FSE

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1717, Japan

The second year of the Kyoho era was a time of relative peace. Nobunaga's campaign united all of Japan but left a wide and long trail of blood and death as its horrible price. Now it was far enough behind them that the empire has regained its footing and things have calmed considerably. United as one; the empire now can distribute its resources more evenly and settlements that formerly struggled and vanished into the darkness of night could prosper, expanding human borders. But, Japan is a series of islands- there is only so much land to expand into.

Wolves have long since been a blight on hunters in Japan. Vicious and crafty- they compete with humans to be the greatest hunters. The wolves often steal or scare away prey the human hunters were looking for, then snap at the hunters. There are some animals the human hunters will never strike down; fox, tanuki, and deer- but wolves were definitely not one of them. Because they constantly make a nuisance of themselves; human hunters turned on the wolves as their primary targets. Their population has been in a steady decline, and the longer time passes the further it dips as the humans in this empire grow stronger. The wolves cannot simply migrate away because they live on an island; they have nowhere to go. The remaining wolves become still more vicious and hostile as a result, which sadly only increases the hunter's desire to end them.

The kitsune Keiko moved in with her new boyfriend 15 years ago to his forest home near Mt.Hiei. The tanuki lord Daisuke ruled the forest as a sort of bastion for forest animals and even erected a modest castle over the river here, hidden on the spirit realm side of reality as a safe place for displaced creatures to regain their footing. Daisuke has been letting several new animals into the woods and his own castle as temporary shelter lately. They are displaced- they came here because the forests they called home before became too dangerous. Vagabond wolves have started to wander all over Japan, causing trouble for the humans and other animals alike.

Hatsuko is a karasu(crow) tengu who acts as Daisuke's body guard, watching over his castle. She has been on alert looking for wolves recently. She takes the unusual appearance of a crow dressed in all-white feathers and circles the forest and surrounding area overhead, scanning for possible threats to Daisuke. In her demi-human form she wears a tengu mask assembled of bone shards from past victims, simple medical wrapping around her bust, and a Suzaku tabard as a loincloth. In her demi-human form her arms and legs transition to bird talons and wings at the elbows and knees- so she often fights using taekwondo; a fighting style that primarily uses the legs only, since she has no hands.

Stories have been spreading of wolves using an unusually high level of intelligence- which is really saying something for an animal that already uses military-like strategy and coordination to hunt. The most alarming of these is the tale of a pregnant woman who was stuck in a mountain pass- she started to go into labor and the wolves smelled the blood. Luckily a merchant armed with a wakizashi arrived and helped the woman climb into a tree to evade the wolves. One would think the wolves would simply go away after a time- realizing the humans were out of their reach. A wolf cannot climb a tree. Instead- they climbed each other.

The wolves stood on their own backs to form a living ladder to try and get the humans, forcing them to even higher branches! The wolves were unfortunately one body too short to reach them, and the merchant swinging his short sword around did not leave them room to experiment without one of them getting their head cut off. Speaking in human language- one of the wolves called to the others to get the blacksmith's wife from the nearby village and a short while later a giant of a wolf appeared wearing a kettle as a helmet. The alpha jumped up onto the others but the merchant managed to strike hard enough to go through the kettle. The wolves scattered and vanished into the night almost as if their bodies had turned to vapor!

The woman was aided the next morning and brought to safety, but rather than continue on his way the merchant returned to the village nearby- seeking the blacksmith's wife. When he found her with a head wound he immediately cut her down... and her body transformed back to that of a giant wolf. They found the bones of at least twenty humans under the blacksmith's shop, including those of his real wife who the wolf ate and transformed into. The wolf's pack had not been stopped, just the alpha, which means if one could learn to transcend into a yokai- so can the others. A new alpha will be chosen eventually.

Hatsuko spotted a lone wolf crossing a clearing before the start of the forest, and already moved down into the canopy to cut him off before he gets even remotely close to the castle. The forest has two major sections- the southern area is a bamboo forest before it transitions to the ginkgo and maple trees that surround the castle at the heart of the forest. Hatsuko was going to remove the wolf before he gets through even the bamboo grove.

She turned to her demi-human form while already swooping down on the wolf, colliding with it talons-first and pinning its neck to the ground, with her talons on either side of his throat ready to close if provoked.

"Turn around, wolf. This forest does not welcome untamed predators like you. This is a safe place."

"Safe for all... all but wolves?"

Hatsuko took a deep breath, bracing herself for diplomacy- something she is not at all accustomed to. "If you abide our rules and do not harm anything; then you may be permitted to stay here."

"Ah, so I can starve to death in your presence. Such a generous offer."

"If you want to hunt- hunt elsewhere."

"While you gather all the prey here and tell us we cannot hurt them? I came here to track a straggler... I see why he ran this way now."

"Lord Daisuke rules this forest- he makes the rules here, it is neither my place nor yours to argue."

She jumped off him and landed a few feet ahead- standing between him and the castle beyond. The wolf huffed and turned around, but then grinned with his maw of fangs with his back turned to her. Another wolf jumped from the brush to Hatsuko's left, straight at her! Wolves almost never hunt alone. It snapped at her wing but only managed to rip a few of her feathers out, making her wince. She jumped up, slamming him into the ground with a blast of wind from her wings and then before he could scramble out of the way; grabbed his tail in her talons and yanked him back toward her. Before Hatsuko could do anything to him the first wolf turned and lunged at her! She threw the second wolf into the first, knocking them both to the ground, then continued to spin and kicked out with her legs- gouging into the second wolf's throat with her blade-shape talons. Hatsuko formerly found work as an assassin for hire- she is already used to killing.

With a glance at the second; the first wolf knew it was going to die and scrambled out from under him and darted away- out of the forest again. Not wanting to waste good meat- Hatsuko picked up the carcass afterwards and brought it to the kappa chef Shironami down the river a ways to cook the meat. The bones were given to the rodents of the forest to gnaw. Every part of a hunt used for something- to waste any is to dishonor your prey. Hatsuko remained on high alert though. The wolf that escaped could be back with others. He knew there was an overabundance of prey in this forest, and had no interest in allowing this place to remain a safe haven. She hoped her show of skill would be enough to ward him off, but very much doubted it would be.

Daisuke walked out onto the balcony around the outside of the castle and looked up at Hatsuko who was in her crow form, perched on the edge of the roof watching carefully the southern end of the forest.

