The Fall of Lepstin

Accounts of a Worldchanging Conflict

By Miscellaneous Worker

Part One - The Siege of Sethania

It took just one strike, then it was all over me- the hefty swing from the blunt side of an axe sent me right off my horse like I weighed no more than a feather and into the pool of fellow defeated fightresses, most of which were dead from a single blow.

For that word to run through my head in that way was haunting: after two decades of success, starting when I was just ten years old, I had never once been in a fight I lost; not one meaningless skirmish between bandits, never a duel amidst a full blown battle... I had the honor of being a flawless warrior, like many of my sisters of war, but here I was being treated as useless as dirt by northerners that, as much as I hated to admit, I feared would one day return for the land they deem to be theirs.

I laid still for a moment, breathing as carefully as I can to appear dead, then I opened my eyes and saw a fellow sister doing the same, only... I pulled my arm out from underneath me and felt her wrist, where blood had stained her reddish fur, and there was no pulse to greet me like I prayed for so badly. I couldn't keep my breathing from breaking out with tears now, and I shamefully whimpered, taking full blame for her death.

It took me all the emotional strength I had to take my hand away from her and put it to my own aching chest, feeling as though I'd vomit out my insides any second. That man, that... dog was not even horseback. He simply raced towards me from out of view and swung his axe at me with years worth of hate, greed, and anger behind it, and that strike contained more strength than I've ever delivered in my whole life, even with every killing blow I've ever performed combined. To make it worse, the lack of any appropriate armor besides a leather breastplate to protect myself made the attack nearly lethal, but with the gods' intervention to keep me alive, for whatever reason there may be, I lived through it.

He surely could have easily killed me if he simply used the blade of his axe instead. He let me live, but... Why?

There was stomping all around me, and the steps I recognized to be from my sisters began to fade in numbers while the earth-shaking ones continued to triumph over the battlefield. Seconds later, a distant horse trot changed direction and came riding towards me, as if my scent was suddenly so obvious to the rider. My arms quivered in pain as I tried to pull myself up and try to run away, being in no shape to fight, especially when my spear had disappeared amidst the ruins of corpses and missing heads, but my attempt was entirely in vain- just as I got up on my feet, I was grabbed not by the neck, shoulder, or even arm, but shamefully pulled by my tail as the rider burst past me, dragging me along the warzone where my head batted against the hilts of abandoned weapons, pauldrons of both my sisters and the enemy, and a rock that just nearly knocked me out. More than anything, I wanted to be put to sleep so I may wake up with a medic by my side after we suddenly emerge victorious, but every force in the universe just seemed to have better plans for me.

Finally, the rider, who shouted barbaric cries into a long, deafening howl as he raised his axe high into the air, came to a stop, and I slid against his horse before I came to a complete stop. Even his steed seemed to be fueled by hate, for its first reaction was to stomp me into the stomach and raise its front legs up in intimidation, but the rider calmed it down so he could reach over and pull me up, glaring into my eyes with a menacing smile that could cut stone.

His hot breath made me turn my head in disgust, but he forced me to look at him, shoving his long, black nosed snout into my face as his unfocused eyes darted up and down between all of my features, making me close my legs up tightly in discomfort. His ears stood up as he raised his head in laughter, then he pulled me up onto his steed and wrapped his bare arm around me so I couldn't resist at all; he was more than twice my size, even without his bulky gold and steel armor that covered him from head to toe, so winning any fight of raw strength against him would be a miracle, and after looking around from the better view atop of the horse, the many corpses of my sisters staining my mind with horrors, I was quite certain I was lacking on miracles.

Regardless, I tried to fight against his restraint, even if one arm of his was larger than my entire torso, but it just made him laugh even more.

"Look at the will in this one!" He shouted, taking off his round helmet that hid all but his outer snout of dirty blue fur and his red eyes that almost seemed to glow, then he pushed my head down and licked behind my ear just for the sake of disgusting me.

"Stop it, you... you-"

"Come on, say it, then!"

"You brute!"

"Haha, there it is!" He kicked at his horse to ride towards Sethania, the city that my sisters and I continued to desperately defend: I saw blurs of motion from the distance in every direction, meaning there were still some of us with enough will to fight, and a small bit of my hope was revived. However, my captor seemed to think the opposite, forcing my eyes toward my home so I could watch his army of hundreds invade its walls, demolishing the gates with the battering ram they carried on their own. All of those innocent people inside- they didn't deserve this. What should I do? What could I do?

He soon stopped alongside a one-on-one skirmish between one of his men and a fellow Feline, who was armed with sword and shield and struggled to brush off the Canine's brutal strikes against her defense.

"What rank have you, cat?" My captor asked me.

"O-Officer..."

"Tell your friend to give up, just like all of you should. Go on, tell her, and we won't smash her into bits!"

"I..." My mouth turned horribly dry, and my sister looked at me with chattering teeth as she fell on her bottom, all of her strength gone from the enemy's swing to her shield. The Canines looked at me with spiteful smiles- I have to tell her to give up, to save her, but the pride which fueled my ego wouldn't let me, and instead I let out a groan in distress; in response, the Canine threw his axe downwards into her, and-

I closed my eyes, letting the brief scream and then instant silence of her doing enough for my imagination, and I cried the worse I ever had. I listened to the two Canines talk while I sought comfort in the darkness of my mind, praying for the gods, or just someone to save me... Not once did I ever think I'd beg to be saved. I was always the one saving others from suffering or death, but here I was now, a fighter without my weapon so that I was nothing more than a damsel in distress.

"Uther, you were the one who knocked her off her mount, huh?" her captor asked.

"Aha, I was! Too good to kill though, right?"

"Oh, absolutely-" He put his snout into my neck and bit at it softly, and all I could do was give into it with the state I was in.

"She'll be perfect," he said, "Rally up the men. We've killed enough of them- it's time to force a surrender upon them."

Goodness, no. I can't let them win. Deaths would be better fates than whatever they had in mind for us. No more sadness, I thought- if they were going to use anger, then I would to. In an instant of rage, I pulled my arm out from my captor's grasp and elbowed him into his jaw, forcing a sharp groan out of him. Then, I reached for his pugio in his seath and swiped it along his neckline, and he let me go entirely as he put his hands up to his neck, his eyes widening with shock.

But I had no way to challenge the other Canine, not at the moment, so I thrusted the dagger into the horse's leg to hopefully impair its movement and jumped onto the ground before it could throw me off on its own, and I took off on a sprint that defied the heartache that should've left my body in ruins, but I knew my will was iron and I could resist it, so I pressed on, picking up a sword from a less fortunate sister's hands and a round iron shield from another.

