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"Focus.", I mumbled in Jacob's ear.

Jacob knelt down in front of me on his limb high in the treetops below the giant oak. At his own pace, he lifted the loaded crossbow, taking aim at one of the orange strings hanging from the sky. I followed his line of sight as best as I could to the line he picked for his target then scanned down to the bud of the Devil's Fruit attached at the end.

He's going for the big ones. Good. It means he's determined. I knew this would work.

I looked over to Selina sitting on my branch beside me. She looked back at me in suspense, waiting for Jacob to finally hit a target. I could see the doubt in her eyes as she stared me down then averted her gaze back to Jacob. I turned my head back to him as well.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "When you're sure you're ready, squeeze the trigger.", I said.

Dropping my hand, I watch him holding the trigger of the crossbow. A few seconds passed. Then a couple of moments. Waiting patiently, Selina and I watched in awe.

Just then, the metallic sound of the crossbow's firing mechanism clanked and snapped, sending the bolt speeding into the air. It flew with great velocity, slicing air, splitting atoms and missing its target. The bolt tip shived into the wood of the oak, halting instantly.

"God damn, cock sucking, cuntbag!", Jacob cries in frustration, rising to his feet.

"Calm down.", I told him, waving my hand to grasp his attention. "Load another bolt, take a position, relax and try again."

"How the hell do you expect me to hit a fucking string?", Jacob questioned, throwing his hands at me, the crossbow in his grasp.

"Okay first", I continued, raising my arm to block any result of his carelessness, "be careful with that thing, it's not a damn toy."

"There's nothing in it.", he assures me.

"It doesn't matter.", I said, crossing my arms. "Never point a weapon at someone you don't intend to injure."

"That's what Tony told you way back when, isn't it?", he asked, leaning against his tree.

"It was lesson one.", I answered. "And it's the easiest one of them all so you shouldn't have a problem getting it down."

"Smartass.", Jacob says to me. "It's not like I doubt I can learn but honestly, Nate, this is a target only you could hit."

"I'd like to see that.", Selina says from my side, rocking back and forth on her ass. "I've never seen you actually shoot. To be honest, I'm still skeptical of your skill."

Oohhhh, the bitch is teasing me to get what she wants. Clever girl.

I smirked and held my hand out to Jacob. Rolling his eyes, he handed me the crossbow then a bolt. My eyes still on Selina, I took my time cocking the string back and loading the bolt into place. When I was ready to fire, I turned my head, lifted my right arm and pulled the trigger. The bolt cut through the atmosphere, slicing two individual strings in its path, sending the red bud floating to the soil below, but before they hit bottom, my bolt stuck in the tree not far from Jacob's with the sound of a bone snapping.

"Holy hell, that was fast.", Selina mumbles, her eyes wide open as she looked in astonishment. "And you hit two of them in a row.. I don't believe it.."

"You should see him with his recurve bow.", Jacob tells her, looking back at us. "He's practically unstoppable."

"You flatter me.", I said with a sarcastic tone.

Seriously. If I had a gold coin for every time I got a complement on my talent, I'd be as rich as the king.

Why do I feel like I've said that before..?

I handed the crossbow back to Jacob then squatted in position. "I know you can do it, Jake, I have faith in you.", I told him, looking passed him towards the thin orange lines separating the scenery in front of us. "Keep working at it and quit giving up on yourself. If you hit just one of those strings before we leave today, I can truthfully say you might even surpass me one day. Might. You will never know unless you keep trying."

I hope not. God forbid he takes archery from me. Being the best is one of my most treasured titles. But if he does, well, good for him.

"Technically, I never quit.", Jacob defends. "I just kinda cursed it out."

"Like a five year old sailor boy.", Selina joked.

I chuckled, looking back at her when she giggled at her own pun.

"What?", Jacob asks, looking back to her with a questionable face.

"You don't get that?", I ask, raising my hand in curiosity.

"It didn't make any sense.", Jacob replies.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'curse like a sailor'?", Selina questioned him.

"Oh.", Jacob realizes. "Well. It wasn't funny.", he says, turning back to the orange strings as he pulls another bolt from his quiver.

"Eat me.", Selina mouths off, grinning to his loss.