He sighed, crossing his arms. "You need to sleep at some point."

"I am your only true guard, and the wolves can attack again. I should not have let the straggler live..."

"I am not sure you should have killed his partner, never mind him. Not everything is best solved with death, Hatsuko."

"... I... I know. But he attacked me and... it was a necessary evil."

"Mmm, alright. Just... remember to get some rest, okay? You aren't going to be a good guard if you are sleep deprived."

Hatsuko felt a little shame. She became a tengu originally on the battlefield, and made a career of ending lives. She is extremely skilled and lethal in battle... but Daisuke is trying to save lives, and create a place of peace- he does not want her to murder anyone. When Keiko originally came to the castle it was in disguise to mess with Daisuke and Hatsuko's rage at being duped by the clever vixen caused her to unintentionally wreck the house trying to kill her. Not only did Keiko fully evade all her attacks- she destroyed property she was supposed to protect because she does not know how to hold back.

She woke up the next morning as thin beams of sunlight manage to penetrate the canopy of leaves and touch her. Hatsuko blushed; not remembering going to sleep in the first place. She fell asleep in crow form, nestled in the upward curled edge of the roof with her feathers fluffed up to make a pillow of her own body. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of several frightened critters rushing back toward the castle. The wolves must be back. She turned back to demi-human form and jumped down from the roof, walking through the courtyard and across the narrow bridge- the only way in or out of the castle. The wolf from yesterday appeared in the distance with another wolf on either side of him. They are approaching quickly. No; Hatsuko must have been right this time- she should have killed him.

She beat her white wings against the ground and took off at him in a great big leap rather than actually fly to close the distance. Before she could hit him, a fourth wolf jumped from the side and bit into her ankle sending Hatsuko tumbling to the ground with it! She kicked it off- striking the very end of its nose to send shooting pain through its skull and force it to let go. Two others lunged at her before she could even fully get off the ground! Using her powers as a tengu she slammed her wings down and blasted them with wind elemental magic- though hers was not strong enough to actually knock them away, it just blew their fur up and forced them to stop for a moment. She used her very long legs to sweep the legs out from under one wolf and tried to attack another with her talons but a third jumped over the second straight at her face! She ducked to dodge it, but the other two immediately bit her from either side as if having been waiting for her to duck!

Keiko appeared suddenly in her own demi-human form! Two of her six tails vanished and in their place a sword appeared in either hand.

Hatsuko growled- yanking her wings free from the wolves to jump back, tearing out several more feathers in the process. "I did not ask for your help, kitsune!"

"Good, because I wasn't waiting for your permission."

Keiko dove at a wolf and swung her sword, but it dodged back easily. She knew it would, so put no weight behind her swing; expecting it would not land. Another wolf lunged at her thinking he had an opening but she ducked and one of her tails arched up, turning into a huge fist on the end and punching the wolf hard in the gut, firing him up into the air with a yelp of pain! She slid forward toward her original target to force him to flinch back- putting his footing in a position where he could not leap away and then struck at him with her sword! Another wolf jumped up under her arms, bopping the sword up and a third wolf BIT the sword and ripped it out of her hand! Another bit her sleeve from behind, yanked her arm back and then bit into her hand forcing her to drop the other sword in order to squirm her hand free. Luckily both blades were just transformed tails, so as soon as they were cut off from her they turned back into red fox and skittered back to their host and re-joined her body.

"These aren't wolves Hatsuko!"

"W-what are they then?!"

A man slowly approached casually, leaning on the butt of a naginata in his hand like it were a walking stick. "Senbiki okami. A yokai wolf."

The wolves all quickly broke off and spiraled in around the man like a tidal wave of bristly grey fur. The senbiki okami are a wolf pack that has become so battle-hardened and so coordinated that they all share the same mind now- they are a hive mind. Anything any of the wolves see or hear; all of the others also hear and see. Every wolf acts as an extension of the body of the other wolves of its pack. Rather than a hundred wolves it was more like one wolf with a hundred mouths.

The man at their heart must be the alpha- the only one capable of shapeshifting. He likely does not have many forms- even as a yokai; wolves do not possess much magic. Like the wolves he commands; his hair is bristly, wild, long and grey. His eyes are pale blue like a full moon. He wears tekko and suneate; the shin and forearm armor of a samurai, as well as a menpo (the face mask) shaped like a wolf muzzle over his lower face. Over his legs he only wore normal cloth hakama and he wore nothing at all over his torso- his chest and abs were bare. His body is absolutely riddled with scars of all shapes and forms- many of which even looked like bite marks. Under his menpo his lips are even notched so deeply from scars that you can see his fangs exposed even when his mouth is closed. That is why he does not wear anything to cover his body- he showcases his scars as trophies from past battles. He wears his pride as his armor.

He casually twirled the naginata into the air and caught it already pointing at the tengu and kitsune. "So. Heard you have been hoarding all the tasty critters and claiming to be lord over the land. Didn't know you could just stake a claim like that... guess I will be taking it from you then."

Hatsuko stood confidently and took a few steps forward. "It is rude to not introduce yourself first."

He smiled, letting out a huff and slouching his posture a bit. "Right. Well... we are Shi Zen Zeimei (Deathrattle). Japan's last mighty wolf pack." He shrugged. "We do not carry individual names however. We act as one, thus we have no need to name ourselves. I suppose if you must call me something, just call me Sento (leader)."

Keiko shook her head. "There are plenty of other places to hunt- you don't need to pick a fight with us. Having to fight a tengu and kitsune would waste a lot of energy- even if you did win it wouldn't have been worth the effort. Your pack would get a bit of food but make itself hungrier in the process."

Sento shrugged, his wolves gathering under him, lifting him up on a platform of their bodies. "No. We could die quietly I suppose, but where is the fun in that? Humans are driving us from this land- it is a losing battle. I could make excuses like we were not prepared for it, or the other wolves had grown soft not needing to repel such an opponent for so long, but what difference would it make? Like I said- we Shi Zen Zeimei are the last true wolf pack in all of Japan. We have our backs against the wall; we either kill everyone who gets in our way, or they kill us. Personally I don't even care which- I just want to go out with a bang. I originally came from the Chitose River area in Izaributo, Hokkaido. Been gathering worthy wolves ever since."

