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There were few pleasures in the world as pure as sleep. After a hard day's work, Ellidas would look forward to sleep more than anything else. His neighbors would go out drinking, or whatever there was to do in this bleak village he called home. Nevertheless, as dull as Yari was, the village had damn good beds. It was not hard to understand why being woken early by something as trivial as shouting is infuriating.

Ellidas rolled to his side, pulling his white paws over his ears, eyes sealed shut. Who could be shouting so early in the morning? Do these people have no respect for those who don't rise early? Bitterness coursed through his addled mind, and the orange fox rolled onto his other side, facing away from the door. All he wanted was the noise to go away and allow him to return to sleep. That was until he realized that the shouting was screaming.

Green eyes shot open, and in an orange blur, Ellidas jumped from his bed to his window, nearly tripping on his blanket as he did so. As the fox pulled the curtains aside, his eyes became assaulted by the sight of townspeople running down the street. Furs of all shapes and sizes sprinting on the dirt, eyes wide with terror, running from some unknown assailant.

Urgently scanning for a sign of what they were running from, the answer made itself apparent as a quadrupedal blur leaped through the crowd. It landed on a smaller panther, tackling the teenage feline to the ground savagely. Ellidas thought he saw blood. Scores of people ran past, none of them stopping to help the boy in peril.

Ellidas pulled himself away from the window, not bothering to see what would become of the cat. Yanking the drapes over the window, he moved back across his room, searching for his clothes. He found his trousers quickly enough, pulling them on while looking for a shirt and boots. Grabbing his bow and throwing it up on the bed, Ellidas grabbed every blade he could and tossed it on the bed as well. Next came his quiver, sealing the patch shut to ensure no arrows would fall out.

Strapping his daggers to each hip, Ellidas donned a black cloak and pulled over the hood, wanting anything to help mask his presence. Putting a sword and bow on his back, Ellidas moved towards the corner of his room furthest from the door. Most would complain about only having one room on the first floor of the building, but there was one crucial feature: a ladder up to the roof of the three-story building. As the village's chief hunter, it was deemed Ellidas needed the quickest access to the roof to hunt pests. In light of the current situation, the hunter was far from complaining.

The rooftops were the only way out of the city; going out on ground level would doom him. As he climbed up the three-story ladder, a depressing thought came into the back of his mind. This would be the last time he would ever see his home, for better or worse.

Ellidas knew the creatures. They were called aruks. A corruption that spread from one fur to another, changing them from civilized people to mindless beasts. Entire villages and cities had been wiped out overnight, their once modest inhabitants becoming four-legged savages who only existed to spread their corruption. Ellidas had no intention of joining their pack.

Reaching the small wooden trapdoor, Ellidas slowly and quietly pushed the board out of its seal. Sliding it off to the side, the fox nimbly hopped from his passage and landed in a kneeled position on the stone shingles. At another time, he might have found humor in his appearance. A black cloak going down to his calves, armed with a bow, a sword, and daggers. The fox looked more like a character from a children's story than a real hunter. As the caricature of a fox turned his view towards the village below him, what he saw was absolute chaos.

Tens of thousands of furs were all running through the streets, confirming Ellidas' suspicion that it was village-wide. Everywhere he looked, aruks were chasing them, their four-legged movement faster than any fur could hope to be.

Ellidas had to leave the city, and he knew his plan would have to be well thought out. The more he surveyed the village around him, the worse his chances got. Multiple pillars of smoke rose from throughout the town, fires spreading as homes fell apart across the village. The general direction of the hordes, both aruk, and fur, were all going south. This meant the northern side of the city got hit first and that meant that fewer aruks would be present there.

Ellidas felt an urge to save as many as he could, to pull out his sword and bow and leap down into the fray. Kill as many aruks as he could, lose himself in the process, and save as many as possible. However, any rational mind would realize that the village was too far gone. He would have to apologize later and save himself.

Resuming his search, Ellidas had determined his general direction. North was the way to escape. Any horses would have fled by now, leaving roof travel as his only option. Once he hit ground level, he'd be most vulnerable. Fortunately for him, Yari was a well-built village, the central section carved by even spaced roads and all the buildings made of stone. The roofs were either flat cobblestone or slanted shingles, but both were accessible.

Now for his path. While the roofs were currently the smartest option, Ellidas didn't have the faintest idea what he would do once he hit the outskirts of Yari. The buildings became single story huts, giving the aruks the ability to jump up instead of chancing upon a stairwell leading to a roof -- a problem with no apparent solution.

As much as the fox would have preferred more time to think, it was apparent he would not get it. Four houses down from him, a rooftop door slammed open with a resounding thud. Slowly stepping out on two feet was a hyena with a look in his eyes that was pure madness. Even from this distance, it was apparent that his fur was ruffled, uneven, torn out in patches, and coated with a sticky substance. His clothing was long gone, exposing his bare fur to the air. His head darted around, searching the nearby area for potential prey.

The beast's eyes locked with Ellidas, the hunter still kneeled near the trapdoor. The moment the creature laid eyes upon the hunter, it fell to all fours and broke into a sprint. Bounding across cobblestone roofs to slanted shingles, it had no trouble passing over from house to house. Its speed increased, not slowed by fear or inhibition, led only by the drive to corrupt this newfound prey.

The beast became moments, mere meters, from his prey. Only one road to leap over, and it was approaching fast. As its hind paws reached the edge of the last house, powerful muscles propelled it over the open space. Ellidas could see the glint of its claws and watched its eyes grow in anticipation of a new conquest.

