Throag was a mighty Sabertooth. She had been born in the tribes and she’d grown to learn many things. The elders trained her, taught her how to fight and how to hunt, and like all Tigresses, she was then tossed against the death of the great ferals.

Throag had risen to the challenge.

The great ferals of the dead forests weren’t dangerous in their strength but in their wits and cunning. They moved as teams, fought as if they were clans in their own right, they hounded and killed. To be able to survive on your own was a sign of great strength and wits.

Those who did not live were weak. Those who survived would make the clan stronger.

Throag had been the youngest Tigress to shift into a Sabertooth within living memory. Many had claimed she held the potential to one day become a Panthress, the culmination of the genus, the very peak. The ultimate predator.

With such strength, perhaps, she would have the clans join once more, and rally against the human kingdom. The hunger for revenge was fresh and strong, few had been alive during the first war, but they knew of the raids. Humans trespassing into their lands and killing kits and warriors, they knew of how the humans had pushed them towards the dead forest and the ferals therein.

Thus the acceptance to plans of revenge, to steal the secret of pokeballs from humans before they began making them in full. The clans knew that the moment humans could make enough pokeballs, they wouldn’t just be killed, they’d be caught. Getting their hands on someone knowledgeable was not just to use the devices against the humans, but also to learn how to protect against them.

Things had been going more or less well, until they’d been told to ‘test’ Rick.

An ‘order’ she’d been ready to dismiss until she’d heard the roar. Another Sabertooth.

They’d rushed things, not that they could remain hidden for long. They’d moved intent on kidnapping the human and seeing whether the maiden was under human control willingly or not. Throag would have helped free her from the humans.

But things had become complicated.

She had found a Sabertooth worthy of joining the clans, someone who would be a great asset. With just one look she’d learned how to use the field of shadows, and best of all, the Sabertooth was one who’d clearly not been contaminated by human lies. Yet was willingly partnered to an individual human. One the human kingdom was very interested in, apparently.

Now there was a knight captain before her, the human and the fledgling Sabertooth having run away with their tails between their legs.

Throag’s first instinct was to fight.

A knight captain was a mighty challenge, she wasn’t sure she’d win. Not that it would have stopped her, normally. Were things different, she would consider it a worthy thing to do, it would surely be a serious blow to the human kingdom. And if she won, she’d be able to take the fledgling Sabertooth and her human to the tribes.

But things were not so.

She’d heard the Succubus’ words. The Vampire was dead. Considering the damn blood-sucker was nowhere to be found, she believed it.

That changed things, it meant Throag had no communication with the ones helping their mission, and she still had a mission to carry out. She had to carry the human that had been cursed, take the new maiden to the clans and the Vampires. The information would be crucial. Throag was proud, but the clans’ success came first. Too much was at risk.

Having the promising Sabertooth and her human slip her grasp was… regrettable, however. She allowed them to leave, focusing on the only remaining maiden instead. The knight captain had been looking in the direction the human was for several long moments, then, she nodded.

The green-haired maiden turned to face Throag. The two blades she wielded glowed with her power, a soft white glow. “I am Deneva, Captain of the royal knights under service of the Earl of Vitchatt. And you will die here.”

Throag wrapped her claws in shadows. “You will fail.”

Deneva scowled. “What is your name?”

She didn’t bother to answer, she’d heard of weird magics that took someone’s names and placed great curses upon the victims. This could be a trick or a trap, and she wasn’t going to bother taking that risk.

Instead she spread the tendrils of darkness, to slow down the maiden.

“Very well.”

Deneva leapt at her, slashing at the air and missing her target.

Or not.

Throag felt aura impacting against her like crashing waves. She was forced to pull back on her darkness and condense it on the front of her body tightly. The knight captain was throwing some kind of invisible technique, and only Throag’s instincts were able to pick up on the faintest trace of the incoming attack.

Aura as a weapon, not sharp enough to cut, but concussive.

With a growl, Throag summoned a sliver of her power behind the knight, a spine of darkness thrust up against the maiden’s exposed back…

… and crumbled as it touched the enchanted armor, barely registering to the maiden as she continued slashing at the air.

Throag cursed, no point in remaining close enough to get smacked around by the aura. She leapt away, using the trees and their shadows to weave her way between the word of light and the world of darkness. She put distance between herself and the armored maiden, even as she did not bother to stop her rain of attacks.

Any tree that stood in the way of her abilities were crushed and toppled. Suddenly the number of usable shadows were being reduced. Clearly the terrain being forced to change to ensure Throag would keep moving away from the human.

The attacks were missing her purposely.

The knight thought Throag would fight seriously and attempt to get to the human.

Good.

It bought her time, time to put more distance.

This time she didn’t bother with shadows, the armor would stop her attacks. The knight was fast, but Throag was faster. She was not burdened by armor, and she was of the Sharp Fang clan, when she needed to run, none would catch her.

It was a shame she could not fight and enjoy it.

The captain threw attacks at her as she ran. Each sharper than the last, but it was clear the threat she posed was not from a distance but from up close. That, and Throag was aware the captain would not give serious chase.

She had her orders.

Maybe she would have attempted to follow more seriously and fight if she weren’t a willing slave to the humans.

As it stood, Throag managed to escape, though with some cuts.

She kept her pace, not bothering to slow down, running across the meadows and hills and hurrying southwards. She would turn east once far enough from Bastet and where the forests began. If the Sky Blues were roaming overhead, then it would be the only way to avoid being spotted from afar.

She needed to take care to get back to the clans without detection and capture.

It would take her several days before she realized there was one crucial item missing from her bag.

Hundreds of kilometers away, within the safety of the city of Balet, Dia looked at the half-destroyed remains of the house they’d been living in. Her owner was a guest to the Earl once more, and Monica had opted to stick to Rick’s side yet again.

So it had been left to her to pick up everything of value they had to bring back to the fortress.

The maiden hefted Rick’s travel bag and found it to be heavier than she remembered. Perhaps it was only her tiredness of a very long day. The day had been long, and it would take a while for things to be cleared out.

She just hoped things would become peaceful again.