt, Lieutenant. That's wot you're here for: to patch us up an' help us."

Hollis scoffed as he got on the log and took out a clean dagger, setting the tip of the blade within a nearby campfire he set up after all the chaos stopped. Some of his other supplies were resting by the fire: a hammer, water, plenty of bandages, and various poultices and herbs. Hollis leaned over and inspected the arrow, looking at the head before leaning over and examining where it entered Becker's body. He stared at the shaft before he grabbed the rear part of it and snapped it off.

"Lucky you. Doesn't look like the arrow hit any bones. It prob'ly missed the vital arteries too."

"That's good to hear."

"Now stay still...this arrow is thin; I need to pull it out as carefully as possible. If it breaks, then yore gonna have a lump of wood stuck in yore belly for quite some time."

"No worries! If that happens, I'm sure I'll just shit it out later, wot!"

Hollis growled deeply at Becker as he started to laugh. The captain grinned at the hare before blinking and clearing his throat.

"Well, uh...carry on."

Hollis grumbled to himself as he grabbed the head of the arrow and slowly began to pull on it. He stared at the arrow while Becker winced and gritted his teeth from the pain. Lillen looked around Tearmann again, baffled by all the destruction that occurred.

"How the hell did this happen? We saw vermin comin' here--"

"Nobeast knows, m'dear. They just--" Hollis swore when he heard the arrow crack. He stopped moving it and took a long breath, rubbing his nose as he grabbed the arrow with two fingers. "They just showed up when we were all sleepin' or fornicating."

Lillen raised an eyebrow. "You were busy fuckin' the Tearmannians?"

Hollis grunted. "Lillen, we've been out on patrol for a very long time. Somebeasts needed to satisfy that urge sooner than later."

"Guess we missed all the fun, Lillen!" said Becker, before chuckling.

Lillen wiggled her nose. "So that's it? Some vermin just snuck in Tearmann, started killin' everybeast?"

"_Every_beast, Corporal. Us hares, the Tearmannians on guard, hogmaids, ottermaids...they even slew some of the fuckin' babes."

Becker frowned and closed his eyes, sighing solemnly.

"Fuck...an' you killed 'em all?" asked Lillen.

"Nope," said Hollis, before the arrow slid out. "Whoever was left is still out there, prob'ly another hundred or so. Take yore coat off, Becker."

The captain did a he was instructed, grunting as he slid his coat from his body, showing off his rotund belly and the arrow wound he was suffering from. Hollis grabbed a clean kerchief and wiped off some of the blood around the wound, cleaning it up so he had a clear view of the hole.

"How many did we lose?" asked the captain.

Hollis shrugged. "I'd say about thirty, maybe twoscore. Give me that dagger please, Lillen. Open yore mouth, Becker."

Lillen removed the dagger from the fire while Becker laughed nervously.

"Eh, can't ya just bandage it, ole chap? I don't--MMPF!"

Becker shut his mouth when Hollis shoved a small thick piece of wood into his mouth. Lillen handed the dagger over to the medic, who pointed the red-hot tip of the metal near Becker's wound.

"You should hold him steady. Last thing I need is to make it worse."

The corporal nodded and quickly stood behind the captain. She pressed down on his shoulders while Hollis slowly moved the tip of the blade against the exit wound. He pressed the hot dagger-tip against the hare's flesh, causing it to sizzle noisily. Becker shut his eyes and bit down hard, moaning and swearing as his teeth left marks in the small piece of wood. Hollis counted seconds off in his mind before he nodded gently and took the dagger away. Then he walked over and stood behind Becker, gesturing for Lillen to stand in front of the captain instead. Becker still had his eyes shut as Hollis slowly moved the dagger over to the hare's back, planting the hot blade against the entrance wound. The pain wasn't as severe the second time around, since Becker knew what to expect. But he still winced when he felt the hot blade on his flesh and smelled some of his fur and meat sizzling. After Hollis took the dagger away, Becker opened his mouth and let the wood fall to the ground. Then the medic acquired his bandages and started to wrap them around Becker's abdomen. Lillen backed away and sat down on one of the adjacent logs hard, trying to ignore her stinging back.

"You're not injured, are you, Lieutenant Brennly?"

