If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

[Poko]

The tattoo-faced otter?s condemning words still echoed in Poko?s ears as she straggled labouriously behind Zevka, keeping the marteness?s dark swaying tail ever in her peripheral vision. She stepped deliberately in the pine marten?s footprints, though the tracks were further apart than her own, trying to keep from getting bogged down in the snow. Were her parents really going to be damned? Her father had been a thief ? and a really good one. So, did that make him bad? He stole to support them when their pay didn?t cover their needs, and even then, those he swindled still laughed at his fantastic tricks. A giant constricting lump formed in her throat at the thought of her father. Her mind jumped to envision his dead eyes once again, frosted with snowflakes, mouth ghoulishly ajar, but she shoved the horrific image from her mind, refusing to let it take over. Now was not the time. Distraction is what she needed ? something else ? anything else to think about.

Zevka marched determinedly ahead of her, absorbed in the rhythm of her progress. Poko looked behind her but saw only Nyika, queen of melodrama. The wildcat was such a deviously clever fraud. All the adults were taken in by her act, but Poko was not fooled. From the start Nyika had played up her imaginary psychosis to gain attention ? even at Poko?s expense. Even Zevka the ex-hordebeast had fallen victim to her manipulations, coddling and petting the cat as if she were some fragile poppet. Nyika had duped her into giving away the very cloak off her back just by screaming and carrying on about how ?the ghosts were coming for her.?

She?d played some cutesy role in front of the owl as well to win him over. He had given her a toy. ?She?s sixteen!? Poko wanted to yell from her spot on the floor, but no one would have cared. To the adults, Nyika was a child and she played that up well. They even called her ?kitten.? Poko was two years younger than the cat but she would never stoop so low. She realized she had to grow up now. Her parents were gone and these strangers, much as they doted on the cat, were not obligated to watch out for either of them. Poko had to be smart like her mother told her, and strong like Zevka. She was in charge of her own destiny now.

With some effort the small ferret caught up to the pine marten, jumping into another set of tracks. The hood of her hedgehog costume flopped with each leaping step.

?Hey! Hey Zevka!?

?Yeah?? The marteness glanced at the bouncing ferret and slowed a little. ?Careful ? you don?t want to risk opening up those wounds again??

?He?ll open up my?? Ohhh. Right. It?s okay I can?t hardly feel my toe it?s so numb!?

Zevka looked concerned at this information, but Poko didn?t seem to notice.

?Hey, I was just wondering ? can you teach me how to fight??

The pine marten smiled. ?Paw-to-paw, or do you have some weapon in mind??

?Both!? Poko grinned with enthusiasm, balling her paws into small fists. ?But I don?t have a weapon,? she said, more to the ground than to the pine marten.

?Paw-to-paw then.?

?If I find a weapon will you teach it to me?? Poko had been eyeing several beasts? shinies and her fingers itched.

?I suppose. If you like, I can give you a few pointers as we walk.?

?Ooo ? keen!? Poko rubbed her paws together, warming them up for action.

?Hold on. I want Nyika in on this too??

?What? Nooo!? Poko groaned.

Zevka looked annoyed. ?Look, this is useful stuff for any kit to use in times of trouble, and if any time qualifies as ?troubled,? I?d say it?s now. Nyika!? she called back, ?would you come join us??

?Ugggghhhhh.? Poko glowered, then brightened at the thought of practicing the moves on Nyika. She was confident that she could out-maneuver the wildcat, despite her larger size. After all, Poko had some pretty decent acrobatic skills, and she was lightning quick.

Nyika finished licking one of the bald spots on her arm before joining them. She liked to keep up her scraggly appearance. Nothings says ?I?m on the verge of a mental breakdown? like patchy fur and self-inflicted scratches. She had plenty of those too. She liked to claim they were from the ghosts she saw, but Poko had seen her scratching her own face when no one else was looking, when she was pretending to be in some kind of ?spiritual trance.?

Zevka held out a paw to help the wildcat along. Poko felt a wave of resentment.

?I was about to show Poko some self-defense moves and wanted you to be included.?

"Oh, that's okay," the wildcat started. "I don't think ? "

"Nonsense," Zevka said. "You'll need this in case of some crow attack, or worse."

"Ah." Nyika sniffled a little in a blatant effort to tug on the pine marten?s heart strings. She looked less than enthused.

?Okay,? Zevka started off, ?just to clarify ? talking about it is really not the best way to learn to fight, but I don?t see that there? s any other option at the moment and I?d like you to at least learn a few survival techniques. That said, the first rule of self-defense is: It?s better to escape than to fight if you don?t have to.?

