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XXVI

Lizard Breath

The young beast was whimpering, staring at the fallen creature with teary eyes. He didn't know what happened or why. He covered his ears and shut his eyes, but he still heard. There were other, older beasts around him. He didn't like the way they looked at him, the way they sounded, the way they smelled. They all wore tattered rags--some of which barely covered their groins--and they all smelled like carrion. The young beast whimpered as he crawled forward, looking down at the felled beast.

"M...mumma?"

No response. The young beast sniffled and touched her, pressing his paws down as he started to shake her. He saw her body move when he touched her, but the creature didn't seem sentient. He didn't understand. He couldn't comprehend why there was so much blood on the floor. He didn't know why the creatures were snarling at him, ignoring him like he was a piece of trash.

"Mumma? Get...wake up, mumma. Wake--"

"SHURRUP!"

The beast shouted when one of the older, foul-smelling vermin kicked him. The young beast whimpered as he started to grab the dead beast and began to cry.

"Wake up, mumma! Why...why won't you wake up?"

The older beasts looked at the younger one and started to growl when the young beast began to cry.

"Take the li'l fucker. Wendoll'll love 'im!"

The young beast shrieked when a filthy weasel grabbed him by his head. He started to pull him backwards as the beast kicked and screamed, shouting and trying to claw away from his captors.

"Mumma! MUMMA, HELP ME!"

The young beast reached backwards and clawed at the beast's paw, drawing blood. He got free and whimpered as he crawled forward towards the body again, wondering why it lay so still. He was about to shove it again when two beasts started to kick him in the face and stomach, not stopping until he was bloody and too weak to move.

"Take 'im! Now!"

The short creature howled in pain as he was dragged by his legs across the floor. He kept crying and clawing at the wood, his claws dragging against the floor with a harsh scraping sound. But eventually the older beasts overpowered him, and they all hauled him out of his home while he was still screaming for his mother.

---

Kurwin's eyes shot open. The ferret started panting, his entire head covered in sweat, his heart beating faster than normal. The ferret looked all around the forest and started to calm down. Another day, he told himself. He could see the skies and trees now, the thick gray clouds blocking out any form of sunshine. His nose wiggled as he smelled the air, carrying the faint scent of rain. Kurwin grunted as he closed his eyes and started to roll over onto his back, and then he sat up. The ferret rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes before he yawned and stretched, cracking his back and smacking his lips a few times. Kurwin got to his footpaws and lazily walked around, dragging his footpaws through the dirt. Everything still seemed the same: all his pirates were still sleeping, and those who weren't were either mingling with the Juskamard tribe or touching up on their sword and archery skills. Just another casual day of trying to build his crew. The ferret stood in front of one of the trees and pulled down his trousers slightly. Then he sighed as he pointed his penis at the bark and began to micturate. Kurwin stared at the gold fluids gushing from his member, splashing along the tree and trickling down into the dirt. Then he flared his nostrils and sighed.

"You always spy on beasts takin' a piss?"

The fox hiding up in the trees groaned with frustration as he began to climb down. "How'd you even know I was up there?"

Kurwin smirked. "That's the thing about ye foxes: always got that thick scent on ya. No point in tryin' t'be sneaky when you can't even hide yer odour."

Darktail grunted as he landed on the ground, brushing some of the dirt from his clothes. "Yeah, well, not like you corsairs smell any better."

Kurwin ignored him and changed the subject. "Since you're down here, why dont'cha tell me more about these lizards I'm goin' to rescue?"

"They're reptiles."

Kurwin finished urinating and pulled his trousers back up. "No shit. I wasn't aware. So tell me more about these lizards."

Darktail shrugged. "They got scales on their bodies."

Kurwin blinked and reached for his flaying knife. He removed it from his waistsash and spat near the fox's footpaws. "I'm in no mood for these games. D'you really wanna make this more complicated than it needs to be?"

Darktail stared at the indignant ferret and slowly grinned. He walked around the ferret for a moment, examining his posture, the scars on his body, how tough the beast looked on the outside. Kurwin didn't keep his back on him for more than two seconds. He knew how easy it'd be for somebeast like Darktail to whip out a hidden dagger and shove in deep between his shoulders. The ferret blinked and faced Darktail the entire time, waiting for the fox to do something. He watched as Darktail appeared to reach down, as if he was going to retrieve something. Kurwin didn't flinch or move; he scowled, clutching the handle of his knife harder. Darktail scoffed and backed away, leaning against one of the trees.

"They're monitors. Not sure where they come from, but my guess is Sampetra."

Kurwin huffed. "Ya fuckin' me? You want my crew to ally themselves with those bloodthirsty beasts?!"

"I didn't realize a pirate who flays beasts fer a livin' has such high standards."

"They're not standards--it's common fuckin' sense! Wot do I have t'gain by fightin' alongside beasts who see me an' my crew as food?"

"Strength? Numbers? I thought that's what you wanted?"

Kurwin shook his head. "I wanna build my army, not cut it in half 'cos some nasty reptiles keep eatin' my corsairs! Wot else you know about this army?!"

Darktail shrugged. "Not much. I can't remember the leader's name--starts with a...I dunno, a T or C, I guess? Now, not all of the lizards are monitors--they're only the leader's 'special' division. Y'know, a cold-blooded group of nasty beings who can do the things the leader's regular lizards can't do."

