Mark ran with all his might, a good reason for it was the fear that gripped his chest, but the other more pressing reason was because he needed to get the fuck away from the Dark Elves and the crazy crone as fast as he could before they reorganized and got the chance to hunt him in earnest.

Escaping the Court had been relatively easy when everyone broke into a wild panic and begun fighting each other or the ferals that had slipped through the defenses. The issue had been mostly the ferals themselves. The spell had made them to scatter in every direction, they were everywhere.

Thus why Noah was leading the way, her ears and nose able to steer them away from the worst of it before they stumbled their way into something they couldn’t handle. The mouse had very nearly bolted out of sight the moment the spell had misfired. If not because Shery had kept a tight grip on the diminutive maiden until she’d calmed down, they could have very well lost their guide entirely.

And with her, any hope of avoiding the more dangerous ferals while also finding the river.

“Brye’s catching up.” Noah declared with a grimace, not even turning around or breaking stride.

“If you can hear her, something must have gone wrong.” Shery replied with an angry hiss.

Mark might have spoken, but unlike the other two, he was winded. It was hard to keep up with the maidens, and it was clear they were slowing down enough for him to keep up with them.

“It went fucking fantastic.” Brye appeared out of thin air right next to Mark, it nearly made him jump.

“You’re bleeding.” Shery pointed at the fox’s shoulder and limp arm.

“I got poked.” Her shoulder had been bleeding profusely, burn marks on her shoulder appeared to be the reason why the injury was closed, but her clothes were drenched in blood. She’d lost a lot.

To a degree, it irked Mark to see her in such a state and yet still instantly able to keep up with him without so much as missing a beat.

“Is the Warlock dead?”

“Didn’t get the chance to stick around and see if a sword in the back was enough to kill the bitch.” The fox snarled. “How much to the river?”

“We’re almost there.” Noah replied, slowing down slightly, ears standing straight and abruptly turning to the right. “Ferals.”

The others didn’t hesitate to change the course, following the mouse as she kept looking left and right, her steps moving a bit more cautiously as she began to make a beeline for them to follow along. All around them they could hear screams and, sometimes, Mark could even smell blood, but not once did they stumble onto anything that wouldn’t be scared off by their mere presence.

All too suddenly, Noah reached out to grasp Mark’s hand.

“Start running, right now! It’s hunting us!”

“What is-.”

Brye’s ears twitched to point behind them. “We’re being chased, feels like a feral.” She frowned, turning around and lifting her hand as it was wreathed in an ethereal, dark glow. “I’ll catch up in a minute.” The air shimmered in front of her.

“Move, move, move!” Noah spoke with a shrill squeak, yanking Mark so hard his shoulder began to hurt.

Not one to argue when the alternative was being closer to something that wanted to potentially make a meal out of them, Mark did his best to keep up, breath short and legs thumping underneath him as his ears picked up on the sound of running water. It took ten more seconds before he spotted the river, a body of rushing brown water that was down a steep ravine.

Shery began to slow down, taking a look at the river and hesitating. “We need to wait for-.”

Faster than Mark could react, Noah had changed course and thrown the whole of her weight towards Shery. The movement was clearly an attempt to trip her up and throw the gray skinned woman down into the murky waters.

And she might have pulled it off if Brye hadn’t appeared and yanked Shery out of the way. “Nice try, bitc-.”

But Noah still held a death-grip on Mark’s hand. Her feet still dug into the dirt, and she’d not stopped. The attack had been a feint.

Mark saw almost in slow motion as he was pulled further towards the ravine. The mouse jumped straight towards the river, and for the briefest of moments, a part of him was half-sure Shery or Brye would catch him.

Either from shock or their awkward position, they didn’t get the chance to. Inertia dragged him even as he tried to fight against it, unable to get a proper footing.

Gravity came back from its brief vacation. Mouse and human dropped into the chilly raging waters underneath. In an instant, everything went dark and cold. Mark was battered from every direction, the river dragging them into a funnel of downwards acceleration.

Noah had a death-grip on Mark’s wrist, not so much as slipping even in the water.

The human broke through the surface, gasping for air, trying to get his bearings and look for the shore.

“DON’T!” Noah’s squeak rung out, her hand pulling him in the opposite direction, towards the center.

A wave struck them, dragging them back under. Up became down, a tumble of shift in directions, the water robbing Mark’s breath as he managed to pull himself back up with a gasp. His hand struggled to yank free from the mouse’s grip.

“MARK!”

The voice barely made it to his ears, his head catching a glimpse of Brye on one of the shores. She was running faster than Mark thought anyone should have the right to, barely keeping up with them as the distance was increasing ever so slightly. If Shery was anywhere to be seen, Mark did not spot her.

Brye vanished, appearing further ahead, eyes locked on him as she continued running.

“This is the only way!” The words made the human turn towards Noah, the mouse looking very much like a drenched rat, her voice shrill. Her eyes panicked but, but there was something else in them, anger. “This is the only way.”

“MARK!”

Brye’s call made Mark realize what Noah meant.

This was the only way to escape.

Not just the Court, but Brye and Shery.

“She’s going to kill you!”

The call came from the fox, and Mark barely managed to hear it as the stream took a sharp turn, dragging them back under. The human nearly choked on the water, legs screaming as he kicked the water and tried to push himself back out, the cold wet darkness seeping into him from all around.

Just as he’d been about to break back out, something fell onto him, something soft that grasped at his hair and yanked him high enough for his head to make his way out of the water and take a gulp of air before the force of the river pulled him back under. Mark realized someone was holding onto his other hand.

Yanking both hands down to pull himself back up, another gasp of air, and he saw that it was Brye that had joined them. The fox was currently very much occupied trying to use her injured hand to reach out to the mouse and gouge Noah’s eyes out. The mouse, for her part, was using her free hand to push away the hand and leaving bloody strips with her claws all the way down Brye’s arm.