Poko frowned up at the marteness, ?What? But that?s what a coward would do!?

Zevka arched a brow, ?It?s what a survivor would do. If either of you are in a situation where somebeast is hunting you, it would serve you best to escape rather than try to take them on. Neither of you are very strong, and you probably wouldn?t stand much of a chance against a beast that knows how to use a sword, even if you do learn how to hold it properly. There's no substitute for experience.?

?But that?s exactly why I asked you to teach me to fight!? Poko objected.

?I'm teaching you to fight to help you survive. This little lesson of ours is better than nothing, but it's not the same as years of training and live combat experience. If you can get away, then do it! No matter how good of a warrior you might be, if you get into a scrap you always come out with some sort of injury whether it?s a bruise or a mortal wound ? you can win a battle, but still die later. Out here, any injury can seriously decrease your chances of survival, and what might bruise a larger beast might break one of your bones. Best to stay out of it if you?re able.?

Nyika nodded soberly, proving to Zevka that she was the superior student, unquestioning and attentive.

Poko kicked at the snow with her next step and sucked in a sharp breath as her bandaged foot made contact with a stick.

?When you?re confronted with an attacker, look for weak points,? Zevka continued, ?Like the knees, groin and even the thumb.?

?The thumb?? Poko looked confused.

?Yes, if somebeast grabs you, the weakest part of the grip is where the thumb and fingers connect. Even with arms as small as yours, they?re stronger than the tiny muscles in a thumb.? The pine marten demonstrated by grabbing her own wrist then yanking it free using the strength of her forearm.

?Okay let?s try it!? Poko shuffled through the snow to Nyika and seized hold of her wrist, grinning as she sunk her sharp claws into the cat?s skin. Nyika yelped and tried to pull away.

?Don?t pull back,? Zevka advised, ?That?s the worst thing you can do ? step toward her and then go against the thumb ? it will throw your attacker off-balance.?

Nyika did as instructed and Poko?s thumb and fingers snapped together as the arm was yanked free. Nyika gave Poko a glare.

?What if they grab you with both paws and the thumbs are facing different directions?? Poko grabbed Nyika?s arm again with both paws, one turned up and one turned down. Nyika tried to yank away again, but Poko held on, using all of her body weight to drag the cat?s arm down. Nyika hissed, obviously not enjoying the training session.

?Hold on, this isn?t?? Zevka was beginning to see that this was not going to work.

Nyika tried again to come forward and jerk her arm from the ferret when Poko relaxed her grip. The cat ended up bopping herself in the nose with her own paw and falling into the snow. Poko laughed loudly at the absurdity of it all, pointing at the distressed and snow-covered feline.

?Poko?? Zevka scolded tiredly.

?What ? I didn?t do anything! She hit herself!? The ferret shrugged innocently, then yelped in surprise as the wildcat plowed into her with a wicked hiss, piercing Poko?s hide with her long, curved claws. The ferretmaid shrieked and sunk her teeth into one of the many bald patches along Nyika?s arm in an instinctive attempt to free the hooks from her skin.

Abruptly, a paw seized her by the scruff and shook her until she let go.

?What isthe matter with you?? The pine marten released the ferret, who also ended up falling in the snow, though more out of surprise than momentum. ?Don?t you know how dangerous a bite can be? Bites are more apt to become infected than any other type of injury! There?s a reason why all combat sports ban biting ? ?

?But she started it!? Poko could hardly believe Zevka could be so one-sided. It was as though Nyika?s attack had not even happened ? as if Poko had nipped her out of sheer spite.

?No ? YOU started it!? Nyika?s back arched as she stood by Zevka?s side, claiming the pine marten?s protection.

It was such a blatant lie that Poko could not help but lunge at her antagonist.

?Enough!? Zevka placed herself between the two younger beasts, glaring fiercely at Poko?s obstinance. ?This ?lesson? is over.?

Poko took a step back, showing her teeth. ?FINE! I?ll go ask Cookie to teach me instead! He could beat you in a fight anyway!? She turned and ran through the forest along the path the others had used, brushing away tears. She wasn?t really mad at Zevka, but obviously she?d fallen out of the pine marten?s favor. She?d be offering no more candied crickets to the young ferret in all likelihood.

Poko?s breath came hard as she jogged past a moping Gashrock and a surprised-looking Vanessa.

?Cookie! Oy! Hold up, wouldja?? she called to the older ferret, switching into a more relaxed vernacular now that she was away from the more sophisticated marteness. She heard a loud crack and a sighing whine behind her as Cookie turned and flew at her.

