Round 4: (Swords) Picking Up the Pieces

[BloodGullet]

Golfar couldn't help but burst out laughing at Nevfae's antics and had to hold her side, "HAR! oh, ow, ah that's grand, ooh, don't make me hurt m'self there, matey! Aye! I do say ye make a right smart seafarer, though.  I could see ya on the deck, a swinging' away . . . " But then her voice trailed off and she had a sad and somber look pass across her face as she looked away into the fire.  Quick as it came, it went, but a seriousness was in her now lowered voice, "I wouldn't want to see a fine beast like ye, mixed up with a lot of chowderheads like them lot. Even for vermin, they are the lowest of the low."  She grew quiet for a while, staring into the fire, and then continued, "Me thinks ye have the right idea though me hearty.  Killin' and fighting' for its own sake is no business for the good of heart.  Reminds me of what me old sword master used to say, 'innocent blood stains not just the hands, but the soul' aye that's the truth of it. But he also used to say, 'to fight to defend oneself or ones family or friends is right and just and the way of the warrior'.  Mind you, I had me head all wrapped around revenge at the time so it mattered not to me. Makes sense now.  Most beasts don't like fighting' 'cuz they a-fears dyin'.  But I tells ya, it's not the dyin' that's hard, it's the livin' afterwards that's tough. Dyin's the easy part." She paused to stare over the fire at the hedgehog to see her reaction and then started poking around in the fire to see the sparks rise. "Ye were mighty brave back there at the beach, and that's what wins the day in the end. There be no shame in fear, that's just yer good sense trying to tell the rest of ya to quit, but true courage comes from keeping' on, and doin' what ye must, even if yer are.  Why I've seen things at sea that sent me knees a-knockin'.  But I have a sense that ye be havin' some beasts back there that ye'd call a friend, or even family.  And if'n they be in any danger still, I reckon ye'd be a right bit sore at yerself fer not common' to their aid. Now I saw the tail end of that skirmish, and I'm a-thinkin' that the crew got the worst of it and you woodlanders, er, swords, won the day in the end.  But there still may be some pockets of survivors out and about, just waiting' to cause some kind of trouble or mischief of some sort.  Your friends may not be ready to see me, but I'm sure that they would be glad to see you."

After a brief period of silence, she went on, "If ye be not ready to go though, I can understand, and I wouldn't hold it a'gin ye, but I'm a-plannin' on heading' there and I would be right proud to have ye at me side." Looking up at the sky she could see the sun setting low and said, "'Tis nearly time to turn in now. I need the rest anyhow. But first light, I'll be heading' north to see if I can help.  Think it over Nevfae.  I'll do me best to keep ya safe, but me thinks ye can handle yerslef quite well enough. Especially with that fine bow ye got there. Here ye can borrow me dagger to finish getting' the bark off."  When she had done that, Golfar added, "ya know, if'n ye sands it down, rub it with fish oil, and then heats it a bit in the fire, that wood will be strong and last a long time. Don't know much about bows, but I know wood. Tell ya what tomorrow I'll go and fetch ye some arrows for that fine weapon.  I've seen some small trees near the stream that will do nicely. But now I'll bid ye a good night" and she settled in to her branch bed near the back and was soon fast asleep.

[Ceteruler]

A floating sensation, and nothing but darkness. Marcus groaned internally as he realized he was awake, trying to figure out what was happening. His head didn't hurt- in fact he felt fresh and new. All was dark, weightless, and silent. But only for a short time. Soon, his feet pressed against soft, grassy ground, and light started to come from above. Dimmer, then brightening. Soon, he could see all around him. The mouse was standing at the cliffs to the caves, facing the calm, waveless sea with the sun behind him. Still, all was silent. No wind ruffled his fur, no animals sang, no insects buzzed, nothing. Looking around slowly, Marcus unwittingly held his breath.

Where is everyone? There didn't seem to be any sign of life anywhere, until he spotted a lone figure down on the beach. It was a mouse that sat at the edge of the still waters, a hood over his or her head. Slowly, Marcus walked down the edge of the cliff to the sand with his eyes on the figure. As he walked, his footpaws barely seemed to touch the ground. The grass made no soft crunch under his paws, adding more to the eerie silence that pervaded all.

It took about five minutes of just walking, although it seemed more like effortless floating, before he reached the edge of the beach. Then he crossed over on the sand and moved quicker to the hooded figure. It hadn't noticed him yet, nor had it moved at all.

"Hello?!" The mouse called out to the mouse fifty feet away from it, his voice seeming hollow and stifled.  Suddenly the hooded figure stood and turned, revealing it was holding a small bundle in its arms. Throwing its head back, the hood fell off the mouse's face, revealing the features of his beloved.

