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Leave Nobeast Behind

The rat snickered as he waved the humongous block of cheese in front of the other rodent's face. The smaller, weaker rat whined noisily as he reached up and tried to grab it.

"Give it!"

The bigger rat grinned. "No."

"GIMME IT! IT MINE, BWOTHA!!"

The larger rat laughed as he wiggled his rump. He couldn't stop chuckling as he sat on the younger rodent's stomach. The tiny rat could only move his limbs and head. He reached up and tried to snatch the cheese wheel away again, but the older rat quickly lifted it up beyond his reach.

"Nooooo," he said in a taunting voice.

The younger rat whimpered as his eyes started to get watery. "But it mine! Da-da gimme it! IT MINE!"

The older rat rolled his eyes. "Fine. You want cheese?"

The young rat didn't know what was happening at first. He was looking at the cheese wheel as the older rodent waved it in front of his face. Then the young rat smelled something foul, and the bigger rodent slowly planted his footpaws near the young rat's head.

"HEY! WOT--MMPH! MMPH MMF FUMK CHOOM!"

The older rat was grinning again as he looked down at the younger one's face--which was now covered by his footpaws. The old rat wiggled his toes and started to slide his rough, dirty footpaws along the rat's face.

"There ya go, brother! Got a nice, fat pair o' smelly 'cheese' right there for ya! You better start lickin' if you wanna get nice an' full!"

The older rat didn't care about his younger brother's whines. He kept wiggling his toes and sliding his funky footpaws around the rat's muzzle as he resumed biting into the hunk of cheese.

---

Tegast was sitting on the large branch, staring up at the crescent moon with his back planted against the tree. He looked out to his left and saw an endless cluster of trees all positioned right beside River Moss. The rodent blinked before he turned to his right and saw the same thing: more trees and the large river that seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. He saw some branches moving around in the canopy; Tegast blinked twice and shut his eyes. Faint snarling and slurping filled his ears, the menacing noises circling around his brain. The rat relaxed himself and put both legs on the branch. It was late. He could get a bit of sleep right now, so long as the raucous screaming would stop. The rat whimpered softly and heard incoherent mumbles just a few feet away.

"H-help...help me--"

Tegast gasped and opened his eyes after hearing a sickening crack. He started to pant as he looked around the woods again, thinking somebeast else was there. But the area was barren, except for the watervole still standing beneath the tree. Tegast closed his eyes and exhaled loudly, his eyes and body still weary from all their traveling. The young rodent heard a few creaks and leaves rustling from below and blinked. Tegast looked down at the branch a couple of feet below him and waited until the scruffy vole showed himself.

"Hey."

Tegast flared his nostrils. "Hey."

"I, uh...you couldn't sleep?"

Tegast shook his head. "Everytime I try, I just...I'm--it's better if I jus' stay awake right now."

Tegast leaned against the tree again while Grustur grunted as he climbed onto the same branch. After the beast pulled himself up, he sat down a few feet away from the rodent with his footpaws hanging in the air. He moved them back and forth a few times before feeling a gentle gust of wind blow against his fur. The vole rolled his tongue around his mouth as he looked up at the stars.

"Does it get easier?" Tegast asked.

"Hmm?"

"This. Wot we're doin'. It-it gets better, don't it?"

Grustur shrugged. "You tell me. You said yer whole tribe was nomads for many seasons before they got killed. How'd it turn out with them?"

They all got killed while I were busy catchin' some fuckin' fish, thought Tegast.

"It worked...fer a while, anyhow."

"Mm. An' how did it work?"

Tegast shrugged. "We just...walked. We kept movin' forward. That's wot Father always taught me. If you can't keep walkin' then yer useless."

"I thought you said yer tribe helped each other, always stuck together?"

"...It wasn't always like that. Fer a while we...it wasn't until our tribe shrank that we realized how much we needed each other. But before, if you couldn't carry yore own weight, we didn't bother tryin' to haul you 'round everywhere. 'Keep up or you fuck up' I think were my father's words."

"And that's why you're still here today."

Tegast leaned forward and sighed. "Y'know, it...it's not that I'm upset over wot happened back there. I mean, I am, but that's not wot's botherin' me."

"Then what is it?"

"It...I'm upset 'cos part of me keeps telling myself that we did do the right thing. How is..."

Tegast closed his eyes and shook his head. "I dunno...I'm not sure anymore."

"You still alive?"

"Yeah."

"Am I still alive?"

"Yes."

Grustur turned so he was facing Tegast. "Then we did the right thing. I used t'be just like you, Teg. Just a young thief caught up with a group of nomads--some hedgehogs an' squirrels I think. I remember one day, we came across this family of beasts that were surrounded by lizards. They wouldn't stop screamin' fer help, so we, bein' the 'noble' beasts we were, came to their rescue."