He would, too.

"Don't tempt me, bitch.", Jacob says, keeping his gaze forward as he loads the bolt.

"Really not the time for this.", I butted in, feeling slightly jealous. I really shouldn't, it's not my place. "When you're ready, Jake."

"Yeah, yeah.", Jake mumbles, waving at me. He took a deep breath, knelt down and took aim again.

"Remember what I said.", I told him. "Don't think of it as a weapon in your hands. Matter of fact, it's not even there. It's just you, stalking your prey like the animal you are. The instinct is in your blood. Think what you want about yourself, but you are a wolf, Jake, you're a natural born hunter! Dig into that stubborn conscience of yours, find that animal inside you and fucking let it out!"

"Dammit, shut up!", Jacob's yells, eyes straight as he pulled the trigger. The bolt flew straight, cutting the air like any other, scaling the distance between us and the oak. And then it hit. The bolt, vibrated back and forth for a moment then froze in the tree. A second later, five tiny thuds were heard as the individual buds hit the soil below.

Jacob slowly stood, dropping the crossbow to the ground below us and raising his hands to the back of his head. "Holy shit..", he mumbled to himself then turned to Selina and I. "Holy shit!" He threw his fists into the air and danced around on the tree limb in joy for a few seconds.

With an empty stare, I looked down to the weed scattered across the forest floor. "I..", mumbling, I came at a loss for words as I looked to Jacob. "I don't even know what to say, Jake, that was incredible! Did you mean to do that?"

"Honestly?", he asks, looking at me with a self satisfied smile then down to the weed on the ground. "I was hoping but I didn't think I'd actually pull it off."

I jumped over to Jacob's branch, grabbed him by the arms and turned his attention back to me. "Do you know why that worked?", I asked him, staring him down as I released my grip.

"'Cause I'm awesome?", he compliments himself.

"It worked 'cause you did it right!", I announced. "You held perfect focus while absorbing the information around you."

"What?", Jacob asks, giving me the same weird look he gave Selina.

Ugh.

"It worked because you gave in to instinct.", I explained. "No matter what, you kept your goal first thing in mind and processed everything standing between you and it all at the same time. And not just the obstacles in front of you, the events happening around you in your blind spots."

"What the hell are you talking about?", Jacob asks, giving me the look again.

"Why do you think I was spewing all that crap in your ear?", I questioned. "Don't get me wrong, I meant it all, but don't act like you weren't listening either, I know you heard every word."

"So what if I did, I don't get how that helped.", Jacob says to me. "I'd describe it more as agitating than helpful."

"Okay, if I really have to put it that simply.", I mumbled. "A true hunter, like the wolf, uses several senses to bring down their target. You saw the distance between you and your target, felt the wind resistance with the ends of your fur, tasted the air, relaxing your body, in an actual hunt, you'd judge positioning by sniffing out your target's scent but what made all the difference were the words you heard coming from my mouth."

"How do you taste air..?", Selina mumbles under her breath behind us.

"How did that make a difference?", Jacob asked with a cocky voice.

"It's a little thing called encouragement.", I answered, crossing my arms. "Keep a mental note of exactly how you felt when you pulled the trigger, every detail that passed through your mind and body and turn to it whenever you find yourself with that crossbow in your hand. That note is your key to success."

"Yes, teacher.", Jacob responds, mocking my lecture.

"Make fun all you want, you know I'm right.", I told him, grinning.

"Whatever.", Jacob says, looking down. "I'm gettin' me some of God's sweet gift." Jacob leaped from his natural platform to the soil below.

"Make sure you didn't break the crossbow!", I yelled down to him. He waved me off and walked over to his new bud he worked so hard for.

Sitting down on the tree limb Selina and I shared, I held my hands together in my lap, comprehending what had just taken place. "I knew he had it in him.", I mumbled, mostly to myself. "I just never thought he'd make a perfect shot so soon."

"You're gonna have to step it up if you wanna stay ahead.", Selina says, nudging me with her shoulder. "He knows your secret now."

"I'm not worried.", I said, looking down to Jacob picking the weed from the soil with a smile on my face. "If there were ever to be anyone to best me with a bow, I'd be glad to see it was Jake. No, I'd be proud. Much more than I am now."