Marcus stopped dead in his tracks, just more than arm's length from Joan. She seemed... serious, solemn, and almost sad. His jaw slack, all he could do was stare at her for a long time, at a loss to what to say or do. Then she spoke, though her lips did not move.

"Marcus... Why must the fates torture me so?"

Suddenly finding his voice freed, Marcus quickly replied, "Joan, love, I'm right here! Where have you been all this time?" Moving forward, he reached to embrace her but found that his arms passed right through her.

"Marcus..." a tear glimmered in her eye as she gazed longingly at him. "I want you to live, so that you can make good the wrongs in the land of the living, but... I miss you. I miss you so much. You don't know how long it has seemed for me to just sit here, waiting for you. You're so close, but... now you must be drawn back. I'm so sorry, but... remember me. I'll be waiting for you."

Marcus's eyes grew wide as he started to realize what she was talking about. "Joan, do you mean-" But she had already turned away from him. Her hood replaced itself on her head and she sat back down, assuming her former position.  "Joan!" he yelled, his heart tearing as everything around him started to grow black.

"Joan..." he moaned, closing his eyes in despair as he fell to his knees. "I'll... I'll remember. I'll see you again, someday."

The next thing he new, his eyes opened in slits, in the real world, and he was lying on some sort of stretcher outside. My head... Trying to sit up, he took stock of his surroundings.

[Icefire]

*Liv fell to her knees beside Spera and began to gingerly turn her over. She gasped as she beheld the young squirrel's wounds. The blood from her missing ear had mingled with that of the slice on her forehead and flowed down over much of her head which made it hard to tell where one wound ended and the next began. She noticed some blood on Spera's right arm, but couldn't find the wound it had come from. It took her a while to realize that blood came from her own wounded paw. However, the wound which worried Liv the most was the cut in the maid's side. She tore off a section of her dress to try to stem the flow of blood, but, even though it didn't seem to be bleeding heavily, she still couldn't staunch the blood. The mousemaid mentally scrambled for anything that might help her, but she had been trained to hurt, not to heal. She could deal with small wounds, but she had no idea what to do when it came to major wounds. However, Liv thought she could still be saved. She looked towards the caves. Her only hope was to get Spera to where the other wounded were gathered, but could she get the squirrelmaid there?  She looked back down at her friend. She had to make it; there was no other choice.

Liv tried to carry Spera, but the pain in her chest was too much for her to bear. Next, she tried to drag Spera  towards the caves. They had only made it a few feet when Liv was forced to stop as the maid's wound began to bleed more heavily. It was too much exertion for her wounded paw, anyways. She tore another strip from her dress and wrapped it tightly around her paw as she considered her dilemma. The only option left to her was to go for help and hope she wasn't too late.

As she turned towards the caves, Liv noticed some movement farther down the shore. It was two of the volunteers! Liv whistled sharply to get their attention and waved wildly to get their attention. As they came closer, she recognized them as Derik, the squirrel who had proved himself so helpful earlier, and Berach, the dagger-loving hedgehog.

"Miss Liv! What's the matt-" Derik blanched when he saw Spera, "No..."

Liv sighed, "Yes, and she needs help now. I can't get her back to the caves myself."

Derik nodded still staring at Spera's wounds, "I can imagine....I'll run back for a stretcher and then Berach and I should be able to get her back."

With that, he turned and raced towards the caves like his tail was on fire. Liv watched him for a moment...He isn't wounded...surely he can make it in time... She turned her attentions back to her fallen friend, until she heard Berach sniff loudly. She looked up to see him staring down at Spera, tears flowing down his face.

"I didn't know....I thought.....I don't know....In all the stories, battles sound like grand adventures..." Here Berach stopped and looked around at the fallen strewn across the shores, "I don't see a grand adventure. All I see is death! You never hear about the blood and pain... Why is there so much blood, Miss Liv?"

Liv slowly stood and placed a paw carefully on the young hedgehog's shoulder, "Look well, Berach, this is the price of freedom. You never hear about this part because we don't fight for the sake of death, but for the sake of preserving life. We don't fight for war, but for peace. Why would we speak of this?"

Berach turned and looked her full in the face, "Miss Liv, when this is all over, will you please teach me? I cannot sit idly by again and watch as others pay this price for me."

Liv nodded as she observed the grim determination on his face.

They had only a few minutes more to wait until Derik arrived with the stretcher, yet those moments felt like hours. As soon as he set it down, the three of then worked together to gently lift Spera onto the stretcher. Then Derik and Berach lifted the stretcher and moved as quickly as they felt possible without causing her further injury. When they reached the area where the other wounded were lying, the lads gently set her down beside Sora. They looked to Liv for further instructions, but she stood in between the maids frozen with horror at the sight of her two cave mates lying wounded before her. So young.....too young....why must the price of freedom be so high?