Grustur snorted. "Lost four of our members tryin' to save that family. Hmph. Fuckin' waste of time."

"Didn't you save them though?"

Grustur shook his head slowly. "We only managed to rescue the daughter. Poor beast was so wounded that she bled to death in her sleep. Her corpse attracted some crows, an' we ended up losin' two more beasts fighting them off. Six beasts dead, pup. And for what?"

Tegast glanced down. "At least you all tried..."

"You can't just 'try,' Teg. You either do it or you don't. If you know you can save somebeast, then do it. But if you have even the slightest doubt, then don't bother."

Tegast stared at Grustur. "It's that simple?"

"Yep."

Grustur slowly turned away from Tegast and sniffed. He looked up at the sky again and blinked.

"Don't worry, pup," he said softly. "As soon as we find Log-a-Log an' his shrews, we'll be fine."

"For how long?"

Grustur shrugged. "Guess that's what makes life so mysterious, huh?"

Tegast didn't answer. He leaned against the tree bark again and started to close his eyes, hoping he'd be able to sleep without having any nightmares.

---

He was fine. They were talking to each other a few minutes before it happened. And then everything went wrong. He still had many captains with him. He still had a large, fearsome army at his disposal. And yet the ferret couldn't sit down without thinking a part of him had died today. He knew everybeast else felt it too. All the other corsairs were silent for over a minute. He glanced at Stinkfoot and saw the stoat constantly blinking away tears, while Kronno was visibly shedding them and wiping her face clean. Muslar, Traegar and Dirtfoot were standing silently with their arms folded, and Glud was breathing deeply, sounding like he was about to break down. Kurwin the Flayer stared at the rat standing at the opening of the tent.

"So wot happened?"

Blowhorn sniffled and shook his head. "I-I dunno, Cap'n. He were--he was fine. We were jus' talkin' an' then...he-he just died. I dunno..."

Muslar and Dirtfoot scowled at Blowhorn. The teary-eyed rat glared at both of them and exhaled.

"Oh, you fuckin' piece of sh-shit. You seriously think I killed 'im?!"

"No. But we're curious now that you jumped ta that conclusion," said Muslar.

"An' ya were the last beast with him 'afore he collapsed..." Dirtfoot pointed out.

Blowhorn gritted his teeth. "You were there when Dead-Eye was slain. Does that mean you were the one who put an arrow in his fuckin' eye?!"

Kurwin raised a paw. "Calm down, Blowhorn. Nobeast is sayin' you slew Ishlin. We just wanna know wot happened 'afore you told me he collapsed."

Blowhorn sniffled again. "We were just talkin'! He-he told me he were feelin' nauseous. I-I started ramblin' on 'bout...y'know, usual shit. Then he threw up. Not long after, he-he said he couldn't breathe. It was like he were chokin' on sumthin'. Then he fell and...well, you know the rest."

"An' that's all you saw?"

Blowhorn nodded. "Y-yeah, Cap'n. That's all I know."

Kurwin blinked. "Okay. Yer free to go."

The rodent nodded again before he turned around and quickly exited the tent. After the rat left, Kurwin looked at all the other captains in the tent and flared his nostrils.

"Did anybeast else notice somethin' off about Ishlin today?"

"Nothin' outta the ordinary," Glud remarked quietly.

Kronno sniffed and folded her arms. "Um...he-he were in one o' his moods again. I tried talkin' t'him, but he wanted ta be alone. Not sure wot 'appened after that."

"Course yer not sure," said Muslar.

"Rather 'convenient' that yore memory gets all bungled now, ain't it?" asked Dirtfoot.

Kronno looked at the two rats as they scowled at her. She lowered her arms and sniffled. "Oh, fer fuck's sake! Ya seriously think I killed 'im now?!"

"No, but I'm a bit suspicious that you immediately--"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DIRTFOOT!" wailed Kronno.

The black fox was about to say something else, but all she could do was shed a few more tears and whimpers. She wiped some of the tears away again before Traegar butted in.

"Nobeast is sayin' anythin'. But like it or not, we have to accept the fact that there's a traitor in this crew, an' he or she murdered Ishlin."

"Ma-maybe his heart just...gave out?" suggested Glud. "Maybe--"

"I'm tellin' you, ten minutes before he died, Ishlin was perfectly fine. We were all sittin' with him; he looked no different than before," Kurwin stated.

"Does it really matter who killed 'im now?" asked Stinkfoot solemnly. "We should...we should be celebrating who...who Ishlin was. We should be rememberin' who Ishlin was an' wot he did fer us, not how he died."

Dirtfoot grinned widely before he chuckled. "Great idea, Stinkfoot! As of t'day, we're all gonna spend the next week drinkin' ourselves to death with vomit on our tunics an' piss dribblin' down our trousers!"