"You two really are close, aren't you?", Selina asks, looking over to me.

"More than either of us understand.", I answer, my eyes still on Jacob. I leaned forward and thought aloud, "Good job, buddy."

"So what now?", Selina asks. "Are you gonna make him keep trying?"

"No, we'll stop for today.", I reply. "In a mere few hours, he's achieved what took me months and he knows it, too. If we keep at it, he's going to let it go to his head and flip the fuck out on himself when he can't do it again. He'll keep going all night until he exhausts all his energy and wakes up the next morning as a complete douchebag."

Selina cocked her head and gave me a questionable look. "How do you know?", she asks.

"'Cause it's what I did.", I said, lifting myself to my feet as Jacob approached the crossbow underneath us. "Come on. There's beer waiting for us back at the lab."

"I could go for a brew.", Selina says, standing up next to me. She placed a hand on my back and pecked my cheek. "You're a good brother."

Selina jumped from the treetops and glided down on her wings to the ground below. I followed behind her, pounding the soil with my weight when I landed. My leg muscles absorbing the shock of the impact, I found no problem in walking to the two of them as Jacob inspects the crossbow.

"It's fine." He declares, tossing it and his quiver into the hunting bag on his back.

"Good.", I said. "Let's head home, it's getting late."

"Are you kidding?", he asks, looking at me funny then to the trees where tiny patches of light shone between the leaves. "It's still daylight out."

"By the time we get back, it'll be late.", Selina tells him, hand on her hip. "I'd rather not have to walk in the dark."

"You're afraid of the dark?", I asked, trying not to laugh.

"Some people don't grow out of their childhood fears, alright?", Selina replies then turns away, blushing, in a fit.

"Understandable.", I said with a smile. Selina 'hmpfed', pretending to pay me no mind. I chuckled and turned to walk the trail back to the city. "Come on, let's go home and down a few."

"What about the rest of this weed, dude?", Jacob reminds me, motioning to the bud hanging overhead.

"Leave it.", I answered, walking off. "Even if someone comes through here, it's really unlikely they'll be able to get their hands on it."

"I can't wait to call you out on it when you're wrong.", Jacob says as I hear his and Selina's footsteps close in on me.

The three of us walked the trail, conversing all the way. Selina and I congratulated Jacob on his first victory and praised his potential. I told him I was proud and, even though we know that meant a lot to him, he pick at me again and my "habit of being soft like pussy".

Whatever. Lovable jackass.

Selina asked where I learned to handle a bow. I reminded her that I told her my Father's friend, Tony, taught me when I first visited Pete's shop. I went on about how Tony tried training Jacob as well. The time Tony spent trying to teach him how to shoot at trees while I took aim upon smaller objects like milk cartoons and soda cans.

Eventually, the conversation was steered to Selina's uncle Randy who owns one of the blacksmith's shops in the city. She told us about his expert craftsmanship. According to Selina, the king himself relies on Randy's technique for the armor and weapons he supplies to his army. She then explained, in great detail, the quality and design of his work and the blades hanging on her bedroom wall when she revealed she had a collection from the birthday presents she receives from him. One of which really caught my attention when she told us it was an exact replica of the first king of Canniban's blade. Apparently, the hilt had a pot leaf made of actual emeralds and amethyst to outline the detail. I didn't catch everything, all I know is its design has a history, there's a pot leaf on it and I really want it.

About an hour later, Jacob, Selina and I arrived at the front gate of the city. We casually made our way through and merged with the crowd, setting our sight on the glorious castle ahead. The midnight rush slowed our approached which pissed Jacob off but he quickly forgot about it as we passed the gentlemen's clubs. I really didn't blame him as I caught myself gawking at the girls as well.

How can I not?

Unfortunately, our lesbian squirrel friends we "met" on our first arrival to the city were nowhere to be seen inside their building. Must be they have the night off. Selina called out our perversion as the two of us drooled over the ones we could see then I called her out on hers when I referred to our first encounter. She blushed red hot and smacked my arm as if she was surprised I would bring it up in front of Jacob but it was easy to read the self satisfaction in her eyes. My guess is she's happy she's worth bragging about.