[Dannflower Reguba]

*     "Please! But just leave me to the tide yea fate!" Xbalantie was ready to die, she had dedicated herself to the waves, but mother nature seemed to be hard of hearing this day, "Haven't I done enough? Haven't I payed my dues? There's nothing left for me here! There's been nothing here for me! Ever!"..... It almost appeared as if the waves started receding when she said that.

     "This has got to be the strangest vermin I've ever encountered... No use killing a vermin that has his back turned, that would make me just another vermin like them." The squirrel was thinking after the weasels unusual words. She took this chance to glance around for Joey, it had seemed like he had gotten away fine, and there was no trace of him. She turned and charged the main fight, her skills were best suited there.... The vermin had now turned tail and run to their boats, their leader defeated lethally. The squirrel hung about on the shore just to make extra sure that they had fled good and proper, but apparently they didn't like her prying eyes, or at least that's what she gathered from the arrow that tore into her shoulder just above her heart before she blacked out.

     "Dark forest.... I thought you'd be darker.... I guess Dark forest does conflict with sunny hillsides, but if it was......" Xbalantie cut her own thoughts off, "Why am I thinking about such un-important questions!...." Dark forest, at least for her, was a light up ahead, shimmering, glistening, drawing her towards a peace long sought after and hard fought for. "Finally... something worth embracing again. Come to me death, release me!" But it was not to be......

     "SPLASH!" Xbalantie's up-turned body was struck by an overzealous wave, "Whyyyyy!" she couldn't help but think. "Why have you done this to me!?" She was shouting to the heavens in anger, "Why do I always survive that which takes away everything worth living for!" So filled with rage she sat up suddenly and ripped the arrow out of her shoulder, the clot was slit, and she lost more blood, but the adrenaline wouldn't allow unconsciousness to set its claws on her. The squirrel stood, a staggering stand undoubtedly, but a stand none the less. She had gotten up searching for something with which to take her anger out on. Having found naught but shells, sand, rocks, and bodies she collapsed to her knees, "What is left?"  ..... It was now that she saw a forlorn flower petal bobbing around right next to her in a minuscule tide pool... A petal that she could have sworn came from the flower she had all but ignored just before the vermin arrived. The wind whispered into her stiff ears, "LEet goOo....." She could have sworn that she was back at the gates of Dark forest, but no!... She was still holding the petal; you can't hold a flower in the otherworld......... Nor could the tear that emerged have formed in the realm of the deceased... Staring at the petal that had meant nothing before had manged to break a shell of hardness developed by hardship, one she now recognized as an anchor. It was an anchor stuck in the past, she could not move on until she had reeled in the anchor, or simply cut the tie. Staring at the petal had brought the realization that death was not truly the only thing that had happened upon this day, rebirth had happened, as a matter of fact it had almost happened to her! Those lost to her had been born to the world of the "dead," as they were so called, but who was truly dead?

     Xbalantie slowly looked up to the sky, long needed tears glistening in her softened eyes... She was wrong, she had been reborn this day, just not to a different state of being.

"Per quam servatus sum miser
admiror gratiam,
ut perditus recuperer
et caecus videam."

"Tam multa per discrimina
progressus ego sum;
huc tulit usque gratia
et perferet domum."

     Xbalantie may have been softened, but her practicality still shone through. she took a moment to inventory her numerous wounds, the most significant? The slice to the hip she had gotten from Farril, the arrow to the shoulder, and a slice straight across her midriff obtained midst the mass fight. There were a few insignificant wounds, the scraped cheek, the many scratches on her back, but time would never cease to heal wounds of this nature. Her shoulder had done most of its' bleeding by now, but she wound it the best she could with one of the pieces of cloth strewn about the shores, the others had to be helped!

     Xbalanties' primary concern was Spera as she had been the one that found Joey, and had attracted the vermin's attention. Luckily for her, her ears hadn't been damaged, and the squirrel picked up the conversation between Liv and Berach, "War portrayed is certainly different from war played." She walked to were the voices had emanated, and found the beasts loading Spera onto the stretcher. She grimaced as she said in a quiet voice, "Can I be of assistance?"   

     

[W0NWILL]

*Nevfae stripped the bark from the bow, thinking on Golfar's words. Would her conscious allow her to just abandon her friends in their time of need? Maybe not. Maybe she could help them, then go traveling, away to a peaceful place where she wouldn't have to fight all the time...that would be nice. But would she leave? Would she stay? This was so confusing. She had held onto her dibbunhood for as long as she could, but it was crumbling away to dust. The last fight had blown away the bits and she felt burdened with the responsibilities of keeping her friends alive. It would be easier to think on something else. She grasped for the first topic she could think of.

