FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

XXXVII

Slow Down

He finally had a chance to sleep. His mind was absent of nightmares and hallucinations of his little brother. There weren't any frightening images of those satanic lizards sodomizing or devouring innocent beasts either. For the first time in the past few weeks, Tegast managed to have a good night rest. That made it all the more irritating when the rat finally woke up, because he couldn't savor the moment, and he had no idea what he dreamt about. All the rat could recall was the group crawling out of that tunnel, and him lying against a giant tree. And now here he was, lying on the ground with one eye open as he felt the sun's rays beaming down through the canopy. Tegast looked around slowly, his vision still blurred and his eyes crusty with sleep. Tegast mumbled as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers and started to sit up. The dirt and leaves rustled as he moved his legs and sat up against the tree. Then the rodent opened his mouth and yawned, stretching out his arms as well. He exhaled and threw his arms down before he smacked his lips twice.

The rat looked around the forest with his eyes half-opened and sniffed. He heard a gruff snorting sound and turned to his right, where he saw Grustur and Darktail sleeping close to each other. The watervole was lying on his back and snorting with his mouth open while Darktail was curled up with his fluffy tail covering part of his face. The rodent stared at the two beasts for a moment and looked around, curious to see where the last beast was. Tegast scratched his head and stood up as he heard a bird chirping and flapping its wings. He spat on the ground and looked at the soil, blinking as he examined a set of paw-prints. The beast reached for his dagger as he followed them, flaring his nostrils when he picked up a shrew's scent. He knew it was probably nothing, but after everything Tegast had went through, he wasn't taking any chances. The rat walked several yards away from Darktail and Grustur, and then stumbled upon an opening in the forest that had several apple and plum trees. Tegast sniffed the air as the fragrant trees overwhelmed his nostrils and nearly made his mouth water. The rat raised an eyebrow when he heard a few crunches and started to look around the trees.

"Catch."

Tegast looked up and yelped. He raised his paws and grabbed a yellow apple just as it was about to bounce off his forehead. The rat looked at the fruit for a moment before he looked back up and saw Benrath sitting on a tree branch with his footpaws hanging down. He hungrily munched on one of the apples before he swallowed hard and climbed down the tree. The chubby shrew grunted as he landed on the ground and walked over to Tegast.

"Sorry. Didn't hit you, did I?"

"No, it's all right; I caught it."

Tegast looked down at his apple and took a huge bite out of it. He crunched on the savory fruit with some juice running down his chin before he started talking with his mouth full.

"Least we can stock up on food here."

"Already did. Found sum' berry bushes 'round 'ere too, plenty o' pecans as well. I already filled one o' the sacks you an' that vole were carryin'. Should be enough."

Benrath pointed at the backpack resting beside one of the plum trees that was almost overflowing with yellow apples and red plums. The rat smiled and wagged his tail before he bit into his apple again.

"That's great! We jus' woke up an' we already got a fresh supple of vittles! Thanks, Ben!"

The shrew shrugged. "Figured I may as well do sumthin' while I'm up."

"Heh. And here I thought I woke up early. When d'you get up?"

Benrath shrugged again. "Never said I slept."

Tegast swallowed hard and stared at Benrath. He noticed the shrew's eyes were nearly bloodshot, and that the shrew was slouching slightly and breathing heavily.

"Oh...right."

Benrath turned around and walked on the soft earth so he could pick up one of the red plums he left on the ground. He wiped some of the dirt off the stone fruit and bit into it before he spoke again.

"Couldn't sleep well. An' me arse were actin' up again. Figured I may as well stay up 'til me system cleared. Found all these trees when I was wanderin' 'round; ate a li'l bit, then gathered up some vittles fer you and the others."

"You always havin' sleepin' issues?"

Benrath rubbed his head. "Somewhat. Jus'...y'know. Haven't been a fan of it."

Tegast raised an eyebrow. "Yer not a 'fan' of sleeping. Wot exactly does that mean?"

"I already told ye about wot..." Benrath swallowed and changed his story. "It's insomnia. Had it fer a while now, that's all. An' with all this other shite goin' on, I'm prolly better off stayin' up all the time."

Tegast snorted. "I know the feelin'. Up until I met Grus, I always thought I'd wake up with some barbarians carryin' me off somewhere. Half the time I tried goin' to sleep, I heard some snake or other reptile followin' me." The rat paused so he could bite into the apple again. "That's how it's always been, it's just harder now with a group this small, let alone with beasts I don't fully trust yet."

Ben sighed once he looked around and noticed the fox and watervole were still nowhere to be found. "We should prolly go ahead an' tell 'em wot we found. Gotta git movin' soon."