I wasn't looking to pick a fight- I just had to assist those who were within Sethania and defend in numbers. The Canines from the north may be strong and twice the size of us Felines, but they could never match our swiftness and agility, so I outran the Canine back there to the point that it gave up chasing me, and I continued to flee along the border of the city to avoid being seen until I found a way in.

It dreaded me to see the walls of my home fall to such merciless beasts- they deserved no name in humanity for the misery they've caused ever since they came into existence. The amount of restraint it took to keep myself away, especially at the sight of them knocking in the gates recklessly and scaling the highwall, was mountamous, but I stayed vigilant and looked to keep my pride from controlling me.

The city was in a panic, as it should be with the Canines already storming through one side of it. I raced through the streets as families fled from their hovels and adobes, taking their cattle and horses and whatever possession they could carry as they hurried towards the opposite side of the city to escape. I went to secure the remaining numbers of the defensive line that was being slowly pushed back into the city, all of who were simply too weakened to continue on.

"Girls, come on!" I shouted, taking an abandoned horse and riding beside them, "Back into formations! We can fight back!"

"Officer, ma'am..." One of them sighed, barely able to stand as she leaned against her spear, "It's no use. We have to retreat."

"We can't retreat. If we do, they'll push on into the rest of Lepstin, and what will we do then? We're the first defensive line of our kingdom!" I raised my sword up in hopes of raising their morale, shouting, "What is our duty? To protect the innocent and destroy the merciless! These dogs are nothing but evil! They will abuse you, enslave you, and inevitably kill you and everyone you know! Are we going to let them do that to the Felines of Lepstin?"

I expected a battle cry to roar from the crowd, but instead, several of them shook their heads at me, and one gave up staying on her feet and fell over, giving in to her wounds. I rushed over to help her, but she refused to stand up, instead giving me a distrustful look.

"Officer, please- it's over."

"No, it's not!" I shouted, "Girls, they want us to surrender! We cannot give them that satisfaction! You are all under my command, and I command you to enter formation!"

Finally, they reacted appropriately, albeit without any visible courage or pride, and they formed a line across the main street of Sethania, holding their shields up while the archers moved back and took positions atop of nearby buildings. During all this, the Canines approached in a similar manner, though archerless as they were more brawn and strength than dexterous and accurate, which would explain their oversized weapons so that they never missed their target.

A mounted warrior of theirs who looked like a general slowly approached our defense ahead of his men, showing no sign of threat with his weapons put away. I climbed back onto my horse and approached him the same, though I kept my sword in hand in defiance of his honor.

"Surrender yourselves and your arms," said the general, "And we will conduct no further harm upon any of you, as long as there's no resistance."

"Bite me," I said with a hiss.

"Are you certain that's what you want?"

"I've lived through a hundred battles against Avians, Foxes, and you Canines, and I'll live through this one as well."

He snickered at me, turning away as I did the same, and as we both settled behind our formations, he drew his gladius and raised it up, and his ferocious howl triggered all of the other Canines to charge forward, and I roared at the girls to do the same, rejuvenating them with a rush of adrenaline.

We met at the center of our distance and clashed swords and shields, our archers picking off the backline the best they could, but dozens of Canines threw hooks over the houses and climbed up there, enduring the arrows even as they penetrated their bare skin, and running on all fours to leap onto the archers and disarm them. Those in the thick of the battle on the ground may have taken swords to the chest and even head, but they did not go down without taking multiple Felines with it.

I remained on my horse, thrusting my sword at the Canines all I could, but instead of attacking back at me, they all seemed more concerned about defending themselves while taking down the other Felines; I saw the general, who had his eyes on me with an unnerving interest, even as he struck down my own people. The stare broke me for a moment, and suddenly I fell out of my disconnection with reality and faced it as it is:

There were only two of us left, stepping over the sea of dismembered arms and ears, and our fear led us into backing away into the depths of the city while the Canines chased us, with several of them choosing to deal with the escaping villagers, whose horrified faces will haunt until I die. A sister looked up at me, her helmet in ruins and her body covered up and down with wounds, and I realized what my now meaningless pride had brought upon her and the others.

"Officer, we..." She struggled to speak, leaning against my horse, "We have to retreat..."

"But... But, sister, we-" I stopped myself when I saw her stumble into an alley and fall over, sitting herself against a wall, and she took off her helmet to set it aside, admitting that she's given up to me.

"I can't go on," she groaned, "Please, just leave, Officer. You can't save anyone here, but you can save Lepstin if you leave now. You have to tell the others."

"Are you trying to give me orders?" I asked.

"I'm telling you what the right thing to do is!.. Please, hurry to Thracenthia and tell the Queen what happened here. With all of the women of Lepstin, we can stop them."

"But... But sister, you have to at least come with me then!"

She tore off her leather chestplate, revealing where a fatal wound lay between her breasts; she looked as if she'd pass out from bleeding out at any moment, but the way she gripped the blade at her side made me worry that wouldn't be soon enough for her.

"I'm done for," she said, "You're stronger than I ever was... You have the will to keep going. Don't give up."

I saw several Canines come around the corner, stomping with their sharp clawed paws and catching sight of me, and they got on all fours in preparation to chase me.

I gave one last look to the fellow sister and gently raised my hand at her, said, "May the gods have mercy on you," and I kicked my horse and took off on a steady trot out of the city, not turning my head back once. When I was over the furthest hill before the city fell out of sight, I came to a stop and looked upon Sethania, where smoke was erupting from the flames the Canines surely started, all for the sake of destruction. I couldn't help myself from crying over the sight of it all; the city where I was born, trained to fight, and proudly defended so many times, only to be taken over within an hour of the Canines' arrival. All that those city dwellers owned, taken or destroyed- did it matter which?

In the end, they were both forms of inevitable entropy for some yet gain for others.

I looked over the hill in the opposite direction, where the next city of Mawkiliat was a few hours away in the thick forests of the mountains, but the very faint lines of smoke trailing into the sky made me worry that that city wasn't safe from the Canines either. Regardless, I had to at least pass it to make it to Thracenthia, so I began on my trek there, praying my fellow sisters there would stand strong with me.

Part Two - The Looting of Mawkiliat

"Athena... Athena, wake up..."

I woke up to hearing my name, and my head was being shaken around by a familiar set of warm hands. I opened my eyes, and...