Time passed slowly until we found ourselves on the clear path to the castle door. We walked through, Jacob and I greeting familiar faces as we proceeded up to Elrick's lab. We turned proper corners, scaled proper staircases until we found ourselves only yards away from the front door.

"Home, sweet home.", Jacob mumbles, pushing ahead of Selina and I to get inside as soon as possible.

"So Elrick is Jake's uncle, right?", Selina asks, looking up to me from her side as we followed Jacob's footsteps.

"Yup.", I answered, nodding my head. "He's a serious type of guy but he grows on ya. Sonovabitch is just as perverted as the rest of us, believe it or not."

"Really?", she asked, looking nervous. "He's not... grabby, is he?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No.", I said, grinning. "He's a real gentlemen. It's just, I caught him with an erotica novel earlier this morning."

Selina crossed her arms with a grin as we drew closer to the open door down the hall. "Well, what's wrong with that?", she questions.

"Not a thing.", I answer, "I'd read it, too. Just not in the open. That's the kinda book you take to bed with you with a bottle of lotion and some tissue paper."

"Oh my God.", Selina prays, covering her face with a single hand and moving faster ahead of me. I laughed as she blushed and held the door open while she walked through. I followed behind her, sealing the entrance behind me.

"Hello, Nathaniel.", Elrick greets me as I approach the table with Selina where Jacob already sat, chugging a beer with all his might. "Whose this young lass?"

"I'm Selina.", she introduces herself with a smile and a girly bow then returned to her former stature. "Nice to meet you, Elrick."

"Charmed.", Elrick says, standing and bowing back in his own fashion. "Please, make yourself at home. Would you care for a beer?"

"Are you kidding?", Selina joked, taking a seat across from Jacob and I. "Who'd pass on a free drink?"

"No one at this table, I assure you.", Elrick says, rising and heading for the lab. "Nathaniel?"

"Please and thank you.", I hollered when he disappeared through the doorway.

We heard Elrick open an icebox, shuffled around the ice and came back through the lab's doorway with three beers.

"Since when do you drink, Old Man?", I asked as he handed Selina and I our bottles.

"You forget what family tree I belong to, son.", Elrick says, popping the cap from his bottle with Selina and I.

"Good point.", I mumbled then took a few gulps.

"Try not to spill that one.", Jacob smarted off, giving me a deadeye.

"Indeed.", Elrick agrees, sipping from his bottle. "But I did find it humorous watching him clean the last one. He referred to you in so many vulgar names, I lost count."

"Asshole.", Jacob mumbles to me.

I chuckled and continued work on my beer.

"So how did the new training go, boys?", Elrick asks, sitting back in his seat at the end of the table.

"Let's just say, you can say 'I told you so' and leave it at that.", I answer, leaning on the table.

"Now what would be the fun in that?", Elrick asks, waving the neck of his bottle at me. "I'd like to hear for myself just how right I was." Elrick gave me an evil grin that said exactly what I told him he could say.

"Right about what?", Selina asks, looking over to Elrick.

"I told Nathaniel his best option to train Jacob would be to do it alone, together, without any distractions.", Elrick explains, watching my face with the same grin as he spoke. "He didn't believe that it would make much of a difference but it would appear he was wrong."

I lowered my head and rested my chin on the table top. "No one's perfect, you know.", I defended while accepting my loss.

The three of them laughed to my expense while I rolled my eyes at them. As I did, I noticed my bow and quiver leaning against the wall next to the stairway leading to the den below.

"What's my gear doing there?", I asked, nodding my head in their direction.

"I was gonna bring it with me when I left earlier.", Jacob answers, glancing passed Selina who was checking over her shoulder. "I had a feeling you'd want it but I didn't feel like carrying the extra weight."

"Lazy ass.", Selina teases, standing and retrieving my gear from the wall. "Wow, this thing is awesome!" Selina pulled the quiver over her head and investigated the bow in her hands.

"Oh, yes, before I forget", Elrick says, popping up in his seat and turning to me, "Nathaniel, I finished my tests on your blood only half an hour ago."

"And I'm guessing you're telling me this because you found something?", I asked, trying to fill in the gap.

"Yes.", Elrick nods, "Definitely something."