The medic snorted. "I'm just fine, Corporal. My well-being is top notch--wot I'm worried about is our lack of proper medical supplies."

Becker frowned. "We're running low?"

Hollis sighed, but didn't look away from the arrow wound as he bandaged it. "Not dangerously low, but if more hares keep getting injured like this, we're gonna be in a bit of a pickle. We're runnin' out of poultices and bandages, an' some of my trainees pissed away the herbs they could've used to make more medicine to flavour up their stews. On top of that, some of us are getting sick, wot!"

Lillen lowered her ears. "How sick?"

"Sick enough to worry me if we end up runnin' into a thunderstorm while we're out here. It's nothin' major now--some vomiting, the trots, coughin', odd rashes, blisters an' footpaw fungus by the likes of which I've never seen!"

Lillen grimaced. "That's...colourful," she said, trying not to sound too disgusted.

"Still, ain't nothin' we haven't been through before, right?" asked Becker.

Hollis finished wrapping the bandages around Becker and bit off the material. Then he set the bandages down and exhaled as he sat next to the plump captain. "No, it's not. But back then, we had the supplies to get through our cumbersome situations. I almost considered choppin' off a hare's arm tonight 'cos I didn't wanna waste more poultice on his wound."

Hollis breathed heavily as he rubbed his head and wagged one of his ears after a small insect landed on it. "I'm jus' glad it ain't winter anymore. If it were, most of us would be fucked by now."

"Exactly," added Becker. "As long as the weather stays how it is, we'll be fine!"

"All it takes is one chilly, misty day or one rainy night. Then we'll have to start worryin' about pneumonia, sepsis, severin' limbs if they start changin' color..."

The medic shook his head. "I just hope we return to Salamandastron soon. If we're ambushed like this again, or we run into a string of rainy days, then I'm not sure how much longer half of this battalion's gonna last..."

Becker and Lillen stared at Hollis as he rubbed his chin and looked at the ground. Then they looked away and blinked, hoping that the lieutenant was wrong and that the hares had enough fight left in them to rid the world of the Red Sand tribe. But as Becker and Lillen looked around the community, they noticed more injured hares and began to wonder whether or not the vermin would be their biggest concerns in the next few weeks...

---

He felt frustrated, which was understandable, considering everybeast was playing the blame-game. The otter breathed heavily as he stared at the group of beasts clamoring around him, pointing fingers and constantly using him as the scapegoat. Russell Galedeep leaned against one of the tables inside the main hall while a few others tried to talk for him.

"I can assure you, those vermin won't be comin' back!" shouted Rubus.

"How d'you know that? What proof do you have that we won't be attacked again?"

Rubus' older brother grinned as he folded his arms. "'Cause the two of us will stop 'em before they ever see Tearmann again."

A hedgehog scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please. Some old fart an' a brewer can't stop an entire tribe o' vermin by themselves!"

"Which is why we need everybeast here to come together and work on preventing this from happening again!" pleaded Meena.

"Or mebbe we should just leave! We'd be better off out there than in here, with no walls or gates or nothin' to protect us!"

Rubus shrugged. "Fine. If you feel that you're better off out there, fightin' and clawin' at each other day by day jus' to get some food, by all means, leave."

"This ain't no war, Rubus! Hurr, lot ee change since then, yurr'm know!" said a mole.

Russell sighed heavily and closed his eyes as another argument broke out, with Meena holding up her paws and trying to calm everybeast down. Rubus and Logan joined in, trying to keep their voices low, but eventually raising them so they could be heard over the incessant shouting.

"There were babes slaughtered tonight an' none a' yew did anythin' to prevent it!"

"How much time we got left before they come back?"

"Do we even have enough guards to defend ourselves if that happens?"

"I can't stay here anymore! I-I gotta think about my children! We have to leave before this happens again!"

"Is there a point--"

Russell snarled and slammed his rudder down so hard that he shattered one of the wooden chairs. The sound of the wood snapping and breaking apart into dozens of pieces was enough to frighten all the Tearmannians into quieting down, as the noise echoed throughout the large building. Everybeast stopped talking and stared at the black otter as he stomped in front of them all and started shouting.

"D'you 'ave any idea wot's outside?! Yore friends! Yore family! They're all lyin' on the ground, ravaged by those savage beasts, an' all you ungrateful fucks c'n do is stand 'ere bitchin' and moanin' about wot should and shouldn't 'ave happened?!