"Ah, Camille!" I sat up and sighed in relief, happy to see my best friend's face, "I had the worst dream, goodness... I had a dream we had to get out of bed in the middle of the night and run outside to defend the city! There were, what was it... There were Canines! And I fled for my life but one suddenly leapt out at me and... And..."

I lost my breath as a wave of realization hit me, and I looked around confusingly, "C-Camille, where are we?" I then realized the state she was in and came close to her, "What happened to your neck? You look like you've been strangled!" I examined her neck, where bits of fur were missing and her bruised skin was visible underneath. Beyond that, her flat snout and button nose were scratched all over, and suddenly I breathed unevenly in worry.

"Camille, w-where are we?! What happened?" I looked around, finding us to be inside some sort of cell; a shroud covered the outside of it, where there were bars and a wooden roof and floor, and the slivers grass and dirt I could see between the floor made it seem we were inside a wagon.

"Athena, that wasn't a dream," said Camille, holding my hand anxiously, "The Canines just came out of nowhere, and..." She put her hand to her mouth, suddenly drowning herself in tears as her ears settled down into her head, "July's missing, Penelope ran off, K-Karthus is dead, they... I saw them cut his..." He pulled on her ears whimpered, "I- I don't know who is left in our division but us."

The battering of something heavy in the distance made us jump in place, and she began to cry even harder, "They're in the city right now!"

"W-What? We... We have to do something, Camille! We-" I tried to stand up, but I became lightheaded as the back of my head suddenly ached with pain, and I put my hand to where it was throbbing. "Oww, my head..."

"One of them struck you in the back of your head, and you were out instantly." She tried to calm herself down, sniffling uncontrollably, and suddenly a deep, manly voice roared at us from behind:

"Shut up, you two!"

Immediately Camille stopped, holding her breath and almost choking, then she whispered, "I- I don't know what's going to happen... Goodness, what's going to happen, Athena?"

"I... I don't know." I held her hand tightly as my imagination ran wild. How could this happen though? We were both rookies, only having joined the Felidae Alliance of Legionaries a few months ago. I barely knew how to handle a sword, let alone fend off an invasion of who knows how many Canines! My fur stood up to think that one of them was standing near us- I've heard they were twice the size of us Felines, with claws perhaps not as sharp as ours but thick enough to gouge out our insides regardless, and that their mouths could devour our heads in a single bite. Whether all that was true or not, what scared me is that people described them as beasts rather than people like us, as if they really lacked any form of humanity- surely they're all just exaggerations... I hope...

Camille sat quietly, curling her legs and holding them against her, and I looked at her sadly as I realized how much the rest of her was bruised with cuts and scratches, though thankfully none were deep enough to require immediate attention, but they all spoiled the beautiful young lady I've always known her to be: her ears were short and stout, though not very expressive compared to others, and they were full of a white puff of fur in contrast to the typical fox red color most Felines had. She had always been known for her natural overgrowth of white fur along her upper body, blanketing her shoulders and chest in a triangular shape front and back, surely keeping her quite warm all the time.

While I've always envied her fur for those traits, I had my own differences that made me, well, me: unlike most other Felines, my fur white with a hue of sky blue, without any patterns common on others as well. My ears were so long that they tend to bend and dangle behind my head, but I had full control over them to express however I wish; while Camille's face had always been cute, mine had matured into a more defined look appropriate for my age, with people mistaking me to be older more often than it should happen. The same can be said for the rest of my body, with most of my pride in beauty being held in how well I've grown into my curvaceous figure, with a slightly more than average bust and wide, strong legs, which were easily boasted in the typical Legionary armor of iron clad breast armor and loincloth that we were both wearing, based on the traditional symbol of Feline fightresses finding pride in agility and endurance rather than artificial defense.

I felt silly for contemplating all this, especially at time like this, but the obsession over mine and other's appearances was all that kept me all of my life, but that was easily contributed to by others, with both mine and Camille's parents pushing us to be ceremony girls for various events to show everyone in Mawkiliat and visitors from other lands how beautiful we were, so too often was we kept by our looks. In fact, that was why we joined the Legionaries, or at least why I did anyway- to find value in myself for something besides my appearance. Now that I thought about it, I never knew why Camille joined with me.

"Camille?" I said, still holding her hand lovingly, "I know you're scared... I am too, but let's try to calm down. The Legionaries of Lepstin have never fallen against any force- right?"

She let out a deep breath and nodded, wiping her eyes. When she cried, she always bawled like she was still ten, even after all these years of growing into the strong unique friend I knew her for.

"Yeah," she said, afraid to raise her voice, "I-It'll be fine."

"Now tell me: why did you join the Legionaries like I did?"

She gave it some thought then smiled, "Because you did, of course."

"Seriously?"

"We've always done everything together... There's no way I'd let you go into training alone."

"Even after how hard it's been for you?"

"It's... very exhausting, and you make it all look a lot easier than it really is, but as long as it's with you, I'm happy in the end."

She tightened her grasp around my hand and came forward for a hug, something she's always done during every conversation we've had. If it weren't for her innocent affection, I don't know who I would have to keep me happy.

It was an awkward time for us to hug though, as a few horses attached to the wagon suddenly neighed at someone and went on a trot, and the wagon jerked forward, shaking the two of us so that I fell back and Camille fell on top of me. Her smile was wiped clean from her face as she blushed in a mix of fear and embarrassment, and so did I as we both wondered where the wagon was going.

"Where are they taking us?" Camille asked, not even bothering to move since she was too focused on watching the grass and dirt move from under the wagon.

"I couldn't tell you, but- get off me, Cammy."

"S-Sorry." She moved up and returned to her fetal position, her unusually long tail moving around with similar anxiety. For how short she was, her striped tail was quite large and expressive, unlike her ears; mine, on the other hand, was rather short for my size, but I still waved it around in a similar motion like she did. We fell silent as we listened to the deep, scruff voices outside the wagon- these must have been the Canines, all of which were definitely male. From what I've heard, women were terribly mistreated in their society, which opened more doors of fears of what they might do to us.

"How many are in there?" one asked.

"Two- one is scratched up all over but still in good shape," said another.

"Ah, let's see what delicious girls we have this time around-" The sheet which enclosed the wagon was about to be lifted, and Camille and I silently gasped at the sight of an enormous clawed hand of bloody blue fur creeping inside the cage, but the hand was slapped away by another and the sheet dropped back down.

"Commander Markstof says to keep off until we bring them in!" one of them growled.

"Oh, I just want to see what we're getting."

"I've been waiting out here this entire time- you don't think I'm itching for some myself? Anyways... Where did Markstof want them?"