Everybeast turned and glared at Dirtfoot. The filthy rat responded by laughing again, his big belly shaking as he chortled. Stinkfoot stomped over to the rat and punched him in the face. Everybeast heard a voluminous "WAP" as Dirtfoot shouted. Stinkfoot punched him again, and the rat fell to the ground. The next thing Dirtfoot knew, Stinkfoot was on top of him before he had time to lift his head. His vision blurred as Stinkfoot planted a fist in his left eye socket, and then his nose. The stoat was grunting and snarling with every punch he delivered, determined to keep the rat on his back. He assaulted him over and over again while the other pirates stood by and watched. Nobeast came to Dirtfoot's rescue. They all waited until Stinkfoot finished, and by then his knuckles were red and sore. His took several deep breaths as he looked at Dirtfoot's bloodied, bruised face. The rodent groaned and coughed up small amounts of blood just as Stinkfoot got off of him. Then the stoat reached down, grabbed Dirtfoot, and grunted as he hauled him back to his footpaws. He had just enough strength left in him to throw the rat outside the tent with a hefty shove.

"Fucker," muttered Traegar.

Stinkfoot stepped inside the tent and exhaled. Kurwin stood up from his chair and leaned against his table, still looking at the rest of his captains.

"If anybeast else knows somethin' about Ishlin before he passed, now's the time to share."

Everybeast kept their mouths shut. Kurwin blinked and nodded.

"All right then. Try an' get some sleep tonight. We'll figure this all out in the morning."

The captains flicked their eyes at Kurwin and nodded, shortly before they exited the tent. When Traegar and Kurwin were alone, the ferret folded his arms and closed his eyes. He flared his nostrils a few times and snorted. Traegar looked at the captain and raised an eyebrow.

"Cap'n?"

"I'm fine. Just give me a moment..."

Kurwin reached up and pressed a paw against his forehead. He squinted and gritted his teeth, swearing quietly to himself. The ferret shook his head and lowered his paw, silently reflecting on his next move.

"We can't afford this. Not now--not when we're makin' so much progress," growled Kurwin.

"Cap'n, I'm sure it's only one or two--"

"It does not matter how many there are! We can't afford another mutiny, Traegar! My crew will get cut in half--we'll-we'll end up bein' scattered in tiny groups! I can't...we won't survive if this crew splits up. We-we have to find out who did this now. Or else everythin' we...I can't lose this crew, Trae. I can't."

Traegar was about to open his mouth when a vixen gradually materialized near the tent's entrance. The weasel looked at the gray vixen covered in necklaces and other trinkets and huffed.

"What is it, Sheeka? We're busy right now!"

"I know, but this is important."

Kurwin's ears perked. "Is it about Ishlin?"

"Of course not. I just decided to show up so you two could stare at me fer a while."

Kurwin and Traegar stared at the fox, scowling when they saw her fold her arms.

"Yes, this is about Ishlin," Sheeka said flatly.

"Then get on with it," Traegar growled.

The vixen lowered her arms. "Before Ishlin died, he came to me lookin' fer some grog or whatever. At the time, I was busy lookin' through my potions, and I noticed one of 'em was missin'. Few minutes later, Ishlin's dead. Strange, huh?"

"No. Obviously somebeast poisoned him--we figured that out already," said Kurwin.

"But I've been thinkin' about it...poisoning Ishlin don't make any sense. Why not me too? Somebeast woulda been better off silencing me along with Ishlin; we were the only two who knew about my missin' potion."

Traegar shrugged. "Whoever did this is tryin' to take out Kurwin's captains one-by-one. Ishlin was the first."

"Sure, that's one theory."

Kurwin scratched his chin. "And the other?"

Sheeka swallowed. "Captain...what bottle did Ishlin drink from?"

"His own. We all had some wine we snagged off them riverdogs."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"He downed half the damn bottle; I saw him clear as day."

"Okay...so did you drink from your bottle?"

"Yeah! I..." Kurwin paused. He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Wait, no--hold on. Um, somebeast bumped into me an' then I dropped it."

"But did you drink from it?"

"No. I didn't like the smell anyway; Ishlin said it was really sweet. I just stuck with rum."

"So what happened to the bottle after you dropped it on the ground?"

"Some of it spilled out. Ishlin picked..."

Kurwin stopped. Traegar and Kurwin both looked at each other with wide eyes. Then Kurwin looked at Sheeka, who was staring at him with the same shocked expression on her face.

"Shit."

---

The sun was beating down on them. All they could see was the seemingly endless rocky terrain and the massive mountains that made them all feel like ants. The tribe dragged their weary paws through the dirt. Each step felt like dozens of tiny spines scraping against the footpaws, causing some of them to bleed. Some beasts were no more than six seasons old, while others had aged so much that a small gust of wind could take them down. But on the group marched, determined to get out of the Northlands as soon as possible. Tegast and Danik were walking towards the rear of the tribe when they heard it. A thin body toppled onto the ground with a hefty thud. The older rodent's ears twitched when he heard raspy wheezing and knew it was too late now.