Tegast nodded as he chewed on more of the apple and followed the shrew over to where the other two beasts were sleeping. Tegast bent down and shook Grustur a few times while Benrath walked over and kicked Darktail in his sides twice. The watervole grunted and slowly opened his eyes while Darktail mumbled and stayed still.

"Get up. It's mornin' now; we gotta move," Tegast said.

Darktail mumbled in his sleep again and tossed over so he was lying on his back. Tegast and Benrath stared at the sleeping fox while Grustur started to stand up. Tegast walked beside Darktail and looked down at him. Then the rat tossed his half-eaten apple at the fox's scalp. It bounced off his head with a noisy thunk; Darktail's eyes shot open, and the fox shouted as he grabbed his head.

"What--WHAT?! The fuck you twats want?!"

"I told you, it's mornin' now! Get yore arse up; it's time to relocate."

Darktail exhaled as he sat up slowly and rubbed his head. "Fat chance, pup. Case you ain't noticed, we ain't got much vittles with us! Most of our shit was left back in Log-a-Fuck's camp! But feel free t'go back there and procure it. We'll wait here."

"No need to," Ben chimed in as he bit his plum. "I already found some apple an' plum trees due south. Lotta pecans an' berries o'er that way too."

The fox got to his footpaws and wiped some dirt off his trousers. "Good. An' here I thought only your fat arse was useful for something. Lead the way!"

Benrath scowled at the fox after Darktail made the comment about his rump, but he ignored him and led the group towards the series of trees. Everybeast remained quiet and kept a lookout, occasionally looking up into the trees and in the distance to see if they could find any lurking scouts. When the shrew finally stopped and pointed to the loaded sacks, Darktail wagged his tail and rushed over to the one filled with apples and plums. The reddish-brown fox looked inside the sack and fished out an apple before he closed the bag and lifted it up.

"Not too shabby there! This should prob'ly last us a week if we're lucky--or two days if Pup and Fat Arse over here keeps eatin' it all."

"Yore more than welcome to run off an' ask those monitors for more vittles if ya want," Tegast said coolly.

Darktail stared at the rat and eventually set the bag on the ground. "Yes, that's such a brilliant idea. So is cuttin' off my own cock."

Grustur faced the adolescent rat and folded his arms. "So what's the plan now? We fend off the lizards with fresh fruit?"

"Obviously not. We keep moving, try t'find some place where we can make a stand for a while."

"For how long? We can't fend off those reptiles forever."

"Not by ourselves, no. But we're bound to find more stragglers along the way who can help us."

Darktail huffed. "Excellent. More company!"

"Wot the hell else d'you propose we do?"

Darktail grinned. "Wouldn't mind getting some cunt right now."

Grustur lowered his arms. "I'm not a fan of findin' more stray beasts to come tag along with us. But now that the Guosim's after us, we're gonna need to find a place to lay low fer a while. An' I suppose it won't hurt if we have somebeast who's trained in fighting to assist us."

The fox nodded. "Gotcha. So we find a colony filled with beasts. We steal their food, rape 'em, convince 'em to fight for us, then kill 'em. Perfect!"

The other three beasts stared at the fox's cocky smirk with deadpan glares as a bird started to chirp above them. Tegast shook his head and walked past the vulpine, shoving him out the way as he picked up the other sack filled with nuts and berries.

"We should split up an' search for anythin' useful; we'll cover more ground that way."

"NO! Why does everybeast suggest that shit?! We have dozens of shrews an' lizards chasing us and now you want to split up?!"

"Yes. Because it's early in the morning, an' I'm not in the mood for yore snarky bullshit right now. I'll head out with Ben; you two can go out and try to find more weapons we can use."

Darktail flicked his eyes at the watervole and flared his nostrils. "So you're fine takin' orders from a pup who's shorter than you?"

"Well, that pup did say that you were gonna stay with us, like it or not, 'cos you know you're a dead beast on yer own. So I guess yer fine takin' orders from him too."

Grustur smirked at the fox while Darktail scowled and folded his arms. Tegast gestured to his right and looked at Ben.

Let's go, Ben. We'll regroup here later."

"Provided this place isn't overrun by lizards when we get back!"

Tegast and Benrath ignored the jabbering fox and walked away.

