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the fire was burning in the village, everyone was running in mad patterns, arrows and swords were shining in the fire, xodus was still remembering the horrors of what happened to his people. the small forest was like home to him, so free and quiet, but he would have to leave this place too for humans and other clans would come to kill. he was an outcast, the last of his kind. Anubian...

"i'd better get moving" said xodus as he got up and walked his sword in his hilt, but as he started to move he heard something, rustling in the bushes.

"whos, there!!! speak!!"

Like Xodus, Matfur was the only of her kind. But she was not the last of many - she was the first, and only creature of both pegasus and fox blood. And, like him, she had lost her family, the Riverweavers. She was the last of that clan, though three others - Flamewheel, her husband, Grana, her friend, and Lawcine, her betrayer - had been adopted to the tribe. She slunk through the undergrowth, mainly on all fours, her hand tightly on her spear. She stopped suddenly as a pricker bush caught hold of her cloak, and she struggled to get it uncaught, causing much more noise then she wanted to. "Who's there!!! Speak!!" She heard a voice say. Seven years of flight, torture, and rape caused her to freeze, ears and eyes alert, for the voice had been masculine, and she feared men more then all else.

A few hours before the events of Anubian:

Bran was in the company of 39 other mercenaries sent to destroy and raid fur villages in the area. during the mid day, the village was sited and preparations were made. Bran was told by his "superiors" that the melee fighters will charge the weak wooden gate and slaughter all inside while marksmen, like himself, would provide covering fire and join the others once the gate area has been taken. a local mage would destroy the gate first.

Night came and the sentries of the small town were making their rounds. the leader gave the signal for the mage to cast his spell...... An burst of light flashed in the night sky as a huge fireball smashed into the gates and exploded creating a raging inferno on the structures near the gate. The warriors yelled their battle cries and charged towards the gate as Bran and 6 others shot arrows on a long arc into the village. As Bran's Arrow arced down , once of his runes glowed and made teh arrow become surrounded by white hot flames setting a house on fire. he motioned to advance into melee...

Many furs ran out that night but most were slain. both of Bran's weapons were soaked with blood. as the battle group wrapped up the fight, they did not even bother to go after the survivors. Bran chose that time to disappear. he simply jumped over the wall of the still burning village from the wall and went in pursuit of survivors himself, his rage still not spent. soon he heard the words and froze, "Whos, there!!! speak!!" when he realized the words were not directed at him he sat down on his heels and watched.

"Hey." Atia said, her husband's crossbow slung over her shoulder as she walked toward the head mercenary. She had beaten the other two to death as they tried to set fire to her school. Luckily, she had managed to get the children into a trap door.
Atia fired a bolt into the ground under the merc -she had never been the best shot- but it got his attention. She felt like ripping his head off herself anyway.

"Can I help you?" she said as she pulled out her thick walking stick, getting in her quarterstaff stance.

" who are you, come out and show yourself" said xodus with intent of force. He needed to be sure it was another fur, if not he would have to fight something he knew little about but it knew plenty of him, his eyes looked all over searching for a sign of anything to the persons identity.

Vance looked out from a hill at the blaze of the destroyed furr village. "What has become of us," he said to himself. Vance began to walk down the hill towards the forest near the village. He hoped he could find some shelter for the night as the other mercenaries finished their work. "Thank the gods I was late and missed having to do it myself." As he stepped into the thresh hold of the forest, Vance senced something. He was not alone in the cover of the woods.

A low growl started in the back of Matfur's throat. "And what will we accomplish by me coming out?" She called to the person inquiring. Her voice was strange for one so small, deep and almost musical. She started to ready her spear, when her keen sense of smell picked up the scent of human. The thing speaking to her was some sort of furre, and she always had held one theory - that humans are a larger threat then furres, no matter the species.

Vance looked around into the darkness of the woods. "What i wouln't give to have the eyes of a furre," he thought to himself. Vance could sence there was someone out there. Maybe two people. Not knowing if whoever was out there was friend or foe, Vance jumped up into a tree. Getting onto a fairly high branch, he jumped from tree to tree silently. After traveling a couple hundred feet through the tree tops, Vance stopped. He looked down below him and saw a figure "What do we have here?" he thought

Bran was completely still. and breathed so silently that his chest barely moved. his right hand was poised over the hilt of his sword and his dirk was in his left hand ready to throw or block. then he heard a rustle from a tree above. he snapped his head up and saw a man there looking down on him. thinking that he was a friend he pointed through the foliage with his dirk tryiing to tell him furs were about.

