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We marched and marched and marched. We marched for so long, I lost track of time. At first, I was in awe of the mostly untouched forest that we marched through. It was dark and deep. Birds could be heard singing and the occasional wolf or elk in the distance too. But now, all I could think about was how much my paws hurt, how tired of marching I was, and how I was going to write to Snow. After talking with Dilis, I was still at a loss on whether to write to Snow or not. My heart was saying yes, but my mind said it would be a waste of time.

I was broken from my trance as a new sound reached my ears. I perked them up and listened intently. I could hear the distant sound of machine gun fire. This made my fur stand on end a little and I could see it in a few of the troops too. The sounds only grew as we drew near the front. We could hear more machine guns and then individual rifles every now and again. Then we heard it. Bangs and crashes so great, it had to be explosions as the rifle and machine gun fire picked up pace into a constant roar.

"Rifles out Dogs!" shouted Dilis. We swung our rifles off of our shoulders and checked to see if they were loaded. "Safety's on, no need to shoot each other on the move right now."

We picked up pace as we got near. A mild jog quickly turned into a swift run. The companies of the Fang Garde split up and met at rally points for orders. We met up in our sections and checked our equipment. The explosions were very near now and I could see some of the troops shaking in fear and others with excitement. I myself was shaking too. I guess I never really considered what it would be like to be in combat.

"Alright, listen up!" shouted the Lieutenant. "Noise and light discipline from here on out and safeties off! NCO's meeting now!" We converged on his position quickly and stood in a circle, at attention. The Lieutenant spread a map out on the ground of the area. "Alright gents, the Feldjäger's are being attacked by the cats at the moment. They emerged from their side of the field about a half hour ago and they are still coming strong. 1st Platoon is to move forward to here" he pointed to the right flank, "and reinforce the Feldjäger's. We are to hold the line at all costs. Are we clear?" he finished looking up at us.

"Yes sir," we answered.

"Good, get back to your sections and move out immediately. C on the left, B in the middle, and A on the right" he said standing and folding his map back into his pocket.

We went back to our sections and got the troops moving out. The Lieutenant led the way in front of B Section as we fanned out and advanced through the forest. The intensity of the fight ahead grew as we approached. I was on the far left flank of C Section and Dilis was on the far right so he could hear orders. We were suddenly halted and were told to fix bayonets. It was beautiful to watch the gleam of every bayonet come out at once and find its way to the end of every rifle and get fixed perfectly in place, ready for action. The advanced continued and the sound of constant machine gun fire was heard very close by. But a new sound could be heard over the fire and the explosions, there was a dull roar. Then, the machine gun stopped and the roar grew to encompass yelps and screams.

We picked up our pace and a break in the forest could be seen not far ahead. As we approached I saw shadows dancing around the edge of the forest. I could see two felines dancing around. One was in our type of uniform; the other was in a blue-ish looking uniform. The two were locked in mortal combat as I watched both felines fight desperately to kill the other. I was astonished by the dexterity both combatants showed. Then it happened, the feline in the blue uniform swung his rifle and struck the other in the head, knocking him to the ground out of my sight. The blue feline then brought his rifle above his head and brought the bayonet into the ground.

I was shocked, scared, but most of all, pissed. I began to growl a bit. I was anxious to get into the fight and get revenge for a fellow soldier. We picked our way forward a few more yards before the charge command was given. We were silent and we breezed through the forest towards the enemy that was taking the front line. I jumped over logs and pushed through a couple of bushes. Suddenly the forest cleared a bit and I was in a new world. All around me there were soldiers fighting. Horses thrusting their bayonets forwards, bulls and some of our felines using their claws and hooves. I was a tremendous sight, but I had little time to ponder as the blue feline noticed us and charged forward. We were taught to use only our bayonets in a melee fight, but I had other plans for this cat. I raised my rifle and fired. Time slowed as the round left the barrel and hurled itself into the chest of the advancing cat. He went down quickly without a struggle. Then to my left, another charged me. I pointed my rifle again and pulled the trigger, but I had forgotten to chamber the next round in my rifle. With a disappointing click, I jumped to the right and dodged his thrust. I fell to the ground as he turned to face me. He thrust forward again and he barely missed me as I shifted onto my side. I then thrust my bayonet upwards into his gut. He released his rifle and clutched his wound. Shaking, he then started to reach for a combat knife on his belt. I stabbed him again through the heart and brought him down. The blood was pouring from his body as he lay there and let out a final breath.

I would have liked to collapse and vomit at what I had done, but I could see that others needed help. I couldn't let down the team, not when their lives were at stake. I gathered my courage and my strength and charged forward, cutting through every enemy in my way. The enemy finally broke after what seemed like forever, and started running back across the field towards their forest. The troops of the Royal Fang Garde were relieved and started to pat each other on the back, but the members of the Feldjäger regiment mounted the machine guns, took up positions and began to shoot the fleeing Roarsi. It was a horrifically beautiful sight as each enemy combatant was brought down. The Feldjägers did this with a routine manner, like walking to work.