?LOOKOUT!? someone yelled.

Cookie?s tackle knocked the wind out of Poko and she felt herself being carried through the air as a humongous pine tree crashed into the ground where they had all been walking a second before. The ground shook with the crushing impact, and several smaller pine branches lashed Cookie across the back like whips.

Once the snow settled again Cookie stood up and rubbed his back. ?I?m likin? these pine trees less an? less. That?s the second one tried to kill me since last sunset.?

Poko, having caught her breath, stood up with him to survey the damage.

?Phew! Anybeast get nailed? If not ? are there any volunteers?? He sniggered at his joke but Poko didn?t seem to grasp the innuendo. She ran down the length of the tree, coming first to Gashrock who lay curled with her paws over her head.

?Gashrock ? Are ya okay??

The rat looked up at the ferret and then snarled at the fallen giant. "World itself seems to be against us, innit? Too unlucky iffen ya ask me! This was in-ter-ten-shun-null."

Seeing that the rat was her usual conspiratorial self, Poko hurried on past her where a snow-powdered Zevka was rising to her feet, dusting the white substance from her dark attire. Poko looked everywhere for any sign of spotty wildcat fur, but to no avail. Her heart leapt in her chest. Had Nyika been killed? She squatted next to the tree, peering down where bark met ice. Zevka too looked desperately around for traces of the other young beast.

?Is ? is she ? ??

?Merrrow!? A plaintive and distinctively feline cry carried over to the pair from the other side of the tree. Poko scrambled up onto the massive trunk and spotted the wildcat, pulling at her ears and whiskers and trembling like the scaredy-cat she was. She had suffered not a single scratch on her hide that wasn?t self-inflicted, yet she was whining like a pathetic baby.

?Do you see her? Is she trapped?? Zevka climbed up next to Poko, worry etched across her features.

Poko gestured at the wildcat as if presenting a specimen at a freak show. ?Only in her delusions.?

Zevka slid down to land beside the wildcat and reassure her.

A reverberating thump made Poko jump as the owl, Noonahootin, landed abruptly beside her, craning his neck to evaluate the condition of all his comrades. Poko?s heart fluttered in her chest, having been doubly zapped by adrenaline. The owl was deathly silent until he was practically on top of her. It was unnerving. Poko knew he was a friend and ally in her mind, but her gut still urged her to flee.

?Guardsbeast Vanessa!? His thunderous voice made the ferret jump in her skin again.

?Aye, Cap?n?? The dazed otter looked up from the snowbank she?d leapt into.

?We need to regroup. Kindly escort those on your side of the tree to its base. I will find Corporal Istvan.? He spread his wings with a wince, braced himself, and took off once more.

Poko looked at Vanessa, Zevka, and Nyika on the one side, then at the other side where Gashrock was examining Cookie?s back. After a moment?s pause, the ferretmaid slid down to join her fellow Dewhurst companions.

Cookie saw her come down and met her there. ?Who else survived? Is Nyika all right??

Poko froze, not daring to believe her ears. Had the cat won Cookie over too?

?Course not,? she answered slyly. ?She?s never been ?all right.? Not in the head at least?? She smirked. For a split second Poko was actually afraid that Cookie was going to punch her. ?She?s fine! She?s on the other side! Zevka?s tending to her every precious need. There, ya happy?? Poko shuffled off toward the wider end of the tree where roots jutted and curled in every direction, still dropping bits of soil and snow. The giant conifer was halfway sunk into the soil, completely intact.

Gashrock came up behind the ferret and whistled. ?That ain?t right.?

Zevka, Nyika and Vanessa appeared and gaped at the pit where the tree used to stand.

?How odd ? the tree?s not rotted at all.? Zevka ran a paw across one of the huge strong roots. ?It?s like it just decided to uproot itself and tip over.?

Gashrock shook her head, ?T?ain?t natch-rull.?

?What is not natural?? Istvan came up behind Cookie, ?Obviously the All-Mother is crying out for more sacrifice.?

?NO,? croaked a deep bass voice as the ground itself shifted and opened into a mouth. Vanessa yelped in surprise and Nyika hissed. Poko believed for a moment that the otter Istvan had been right all along, except that the All Mother was actually the All Father, and none too happy about the gender discrepancy. But then a head pushed through the dirt, followed by a mud-encrusted body. ?This was neither nature nor providence.? The shape stood and opened its slit-pupiled, amber eyes.

It was the toad.