Hatsuko quickly dashed to the side to try and take him by surprise, but she was being watched by two hundred eyes- one of the wolves was going to see her no matter what and what one can see- they all see. The wolves jumped together, looking like a tidal wave of snapping jaws and absolutely buried Hatsuko! Keiko turned into her true form and spun around, turning the ends of her six tails into spear-points and stabbing six wolves at a time to knock them off Hatsuko before they strip her flesh off faster than she can squirm away! Hatsuko was forced to turn into her crow form so she was small enough to fly out from between the momentarily flinched wolves! Even if they were substantially weaker than the two of them- there are at least a hundred wolves. Sento himself doesn't even move- he does not consider it a worthy fight.

A wolf jumps up snapping at Hatsuko but she quickly flies up higher out of his reach. She is quickly surprised when the wolves stand on each other's backs and rise into the air quickly under her! One manages to snap at her tail feathers and yank her down by her tail before she can distance herself far enough, and another leaps up to catch her out of the air before she can recover- in crow form it can almost swallow her whole!

The onikuma Nezume thunders up from the woods behind them all and slams the wolf attacking Hatsuko with the back of his paw so hard its fired through the trunk of a nearby tree- cutting the tree in half and shattering every bone in the wolf's torso in one hit! He slams his other paw down on another wolf and blood sprays out as its head pops like a grape against the ground under Nemuke's immense weight! A yokai bear is so large it can carry a horse on its shoulders- you don't screw with a bear. The wolves spiral around Nemuke and consume his body under the wave of snapping jaws and bushy fur. Their bites are rather small compared to his overall size however. Even covered with thirty wolves Nemuke still stands up, roaring in rage and spinning around quickly to throw them off, then swung his claws several times as he hunched back over onto four legs- forcing the wolves around his lower body to flee or be eviscerated.

Daisuke slammed his three hundred pound nuts down onto several more wolves, crushing them before spinning around, swatting several more away using his giant scrotum like a mace! Sento slammed the butt of his naginata into the ground and used it like a pole vault to leap up onto Nemuke's back before swinging it around and slashing the bear across the back of his neck- though its hide is so thick the blade was unable to cut deep, and the arteries are in the front of the neck, not the back. Nemuke rolled onto his back and Sento jumped up off him, grabbing his polearm to drive down into the bear with his full body weight! Nemuke slammed both his back paws into Sento's gut and a living-chain of wolves quickly snatched up their leader by the back of his pants and yanked him away before Nemuke kicked downward! Nemuke could have disemboweled him had he not been saved.

Nemuke rocked back onto his big bear butt ready to attack again. Daisuke kept swinging, disorienting many wolves and causing them to collide with one another interrupting all their attempted movements. Keiko lifted one of her tails up and stood up on her hind legs- biting the end of the tail as it transformed into a bow, and she turned the other five tails into arrows, drawing back with her forepaw and loosing the arrows over the writhing mass of wolves! The arrows turned back into single-tailed fox, who then shook loose several strands of fur mid-air and transformed each into an arrow; raining dozens of arrows each onto the wolves below! The wolves scattered, dodging most but not all arrows. Nemuke swiped at Sento who gouged the bear's arm with his blade, but rather than flinch back the bear grabbed the shaft of his weapon and used it to slowly pull Sento closer to him and his giant maw.

Sento grunt in frustration. "No match for an onikuma. Fall back, this isn't the fight we seek."

The wolves started to scatter rapidly, vanishing into the surrounding brush and out of the forest. Sento let go of his weapon entirely to dodge back. Nemuke was not prepared for him to simply let go and unintentionally slammed the weapon into the ground hard enough that it bounced back up, and Sento jumped over the bear's arm to grab his weapon out of the air, turning back into his true form before dashing out of sight. Outside his human appearance- Sento looks like a colossal wolf; the size of a normal brown bear. Even in wolf form he is still absolutely covered in scars that are clearly seen as fur can no longer grow on the damaged scar tissue. In true form- his naginata is a rusted, chipped old sword with pink-tinted metal from all the blood it has bathed in. He holds it by the handle in his mouth.

Before he vanished into the brush he glanced back at Hatsuko with a fang-filled grin. "You can't hide behind your bodyguards forever, crow. You took one of ours- we will take you."

That hurt Hatsuko more than any of the many bites she received. Bodyguards? She is THEIR bodyguard! They aren't supposed to be saving HER from anything! She didn't ask for their help!

Hatsuko went to take flight but Daisuke turned to go back to his castle and casually snatched her out of the air and into his hands. "You aren't going anywhere till those bites heal."

"But-"

"You work for me right?"

"..."

"Just do what I say."

Keiko thanked Nemuke before following the others back, but he only grunt and licked at his wounds. Nemuke is friends with Daisuke since he was just a pup- but Nemuke is loyal to Daisuke's father. Which means if they decide to chase after the wolves- Nemuke will not follow. He won't leave the forest where his best friend is. Hatsuko drew herself a scalding hot bath and went to rest and heal up without speaking a word to anyone else that day. She was frustrated at losing to Sento, angry at receiving unwanted help in battle, but most of all- ashamed that she brought this to their doorstep. She did not know how to drive the wolves back without killing them. Even now she does not know what she could have done to get rid of the two scouts. But the fact remains that because she slit its throat- Sento brought the rest of the pack here to their doorsteps. Hatsuko picked a fight that now threatens everyone. She was hired to keep them all safe and instead she brought the enemy to their home. This is an utter failure on her part, and she needs to correct it.

Daisuke walked back into the audience chamber of his castle a bit later in the day to see Keiko pacing around in her demi-human form looking distraught. The castle is so very calm at night in spite of so many different types of forest animals all sleeping so close to it or even staying over in the castle temporarily.

"Are you okay?"

She smirked. "You are the one who was swinging your nuts at their open mouths."

He shrugged. "Malleable, thick skin. I never stopped swinging so they didn't have a chance to bite down. I don't know how useful I was in the fight though... so many targets, I did not know who to hit."

Keiko grumbled. "That is the problem- they all share thoughts so it doesn't really matter who you target, another will take their place. Even if you kill Sento another wolf will just name itself the alpha and assume control."

"So the only way to really stop them is to... drive them to extinction."

"That is what Sento wants. He is tired of running, tired of being driven back. He is gambling everything- he either wipes out all threats completely or they wipe him out. He wants the battle to end- he doesn't care what the outcome is."

He hummed in thought, wandering over to his seat at the head of the room and plopping down- though his balls are so large they rest at the bottom of the three steps leading up to his cushion. "You seem worried. I think we can defeat them if we are actually coordinated and go after them before they regroup."

