The small group made their way towards the village.

The small girl, giving her brother a piggy-back ride, was leading the way.

Just in case, the `were-dog’ Scar was taken prisoner, hands tied behind his back, the ankle of his unbroken leg fastened to the restraints on the wrists. The dagger sheath was used as a gag.

It took them more than 15 minutes to reach the settlement. And even before they arrived, the sound of howling and crying reached their ears.

Worst of all was the stench.

The smell of iron, burnt hair and flesh wafted through the air.

A heavy atmosphere covered the area. The grief and pain were almost palpable.

The group barely stepped into the village when they were immediately surrounded.

At least ten humanoids, strongly resembling the siblings, had encircled the group, training their weapons at him.

Spears, short sabers and arrows pointed at him, daring him to make any sudden moves.

He remained strangely calm. The thought that rose the surface weren’t so much of fear, but of devising strategies and tactics to flee.

Due to the encirclement, they’d have to worry about friendly fire.

The weakest one? Most likely that one ...

The strongest …

One of the `guards´, armed with two sabers, or more probably cutlasses, stepped forward.

Two eyes in a white mask lined with red and black markings fixated on him.

The `guard´ in front of him was female, evident by the curves of her body.

His heart started racing as he looked at her from top to bottom.

She was shorter than him, possibly 1,50m or 1,60m.

The mask she was wearing was flanked by long strands of light reddish, almost orange hair, with strands of black mixed in. Most of the hair, however, was tied into a ponytail and fell between her shoulders.

Two long fox ears protruded from behind the mask, same color as her hair, with a dark patch of fur at their end.

Atop her dark robe, or a mix between a short kimono or a yukata that reached her thighs, she wore leather armor.

A single plate of leather covered the small twin bulges of her breasts. It reached just past the sternum, leaving the area around her abdomen unprotected.

Her narrow shoulders were protected by laminar leather pauldrons, and her forearms in turn by leather arms guards.

Her legs were mostly bare, except for another pair of segmented guards across her shins, and along the top of her feet … paws, similar in style to the ones adorning her arms.

Behind her shapely legs, a fluffy tail swayed in anticipation.

Both sides of her waist were flanked by scabbards, slightly curved, that would allow for quick drawing of the the cutlasses. Said weapons were pointed at the ground, leaving the center of the body wide open.

A trap for sure.

The entire outfit and posture screamed agility-type. Anyone foolish enough to attack the fake opening would surely suffer.

The girl next to him shouted “Deirfúr!” and bolted to the figure standing in front of them.

The little brother, having gotten off her back earlier, also darted towards the female.

Happiness radiated from the little ones as the `guard´ embraced her in a one armed-hug. However her gaze remained trained on him.

Apparently `deirfúr´ and `deartháir´ were terms of endearment signifying kinship. Probably sister and brother respectively.

He hoped it meant sister.

He unceremoniously dropped the captive on the ground, who winced in pain, starting to rouse.

His eyes swept across the the `guards´ surrounding him.

A mixture between males and females, similarly dressed as the one before him.

The males were slightly better armored, focussing more on strength. They were moderately, bigger than the females, but none reached his height, the tallest amongst them maybe 1,70m. Their shoulders were broader though, mostly due to bulging muscles barely hidden by their armor and clothes.

The males were armed with swords and spears, while the females favored the bow and arrow.

As the little girl talked and gestured, presumably a riveting account of his fight, the `guards´ started to relax, lowering their weapons.

The antics of the little one brought a smile to his face.

The big sister -he hoped it was ‘sister’- sheathed her weapons as well, gave the little one another hug, before turning towards him and removing her mask.

For a moment he forgot how to breathe.

The face before him was beautiful. He thought so anyway.

And he’d defend that notion with force.

Not the breathtaking ethereal beauty that made one hesitate to get closer.

More the girl-next-door type beauty. The stern look of an `Onee-san´ character that couldn’t quite hide the cool beauty under a layer of seriousness.

The face was heart-shaped, with slightly elevated cheekbones and a tapered jaw line culminating in a pointed chin.

Slanted eyes, just a little bit, with golden irises flecked with red spots.

Full lips that were neither too big nor too thin.

An annoyed jingle of chimes broke his train of thought and he focused on the situation at hand.

He looked at the older sister as she smiled at the little ones, before directing a stern look towards him.

