[Mkguild] Another MK Work in progess

[Fox Cutter]

Another story of mine that's not quite finished yet but I would love 
your opinion. Enjoy

--Fox

Metamore Keep
Untitled story #3

By

Fox Cutter

There was a crisp chill hanging in the morning air, clinging to the 
walls and the floor of the keep. The night before had been perfectly 
clear and what little heat from the day before had quickly faded 
away. It left it unusually cold for an late summer morning, and 
Kallie was glad of the fur coat she now possessed.

The vixen walked quickly through the lower keep, moving down the 
streets as people were starting to wake up, the smell of fresh made 
food hung in the air, pressing down over the buildings like a warm 
blanket. It was a heavy smell, almost enough to make her stop and buy 
something to eat, but she simply didn't have the time.

She pressed on towards the main gate, her sword swaying against her 
leg and her dagger held tightly against her hip. The thin padded 
armor she wore wasn't much but it was good enough to travel. Her 
chainmail shirt was tucked into the bag that was slung over her 
shoulder, along with some trail rations and some extra clothing, just 
to be safe.

Kallie wasn't sure what to expect with Duimlar and his group, she 
knew they were protecting a caravan, but that was all. Once she had a 
good idea what to expect from her new companions, but she had little 
doubt that once they knew each other they would get along fine.

She came to the main gates, looking around for the large otter, but 
not seeing any sign of him. Stepping through the first gate she 
looked around the killing field, the rising sunlight was just 
appearing over the top of the east wall, casting long shafts of light 
through the dark blue sky. Stepping back inside, she walked to the 
guard station. "Excuse me, how late after sunrise is it?"

The guard gave her an odd look then looked at a clock built into the 
wall. "About forty-five minutes," he replied.

"Thank you," she told him then turned back towards the gate, 
surprised to see that Cutter was standing a few feet behind her, a 
large bag held in his arms. The fox'taur looked sheepish for being 
there, but still smiled at her, motioning for her to come to his side.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she reached his side.

"I thought you would like something to eat before you go," he said, 
holding up the leather bag, the smell of fresh bread and meat rising 
up from the top of it. In response her belly started to rumble.

He smiled and handed her the bag.

Kallie took it from him, reaching a paw inside. "Thank you, I didn't 
have time to eat, I wasn't sure how long I had after dawn." As she 
spoke she pulled out a muffin that had been sliced in half with a 
piece of ham pressed between them like an odd sandwich, and from the 
smell of it an egg. It had been wrapped in thick paper, but the paper 
was already damp from the meat. The whole thing was presently warm in 
her hands.

"What is this?"

"It's a kind of breakfast food from where I'm from," he replied, 
looking down at his feet, pawing his right front foot at the ground.

The vixen looked at it again before removing the paper to pull the 
odd little thing free. She eyed it for a moment then took a bite, 
surprised at just how good it tasted on her canine tongue, the mix of 
flavors were strong and seemed to complement each other. With a few 
more bites she finished it off and licked her fingers. "Where did you 
find this?"

"I made it myself, it's pretty simple really," he said, a smile 
playing across his muzzle.

"Thank you," she replied, taking a second one from the sack, eating 
it a bit slower this time.

Cutter moved around to stand next to her, pressing his flank up 
against her hip while draping an arm over her shoulders. "It's too 
cold today to head out without a hot meal."

She pressed back against him, her full tail swaying against his side. 
"It is. Thank you again, I appreciate it," she said, smiling as she 
looked up into his eyes.

For a few moments she thought about what he must have done to make 
the food for her, including getting fresh baked muffins. He must have 
been up for a while, and all for her. She blushed a bit, her ears 
turning back slightly, her tail dropping a little. "You didn't have 
to do it though."

"No, I didn't," he replied, reaching up and touching her chin, 
stroking a finger over the red fur.

Her blush grew hotter under her fur, and then, before she could 
really think about it, she raised herself up onto the tips of her 
boots and tilted her head, kissing him as best she could with a muzzle.