"Maybe. I am mostly just worried because I have been thinking about this sort of thing for a while..."

He cocked an eyebrow. "A giant writhing mass of wolves attacking?"

"Anything, really. I retired my master's sword Suimintetsu once Nobunaga's campaign ended and Japan became unified. The feudal age is over- the shogun are no more. But that doesn't mean eternal peace and happiness. The humans aren't at each other's throats but there are plenty of other threats out there- natural disasters, malicious yokai, disease... Suimintetsu can sleep, but my work is not yet done. It won't ever truly be over."

"It is your passion- it is only over when you say it is."

"But I can't... really do anything... if I am here, with you."

"Oh..." He paused in thought. "I am not keeping you here, you know. You can... leave whenever you want."

"But your my boyfriend now! Hrrrgh. I want to travel and help people but... I don't want to abandon you. I am stuck, and don't know what to do." She puffed up her cheeks in an exaggerated pout.

Daisuke shrugged. "I am not trapped here, either."

"Huh?" She turned to him a bit confused.

"The forest war is long over now, which was the whole reason this castle was built in the first place. I can also travel with you, to face off against whatever evils we encounter. My siblings and Shironami and old Nemuke would look after the castle and the forest whether I am here or not."

"You want to travel... with me? But I am sort of looking for fights. You know, danger, battle, evil entities and supernatural powers and stuff like that."

Daisuke huffed with a small grin as he crosses his arms. "I am going with you to beat up Sento. I named myself lord to protect the lives in this forest. I may not be a big fan of fighting- but I do want to bring peace to the land just as much as you. Of course I will follow you."

"Oooh, you big cutie~" Keiko dashed over and hugged him- falling over his scrotum to be able to reach his large round belly past it.

That night Daisuke explained the events to the kappa Shironami who as usual had prepared the dinner for all who were in the castle currently. He offered to help to but Daisuke just chuckled and told him to just keep doing what he was already doing. Shironami doesn't know how to fight- he helps to prepare for battle and to recover from battle with his food. Pitting him against the wolves wouldn't end well. His girlfriend Zankoku however also offered to help, and Daisuke seen no reason to hold her back. As a yurei she cannot be seriously physically harmed... because she has no physical body. She can be hurt, but she can't be crippled or made to bleed. She is already dead; what are you going to do to her that she hasn't already gone through?

Hatsuko only briefly stopped by for dinner, took a very small portion and then took flight to return to the roof in the dark of night to eat there- alone. Everyone else was laughing it up at the dinner table and enjoying themselves. Their spirits lifted and bolstered for the coming battle, while Hatsuko simply broods.

Keiko popped up on the roof late that night- the almost full moon outlines the shape of the roof in silver light against the darkness of night. Keiko plodded silently toward the crow perched at the peak of the roof, and without even turning to look at her; Hatsuko started to hop down the opposite side of the roof to evade her.

"Hey, I just wanted to talk..."

"I have nothing to discuss with you, fox."

"Then just listen?"

Hatsuko sighed, turning only her head to look at Keiko. "To what? You talking about the power of friendship and how we can thwart evil together? Save your worthless pep talk for the weak. This is my fight. I fucked everything up and brought this on us- I am going to fix it. Without you interfering. This is my job, not your hobby."

"Ouch. Okay, I will skip that part of the speech then. Look, you didn't know this would happen. You are a bit too aggressive- we already knew that, you need to work on it. But this was just an honest mistake. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Tch." She looked away again. "Like I need an evaluation from some trickster fox who just hustled her way in here."

Daisuke spoke up on the balcony below, startling them both as they could not see him over the roof to know he was there the entire time listening. "That trickster fox has seen just as much bloodshed as you Hatsuko. If not more."

"W-what?! I was born on the battlefield."

"Keiko has killed multiple shogun, aided Nobunaga's army secretly, defeated an oni lord empowered by the okami of death, evaded your attacks to easily get into my castle and even defeated a giant ink avatar the size of an entire castle. And that is just the stuff I learned- she has probably been through a hell of a lot more than that. There is a reason you could not land a hit on her before."

Hatsuko slowly turned to Keiko, cocking her brow. Keiko just blushed and shrugged. "Eh, gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelet. Look- let's start with an actual introduction, ya? You said you were born on the battlefield. Where did you learn your aggression?"

Hatsuko was silent in thought a moment before Daisuke spoke up again. "If you don't tell her, I will."

Hatsuko sighed. "Crows eat carrion meat. Humans waged war with one another constantly- the wind smelled of iron from the blood that stained the ground. Fields of dead, waiting proper purification and burial- the crows could feast. So I lived easily, and thus also lived long. Long enough to grow curious as to why the humans invited death into their own nests. It was a complicated network of emotions, lies, vows, and duties they had wrapped themselves in. To understand their fight you had to understand how humans work in the first place. I grew smarter- beyond what a mortal crow already could, and thus became a tengu through the battlefields laid out by man."

Fed on the flesh of the millions of fallen warriors, the crow turned tengu. Hatsuko deliberately indulged her younger desires to look pretty when she learned to shapeshift, rather than choose a practical form. She wears white feathers as a self-imposed mark of inexperience. Like training weights; being a white crow attracts attention, making things deliberately harder on herself. She made a job of delivering messages over the battlefield for humans- openly revealing to them that she was no mere crow. Once she learned enough of the art of battle she became an assassin, taking lives for the right price. But she became jaded with time, after seeing so many lives end and ending so many herself. She grew sick of the humans' games and lies; disgusted at the depths some were willing to reduce themselves to win. She refused to bend her own morals regardless of the prices offered, but that gained her the ire of many men. Being an assassin required one to be amoral- but Hatsuko refused to abandon her own sense of justice.

She drifted from the humans, looking for worthy battles to train herself and better understand the conflicts that had fed her for so long. She eventually found her way to Daisuke who was looking for a guard for his castle now that he no longer so desperately needed warriors to win it. A chance to fight for good? Hatsuko gladly took it- and follows Daisuke's commands as he offered her this purpose in life that is not simply more killing to fill someone's pocket or keep secrets to save face.

The problem is- slaughter is the only thing Hatsuko knows. It is what she was raised on. All her fighting techniques are meant to be lethal. She doesn't have hands; she has razor-shape talons. She has seen too many people kill all too often to trust anyone to do any differently. Diplomacy and peace are foreign concepts to her.