"Ya mean like burnin' down a hut full of babes and snacking on their burnt corpses."

Darktail started to frown. "Everytime. You beasts are so fuckin' despicable, d'you know that? Everytime I come across you lot, you all see me an' think, 'Oh, it's just another bloody fox comin' along to steal our shit an' plot behind our backs!' You always think th-that yer always better'n the rest of 'em! How--just tell me. How many babes have you killed? How many homes have you burned down--how-how many families have ya ruined? Them lizards are no different than you are--they always stand there with their--with their high an' mighty attitude an' tell me, 'Oh, we got standards! We can't partner ourselves with some nasty, smelly pirates who have no honour!' But hey. Them lizards are perfectly fine havin' sadistic, cannibalistic monitor lizards in their army. Because that makes a whole lotta sense an' clearly isn't hypocritical."

Kurwin kept staring at the fox, taking everything he said to heart. The ferret made a strange noise between a cough and a grunt before he looked at Darktail, seemingly puzzled. Sure, he killed innocent beasts. Sure, he robbed from others, raped others, murdered others in cold blood. But he was better than those monitors--his crew was better than all of them. He wasn't a cannibal, and he wouldn't kill any of his crew over petty subjects like the monitors would. His crew had rules--those lizards didn't. He knew they didn't. And that's what made them so special. The ferret put his knife back into his waistsash and grinned.

"Your words have touched me; hit a part of-of my soul in a way I cannot even describe."

Darktail grinned and flared his nostrils. "And here I thought I was the snarky one."

Kurwin kept staring at the fox's smug face. He wanted to wipe it off with his knife, cut the flesh right off that long muzzle of his. But he saw no harm in humoring the vulpine for now.

"You're right, Darktail. We're all just bloodthirsty sadists lookin' out for ourselves. Least I 'ave no shame in admitting that. But we are not cannibals. An' if those lizards are jus' gonna eat my crew, then even you must understand why we can't work with 'em."

"Trust me, they won't," Darktail lied.

Kurwin nodded. "We're gonna go rescue those monitors, an' I'm gonna let them tell me who their leader is an' wot their army is capable of."

"Sure. That, uh--I'm-I'm sure you'll be surprised."

He only saw it for a moment, but Darktail's grin faltered and came back up. The ferret wagged his tail and kept grinning, waiting to see if the fox had anything more to say or deny. But he kept his mouth shut. So the captain played along, gave in to the sly beast's offer.

"Fine then. I'll get the crew up. May as well do so now 'afore later when the rain hits."

---

Jurlick was standing idly by, observing all the frantic beasts as they rushed around near the river, ready to watch the trial. The shrew scratched beneath his headband and sniffed, glancing around, looking for Benrath. He wanted him to see this--he needed him here so he could see his anxiousness. It was so hard for him, so tough to keep a straight face, not to give anything away. Jurlick rolled his tongue around his mouth before he saw the chubby son of the Chieftain hurriedly walking over towards him.

"Wot the 'ell's goin' on, Jurlick? Why's my father called fer a trial?"

Jurlick shrugged. "Dunno. Must be important fer him t'wake us up this early in the morn. Let's go see!"

Jurlick started to jog alongside his new "friend," occasionally glancing at him, waiting with bated breath to see his reaction once he found out. The two shrews headed over near the river bank where most of the logboats and the Chieftain's large hut were stationed. The group of Guosim soldiers was clamoring quietly, confused faces turning back and forth as they watched the large shrew pace beside another shrew on his knees.

"Quiet! EVERYBEAST SHUT UP!!" Log-a-Log barked.

Jurlick and the other shrews quieted down. Even Jurlick knew that when his Chieftain spoke, it was time to close his mouth. At least, he knew that right now. Jurlick looked at the shrew on his knees, his yellow headband drenched with sweat. Don't smile, Jurlick told himself. Hold yer tongue.

"I'm gunna make this quick: Tileer here is accused o' slayin' Menryl!"

Jurlick flicked his eyes at Benrath. He stared at him, watching as Benrath's eyes grew wide and he looked at the shrew with bewilderment. Jurlick's mouth twitched slightly, but not enough for anybeast to notice. Other shrews were clamoring; some of them were shouting out that Tileer was a traitor for slaying a fellow shrew. Others shook their heads, still trying to figure it all out. But Jurlick didn't care. All that mattered was the beast standing next to him, the one who humiliated him, defecated in his maw.

"Wot d'ye say, Tileer? Why'd ye do it?!"

"I--" Tileer stammered. "I-I didn't do it! I weren't even near Menryl last night!"

Log-a-Log pulled a bloody dagger from his kilt and waved it in front of Tileer's face. "Wot's this then? Ye always carry a dagger coated with blood on ye?"

"That..." Tileer shut his eyes and huffed. "Chief, I-I don't know where--"

"We found it on ye at dawn. It was in yer paw; Menryl was soakin' in 'is own blood not far away!"

"How the fuck could I had killed 'im?! I was drunk last night--I were stewin' in me own bile!"

Log-a-Log chuckled. "Course ye were. Only a coward like ye would lose 'is dinner after doin' sumthin' as despicable as slayin' one o' his own!"