---

The shrew and rat walked alongside each other through the woods in silence. Tegast enjoyed the tranquil moment as he moved slowly along the dirt, feeling the warm soil and wet grass beneath his footpaws. He listened to his footsteps as he looked around the forest, taking note of the deciduous trees filled with bright and dark green leaves. The rat could see some buttercups blooming in certain spots along the ground, as well as some purple primrose flowers growing within the bushes. The rat smiled as he flared his nostrils, picking up the scent of the fresh wood and flowers; he could even smell the sweet berries that were growing some yards away. Tegast looked behind his shoulder, still smiling. No reptilian tracks, no foul stench of the monitors, no signs of rotting corpses or villages or farms that had been burned down or ransacked. It was just him, Ben, and the harmless insects and birds in the background. Tegast took a deep breath before he turned and faced the shrew.

"Real nice day today!" he said.

Benrath kept looking forward. He flicked his eyes at the rodent before he looked away and blinked. "S'pose so."

"I'm serious. Feelin' real good this mornin', not sure why! Guess I'm in a better mood now that we've made some distance between them nasty lizards! For now, anyways."

"Eventually we'll have to face them again," Ben bluntly stated.

"Well, yeah, but let's just enjoy the moment, y'know? We've been through enough shit as it is. We could use a break."

Benrath shrugged. The two beasts got quiet again and kept walking. Tegast slowed down for a moment so he could take off the backpack and fish out a few pecans. The rat stuffed the nuts into his mouth before offering the shrew some. Ben shook his head, and Tegast proceeded to scarf down some more vittles before shutting the pack and strapping it to his back again. From that moment on, the rat kept flicking his eyes at Ben, expecting the beast to slow down or say something. But the most Teg got out of the shrew was a few coughs and a sneeze. The rat began to slow down as he started a conversation of his own.

"Err, I guess you don't talk much."

Ben shrugged. "Not really."

"Guess it must be hard, havin' to abandon yore own tribe like that."

"Not really."

Tegast blinked. "So, um, wot was up with you and that other shrew? Wot kinda grudge could somebeast hold that would--"

"C'n we talk about sumthin' else, please?"

The rat scratched his head. "Right, right. I'm sorry. Um...so wot d'you do for fun growin' up? I mean, I know it wasn't...pleasant all the time, but you had some kinda hobby or somethin', right? D'you fish or get into crafts?"

Benrath huffed. "Exploring, awright? Camping--that kind of stuff. I liked getting away from the Guosim--I liked spendin' time alone. When yer by yerself, it feels different. There's nobeast watchin' you, nobeast bossin' you around, nobeast teasin' you or callin' you names. It's just you an' the wilderness."

Benrath stopped walking and leaned against one of the deciduous trees. He basked in the shade for a moment as he flared his nostrils and smiled.

"I remember this one time, met this really ol' fox--he couldn't stop talkin' to save his life. He went on and on about how he was a master thief back in his youth. On an' on he went, yakkin' 'bout this an' that, 'bout stealin' some rubies, some fancy swords--he even stole somebeast's kilt once!"

Tegast stood alongside the shrew and smirked. "Wot the hell for?"

Ben shrugged. "Dunno. He told me that's just how he were! Ol' fart woulda stole a pair o' busted sandals if he saw 'em lyin' out in the open."

The rat started wagging his tail. "So you like meeting new beasts, instead of livin' with the same ones day in and day out."

Benrath blinked and sat down with his back against the tree. "I didn't say that. That were jus' one o' them times I remember. As I got older, I liked bein' alone more. Out here, with all this, it feels like there's nothin'...well, there is nothin' to stop you. You c'n just keep walkin' forward, runnin' even. I felt trapped when I was around Slaine; out here, I could breathe, I could see the world fer wot it really was...I could be happy..."

"Who's Slaine?"

Benrath snorted. "The so-called Chieftain of the Guosim. Hmph. He always found me. Him or the other shrews who blindly follow him. I always ran away, jus' to get free. Even if it was fer an hour. I just had to get away."

The shrew exhaled deeply and rubbed his forehead. "But they always found me. And the fucked up thing was, Slaine never got angry. Whenever I returned home, he'd welcome me with open arms, with a wide smile on his face. He'd hug me, say he was so worried. And then he'd take me to his hut an' we'd talk in private. He'd hug me again; he'd say he was sorry. An' then he'd kiss me. ...And then he'd touch me."

Tegast stared at the shrew as he started to frown. He looked away and stared at some of the ants that were crawling all over the ground while Benrath sighed deeply again and went quiet. They listened to the wind blowing gently, carrying several leaves in the strong gust. The beasts picked up the scent of the flowers and some of the moss growing on the trees. The rat looked down to his right and saw a few spotted mushrooms resting by the tree's roots. He heard Benrath inhale deeply and sigh. The rat sat down beside the shrew before he looked at Ben and saw him smiling again.

"You hear that?"

Tegast's right ear twitched. "Think there's a bird somewhere; that's about it."