"We've taken full control over the jail cells, so throw them in there and wait for further instruction."

"... A-Athena," Camille mumbled quietly, "I- I'm..."

"I'm scared too," I whispered, "We'll find a way out of this... Don't worry." I could only be optimistic before it was a lie; deep down, I had no idea what we were going to do. It is true that the Legionaries had never been defeated in a war... But battles? They have lost a few, yes, and surely whatever battle just happened in Mawkiliat must have been a loss on their part, considering the trauma Camille was enduring struggling through.

What was there to hope for then?.. I whispered to Camille, "Thracenthia isn't too far from here... Maybe a messenger from here has already gone for help? The Queen's Legion could already be on their way here."

"I don't know-" Camille jumped with me as an explosion set off in the distance, and the sound of a building crumbling into dust and debris that followed made the both of us shudder. The voices of other Canines arose as the wagon began to ascend up a hill, leading me to believe we were entering through the city's front gate. The way they talked and inquired of us made me feel like nothing more than a zoo animal about to be unveiled to a crowd of onlookers, only their desires suggested they wanted to do more than examine me.

"How old do they look?"

"Are they virgins?"

"Who's the prettier one?"

They shamelessly asked question after question , between jokes of the Feline race and crude laughter, and I saw Camille's face turn so red that she might melt into a puddle of sweat. Somewhere in the city, I could hear swords still clashing against one another, but they were overwhelmed by a Canine's laughter, as if warfare was more of a pastime than any serious matter and our Legionary was really that amusing to them.

Camille hid her face, dreading whatever was to come, and I stayed by her side with my arm around her, gently caressing her short hair to comfort her the best I could. I was scared as well, of course, but she was the last woman I can see ever pulling through a crisis like this without forever losing her smile; she was simply too fragile. I swore to myself to protect her from anything that may happen, trusting myself to pull through.

The wagon came to an abrupt stop, and suddenly the sheet was whisked off the cage, revealing us to the onlookers like the animals they perceived us to be:

Goodness gracious, they are enormous! Why would we ever be expected to fend off such beasts?! Their jaws were weapons in of themselves, yet they still had twin-sided axes and mostrous greatswords larger than any of us Felines! What enemies do they slay that would ever warrant weapons of those sizes? Surely they weren't intended for the Felines, especially if they were willing to let us live.

But I was worrying about the wrong things; instead, I should be concerned about why they would let us live. I let what went unsaid linger in my mind, staring at the strong hands of every Canine that could hold me down effortlessly; their tongues hung out of some of their mouths as they drooled at the sight of us, and the thought of them running along me forcefully made me shiver and look away in disgust. Camille did the same, burying her face into my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly to shield her from the eyes invading her space. We were used to being the center of attention in many events for sports and duels as banner girls and such, but Felines looked to one another with admiration and respect- this was simply degrading.

The Canine guiding the horses that pulled the wagon came around and opened the gate from the back of the cage, and I pulled Camille into the corner furthest from the gate with me.

He ducked his head inside the cage and barked at us, "Come out now or I'll rip your teeth out!" Spit flew out from him and onto me, sticking to my fur and making me feel mucky, yet I knew I had to move like he demanded, pulling Camille along with me.

"Come on, Camille," I said, "Get up."

"They're going to hurt us, Athena!" she cried under her breath.

"I promise they won't... At least, I won't let them. Just do as they ask."

I stood up with her, my arm still around her and my hand in her's, and I led her out of the cage like the Canine demanded, hopping on the ground and looking up at him in horror, yet my morbid curiosity made it hard to look away; I had never seen anything so large in size that had the same sentience as us Felines- have there been other beasts? More than I can count- but I never imagined a creature that looked at me with a hatred unique to humanity could tower over me like this; my head barely met his jaw which hung from its head only because it stood almost hunched, seeming primitive in behavior despite their equipment and gear that clearly outclassed that of the Legionaries.

He pulled up a string of chains and shackles and threw them on our wrists, binding us captive once more, and he led us inside the city prison, which was formerly controlled by the military base it was a part of, but lack of any other Felines made it seem that it had been taken over entirely-

"Ath- Athena!" Camille suddenly cried out and jerked her shackled hands away, pulling mine with her, "It's Penelope! Penelope!" I turned my head and saw Penelope lying in the dust, her head bashed in on one side and blood dried in the sand beneath her. Her eyes were closed in a deep rest, but she certainly wasn't ever waking up, so I pulled Camille back before she drew any aggression from the Canines.

"She's gone," I said, trying to hide her from seeing or being seen. The Canine beside us pulled our chain, jerking us towards him as he led us into the prison. I don't know if it was really for the best, but I was relieved to see the familiar faces of our people in there, albeit in the cells of their own city: Priest Karthus, despite Camille's previous claims, was alive and full conscious, hunched over as he sat against the wall of his cell. He was one one of the few high ranking males of the city, most of which were temple priests like him, a tradition preserved since Lepstin came into existence.

"Karthus, your holiness!" I exclaimed, "You're alright!"

"K-Karthus!" cried Camille, "I thought you were dead!"

"Bleh," he muttered. His ears were cut at the tips, and his snout had been crushed from what could've been merely the ruthless grip of a Canine. He said, "Curse us for not being dead... We clearly have upset the gods, for something like this to happen to Lepstin..."

"To Lepstin?" I raised my ears, hoping I heard otherwise, "Y-You mean this is happening elsewhere?"

"All of your land is coming down in every direction," said the Canine, pulling us away from Karthus' cell, "Don't expect help to come. Lepstin is finished."

"But... But, Karthus..." Camille's face froze in disbelief as we were escorted away from the cell, the Canine pulling her along the back of her feet while I hurried to keep up, with his steps accounting for three of mine. Every cell we passed prompted us to call out the familiar face's name: Serena, Lathry, Senna, Crystal, and several more, all girls I grew up with, but each of them were either unconscious or for some reason too delirious to respond, only glancing at us with half open eyes while they laid on the floor, most of them curled up in balls and stripped of their all their clothes, forcing me to look away in shock.

Finally, we reached an empty cell, and the Canine opened the door and threw us in as if we were weightless, leaving us shackled together, and he slammed and locked the door shut, giving us a short growl before leaving. Camille laid frozen, still too full of shock to react to even being thrown onto the floor so violently. I coughed up the dust that caught in my mouth and sat up to shake her, trying to get her to say something.

"Camille?"

"... They're going to..."

"What?" I pulled her up.

"Athena, they're g-going to... to..." She couldn't get her words out without choking up again, but I knew exactly what was on her mind.