The fox'taur froze for a moment in surprised, but only for a moment. 
After that e turned his head slightly to the side to aid the kiss, 
their muzzles pressing together as they held it for a few long 
moments. Slowly he slipped his arms around her back, pulling him up 
to his thick chest and holding her as the kiss continued.

Kallie hugged him in return, pressing tightly to him as her paws 
tracked down the back of his shirt to stroke over the top of his 
lower body, stroking her fingers gently through his fur.

He finally broke the kiss to smile down at her, his blue eyes 
twinkling. "That was a surprise."

"You earned it," she replied, not pulling away from him. He was warm 
against her fur, banishing the chill from the air.

Cutter smiled, his ears leaning back slightly as he wagged his thick 
tail. "I'll have to do that again," he said softly.

"Yes, you we do," she replied, finally slipping out of his arms, her 
fingers lingering against his side as she took a step back "It makes 
for a good start to the day," she added, reaching up to touch his chest.

"I'm happy to help," he replied, a slightly goofy smile on his face.

She was about to say something more when she heard a familiar voice 
call out her name. Turning around she saw Duimlar walking towards 
them, four more people were behind him. Two of them were animals, a 
lion and some sort of canine, and the other were a man and a human. 
The woman stood out from the rest of the group, her chainmail tight 
over her chest, her blond hair bouncing with each step she took. They 
were all lightly armed with swords and bows, each one looking her over.

Beside her she felt Cutter shift slightly, one of his hands dropping 
onto her shoulder as his ears twisted a hair to the side.

The big otter smiled as he walked up to them, his eyes flicking over 
the fox'taur, first at his face, then down to the bulk of his body. 
"It's good to see you Kallie, who is your friend?"

"Fox Cutter, Long House librarian," he said, offering out his paw.

"Duimlar Fletcher," he said, shaking the proffered hand squeezing it 
for a few moments before pulling away. "I've heard of you, but only 
in passing."

"You have?" he asked in surprise.

"Indeed I have, there are only a few centaur like creatures at the 
keep. Yourself, Misha, and the rat whose name I do not know at the moment."

"That would be Matthias."

He smiled at this. "Thank you, it's good to know who they are. I've 
also heard rumors about what you did during the events of the winter 
before last."

The fox'taur visibly blanched at this, his ears and tail dropping. "I 
assure you, whatever you way have heard, it has been exaggerated," he 
said, the warmth fleeing from his voice, making her wonder what those 
rumors were, and why the bothered him so much.

Duimlar chuckled and nodded his head. "Indeed? Very well then, still 
you are a notable person wither you wish to be or not."

"I'm aware of that," he spat out.

The otter turned his attention back to Kallie. "Are you ready to depart?"

She nodded, rocking on her feet.

"I assumed the moment that you do not have a horse to ride, so I have 
higher one for you to use," he said, as he spoke a young woman walked 
up, three horses following behind her, she was followed by a thin 
wolf who had three more.

"Thank you," she replied.

He smiled and shook his head. "Think nothing of it, and I would 
rather that you rode then walked. It is a day's ride to the edge of 
the valley and we will be meeting a caravan tomorrow morning. It 
should be an easy ride for the time being, and I will give 
introductions along the way."

She nodded.

Duimlar smiled and walked to wolf, giving him a trio of coins before 
taking the horses from him. Kallie tuned to Cutter and gave the 
fox'taur a quick hug. "Thank you for the food."

Cutter smiled at this. "I have something else for you," he said, the 
warmth returning to his voice as he reached into his vest and pulled 
out a scroll. He handed it to her with a small smile.

"What is this?" she asked, looking it over.

"It's the translation of the elf scroll you were reading a couple of 
weeks ago. You said you wanted to read it all, so I've been working 
on it. It's only half of the first scroll, but I thought you would 
like to have something to read," he said, blushing a bit as he spoke, 
his ears flicking from side to side.