"That's not--"

"So wot say ye, Guosim?! Wot d'ye think I should do with this...this slanderous filth?!"

Jurlick couldn't help himself. He started to grin very slowly, looking all around the crowd, listening to the shrews who wanted blood, vengeance. He could see Tileer panicking, breathing heavily, on the verge of loosening his bowels inside his trousers. He could see Benrath rubbing his chin, shaking his head with disbelief. Jurlick licked his teeth and folded his arms, still smirking to himself. The panting shrew whimpered as Log-a-Log Brugo tapped the blade of the dagger against the top of his head. Tileer looked up at Jurlick with hopeful eyes.

"Ju-Jurlick! T...tell 'im. Tell 'em--tell 'em I was drunk! Tell 'im I-I fuckin' spilled me guts all o'er the fuckin' ground! Tell 'im I was too drunk t'even hold a dagger prop'ly!"

Jurlick lowered his arms and shrugged. "M'sorry mate. I was drunk too! Dunno wot ye were up to last night!"

Tileer gritted his teeth and whined. "No...y-ye saw me! Ye fuckin'--"

"Does anybeast else 'ave anythin' else t'say? Hmm? Anybeast else?" asked Log-a-Log Brugo.

Benrath huffed. "Dad, look. Tileer wouldn't do this--he an' Menryl were best mates! Wot would he have to gain by killin' him? 'Sides, blood on his clothes? Ye saw him with the dagger in his paw? Tileer ain't that stupid, Dad! Jus'...jus' think about this fer a moment."

"I 'ave thought about it! Menryl's dead. Tileer was found with a bloody weapon in his paw. Nobeast can confirm or deny that he didn't do it. So I'm gunna kill 'im."

"Dad--"

Log-a-Log placed the dagger against Tileer's throat. And then he swiftly ran it across his neck, cutting him so fast that blood gushed from his throat. Tileer gagged and gasped, the blood flowing from his neck and splattering all over the ground. Log-a-Log grinned as he tilted Tileer's head back, making sure the fountains of blood shot up into the air, sprinkling around the dirt and leaves. Tileer's body twitched a few times as the shrew tried to mumble something. But the shrew couldn't say much, and there was no way to stop any of the bleeding. Jurlick grinned as he watched the life slowly drain from Tileer's body. When Log-a-Log noticed he stopped moving, he shoved Tileer down and spat on his corpse.

"Dispose of this!"

None of them seemed to care. Who used to be one of their own, a fellow shrew and Guosim soldier they fought alongside, was now waste that needed to be buried. A few shrews walked over to Tileer's corpse, grunting as they picked him up and hauled his body to the river. Then they tossed him in with a large splash, and the corpse disappeared beneath the warm water. Jurlick kept flicking his eyes at Benrath, watching as the shrew stared at the large patches of blood sprayed across the soil. He wished he had the power to read minds. He was so eager to know how much Benrath was panicking, so curious to see if the shrew was beginning to feel like he was losing all his friends. Jurlick walked away from Benrath, walked away from the spilled blood on the ground. He couldn't stop chuckling to himself, his plan coming along nicely with each passing day.

Not much longer, Jurlick thought.

---

They were hungry. So they ate. They were aroused. So they fornicated. It was a simple life, a primal, urge-driven life that all the lizards could comprehend. Nobeast seemed to understand how their concept of life worked. Nobeast wanted to reason with them. So they killed them all and left their remains lying about for others to find. Krassak Ralfur lost track of how many lizards and other cold-blooded creatures he managed to recruit since he arrived in Mossflower. He lost track of how many bodies he left as well. He lost soldiers, gained more, had some of his monitors eat other soldiers, only to gain more. And now here the lizard was, walking around outside, gazing at his vast army, hissing and grinning with delight as he went around checking on the progress of everybeast. Krassak hadn't found more tasty shrews, much to his annoyance, but he knew he was going on the right path. He had, however, found an assortment of snakes, some of whom proved to be useful with his quest to spy on various tribes or colonies spread throughout the forest. The mighty monitor hissed as he walked over to the red spitting cobra that was slithering along the ground. The cobra blinked before he lifted his head and stared at the lizard.

"What issss it, Mighty One?"

"Juzt checkin' to zee if your znakez have made progrezz."

The red cobra hissed, his pale tongue flapping up and down. "We have found wanderersssss further into the foresssst, heading towardssss a farm."

Krassak's cold eyes lit up. "A farm, you zay?"

"Yesssss, Mighty Krasssssak! A farm, near the ford of the river! Large plain not far from the treesssss; I'm sure there are many ssssuppliesssss there."

Krassak licked his teeth. "And many tazty beaztz too. D'you find other alliez? More znakez you could uze?"

"No, Mighty Krassssak. We'll have to make do with the sssnakessss we have."

Krassak nodded. "Fair enough. Get Rezznat over here, will ya? There'z zomethin' important we need to dizcuzz."

"Assss you wish, Mighty One."

Krassak watched as the red cobra turned and opened his mouth wide. He emitted a strange noise that was a cross between a gurgling, screeching sound, as if the snake was drowning in his own bile. Then the snake released a clod of venom against the ground, and the red reptile lied back down and slithered away. Krassak rubbed his chin and sat down on a log, flaring his nostrils as his earholes were filled with the sound of somebeast moving furtively through the grass. It didn't take long before Ressnat showed up, the garter snake lifting his head and hissing at the monitor.