Russell started to pace left and right, his footpaws slapping on the floor noisily as he panted and shook his thick tail.

"I'm sure they'd all be proud o' ye, spendin' more time in here complainin' about wot went wrong instead o' puttin' yer loved ones t'rest! Sure, yeah, mistakes were made. I know, I know--yore all angry an' need to hate somebeast! But yore lookin' at the wrong beast, my friends! I'm not the one who ripped out Yelhim's innards. I'm not the beast who-who put a hole in poor li'l Genfley's head, nor am I the beast who chopped Morrvin's head in half! I...I didn't cause any o' this..."

Russell's voice grew quieter towards his last sentence. He shook his head, his eyes watery as he swallowed a lump in his throat and pointed in a different direction.

"Those vermin did! That fuckin' tribe o' scoundrels are the beasts who slew our loved ones! If you wanna hate somebeast, hate them! I'm yore friend! I'm...I'm the one who led you all here! I'm the one who allowed ye t'stay in such a beautiful, safe community! Now yes, we-we've been attacked, an' we lost those we cared about. But it's nothin' that can't be fixed! We've been attacked before an' we recovered from it! We just gotta stand together, prepare ourselves in case this 'appens again! But now...now is the time to mourn, understand? I don't want ye t'be angry now. I want you all t'go outside an'-an' say goodbye to all those who were lost tonight. At the very least, they deserve that much..."

The crowd of Tearmannians didn't need to say anything further. They all knew Russell was right. Sure, they were angry, upset, and sad. But they couldn't use the one beast who always took care of them as a tool to vent all their frustrations at. One of the hedgehogs understood Russell's point and sniffled, remembering that his own sister was slain just a few feet away from him.

"I'll...I'll get started on diggin' graves. If anybeast wants t'help me...feel free to," he said sullenly.

Russell Galedeep watched as the crowd slowly turned and walked out of the building, with Rubus and Logan trailing behind them to comfort anybeast in need. He waited for a moment, watching as the beasts left the building with teary eyes. After Rubus closed the door, Russell sniffled and rubbed his eyes, wiping away any tears that were about to descend down his face. Then he looked at the door and started to chuckle, sitting down on the table again as he started to grin.

"I always did know 'ow t'win a crowd over! One o' me more special traits if I do say so meself!"

The young ottermaid scoffed and shook her head. "You mean bein' a liar, right?"

Russell sniffed. "I've no idea wot yore talkin' 'bout, dear Meena!"

"Shut the fuck up, Russell! Your insane plan backfired! Those beasts were yellin' at the right beast in here--this all happened 'cos of you!"

"Uh, no, m'dear. I did not kill all of these kind, innocent creatures!"

"Yes, you did! You told me you an' yer otters were gonna slaughter all of Sesslyn's tribe in their sleep, including Sesslyn herself!"

"An' she got away, along with some o' her members--must we really go over this again?"

Meena grabbed her head and started shaking. "What did you think was gonna happen?!"

"I thought I was gonna kill her, but the cunt slipped through me fingers--it is not my fault that--"

"YES, IT IS, RUSSELL! All the shit that happened tonight is entirely your fault! What was goin' through your fuckin' head when you betrayed the Red Sand tribe?!"

Russell chuckled softly. "I was thinkin' o' how fun it would be to befriend this tribe o' vermin. I was thinkin' about getting that bitch Lady Sesslyn to suck my cock 'afore I slaughter her whole tribe. I was thinkin' how fun it would be to put her on her knees, make her watch as my soldiers took the heads of all her tribe members. And then, right as I put my knife to her throat, I pictured comin' home, listenin' to all those beasts out there cheer as I brought home the head of yet another vermin warlord or-or mercenary or emperor who had been plaguing this world for the past several seasons! Alas, the cunt got the upper paw on me. She got away."

"An' then she came back with the rest of her tribe, you fuckin' idiot! Do you have any idea how many more beasts could've died tonight if that Badger Lord and his hares weren't here?!"

"But he was here. Problem solved!"

"That's not the point! We still lost a lot of goodbeasts tonight! There's probably fourscore dead beasts outside--maybe more--and we've yet to figure out how many are injured!"