Why do beasts fight? Nevfae pondered that as she rubbed sand to smooth the bow and take off the last bits of bark that she hadn't gotten with the knife. And by the time she set the bow aside to sleep, she didn't have an answer for either question.

When Nevfae awoke, she found that Golfar was still asleep, maybe sleeping off the pain again. Nevfae rose and exited the cave. The sun was rising, staining the sky with pink. It touched on the wide, shallow river bubbling lazily last the cave, making the water sparkle in millions of colours. Nevfae sat on the bank and put her paws in the water, just watching the river flow past in a rare moment of thought. By the time Golfar came out, she had made her decision.

It was time to go back to the caves.

[WarriorOfMossflower]

*
The first familiar face Sora saw was that of Liv Aegis, her cavemate. She glanced to the side and saw Spera lying there. The blonde squirrel was a year older than her, but sometimes Sora felt as if Spera were much younger. Sora was fond of both of her cavemates; it pained her to see them injured.

"War is a terrible thing," she whispered, half to herself. The albino noted Spera's missing ear and cringed. She subconsciously lifted a paw, the snowy fur bloodied from lying across her open wound, to touch her own ear. But at least mine is still functional, just bent a little. Poor Spera.

Sora looked up at the mousemaid. Liv was injured too, she knew, but at this angle it was hard to tell where and how badly. The albino took a deep breath, about to begin the mini-speech she had composed. Midword, something clicked within her, and she mentally ripped up the pre-planned speech and threw away the shreds. This was not going to be scripted. This would be real. She would naturally say whatever words came to her. Sora tilted her head, wondering where to begin. "Hi," she murmured meekly, and couldn't help but laugh at herself for how cheesy she sounded.

In seconds the albino was serious again. She glanced at Spera, and then turned her attention back to Liv. "Shame, isn't it?" she asked softly. "The price we pay for freedom is a great one. Tell me--" Sora broke off, seized by a fit of coughing. Gasping for breath, she rolled onto her side away from Spera. As she coughed, bright red droplets splattered on the sand. Her vision blurred briefly. Not yet! When her sight straightened out again, Sora sat up, holding her paws in place on the sand behind her to prop herself up. A rivulet of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Just breathing was a massive effort, her chest feeling clogged and tight. The gash must have hit my lungs, too.

Finally, the worst of the coughing ceased, and the pain in Sora's chest faded to a dull ache. She could barely feel the wound anymore, her body numbed by fatigue. The albino spat out a bit more blood to the side and began again, looking up at Liv through pink eyes that glittered with a mixture of joy and pain. "Tell me, Liv...are you happy?"

[BloodGullet]

Waking with the song of the morning birds, Golfar felt better than she had in a long time.  After quenching her thirst with the clear cold water from the stream, she saw Nevfae, and from the look in her eye, she could tell that it was time to go back to the caves.  Starting a small fire and catching and preparing breakfast for both of them, she then announced, "I'll be right back, I noticed a small batch of trees that would lend itself to arrows very nicely."  Returning after and hour or so, she dumped an armload of short, but sturdy looking branches by the fire. "We can work together on this part Nevfae.  If you sand and oil after I trim off the bark with me dagger, then I'll trim a notch.  Then, while they are drying by the fire, I'll gather up some sharp fish bones to use as points. I don't have any feathers, but sometimes leaves can work, if they be flat and straight enough."  By midday Nevfae had a small pile of usable arrows. "Now, one thing left." said Golfar and with that, she took out her assassins tool and slipping off the wooden pegs at the ends of the very strong and flexible cord, she notched the ends of the bow, and securing the string to one end, she planted that end into the ground.  Carefully and with a lot of effort she slowly applied pressure with her knee until the bow bent. Grunting and sweating, she went on until slowly and gradually, the other end of the string was able to slip over the end of the bow. She tested the draw and was satisfied.  "There ye be me hearty archer!  A bow ready for battle! A tool, to be used in the fight for freedom and justice." then she handed it to Nevfae. Taking the remains of her cloak, she tied in in a way that it could be used as a makeshift quiver and handed that also to her after filling it with her arrows.

"Now then, I think, if I don't have my directions all asunder, if we head north by the river for a ways and then west a bit, by dinner we should be back with yer mates at the coast." She slid her sword that was in its scabbard into her sash and setting her face to the north, set out at a brisk pace.

[Leatho Shellhound]

*The sun shined down on a sorry sight. The wind blew around the smell of death. As the waves crashed onto the blood stained sand Vannøyne limped along. His leg was giving him great pains from his fight with the ferret. His bare head fur fluttered in the morning, cold breeze that was bringing the storm clouds ever more near.