"Wot issss it, Krasssssak?"

Without saying a word, Krassak unsheathed his cutlass and lopped the snake's head off. The monitor grinned as he watched the snake's headless body shake and writhe around in the soil, still trying to survive. Krassak watched as the snake's severed head moved slightly, lying in the grass on its side, as if to question what just happened. Krassak sighed heavily and placed his sword back in its sheath before he picked up a pointed stick near the log. He crouched down and grabbed Ressnat's body after it stopped twitching, compressed the body together, and jammed the stick through the scaly beast. Then Krassak stood up, looked down at Ressnat's head, and crushed it beneath his footpaw. He listened to the bones crunching and the blood and brain squelching, the warm fluids getting all over his footpaw. And then Krassak sighed and started to walk away, lifting the headless snake up to his mouth so he could take a bite out of it. He walked along the ground that had been soiled by his lizards' footpaws and bodily waste before he came across his brutish lieutenant, the grayish-brown monitor Ulwort. Krassak smirked as he observed the giant beast sitting across from two young mice, slurping and munching on what seemed to be somebeast's ribs.

"How old are ya?" Ulwort asked.

One of the mice flinched when food erupted from the lizard's maw, nearly hitting her gown. The other one merely turned away, shuddering and looking down. Neither mouse answered Ulwort, prompting the tall, heavy lizard to come over and sit on the same log as the rodents. Ulwort ripped more flesh from one of the ribs, chewing on the bloody meat with his mouth open before he swallowed hard and turned his head.

"Wot'z wrong? You two 'fraid of ol' Ulwort? You don't like me?"

Krassak sat down on another log not far from the trio and resumed eating Ressnat's body, smacking loud enough for the beasts to hear. Ulwort grinned at the two mice, still waiting for an answer from them. Krassak could tell that their silence was angering him; he could see the large lizard's smile slowly waning. Ulwort bit more flesh from the ribs before he tossed his meal aside and swallowed hard.

"Anzwer me. Now."

"N-no...no, we...we don't," mumbled one mouse.

"But why not? Are you frightened by my appearanze? Do I not arouze you?" Ulwort sniffed himself a few times before he snorted. "Doez my zcent dizguzt you? Or maybe you two aren't fond o' my breath? It doezn't ztink too much, do it?"

The mice still didn't answer. Ulwort tormented the both of them even more when he exhaled harshly against their faces, making both of them turn away and gag. He licked one of the beasts in her left ear, watching as the young, innocent creature squirmed and whimpered. Krassak was still sitting down eating his meal, waiting for the big lizard to snap. Ulwort scooted over beside the mouse in a purple gown and sniffed. Then he grabbed her left paw, lifted it up to his mouth, and bit down on three of her fingers. The mouse started to scream and holler, watching as blood started to dribble down her fingers. There was a subtle, sickening crunch, and then the mouse screeched as she jerked her paw backwards--sans three fingers. The other mouse got up, ready to run, but Krassak was on her before she could go anywhere, wrapping his arms around her body and hauling her over to the log he was sitting on. Ulwort crunched on the mouse's fingers noisily, the bones popping inside his mouth. He spat a few bone fragments in the mouse's face as she cried and clutched her bleeding paw, hoping she didn't go into shock.

"Let'z try thiz again! Why d'you not like Ulwort?!"

"BECAUSE YORE A FUCKIN' ANIMAL!" the mouse finally screeched. "You-yore evil and-and foul an' horrible--you just bit off my fuckin' fingers fer no reason! Yes, yore scent disgusts me--just sitting beside you makes me wanna vomit! Everytime you open yer mouth I smell rotten corpses! I hate you! I-I hate all you fuckin' lizards 'cos I know yore gonna rape us until you get bored! Th-then...then yer gonna kill us...yer jus' gonna eat us like we're dead birds or-or fish."

Krassak chuckled as he looked at the bleeding mouse's paw. He tore more snake meat off with his teeth and started to talk with his mouth full.

"Of courze we're goin' to kill you. You're both pointlezz to uz. I've thought about it for a while too. We'll ztart off zlow, hack off a limb or two. Then we'll fry it over an open flame; let the zmell of yer burnin' flesh fill your nozez. Az we devour your preciouz limbz, we'll hack off another one. Perhapz we'll...hmm...Ulwort, d'you remember that recipe 'bout fried mize brainz?"

Ulwort nodded. "Get a few mize brainz, chop 'em up into large chunkz, add zome mushroomz an' green onionz to it an' fry it all in a pan."

Krassak inhaled sharply and started to drool. "Ohhhh, yez! Been a while zince we've eaten that! Now, the two of you will be dead by then, zo you won't feel uz mutilating your corpzez, rippin' out your heartz, your lungz, your kidneyz and ovariez. You won't feel uz fuckin' your dead bodiez, fillin' them up with our zeed. And you won't be able to zmell uz defiling your corpzez with our fezez an' urine. Shame really. If only there waz a way to keep you mize alive zo you can zee everythin' we plan on doin' to ya..."