Russell leaned forward and patted Meena on the head. "Collateral damage, dear Meena."

The ottermaid shoved the older otter's arm away and backed up, disgusted. "You're a hypocrite, you know that? You say you care about this community and the beasts in it, yet you have no problem throwing them all in danger just to protect your reputation!"

"I do care about this community, Meena."

Meena laughed and snorted. "Really. I bet they would just love to hear about why Sesslyn really attacked Tearmann! C'mon, let's go tell 'em all!"

"Yore not gonna do that," growled Russell as he got off the table.

"Why not? I mean, if you care so much, then--"

Meena shouted when Russell punched her across the cheek. The ottermaid stumbled and leaned against one of the tables, sniffing and panting as she turned around. She shouted again when Russell punched her a second time, knocking her flat on her back. As the otter collapsed to the floor, Russell quickly got on top of her, making sure to pin her down so she couldn't get up. Then the otter snarled as he proceeded to punch her in the face several times over, each blow having the same impact as if the ottermaid was being whacked with a hammer. She grunted and coughed up blood, her muzzle bruised, her nose bleeding and feeling broken. Russell snarled as he got off Meena and grabbed her, roughly standing her back up and shoving her against the table to their right. Meena shrieked as Russell stood closely behind her and yanked on her left ear. He grinned as he lowered his head, breathing heavily on the back of her neck.

"Yore not gonna tell them anythin', you understand?!"

"D-don't...please--"

Russell laughed. "Don't wot?! I could fuck ye, right here an' now, an' nobeast would care! Rubus could come burstin' through the door an' he'd laugh, thinkin' that we're just playin' with each other or fuckin' each other 'cos we're so happy t'still be alive! That's 'ow much this community trusts me, Meena! I c'n do wotever the fuck I want, an' they'll still be on my side!"

Russell grabbed the back of Meena's neck and grunted as he shoved her down to the floor. The whimpering, shaking ottermaid looked up at Russell as he growled and stepped towards her.

"So wot's it gonna be, Meena? You gonna keep yore maw shut, or do ye need me to 'convince' ye to keep quiet?"

Meena panted and sniffled as she looked up at the otter. She wiped her face before slowly standing up and straightening her clothes out, trying to keep her figure intact.

"You're going to Hellgates for this..."

Russell chuckled as he leaned against one of the tables. "Not for a looooooooong time, m'dear!"

The otter kept smirking as Meena turned and began to walk out of the building, while Russell began to think about how to resolve his current dilemma.

---

The major grunted as he slowly hauled one of the lieutenants over towards the area where other soldiers were currently digging graves. He exhaled when he set the lieutenant down on the ground, shaking his head and sighing when he saw the trademark green collar on the dead beast.

"So how many is that?" asked Frenquil.

"Includin' Harstow here? I'd say thirty-five. An' we're not even done scoopin' all the bodies up--there could be more around here."

The lieutenant rubbed her forehead and swore. "We're losin' too many fuckin' hares! D'you talk to Urthquake about goin' back to Salamandastron for reinforcements yet?"

Major Fenson shook his head. "I've been busy checkin' in on everybeast else t'see how they're doin'. Y'know...just makin' sure--"

"You mean you're afraid of shittin' yourself if you get too close to Urthquake again."

The major flared his nostrils. "I didn't say that, wot! I'm just tryin'--"

"It's okay," interrupted Frenquil, sighing heavily. "I don't blame you. After leavin' that on yer face, I'd be scared of the Badger Lord too."

The major blinked as he slowly rubbed the long gashes on his faces, the wounds still red and burning as he touched them, despite the poultice Hollis spread on his cheek.

"He's just...under stress, Lieutenant."

Frenquil scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. When my brothers are under stress, they tend t'yell or curse or punch each other. They don't choke each other an' damn near break their necks. I know Urthquake suffers from the Bloodwrath, but we cannot have him cockin' everything up 'cos he got 'angry' or 'cos he was 'upset' and decided his best course of action was to kill everybeast in sight."

"So wot d'you want me to do about it?"

Frenquil shrugged. "Go talk to him. You're his li'l bitch-buddy; he'll listen to you."

Fenson was about to open his mouth when he heard somebeast snickering and running towards them carrying another beast.

"Oi! Lookie who I found lyin' in some tent!"