     “The battle is done and we have won,” Said the young mouse as his eyes looked over the dead and fleeing vermin. “Many a beast has fallen; some will be remembered, others forgotten. But we all have left a mark on these shores, we have quenched the thirst of the sand with our blood, we have made the birds fly from their roosts with are battle cries.” Vannøyne’s words drifted on the wind.

     His eyes fell on the burnt wood of the devils ship that had brought death. He saw the dead and wounded Swords. Walking over to some he found them dead, he laid their stiff and cold paws on their chests, and gave them a respectful silence. “Thank you friend, for giving your life to protect these shores.” His heart was hardened by so much death that he did not shed tears.

     He soon came across a mouse making his slow and painful way to the caves. It was Marcus is fellow Sword and friend. Vannøyne quickly made a stretcher out of some broken spears and belts from fallen foe. He gently haled Marcus onto it, then took the end staves and dragged it across the beach. On the way Marcus kept saying some thing, just under his breath so that Vannøyne only got the occasional word. Thankfully his leg held up, but the blood still flowed down his leg leaving a red trail behind him.

     As he made his way to the caves he passed more wounded beasts. Some being cared for others waiting to die, war is an awful thing. The mouse brought Marcus into the main cave, which was at this moment being used for an infirmary. The old, young and peaceful creatures that had not been in the fighting were now taking care of those who needed help after the battle. Some washing and wrapping wounds, others bring them in or burring the dead. He let some maids care for his mouse friend. He himself found some cloth and bathed and bandaged his own wound, after which he made his way out to the beach and walked slowly up the steep cliff path. He sood there on the top, looking out to sea watching the storm clouds rolling in to wash away the signs of battle on the shore, with the cliff grass blowing around his foot paws. He remembered the day before the vermin ship was seen in these waters, when a feast was going on below him in the caves. He thought about all those who will never feast or dance again, those who would be at the gates of the dark forest. With Seafur ready to welcome them into it.

     “Why was I not among the dead, why had others fallen and not I? The fates are cruel and merciless.”

[W0NWILL]

"Aye." Nevfae agreed, jogging to follow. She couldn't exactly name the feeling she felt. It wasn't excitement or apprehension, but rather something between the two. Would they forgive her for leaving? Would they be shunned, her for abandoning them and Golfar for being a vermin? Who had died and who had lived? That question had haunted her subconsciously through this whole episode. But even so, it would be nice to go back to the caves, maybe. She didn't really know.

Nevfae splashed through Mister River, letting him tickle her paws as they headed north and west, until sea breezes cut through their fur and the smell of salt lingered on the air. Nevfae couldn't help but smile, the lagoon and Mister and Missus River had been nice, but the northern shores, with the struggle to survive and the cold air, that was where she belonged. Just now Nevfae was realising that. You couldn't take away who you are, it just isn't done. She glanced at Golfar, wondering if the white stoat was as ecstatic as she. And, she reflected, perhaps deep down, far away from the murdering and revenge, Golfar was a good beast.

The sun beat down uncomfortably, but it only did lift Nevfae's spirits as she skipped on the wet sand at the shoreline. Cold waves washed over her paws, and she began an erratic dance on the waves, darting in and out. This, these little moments that hardly seem important, like the peace you feel late at night when everyone's asleep, or that happy loneliness staring out to sea, that, that is what makes life worth living.

Nevfae stopped when the creatures bustling around the caves came into view and just stared at all the life that, by some little miracle, had been brought to these caves. She smiled broadly and ran. She ran back to them, back to the life that she knew always, and that life should never change. She could see that now.
"I'm back!" She laughed, her footpaws kicking up sand and probably covering poor Golfar from head to toe, "Didja miss me?"

[Ceteruler]

Small paws pushed him gently back down as he tried to sit up.  "Mm, mm, Mistah Marcus, ya shuddn't be up wi' an inj'ry like tha'. Momma say so." Marcus focused his eyes toward the sound of the voice that had reprimanded him. The face of a young mousemaid stared back at them, her nose wrinkled in a caricature of some elder's expression she had seen. Marcus recognized her as the one who had asked to sit on his lap the night of the festival.

"Unnnhh... Marcus let himself be pressed back down onto his back, his newly bandaged  but still throbbing head resting carefully on the stone below him. Keeping his eyes open, he looked the child in the face. She seemed so innocent even with the brutalities of war shoved right in her face. Marcus wished he could feel like her for a minute.

"Dere, da's better." With a cute smile, the maid plopped onto the ground next to his head. "Momma say watch you 'n make shur ya don' die." Nodding, she adjusted her dress and folded her hands in her lap, looking the older male mouse over. Marcus looked back, still somewhat delirious. His vision of Joan replayed itself in his mind. What could it have meant? His face contorted a bit as fresh waves of pain ran through his head.