"You wanna share with the rest of us, Old Man?", Jacob smarts off after a moment of silence.

"Well, I would.", Elrick says, thinking to himself. "But I wouldn't know what to tell you. I found something in his blood cells, something that has never been recorded in medical history."

"So you don't know what it is?", I asked.

"That about sums it up.", Elrick nods again. "The best way I can explain it is as an unknown pathogen."

"Wait, what am I missing here?", Selina butts in, my gear still in her possession. "Nate has an unknown what in his blood?"

"A pathogen.", Elrick repeats. "A germ, basically."

"So it's this germ that speeds up my healing process?", I questioned, leaning over the table again.

"I believe so, yes. The evidence I've obtained points to it.", Elrick answers, sipping his beer. "From the information I've gathered, something about your genetic code allows you to produce this pathogen and release it into the blood stream."

"Hold on.", Jacob says, raising a finger. "I thought pathogens caused things like diseases and developed outside the body."

"Specifically, yes.", Elrick replies. "I can only guess that it develops from a mutated organ, but which organ and why the immune system has not detected the abnormality, I can't say. As for the reason why it seems to be helpful instead of lethal, It wouldn't be a stretch to say it's possible that Nathaniel was born with the mutation."

"My mother once told me her and my father nearly lost me as an infant.", I announced. "She said the doctor told them I was terminally ill from birth and that I wouldn't live longer than a few days."

"Jesus, really?", Selina asks, staring at me with my bow tucked in her palms.

"Hand to God.", I reply. "Obviously, I don't remember anything of it, I'm just going off what my mom told me. When I asked what was wrong with me, she said I would scream bloody murder at the top of my lungs for hours on end, flailing like I was fighting for my life. Apparently, I was."

"Even I didn't know that.", Jacob says.

"That's because I never talked about it.", I replied.

"That's very interesting.", Elrick mumbles to himself, chewing his claw. "If what you say is true, then it's likely this pathogen is what began to kill you as a newborn. At what point did you begin to recover?"

"Uh...", I looked down to the table top and took a gulp of my beer. "Maybe a week after birth, give or take."

"Curious...", Elrick mumbles again. "Perhaps your immune system did pick up on the abnormality. The pain you experienced during the period between your birth and recovery would be the result of your body fighting off the pathogen."

"So then, what changed?", Selina asks, walking back over to the table with my gear. "Why would it attack him for a week then turn around and do the exact opposite?"

"I'm not sure.", Elrick answers. "It's possible that the pathogen spread into his brain and listed itself as a known bacteria, calling off the immune system's attempt to repress it and relieving his pain."

"Which could mean that it was never attacking to begin with.", Jacob adds. "It coulda just been fighting to survive."

"That's what I had assumed as well.", Elrick agrees. "Well done, Jacob, I'm impressed."

"You said you had evidence.", I repeated to Elrick.

"Yes, but not enough I'm afraid.", he says. "The only connection I've managed to make is the likelihood that this pathogen is the source of your accelerated recovery."

"How'd you make the connection?", Selina asks, toying with an arrow.

"When I took the sample of his blood and got it under the microscope, I noticed the structure of the cells had began to stretch and expand, forming a tissue-like wall between the glass of the slide and the still liquefied blood.", Elrick babbles. "As it turned out, the pathogen within the cells themselves began to expand from the inside while rewriting it's code simultaneously."

"Elrick, c'mon, man.", I complained, waving my hand.

"Right.", Elrick replies. "The pathogen basically transformed a portion of your red blood cells into skin tissue in response to the contact with the atmosphere. I believe this to be the process you undergo whenever you're injured."

"So that's it, then.", Jacob says, slamming the bottom of his bottle onto the table. "For whatever reason, Nate can regenerate. It's so simple."

Smartass.

"Not quite.", Elrick says, apparently not grasping Jacob's sarcasm. "More like, he's hard to kill."

"Now that's putting it simply.", Selina says, pointing the arrow in her hand at Elrick. She swirled it like a baton, inspected its figure then placed it on the string and pulled back with a grin as she closed one eye. In response, Jacob jumped from his seat, rushed around the table and carefully took the weapons from her grasp.

"Lemme just get my hands on these.", he says as he removed the quiver from her back.

