Fatality

[Rath the Whirlwind]

?Attack!?

Rath bristled.  To put it mildly, this was not the welcome to the outside world he had been expecting.

The ferret stood back for a moment and took in the sight of the newborn battle, squinting against the unfamiliar light from above.  The one-eyed mouse that lead the band of mostly woodlanders seemed familiar to him, as did the armed mole at her side.  He snorted at that; as if moles could fight.

Rath felt himself jostled from behind as Matukhana?s vermin ran to meet the attacks of the emancipated slaves.  He gripped the axe in his paws, but felt a chilling fatigue sap his strength.  They were all so eager to attack one another time after time.  When would he ever be free from this pointless bloodshed?  It was as if he had never left the coliseum at all; he was simply performing for new masters.  

At the thought, he scanned the melee in hopes of pinpointing Venril, but it was nearly impossible amidst the howling, screeching mass of beasts.  He did see Bellona, however, and a low growl rumbled from the depths of his throat as he saw her stab a fox in the back.  Disgusting creature.  

She wasn?t like the others.  This mouse was dangerous; a mass-murderer.  He had to bring her to justice.  

Rath rushed forward to meet her, axe at the ready.  

He was but ten paces from the mouse when something odd glimmered at the edge of his sight and he slowed to a stop.  Turning his full attention to the left, he saw Eliza and snorted.  The pine marten was a truly pitiable sight, cowering with her ears flat against her head, intent on making herself as small a target as possible.  

The truly interesting part of it, however, was the monitor lizard creeping up behind her.  Rath had never seen a monitor before, but he supposed there was nothing else for the hulking, scaled creature to be.  

Rath turned his attention toward the dormouse just once more.  I'll deal with you later, mouse.

The ferret turned his back on Bellona and thundered across the sand to intercept the menacing lizard, striking with terrible force.  Medjool went down in a heap, but was back on his footclaws in an instant.  Hissing viciously and bleeding all along the right of his face, the lizard cut a terrifying sight, one to match even that of the scarred ferret facing him.  

Even with only the use of his claws, the monitor was a tough opponent.  The sand underpaw was churned blood red as the two goliath combatants engaged in a dance of death.  Rath sliced at the monitor, who shrieked in pain and lashed back, pushing back against the blade in a monstrous show of strength.  The ferret hopped backward, causing Medjool to stumble forth, and turned aside the blade in a stunning smack to the lizard's forehead.

Just as Rath lunged forward to deliver a final, devastating slice, the lizard rolled to the ground and lashed out with his tail in one fluid motion, tripping the ferret warrior.  Rath kicked his footpaws straight up just as he felt needle teeth snap at his neck-fur.  The monitor was thrown backward with a 'whoosh' of air.  Rath got to his footpaws to see his combatant do the same, and they rushed to meet each other, snarling their hatred.  

Rath moved to parry a swift strike to his side, and leaped back, sucking in his stomach to avoid a blow from the monitor's wicked claws that would have surely opened him up.  The monitor kicked up sand as he feinted at Rath's other side, but this time the ferret was prepared.  Catching Medjool off guard, he bulled forward and...

The ferret let out a bark of shock; the monitor's tail had snapped off!  It squirmed and slithered like a snake, and the ferret wondered for a moment whether he should attack it, just to make sure it wasn?t alive.  Looking up from the dismembered appendage, he blinked; nobeast.  The monitor had disappeared into the sands, likely looking for an easier meal.

If it was lucky.  

The ferret coughed, and winced at the action.  It hurt a lot more than it should have.  Turning, he scowled.  

Eliza was standing there, her face ashen.  The look of a fresh fighter still unfamiliar with blood.  Should have ran away? A painful lump formed in his throat, but he didn't pay it much heed; he'd have a few new scars after that little bout.  

The marten ran forward, and Rath, expecting some sort of reprimand, nearly drew back when she threw her paws around him.  

?Rath... I... thank you.?  She stepped back.  ?? You?re, um, bleeding a bit??

Rath strained to see what she was talking about.  Blood was pattering with an oddly soothing sort of rhythm onto the sand at his footpaws.  He followed it up, tracing the horrendous slash that ran from his flank to his throat with a detached interest.  

Well.  Suppose I'm gettin more 'n a few scars after all.

He would have laughed if he could.

?G?way,? he gurgled, pushing the marten roughly aside.  ?You?ll? get in th' way.?

?But,? Eliza took a tentative step forward.  ?You need hel??

?I wouldn't have saved your worthless hide if it meant I'd end this way, wench!? Rath snarled, each word burning on its way out.  "Go!" The marten shot him a conflicted glance and then fled.  

The ferret fell to his knees, gritting his teeth and leaning heavily on his axe.  One time, seasons ago, he'd fancied himself dead.  Tossed in a ditch and bleeding from countless wounds; worthless.  The pain was nothing compared to this.  

And yet...

It was nothing alike at all, he realized.  Something was different, and yet he couldn't put a claw on it.

He clutched the coat tightly in his paws.

Suddenly, the beasts fighting around him all but dissipated.  Up ahead in the distance, Rath saw a shimmering light.  Straining to see against the encroaching dark, he seized up; a corpse lay in the last rays of the sun, rotting to the harsh dirge of a crow, and his spirits sank.  Nothing has changed. he thought bitterly. He didn't matter then, and he never had.

And then, from the very sand itself, a tiny sapling sprouted,  He watched as it grew and grew, a monstrous thing, twisted and powerful.  It's roots spread into the ground right up to where he lay, and eventually the barren desert scape was all-but devoured by it.  

The body itself rose and padded toward the ferret, shifting and morphing until Rath grinned in recognition.

?Keane.?

This time it was the real Keane; he knew it.  The malice from the nightmare was completely gone.

?This? is it, then?" the ferret asked.  

The cat nodded.  ?Yep.  Sorry to say so, friend.?  

?I suppose it could be worse,? Rath murmured.

It was nothing like it had been, in the dream, or in the vision.  The horrid pain had hallowed him out and left him empty.  But what of this emptiness?  

When the battle ended, many others would have died.  But, for now at least, a pine marten and two stoats would be safe.  

And he smiled.

The ferret slowly rose to his footpaws.  Somewhere off to the side he saw his body shutting down, the rattling breaths slowing.

Rath turned his good eyes away and crossed the distance toward his friend.  ?Let?s go.?

And they did.