"Bwotha! Bwotha, th-the biggie-ear beast fell!"

Tegast blinked and kept walking. Danik lowered his ears and scampered over to Tegast so he could tug on his tunic.

"Bwotha!"

"I heard you, Danik," Tegast barked.

"But-but ain't we gon' help?"

Tegast stopped walking and shut his eyes. He grumbled quietly before he turned on his heels and stomped over to the wheezing hare. The rat crouched down and stared at the malnourished beast whose bones were partially visible through his skin. His footpaws were bleeding and his paws looked rugged and swollen. The rodent shook his head and reached forward so he could grab the hare's backpack. He ignored the hare's pained grunts and slid the pack off the leporid's feeble arms. Then Tegast picked up the backpack and turned back around so he could rejoin the tribe.

"B-bwotha! You--wot 'bout biggie-ear beast?!"

"Wot about him?"

"You leff 'im on t'ground! I thought we--"

"Danik, jus' shut up! Go head o'er to Mum an' Dad."

Danik lowered his ears. "But--"

"Now, Danik. We have to keep movin'."

Tegast scowled at the younger rat. He knew Danik would listen to him unless he was eager to be on the receiving end of his footpaws again. The older brother watched as Danik dragged his footpaws across the rough terrain so he could regroup with their tribe. As Tegast slung the backpack around his back, he heard the same raspy breathing from behind again.

"W...wait..."

Tegast froze. He thought about turning around, but he knew if he saw the pitiful hare's face, he'd change his mind. And he knew his tribe refused to care for stragglers. He had to keep moving, stay with the stronger beasts who could still walk.

"Wait..."

Tegast frowned. He slowly turned his head just far enough to catch a glimpse of the hare through the corner of his left eye. Part of him wanted to turn around. Part of him knew he had to try and help out. But another fraction of the rat knew that it was a waste of time and energy--something everybeast needed to conserve. The rat blinked and turned away. And then he walked forward, leaving the hare to his grisly fate.

---

Tegast and Grustur were walking meticulously, moving about as slowly as possible. The dreaded smell filled their nostrils again; Tegast knew something was off. He couldn't see or hear the lizards, but they had to be nearby. Either that or they recently came across the river. But the two wanderers knew they needed to move fast. As they moved past the dark trees and the foreboding sections of the woods, Tegast began to slow down. His ears twitched as he heard faint clunking in the distance. The rat took a few short breaths and hid behind a tree while Grustur continued on. Tegast peeked around the corner of the tree and let his heart rate slow down. He took a long breath and told himself to relax. Then he turned and spotted the two logboats resting beside each other in the water.

"Hey, Teg! You seein' this?"

Tegast stepped out of cover and rushed towards the bank beside Grustur. Both of them stood beside the logboats and examined them carefully.

"Aren't these wot the Guosim ride on?"

"Yeah, but there's no Guosim."

Tegast looked up at the river again and blinked. He swallowed hard when he saw an ominous figure floating face-down in the water.

"Uh...I think I found one of 'em."

Grustur looked at the river too and swore. One of the Guosim shrews was lying in the water with three arrows in her back. The two beasts took out their daggers and started to pant.

"We have to move now," Teg panted.

"Tegast--"

"They could be in trouble! Fer all we know it's too late!"

"If it's too late, we may as well turn back around. No point in gettin' into a fight this late at night."

"We can't keep runnin' an' hidin' at this rate, Grus! Sooner--"

The two beasts went quiet once they heard the eerie hissing in the distance. They slowly backed away from the river and heard incoherent chants from all directions. Tegast looked up in the canopy whilst Grustur stared at the ground. The foul odor clouded their nostrils again, this time making both beasts scowl. Tegast shivered for a moment while Grustur jerked his head left and right.

"You see 'em?"

"No," whispered Tegast.

The beasts gasped when they heard footsteps and twigs snapping in the distance.

"C-could be the Guosim. Maybe--"

"Not a chance in Hellgates."

Tegast huffed twice. "D'you see 'em now?"

"No. You?"

"No...sounds like they're all around us."

A series of fierce snarls began to accompany the ghostly hisses. Tegast turned and looked beyond the river as the snarls grew louder. And then his eyes dilated when he saw something glowing in the distance.

"Hide!"

Tegast and Grustur rushed over to a tree large enough for both of them to hide behind. The latter started to pant heavily while the former continued to observe the area.

"Did you spot 'em?!"

"I-I think I saw a pair of eyes. They're across the river."

"Eyes don't glow in the fuckin' dark!"

"I'm tellin' you I saw somethin'!"