Fenson and Frenquil watched as Qwuintuff roughly threw a corporal's body on the ground. Fenson stared at the corpse with wide eyes while Frenquil frowned and nearly covered her mouth.

"Guess ole Ozgin here met her maker, eh?"

Frenquil stared at the mutilated corpse and let out a coughing gasp while Fenson inhaled sharply and tried not to gag.

"The f...wot did they do to her?"

Qwuintuff chuckled. "Looks like somebeast forced a sword inside her, wot! Split her cunt wide open they did! Got her tailhole too. Look!"

Qwuintuff rolled Ozgin's body over, showing the dried blood that was smeared around her ravaged anus. Frenquil huffed and swore quietly.

"Think she came 'afore she headed to the Dark Forest? She always did like it rough, y'know."

Fenson and Frenquil shot a nasty glare at the captain.

"Wot?"

"The fuck is wrong with you? Somebeast mutilated this poor corporal an' you're standin' here joking about it!" shouted Fenson.

Qwuintuff shrugged. "So? Nobeast liked the cunt anyway."

The captain shouted when Frenquil punched him to the ground. Frenquil gritted her teeth and breathed heavily through her nostrils as she stared at the fallen hare, who was rubbing his nose as he scrambled to get back to his footpaws.

"Wot the fuck was that for?!"

"Do you not have any ounce of fuckin' respect left in that body of yours?!" shouted Frenquil.

Qwuintuff rubbed some of the dirt off his clothing. "Hmph! I'm only sayin' wot everybeast 'round here is thinkin'!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not anybeast took a liking to Corporal Ozgin. Wot matters is that we lost another hare an' we need to mourn her properly," said Fenson.

Qwuintuff rubbed his chin. "So I should piss on her grave?"

The major scowled. "I suggest you shut your mouth and go find and bury the rest of the bodies. Or I'll make sure your rank is revoked, and you spend the next three seasons cleanin' out our arseholes with your tongue!"

The captain didn't feel like pushing his luck, especially now when his reputation was on the line. So he stood still and stared at the hare's glare before snorting and walking away, intentionally bumping his shoulder into Fenson's. Frenquil turned and made a fist with her right paw, tempted to chase him down so she could break his jaw. Fenson flicked his eyes at the lieutenant and sighed.

"Let him go, Frenquil."

"Fucker...my own brothers have more respect than that hare!"

Fenson watched as Frenquil turned back around and continued to stare at the corporal's body. She slowly flipped the cadaver back over, examining how torn her vaginal region was, along with her missing paw and slashed throat.

"Funny thing is...we didn't care for her. Hardly anybeast liked her at all," Fenson pointed out.

"Are you not lookin' at her, Needles? Yes, I know she was a bit of a bitch. So am I. But nobeast deserves to die like this."

Frenquil shook her head before she sighed and sat down on the ground. She blinked before she messed with her paws, rubbing them together or fidgeting the entire time.

"I don't understand it, Needles," said the lieutenant quietly. "Wot would drive somebeast to do something like this? Wot...wot satisfaction could-could this serve as? Wot joy does this bring? There's fightin' in a war, an' then there's just...evil. There's torture. There's rape. There's killin' helpless babes for no reason. There's murdering innocents just to laugh in the faces of those who lost their loved ones. Wot...wot's the point, Major?"

Frenquil held her paws out, moving them around as she showed off what happened in Tearmann.

"Wot's the point in any of this? All these nice beasts an-an' they can't even eat dinner, go to sleep, have a good fuck without bein' slaughtered, wot!"

Fenson sat down beside Frenquil. "You were the last beast I thought I'd have this conversation with."

"Stanno asks me all the time: 'Why, Fren? Wot the fuck did any of these poor beasts do to deserve this?' I jus' tell him to shut his fuckin' mouth an' get over it. But I ask myself the same question all the time...an' I never know the answer. So tell me, Needles. Tell me why beasts do this."

Fenson shook his head and shrugged. "There is no--"

"Don't. I do not wanna hear that bullshit. Don't tell me this all happened 'cos those vermin thought it was 'fun'! 'Cos they were 'bored' an' wanted to enjoy themselves tonight! There has to be a fuckin' reason!"