The mousemaid gave a little gasp at the sight of him in pain. "Mistah Marcus, you you al'ight?" Looking nervous, she glanced back, obviously searching for her Momma.

"I'm fine... little one," Marcus managed to gasp out quietly. "Here... come... here. Help me sit up... please." Even though she looked apprehensive about it, she went behind Marcus and put her little paws under the bigger mouse's shoulders. With her help, Marcus used his hands to push himself slowly upwards, and then turned sideways against a wall.

With his head relaxed against the cave's wall, he looked up at the mousemaid, who was now chewing her paw in anxiety. Slowly reaching his arms up, he beckoned for the little one to come to him. As she did so, sitting next to him, Marcus gently put his arms around her. The soothing sensation brought by the hug helped Marcus to relax a little, and the pain in his head faded a tiny bit. The mousemaid hugged him back, her cheek against his dirty tunic.

"There... better, isn't it?" Marcus spoke gently down to her. The last time he had hugged someone, his wife was the one who felt his warm embrace. Now this little one sat in his arms, helping him to forget his pain a little bit.  She was worth fighting for. Just like Joan and Andrew. His mind wandered a bit, as he wondered where his fellow Swords were...
***

The cloaked and hooded mouse walked quickly through the sand. She had finally made it. It had taken far too long, but she was finally back. They all thought she was dead. Truly, anyone who was there could not have been faulted for making the mistake. The mouse that had taken her place looked so strangely like her, anyone could have mistaken the two, especially after they had been forcibly made to swap clothes.

She remembered what her savior had whispered in her ear before the vermin stabbed her to death. "You have a family to live for. Escape, and live for them." It had taken multiple seasons and much help from Polleekin, but she had finally made it back to the shores.

When the cliffs and beaches in front of the caves entered her line of vision, she stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh... oh no..." There had been a battle. A massive one, at that. She could see the dead bodies scattered on the beaches, the blood that stained the branches. Burnt driftwood floated just out to sea- it must have been corsair vermin that attacked.

Fear gripped her heart as she started to run forward, her hood securely over her head to hide her identity. There was little need for the creatures to become scared of her at this time. Sand flew under her paws as she scampered toward the war zone. It was awful to look at- so many brave creatures and dead vermin everywhere... the sight of it broke her heart. Above all, though, one thing entered her mind.

Is he still alive?

There were no signs of life in her immediate surroundings, so she checked each mouse's corpse in turn. Every time she saw a dead face, her held breath let itself out. It wasn't him. He wasn't on the beach. Glancing up the cliffs, she wondered if he was up there. Was he wounded? Or was he just fine?

There wasn't a need to go into the caves yet. It wouldn't take long for the creatures to realize her identity and start to go into a frenzy over her. Hopefully there was someone outside the caves she could ask.

There! She could see the hedgehog called Nevfae running towards the caves. She could intercept her before she entered. There seemed to be a vermin standing behind her, but seeing as he hadn't already attacked Nevfae, and the hedgehog wasn't worried about him, she assumed the vermin had converted to good.

"Nevfae!" she yelled, sprinting toward her. Wincing, she wondered whether she recognized her voice. It had been a couple seasons since she had been there- her voice had grown a bit deeper, and her form stronger, but one could never tell.

If Nevfae had stopped for her, she would stop just a few feet from her, taking a few deep breaths to recover from the running. Then she would ask some rapid fire questions, forgetting that everyone in the caves thought she was dead and not bothering to disguise her voice at all. "Where is Marcus? Is he safe? What happened here? Oh, your eye... Did the Swords defeat the vermin? Oh, tell me!"

[W0NWILL]

Nevfae peered at the mouse, not believing what she was seeing, "Joan?" She asked incredulously. Her face split in two by a grin, "Joan! You're alive!" She seized the mouse in a bone-crushing hug, "How did you survive?" She asked, holding Joan at arms length.

"Nevermind," she said quickly, "You're alive. Anyway, we was attacked by some vermin in their ship, I was off fightin' Gol here, that's what happened to me eye. I don't know anything else, I, er, left, see, and I found Gol, and we stays at the lagoon for a couple days. Gol convinced me to come back to help everyone, and I just came back, so I don't know if we won or if Marcus is alive." She said all this in about three breaths.

"But that's not important. You're alive! C'mon, let's go and tell Marcus!" Nevfae grabbed Joan by the paw and began pulling her toward the caves.

[Rainshadow]

  Something felt different to Spera.  She wasn't lying on her face anymore.  She felt... clean, even if just a bit.  Slowly opening her eyes, the squirrel realized that she had been placed on a cot in some cave.  It was probably a makeshift infirmary, going by the looks of the different beasts in there.