Hatsuko flopped onto her back, spreading her wings flat on the roof with her spindly little bird legs up in the air. "I wanted to be a guard and stand for something constructive, rather than destructive. But I am bad at it, and I need to fix that. Fast." There was a long pause before she spoke up again, a bit quieter. "There is a lot of things I don't know. Fighting is the only thing I do know, really."

Keiko walked fully up to her and sat beside her. "Aww, well I can help teach you lots of stuff!"

Hatsuko groaned. "It physically pains me to imagine the concept of YOU teaching me anything."

Keiko chuckled. "Well the fact you only see me as a silly, annoying, trickster fox means my own training went well."

"Huh?"

"I was originally trained by a human named Juro. He messed up when he was younger and spent his whole life trying to make it up to himself by helping everyone around him. I learned how to fight with a sword and learned a lot about how the world works from him. The value of tranquility, and recognizing the balance, and one's place in the world. But when I had to set out on my own way... I was too stern. Too hard on myself and too focused on preserving everyone else's peace. I never considered my own."

"A fox that was too rigid?"

"I know, weird huh? I got that a lot. It wasn't till Inari pointed it out that I really took it seriously. I met another kitsune named Genki who had the opposite problem, heh. He was a bit too laid back, and the world around him was starting to fall apart. We helped each other- I taught him to stand up and protect what he loves, and he taught me to loosen up. I even got a few lessons on how to party and let loose from the okami Uzume. For most people that comes naturally, but for me it was something I had to learn."

"So... you used to be like me?"

"Heh, well never as violent, no. But I took my mission in life very seriously and my devotion to it blinded me to a lot of other things. Allowing myself to enjoy life to its fullest allows me to fight that much harder to protect it. To understand what I am fighting for. I let loose and have fun to I can recharge and fight all the harder to protect the good times and memories from those that would destroy them. Genki was trying to be completely peaceful in a world turned to chaos. I was trying to create a world of peace while I myself was tense and chaotic. My master taught me that we are not entities within a world, we are all a part of the world itself. It is never us against the world- we are the world. So both you and the world around you must be balanced."

Hatsuko was quiet for a few moments before shaking her head, turning to her demi-human form as she sat up. "I don't know if I can do that sort of thing myself. But now isn't the time to think about it. Sento is regrouping and will attack again, and this time he will know to avoid or counter Nemuke. Fighting is the one thing I DO know. Whether it was a mistake to kill the first wolf or a mistake to let the second live to tell the others- I messed up, and now I need to fix it."

Keiko nodded. "Yea. Wolves hunt by night typically though- so unless you want him to have the advantage again you'll wait till morning. And me and Daisuke are coming of course. Oh- Zankoku too."

"No! I am supposed to protect you! This is my fight!"

Keiko shrugged. "More than enough wolves to go around from what I seen. You can take Sento, but we want our share of wolves too."

Hatsuko sighed. "Whatever, not like I can stop you anyway."

So for the time being they all went to sleep. Hatsuko's thoughts tried to keep her up but the exhaustion of recovering from all her bite wounds quickly made her drift to sleep regardless. Sento and his pack would strike if they wait too long- they would need to leave early in the morning to track the wolves back to their own roost. He came all the way from Hokkaido originally so he probably does not have an actual den in the area. They would still have to somehow kill nearly a hundred wolves and the giant who leads them all at once.

The next day Hatsuko slept in later than she normally would when the light first touches her feathers and took off immediately. She seen the others were not ready yet and eventually landed in the bamboo grove to wait for them. If they show up late while she is already fighting there is a risk she unintentionally hits one of them with her own attacks and she would never forgive herself for that. The bamboo grove is a calming place- both the trunk and leaves are the same vibrant green, so even the light within the grove takes on a slight green hue when it refracts off their surface. They are so straight, tall and narrow, making it look more uniform than a standard forest. The wind causes them to bend into one another gently, making a hollow clacking sound. The morning mists still swirl around the base of the bamboo since the canopy above shelters the cooler moist air from the sunlight.

Hatsuko sighed in relief and turned when she heard footsteps but furrowed her brow again when only Zankoku and Keiko were behind her. Keiko seemed to have a large book coiled in one of her tails behind her.

"Is the lord tanuki-?"

"He is coming- he just needed to talk to Shironami first to get things set up here in case one of his siblings shows up when he isn't around and freaks out thinking he was kidnapped or something."

"Uuugh. The longer we wait the more time the wolves have to prepare!"

Keiko just shrugged. Hatsuko paced around a bit, weaving in and out around several shafts of bamboo. She glared at Keiko a moment after several minutes and suddenly hopped up onto one leg and thrust the other at her face- talons first! Hatsuko stopped just short of gouging Keiko's face, and Keiko just blinked several times in confusion.

"Uh... okay?"

"You didn't even attempt to block."

"You didn't attempt to actually attack."

"But you did not know that!"

Zankoku spoke up, taking a few steps forward; even against the fallen leaves in the grove her footsteps never make a sound. "She did, actually. Had you actually hit her it would have been entirely on accident- you had no malicious intent in your aura, which means you had no intention of hurting anyone."

"My... aura?"

Keiko hummed in thought, nodding. "I guess most of your career has been working for humans- who are fully mortal, and cannot see auras in the first place. You can see shifts in a person's spiritual energy that can reveal their mood. You can't read their thoughts or anything, but if they are pissed off or planning something wicked you will know about it. Unless the person is literally deranged. The more intense their desire to harm someone is the heavier the feeling and the more blatantly obvious it becomes at a longer distance away. Like when I went to free Zankoku from her mental prison many years ago- even without trying I could very clearly sense her anger and sorrow."

Keiko explained to Hatsuko that keeping a level head may just be the most important thing you can do in a fight as well in general. Someone can be the best swordsman in the world and still lose to someone with mediocre skill if they are blinded by their emotion. The angrier you get and the more intense your emotions become; the more jagged your movements become. Wasted energy- because your attacks become more obvious and exert more energy than necessary on a hit that likely won't land in the first place. If you let your emotions take control of you; you will defeat yourself, not your enemy.

"You need to control yourself before you can control the battlefield."

Hatsuko was silent a moment before breathing heavily. "Okay."

Keiko chuckled. "You sound disappointed."

"I just... I don't know. Starting to question how I ended up on this career path in the first place at this point."