"No, no... I won't let them do anything to you. I swear."

"What are you talking about?! They can kill us with one hand blindly if they wanted to! How in the name of the gods are you going to stop them?"

"Don't talk like that... I-I'll-"

"How long are you going to lie to both of us? We're finished! Our bodies are-"

"Stop!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her stiff, struggling to hold back my own tears, "Just stop... I told you I won't let them hurt you, and I mean it. Alright?"

She took a deep breath, nodding in response, but we both knew she was speaking the truth, yet I couldn't stand to see her fall apart even if it meant giving her some sort of false hope.

I didn't mean to lie to her though- if it was in my power, I'd take on every one of those Canines to protect her, but the cell we were thrown into drained my morale, with its walls closing in on us every second and the dust on the floor piling up to what felt like ankle's length. These cells were seldomly used, for only in extreme cases did we Felines ever imprison people instead of reforming them appropriately, yet here we were in the prison of our own city, thrown in by a race who I doubted believed in any sort of reformation of their enemy.

In fact, never have I heard of anyone being spared by the Canines for something other than...

I swallowed nervously, now just as full of the same fear as Camille, but I didn't show it so she didn't feel too troubled. I knew I had to do more than just stay strong for what was to come, and if I couldn't fight back against the Canines, then I just had to escape for help, for all the other girls locked up here! I looked over at Camille, and I knew that her pitiful behavior, at least it was so by the Legionary's standards, would be a burden if I tried to take her along in my escape, but the thought of leaving her behind would've been just as bad for me to cope with.

It was too hopeful to start considering that choice anyway, seeing that I was still locked in shackles with only an arm's length of chain between me and Camille, but after some rotational movement of my hand and wrist and scraping them against the shackles to the point that bits of my fur came out and the skin underneath bled, I managed to pull myself free.

Camille, who hadn't even been paying attention even after I accidentally pulled her hands a few times, broke out of her subjectless gaze and widened her eyes at me, "Y-You're free!"

"Free from that, yes," I said, standing up and looking around the cell curiously, "But not free just yet."

"You don't actually think we can escape, do you?"

The crumbling sound of a building's walls being rammed into shook the ground, almost making me fall over. I put a hand against the metal bars of the cell and sighed, "We have to do something, Camille... And goodness, what are they destroying out there?"

"I saw them, er... Pull in battering rams, I think. And they were going towards the center of the town, but I don't know where. I was running for my life before I could see."

"... Oh no, they have to be getting into the Council! The Magistrates must've barricaded themselves in there!" The Magistrates controlled the Council that managed Mawkiliat's laws, as was customary in any city of Lepstin, and power over the meeting hall the Council held meetings at would make any city's defeat official.

Another heavy ram in the distance shook the ground, followed by a series of loud cheers. I figured I only had so much time before one of them returned, so I scrambled around the cell to find any areas where I could perhaps push out and escape through- it was a lot to hope for, of course, but it was worth looking anyway.

Finally, I turned my attention to the bars where the only way out was locked through the cell door, and I used all of my strength and weight to push out one of the bars until it slightly nudged out of place.

"Hey, you moved it!" Camille said more loudly than she should, and I shushed her.

"If I get one out, we can slip out and-" I gasped, hearing a door open somewhere down the hallway, and I spastically put the bar back in place so it looked untouched and hurried back to Camille's side, trying to slip my hands back into the shackles, but there was no way I would get them back in, not in time before two Canines came walking down the hallway, talking to one another before stopping in front of our cell.

"Well, well, look at these perfect catches," said one of them. His armor's markings and naturally more intimidating presence made it clear he was of higher rank than the other Canine, likely as a commander, with a helmet equipped with victorious wings and a navy blue cape to cover him down to his shoulders. He took his helmet off to reveal his magnificent display of fur of a similar blue, where a fauxhawk of impressive fluff drew across his head, highlighted with fades of white like his cheek and chin fur. His yellow eyes were powerful, with pupils that easily locked Camille and I in place, forcing us to stare back at him as our fur stood up straight.

"These are the girls the spy said were virgins for sure," the lower ranked Canine explained.

I raised my ears in confusion, "Spy?" I didn't even think about what else the Canine said.

The commander chuckled and unlocked the cell door, "That's right- one of your own betrayed Lepstin. And to think you Felines held your kingdom's pride more closely than anything else, hah!" He waved the other Canine off, growling at him, "Get out of here, and let nobody else in."

"Yes, commander."

The commander looked back as he was left alone with us, and he opened the cell door, almost crouching down just to be able to fit in, and the sight of his entrance drew my attention back to what the Canine previously said, reminding me of what was inevitably coming.

"You slipped out of your shackles, I see," he said, approaching us too closely for our own comfort, and I pulled Camille up, who was hiding her face in her hands like an ostrich burying its head in the dirt, and backed away with her against the furthest wall.

"C-Commander," I stuttered, struggling to keep my eyes staring at his own and not the rest of his muscular body, "Please, just don't touch her!"

"Quiet," he said, gripping both of my wrists with just one hand and pulling me away from Camille, "I definitely wanted you first anyway." I grunted as he pushed me down onto the floor facefirst, flattening my whole front into the dust, and he felt around my ear with his wet nose and then his tongue of seemingly endless length, flapping a bucket of spit along my fur and making me yelp in disgust.

"No, stop it!" Camille hurried over to push the brute off me, but she barely moved a hair on him. He took an arm and slammed it into her gut, throwing her back to the wall and leaving her groaning for air.

"Camille!" I cried out, "Don't try to stop him!"

"But-"

"Please, don't!.. You'll just hurt yourself!"

He continued to lick all up and down the back of my head, making me quiver uncomfortably as the air turned colder around my wet skin, and suddenly he clamped his jaw around my neck, which was practically a branch for how large it could gape open, and he gnawed on my skin and fur as hard as he can without leaving more than a mark, pushing me to my very limit before I expected my neck to tear open and bleed, but he restrained himself as if he was experienced with this.

"You smell so young," he growled, "And so deliciously fertile." He pulled me up by my tail and flipped me over onto my back, hovering over me with saliva collecting in his mouth. Before I could react, he swiped at my leather chest armor and stripped my breasts bare, and I screamed in embarrassment, even if I knew this was coming from the start.