  Reaching her paw up to her forehead, Spera felt the jagged cut just above her eyes.  When that healed, it wasn't going to look pretty.  It had most likely ruined her white star mark that she'd grown proud of, but at least she hadn't been hit lower.  Feeling around, her paw found the stump where her right ear used to be.  A tear rolled down her cheek.  This was going to be hard to get used to.

  Next, Spera moved her paw to her left side, pleased that it didn't sting too much.  She couldn't move her head due to exhaustion, but Spera felt what she guessed was stitches where the rat had cut into her.  That wasn't going to be very comfortable, but at least she was alive!

  Her eyelids drooping, Spera glanced around the room, trying to take in everything and everybeast in case she passed out.  She thought she could see Joey sitting in a corner, whittling away at something, and she thought about shouting out to tell him to stop, but she didn't have the energy.  Turning her gaze from him, Spera was slightly surprised, but very happy, to see Liv standing near her.  "Liv!" she gasped, smiling weakly.  "You're alright!  I'm so glad you're alright!  What about Sora?  Wha... where's Sora, do you know?"

[Icefire]

"The price we pay for freedom is a great one. Tell me--"

Liv looked on helplessly as Sora began coughing and choking on her own blood. She turned hastily and called to Berach, "Find someone...Anyone! She needs help!"

The young hedgehog rushed off, eyes wide with horror. Liv turned back to Sora desperately wishing she knew how to ease pain as well as she could cause it.

"Tell me, Liv...are you happy?"

The question shocked the mousemaid as did the obvious joy shining through the pain in the young squirrel's eyes. And yet....she had seen that look before....Of course... Her father had had that same gleam of joy in his eyes as he lay dying a slow, painful death. He knew his beloved awaited him on the other side of death. Liv on the other hand had had nothing to look forward to but grief and loneliness...or so she thought.

"Happy?" Liv looked away as she said slowly, "I witnessed both my parents' deaths. I helped bury many of my childhood friends. I've watched and waited many long seasons for the unlikely return of others. Happy? How could I be?"

She glanced at Spera before turning back to meet Sora's gaze, "However, this time yesterday I would have said yes. You and Spera gave me another reason to live...another reason to enjoy life. I am proud to have you as a friend, Sora Shirosaki."

She fought back tears as she added, "Why must pain come to all those I love?"

Behind her, Liv heard Spera shifting and then she heard a quiet voice, "Liv! You're alright! I'm so glad you're alright! What about Sora? Wha... where's Sora, do you know?"

Liv looked down at Spera and gave her a half-hearted smile before stepping out of the way so she could see Sora herself.

[WarriorOfMossflower]

*
"Thank you," Sora murmured. "And I hope you know that I'm honored to have met you. Both of you," she added with a glance across at Spera. "I wish you could be happy, though."

The albino had a feeling Liv didn't understand her apparent joy. She tried to explain better. "I know what awaits in Dark Forest, Liv. Relatives, loved ones, old friends I'd never dreamed of seeing. My mother, Nyusatsu, and my old sensei Bristle. But none of that can compare to the happiness you can find here in the world of the living. There is always happiness...and beauty. You can see them anywhere you turn. In the face of a Dibbun, in the smile of a friend, in the little flowers that grow at the top of the cliff. It's all around. I'm going to miss it all so much. You, Spera, the Swords, and the wonderful home we all share." She paused for a breath and a brief bout of coughing.

"I am happy, and I am not in pain. It's almost completely gone now, really... Numbed, I guess." Sora couldn't help but smile. "You know what? I wish, more than anything, that everybody could be happy. That nobody would have to cry. Death is not a bad thing, my sensei Bristle taught me that. His exact words were, 'Don't be teary and sad because a goodbeast has passed on. Instead, if you shed a tear, shed it in joy. In remembrance of the life the beast has led, in celebration of their time spent with you.' Bristle's words were always ones to live by, for me."

The pink-eyed squirrelmaid gave a soft sigh. "It feels like I have aged ten years in a single day. Somehow it seems to me that I'm as old as Bristle was now. Heh. Silly, isn't it? But I'll quote him again and let you know something, Liv Aegis. 'You will see me there, in Dark Forest. You will see every goodbeast you have ever loved, if they are already there waiting. And those you leave behind in the land of the living will come, too, maybe later on. You will see everybody, though. Your parents, your friends...everybody you could imagine will be there for you. You will never be lonely, and you will never be sad. So don't fear death, and don't weep in sorrow when a beast moves on. Be happy, for them and for yourself, because one day you will see them again. And if you should be left alone in the world of the living after their passing, then remember them. Remember all the laughter, the joy you shared. Smile. Be happy. Enjoy the things that are left in life. Move on, for your time may be short, and you should make the most of the precious moments you have.' He told that to me with his dying breath, Liv. For a long time, I couldn't understand it. I'm just now starting to, after I've caught a glimpse of Dark Forest for myself."