There was nothing else the mice could say. Krassak nonchalantly bit into the snake again, spitting out a few scales as he chewed on the meat with his mouth open. The mouse who was missing three fingers slowly lied down on the log, shivering and sniffling as a few tears ran down her face. The other one looked as if she had no more life in her, like Krassak had already broken her spirit. The lizard could see how much his words hurt the rodent and decided to cheer her up.

"But don't you worry! We'll take good care of you! We're on our way to a farm; gonna find lotz more beaztz to znack on 'til we find thiz...Guozim tribe or whatever it iz. I'll make sure my lizardz do you no harm, that they don't even touch you the wrong way. We'll make sure you're well fed until we reach the farm."

"So...so you're not going to kill us?"

Krassak snickered. "I didn't zay that. I want the two of you alive long enough for you to zee what we do to our prey. I want you two to zee how we eat, how strong we are, how zavage we act around our foez. I want you...to hear other innozent beaztz zcreaming fer merzy. I want you to watch az we burn thiz farm to the ground."

Krassak stood up and walked in front of the mouse who still had her fingers. He crouched down and hissed, his snout mere inches away from the rodent's nose.

"Then I'll kill you."

Krassak hissed again, his tongue flapping against the mouse's face. The lizard held the snake he spitted in front of the mouse and grinned.

"You want zome? I'm sure you muzt be hungry!"

She was gonna take it. He knew she was. There was no life left in her. The reptile snickered as he watched the mouse grab the stick and look at it, thinking the dead snake would have all the answers. Then Krassak rubbed the mouse's head and sat down beside her, staring at the young beast's hopeless body. His stomach was already growling at the thought of scooping her brains out and roasting them over a fire. But he knew it was better to wait, let his meal get fatter over the next day or two. Besides, he wasn't too concerned about going hungry.

That's what his lizards were for.

---

Tegast huffed and swore, still squatting by the tree with his trousers around his ankles. The young rat shut his eyes, his knees shaking as he tried to force himself to relax and let his body void itself. The rat heard loud chortling not far from where he was squatting and glanced over to see Grustur laughing at him with his nose plugged.

"Told ya not to eat all them cherries! I'm surprised you haven't puked your guts out yet!"

Tegast scowled. "Shut up, Grus."

The rat shut his eyes and grunted as his stomach irritated him again. He wrapped his arms around his gut as he pushed out more fecal matter, the brown mess splashing and squishing as it spread around the tree's roots. Tegast opened his eyes and exhaled again, pushing out some gas as he felt the loose stool dripping from his behind.

"You done yet?"

Tegast didn't answer. He stayed squatted for another two minutes, waiting to see if his bowels would flare up again. When they didn't, the young rat nodded and pulled his trousers back up, exhaling as he stood straight up.

"Okay...I think it's all outta my system. Let's go."

Grustur nodded and the two beasts started to walk away from the tree. Tegast was about to say something to the vole when he flared his nostrils and blinked. The young rat turned around slowly and sniffed the air twice, scrunching up his face when a horrible odor filled his lungs.

"Hey, Grus...you smell that?"

The watervole chuckled. "What? The giant puddle of sludge you deposited by that tree?"

"No, besides that..."

Grustur walked beside Tegast and blinked. He leaned forward and sniffed the air a few times as well, trying to detect the sharp odor that Tegast had noticed. The vole veered his head backwards and groaned as he plugged his nose again.

"Fuckin' lizards. It's like they stink more an' more everytime we run into 'em!"

"No, not...there's somethin' else. It's a different kind..."

Tegast took two steps forward and flared his nostrils again. As much as he hated the stench, he knew he smelled that strange odor before. The rat's eyes grew wide and he swore quietly.

"Hide."

"It doesn't smell like the whole horde is comin' by. Prob'ly just one or two--"

"I'm tellin' you right now, we need to hide!"

Grustur could see the fear in Tegast's face. He frowned and nodded; if Tegast was truly scared of whoever or whatever he smelled, he knew it was best to take his advice. So the two beasts hid their sacks filled with supplies inside a small tree hollow before they scurried up the same tree. Tegast tried not to strain his body too much; his midriff still stung after being stabbed by the lizards over a week ago. Grustur climbed along the bark, grunting and pulling himself onto the branches. Tegast did the same, trying to get as far off the ground as possible. But just as he was about to reach Grustur's branch, he heard a shrill cry. The rat stopped and gasped. He looked behind into the forest and could see a reptile dragging somebeast by his ears across the ground. Tegast sniffed the air again and gagged. He knew that stench by heart after his previous encounter with the foul beast. Gila the Putrid hissed as he dragged the mouse, his fat purple tongue flicking out his fetid mouth. Tegast clung beside the tree bark, sitting down slowly as he looked at the orange and black reptile and the mouse with his paws tied behind his back. The rat suddenly felt the branch shake; he turned around and saw Grustur behind him.

"What is it, mate? It's just--"

"Look," whispered Tegast. "He captured somebeast. We gotta go down there an' help him!"

Grustur shook his head. "Not our problem. Ain't our fault that mouse got caught."

Grustur grabbed Tegast's arm and tried to drag him away, but the rat roughly shoved him off. Grustur, knowing Teg wouldn't leave it alone, rolled his eyes and huffed. He stood behind Tegast, peering around the corner of the tree as he looked down at the bloated beast.