"You expect me to believe--"

"Go check fer yoreself if you don't believe me."

Grustur snorted and slowly peeked around the corner of the bark. His eyes grew wide when he saw three sets of glowing yellow eyes in the distance. Grustur jerked his head back around and huffed.

"Okay, yer right. They're across the river."

"I think they're on this side too; they must be roamin'."

"Got any ideas?"

Tegast shrugged. "Hide? Th-that's wot my tribe did when we came across an adder. Eventually it slithered past us."

"This isn't one adder, pup. I think we just walked inside an entire fuckin' quarry of adders."

Tegast and Grustur continued to grasp their weapons as the noises in the woods became louder with each passing second. The rat crouched down, trying to conceal himself if any of the monitors came nearby. Grustur sniffed the air several times before glancing down at the rodent and swearing.

"You gotta shit?"

Tegast scrunched up his face and looked at the vole. "Wot?"

"Shit? Void yer bowels? Have a bowel movement? Take a giant poo on the ground?"

"No, Grus, I do not need to take a poo on the ground," said Tegast flatly.

"Damn it. What about piss?"

"I went before sundown; I don't gotta go now. Why?"

"We gotta mask our scent now. If they're this close, it won't matter where we run or hide. They'll find us anyway."

"So, wot? We go around lookin' fer a pile of lizard shit to rub on our bodies?"

Grustur paused. "That's actually a brilliant idea."

Tegast smacked his paw against his forehead. "Okay, I understand how that'll work. But wot about the Guosim? Shouldn't we at least see if they're still okay?"

Grustur huffed. "I guess we may as well. It's too late to run now; we gotta move forward, hope that these lizards ain't slaughtered all of 'em already."

"Okay. I say we split up. You stay by the river; I'll hide in the bushes an' 'round the trees."

"Gotcha. We go--"

Grustur and Tegast froze when they heard another nasty snarl only a few yards away.

"Move!"

Tegast and Grustur split up. The young rat threw himself on the ground and calmed himself down. He stopped breathing heavily and lied flat. His ears twitched as he listened to footsteps in the distance. He glanced up for a brief second and spotted a dark figure in the distance. He could hear more leaves crunching beneath the footpaws; the hissing grew more menacing as he waited. Tegast took a chance and crawled forward, sliding his body along the soil, hoping the darkness and grass concealed him. Somebeast started running. Tegast gasped and hurriedly crawled into a bush, swearing softly as the prickly leaves brushed against his body. He squatted down and gripped the dagger tightly, flaring his nostrils to see if any of the lizards were closer. Somebeast slurped and chuckled softly before she exhaled.

"Rat...ztinky rat..."

Tegast bit his lower lip. He poked his head out of the bush slowly and turned right. At least five lizards were crowding around the river, the beasts salivating and sniffing the air.

"Where iz it? Where'z the ztinky rat?"

Tegast flicked his eyes at one of the trees near the riverbank. He saw Grustur poking his head out of the tree hollow and waving him to come over. The rat flicked his eyes back and forth. And then he emerged from the bush and rushed over while crouching down. He threw himself inside the hollow and pressed his back against the coarse bark. Grustur kept glancing outside the hollow, looking down at the set of footpaws that moved past them.

"I know I zmell it...zome vole too!"

"Keep lookin'. We'll find 'em eventually!"

Tegast pressed his head against the wood and shut his eyes. Grustur exhaled and shook his head.

"We gotta mask our scent with somethin'. Now," Grustur whispered.

Tegast thought for a moment before he heard another set of footpaws. He glanced outside the hollow and saw the group of lizards to the right, but there were only four of them now. The rodent cautiously crept outside and stared at the river. One of the lizards split away from the group and was bowing down as he lapped the cool fluids. The rat figured one less lizard would be better for them, so he quickly rushed forward with the lizard's back to him. By the time he noticed the strong scent, the lizard was gurgling and gasping as Tegast planted his dagger into the back of his neck. The lizard's legs shook, and he fell with a soft thud. The panting rat ran back to the hollow and gestured for Grustur to come out. They hurried over to the lizard's corpse and crouched down.

"So what now?" Grustur asked.

Tegast grunted as he grabbed the small reptile's cadaver and flipped it over onto its back. He looked at the reptile's abdomen for a few moments before he raised his dagger and stuck the blade inside the stomach. He lifted his dagger again and stabbed the beast a second time, spilling blood in the process.

"Help me cut 'im open. We can smear all his blood 'n' guts on ourselves, hide our scent that way."

"Got it."

