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"Clairice, get out here, where I can see you." The middle-aged vixen called with an almost theatrical stomp of her footpaw. "The dignitaries will be here tomorrow evening, and you have a lot of preparation yet to do."

Claire had no plans on coming down from her hiding place in a tall white pine. She had always found the branches easy for climbing and the thick bunches of needles did an excellent job at concealing. She watched as her mother paced about on the ground below, becoming more and more thoroughly flustered. Now and again her paws would raise to fuss over her skirts, straightening them out in her usual nervous tic. She paced this way and that against the tree line surrounding the Mountain fortress, searching for any sign of her wayward daughter.

Claire snickered into her paw. The motion must have jostled the tree enough for her mother to see, because her icy glare shot up to the branches and narrowed. "Get out of there! You're going to get sap in your fur!" She tapped her footpaw impatiently, pointing to the ground.

Claire sighed and slipped down through the branches.

Begrudgingly, she looked at her mother

"Again, Claire? I thought that you would have out gown this running off. You are an adult, and you are a lady. You should be setting an example for your people by not shirking your responsibilities.... and what have I told you about wearing trousers?" Her mother's gaze fell to Claire's attire of a white blouse and tan trousers. "Would it kill you to dress like a proper lady and wear a dress or skirt once and awhile?"

"I can't set an example wearing trousers?" Came her sarcastic response, which her mother saw through in an instant.

In a flash the older vixen had her roughly by the wrist, scolding her, as she dragged her along towards the Mountain's entrance, where two guards stood at their posts, one about Claire's age, in his years as an early adult, Mort. Claire remembered that he was one of the newest recruits on the Dofim's guard. He was on the lowest of the chain of command, a scout, though he was often paired with the older guard, Desoto for sentry duty, to what often seemed to be much to the older fox's dismay.

"Good afternoon, Mort. Hello Desoto." Claire greeted them both in turn, a wide smile crossing her features.

Desoto greeted them both with a deep bow. "Best afternoon Dovia Clairice, Doffa Cassidy."

However, Mort smiled in return shyly with a small dip of his head. "Afternoon, M'ladies."

"I see you're out training with Desoto again." Cassidy smiled in that motherly way of hers at the young scout. "Well, I do trust that our most experienced captain will train you well. He does his job well." The last part was directed at Desoto.

Claire wondered how much more pride could be contained in the officer's body, before he eventually just blew up from puffing out his chest to the extent that he did, whenever he was praised. "Thank you, Doffa." and he resumed his now even prouder stance at his post.

At this, if possible, Desoto puffed himself up even taller with pride. "Thank you, Doffa Cassidy," and he gave a bow before resuming his even prouder than before stance, and Claire wondered how much prouder he could become, before he just exploded. Rumor was that Desoto had his eyes on becoming General.

Cassidy, her mother, only paused a moment longer to dip her head to the two of them. "Please excuse us, gentlemen." And Claire found herself dragged through the entrance and into the tunnels.

The passageways of the Dofim's Mountain were rough to the eye, when one first entered them. One might think that it was just a simple cave at first, but the farther they ventured, the smoother the walls became. Lanterns were hung on iron fixtures from the ceiling. The main passage led to the center of the mountain, where a large cavern known as the Commons was laid. It was decorated with several long tables and a large fireplace set against the far wall. The Commons was used primarily for meals, but it was also used for events. Sometimes, when musicians were travelling through, Claire's father would invite them to play. On those nights, the tables would be pushed aside to make room for dancing. She wondered if there would be any musicians hired to dinner tomorrow night to entertain the dignitaries.

Cassidy pulled her down one of many passages leading off from the main tunnel, to a doorway. Her mother pulled open the oaken door and ushered her inside.

Claire recognized the room as the study. Books lined every crevice along the walls. A large table was set up in the center of the room. A volume was already laid open at a place at the table.

Cassidy crossed over to the prepared for the set place and tapped her claw rapidly on the opened page. "This is the Sunstripe Clan's most recent history. I want you to read the pages I've marked out for you."

Claire let out a sigh and slumped down in a seat, while she glanced over at the page. "I thought you already had me read on their history last week?"

"That was the history of their founding, this is the most recent history we have of theirs.

Claire huffed and plopped her jaw into her paw. "I don't see what any of this has to do with dinner."

A sudden thud of the table caused its contents to rattle. "This has everything to do with dinner, Claire!" She snapped. "We are attempting to form an official alliance, and it shows a certain amount of respect if we know and understand our neighboring clans. You've seen what war does, what it's capable of. We want to avoid it as much as possible in our future, and an alliance could make that difference between peace and war. If an enemy knows that we have official allies, he may hesitate to attack us. This is about saving lives and the future of both of our clans." She sighed and gave her daughter an exhausted look. "So do you understand now, why this is important?"