Ben nodded. "Exactly. Jus' a bird. Jus' the wind blowin'. Nothin' else."

Tegast snorted and spat on the ground. "Honestly, I hate the silence. It's not natural. This-this world is full of beasts; I like hearing other creatures talkin', playin', walkin' around on the soil. Don't get me wrong; I used t'be like you when I was younger. Couldn't wait to get away from my li'l brother and parents. But after I lost my family, my tribe, I was by myself for a while. This silence is an illusion, Ben. It's a reminder that there's some_thing_ out here waitin' to kill ya. Bein' by myself for so long made me paranoid. Anytime I heard a branch creak or a twig snap, I thought I'd shit m'self 'cos I thought some feral beast was about to pounce on me and rip my throat out. Everytime a foul odor entered my nostrils, I always hid in a bush 'cos I thought some vermin bandits were lurking about. And then I'd smell my own armpits an' realize the stench was comin' from me."

Tegast sniffed. "I see why you like the silence, but me?" Tegast shook his head. "Can't do it. I'd literally go crazy with nobeast around to talk to. Hell, if I hadn't met Grustur, I'd probably be in some cave somewhere talkin' and giggling to myself as I feasted on worms."

Benrath chuckled. "Fair enough. Guess we both got wot we wanted, eh? You met more beasts, an' I got away from Slaine, an' now I'm finally enjoying all this serenity."

Tegast smiled as he looked out into the woods and gazed at the patches of flowers and various berry bushes. The rat was about to say something else when he glanced over at Benrath and noticed his eyes were shut.

"I thought you said you have insomnia?"

Benrath sighed. "I'm jus' resting my eyes is all...jus' give me a couple minutes."

The rat chuckled. "All right."

Tegast slouched against the tree and decided to take the shrew's advice. He gazed at the breathtaking scenery around him and enjoyed the peaceful moment.

---

"C'mon, Grus, you fuckin' know I'm right!"

The watervole scoffed as he shoved his way through a series of bushes and continued to walk forward. "That's not the point! We can't just leave those two--not when we're all in so much danger!"

"Course we can! We do that kind of shit all the time! Why should this be any different?"

"Cause we both know if we leave, our chances of survival plummet phenomenally."

Darktail scoffed. "Takes more'n some crummy lizards to scare me!"

"Right. Just an army of 'em."

"An army that I managed to talk my way through before!"

Grustur smirked. "Before is the key word here. Could ya do it now?"

Darktail scratched the back of his head. "Maybe," he said softly.

The watervole grunted as he hopped over a log. "I understand why you wanna leave. I ain't one who enjoys company as much as I used to either."

"Then why the fuck you still hangin' out with that pup?"

Grustur changed the subject. "Where would you go if you left? Hmm? You got any family? You got a home--got any loved ones who are carryin' yer pup on some far away island?"

Darktail shrugged. "I'd figure it out."

Grustur snickered as he pushed several tree branches aside. "That's that bullshit talkin'! I know yer a fox an' all, but I ain't impressed. You're gonna have to do a lot better than you'll 'figure it out' if you wanna convince me!"

Darktail stopped walking and scowled at the watervole as he disappeared past the thick tree branches. He grumbled and followed the vole anyways, mumbling and swiping at the tree branches with his paws. When he made it through, he walked beside Grustur and stood still. Darktail was about to ask what the vole was looking at when he gazed at the surroundings. The amount of trees in the area had subsided; Darktail and Grustur could see various stumps with moss and mushrooms growing around the base. Up ahead were more trees, stumps and bushes, but a couple of yards away from the beasts were a massive hole in the earth. Darktail and Grustur examined it more closely and realized they stumbled upon a gully. Grustur looked inside the gully, taking note of the light brown earth and the rocks and mud resting on the bottom of the giant ditch. He looked left and right and was surprised to see how wide the gully stretched, and how the massive landform could work to their advantage should trouble arise. There were even fallen trees inside they could use for cover. Darktail kicked a stone into the gully and watched as it landed in the mud. Then he sniffed the air and grinned.

"This good enough for ya?"

Grustur raised an eyebrow. "Whatcha mean?"

"I mean this! Lookit--there's giant holes 'round here! Think we just stumbled onto a network of mole tunnels!"

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would they build tunnels here? Soil's too soft; it'd collapse on their heads."

"Which is why they chopped down a buncha trees! They prob'ly got support beams or-or some shit down there!"

"So what happens when it rains? All the water would drown 'em."

"That's the point, genius! While they go in their tunnels and lock all their doors, all the rainwater goes down this gully so they don't gotta worry 'bout bein' washed away!"