Grustur raised his dagger and joined Tegast as he proceeded to cut the lizard open. The beasts sloppily stabbed the corpse over and over again, cutting as much of the scales as possible and leaving a gaping wound big enough to stick their paws into. Grustur grimaced as he started to cover his paws with blood and fat, the fluids spilling out onto the ground. Tegast almost retched as the foul odor of feces and the bitter scent of the lizard's bile and fat clouded his lungs. He coughed a few times and stuck his paws inside as well, extracting a goopy substance he was hoping was only blood. The rat started to smear the gunk around his body and clothes; he and Grustur kept digging inside the massive incision and pulling out the thick, pungent fluids. Tegast was starting to rub it around his face when he heard a nasty snarl.

"Okay, okay. That's good; we gotta move!"

Grustur and Tegast stood up and sprinted for the trees again. The latter hid by the trees this time, taking a few quiet breaths before he exhaled and glanced at the river. He could hear more voices in the background; the lizards had found the dead body. But judging by the crunching and smacking noises that followed, they didn't seem torn up over their loss. Tegast looked left and saw Grustur jerking his head to the left. He pointed at himself, then at the shrubs in the distance. Tegast shook his head and pointed at Grustur, then at the stumps near a circle of shrubs. He gestured for him to move towards them, only for the vole to shake his head. He was about to perform another paw gesture when the duo heard more snarling. Grustur shut his eyes and swore in his mind, and then crept towards the stumps. Tegast headed for the shrubs and lied flat on his stomach again. More reptiles were coming his way, with no chance of avoiding or maneuvering around them. The rat blinked as he crawled on his belly and listened to the footpaws progressively growing louder. Then the rat saw the claws, and he froze.

He couldn't tell what the beast was. All he could see were the two footpaws to his left. He lied his head down and stared at them, watching as the creature gradually walked right past him. He shut his eyes and waited until the noise died down and the beast went away. But when he opened his eyes again, he saw more legs heading towards him. Tegast placed his paws flat on the ground and shifted over to his left inch by inch. He moved his left arm and leg first, praying that he didn't crush leaves or fragile twigs. Tegast bit his lower lip when he felt a small fragment of wood beneath his left leg. He swore when it snapped, and one of the lizards snarled.

"Where...I know I zmelled them!"

"Relaxxxx...I will find him. Nobeasssst can hide from ussss viperssss..."

Fuck, thought Tegast. Fuck. The rat stayed still and listened to the reptiles as they slowly walked forward. He looked to his right and saw a pair of legs curling. The rat decided to crawl forward as the other lizards walked a few feet away from his position. He paused when the lizards stopped--and was very glad he did, because he spotted a pair of scales gradually sliding to the left through the grass. The snake didn't appear to have a thick body, but Tegast was taken aback by how long the scaly beast was. He didn't blink until the snake slithered away and the area in front of him was clear. The rat crawled a few feet forward and stumbled upon a series of large, hollow logs spread out beside some of the trees. Tegast advanced towards one of the logs and crawled inside. He lied flat on his stomach again and froze once he was halfway inside. More strange voices filled his ears again.

"...be more careful. Can't put yer body in harm'z way."

"I'm fine, Father. Juzt az long az I don't put too much strain down there."

Tegast heard faint laughter near the log, followed by the wood creaking. The rat assumed whoever was outside was leaning or sitting down on the hunk of wood.

"D'you know who the father iz?"

"No...lozt track of wot happened durin' that romp."

The older male lizard growled. "Karzi. Did you let one of them monitorz--"

The younger female reptile chuckled. "No, Father. Y'know I can't ztand them beaztz. 'Zidez, d'you know awkward that'd be?"

The male lizard snorted. "Not at all. I'm sure we'd all love t'have an iguana fer a mother an' a filthy, revolting monitor lizard fer a father."

Karsi chuckled again. "No, Father. No."

The male iguana suddenly changed the subject. "None of 'em forced themzelvez into you, did they?"

Tegast and Karsi went silent. The only noises anybeast heard were the water sloshing in the river and the crickets chirping frequently around the woods. Tegast lowered his ears.

"Karzi?"

"No, but...zometimez they ztare. They'll creep up behind me an' hizz; zometimez they 'joke' about how wet I am, about how zweet I muzt be."

"Iz that wot happened lazt week with that monitor you ztabbed in the cloaca?"

"He ztarted to touch me, Father. In my zleep. I kicked him off and grabbed a dagger. You know the rezt."

Karsi's father snarled. "Fuckin' monitors."

"Don't worry 'bout them. I can defend m'zelf."

"Juzt ztay far away from them monitorz until we get to our deztination. Then we'll be zafe; that'z wot Krazzak promized uz."

"An' wot deztination iz that? 'Coz all we've been doin' theze lazt few weekz iz zlaughterin' beaztz fer no fuckin' reazon."

Karsi's father paused. "We'll figure it out. Zooner or later...juzt ztick with me, Karzi. We'll get through thiz az long az we obey them."