My breasts were large enough for him to grope them with an entire hand, which he did aggressively to the both of them, plucking my nipples until I squealed in pain one pinch after another. Still he continued to smother my neck with his mouth, eventually leading his tongue up it to my chin and near my mouth, coming to a stop as if he expected me to willingly kiss him, even while I turned my head away the most I could, but it was in vain; impatiently, he took a hand and grabbed my chin to turn my face towards him, and he shoves his snout up against my nose and invasively slipped his tongue into my mouth, almost making me choke in disgust from the taste of his breath.

For the entire moment while he took hostage of my mouth, I couldn't breathe, with his snout scrunched up against my nose and blocking every airway I had; he laid on me with is crotch rubbing up against mine, and I kicked up my legs the best I could to try and let myself free, worried I would explode just from being crushed by his ridiculous weight. Slowly I turned lightheaded, and my groans and muffled cries silenced little by little- hopefully I would just pass out and not have to remember any of this, I thought...

But suddenly he whipped his tongue out of my mouth and pulled his snout away, laughing maniacally as I instinctively took a huge breath of air, feeling like I was at the brink of death, only to be pulled away from the edge to resume the torment.

"Let's see how untouched you really are down there," the general said, pushing me down by my abdomen as he stretched one of my legs out effortlessly. I don't think I've ever put more strength into anything in my life than I did there, trying to close my legs so desperately that when I just couldn't do it, I lost every bit of energy in me, especially with the tingling sensation my body brought upon me just from his hand gripping my inner thigh so carelessly.

Just as he did with my top, he snapped my loincloth's tie and whisked it off, tossing it into the air so it landed beside Camille, who had been unable to look away the entire time, petrified in place with a gaping, dry mouth. He laughed to himself, and slowly his hand moved down my leg closer and closer to my crotch, until suddenly there was an ever so slight tickle, yet it was somehow so overwhelming that I screamed in and curled my body up against his arm in an attempt to break free, the strength of shock easily overpowering even his, but then he grabbed both of my arms and kept them locked together.

"Hell! I've never seen a virgin react like that!" He slid backwards to push his shoulders under my legs, then he suddenly lifted me up against the wall until he was standing, placing his head right in front of my crotch. I felt his hot breath on my lower lips, making me instinctively try to close my legs once more, but all that did was inadvertently lock his head between my thighs.

Without any hesitation, he shoved his snout against my body and licked viciously, smearing a river of saliva along me from the top of my clitorus and down to almost my anus, sending shivers up my spine and back down the front of me in a torturous cycle that invoked sounds I didn't think I could even make.

"Ah... Ahh-ah!" I squirmed and tried to fight his tongue back, but the instant he inserted just the tip of it inside me and it inflated against my untouched walls, I lost all control over my thoughts and reverted to primal instincts, letting out a moan I was ashamed to have Camille hear. His tongue snaked around inside me mercilessly, exploring every part it could reach and stretching itself wide then narrow repeatedly, drawing a gasp out of me everytime it did; even though it could slip around and shape against the inside of me, I thought I would burst open just from his tongue- goodness, it couldn't get any worse of this, please!

"Please!" I cried, "Stop, p-" I interrupted myself with my own heavy moans, and he sneered deviously.

"They always like it," he said, "They won't admit it, but they do."

"No, I don't! I- I can't..." I was too weak to keep myself up against the wall, and I slowly slid down and into his arms, my legs slipping off his shoulders and instead around his waist, where under me I widened my eyes at something throbbing against my rear- he'd already taken off his leggings, leaving only a thin layer of undergarments between me and the second beast he was hiding under there.

"If you insist on feeling it, fine then," said the general, and with his arms under my shoulders he lowered me so he could thrust himself between my thighs, rubbing his disgusting thing against me in and out. I grunted awfully, having absolutely no desire to feel anything anymore, whether it was honestly pleasurable or not, but I looked over at Camille who was staring right at me, still frozen in place, and I promised myself I'd stay strong for her.

"Just don't hurt her," I begged helplessly, "Please..."

"You really only care about her, don't you?" asked the general.

"Yes, just... I'll do anything you want if you don't don't involve her."

"Then in that case-" He turned himself and I towards Camille, who gasped and hid her face from us. At first I thought it was because she wanted to respect my privacy the best she could, even in a situation like this, but I realized what drew such shock upon her was the general's member beneath me that he finally unveiled: a massive, eager penis with a shaft of unimaginable length and a head so thick that I almost screamed from the thought of it stretching me inside. There was just no way that'd go in- he was going to kill me!

"I want you to take this," he said, whispering into my ear so Camille couldn't hear, "And take it inside you all on your own."

"What... What..?"

He grabbed my hand and forced me to slightly hunch over and grab his shaft, which was already sticky with unsavory lubricant, and he said, "Tell her to watch as you put it in."

"But I can't-"

"You'll drop yourself onto it. Go on, or I'll take my share of her too."

I was crying now, grinding my teeth so hard I could feel them shaving off into bits, and I cried out, "Camille... Camille, look..." She refused to turn her head, revealing her eye for a second before hiding herself again, and I cried louder, "Camille, look, please! You have to!"

Finally, she slowly moved her hands away from her face, keeping her mouth covered as she took panicky breaths, feeling anxious just for me. After I knew she was looking, I closed my eyes and let just a bit of my legs go out, and the tip of his head brushed against my clitorus and into place with my lips. I gasped, out of breath as I'd been holding it in to direct my pain elsewhere, and then I let myself fall as gently as I could, inserting the expanding thickness of the head inside me, ever so carefully to not-

"AHH!" I screamed so hard that my coughed out every bit of spit until my mouth was completely dry and I was out of breath, but still I had to let something out as a whole part of my innards shifted aside in one violent thrust- he'd either grown impatient or just wanted to hurt me to fulfill his sadistic desires, because he had forced me down onto his cock within a second, filling me up inside until there was no more room for his shaft.

There was no way I could ever recover from this: it was only inside the single hole, yet it felt as though the skin over my entire body had been stretched to over twice its length, and letting it go would just show irreversible scars. He had only thrusted once, yet just sitting there on his cock as all my weight centered onto it was enough to make me wish for death entirely; I would have taken a knife to the stomach, a sword to the head, anything but this terrible fate!

And when he did begin to move, it was only worse: he made no effort to humor me anymore. He was thrusting himself into me like I had no other purpose besides giving him pleasure, his scrotum almost pushing against the outside of my vagina. I expected to feel it charge inside me at any moment, for he entered slightly deeper inside me every time he receded and returned, reverting my tight inner skin only to inflate it wide open once again.

I've heard terrible stories of what it was like to be raped in such a merciless way like this, but never did I think the sudden dizziness that victims experience was true; I was being taken over by the feeling myself, staring off at nothing without even realizing it, yet Camille seemed to think I was looking straight at her, gaping my mouth opened with my tongue slightly extended out out of instinct to stay cool.