“Let go, you fucker.” The fox cursed.

Her body seemed to flicker, and for a moment Mark felt as if something were trying to drag him out of existence and somewhere else. But the moment that sensation reached his other hand, it died out. Noah was not letting go, and she was clearly doing something to keep him anchored in the river’s wild stream.

“Mark!” Brye used her good arm to yank him up to keep him from being as easily pulled under the surface. “Kick her off or we’ll all die!” Her other hand was too weak to be able to stop Noah’s rebuttal, and the fox was clearly not going to let him go if her grip on his wrist was anything to go by.

The human hesitated, remembering the words the mouse had spoken. The way out, to escape Brye and Shery, escape the cave, the rope, the smirking goading humiliation. His brow furrowed and his hand tightened as all too suddenly, the fox’s eyes widened, locking onto his own with what was unmistakably panic.

Could she read his mind? Or was it his expression that had betrayed his thoughts? Mark didn’t care, his boot moved to try and shove the fox off of him.

Time to get rid of her for good.

Noah’s maniacal laughter broke the train of thought. Mark saw the end of the river, a drop that could only mean one thing. All considerations vanished as his mind abruptly clicked in place. Escape took the backseat to survival.

Then the world lost its bottom, and he dropped a second time that day.

Mark realized Brye had let go. She was gone.

Noah laughed hysterically all the way down. And for the briefest moment, as the both of them fell, he saw it in her eyes, the anger, the rage, and above all, the glorious pride and satisfaction at their shared doom.

White foam and a deafening roar turned everything into an incongruent mess instantly, a typhoon that twisted him every which way. Only under the extreme speed of the water around them had Noah’s hand finally let go. Where she went, he could not see. Everything was a muddy darkness.

Mark felt himself sinking, body too tired, too cold. Everything ached, his limbs tumbling under the twister of currents under the waterfall. It was becoming hard to breathe.

Something grabbed his hand, and the world spun.

And air pushed into his lungs as he dropped to solid ground.

Coughing, Mark heaved, collapsed as he gasped for each breath, too weak to move. His head spun in an attempt to realign itself with the world.

“Reconsidering your life choices?” Brye’s voice rung out, her face a deep scowl as she lightly tapped him with her foot.

“Noah…”

“Soon to be dead.” The fox stated, ears flickering dismissively. “Good riddance.”

“No.” Mark clenched his fists tightly, he couldn’t breathe, the air was… “… feel her…” everything was dark, spinning, water was choking him. Two visions were superimposing themselves. He was in the shore, breathing, he was underwater, gasping. His mind spun as dizzying darkness was wringing his lungs empty. “Air!”

“The bond. FUCK!” Brye vanished.

It was a struggle to focus on his real self, on the one that was on shore and breathing air, and not on the suffocating darkness.

Then… clarity.

Brye collapsed on her knees, several shades paler, panting hard, dropping the drenched Noah who was coughing madly for breath. The Nogitsune was trembling and looking far worse for wear than a second ago. “Fuck.” She gasped under her breath.

“What was…?” Mark shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, to focus.

“Bond… strong one…” The fox rolled over and lay on her back, taking in deep lungfuls of air. “Death… bad for… partner…” Her hand moved towards her wounded shoulder and she grimaced. “Shit.”

Meanwhile, Noah was coughing loudly, shuddering and curling into a ball. The rodent appeared disoriented, her eyes wild as she turned towards the collapsed Brye. Slowly, she reached out, pulling herself towards the fox. Through the fog of disorientation, Noah’s eyes shone with single minded intent, slowly clawing her way closer.

“No.”

Mark found the strength to reach down, grasping the mousy maiden’s tail and pulling.

Noah shrieked, weakly struggling, flailing, her body wriggling and fruitlessly spinning in an attempt to free herself. It was clear she had not yet recovered from nearly suffocating. She couldn’t throw him off.

“You fucking whore.” Mark straddled Noah’s back, pinning her to the ground. His hand reached out for the nearest rock he could find. “You fucking tried to kill me!”

Without a second thought, he slammed the rock down against the back of Noah’s head with everything he had to offer.

The mouse shrieked, trying to get him off, building strength.

The next blow made her flinch and collapse back down.

“You wanted to kill me!?” Fire was swelling within his chest, anger that gave him strength. The next blow stopped the mouse’s attempts to move again. “Betray ME!?” Another blow, blood stained the rock for the first time. Mark’s vision was turning red, he was finding his strength. “ME!”

Pain erupted in the back of his head as he struck once more. He grit his teeth, thrusting the rock back down onto the unmoving maiden. His head burst in fiery agony. He didn’t care, another blow, everything began to spin out of control. Mark found the breath to roar, raising both hands and slamming them downwards again.

The blow didn’t reach its destination. He’d missed her head entirely, hitting the dirt instead. Mark’s arms were shaking, his breathing a deep shudder, vision was blurring as he collapsed to the side.

Through the ringing, he heard laughter.

“The bitch was so happy she triggered a shift. Fuck me.” His eyes turned towards the fox, to look at her as she lay on the dirt, wide smirk on her lips as she kicked at the mouse’s hand for him to focus on.

The human barely had the presence of mind to notice the pale white skin was darkening. He didn’t understand, his head was spinning, his eyes traced further up to meet Brye’s face and the mirth as she stared back.

“The Boss is going to love you.”

Mark could only heave for air and watch as she knelt in front of him, moving his head and putting it onto her lap. Those deep golden eyes met his own, and the world began to spin, he was too tired to fight back.

“Don’t worry.” She whispered, stroking his cheek. “I’ll take very good care of you.”

The world turned dark.