"Ugly li'l fucker, ain't he? Been a while since I saw a lizard that big and fat."

"Just wait 'til he opens his mouth. I swear that lizard's breath could peel the bark off a tree."

Grustur chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

Tegast nodded and looked a little closer, looking at the lizard's turquoise clothing and his black skull. Gila stared at the whimpering mouse, his fat tongue flicking out his mouth again. He looked down at the rodent, hissing noisily, before he flared his nostrils and blinked. Gila chuckled deeply as he crouched down near his captive's head.

"Ye zmell that, little mouze?"

The mouse responded by whimpering, his face already wet with tears. Gila nodded as he stood up and exhaled.

"I THINK THAT'Z THE ZMELL O' A ZTINKY RAT!!!"

Tegast swore and sat down hard and tried to conceal himself. Grustur shifted around on the tree and glanced down, looking at the lizard as he started to walk around the area.

"Relax, Teg. I'm sure there's lots of smelly rats in the area."

Gila flared his nostrils again. "Hmm...that a vole I zmell too? Oh good...I get to 'ave three victimz today! Come on down! Join Gila the Putrid an' we'll all 'ave a fantaztic romp together!"

Grustur frowned before he shifted around on the branch again as he sat down behind Tegast. The two beasts suddenly went still once the tree branch cracked; Gila snarled and flicked his head in the direction of the tree. The vile lizard hissed and sniffed several times, trying to detect Tegast's scent. It didn't take long for the reptile to find it though--the rodent left a very messy mark after his recent bowel trauma. Gila found Tegast's pile of stool on the tree roots and crouched down. He sniffed the loose excrement for a moment and growled deeply. Tegast peeked around the corner of the tree and saw Gila crouching down, but he couldn't make out what was happening.

"The fuck is he doin', eating all your shit?" asked Grustur.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe that explains why his breath stinks so much."

Gila stood up, his mouth and tongue brown after licking up all of the rat's runny waste. The lizard licked the sludge off his mouth and teeth before he belched and turned back around. He resumed sniffing the air, walking around from bush to bush, trying to find any traces of Tegast. Gila blinked and peeked inside the bushes, hissing and grinning, his fat tail thumping against the ground.

"COME OUT! I know ye ain't far 'way! Cummon, ztinky rat! Don't ye wanna play with yer good friend Gila the Putrid?"

Tegast didn't answer. He stayed absolutely still alongside Grustur, hoping the lizard would get bored and head back to his army. The rat shut his eyes and exhaled, treating the reptile's hissing and snarls as nothing more than background noise. But Gila was no fool. He knew that one way or another, he'd find the smelly rodent. And all he needed was the mouse in front of him to help out.

"Fine then. No worriez. Me li'l mouzie mate 'ere will entertain me!"

Gila walked over to the mouse and removed the gag that he had in his mouth. The rodent took a deep breath and whimpered as he tried to crawl away.

"HELP! SOMEBEAST HELP ME!"

Tegast looked down at the rodent and started to reach for his weapon. Grustur immediately grabbed his arm and shook his head.

"No."

"But he's--"

"This whole thing could be a trap. We don't know how many lizards are around. You know he's tryin' to draw us out."

Tegast gritted his teeth as he looked back down at the mouse. Gila was laughing as he kicked him and hissed in his face. The mouse started to shut his eyes, sobbing quietly, clearly wishing somebeast would come down to his aid. Gila looked around the woods, grinning widely as he flared his nostrils.

"Can ye zee me, ztinky rat? Hmm? Can ye 'ear me?"

Tegast glanced at the ground again and swore. He was about to stand up when Grustur jerked him back down. The rat started to pant heavily, panicking over what Gila was doing. The large lizard stood behind the mouse, growling as he grabbed his waistband and pulled his shorts down. The orange and black creature stared at the mouse's tail as it concealed his hole. Gila walked behind the mouse and quickly lifted the tail, causing the rodent to shriek.

"NO!! GET AWAY! DON'T YOU FUCKIN' TOUCH ME!"

Gila laughed as he watched the mouse jerk his body across the ground. But he couldn't even get to his footpaws since they were bound as well with tight rope. The heavy lizard continued to watch the mouse's futile attempts to escape from him. But Gila already knew that there was nothing the mouse could do. Gila licked his choppers and growled lustfully, his hemipenes gradually sliding out of his cloaca. Tegast was up in the tree trying to fight off Grustur. Eventually, the watervole wrapped his arms around the rat and hugged him tightly. The vole made sure his arms were secured around Tegast's arms. As the rat sat down, constricted by Grustur's grip, he swore and thrashed his body around.

"Let go of me! We have to help him!" Tegast snarled.

"No, we don't," said Grustur coldly.

"He's gonna rape him, Grus!" the rat whined. "We...we have to--"

Grustur kept holding onto Tegast and sighed before he spoke softly in his ears. "Just...don't look, Teg. I'll tell you when it's over."