Selina "hmpfed" as she crossed her arms and gave Jacob a look. "I wasn't going to actually shot it.", she says, walking away.

"That's okay.", Jacob says. "I'm just gonna hold onto this for now."

A knock was heard at the door.

"Could someone get that, please?", Elrick asks, taking another gulp of his beer.

"I got it.", Selina says with a smile. "I'm already standing, anyway." Selina made her way to the door, cracked it and stuck her head through. "Can I help you?", I hear her ask.

"I hope you can.", I hear a familiar voice say.

I know that voice... who is that?

"I'm looking for a man named Nathaniel.", the voice continues.

Me?

"Selina, open the door, would you?", I asked politely. Looking back at me, she nodded and let the door slowly swing open.

When I saw the figure standing in the doorway, I lost my control in a burst of rage. Springing from my seat, I rushed the man, grabbing him by the front of his clothing and throwing him onto the floor.

"Jake, my bow!", I yelled to him as Selina let out a brief cry in surprise and stepped out of the way.

"Right.", Jacob responds when he realized the identity of the man I was attacking. As I approached the man on the floor, Jacob tossed the bow to me and reached into the quiver. "Arrows?"

"Three!", I holler again as I caught the bow. I slipped the man's neck in the V between the string and the bow itself, pulled him up to his feet with great forced, and kicked him in the gut, sending him stumbling back and smashing into the door. My foot flat on the ground, I turned quickly, shuffling closer to the man and reached for the first arrow flying through the air towards me. Spinning back around, I pulled it back on the string and released, pinning the man to the door not a second later by the shoulder of his cloths. I spun again, drawing closer, retrieving the second arrow and releasing it, pinning him from the opposite side as well. I spun one last time, pulled the string back with the third arrow between my fingers and held my draw, the tip inches away from the man's right eye.

"Nate, what the hell!?", Selina yells at me, still in shock. "You could have killed him!"

"First off, Selina, he'd only be dead if Nate wanted him dead.", Jacob butts in, walking over and retrieving the man's bow and quiver from his back. "Second, this guy is one of the Smuggler boss' first hands."

"What?", Selina mumbles, staring down Jacob with fear in her eye then the long eared rabbit who I so dreadfully loathed to make contact with. The rabbit turned his head and made eye contact with her. I shoved the arrow head's tip into his cheek.

"Eyes on me, lunch meat.", I warned him, not daring to lower my weapon. He turned back to me and stared passed the arrow into my eye, unmoved. "What the fuck do you want?"

"To talk.", he calmly replied.

"Bullshit!", I call him out, snarling and bearing my teeth. "Wherever you or the rest of your kind go, trouble follows that me and my friends pay the price for. So you have ten seconds to give me a reason to not force your eyeball through the back of your head. Now talk!"

"I need your help.", he replies.

"What the hell makes you think we'll help you?", Jacob questions, stepping closer.

"Was I talking to you, mutt?", the rabbit asks in response.

"ANSWER HIM!", I screamed in his face passed my bow.

The rabbit turned his gaze back to me. "I don't expect you to just offer your support.", he said to me. "Allow me to explain."

"Yeah, you go on and do that.", I replied, not particularly interested in his reason for being here. I just want him out.

"As you may have guessed", he began, looking to me with a single eye, "the grizzly you fought, my boss, is still alive."

"What?", Jacob, Elrick and Selina questioned in unison.

"I figured as much.", I told him, ignoring their surprise. "Get on with it."

"I want you to help me kill him.", he says.

"You want me to what?", I asked, my voice low, holding back my rage as best as I could.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have said that.", Jacob teases the rabbit.

"You now have ten seconds to rephrase that.", I told him, moving the tip of my arrow down to his kneecap. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Se-

"If I must be specific, I want you to help me sneak into his bedchamber and kill him in his sleep."

My eyebrows lowered further down. "Six. Five. Four-

"Fine, I'll kill him myself, just help me get in!", the rabbit pleaded.

"Why do you need him?", Selina asks, raising her voice to him. "Do it yourself!"

"He wants Nathaniel's help to get inside undetected because he knows he's the only one who can.", Elrick answers for the rabbit behind my arrow.