"You always seem to find a new way to impress me," she said as she 
slipped the scroll into her bag.

He smiled at her. "Have a safe trip, and come see me at the long 
house when you get back."

The vixen smiled and hugged him one more time. "I will," she said and 
then finally slipped away, backing into one of the horses. Turning 
back round she saw the others were already on horseback, and Duimlar 
was holding out the reins for her. She took them into her hand and 
then climbed up onto the horse, holding tightly to the saddle horn as 
she swung her leg over the large back and settling into place.

Once she was settled on her horse, the otter flicked his reins and 
started trotting through the gates. One by one they all followed him, 
moving at a quick trot down the road. A few minutes into the ride she 
looked back over her shoulder, surprised to see that Cutter was still 
standing at the gates, watching her as she rode away.

As they rode away from the keep the lion behind Duimlar slipped back 
down the line to ride next to her. "The librarian in sweet on you," 
he said, a hint of a smile on his muzzle.

Kallie blushed and nodded, her tail flicking over the low back of the 
saddle, which felt very odd. "He really is very nice. He saved me 
when my caravan was attacked, I would have been killed without him... 
along with everyone else."

He cocked his head to the side, a hint of a frown playing over his 
wide muzzle. "Really? Then maybe the stories I've heard about him are 
really true. I suggest you keep your ears up for whatever you might 
hear about him, some of it is very interesting."

"What sort of things?"

The lion laughed a bit and moved his horse closed to hers, their legs 
almost pressing against each other. "There are stories about what he 
was like before he came to the keep, not that any of the stories 
agree with each other. The most popular story about him comes from 
the that attack on the keep the winter before last."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and flicked her ears back. She had 
heard about the attack before, but only in passing. "I've heard about 
that before, what did he do?"

"Well no one know is willing to say for sure, but what I understand 
is that during the attack he killed over two dozen assassins that 
were hunting the Duke. Killing the last three of them as they were 
breaking into the room where the Duke was hidden."

"Really?" Kallie asked, lowered her ears a bit more, finding it all 
rather unbelievable. While it was true Cutter was a good fighter, it 
was clear he wasn't an expert and used his fox'taur form more than 
any weapon. While he had some skill with the sword, it wasn't that extensive.

The lion nodded. "His injuries are visible whenever he is on two 
legs. He walks with a cane because he cannot walk on his own. A cane 
that was a personal gift to him from the Duke."

Her lips pulled into a slight smile, she had seen that cane before, 
the one with the silver handle. It had seemed far to elegant for a 
man like him.

"I've also heard that he doesn't have to bow his head to the Duke," 
he added with a smile.

A laugh bubbled at the back of the vixen's throat, but she held it 
back. No matter what Cutter may or may not have done, there was no 
way he would be allowed not show his respect to the duke. "You cannot 
tell a joke."

He shook his head. "I've been at the keep for five years now, and I 
saw it with my own eyes. The Duke personally thanked Cutter for his 
services to the keep."

"For saving the Duke's life?"

The lion waved off the question with a flick of his head. "He did not 
say what he did, but such a thing can't remand a secret in a place 
such as this."

Kallie gave him a long smile and flicked her tail against the horse's 
back. "I'm sure there are more ways to keep a secret then even you 
are aware of," she replied. Without even thinking about it her hand 
drifted down to rest against the hilt of her dagger, pressing it 
against the muscles of her leg.

He shook his head, his short cut hair bouncing around his head. 
"Quite possibly," he replied, then lifted up a hand, offering it out 
to her. "I'm Winstion," he said.

Taking his hand she gave it a slight shake."I'm Kallie."

"It's nice to me you," he replied, then flicked his reins to ride 
back up behind Duimlar, his long tail swaying with each step the horse took.

Kallie watched him go, not quite sure what to make of everything she 
had been told, but suspected that there was very little truth to any 
of it. In the end the only person who knew the truth was Cutter himself.