Claire bit her lip and nodded. No had told her that this was a meeting to form an official alliance, she had only thought that it had been another visit just for pleasantries and to discuss things like trade. "Aye," she agreed reluctantly. "I understand."

Cassidy straightened herself up, adjusting her skirts again. "Aright, good. I have to finish going over preparations with your father. Please read this." She tapped the page one last time, before leaving Claire alone in the study.

Claire sighed and planted her face into the book with an exasperated groan. Absent-mindedly, she flipped through the pages marked out for her between two green ribboned bookmarks. There was so much. "I'm never going to get through all of this!"

There was no escaping her mother, who seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when her daughter was lying to her, so Claire made sure she read the pages thoroughly, just in case her mother chose to quiz her later. Claire wouldn't have put it below her.

The Sunstipe Clan was a neighboring clan that lived across the plains. Their home was in an old stone quarry. They were known for their warriors and their mines. Rge badgers' naturally large build made both the males and females to be formidable warriors and capable of heavy work. There were not many battles in the last century that they had not won. She could see why her father wanted them as allies. An army with that kind of history and reputation surely would cause enemies to hesitate.

It wasn't as though Claire disliked politics. They were all she knew. Being the only child of the Doffu Cordies and Doffa Cassidy, she was the next in line to inherit the throne with the chief seat of power, as it went to the one in the direct bloodline. As an heiress to a militant-based clan, her father had insisted that she start learning how to use a sword by the time she was old enough to read. Her mother had never been fond of her daughter learning the sword, but Claire took it up with ease, and it came to her naturally, much to her father's delight. She did feel bad for her mother, who as hard as she tried to teach her daughter the finer arts of tapestry, etiquette of speech and dining, and heaven forbid any kind of cooking. These things came as a challenge to the young vixen, and more than just a pawful of arguments had emerged between the two of them due to their shared frustration.

Claire wasn't sure how long she had had her muzzle stuck in that dusty old book, when a rap on the door made her jump. "Ah, come in!" She called, and the door creaked open.

"M'lady, dinner is ready in the Commons." came the small voice of a stout, homely vixen dressed in a pale pink smock and apron.

A smile crossed her features. "Thank you, Mildred. I'll be right down."

The vixen offered a shallow curtsy and excused herself.

Claire was pretty sure that she had the Badgers' most recent pretty much memorized now. She shut the book. It wasn't hard finding where I belonged, either. The shelves were so jam-packed that the gap was easy to pick out. Just because she was a noble, did not mean that she couldn't pick up after herself.

The Dovia slipped through the passageways of the Mountain, until she reached the main tunnel. The smell of roasted pheasant wafted at her muzzle, and she tipped her nose back to take in the scent. Her tongue poked about her lips with anticipation.

The Commons were already bustling by the time she had arrived a few minutes later. She dipped her head in return to the formal greetings by some of the foxes. Many were dressed in the military attire, a blue and tan outfit. Tan trousers and shirt with a blue cross-guard. Leather utility belts adorned with blades were also present. Some were light and worn about the waist, others were heavy longswords that had to be slung over the shoulder.

It took a little ducking around the crowd of canines, bustling about to find a spot at the tables, but she did manage to find the table where her family sat nearest the fireplace on the back wall of the large room.

"Ah, there's my favorite fox! Hope you finished your studying, like your mother asked?" Cordies, her father, greeted her with that jovial smile of his which he seemed to save exclusively for her and her mother.

Claire slid into a seat at the table beside her father, across from Cassidy. "Don't worry, I did." She cast a grin at her mother, smug.

Cassidy didn't seem to notice the attitude. "Good. Good," she said, as she gingerly cut off a slice of bread from a loaf in the center of the table. "Can you tell me what the main export of the Sunstripe Clan is?"

"Iron and forged goods." Claire replied without missing a beat, helping herself to a portion of pheasant.

"And how did they defeat the pillagers, who attempted to raid their territory three winters ago?" Cordies chimed in, plopping a forkful of meat into his maw.

"They rolled boulders down an embankment and into their camp, while they were asleep." Her mother didn't notice a second smug grin either.

"Very good." Pride was audible in her mother's voice. It looked as though she were about to ask a few more questions.

"I've managed to track down some entertainment for tomorrow evening, Claire. I was just telling your mother, before you sat down." Cordies cut in.

Her ears perked. "You did?"

"I did. I guess that trio of squirrels caught wind that we were looking for entertainment and jumped on it."

Claire nibbled at a bit of bread. "Is that the group with the one male, who always is winking and flirting with me?"

"Yes." The Dofu responded, an echo of a growl in his tone.

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "But I think that the dignitaries will enjoy the music."

"Aye. I sure hope so." He took another bite, whatever annoyance that had been plaguing him now past. "If not that, then I hope the food will be suitable for their palettes."

"Ought to tell the cooks to make extra," Claire commented, scooping some berries onto her plate. "I hear that badgers are big eaters."