Tegast lied very still for a moment. Part of him was tempted to come out and ask the lizards if they wanted to join him and Grustur. But he only knew these beasts for a few minutes; a simple conversation wasn't going to make him trust them, or vice versa. Nevertheless, he knew how it felt to be trapped in a situation where he had to choose between a bad idea and a worse idea. Tegast blinked a few times and heard the log crackling again. It shifted slightly; the rat assumed the iguanas just got off.

"Go check the river 'afore Luggrar comez by. Lazt thing we need iz him gettin' angry at uz."

"Okay."

Tegast waited again as he heard two sets of footsteps in the distance. The rat shut his eyes and exhaled with relief. He let his body calm down as he took a few deep breaths. Then the rat opened his eyes and gasped when he saw the snake up ahead. It saw him too. Tegast started to crawl backwards, but by then the snake was slithering her way into the log. She moved all the way towards Tegast's head, her tongue flicking out periodically. But she didn't attack. She was baiting him, allowing him to have the first strike. All Tegast had to do was lift his paw up, grab her, and snap her neck. All she had to do was jerk her head forward and latch onto his eye socket with her fangs. The snake hissed twice and slowly opened her mouth. Tegast slowly tilted his head to the left. The snake struck, but she was a second too late. Tegast jerked his head to the right and picked up the dagger he had concealed beneath his body. The snake brought her head back, giving Tegast enough time to plant the blade into her jaw. The reptile let out a cut-off gurgle as the dagger punctured her mandible and made its way into her brain. The snake's body writhed around for a moment before it lay still.

Tegast exhaled and removed his dagger. Then he speedily crawled out of the log. He stood up and wiped some of the filth off his clothes. And then his eyes grew wide when he heard a bowstring stretching. The rodent, instinctively, spun around and threw his dagger to the left. He heard a soft thud, followed by somebeast swearing and snarling. Tegast immediately stood up and ran towards the lizard. The reptile shook his head after being hit with the dagger's hilt and pulled out his cutlass. Tegast rolled on the ground and swiped his dagger from the dirt. The lizard swung low--but not fast enough to hit the rolling rat. The rodent stabbed the lizard in the right kneecap, causing the reptile to howl. Then he stuck his dagger into the creature's throat and silenced him for good. Tegast removed the blade and started to run in the other direction. He knew somebeast heard that howl--he and Grustur needed to get away as fast as possible. The crouched vole hiding by the shrubs spotted Tegast and scowled.

"Hey, where ya--HEY!!"

Grustur stood up and began to run after Tegast, still trying to figure out why their stealthy approach had changed.

"I'm pretty sure they heard that! We gotta gain some distance before we hide again!" said Tegast.

"Even if they did--"

Tegast yelped when an arrow landed just a few inches in front of his footpaws. The two wanderers heard faint snarling and tree branches rustling up above. Grustur and Tegast jumped behind another fallen log and crouched down. Grustur swore when he heard a wooden thunk and knew an arrow just struck the log.

"They're in the trees!" said Tegast.

Grustur panted as he looked in the canopy. "Where?"

"I dunno, but..."

Tegast listened very carefully when he heard a few more branches cracking. One of the lizards hissed vociferously and began to snicker. The rat slowly shifted to the left, and then gasped when he heard another lizard stretching a bowstring.

"GO!"

The duo broke out into a sprint again, panting as they ran forward. They could hear somebeast--possibly more than one--snarling and hopping around in the trees. One arrow landed in the dirt a few feet behind them. Another one nearly hit Grustur in the back of his right leg, causing him to yelp. Grustur tripped and fell inside a ditch while Tegast slid to his right and pressed his back against a tree. His heart started racing as he listened to the lizards in the trees emitting disgusting, slobbery noises or whispering chilling words throughout the canopy. The rat heard another thunk, followed by Grustur panting as he ran towards him.

"C'mon, this way! We might lose 'em if we get away from the river!"

Tegast nodded and watched as Grustur started to run to his left.

"HELP! SOMEBEAST--"

The words were suddenly muffled. Tegast looked forward and blinked. He wasn't sure how far away the beast was, but he had to have been close if he could hear him shouting. The rat wasn't sure, but it sounded like some kind of scuffle was going on in the distance--probably more lizards tormenting the Guosim. The rat kept staring forward before he glanced to his left and looked at Grustur.

"No, Teg. Forget about it! If the Guosim's already fucked, we need ta get away from here an' change our plan!"

The reticent rat couldn't decide. He looked forward, left, then forward again. The same beast cried out, only for his voice to abruptly go out. Tegast took a step forward and exhaled.

"Teg, ya ever hear 'bout them stories where the hero rescues somebeast in distress an' then the beast dies later on anyway?"

"Yeah." Tegast looked at Grustur and grinned. "Not a big fan of those."

Tegast ran forward, and Grustur began to stammer.

"Te--Tegast! TEGAST!"

Tegast ignored him and kept sprinting.