* * *

Kallie dropped down onto her bed roll, holding back a low grown as 
she rubbed the ache in the small of her back. She had been riding for 
years, but had never felt this bad after a long ride. The ache was 
mostly in the small of her back, right above her tail, but it was 
driving her to distraction.

The group hand settled around a small campfire, near the familiar 
gate at the end of the valley, the same one she had passed only a few 
weeks before. The majority of the group was just stilling around, 
talking with each other while she sat slightly away from them, not 
feeling quite part of the group just yet.

Instead she busied herself with pulling some rations out of her bag, 
rubbing her back as she did so. Like everything else since she had 
changed, the jerky tasted both the same and different to her canine 
tongue. There were a number of new flavors mingled in with the old, 
but at the same time the familiar flavors were overwhelmed, and there 
was an underlying taste that seemed missing.

She was about to take another bite when she felt someone at her side. 
Looking up she found Duimlar standing over her, his head cocked to 
the side. "You look uncomfortable."

"My back hurts, I'm not really sure why," she said, rubbing at the pain again.

The big otter nodded, then bent down and reached behind her, gently 
pressing his fingers at the small of her back, right over the pain. 
"It hurts here?"

She nodded.

He let out a low chuckle and nodded his head, pulling his hand away. 
"It's because of your tail, you are working very hard to keep it from 
hitting the back of your horse, you are simply not used to the position."

Closing her eyes she let out a sigh. "Of course, I didn't think about it."

"That's alright, the tail feels very natural, it's easy to forget you 
haven't always had it."

"I see your point."

Standing back up he looked across the fire to the rest of his men. 
"Lenhall, our new companion is in need of a simple healing rub."

The short canine stood up from his bed roll and quickly walked around 
the fire, leaving the two humans and the lion behind. He was tall and 
rather impressive looking with muscular arms and a broad chest. His 
fur was a mix of black and brown with a short nub of a tail that 
seemed to always be moving. He was an archer as well as the healer of 
the group.

He bent down at her side while reaching into the small bag at his 
hips. "What do you need?" he asked, his voice deep and pleasant. It 
seemed to suit his tall frame.

"Small of her back; she has a new tail," Duimlar explained, his 
eyebrows raising as he spoke.

The canine nodded. "How long have you been a vixen?"

"About a month," she replied.

He smiled and pulled a small jar out of the bag. He handed it to her. 
"Rub this into your skin where it aches, make sure you worked it 
through your fur. It will ease your pain and help you sleep."

"Thank you," she replied, taking the jar from his hands. The glass 
was fine cut and welled shaped with a lid firmly latched to a metal 
ring around the neck of the bottle. It was a well made jar, hardly 
cheap enough to be handing to random people. She smiled at the sign 
of trust and undid the latch to open the lid.

A thick paste filled the jar, the smell of it was strong and sharp on 
her nose. She carefully scoped out a finger full, holding it gently 
with one hand while she reached back with the other to pull her shirt 
up. Wishing she could pinch her nose, she started to work it into the 
small of her back, moving her fingers around to work it through her fur.

A pleasant feeling of warmth radiated from her fingers as the paste 
was absorbed into the skin. A few moments later the pain started to 
fade, the ache slowly shirking away until it was small enough that 
she could easily ignore it.

After wiping her hand clean on the grass, Kallie closed the lid and 
returned the jar to the canine. "Thank you, that is a great improvement."

Lenhall smiled down to her as he put the jar back into his pounce. 
"Think nothing of it," he said, then with a nod stood back up and 
returned to rest of the group.

She pulled her shirt back down, the only downside of the salve was 
that it left her fur feeling oily, but it was a small price to play. 
She set her sword down next to the bed roll before moving to lay 
down, looking up at the dark sky above her. There were still hints of 
light coming over the mountain, coloring the dark bluish-black of the 
sky, the stars shining down over them.