"Precisely.", the rabbit says with a fake smile as he tilts his head to see Elrick. Then he turned back to me with the same creepy blank stare. "In the years I've spent under his wing, you are the only one who successfully breached as far as his own bedroom. In front of his eyes, no less."

"Why do you want him dead all of a sudden?", I asked.

"Well, as you've witnessed, that wing is also a giant fist.", he said, emphasizing his words. "I don't really care for getting my ass handed to me on a silver plater on a daily basis."

"Why do you need to sneak in?", Elrick asks. "You have a beneficial reputation amongst his men, why can you not simple walk in, silence him yourself and leave before he is noticed?"

"His bedchamber is heavily guarded whenever he has left the base or has entered and shut the door behind him.", the rabbit explains. "Not even I am allowed to pass at such a time. Nathaniel is the only one I know outside of his rule with the capability to infiltrate the base and subdue the guards. Not only that, say I do get as far as his bedside, if he were to wake before I could put an end to him, it'd be the end of me."

"How did you find me?", I asked, changing the subject.

"You're not hard to track down.", the rabbit replies. "And we have more resources than you may think. All that was required was a little effort."

"Alright.", I stated. "Back to the main question, what the hell makes you think I'll help you?"

"Because if you don't, the city will suffer another assault.", he answers. My eyes opened wide as I stared at him in horror. He nodded. "You heard me right. I also came to warn you. If you do not help me bring him down, in just a few days time, he'll march an army powerful enough to cut the city's population in half before they are brought down by the local enforcers."

"Mother fucker!", I screamed, flailing my body as I cautiously released the strain on my bow's string. I paced for a few moments before returning my arrow to the level of his eye socket. My arms began shaking in anger and I found it hard to hold my bow in place. Screaming in rage, I quickly eased the string forward again and threw the bow and arrow to the ground. They bounced off the surface and vibrated with a humming sound before slowing and freezing in place. I began pacing again, deep in consideration.

"Nate, you don't really believe this shit, do you?", Jacob asks, stepping towards me. "You can't trust him as far as you can throw him!"

"You think I don't know that!?", I yelled at Jacob.

"Nathaniel, think clearly about this.", Elrick says from the table. "Don't you think this would be best left in the hands of the king's court?"

"No, I don't!", I replied, turning to Elrick. "All that'll accomplish is starting a war and taking hundreds more innocent lives, I'm not going to risk that!"

"Nate, you barely got away with your life the first time, what if he wakes up and catches you off guard?", Selina says, placing her hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to do it, it's not your responsibility!"

"ENOUGH!", I screamed, pulling away from Selina and silencing the voices. Everyone in the room had their eyes on me, waiting for my next move. I paced more. Mumbled to myself. Then finally turned back to the rabbit pinned to the front door. "Alright. Alright, fine, I'll do it."

"Nate, come on!". Jacob cries out to me.

"Stow it, Jake!", I growled, turning to him. "What's one life compared to those of an entire city? So say I die, he catches me off my guard and cuts my throat, it's what he wants anyway. If I do this, whether I live or die, it ends."

"I was hoping you would say that.", the rabbit says. "Does this mean you'll let me down?"

I shot him a look then returned to my seat at the table. "Get him down, Jake.", I mumbled low, my hand tightly grasped around my beer. "And give him his bow and quiver."

"Nathan, I-

"Do it!", I yelled, turning my head to peer at him over my shoulder.

I could feel Jacob's eyes burning in the back of my head. A few moments passed before I heard the sound of my arrows ripping out of the wooden door and the archer's cloths. Another few moments passed as Jacob and Selina sat down in their seats, silent and afraid to say anymore.

"When?", I asked, staring at the tabletop.

"If we leave tonight, we'll approach the base right about the time the boss makes for bed tomorrow night.", the rabbits says, standing a few feet behind me.

"Fine.", I agreed. "I need some time to prepare. Meet me at the front gate in half an hour."

"Very well.", the rabbit says. "I've brought a horse for you, some supplies and food to last throughout the trip there and back." I heard his footstep move further from me then they stopped as the front door creaks open. "I'll be waiting.", he concludes then walks out, shutting the door behind him. After a long sigh, I downed the last of my beer and rose to my feet.