Grustur folded his arms. "I seriously doubt--"

"Yer overthinkin' shit, Grus! C'mon, let's check this out!"

Grustur watched as the fox slid down into the gully and landed on his footpaws. The watervole jumped down as well, landing inside the wide chasm with a soft squelch. The watervole looked around the gully and spotted the various stones and sticks scattered along the ground. He turned around to look at where the gully started to form before he looked up.

"Huh. Don't seem too tall," Grus said.

Darktail shook his head. "Nah, but this gully reeks of moles. They definitely used it for somethin'!"

The fox looked around the gully and removed his cutlass. He looked up and jabbed upwards a few times before he huffed. Then Darktail walked over to one of the gully walls and braced himself against it. He looked up at the area where he and Grustur were standing minutes ago and crouched down. The fox blinked twice before he sprinted towards the other wall and repeated the same gesture, crouching down as he braced his back along the muddy wall.

"Smart li'l bastards."

"You think they traveled through the woods this way?"

"No, they must've fought here. This gully prob'ly goes on fer a mile, maybe more. You could put dozens of moles down here--hundreds even! They could sleep, eat, walk around freely--a family of moles could spend days down here with enough supplies. An' when it's dark out, all they gotta do is stick pikes up in the mud, an' there ya go! Instant defense! Buncha poor bastards must've fallen down here chasin' after 'em, I'm sure!"

Darktail looked up into the sky. "Even if somebeast shot arrows down here, it's like tryin' ta kill ants with a slingshot and stone. You wouldn't hit 'em precisely--'specially if the moles braced against the walls. Only way to do some real damage is to send a whole damn army down here or ta set the gully on fire somehow."

"Only wait until it rains," Grustur added.

Darktail snickered. "Like I said, moles! Any trouble, they can always dig their way to safety!"

Grustur rubbed his chin as he looked at the gully again. He looked closely at the holes spread around the wide chasm. The watervole smiled as he started to ponder.

"This...this might actually work. There's only four of us--"

"Two of us," Darktail sneered.

"Four of us. We get enough food, maybe make some more torches or find a lantern, and we could camp down here fer days! Even if the Guosim or the monitors find this gully, they wouldn't be stupid enough to try and jump it. They're just turn around or try to find a way around it."

"Only one problem dumbarse: what if somebeast just so happens to look down and spots us?"

"You said moles were down here; they must have more holes or small tunnels fer us t'hide in. With any luck, we'll find the moles as well."

"What if there aren't any?"

"Even if moles weren't down here recently, somebeast was. The scent's still strong; there's gotta be a small tribe, maybe a family hidin' somewhere or travelin'. Could be warriors fer all you know."

"Or bounty hunters lookin' to flay me alive."

"Bounty hunting moles are better'n cannibalistic lizards, last time I checked." Grustur turned around and looked at the gully. "This could work fer quite a while! Even if it comes ta fightin', if we got moles on our side, they can attack from below, tunnel their way through the earth and dig traps fer the lizards to fall in."

Darktail inhaled sharply. "Seems more like we'll be a hunk of meat roastin' on a spit than well-defended beasts."

"I'm jus' saying, Darktail. Push may come to shove. If we have to rely on guerilla tactics to survive, then so be it."

Grustur exhaled as he turned and started to climb up the gully wall. "Let's head back. Ben and Teg might be waitin' for us."

"Why?"

Grustur stopped climbing and turned around to face the fox. "'Cos they said to regroup where we found those fruit trees?"

"No, I mean why not jus' leave 'em to rot? We got our own weapons; we can find our own food! And now that we know there's probably some moles nearby, we could use 'em to our own advantage if we run into Log-a-Thing again! Or at least cannon fodder while we leg it 'cross these woods."

"We talked about this. We're not leavin' those two here t'die."

"Why not? Oh, wait, that pup reminds you of yer dead son, an' now you wanna bond with him," the fox stated in a mocking voice.

Grustur stared at the fox and flared his nostrils. He looked away slowly and leaned against the gully wall as he stuffed his paws in his pockets. Darktail folded his arms and wagged his tail.

"Oh, fer fuck's sake--he does remind you of yer dead son, don't he?"

"I didn't say that," Grus answered softly.

Darktail smirked. "Didn't deny it."

"He don't remind me of my dead son. There, happy now?"

Darktail took two steps towards Grustur and snickered. "So you did have a son at one point. And he died. That's a shame."

Grustur stared at the fox and frowned, realizing he just told Darktail something he was hoping nobeast would know about. The watervole swore at the fox and quickly jumped up. He grabbed onto the ledge above the gully wall and grunted as he hauled his body back up onto solid ground. Darktail snickered again as he started to climb up the wall as well.