"You're strong, Liv," Sora went on. "I know you are. You're a great fighter. You're very sturdy, determined, and caring. I know nothing, not even this awful day of fighting, will be able to take that away from you. I hope more than anything that you can find a way to be happy. Look forward to the great things ahead of you; don't give up. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, as the saying goes. And if you ever look back and remember those who die on this day, do it fondly. Remember the happier times, and remember that I attempted to pass on the happiness for a reason. You aren't to blame for things that are out of your control, like me. My pain, what little of it still remains, is not your fault. It never has been. Don't wallow in grief when I'm gone, please. Please, please smile and be happy."

Sora glanced across at the other squirrelmaid. "I'm alive for the moment, Spera," she said quietly. "I fear it won't be for much longer--" Here she unintentionally punctuated the words with another bloodied cough. "--but that's alright. I've had a nice, albeit short, run. I've fought and won many battles, seen loved ones come and go, and now...now it's my turn to join them. I'm happy. But I'd like for everybody else to be happy, too. I don't want you all to be sad when I'm gone. My one wish is for everybody to stay happy, and hold strong as you move on and rebuild without me."

The albino briefly scanned Spera's wounds. They were worse than she had first thought, but not bad enough to kill. Good. "You were and still are a beautiful squirrelmaid, Spera. I've always admired you. You're so cheerful, so easy to get along with, so pretty. It's no wonder every gentlebeast out there wants to dance with you. I'm not really concerned, because I doubt it will really bother you anyways, but I just felt that I should tell you that no matter how much your wounds have affected your image, they can never hope to touch the inner beauty you have. Your happiness, I hope, will also go unscathed. I know many beasts find it truly hard to be happy after the traumas of war. I did, for a while. To quote sensei Bristle again, though, 'Why live out the rest of your life with a frown on your face and a thundercloud hanging heavy above your head? Be happy, smile, and let the sun shine!'

"It truly has been a pleasure to know you both for the time we were together here as the Swords of Freedom. You've been amazing friends, amazing cavemates, amazing allies. I know I'm on my way to Dark Forest, but could you two promise me something? Promise me you won't be sad, and that you'll try to be happy and find joy in the things that are left in life. Smile. You have to...smile...and--" More crimson blood spattered to the floor from another violent coughing fit. Sora pushed herself up again, her breathing considerably more ragged. Time is running out. I'm surprised I've been able to talk so much, but maybe I overdid it. Oh well...soon it won't matter anymore, so I need to make the most of it. "--and you have to be happy! Promise me you will be. Pr...promise..."

The light began to fade from the albino's pink eyes. Her breathing eased and slowed, her vision blurring. I am happy. I wish for you to be, too. And someday, you'll see me again. I'll be waiting on the other side of those tall black gates to Dark Forest, waiting to welcome you. Thank you for everything. She thought she heard answers to her plea, confirmed promises, but she couldn't be sure. Her eyes slid closed and her very last breath left her with a soft sigh. 

Thus, Sora Shirosaki ceased to abide in the world of the living.

[Dannflower Reguba]

*    Apparently they hadn't heard her. At least that was what Xbalantie figured when Liv, Derik and Berach left without saying a word. The squirrelmaid chose to rest, leaning against a stone sunk in the swirling sands of the now rather bloody beach, "So much payment to keep this rock face to ourselves..." It didn't make sense, there were far better places to live, and less dangerous too, why did the mice decide to live here of all places? She shook her dark furred head at this pondering.

    After a sufficient time of rest, Xbalantie went to ascend the cliff. Making straight for the infirmary tent, she couldn't help but pause suddenly at the door.... Things hadn't gone very well for many of the swords. She spotted Liv with Spera and Sora, Liv had just backed up, and Sora was talking to the two of them.... "Oh how true her words were! This lose would be felt throughout the cliffs, "Rest in peace Sora, I only wish to have known you better." She wanted very badly to go up and say goodbye to the squirrelmaid, but this last time belonged to Spera and Liv.

    Sora passed on, and Xbalantie bowed her head and allowed the sadness to well up one tear, and one tear alone. Having closed her eyes, she opened them now, and slowly walked forward to Liv's exposed back. The squirrel laid a hand on Liv's shoulder in an attempt at comfort, "Sora's right you know, she's the lucky one. While we wait for Dark forests' gate to come and take us in, Sora will be able to find those lost to her. Be able to find a joy not easily found in this life." Xbalantie managed a warm face, an understanding one, one that told of a way to find the happiness Sora had been talking about before her departure to her eternal reward.