Atia saw this was going nowhere.
He's not alone, against their tactics. Watch him. Watch his eyes, Atia. The eyes show everything.

She saw the glance, saw its position. She looked at the canopy, threw the staff, let the human tumble to the ground.

"Anything else?" she said as the quarterstaff bounced at the human's feet.

Gregory slipped out the mansion window, the medalion in his hand. It had been a close call there but he'd made it. Greg made a mental note to go back and free the fur tied in the garden. 'It's just wrong,' he thought, 'No one has the right to treat them like that. I'll go back for her in a few days when the heat's off.'
Greg dropped onto the roof bellow and sprinted off the edge. It was about time he got his money.


Minutes later, Greg was outside Bicars place. It was dark, but the light shinning out of the open upper floor window was like a beacon, calling him towards what he had rightly earned. He was through it seconds later.
"Good evening Bicar." Greg muttered, bowing deeply.
"Ahhh, greetings Ghost." went the raspy voice of Bicar. He was a small, thin man who always seemed to be tired, as if he'd never slept in his life. Right now he was smiling widely. "You have my new Medalion, yes?"
"No. I have my new medalion. However, you can have it for 500 gold pieces."
"Right, the money, the money. Well, you see, I don't have the money."
The medalion slipped into Gregs pocket. "What do you mean you don't have the money? We agreed on 500 gold!"
Why am I complaining? It's worth more than that on the black market.
Bicars smile didn't fade. "Instead, I have some information that you might like to hear."
"...go on."
His smile widened. "There has been a raid organised. A raid on a village of furs. Women, children, all kinds of species of fur."
Dammit!
"Where?"
"South. 7 or 8 miles. They left at midday."
"Why didn't you tell me then? Gah, I don't have time for this!"
As Greg turned towards the window, Bicar held out his hand. "This information is worth 500 gold, yes? For the medalion?"
"No, it's not."
With one clean swipe, Greg cut off Bicars hand and dove into the night. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe...

Ziemiia curled up closer to the tiny peice of cloth that his master called a blanket. It was colder than normal tonight but he was not suprised beacuse there were normaly two people in this room during the night the other was his friend, Laurn. He stood up and looked out into the garden through his small window were he saw Laurn tied to the gallows by her wristes. She had tryed to escape this horried place last week and almost did but she was caught and beaten for all to see. Ziemiia could still rember her screams as his master beat her to near death. At that moment he made a vow, he would escape this place and bring help back.

*OOC: when the lettering is slanted like this, it means Vance is thinking, not talking. Thank you.*

The man below him had seen him. "Judging by his attire and that he actually heard me, I'd say he's one of the mercenaries. Just my cruddy luck." Vance looked out into the dense woods, and saw the outline of someone. Vance looked back down at the man below. "Now should I just kill him and let the world be rid of another evil human, or let him lead me to what I hope are surviving furres." Vance jumped down from the tree and landed in a bare patch of ground to avoid making sound. He glanced at the mercenary and nodded.

Bran gave a grin then put away his dirk. he then took out his longbow and took aim through the foliage. another rune on his bow started to glow and suddenly the arrow became very very cold sucking the very life from the area around. He fired...

heh. with this cold arrow i should at least scare the damn furs into coming out of hiding. then i can kill them and avenge my town!!!!! *enter silent crazy laughter*

Atia jumped as the arrow fell through the foilage. She heard a little girl scream- she recognized it.

"Svasi!" she cried. "SVASI!!!"
No reply. Atia knew it.
Her daughter was dead.
"Not even four years old...that's what your pointless violence gets you. You think she was with whatever troupe that screwed your life?" Atia walked closer, not minding the human reached for his knife. He stabbed her in the shoulder, but she just picked him up and looked him in the eye.

"She never would have raised arms against a soul lest they raised arms against her first."

Atia would have given anything to kill him, but it would have made another tavern story about how a bold captain was killed by an angry beast.

(Colors of the Wind suggested as music)


"I'm going to walk away now. I'm going to turn my back on you. You have a choice. You can kill me along with children, or you can rethink your jihad, human. Consider this the greatest act of mercy ever bestowed on you...because you have killed my daughter, your armies have killed my husband, and yet I let you live. Tell it to your troops, that not everything with fur is a savage. Or lie and spill more pointless blood."