"Clairice!" Cassidy hissed.

"What? It's true!"

"That's rude." She went on to say.

Cordies wasn't perplexed. "Don't scold her, dear. She's clearly been doing her research. I haven't met a badger yet who hasn't had a tremendous appetite.... What? Don't give me that look, Cassie," he said with a cheeky, lopsided grin. It was that face that her mother never seemed able to resist.

Claire wasn't sure if it was cute or nauseating.

Cassidy blushed beneath her fur, and a smile crossed her features. "Fine well, at least don't say it so loudly. The last thing we need is for beasts to be talking about what big eaters the dignitaries tapped his chin with a dark claw. "I suppose you do have a point there. I suppose the Chief wouldn't like it, if he heard that we were calling his kind gluttons behind their backs." A wry smile was on his lips.

"I wouldn't call them gluttons," Claire chimed in. "They are big beasts. Big things need to eat more."

Cordies chuckled and reached over the table to ruffle the hair betwixt her ears.

"Hey stop it!" She tried to bat his paw away. "You're messing up my fur!"

Her mother laughed. "You're concerned about your fur now? What about this afternoon, climbing the pines?"

"That's different."

Cassidy smiled, gingerly putting a berry in her mouth. "Sure it is."

The rest of dinner went as it always did. The Commons was filled with the clamor of wooden dishes and casual conversation. After the family's discussion, Cordies did make sure to tell the cooks discreetly to make extra food for the following night.

It was mid-morning when the dignitaries arrived. Claire had been all but forced into a dress with light blue accents down its center and laced up about her front. She hated dresses. They were not practical for belts, which held swords, but even the young vixen knew better than to ask her mother to allow herself to appear to be a warrior at a formal meeting, even if her father was training her to be exactly that, a warrior. It was hard to juggle when to be a warrior and when to be a lady.

Claire stood along with her mother a short ways outside the entrance of the mountain. Cassidy was clad in a forest dark blue dress with gold accents. Her father wore a militant uniform, tan with pale blue accents. It was very easy to point out the similarities between the Doffu's attire and his daughter's, and it was not an accident.

The dignitary party consisted of a tremendous male, even by badger standards. Claire found herself slack-jawed at the sight of him. He seemed to be dressed with a red sash on his uniform, which was well-decorated. Beside him at the front, was a young badger, not short, but fell nearly a full head shorter than his companion. The Chief's son.

Behind the two leading badgers was a third male, larger than the younger badger, bulkier in build. A battle axe was strapped to his back. Beside him was the first female badger Claire had actually seen. At first glance, it may have appeared it was a male cross-dressing, but at a second glance, one could make out the form of a feminine frame, slighter and face was not as rugged and broad as the males'. Her deep brown eyes shifted this way and that, as if she expected a threat to leap out at them at any moment. Claire didn't miss the bow slung over her shoulder and a quiver if incredibly long arrows.

Cordies approached the two leading male badgers with a respectful bow. "Greetings, General Brodrick. And you must be Lord Raedin. I welcome you to our home. I hope that you find your stay enjoyable."

Raedin seemed to share her opinion. He held up a thickly padded paw. "Just Raedin is fine, Doffu Cordies."

Cordies chuckled. "Well if you're going to insist that I call you Raedin, then I must insist that you call me Cordies." He held out a black paw, and it disappeared in the badger lord's incredibly large grasp. "And of course," her father went on to say, "this is my wife, our Doffa Cassidy, and this is my daughter, Dovia Clairice."

"Claire... if you please."

"It is a pleasure to welcome all of you," Cassidy stepped forward to greet the party with a small curtsy. "We do have your rooms already set up. I inspected them myself."

"I'm sure that they are just fine, ma'am." Raedin assured with a radiant smile that contrasted against the black fur of his muzzle. It was then that Claire noticed something different about the badger, the usual stripe down his muzzle was not white like the others', but his was a faded yellow, almost golden in color. Indeed, it was like a stripe of sunlight.

The badger lord caught her staring and flashed a smile. He tapped the stripe with a knowing claw. "It's the Sunstripe Clan for a reason. Everyone in my family has this."

"Oh ah, my apologies." She offered a panicked bow. "I did not mean to be rude," The poor maiden struggled to stay afloat in this sea of etiquette.

He waved away her concern with a large paw. "I know it's unusual." But then his eyes wandered to her forehead. "But it seems as though I'm not the only one with an unusual feature, am I?"

"My lord!" The gargantuan badger beside him cried in astonishment.

Claire held up a paw. "No, no. It is fine, sir. It's nothing I'm sensitive about." She rubbed the mark in question, a white spot on her forehead, laid just above her eyebrows. It had been there since her birth, even before her coat had turned orange, her parents said that she'd had a white spot upon her head.

Claire caught Cassidy's eyes, and she was smiling approvingly.