Chapter 73

Night. Two men are sitting next to a campfire, while meat slowly cooks over the fire. Rakk, a man from the bunny tribe has his head tilted up, watching the dark sky above them.

"I start to think that coming back was a bad idea, Sart." He glances at the younger Torakai guy next to him. "Just what exactly are you trying to achieve here?"

The catboy was absently staring at the fire the whole time. After a few seconds, he spoke, his voice barely audible.

"I still miss her…"

Rakk's palm covered his eyes in a brush of his light blue hair, hiding the irritated roll of eyes. "I know, my friend. I know. Just… You repeat this all the time. Back in the Hive, you insisted on coming to the forest, again." He took a breath. "What are we even doing? Neither of us is particularly good at hunting, back when Lipa was… I mean, back then we were just brute-forcing it. And look what happened. Just as I warned-"

"SHUT UP!" Sart snapped at his friend. "Can you? For a second. I know you predicted it! No need to rub it in my face!" His fists were trembling at his sides. "It's not your lover that died, while those… Those bitches! They could have helped, done at least something! It's all their fault Lipa… is…" Tears in his eyes and emotional tightness in his throat didn't allow him to finish. Or maybe he still didn't want to admit the reality.

"I am sorry." Rakk said softly. "But you can't blame someone for our own mistakes. Ironhides were a tough target…"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Sart got up, breathing hard from the pent-up emotions. "On Merial's claws, just fuck off!" He stormed out into the darkness, his cat eyes allowing him to navigate through it without much of an issue.

Rakk just shook his head with resignation. "He just needs to cool down a bit. Maybe it was a mistake to even start this new adventuring job in the first place… Nineteen eclipses is too young for this."

The catboy came back in two days, running faster than Rakk ever saw. The young man was constantly looking back and around, startled by any sound the wild forest produced.

"W-what happened? Where were you? I was getting worried."

"It's nothing. J-just a… wild animal. Saw a Rubropecto by the river."

Rakk tensed, reaching for his warhammer. "Far?"

Sart shook his head. "No! No. Don't worry about it. It was on the other side and far down the river. It has no reason to chase me out of all things."

"Still, where were you? Listen, I am sorry for pushing you about the… the topic. You know what I mean."

"I-it's fine. You always were the cautious and protective one. I… We can't argue forever, right?"

The two spent a couple more days. Very early in the morning, Sart quietly slid out of the camp, clutching his bow in his hands. "One more try. They have to pay."

The walk through the waking-up forest didn't take much time, the man followed the way he remembered. Approaching the forest clearing, his hands ached almost painfully with a need of revenge.

They are still sleeping, in their little fortress. Enough time to pick a spot.

He avoided the same bush he used to hide in the previous time, choosing one that was closer to the river in a straight line.

Grandpa always said to hide the tracks in water. Back then I would never think it's going to be that useful.

Sart took a deep breath to calm down as he crouched to get in the green thickness. Just as he placed one foot in, it landed not on a soft ground or grass – it was something flat and hard. He had less than a second to wonder before sharp iron spikes bit into his calf, the leather armor unable to protect from the strength of the mechanism.

"AAAAGGHh!" The scream of pain scared a group of colorful birds off a nearby tree. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?" Sart looked at his bleeding, crushed leg with wide eyes. As he tried pulling out of the trap, the pain only increased. "AGH FUCK!" Before he could do much, Sart was surrounded. Four girls stood around him, weapons ready.

Soi spoke first. "Wait, you?" She immediately lowered her bow. "We met him before, right? With some bunny guy. What were their names…"

Nicole reacted right after her, crouching next to Sart, making the maws unclench and helping him to get out. "Fuck, sorry. There was someone attacking us in the woods, we didn't think anyone else will get in the traps." She helped him stand up. "Let's go get you into the house."

"Agh… Ouch… My leg…" The catboy couldn't say much except for whining in pain.

Nicole picked him up princess style, the weight of the catboy in leather armor proved to be not hard to carry into the house. Inside, she lowered him to sit at the table on one of the chairs. Iloe quickly applied Pietus dust over the wound and bandaged the calf.

"This should be enough." The catgirl stated when she was done.

"Fuck…" The guy swallowed hard, looking at his damaged leg. "T-Thanks, I guess."

Nicole stood over him with her arms crossed. "What were you doing there, anyway? Where is the second guy?"

"I…" Sart nervously tried to think for a reasoning that wouldn't end up getting him dead. "I saw the house on the clearing and wanted to approach. Rakk is at our camp not that far away and-"

"Hm, what's that~?" Soi reached to Sart's quiver and took one of the arrows, studying it up close. She shot a suspicious glance to the rest. "Looks the same as the one from before." Her hand went to rest on her knife.

Fuck-fuck-fuck. Why would this bitch remember and even look at my arrows?

"From before?" Sart asked, using all his acting skills to sound and look as if he knew nothing.

"Yeah. Someone shot an arrow at us from the forest." Nicole explained.

Good, this idiot seems to believe in my innocence.

"I-I bought them at the market back in Hive. There were plenty of customers at that stall."

Soi didn't seem pleased with the answer. "How can you prove it's not you?"

Fuck-

Nicole raised her hand, stopping Soi. "Wait. We can't just go around and blame everyone. The arrow is not enough evidence."

"Rakk, if you get him here, he can tell you I was at the camp all the time." Sart said fast enough to not let Soi's suspiciousness get bigger.