Zankoku shook her head. "No, no! There is so much to learn in this world! Understanding how little you know is the first sign of true knowledge. Every new dance step I seen that I did not know is an opportunity to learn something new."

Keiko crossed her arms and nodded. "There is success, or there is learning. There is no failure. The only failure is to give up; to continue is power."

"...it is almost frightening how much I underestimated you, fox."

"Eh. I have been around for 395 years- I have a few layers to me by now." She lifted the book behind her in her tail. "I know how important your warrior's pride is so I will not interfere with your fight with Sento... however much I may want to. If you decide at any point that you do want our help though- just say the word. I called in a trump card."

Hatsuko cocked an eyebrow looking at the large book. "Isn't that a book of fairy tales?"

"Eh, sort of. Family of a friend of mine wrote it, but the book was eventually lost in the inheritance somewhere down the line so I snatched it up, because it would be a terrible thing to go to waste. In any case... you noticed not all of Sento's crew are actually alive already, right?"

Hatsuko was surprised then a bit confused, but as she recalled from the fight yesterday- when she killed the scouting wolf it left a body, which they then ate for dinner that night. Nemuke absolutely annihilated several wolves later that day- but no one cleaned that up. Hatsuko and the others returned to the castle immediately to tend to their wounds... the blood and bodies were gone without anyone having cleaned it up.

"Yurei?" Keiko and Zankoku nodded. "But... they can't all be yurei. The one I first killed left a body."

"Yea, some of them are still flesh and blood wolves but we have no idea how many. Which will make wiping them out difficult. 'Killing' wolves that are already dead will only cause them to phase back into the spiritual realm out of sight; it won't actually get rid of them. But without their mortal pack they cannot stay here, because they would have no way to feed themselves from that side without help. They will be forced to go to Yomi, but only if we manage to find and kill the still living members first."

Daisuke finally arrived and they hustled out of the forest, with Hatsuko taking to the sky overhead to scan for clues as to where the wolves went. Reports of wolves attacking humans all across the land were pretty frequent these days... it is starting to seem like all of those instances may in fact lead back to the Shi Zen Zeimei. Even the story of that fake blacksmith wife- obviously that could not have been Sento, but it may have still been his pack before he became alpha. They were planning to at the very least try and lure Hatsuko away to kill her in an act of revenge so they are not likely very far from the forest. The morning sun is still low, causing the trees to cast long shadows and the contrast of light made it easier for wolves to hide in plain sight.

They traveled over an open field to where the ground became increasingly uneven, and the grassy hills were painted a multitude of colors with patches of different types of wildflowers and the shadow of the trees at the edges cast bars of shadow across them. The most abundant flower here was the purple mountain daisy. Tiny purple petals flutter in the stiff breeze, and the bamboo clack together like a distant drum. The occasional puff of pampas pollen drifting by as well. The only clouds in the sky were huge and heavy on the distant horizon- framing the sky rather than interrupting it.

Hatsuko spotted Sento and her heart froze. She normally would have flown at him and started fighting immediately seeing that he was currently alone and left open. Thanks to her talk with the others she hesitated. Why is he alone? Why would a wolf EVER be alone? The simple answer is; he isn't. She can't see his pack but they are definitely here, somewhere. He is standing with his arms crossed out in the open with the point of his naginata stuck into the ground in front of him. He is just waiting. He is waiting for Hatsuko. His words before he left... he read her battle spirit and knew she would not be able to deny the challenge. He is waiting obviously in the open because he wants to be seen- his pack surrounds him waiting while he stands in the middle of the trap. Zankoku slipped into the spirit realm for now so she could not be seen from the mortal realm. Keiko and Daisuke turned into their regular animal forms and split up to come at the wolves from the sides, while Hatsuko was left to face Sento.

She thumped onto the ground in front of him and he just smiled and chuckled softly. "One on one, eh? Such a beautiful morning for a hunt." He took a deep breath of the cool wind rolling down from the mountains.

He casually stepped forward to pull his weapon from the ground. Hatsuko would have to be careful. Naginata are polearms- as long as her legs are, his weapon is still longer. On the other hand, if she can get close enough to him he will not be able to strike her with the blade, because ranged weapons typically can't do anything at short range.

He stepped forward and she stepped back a few times. "For my master's sake, I want to offer you a chance to end this peacefully. Like the fox said before- this won't be worth it even if you can win."

"My answer remains unchanged. I will not die pathetically from a hunter's arrow blind-siding me when I am trying to eat or rest. I will not fade away from history's pages. I will die in a glorious hunt as all wolves should."

He swung haphazardly at her and Hatsuko easily jumped up over the blade. Sento leapt forward while spinning it in his hand however and cracked her on the back of the head with the shaft! He brought the blade down at her and she turned and jumped to the side fast enough to evade. Sento continued the same motion however, shoving the point into the ground and using it to lift his entire body, swinging around the shaft and kicking Hatsuko in the chest!

Wolves started to pore out of the trees on either side, filling the valley to gather to Sento! Keiko and Daisuke turned into their demi-human forms and jumped out on either side ready to stop them! A wolf lunged at Daisuke thinking he was an easier target than he actually is. Daisuke transformed his giant bushy tail into a metal club, turned, and slammed the wolf into the ground! His arm and upper body muscles bulged and the thick veins below the surface fattened. Daisuke spun around and punched using his momentum- hitting the next wolf in the face so hard he impacted the entire front of his skull and fired the wolf through the air like a living torpedo! His gut enlarged and he took a sumo stance, thumping his foot against the ground to shake the earth and set them off-balance. Several more attempted to bite him but his belly was quite round and solid- their fangs could not dig in easily to the sloped surface! Daisuke took two of them trying to bite into him and slammed them both together busting their heads against one another. They just vanished into thin air though- so far the only ones he has attacked have all been ghosts.

Keiko formed a ball of blue flames in her hand and tossed it into a wolf near the front of the onslaught, causing it to fall to the ground and roll- unintentionally blocking the ones behind it. Keiko jumped through the air, using the sloped ground to do a cartwheel in the air before landing and as she spun- every one of her six tails turned into a sword and fell point-first into a wolf! When she landed her tails turned back and dashed back to her body. Five wolves vanished- one is bleeding; she found one of the living ones. They all share a mind so there is no point in asking this one what its thoughts on forfeit are; it is going to give the exact same answer Sento did.