Until an arrow went through the beast's neck, the forged steel tip having no problem piercing the skin. Ellidas rolled upwards, against the slant of the roof, narrowly missing the limp body of the hyena that crashed by. It hit the ceiling, breaking free a few shingles before sliding off, giving a resounding crash and the sound of broken pottery as it hit the ground. The hunter in Ellidas wanted to move to ensure his target's death, but too much time was lost. Returning his bow to his body, the fox swiftly pulled the quiver shut and came to his feet. There was no more time to plan, only time for action.

Running towards the northern edge of the roof, Ellidas leaped across the street, nimbly landing on the flat cobblestones across the way. He continued the pattern of running and jumping, moving as quickly as he could to the northern edge of the town.

Below him ran scores of aruks on every street, their sticky fur gaining an unusual glow in the morning sun. Ellidas' heart screamed at him to stop and do something. Anything to help his people, no matter the price. A promise that he would never forgive himself if he left these people to be lost.

In the end, a direct fight against aruks would be a hopeless endeavor. Ellidas' smaller blades would be useless against them. The fox didn't know what the substance was that coated their fur, but he knew the effects. Once it came in contact with his skin, it would immediately begin the infection process. Close combat was not an option. Maybe his sword on his back would be able to do the trick, but it was still far too close for comfort. His gloves were thick, but not thick enough to stop a liquid. He would have to dispatch every aruk before it got close.

As Ellidas skid to a stop on one of the buildings, his green eyes fell upon Yari's outskirts. The roof in front of him took a sharp slant downwards, almost inviting him to fall. Every house after that seemed, at most, three meters tall. Not high enough to avoid the aruks. To the northeast was rocky hills and a ravine, which felt like the most obvious solution. A place that was only accessible through climbing would be his best chance of survival. To the northwest was a forest of massive trees, knowing from experience that they were at least thirty meters tall. The path from the city to the ravine was almost a hundred meters of open ground -- not an option. Ellidas would have to go for the forest, the closest of the trees being right on the village edge.

Leaping down into a rough slide, the hunter fell down the two-story drop. Once he was low enough, he pushed himself with all the strength he could muster, landing with a roll on a single-story building across the street. Though significantly smaller, these roofs were fortunately still made of stone.

Resuming his pace, Ellidas continued to trek across the city. Thankfully his prediction was accurate; the northern side was empty of aruks due to the lack of prey. Once every few streets, Ellidas would find a body, either an aruk or a village member who died before they could be infected. Ellidas wondered if he knew anyone whom he was jumping over, abandoning. Did he know the hyena he had killed without as much as a second thought?

No, save the regrets for later. Thinking right now would get Ellidas killed, he had to keep moving. He had to pause and plan more for his route, the roads growing uneven and misplaced. If he were not careful, he would end up on a dead-end and be forced to backtrack.

The screaming, though distant, was almost entirely gone now. Soon the aruks would have consumed the entire population and return to their roaming. Time was running shorter by the minute, and Ellidas felt a chill go up to his spine.

Whether it was luck, a divine act, or some other outside force, Ellidas didn't know. There was a house less than a meter away from one of the trees. He wouldn't even have to leave the rooftop to begin climbing! Relief coursed through him; he was only ten houses away. Now eight. Seven.

Ellidas, lost in his chance at freedom, did not notice the roof ahead of him was built of straw. A crack signaled the roof's collapse before the fox crashed through the roof into the house below. He raised his gloved paws to protect his head. He hit the floor with a deep and painful thud.

Miraculously he hadn't landed on his metal bow or any of his blades. However, pain still shot through his body. The limp fox rolled across the floor, spiking pain throughout his shoulders, back, and thighs. After a few tumbles, his roll came to a painful and sudden stop when he hit the interior wall of the room, eliciting a yelp of pain from the fox.

His mind told him to stay down, to let the pain die down before moving. As great as the temptation was, staying there would kill him. Bringing a paw down from his head to the floor, he slowly lifted himself on trembling arms. Ellidas brought his right foot down; his thigh immediately lit up with pain the moment weight was put on it. It did not matter; he would live with the pain or die wallowing in it.

Slowly coming to his feet, the trembling fox let out a sigh. There was a pain in his right thigh, his left shoulder, and a general ache in his back. Nothing that would stop him from moving again. Starting slowly, he walked to the door of the hut, not bothering to mask his sound. Before even checking his surroundings, Ellidas shoved the door open and stepped out into the road. It would take too much time to find a way back up to the rooftop.

Looking both ways to ensure it was clear, Ellidas broke into what felt like a brisk jog, but ended up being more of a hobble, towards the forest. He knew he had to hurry; the lack of danger is purely temporary. He was already close to the village edge; even at his slower pace, it didn't take long for him to come up to the first tree.

Ellidas paused, considering his next course of action. He was surprised he made it this far. He knew that if he did not give himself time to heal, his journey would find a quick end and he was in no shape to outmaneuver aruks anymore.

Pulling the daggers out of their sheaths on each thigh, Ellidas stuck each into the tree and began his climb. His boots scraped against the bark, looking for any foothold. Slowly making a way up, Ellidas spotted a branch that was about twenty meters off the ground, the thick wood protruding from the tree. From the looks of it, it would be able to support his weight.

Climbing up to it was no easy task, but Ellidas had no choice but to make it. Carefully adjusting his weight on the wood, the hunter let his back rest upon the trunk of the tree. His sword and bow dug into his back, preventing any chance of high-quality sleep, but it wasn't enough to prevent him from dozing off. Pulling his hood over his head, the fox let out a sigh of relief, knowing that, for now, he was safe.

Now free to let his mind wander, Ellidas pondered his next steps. He had made it out of the village, surely that meant others could have as well? Did they try to save anyone, or did they get up and leave the rest to die? Ellidas would have never considered his life righteous before today, but is this when he crossed the line? Natural darkness began to creep around his eyes, reminding him that he will have to deal with these questions after he had gotten some rest. His village was burning down, but he was safe.