"Tega--oh, shit," groaned Grustur as he rolled his eyes.

Grustur snarled as he chased after the young rat.

---

It was another blazing hot day in the Northlands. Everybeast in the tribe was exhausted and moving sluggishly. Some beasts were panting and smacking their cracked lips, their mouths completely dry. Others had bloody footpaws with blisters that popped whenever they stepped on hard rocks or gravel. Their supplies were running low, and some of them were beginning to wonder if they'd ever reach the alleged oasis located near the mountains. But Tegast wasn't worried. He and his family had been through worse; they'd make it. They always made it. He just wished he had more bandages for his footpaws. The rat rubbed his sweaty forehead and stepped forward. Then he shouted and swore after feeling a sharp pain on his right footpaw. Tegast inhaled sharply and lifted his footpaw so he could look at the toes and paw pad. He grimaced. Another blister had popped and was releasing clear fluids along his already coarse footpaw. His entire footpaw was red, with two bloated blisters around the pads. His heel was cracked and on the verge of bleeding, various scratches were scattered around the footpaw, and there was a blood blister on his big toe. The last thing he needed was for that to pop; there was no way he could go on if his footpaw got infected.

Tegast huffed and put his footpaw down. And then he heard a soft thump and looked to his left. The rat rolled his eyes again and exhaled as he walked towards his brother.

"C'mon, Danik. Get up."

Danik wheezed, his jaw hanging low. "Wa...water..."

"We don't have no water now. Jus' get a stone or somethin' an' suck on it. It'll keep the saliva flowing. Now get up. We'll find water soon."

"No...no, we won't..."

Tegast looked at the tribe. They were still walking. The rat lowered his ears and crouched down.

"Hey, c'mon bro. We've been through worse than this! Don't you wanna grow big an' strong like yer big bwotha?"

"I'm tired," Danik whined. "I-I can't...I can't--"

"Yes, you can. You have to. Yer gonna die if you give up; is that wot you want? You want crows t'come along, pick yer flesh apart while yer still awake?"

"...Leave me."

Tegast blinked. "Wot?"

"...Leave. Dat wot...ya lef' biggie-ear beast...leave me too. I'm...I jus' slow you down, bwotha."

Tegast ignored him. He grabbed Danik's right arm and jerked it forward, hoping his brother would wise up and stand. He didn't. Danik wrenched his arm free and whimpered as he lied flat on the ground.

"Get up!" Tegast barked.

"Dun' wanna..."

"You--" Tegast huffed and looked at his tribe. They were yards away now; the only reason why they were still in his line of sight was because they were all as weary as he was. Tegast looked down at his fragile brother, listening to him wheeze and whimper. The rat shook his head. If he didn't want to move, then fine. Tegast knew he'd end up hating himself for this, but he had to do it. The older rat turned around and crouched down in front of Danik's face. The young rat slowly lifted his head and looked at Tegast's back.

"Grab my shoulders."

"W-wot?"

"Just do it, all right?"

Danik was still tired and almost out of energy, but he mustered enough power to reach up and grab the rat's shoulders. Tegast grunted as he gradually stood back up, hauling his shorter brother right off the ground. Danik's footpaws dangled in the air as he clung onto his brother like a common backpack. Tegast gritted his teeth and started to walk forward slowly.

"Hold on tight, Danik," Tegast said in a strained voice. "I'm not wastin' my time goin' back an' forth to pick ya up everytime you fall."

Danik wrapped his arms around the rat's chest, making sure his grip was tighter. Then he blinked twice and rested his head against the back of Tegast's neck.

"Okay, bwotha."

Tegast shut his eyes and exhaled as he continued to hold his brother. He knew his footpaws would only worsen because of this; he knew he'd exert more energy carrying his chubby brother in the sun.

And he knew he'd be fine with that.

---

Tegast kept sprinting forward, hoping he'd reach the beast in time. He shoved various branches and leaves out the way, grunting or swearing when he stomped on roots or jagged rocks. The muffled screams were suddenly replaced with a strange squishing noise. Tegast began to slow down. He had to be close now--the beast couldn't be more than a yard or two away. Something snapped. Tegast's line of sight was blinded by all the twigs and low-hanging branches with leaves spread all around. The rat heard another squish, followed by somebeast breathing heavily. Tegast shoved the leaves and branches aside and stepped out into the open. He saw the beast's furry back and blinked. Then he caught sight of the mutilated corpse lying on the ground and stared at the defiled cadaver with wide eyes.

"Damn it, Teg! I told you..."

Grustur shoved the branches out the way and stomped towards the rat. He stopped when he spotted the corpse as well and stammered. Tegast and Grustur looked at the corpse before glancing up at the beast standing beside his kill. He turned around slowly and stared at the duo with a dark, morose face.

"Wot the fuck?!" shouted Teg.