Tegast kept fighting. He knew he had to help him. The rat swore and tried to wriggle free, constantly panting as he looked down at Gila. The mouse was still trying to crawl away when Gila stood behind him. He grabbed his bottom and snarled, rubbing it for a moment, before he pounced on the rodent. The mouse shrieked again, jerking his head and footpaws around as the nasty creature toppled him. Gila was so huge that he covered the entire mouse; Tegast could barely see the rodent being crushed by the heavy reptile. Gila grinned as he panted and shifted his body around. He wiggled his body and moved the mouse's large tail around until his groin was pressed up against it. Gila didn't insert just yet. He let the tip of his right hemipenis dribble out a small amount of pre-ejaculate, just to torment the mouse of what was about to happen. Tegast snarled as he jerked his head down, trying to bite Grustur's arms. But just as he opened his maw, he heard that blood-curdling cry and knew it was already happening.

"STOP! GET OFF ME!! GET OFF!"

Tegast stopped fighting Grustur. He lifted his head back up and started to stare blankly ahead. He told himself not to look down. He told himself to ignore the mouse. He was just some random beast after all; neither of them knew him. Neither of them should care. But with each scream, Tegast's ears would twitch and he'd start to breathe heavily. He told himself not to look down. The mouse wasn't important. His life didn't matter. For all he knew, he was a tawdry thief, a backstabber, a coward who recently deserted his army. He told himself not to look down. The mouse was irrelevant. Maybe he had a family. Maybe he was on the run like he and Grustur were. Perhaps he had babes to take care of. And now they were going to starve to death because a rat and watervole were too cowardly to help out. Tegast looked down. His ears lowered. He knew he shouldn't have. Grustur warned him not too; he knew it was wrong. And now that he had, he couldn't stop staring. All he could see was the giant beast pummeling the mouse from behind, jerking his body back and forth with each thrust. He could see Gila moving his body enthusiastically, panting as he moved his footpaws backward, kicking up dirt. He could faintly see the mouse's tied-up footpaws buried somewhere beneath Gila's huge body.

But he couldn't feel it. He didn't know what it felt like to lie on his stomach as a foul-smelling stranger violated him. He couldn't feel a prickly phallus lodging its way inside his tailhole, grinding away at his rectum, tearing him up inside and making him sore. He couldn't feel Gila's claws digging into his scalp; he didn't feel Gila's drool dripping down onto his face; he couldn't smell the beast's hot malodorous breath whenever he exhaled or panted on the back of his head. Tegast slowly moved his head back and stopped looking. His eyes teared up as he tried to move his arms again. The rat whimpered as he continued to listen--at some point, the mouse stopped screaming. The sound of the mouse crying for help was replaced with the lizard snarling, slurping, and grunting. Tegast shuddered as he heard Gila moan. The lizard huffed, warm air coming from his nostrils, spittle flying from his mouth. The lizard's hemipenis continued to throb inside the mouse's anus, oozing out more pre-ejaculate. He thrust into the mouse faster, his member creating a slick squishing sound. Tegast's vision became blurrier as a few tears started to run down his face. Tegast shut his eyes and sniffled, hoping the noises would end soon.

And then it happened. Gila let out a gurgling snarl, a demonic cross between a roar and a blissful scream. Tegast felt a chill go up his spine as he heard the vile beast make the same sound multiple times. He heard more squishing down below, followed by Gila panting and snarling incessantly, saliva flying from his mouth. The lizard jammed his shaft inside as hard as possible, letting the slick semen shoot from his phallus. Tegast whimpered so loudly that Grustur had to cover his mouth. The rat let out a few more tears as he heard Gila panting, recovering from his orgasm. The nasty lizard exhaled and grinned, his heart slowing down as he felt very content. Gila hissed as he slowly pulled out of the beast, his erection soaked in his own creamy fluids. The mouse sobbed as he gradually lifted his head, his anus sore and torn apart.

"Help me--"

The mouse didn't even have time to weakly finish crying out before Gila snapped his neck with a sickening crunch. Tegast shut his eyes again after hearing the crunch. Gila giggled as he stood straight up and casually walked towards his shorts. He put his trousers back on before he took a deep breath.

"Shame ye didn't join uz, ztinky rat! Woulda loved t'ave ye az well! But don't ye worry, rat! This were juz' a warmup!"

Tegast slowly opened his eyes, believing the monster had just found him and Grustur. Gila looked up into the trees as he continued to shout.

"The Mighty One haz found a farm! Hehe, that'z right, ztinky rat! Our znakez located a farm near thiz river'z ford! Ohhhhh, zo many beaztz muzt be there, ripe fer the takin'! Ye wanna know wot we're gunna do to them beaztz, ztinky rat? We're gunna fuck 'em! We're gonna rape 'em one atta time, fuck 'em 'til their arzez are raw an' bloody--juzt like thiz mouzie right 'ere! Then we're gonna eat 'em all alive, roazt their corpzez az their zcreamz fill the air! I really, really hope ye'll come along an' join uz! Ye ratz alwayz are a tazty lot!"

Tegast didn't say or do anything. The two beasts listened to Gila as he laughed heartily and began to walk away. Even then, after the lizard's footsteps could no longer be heard, Grustur held onto Tegast for a few more minutes. He glanced around the corner of the tree, looking for any signs of the beast. After he realized he was gone, the watervole exhaled and let go of the rat.

"All right, he's gone. C'mon, we gotta go now before any other lizards show up."