"Didn't mean nothin' by it, buddy! Real sorry 'bout that! No parent should ever--"

"FUCK OFF!" Grustur shouted.

"Awwwwwwww, don't get all pissy now!"

Grustur huffed as he started to jog away from the fox. Darktail laughed and chased after him.

"Hey, c'mon--I'll share some private family history too! Back when..." Darktail panted a few times as he jogged after Grus. "Back when I was a pup, I killed a cockroach! Killed it, squashed it, smeared it all over my footpaw. I committed murder, Grus! That cockroach had a lovin' family, a whole colony of bugs waitin' fer him ta bring back a big ol' lump of food to eat! I took it aaaaallllll away, Grus! I'M A COLD-BLOODED MURDERER!"

Grustur snarled when he noticed that Darktail was less than a yard away from him. He stopped on his heels, side-stepped the fox, and held out his right arm. Darktail let out a cut-off shout as the watervole clotheslined him in the throat. The fox landed on his back hard and started to cough and rub his throat. The panting vole looked down at the vulpine and snorted.

"Don't talk about my son. Don't talk about my family. If you ever ask about either one again, I'll beat yer arse into the ground!"

Darktail coughed. "Hey, relax, bud! We're even now! You shared your dark secret--I shared mine!"

The fox lifted his paws and drew a geometric shape in the air with his index fingers. "We're square."

Grustur flared his nostrils. "Fine. Whatever. Jus' get yer arse up. We're heading back."

Darktail watched as the vole turned around and started to walk away. The fox, however, just stared at the beast and grinned.

---

The four beasts all met each other later that afternoon. The group sat around in a circle near the fragrant trees, spending their time discussing the next phase of their plan as they devoured more fruit and pecans. Tegast sliced off part of a red plum with his dagger and bit the small piece of fruit while Grustur, Darktail and Benrath spent their time shelling the pecans. The shrew finished removing the shell from one pecan and tossed the nut in his mouth as Darktail looked up into the sky.

"So wot d'you find?" Tegast asked.

"There's a gully up north not too far from here," Grus responded as he smacked on pecans. "We think a buncha moles have a tunneling system down there, and from the way it smelled, we might've just missed a group of 'em."

The fox kept looking up into the trees after hearing the leaves rustling. "Yup. It's simple: we find these moles, we get more numbers on our side, we use 'em as guards, then we get the hell outta this forest."

The rat frowned. "We talked about that already. We're stayin'; we can't let these lizards burn this forest to the ground!"

Darktail stood up and started to walk around the group slowly, still looking up into the canopy. "Well, technically, we can..."

Tegast huffed. "You know wot I mean. Runnin' won't change anything; we both know that. So we get to Isle Glinsun or wherever. Fine, good, but wot happens five or ten seasons from now, after we've given these lizards time to fuck an-and reproduce and lay eggs and recruit more lizards to come after beasts like us? You think--"

"Shhhhh, shush yer mouth," Darktail interrupted.

The fox heard wings flapping up above and licked his lips. He walked towards one of the trees and started to climb.

"Keep talkin'! I'll be with you in a sec!"

Benrath raised his eyebrow. "Where you goin'?"

"Jus' act natural!"

The three beasts on the ground kept watching the fox in confusion as he scaled the tree. Eventually Tegast groaned and shook his head.

"Like I was sayin', you think they're gonna stop at Mossflower? These lizards aren't even native to this country; they came here from overseas! How long before they build more ships an' say, 'We've plundered this forest down to the last speck of soil! Let's go fuck up another island full of riches!' If Isle Glinsun is this paradise you say it is, Grus, how long d'you think it'll be 'afore them lizards find us there too?"

Grustur sighed. "I know what yer sayin', Teg." The watervole looked up and stuttered when he heard more wings flapping. "But you know it's gonna take a while before we get the beast-power we need to fend off this army. We can't keep goin' back and forth like this, Teg; we're better off leavin' now while we still can."

Benrath bit into one of his plums and chewed slowly. "My fath...Slaine told me a story once. Prolly bullshit, but may as well tell it now. Thousands of years ago, the Guosim traveled to a new island--a giant paradise filled with treasures an' riches, all that shit. They made it their home fer a while, everythin' was perfect. But then one season, after summer, these large beasts somehow infested their rivers. Um, giant...really large reptile things; they had large snouts, these burly, dark green an' brown bodies, long tails, hides as thick as armour...think they were called crocodiles, sumthin' like that."

Grustur shrugged. "So some giant beasts infested their rivers."