She walked over with strong and steady steps, stopped just out of arm’s reach, and started speaking.

A melodious voice rang out,

“Enda is ainm dom. Go raibh maith agat as a shábháil mo deartháireacha.”

She bowed slightly at those words.

“Cad is ainm duit?”

He did not understand a word she had said. He tilted his head to the side and just continued to smile.

“Cad is ainm duit?” She repeated a little annoyed this time. Her thin eyebrows crunching together was kinda cute.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her tail wagged slowly. The expression on her face transmitted her annoyance.

“Sorry! I don’t understand you,” he told her honestly, raising his hands, trying to look non-threatening.

His movement wasn’t well received, as both her and the others immediately became more cautious.

She jumped back a little, her hand going to one of her sheathed cutlasses while the some of the female guards drew their bows slightly.

The male folk just snickered.

The little girl was talking to her sister in quick bursts, so he couldn’t quite catch what she said.

Judging by her accusatory tone followed by pleading, she might have been asking her sister if she could keep him as a pet.

The older one was looking at him again, pointed her finger to her cute little nose and repeatedly said,

“Tá mé Enda … Enda!” and while pointing towards him “Ainm?”

The gesture was obvious, but he still couldn’t answer.

As he tried to recall his name, the high-pitched noise returned and his head started to hurt.

His face distorted in pain as he massaged his temples.

“I … I can’t remember.”

The pain was worsening. Different colored specks dotted his vision and he could hardly keep his eyes open.

He fell to one knee, the pain quickly becoming barely tolerable.

Just above the noise, a worried tingling barely registered.

This time even the men looked anxious. Lost between confusion and apprehension, they didn’t know how to react.

The girl he had helped, Enda’s sister -he pleaded to whatever gods there were-, looked at him with worry.

Suddenly a sweet scent wafted through and a clear note resounded in the air.

The pain was blown away and the screeching high-pitched noise was gone.

He still didn’t know who he was or how he had gotten there, but a pressure he didn’t realize was there, suddenly lifted from his mind.

His vision restored, he took in the shape of two newcomers.

One was an elderly fox lady, with dirty gray hair framing her face, just a tint of reddish brown remaining, her nose resembling a snout.

One of her ears was shorter than the other, a scar in the shape of a bite mark bringing it to a sudden end.

She stood hunchbacked, supporting herself on a wooden staff, longer than her height, with bells on its end. The staff looked like a long branch, broken off from a tree.

Flowers adorned it, although some were only buds.

A few petals were floating in the air, carried by a non-existent breeze.

She wore a long grey robe, held together by a wide dark sash.

A brown fur coat draped over her shoulders.

Despite her short stature and apparent age, she exuded a strong presence.

The aged humanoid fox was only half as surprising as the creature standing next to her.

A giant spider was standing next to her, conversing with her in clicks, hisses and shrill chirps.

The spider was at least the size of a dog, holding its two-segmented body comfortably half a meter above ground.

The legs were long, a short segment extending from the abdomen, another upwards almost a full meter, one more almost parallel to the round, another coming down, ending in a claw.

If it drew to full height, it would easily surpass two and a half meters.

The laminar shell, so reminiscent of the armor the fox people wore, was dark, with a bluish hue.

Cyan flesh and membrane were visible between the gaps, as the abdomen expanded with every breath the spider took.

The air expelled through her abdomen blew fine clouds of dust across the ground in a steady rhythm.

The mandibles seemed humongous, compared to the head that carried them.

Another pair of appendages protruded from the side of the head. The spider was rubbing the clawed ends together, almost as if they were hands. They probably functioned as such.

At least the spider did not look as hairy as a tarantula. The upper side of its abdomen and most of its thorax was covered in short silver fur, contrasting the dark chitin plates.

Across the thorax, a leather strap was draped, lined with many pockets. At one end, a pair of iron gloves in form of claws dangled.

The two newcomers talked amongst themselves.

While the old granny was speaking the same language as the other humanoid foxes, the spider woman uttered in unintelligible clicks, whistles and hisses, before addressing the gathering at large.

The old granny looked at the group and uttered a single word.

“Tagaigí!”

Then she turned around, not waiting for a response, and started walking towards one of the dwellings.

The spider followed first, then the sister -please, gods, please-, Enda, and a few of the guards.

The little one turned towards him, took hold of his hand and dragged him along.

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