Grustur started to climb down the tree while Tegast stayed frozen. All he could do was shake and stare straight ahead. He kept replaying the situation in his mind, telling himself over and over again that there was nothing he could do. He kept telling himself that he wasn't a coward, that the mouse was doomed no matter what he did. But he couldn't move. Something in his body paralyzed him, made him feel like he was glued to the tree branch. The rat breathed softly as more tears ran down his face. He swallowed, wondering if his nausea would kick in and make him vomit.

"Hey, Teg...c'mon buddy, let's go."

The rat blinked and looked down, watching as Grustur resumed climbing down the tree. Tegast did the same, slowly moving his paws and footpaws down, breathing quietly, still trying to ignore everything that just happened. He landed on the ground beside Grustur with a hard thud and turned. They faced each other for a moment before the vole meekly rubbed his right arm and exhaled.

"I'll get the packs," he said quietly.

Grustur took the two packs from the tree hollow and placed one around his back. He handed one over to Tegast before he turned around and started walking. The bag felt like a heavy weight too large for somebeast his size to carry. It slipped from his fingers with ease, landing on the ground with a noisy thump. Tegast flicked his eyes at the dead mouse, still lying on the ground, still tied up with the lizard's seed dripping out of his anus. Tegast sniffled and sobbed, shutting his eyes as he began to feel light-headed. Grustur stopped walking and turned around, watching as Tegast fell to his knees and started to cry.

"Shit. Hey, hey, hey, it's all right, Teg!"

Grustur put his sack down as well and rushed behind the rat. He wrapped his arms around him again, embracing him, rubbing his head as he tried to calm him down.

"No, shhhh, it's okay, Teg. You didn't do this. Neither of us did. There was nothing--"

Tegast jerked his arms up and wedged himself free from Grustur's grasp. The rat quickly stood up and turned around, his face wet with tears as he gritted his teeth.

"Nuh...n-nothin' we could do, r-right? That--" Tegast inhaled and sniffled. "That's wot you were gonna say?"

Grustur sighed. "Tegast--"

"WE SAW HIM! We were right there, Grus! Did-did you not hear 'im?! Didn't--" Tegast stopped again, sobbing as some mucus ran down his nostrils. He rubbed some of the sludge away before he whimpered and shook his head. "All we had t'do was come down. It was one fuckin' lizard--we coulda kill 'im easily!"

"Except his dead body would be found. His army would know that somebeast posed a threat to them. He could already sniff both of us out--those lizards would've stopped at nothing to find us!"

"That's wot they're doin' right now! This mouse did nothin' an' that monster forced himself inside him an'-an' just...he just..."

Tegast sniffled again. "Why? Why would...why do beasts do that? Wot's the point?!"

Grustur shrugged. "Dominance. Control. Power. The inability to reproduce properly. I stopped askin' why."

Tegast stared at Grustur with wide eyes. "Do you just not care?"

"No. I thought you wouldn't either. You said yer family traveled a lot. Nothing like this ever happened?"

"NO! My family an' my tribe worked together! We always stuck together--we-we always tried to help each other! We didn't just leave beasts t'get slaughtered like that!"

"Why not?"

"'Cos it's not right!"

"Takin' another beast's life isn't right. But you were fully prepared to slay that lizard if I hadn't stopped you."

"To stop him from rapin' that innocent mouse! If...if that was me, wot would you have done? Would you have left me? W-would you have let that maniac rape an' kill me?"

Grustur didn't answer. He merely looked away as he felt the wind blowing against his face. Tegast sniffled and walked in front of him, looking the watervole in his eyes.

"Would you?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?!"

"Because I've yet t'find myself in that position. When it comes to you, I honestly don't know. When it comes to some random mouse I've never met before, absolutely. This creature didn't impact my life. He weren't important to me now. He won't be tomorrow."

"So wot about that farm? We...we're jus' gonna ignore that too?"

"Yes."

"There could be babes there! If those lizards are headin'--"

"If those lizards are goin' that way, a fourteen-season-old rat and a thieving watervole can't do shit about it! It's two against, what? Over two hundred? Two thousand? Nothing we do will help them. We'll end up riskin' our lives for absolutely nothing."

"But can't we--"

"TEGAST!" Grustur suddenly shouted.

Tegast shut his mouth, almost as if his father had just yelled at him. Grustur sighed heavily and rubbed his head.

"You'll get used to it. Sooner or later--hopefully sooner, the sound of beasts dying? Beasts bein' raped? Babes havin' their heads smashed in? S'all background noise. S'all just flies buzzing 'round your face. You swat it away. And then the noise just...stops."

Grustur bent over and picked up his sack again, flinging it around onto his back. "Now get the rest of the supplies. We'd better get moving before somebeast else comes along."

"...Okay," said the rat softly.

Tegast felt numb. All his anger, his fear, his sadness suddenly went away. Now all he wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep, hope that he'd wake up clutching his brother this time, not a large rock. But it was far too late for any of that now. All he had was himself and Grustur. Tegast looked at the mouse's body again, sniffling and wiping the rest of the tears off his face. He picked up the backpack and put it on, still believing that it was heavier than usual. Grustur stared at Tegast, waiting for him to do something. The rodent stared back at him. And then the beasts resumed their journey, acting as if they never saw the mouse to begin with.