Folding her hands behind her head, she watched the sky slowly darken 
and the stars come out. Her mind traced over them, following the 
familiar patterns her father had shown her when she was just a child. 
She could still remember it, it was her first trip with him out on 
the wagon. She had been so jealous of her brother when he went a year 
before and could hardly contain herself.

The first night of the trip the sky had opened and it had rained on 
them for the next week, but the night after the rain stopped and the 
clouds parted he had taken her to lay on top of the wagon and showed 
her the night sky, not the way it was but the way he saw it. The 
lines between the stars, the ones that pointed home and others that 
pointed to the sea, he told her how they had come to be, some were 
gods casted into the sky, others were powerful beasts waiting for the 
moment to escape, one was even a princess held close to the dragon 
who had once saved her. They were all wonderful and amazing stories 
and had fascinated her for years.

And now they were gone... along with her father.

With a sight she turned away, pulling up the thin blanket over 
herself. Closing her eyes she tried to push the memories out of her 
mind, but they wouldn't stay away. Tears pressed at the back of her 
eyelids, trying to escape. She rolled the rest of the way over and 
pressed her face into the pillow, hiding the ones that managed to 
escape as drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The vixen sat on a small rise a short way from the camp, watching as 
the sun rose over the distant mountains. She hadn't been able to 
sleep, dreams of her father kept intruding in her mind, making her 
toss and turn all night before giving up on sleep. She pushed it out 
of her mind, instead sipping from her water skin, trying to wash the 
taste of the night from her teeth and tongue. After swishing it 
around she spat it back out, licking her sharp canines.

As much as her new form felt right and naturally to her, it still 
regularly surprised her; such as the new muzzle and the pointed 
uneven teeth with so many gaps between them. It was such a difference 
when she smiled, nothing like when she was a human. She found herself 
exploring each tooth with her flat tongue, feeling out the shape of 
each of them.

A small part of her wondered if it had been worth it, running all the 
way to Metamor? She knew the curse would protect her, keep her hidden 
from those who she knew were looking for her. They would never know 
her under the her new fur.

Reaching down she touched the dagger on her hip, pressing it firmly 
against her skin. It was the last part of her old life, the one she 
had run so far from, trying to save her own skin. Her father wouldn't 
have been happy with her, he never liked Metamor, worried that they 
would be cursed just for entering the valley. The fact that she had 
come there to hide like a child... he would never had accepted it.

Kallie shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. 
Instead she turned back to look at the rest of her small group, 
watching them as they started to stir. She wondered how many others 
in the keep had stories just like hers. Hiding away from their past 
and keeping it all to themselves. A part of her suspected it was the 
most common reason people came to the keep, it was an easy place to 
loose yourself.

She took another sip of her water, swallowing it down as she closed 
the lid. Standing back up she brushed her pants clean and started 
back down to the camp. She was the first to wake up so she should 
stoke the small campfire to make breakfast. As she neared the camp 
she realized she wasn't the only awake, Jadon's sleep roll was empty as well.

Stopping she looked around for the busty woman, finding her sitting a 
short distance away from the camp. She had her legs crossed and her 
head lowered slightly so her long blond hair fell around her head.

The vixen moved towards the other woman, curious about her. The 
closer she got to her the more she realized she looked different. Her 
blond hair was darker now with hints of red near the roots, the 
tightness of her chainmail was gone, her breast now at a reasonable 
size. The narrowness of her face was gone as well, in fact she looked 
rather plain when it came to woman at the keep.

As she approached she realized that she was reading softly to 
herself, her voice floating gently through the air. Her voice had 
changed now, no longer high and breathy. It was almost like she was a 
different woman this morning.

She stopped a few feet away, listing to the words as they drifted on 
the morning air. It took her a few moment to really understand what 
was being said and it sent a jolt of power through her body. She 
found herself freezing in place, a flash of memory crossing over her 
face before she washed it away with a long sigh. She had spent too 
much time in memories already, this was not the time for more.