His hands held me against him by my breasts, molesting them endlessly and he invaded more and more of my territory. Suddenly, he charged into me with one heavy thrust, and I yelped as his tip hit something inside me- it was almost stopping him from entering further, especially with this scrotum bulging so hard that it slapped against my crotch with a shameful sound of our skins flapping against each other. He held us in this position for a moment, but there was no way he was finished... Or could he have been? Please, I begged to myself, please...

But I spoke too soon. As if he read my thoughts, he withdrew himself then charged somehow even deeper into me, this time as if he was truly trying to break me inside until my innards leaked out onto the floor, then he did again, and again, and again- it was impossible to count them without remembering every single thrust. They all invoked a different feeling: forced pleasure, embarrassment, loss of pride, and each also drew a unique cry of pain out of me.

It was just so much, so, so much... The head of his cock was leading his shaft into me so deep, when finally he viciously bit my ear, his teeth making its way through the thin parts of it, and I screamed in a mix of pain and confusion, bewildered by this inhuman fetish, but it was all just a brief distraction from the sensation that was about to come: he delivered one final entrance into me and slid just half of his scrotum inside my chamber, knotting me as his head entered my greatest depths and shot out what felt like steaming hot lava, and I reacted as if it really was such, panting and crying in a million breaths per second.

He was claiming me as his, as he would claim any woman of the Canines, but this marking was too much for a Feline like me to handle. It poured and poured and poured, and when it just couldn't spray anymore into me, the sticky white liquid spilled out along his shaft, tickingly my walls as they followed the thin path between him and me, until it finally fell out of me and spilled onto the floor, spraying out with such great velocity every time his cock throbbed with his heartbeat.

He panted in satisfaction, then slid me off of him and harshly dropped me onto the floor, but I was too mystified by the epilogue of this torture session I just endured to care if my legs just broke. I could feel the weight I gained inside me, the liquid permanently staining me and my inside forever stretched to a size and curve only the general's monstrous conqueror could match; the shock from the sudden transition of being abused and mistreated so horribly to being nothing but the end result of a one-sided adventure of pleasure was more overbearing than the adventure herself. She hated to think of it, but she almost wished it still continued, just so the aftershock would never come...

My ears were grabbed together at a point, and my head was jerked up and back towards the general, who shoved his still dripping cock against my face and demanded, "Clean it up."

"H-How..?"

"Oh, how the hell do you think?" He pulled my mouth open and shoved it inside, pushing it down into my throat and keeping it there as he sighed in relief, and he said, "If you bite down even slightly, I'll shove it into your friend's mouth instead."

I was stiff, unsure what to do besides what he told me not to, then he barked, "Use your tongue!" I flicked my tongue around in fear, randomly moving it around his head and shaft and licking off his residue, accidentally swallowing it and trying to choke it out. I was stubborn to breathe through my nose, afraid of just the feral smell of his member, but I finally gave in and took a deep breath through it, almost hyperventilating yet wanting to vomit as I inhaled the putrid scent.

He grabbed a hold of my head and moved his hips, sliding his cock along my tongue then back against my throat, almost bruising it. His semen tasted just so wrong, like it wasn't anything that should ever touch a woman's tongue, yet here I was being forced to swallow it like an infant sucking from a mother's breast. I supposed it was better than being violated down there so ruthlessly, but the combination of semen being splattered over my face so it got stuck in my fur and tears running down my cheeks was just as miserable and degrading.

His cock had at least settled down and was turning soft as I cleaned it up... Or, it was anyway, but soon it began to grow in thickness inside my mouth, stretching my lips open wider and wider, until his head was throbbing against the back of my throat so persistently that I couldn't stop choking in pain. Instead of me cleaning him up, he just wanted to make yet another mess, and he tightened his grasp over the fur on my head and assumed a mightier stance, slamming his cock down my throat repeatedly as I gargled on my saliva and his precum, both mixing in my mouth into a lubricant perfect for him to ride my tongue with.

I tried to call out for him to stop while he absorbed the inside of my mouth, but it was futile, coming out in nothing more than muffled sobs and pleads of gibberish, which seemed to just incite him to drive himself further into me, curving his cock down my throat so he could push his scrotum into my mouth, and I opened my jaw as far as I could so I wouldn't bite down on him. It hurt so awfully, and I could feel the hinge was about to snap if I pushed it any further, but I couldn't give up for Camille- this was all for her, I kept telling myself. Endure it so she doesn't have to.

I then realized that if I stimulated him faster, this would end sooner, so I built up some courage and pushed my head towards his cock on my own, tightening the suction around it and licking it around in circles; I flicked my tongue around the head, knowing from my older friends that doing that to males seemed to stimulate them the most.

The general was so full of himself as he laughed, saying, "Look how fast you learn... You're made for this like every woman is. You'll be perfect."

Perfect? I just wanted this to be done and over with- there was nothing perfect about me! I moved my head back and forth to speed up his thrusts, digging my tongue into his head so much that he slightly jolted in response, probably just from not expecting it, and he started to near his limit as he took control once again and violently pushed and pulled my head back and forth against his the base of his cock, myself helping him and moaning with every thrust, until he finally let it in deep and then emptied himself into my mouth, which I entirely forgot would happen.

His wave of semen blasted into my throat then leaked down into my esophagus, burning my chest from its heat and making my lip quiver as it tried to cool itself off. I started to choke again, only now he held me so tightly in place and there was so much filling inside my mouth that I either swallowed it or let go and spat it all out, but it was so vile with this terrible aftertaste that I couldn't let another drop go down my throat, yet I couldn't let myself go, I... I can't...

I coughed against his cough and suddenly sneezed, blowing out mucus and his own semen all over his cock, making an even worse mess than before, then I sneezed again even worse, blowing it all over his abdomen and legs, yet he still kept me in place and there was still more pouring into my mouth! It was unbearable! I finally let my primal instincts take over though and reason and bit on his shaft, invoking a violent response from him as he roared in pain, pulling himself out and punching me right in the jaw.

All sorts of liquids splattered everywhere from that punch: his semen, my saliva and tears and mucus, and now dots of blood that landed on the floor and wall as I fell over onto my side, spitting the contents out of my mouth over and over until it was as dry as a bone, but as the taste and smell of all these things came together, I felt my insides shake sickly and I vomited onto the mess. It was absolutely the most horrendous and foul abomination of all senses I've ever experienced, but I was relieved to finally be released of that monster of an organ that I was somehow expected to one day take inside me willingly.