Only when the last of the enemy was killed, did the Feldjägers start to relax and smile a bit about being alive. But a cloud hung over us as those who had foughten bravly and still met their end, lied around us in heaps and piles, some without limbs, tails or ears. I couldn't stand to look at any of them, but Dilis ordered us to start clearing the bodies from the front line and to bury them. It was ironic that the glorious Royal Fang Garde was burying bodies. The Labrador from before and I worked together. I noticed he was crying a bit. He noticed me and apologized. I told him it was alright and started to tear up myself. A head count of the Platoon determined that C Section lost no one, B Section lost two and A Section lost one. Afterwards, we finally got settled in at the front and got a chance to meet some of the Feldjägers. They were happy to see us and be able to fight alongside us but there was something different about them. I talked to one of the horses and he was optimistic, but he had been on the front for the entire war so far and that left a haze in his eyes. He had seen death and destruction beyond remembering. He talked about how the Roarsi attacked first and almost won. Then how the Feldjägers counterattacked and were likewise slaughtered. He described it as a vicious cycle.

The Feldjägers showed us the ropes of rebuilding our line quickly and then they took a break while we watched the field. The field itself was a clearing between the two forests and somewhere in the middle of the field was the border between the two nations. The grass was short like it had been freshly cut yesterday, which it could have because our machine guns were lower to the ground to hit enemies that try to crawl during an advance. The grass got taller towards the middle where I imagine there were hundreds of bodies from both sides. As the day grew darker, light discipline was key. There were to be no lights, fires, or sparks made within 300 yards of the front. This would prevent the enemy from spotting our positions in the night even though they were just over here for what sounded like the umpteenth time.

As the world was enclosed in darkness, the distant sound of gunfire could still be heard along with the occasional explosion further down the line. We sat around at our posts and stared across to where the enemy was supposed to be. I sat alone on the left side of our line, staring off into the distance. Only the occasional flare fired from either side provided any illumination. It lit up the field with a different hue every time. Somestimes light green, then pink, then blue. But all that didn't matter if no one was out there. This drousy night left the mind with nothing to do and without any further distractions, I sat there thinking. Thinking about what I had done, what I was expected to keep doing, and how I was going to tell everyone back home. Well, almost everyone. The thought of Snow hurt more than anything else that happened. My ears drooped and I lowered my gaze to my lap where a small notebook and pencil rested in my paws.

"Ah, there you are Silverback. Been looking all over for you since the night watch started" said Dilis walking over to me and sitting down at my side. He followed my gaze and sighed, "back to this again I see."

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Well, are you going to tell me then?" he said with an expectant look on his face.

"Tell you what?" I asked looking up.

"If you recall, you were going to tell me what he was like then we realized it was a little too late. So, now that we have all the time we need, figured it would be a good time to talk," he said with an attentive look on his face. His tail was wagging slightly and his ears were perked up as much as they could go, being that they were the dropped type.

I sighed and leaned back with my arms outstretched behind me. I watched the flares slowly drop in the sky, collecting my thoughts. I finally spoke, "He... he is everything to me. He is strong, smart, handsome, encouraging, and trustworthy. I mean, he has everything that you look for in a mate, I wouldn't know where to stop." My voice caught in my throat as I began to tear up again, "Except that he doesn't like me the way I like him."

"Huh, well what did he say to you after you confessed?" he asked.

"Nothing, he just walked away" I said as a sob almost escaped me.

"It seems like that is a very vague answer to me. I mean, if he really hated you, wouldn't he have made that apparent by now?" he said with an inquisitive look on his face.

"I... I guess" I said taking a shaky breath.

"That isn't an answer either Silverback, but I will let it go for now" he said as he quickly shifted topics. "Keep the troops under strict discipline. I am going to head back to the field HQ and see if there are new orders ready for us" He finished, getting up to leave.

"Yes Staff Sergeant" I replied. "Wait! Hold on! What is that across the field?" I said quickly and a bit hushed as I pointed to a small light across the field.

Dilis looked over, "Not su-" he was cut off by the sound of a mortar being fired multiple times in quick succession. "What the he-" he was cut off again by the sounds of the mortars impacting their target. We could see the area where the light was erupt into small pillars of dirt and ash. Then it was over, everything was back to normal. "That is why there is no light on the front Silverback, now see to the troops" he said sternly as he left.

I worked my along C Section's small portion of the line checking up on everyone and reinforcing the importance of following light and noise discipline with my recent shock of war. Everyone was compliant, even the fellows from B Section that overheard me, started to pass the word down the line.

"Guess they do have some sense in them" whispered a Dalmatian into my ear.

I couldn't stop myself from grinning, "Sense or no sense soldier, I think we will keep them, even if they are just for some humor every now and again."