"Lieutenant...after all the shit we've seen...I thought you would've figured it out by now. I can't ask why anymore. It'll just drive me insane. All I know is that there's evil in this world, an' we have to stop it. Sometimes the answer you want isn't the real truth. Mebbe...mebbe they did do this for fun. Mebbe they did get bored. ...I don't think it matters anymore. I-I really...it doesn't."

The major and lieutenant sat in silence for a while, listening to the wind blowing and other beasts clamoring in the distance. Fenson started to ponder in his mind, but quickly shut his eyes and pushed all of those thoughts aside. Don't think about it, thought Fenson. It...I'm right. It doesn't matter. ...Right? There-there's no reason behind this...it just happened.

"...I'm gonna go bury Ozgin and Harstow. Then I'm gonna go see how Morson and Stanno are doing," Frenquil said as she began to stand.

"How d'you know they're still alive?"

Frenquil scoffed. "They're fuckin' Langroves. They could defend themselves by talking somebeast to death if they tried hard enough."

---

He needed to be away, away from all those hares--all those Tearmannians. He needed to be by himself, needed to process everything. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't under the Bloodwrath. Somebeast from his own battalion tried to murder him. And when he went under the Bloodwrath, he nearly killed Fenson and Tike in the process. The Badger Lord rubbed his nose before he looked at the blood on his paws again. He winced and inhaled sharply as he reached behind and rubbed the stinging stab wound on the back of his neck. Clever, the badger thought. I never even heard you coming... Urthquake closed his eyes and lowered his paw. There were no more voices in his head. No more graphic images of all those fallen hares. It was just him and the trees around him. Urthquake growled gutturally as he thought about all those vermin. Blackheart, Kurwin the Flayer, the leader of the Red Sand tribe--everybeast needed to pay. Blackheart was gone, and he knew about Kurwin, but Urthquake couldn't let this new band of vermin get away. All of them--they all had to pay for what they did.

"Sah? Urthquake?!"

The Badger Lord blinked before he heard footsteps from behind. Then he looked down and watched as Major Fenson ran in front of the tree Urthquake was leaning against. The major turned around and exhaled.

"Oh, good! Fer a second there, I thought you were another one o' them wearet thingies, wot!"

"How did you find me?"

The major chuckled. "You serious? I could smell you all the way back there! I see somebeast hasn't been bathin' often like I suggested!"

Urthquake didn't respond. He simply stared at the major, slowly moving his head and waiting for some kind of response.

"We're still buryin' the fallen, sah. Um, the Tearmannians are still upset though...they lost more beasts than we did. Last time I checked, about twoscore hares were slain, maybe three. But, uh, we're still goin' strong, m'lord! ...Well, 'cept for Stink Mouth. He's runnin' out of supplies and medicine we need to treat wounds, an' he's worried that more hares will die unless we return to Salamandastron to fetch more. And he, um...uh, m'lord? Are you listenin' to me?"

Urthquake didn't answer. He blinked and moved his head very slightly.

"Sah? Wot--"

The badger suddenly jerked his head forward and barred his teeth, growling so deeply that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The major yelped and backed away, waiting until the giant beast stopped before he scoffed.

"Wot the fuck is wrong with you?! I came here jus' to give you an update on the soldiers you should be comforting an' whose spirits you should be tryin' to raise, an' you fuckin' growl at me?! You jus' looked at me like I was some piece of meat, wot!"

Urthquake shrugged. "Isn't everybeast?"

"I'm getting sick of this, sah! I'm sick of always bein' on your side even when I know you're wrong! I'm sick of you treatin' us like we're just expendable piles of flesh to use at your disposal! I have always been by your side--all of us hares have always stuck with you, no matter wot you've done! But tonight? ...You lashed out at me, sah. You almost killed Corporal Bonson! You...you didn't see wot we saw, m'lord. I know you were under the Bloodwrath, but...there's something wrong with you. You need help, sah."

Urthquake sighed heavily as he leaned against the tree. He shook his head slowly and blinked.