"You are going to regret that, girl," the general said, and after I collected myself enough to connect myself back with reality, I saw he was reaching for Camille, who was stuffing herself as deep into the corner of the cell as she could. I hurried in front of her and tried to push the Canine away, begging for him to stop and just abuse me as much as he desired, for the sake of her safety, but he pushed me aside just as he did with Camille before and reached for her.

"You idiot! I was going to go for her no matter what pleaded," he said, picking Camille up and pulling her up to his crotch, "There's no way I'm going to ignore a virgin with as pure of a scent as her." With no mercy, he shoved his cock into Camille's mouth as deep as he can and drew it in and out just as violently, as if he wanted to release all of his anger on her instead of me. I felt absolutely terrible: if I had just carried on for a few more moments, she wouldn't be taking the worst of him right now, but now she had to be fed a revolting mixture of my bodily fluids from both me and the beast as he stole the virginity of potentially every hole in her body, all while she cried out muffled screams of loss innocence.

I did everything I could to stop the general: I jumped at him, punched him, kicked him, tried to pull Camille away, and even shamefully hugged him aggressively to try and steal his attention away from her, but eventually he just slammed me onto the floor and put one of his giant pawed feet over me, holding me in place as he assumed an even stronger position to thrust into Camille's mouth.

This went on for so long that he became erect yet again, finally drawing himself out of her mouth to show a sloppy but clean dick, meaning Camille had swallowed every bit of those fluids, and her horrified face said everything that I had to know about how she felt. He tore off her loincloth and top the same way he did to me, making me look away embarrassingly as he took her by the arm and tossed her on the floor beside me, then he grabbed me and rolled me over on top of her, invoking blushed confusion across both of our faces.

"Wh-What? Why-"

"If you care about your friend so much," said the general, placing himself on top of me so he sandwiched me between him and Camille, "Then endure this with her so you two have a memory to share." Without any warning, he slid his cock into Camille, and I her teeth showed as she eek'd her heart out, turning the brightest red I've ever seen anyone become; my legs laid spread out over hers, and I could feel the general's shaft brush against me as he relentlessly thrusted into her, as if he hadn't lost any energy since he'd come into the cell.

Her hot breaths came out endlessly, her stare strangely unbreaking as she looked into my eyes. Somehow, she seemed to be taking this better than I did, even as awkward as this was with us on top of each other; our breasts grinded against each other so much that our nipples turned erect, and our hands kept brushing together, until suddenly she grabbed a hold of both of them and locked her fingers into mine.

"Camille, what..."

Her expression changed in a way I'd never expect: instead of struggling to stand the pain the Canine was forcing upon her, she seemed to be enjoying it, though she was far from any relaxed state. How could she ever stand to be raped by someone so brutal?

"Camille, I'm sorry," I cried quietly.

"No, Athena, it's..." She closed her eyes and breathed calmly, not afraid to push her face up to mine, "We can do this together."

"What?"

"As long as we're together, I can get through this... As long as it's with you, Athena..."

"Camille, why are you..." I looked at her confusingly, amazed that she can talk like this in a position like this, but then she did the most unexpected thing: she moved her hands up to my face, pulled me closer and kissed me, sharing the leftovers of filth she had lingering in her mouth from cleaning the general off, and I freed myself from her and gasped in bewilderment.

"What are you doing?!" I asked.

"I didn't want it to be like this, but I just... I've always wanted to embrace you."

"... Are y-you in love with me?"

"No!.. I-I don't know... But there's a reason I never left your side as we grew up-" She gasped, the lightheadedness starting to reach her as the general thrusted harder into her, yet she still continued, "I don't ever want to leave your side... I guess I may love you, but I don't... I don't know..."

She moaned with every thrust, moving her body along with it to rub herself against me, then she pulled my face close to hers, wondering if I'd fight back again, but I was just in such a state of disbelief and pity to react, and I gave myself up and let her kiss me, which she took advantage of so aggressively, something I would have never expected from someone so seemingly innocent, yet she entangled her tongue against mine and absorbed my mouth as if she'd been waiting for this moment for longer than I could ever imagine.

I simply couldn't bare anymore weight, whether it was literal or emotional or erupting inside me, and I just gave myself up for the next several minutes, letting Camille use me as she wished, which ranged from her desperate kissing that drained me of my breath to feeling me up and down from my breasts to my crotch, not holding herself back in the slightest. She eventually seemed so unfazed by the stain the Canine was inflicting upon her, who was completely oblivious to the interaction between us the entire time, that she barely reacted to him filling her up to the brim, only wincing and twitching to her heartbeat- in fact, the look on her face made it seem she enjoyed the feeling of being used like this, forever ruining my view of her.

The general pulled himself out of her and looked upon us: Camille was too delirious to think of anything else besides the sight of me this close in front of her, still kissing me mindlessly even after we were freed.

"Felines... So strange," the general said to himself, and he walked out of the cell, locking it on his way out, and left without another word. I turned myself over away from Camille and took a deep breath, cycling through every minute and sensation that just happened in the past... Goodness, that wasn't even that much time. I can't stay around to just be traded into being a sex slave.

Camille came over and hugged me while I was thinking, still leaking the general's remains from her insides, and she said with tears coming down her face, "I didn't want it to come out like that, Athena... I'm sorry."

"It's... fine," I said. At the end of the building, the general left with a slam of the door, and there wasn't a sound to be heard besides Camille's unsteady breathing against my neck. I gently sat her down on the floor, but she tried to take me down with her, acting like the child she used to be.

"Camille, I have to go get help," I whispered.

"No, please... You're just going to get killed."

"I'll come back for you, I promise, please..." I kissed her on the head, "I'll be back soon."

"Please don't get hurt."

I stood up, my legs almost giving out immediately, but I managed to stay on my feet and make it to the cell bars to push out the one I moved before, slipping out and then putting it back in place, lastly telling Camille, "If they ask, I was gone by the time you woke up. Be careful."

She didn't respond- I wasn't sure if she even heard me, but I carried on anyway, worried about lingering around for too long, and I ran to the opposite side of the jail the general left and slipped out through a more discrete exit; there were no Canines to be seen as I came outside, but an enormous fire had spawned in the middle of Mawkiliat, where a crowd of them was audible in the distance. It was probably my only chance to leave unnoticed, so I raced out towards the city's outerwall, took a forgotten horse and its dead rider's oversized yet acceptable robes, and rode off towards the only place I was certain I could seek help from: Thracenthia.