The thirty minutes passed like the wind and I found myself standing in front of the gate with my gear, staring out into the wilderness beyond.

"I've lost my fucking mind.", I mumble to myself, contemplating my new plan.

With another long sigh, I passed through the gate, stopped on the dirt road and looked around. On my left, I spotted the rabbit walking towards me with two horses, one white, one black.

"Take your pick.", he tells me, stopping in front of me.

I walked up to the horses and took the reins of the black horse. "I'd rather be on the one that's not easy to pick out of the night.", I said, mounting the horse and patting its long neck with my hand. "Just in case you plan on shooting me down at some point."

"You won't have to worry about that, I promise you.", he assures, mounting the white horse. "Let's get going."

The rabbit spurred his horse and began trotting off. I snapped the reins of mine and followed. I caught up to his side and watched him.

What's your game, rabbit? Are you really this terrified of the life you chose and the man who runs it? Or are you setting me up for a trap? Do you really want my help or is it all just a ruse? I have so many questions I need answers to but I can't trust anything he tells me. I guess I'll start with this.

"What's your name?", I hollered over the wind.

"Rick.", he hollers back. "A pleasure to officially make your acquaintance. And thank you for your help."

"Making a lot of assumptions, here, Rick.", I told him as we rode on the trail leading to the ravine in the distance behind the city. "I'm only doing this for the safety of the people. And call me an acquaintance again and I'll take your eye out anyway."

The rabbit smirked without averting his gaze from his front. "Understood.", he replies. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan to get inside?"

"If the security is anything like it was last time, that won't be a problem.", I answer. "As long as you follow my lead exactly, we shouldn't be spotted. At least, not without raising alarm."

"I see.", Rick says, bouncing from horseback. "Where did you pick up your skill set?"

"Need to know basis, Ricky.", I tell him. "Just focus on the task at hand."

"You're a very distant person aren't you?", he questions, looking over to me.

"To the man responsible for the slaughter of innocents who suddenly asks for my help after trying to hunt me down like an animal, yeah I am.", I replied.

"I suspect you're referring to the first assault on the city.", Rick says.

"Great fuckin' guess."

"You should know that was not my call.", he informs me. "While I was there when the order was given, the boss called for the slaughter. I don't fully understand why he pinned the blame on me, I can only say that he has a very unorthodox manner of handling situations."

"What's his name?", I asked.

"None of us know.", Rick replied. "He requires us all to refer to him as 'Boss'."

"And you think I'm distant.", I said.

"He's more than just distant.", Rick says. "He's brutal. Savage. Borderline insane. I regret the day I let him take me in and I only want to put it to an end. I can't do that without you."

"I'm here, aren't I?", I asked, rhetorically. "Just keep in mind, when we get back, you're leaving and you'll never return."

"I'll accept that.", Rick said. "For now. When I've proved my innocence, I'd like to think you'd change your mind."

"Yeah, I bet you would.", I reply. "Don't get your hopes up, you have a lot to make up for."

"I'll try not to disappoint.", Rick said.

"We'll see."

As we rode up the hill the trail led us to and the city disappeared from sight when we entered the mountains, I looked up to the dusk sky and its many vibrant colors.

I wonder how this is going to end. Either in a pool of my blood or a pool of the Boss'. No matter how this happens, it will come down to one of these conclusions. I only wish I had know in advance. If I'm going to die tomorrow, I would have said much more in my letter to my mother. I wouldn't have even bothered to mention anything about Victor. I would have spent today with Jacob, Selina and Elrick without any concerns, focusing on nothing but our time together. I'd probably make Jacob pay for a visit to one of the gentlemen's clubs, spend a couple hours blowing his money on girls then I'd most likely asked Selina if she'd mind having fun together just one last time before leaving with Rick. But I didn't have that luxury. I don't have it. I thought this was over when I left the Boss bleeding under the giant oak tree but I should have known better. All I gained from leaving him there was short-lived relief. I should have known he'd live and retaliate. I should have foresaw his revenge before I threatened to hunt him down if he pulled another stunt. I should have put an arrow through his eye socket when I had the chance. This is the price you pay for showing mercy to those with a corrupted mind. I won't make that mistake ever again.