"I was happy today, Major. I was legitimately happy. I wasn't...I wasn't forcing myself to smile--I-I wasn't pretending, putting on a show for others. ...I was happy. I felt safe enough to take off my armor. I hadn't done that in seasons, Fenson, unless I'm about to take a bath. I got to play with babes. I laughed. I ate delicious food that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. My nose was overwhelmed with the sweet fragrances of the fruit from the orchards, the pastries being baked, the beasts who bother cleaning their clothes. And tonight...I had two females, Major. Two. For so long, I only had to use my paw to please myself. But tonight I was finally reminded what it felt like to have somebeast put their wet tongue inside my rectum...I got to feel an otter's warm breath on my cock as she sucked the seed right from me. And then...I was finally able to thrust into them. That slick, wet feeling..."

Urthquake started to walk towards Fenson slowly. "When was the last time you fucked somebeast? Hmm? When was the last time you were happy? Can you even remember?"

Fenson found himself walking backwards. "I...sah--"

"A female's soft paws all over your body...all over your cock and balls. Do...do you remember any of that?"

Fenson grunted when he found his back up against a tree. Urthquake kept walking forward until he was mere inches from the major and towering over him.

"They took it. Th-those fucking savages--those unholy, sickening, filthy beasts took it all away. Those vermin--that-that's what they do, Major. They see happiness and they take it away."

"...M'lord--"

"ALL OF IT!" Urthquake suddenly bellowed. "They rob us of our happiness to make themselves happy! They rape us! They kill us! They torment us for no fucking reason, Fenson! I-I should've known better! I shouldn't have let my guard down. But-but the one day--the one fucking day I try to enjoy myself, this happens! I should've known! I let my guard down--that's my fault! We never should've stopped here--this, this community made us weak, made us forget about the real danger in this world!"

Urthquake started to breathe heavily, panting and snorting, his hot breath blowing in Fenson's face.

"All I ever do is help. And what do I get? These vermin ruining my joy! My own soldiers turning against me, telling me that I'm always wrong, that I'm not doing the right thing, that I need fucking help! After everything I've done for you all? ...How dare you come to me tonight and say those words to me?"

Urthquake lowered his head, his muzzle almost touching Fenson's. "How dare you."

The major was about to say something else when he could've sworn he heard the badger's voice cracking when he spoke again.

"You've no fucking idea what I've been through. You don't know how hard it is. You don't know how fucking tired I am..."

"...Then stop doing this to yourself, m'lord," Fenson responded quietly.

Urthquake snorted again and panted. "You say something's wrong with me? You say I need help? You're right! I do need help! I need you to help me kill them all! I need you to help me kill all the vermin we see! I need you to help me slaughter anybeast in our way! Rats, foxes, ferrets, stoats, wolverines, ermines, weasels--I don't fuckin' care! THEY ALL HAVE TO DIE! UNDERSTAND?!"

Fenson gagged when the badger grabbed his neck.

"Say it. Say you fuckin' understand right now. If you don't, then you're my enemy! You're a traitor!"

"GACK! I--AAH!!"

"SAY YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THESE VERMIN HAVE TO FUCKING DIE!!!"

"YES!"

It was a small, high-pitched whimper, but it was enough. Urthquake snorted and let go of the major's neck. Fenson slid down to the ground, gasping and wheezing as he held his throat and tried to slow his heartbeat down. The Badger Lord crouched down, growling softly as he spoke to the hare.

"You see...it's so simple now. All those vermin have to die. And you and the rest of those hares out there will help me."

Urthquake suddenly put his massive paw beneath Fenson's chin and lifted his head up so they were both staring at each other.

"The problem isn't that I'm wrong, Major. The problem is that none of you can see why I'm right. But soon...I'll show you...I'll show you all. We will flush all the filthy vermin from these woods, from all ends of the earth. And then we'll finally be at peace. ...Isn't that what you all want? To be at peace? To be happy again?"

"...Yes."

Urthquake nodded. "I thought so. Now then, get yourself back in order. After we finish burying our comrades, we have to leave. We need to find the vermin who did this."

"But wot...wot about Hollis? Wot about the medicine and getting reinforcements?"

"That can wait. And we'll be fine. If we take too long hunting down the Red Sand tribe, they'll make more allies. And then they'll come attack us again, and no amount of medicine will help."

The badger let go of the major's chin and stood up. He watched as the hare coughed a few more times before he turned around and began to walk away.

"I'm glad we understand each other, Major."

But Fenson couldn't respond. He was too busy trying to recover from what just happened. And pondering if the Badger Lord had lost his sanity for good.