If at least one of them leaves, it will be easier to escape.

"Well, that can work." Nicole nodded. "Tell us where your camp is."

After a quick explanation, Nicole looked at Soi. "Let's go. Going in one person is too dangerous, we should go together. Annie and Iloe should be enough to guard him, and just in case-" She circled the sitting catboy and grabbed his arms, tying his wrists behind the chair's back. "Sorry, just being cautious."

Sart's face got pale. "I-It's okay, I understand…" Ugh… On Merial's balls, fuck… Even my claws won't reach to shred it.

Annie and Iloe were left alone with the suspect, two of them sitting across him.

"So, um, what are you two guys doing here? Continuing your adventurer's jobs?" Annie tried to stir up a conversation.

"W-Well, basically, yeah… I had never been good at anything in particular, so grabbing a bow and becoming a mercenary was the easiest job I could get."

"That sounds horrible. I mean, my primary work was sitting in a lab and doing all sorts of stuff. No risks of being swallowed by some hungry monster or something." Annie sat back, thinking about the past. "On the other hand, I ended up in prison just because of being Nicole's best friend and because her adoptive parents were awful."

Perfect. One is already rambling about whatever. If I want to escape, I need them both distracted for a sudden strike.

Sart turned to Iloe. "And you?"

The catgirl's ears twitched. "Me? What about me?"

"Tell us about your work or something. Why wait in silence?"

She shrugged. "Well, before meeting Nicole, I spent most of my time studying alchemy from my mom's notes. Satisfied?" She still was wary of the catboy.

Annie smiled. "Hey, don't be so mean to him. And I wouldn't mind learning more about you, too."

Iloe looked outside, trying to see if Nicole was coming back already. Seeing nothing except the forest, she nodded along. "Fine. Can you bring me my diary? I think it's somewhere in my room."

Annie perked up. "Sure, one moment!" She flew upstairs.

As soon as the human girl left the two Torakai, the atmosphere shifted immediately. Iloe stood up and took a step towards Sart. "Alright, enough. You can fool them, but I can see it in your eyes – you are up to no good. Same eyes as my father's."

Fuck, she saw right through me.

The edge of Iloe's knife shined in the light before she pressed it to Sart's neck. She leaned close, breathing into his cat ear. "It was you, am I right? Trying to kill my dear Nicole… Did Antihum send you? Tell me all you know and I may let you live."

Sart's tail froze in place and pupils were blown wide. What the fuck?! This bitch is crazy, she's gonna kill me right here on the spot!

"I-I don't know what you are talking about! I swear!" A cold bead of sweat slowly slid down the back of his neck.

"Then why? Why are you here, trying to hurt her?" The blade pressed harder, making a thin, red line on the catboy's throat.

She wants to know why? Fine!

"You- You four could have helped Lipa! But she is dead! It's all your fault! And- And Rakk's! Fucking useless bunny!" The prisoner started shouting, but Iloe's knife and the look in her eyes made him quickly drop to an angry hiss. "I will kill you! Or even better, your ‘dear' Nicole! Make you suffer as I suffered!"

This was too much for Iloe. For a second, she lowered the knife. "No one dares to speak like that about my beloved Nicole! You threaten to kill her? Go feed worms!" The tip violently pierced Sart's chest before he could say another word. When the blood-spewing body fell from the chair down to the floor, Iloe clutched the weapon in her hands, stabbing it time after time.

Lipa… I… I couldn't even avenge you properly… I am such a disgrace…

Light disappeared from Sart's eyes quickly under the assault of the mad catgirl.

"That's right. This is what happens when you say those things." Iloe murmured under her breath.

Then, just as she stood up, the front door opened, shedding more light at her bloodsoaked hands and the still body on the floor as three persons stepped in.

"W-what happened?!" Nicole ran up to her. "Are you hurt? Where's Annie?"

Beside her and Soi, Rakk stood in utter shock.

"… S-Sart…? W-what- WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?"

He rushed past the girls, sinking to his knees next to dead Sart. At the sound of commotion, Annie was already down.

"Sorry Iloe, I couldn't- WHAT?!"

Iloe cuddled in Nicole's arms. "H-He… He started shouting something about vengeance and tried to get free from the rope… Nicole, I was so scared… My body moved by itself, one moment he was there and the next one I…" She rested her head at the crook of Nicole's neck. Nicole stood there, patting her friend trying to soothe her down, while looking at the grieving Rakk and the corpse.

"So… vengeance?" Soi sighed. "Now it all makes sense, right?"

"What do you mean?" Annie drifted closer.

"On our way here, we asked Rakk some questions about Sart. And he pointed out that Sart behaved strangely for a past while."

"Yes." Rakk heavily stood up, turning to face the girls. "I didn't even think that he could do something like that. You see, Lipa and Sart grew up together in one orphanage. Naturally it grew into something bigger. And after her death, he was restless. Constantly angry and lost in thought. I… I dismissed it as a simple grief. I…"

"It's not your fault." Nicole tried reassuring him with a soft smile. "Just… Don't try to kill us too, alright?"

The bunny man shook his head. "I… I am not that childish. Bringing only more suffering wouldn't do any good. The life is cruel already as it is. I… I am sorry." He stood up. "I need some time. And on my way, I can take the burden from you girls." He gently picked Sart's body up.

"We understand." Annie nodded.

"There are guest rooms. You can stay if… if you want." Nicole added.

With a simple nod back, Rakk stepped out through the front door.