Keiko dashed at the living wolf who bared its fangs and bristled its fur, pouncing at her in spite of its wound! At least a dozen other wolves changed direction seeing one of their few living brethren in immediate danger, but when they attempted to approach several tripped and the rest were bounced backward! Zankoku used her cursed hair to web the entire area like nearly invisible snares! She cannot affect the mortal wolves from the spirit realm, and it is hard for her to even see them... but she can see and hit the ghost wolves just fine. The only ones that can navigate her traps without any trouble are the mortal wolves, allowing the others to find them by how easily they are able to move!

Hatsuko swung her talons across, leaving long scratches in the side of Sento's menpo but unable to hit his bare skin. He twirled the naginata at her, slicing her leg before she could pull it back, but her banded scales prevented it from going very deep. He pole vaulted himself into the air, swinging it overhead to slam down on her from above! Hatsuko transformed into a white crow and flew under him, since he cannot change direction mid-air. Without even turning around, the moment he landed he slid the naginata back, smashing Hatsuko in the back with the butt of the shaft, staggering her forward.

Hatsuko was getting frustrated again. Sento supposedly does not even care what the outcome of this fight is, and his movements are so aloof and casual, yet he keeps landing hits on her easily. She turned back into her demi-human form sweeping him with her wing, blowing him back with a burst of wind before thrusting a leg into him! She slammed her foot into his chest to wind him but before he could stagger back, closed her talons into his flesh! She left three gouges on one side of his chest and one on the other, splitting one of his nipples cleanly in half.

He thrust the blade at her, but his hand was too far up the shaft and she could easily just lean back to dodge it- but he smiled because it had been a feint. He swung it up- using the rest of the shaft below his hand to swing up and crack her between the legs! She yelped in a mix of surprise and pain and stumbled back a bit! He lunged forward and slammed her in the gut with an open palm, winding her and then transformed into his true form for a moment to jump on top of her as she falls back to the ground! Hatsuko kicked him in the gut, stopping his maw only a millimeter from her face! His fangs snapped shut, breaking off the nose of her mask and she could feel the heat radiating off his black, scarred lips. He turned back to his human form so he could quickly roll out of Hatsuko's grip before she can close her talons on his gut and rip his intestines out.

Hatsuko quickly got to her feet just as another wolf jumped up at her! She managed to block it using her wing as a shield but he bit into her wing, making her flinch in pain. She lowered the wing and kicked it in the face, smashing it against the ground and making it vanish. Another wolf was rushing at her and she dodged to the side- unintentionally making it collide with another wolf that had apparently jumped at her from behind! She looked around and backed up when she realized just how many were closing in on her! The others were fighting their own hordes; but there is at least a hundred wolves total; more than four people could possibly manage. Even if Sento doesn't have a power advantage, he certainly has the numbers advantage.

"Look who is hiding behind their goons now, Sento. Afraid to face me alone?"

Sento leaned on his naginata, shrugging. "I am. We are all one."

Keiko kicked another living wolf into the air, slamming her palm into its chest as if fell back down and its body was immolated in a blast of cold blue fire- reducing her to only bones in a matter of moments. Another wolf bit her ankle again- the bottom of her kimono already shredded and blood running down her legs from other attacks she has endured. It does not help that she is distracted looking to Hatsuko to see if she is okay- and she is not. Keiko can tell she is frustrated, and burning herself out trying to bring Sento down. Sento does not put much effort into his attacks, and has a hundred additional wolves as an extension of his body- you cannot win by wearing him out. Keiko has managed to kill two living wolves out of over a dozen she has downed already. Daisuke has taken down one. Zankoku is doing her best to prevent them from attacking everyone, but she can only do so much against the relentless tide of fangs.

Hatsuko threw another two wolves off her- her white feathers started to dye red from blood. She is getting dizzy from blood loss and exhaustion trying to fight Sento and the swarm of wolves at the same time. She seen a brief opening and clapped her wings together, creating a wind vacuum, surprising Sento by yanking him toward her instead of shoving him away! She smashed him across the face with her foot- but had pulled him too close to rake her talons across his head. He bowed back from the force of the hit, but then swung his weapon under Hatsuko and smashed her other leg out from under her with the shaft! He pole vaulted into the air again to gouge down into her- she tried to roll to the sides but three other spectral wolves all bit into her at different angles; holding her in place! Sento landed on her gut and gouged into her lower right ribs, deliberately avoiding her vital organs to tease her.

The blade tip stuck out the side of her back- gone straight through her torso! He yanked it out and spun it again to flick the blood off and she really started to bleed with the blade removed. Hatsuko wheezed, trying to shake the wolves off but not strong enough to. She grabbed the lower one by the face and crushed its skull, causing it to vanish. She could not pull her wings free of the other two, so she grunted with effort, lifted one up and used her wing to slam it into the other wolf- making them both let go. She stumbled to her feet, but was bowed forward breathing heavily. She folded one wing to hold to her wound to try and slow the bleeding.

Keiko looked worriedly at her, but remained fighting where she was. Hatsuko looked back at her with a pained expression, her vision blurring. Keiko really was standing her ground. She isn't interfering, just like Hatsuko demanded.

Keiko's ears perked up, hearing Hatsuko's voice even though she spoke with barely a whisper. "Keiko... I am sorry. I wish I could do this with you, like the wolves hunt together, but I do not know how."

Keiko yelled over to her. "Do you want this to end alone, or together?"

"I... want to live. I have to live, at all costs." The air around Hatsuko started to vibrate as she grit her teeth and scowled at Sento. "This cannot be my final hunt! It's yours."

Keiko quickly opened her massive book. "Yohishi? Party time."

A hundred more wolves dove out into the clearing from the forest- but all of these wolves were pitch black from head to toe! The book Keiko holds was written using the ink from a yokai inkstone- Yohishi. All of the wolves are Yohishi- formed of his ink! Because the book is written in his ink- anyone who holds the book can speak with him; Keiko used it to summon him here to help. Yohishi has been on standby the entire time, waiting for her signal. The black wolves chased and attacked the grey wolves; a tide of darkness to consume Sento's horde.

Sento cleaved one in half, painting the grass and flowers around him in black. He smashed another into the ground with the butt of the shaft and then lunged forward at Hatsuko. Ink showered around the area as phantom and ink wolves were killed left and right- the air filled with battle cry howls and yelps of pain. Hatsuko grabbed his arm with her foot before he could swing at her, yanking him toward her and jumping up with the same motion. He lanced upward and split the medical wrapping and left a deep gouge up the front of her left breast. Hatsuko landed talons-first onto the front of his shoulders and raked down either side of his torso as she drove back down. They both staggered away from one another, both dotted with ink and blood in equal measure.