"Yah. An' these beasts like the taste of shrews. An' they can walk on land. For hours at a time. So the Guosim started losin' members--whole squads would disappear overnight, an' their body parts would be found the next mornin'. So wot happened? They banded together; they got pirates from the seas; they captured birds--hawks, crows, eagles even. They got as many beasts as possible--"

Benrath stopped talking when he heard Darktail shouting and swearing in the canopy. He flicked his eyes at the branches before he resumed.

"They got as many beasts as possible an' went up against these crocs head-on. They didn't run away or say, 'Fuck it. We'll jus' keep runnin' until these beasts stop chasin' us.' They fought them."

"I feel a 'but' coming on," Grustur muttered.

Benrath blinked. "But a lotta them perished. Wot d'ye expect? Slaine bragged that some o' these reptiles were over twenty feet long. An' a single jab to a crocodile's head won't kill it. Slaine said it could take hours jus' ta kill one o' them things. Anyways, before the crocs arrived, there were enough beasts on that island to make a large community--one nearly half the size o' Redwall. Sure, they killed all the crocs, but there were less than a score o' shrews left."

Grustur flicked his eyes at Tegast and saw him smirking, almost as if he wanted to say "See? Yore wrong, Grus." The watervole looked at the shrew as he bit into his plum again and kept chewing.

"Yeah, yeah, I get wot yer sayin'. We should all die standin' up fer wot we believe in, as opposed to livin' in luxury but bein' on the run all the time. I understand ya clearly."

Tegast pinched the bridge of his muzzle and shut his eyes. "Clearly you didn't understand. Look, we're all scared here--nobeast is denying that. But we can't keep running. An' we can't keep lyin' to ourselves thinking that runnin' like hell is any sorta plan!"

The trio heard several branches snapping above, followed by frantic chirping. The beasts looked up and shouted when a giant mass of feathers plummeted towards the ground. The trio backed away quickly when a pot-bellied bird landed on the ground with a soft thud. The beasts looked around for Darktail as the bird continued to chirp and flapped his wings, hoping to get airborne. Grustur instinctively pounced on the bird and pinned him to the ground just as Darktail started to scamper down the tree, panting.

"Fuckin' cock--HEY! YOU GET THAT BIRD?!"

Grustur grunted as he shoved his paws down so he could restrain the bird as much as he could. "Calm down, calm down! Jus--STOP FLAPPIN'!"

The bird was starting to wiggle his way to freedom when Benrath walked beside the feathery beast and pointed his rapier at him. The bird jerked his head at the shrew and chirped quietly.

"Stay still, please."

The bird shut his eyes and huffed. "Stupid ground beasts. Let Ilyan go! Ilyan will fly--fly away! Won't bother ground beasts again!"

Darktail walked towards Grustur and the others holding his left eye. "I should cut your puny li'l throat open--that twat almost pecked my fuckin' eye out!"

The fox huffed as he took his paw away and nudged Tegast. "Hey, shit-stain! My eye's still good, yeah?"

Tegast flicked his eyes at Darktail's face and snorted. "Nope. S'all red an' puffy. Grustur, get off him."

The watervole looked at Tegast before he slowly stood up and gave the bird some breathing room. As soon as Ilyan was free, he stood on his thin legs and spread his wings apart. The four creatures trapped the brown thrush around in a circle and pointed their weapons at him.

"The rest a' y'all hungry? Been a while since I ate a roasted bird!" Darktail shouted.

"Ilyan only follow orders! Ilyan made deal with nasty beasts--made deal! No choice Ilyan had--Ilyan had no choice!"

"Wotcha mean you had no choice?" Tegast asked.

"Yeah. Who sent you here?" asked Grustur.

The thrush panted several times, his spotted white belly puffing outwards each time he took a breath. "The-the-the nasty beasts! Buncha nasty lizards, all vile and large an' gross!"

"Was there a bunch of shrews too? 'Specially a really fat one, prob'ly talked a lot?" Ben asked.

Ilyan nodded. "Yes! Ilyan was flyin', and--of course Ilyan was flying--Ilyan is a bird! Flappy-flappy bird!"

"Get on with it," Darktail snarled.

Ilyan huffed. "They were in the trees! Il--Ilyan landed on a branch for one moment--one moment Ilyan landed! Then a lizard assaulted Ilyan, sent him to the ground! They were gonna pluck alla Ilyan's feathers, cut off his legs and beak! Then they were gonna cook Ilyan alive, roast him so-so they could hear Ilyan screamin'!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaannnd we should give a shit...why, again?"

Tegast walked in front of the thrush and blinked. "Because they told him they'd let him live if he spied on us. Didn't they?"

Ilyan nodded. "Yes, yes! Smelly rat is right!"

Tegast growled. "I have a name, damn it! Why does everybeast--" The rat stopped himself and huffed. "Okay, this is good...this is perfect, actually."

Ilyan chirped and hopped backwards. "Are...are smelly rat and ground beasts gonna kill Ilyan?"

"No...so long as you do wot we say."

"Yes, yes! Anything ground beasts want!"

Tegast rubbed his chin. "Go back to the lizards and the Guosim. You tell 'em you saw us, that you know where we're going. Just...tweak the truth a li'l bit."

"Smelly rat wants Ilyan to lie? Ilyan can't lie to lizards! Lizards will kill Ilyan!"

"I didn't say lie--I said tweak the truth. You found us, did you not?"

Ilyan nodded. "Yes."

"And as far as you know, the four of us are still alone, and have no idea where these lizards are."

"That's correct."

"Okay, so this is wot yer gonna do: when you go back to the Guosim, you tell 'em you saw us--that's not a lie, right? But when you talk to 'em, tell 'em we're heading northeast."

The thrush blinked. "That's it?"

Tegast nodded. "That's it."

Ilyan blinked and stomped towards the four beasts. "How-how does Ilyan know ground beasts won't kill Ilyan later? How can Ilyan trust ground beasts?"

"We'll, err...we'll make you a plum-pecan pie as a reward! A whole big one, just fer you!"

Ilyan turned his head at an angle. "Really?"

The rat smiled. "Yeah. We got plenty of pecans an' plums already--all we gotta do is make the pie!"

Ilyan spread his wings and pecked at his feathers a few times. "Fine. Ilyan will trust ground beasts! But ground beasts better have pie ready when Ilyan returns!"

"Absolutely. Now, if I were you, I'd leave sooner than later, before the Guosim and the monitors get suspicious."

Ilyan nodded and started to flap his wings. "Yes, yes! Ilyan will leave now! Ilyan should be back shortly!"

The four beasts on the ground watched as the thrush started to flap his wings hard and began to take flight. The group waited for a moment, watching as the bird gained altitude and slowly disappeared into the canopy. They heard more chirping up above and listened to Ilyan flapping his wings, the noise gradually growing quieter as Ilyan flew further away. Everybeast sighed after Ilyan disappeared and looked at each other.

"How'd you even know that bird was watchin' us?" Tegast asked.

Darktail scoffed and rubbed his red eye. "Ain't you twats got ears? He's been spyin' on us for a while now; I heard all that flappin' ever since we regrouped here. It's what captains and generals did all the time back in the war. If they wanted t'find where the enemy was without waitin' so damn long, they'd just round up a couple birds an' use 'em as scouts in the sky. Guess the Guosim got the same idea."

Tegast couldn't help but smile as he looked around the woods. "See? Things are lookin' up already! We already found more food, you two found a place where we can hide or defend ourselves, and now we got somebeast who can draw the Guosim and monitors away from us!"

"Yeah, but sooner or later they'll wise up an' figure out Ilyan lied to them," Grustur said.

"Even if they don't," Ben added, "the lizards caught an' turned that bird against us very quickly. We ain't even been on the run fer more'n a day an' we already found a spy followin' us."

"That doesn't matter," the rat said. "All that matters is that that bird bought us another day or two. That should give us enough time to find the moles who dug those holes around that gully, which means we'll have more beasts to help us fight!"

"Or we could use this time to run! We have a perfectly good opportunity to put great distance between ourselves an' the beasts chasin' after us! Shouldn't we take it now while we still can?" the fox asked.

"No," Ben said firmly. "We're findin' these moles an' we're gunna fight back."

"I agree," said Tegast.

Darktail glared at Grustur, expecting the watervole to agree with him. He folded his arms while Tegast and Benrath stared at the beast as well. Grustur paused for a moment as he pondered all his options. He looked at the young rat and shrew before he sighed softly.

"Let's see how this plays out."

"Fer fuck's sake," said Darktail, rolling his eyes.

"I did not say we're stayin'! But let's...let's see what happens. I'm feeling a li'l more confident today than I was a week ago. Maybe things are lookin' up for us."

Darktail scoffed. "No, they're not. Some sick bastard jus' threw us a candied chestnut with a string tied to it. The second we grab that nut, the same fuckin' bastard is gonna yank it away from us before we can even lick it."

Tegast shrugged. "Fine. We'll just cut off the string."

Everybeast went silent after that. Darktail kept his arms folded and sat down beside one of the trees while the other three beasts sat together and resumed eating the pecans and fruit. But even as they relished in the hot sun and enjoyed the tranquility around them, all the beasts were wondering if there was some truth to Darktail's words.