Seeing their leader in peril- the wolves started to rush the hill, and Yohishi's wolves pounce on them repeatedly trying to slow the tide. The wind swirled around Hatsuko. Her brow furrowed, her mind hazy but it felt like she was teetering on the edge of a breakthrough. Like if she could just push herself a little further she would get a second wind. She wasn't going to let Keiko outlive her! She let out a battle cry as a tidal wave of wolves rose up around Sento and cashed down on her! The wolves were thrown in every direction as a wall of wind concentrated hard enough and moved fast enough to cut a circle into the ground around Hatsuko! Her ability to manipulate wind wasn't anywhere near good enough to do that before!

She clapped her wings down sending out an explosion of wind, scattering her enemies even further away from her and the black coloration from the ink stains spread out to consume her feathers- turning their actual color black. The color she was born with. The bone shards in her mask started to bleed, and the blood congealed and covered the mask evenly turning its surface smooth and red- changing its appearance to a true Noh tengu mask. Hatsuko has transcended a second time! She is now a Daitengu!

The wolves that made it to her faster than Yohishi could stop them were suddenly yanked off their feet again! She crossed her wings over her chest and a powerful vacuum yanked in in front of her, spiraling up as a twister of blood, ink, and flower petals! She uncrossed her wings and then shoved her foot forward! The wind ripped the wolves around in a circle so quickly that her talons entering the twister effectively turned it into a meat grinder! Of the twenty she pulled in however, only one was a living wolf- though not living now. It seems the vast majority of Sento's pack was already dead. Zankoku could see all of the remaining wolves. Aside from Sento himself- there was only four living wolves total of the hundred he commanded.

Hatsuko's burst of spirit energy allowed her to close all her wounds- though they are still there. She has used shapeshifting to close the wounds for now to prevent herself from bleeding out. Sento kicked the bottom of his naginata as he let go of it, sending it spiraling into the air! Clever- she can't bend the wind with his weapon airborne without risking hitting herself with it. He lunged forward, swinging at her to punch her- she dodged- but he was still close enough to her to grab the medical wrap around her breasts and yank her backwards; into the path of the falling weapon!

Hatsuko headbutt him, knocking them both far enough forward that the weapon landed behind her then jumped up onto its handle to keep him from lifting it again! He ran up the shaft causing it to fall flat on the ground, and destabilized her balance long enough to grab her shoulders, flip over her, and then yank her over himself to slam her into the ground! Sento swept his leg under the shaft of the weapon and kicked it up into the air to grab without bending over.

Hatsuko slammed a wing down, blowing his legs out from under him with wind, then jumped up and slammed down into his spine to pin him to the ground. Yohishi had culled the remaining spectral wolves, but waited in a circle at the base of the hill patiently with the others- not wanting to interfere directly.

Hatsuko raked her talons across the back of his neck and upper back, but Sento turned back into his wolf form, forcing her to stagger off of him because his shape changed so rapidly! His naginata turned into a rusted sword again and he took it in his maw, lunging past Hatsuko as she tried to regain her footing- gouging deeply into her right thigh! It especially hurt because the sword isn't even sharp- and the blade is chipped in several places almost making it serrated.

She turned and stomped down on his tail, yanking it back and the rest of him with it, then stomped onto his head to slam it again the ground with the other. He rolled out from under her and resumed his human form. He used the naginata to thrust up at her trying to gouge into her under her ribcage, but she stumbled back out the way to evade it.

He got up but she staggered him with another wind blast, then before he could recover his footing smashed him across the face with a closed foot, slashed him across the chest with the other before landing on the first leg and then kicking again with the other- straight forward this time with talons extended, leaving four puncture wounds in his gut! He went to lift his weapon but was slow this time and wobbled in place- getting too weak to keep up. She switched which leg she was standing on and kicked at him again, grabbing his throat this time. He can't move this time without hurting himself almost as much as she is going to deliberately hurt him anyway.

Hatsuko was getting a bit delirious again, vision blurring and head getting dizzy. It felt sort of like the entire world was slowly rolling over to her right, so she kept leaning to the left to compensate but it of course was not actually moving, so she was just teetering her own balance.

"This hunt is mine, wolf."

He smiled weakly. "So it is. Thank you... for this. A final worthy hunt... a fate... all wolves... deserve."

The two nodded to one another before Hatsuko yanked her foot out to the side without letting up her talons' grip- ripping the entire front of his throat out. Sento's teeth grit in pain before fading to a timid smile as he collapsed to the flowers below, and finally his expression faded entirely, going to sleep one last time on a bed of flowers. One hundred phantom wolves all howled at once, filling the entire surrounding area with their hunting dirge before they faded away. Sento's own soul joining them on the other side to guide them on one final prowl- to the gates of Yomi.

Hatsuko smiled herself and almost immediately collapsed. Without any strength left- her wounds all re-opened and the others had a bit of a panic on her behalf trying to patch her up and return her to the castle to heal. Luckily the castle was not that far. She had pushed herself too far- especially immediately after transcending to become a daitengu. Hatsuko did not wake again for a day and a half and remained bedridden for three days before she regained the strength to walk around- though she was once again standing guard over the castle by the end of the week. She refused to take more time off than that.

Hatsuko took the rusted, chipped sword Sento transformed into a naginata and hung it on the wall in her room back at Daisuke's castle. Now whenever she feels frustrated, she looks at that old sword. She had a lot of respect for Keiko now but would never dare show it. Keiko thanks Yohishi for his help, but he did not stay around longer than needed- he is apparently on a quest to learn all the stories of the world. They were lucky he was not very far away when Keiko called for him, because he travels all over.

And the wolves? Sadly, that truly was their last hunt. Shi Zen Zeimei was the last mighty wolf pack- and even it had been mostly populated by ghosts. By the modern era, the Asian wolf was no more than a memory- driven to extinction. Sento at least went out the way he wanted- in a blaze of glory, not some forgotten, careless hunt. Hatsuko especially would not allow his memory to die- she will always vividly remember that day she learned to hunt as wolves. She started to look at the residents of this castle a little less like a flock of hapless chickens she is charged to protect, and... more like... her flock.