Kallie shook her head and started to turn away when Jadon spoke up. 
"What do you want?"

The vixen stopped, her back to the woman as her tail flicked slowly 
to the side. "Nothing... I just saw you there and we have not talked 
and you were alone... and well..." she found herself at a loss for words.

"Well what?"

She shook her head and sighed. "Nothing I guess," she said, lowering 
her head and tail, her mind racing. She knew the worlds and suspected 
she knew exactly what the woman was doing. Slowly she turned back to 
find Jadon was glaring at her, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Are you reading from the Canticle?" she asked in a soft voice, the 
world almost catching in her throat.

"It's Sunday, " she replied, some of the hardness falling from her face.

The vixen shivered a bit, she had lost track of the day of the week 
since she had starting running so many months before. It was odd to 
find that it was Sunday. The memories came back unbidden, of Sundays 
with her family, they always tried to be together after Service. It 
was a warm and pleasant memory, one that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Taking in a long breath she nodded her head. "I had forgotten... may 
I join you?" she asked, the worlds coming out so softly she wasn't 
really sure she had said them. She found herself starting to shake with nerves.

The woman smiled and pushed back her now dark red hair. "Of course. 
You are a follower?"

"Lapsed, things went wrong for us," she replied, sitting down next to 
her, tucking her tail to her side.

Jadon smiled a bit winder, her brown eyes sparkling. "Then maybe it's 
time for your to return," she said, moving the book to sit between them.

A wave of conflicting emotions rushed over her mind, crashing down 
and threatening to wash away her resolve. She pushed it back and 
grasped gently at the side of the leather bound book. "Maybe it is," 
she said softly, meaning every word of it.

The two woman started to read, taking spiritual communion together, 
their voices mixing into a quiet harmony that drifted through the cold dawn.

* * *

The sun was starting to set as they trotted along the trail, two 
thirds of the way to the keep. Duimlar was riding next to the head 
wagon of the caravan, talking with the leader about finding a place 
for the night. The rest of the group rode between the wagons, 
watching the road ahead and the fields on either side of the trail.

Most of the people in the caravan were relaxed around the keepers, 
many had been there before. Some of the children liked to watch them 
and one little boy had taken to pulling at Kallie's tail. Even so 
there were a few watching them with hard eyes, whispering and looking 
rather annoyed at where they were.

She tried to ignore the looks, but it was hard. In the past she had 
to deal with people looking at he for being a woman, now that she was 
part animal the looks were more intense. It was starting to put her 
on edge and making her jump even at the smallest shadow. She kept her 
tail tucked to her side and kept one hand on the hilt of her sword.

Brend came up to her side, the male human leaning up against the high 
back of his saddle. "Are you alright?"

"I am just a little nervous," she replied.

He nodded and looked back at the land around them. They were 
surrounded by rolling fields, long shadows casting over the grains as 
the sun sank below the western mountains. "I don't think there is 
anything to fear."

"It's not that, it's just the attention," she said, motioning back to 
the wagons.

The man licked his lips and nodded his head. "Yes, that is something 
you'll become used to, animals stand out more than the other changes."

She chuckled and smiled at the swordsman. "All you have to worry 
about is being unnaturally handsome."

Brend smirked a bit and rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Being 
handsome has a price that I find uncomfortable. I would be happy to 
be reasonably attractive, any more and I can feel it pressing down on 
my mind, trying to change who I am."

"It sounds unpleasant."

"It is, but some of us find it more comfortable than others. It's 
something you eventually get used to, but it's always there."

The vixen nodded slightly and looked down at the back of her horse. 
"I remember how it felt being an animal, my mind a mix of human and 
vixen. It would have been so easy to allow myself to go and sink into 
the feral mind..."

"It's like that for all of us, though some of us hide it better than others."

She was about to say something in return when an arrow shot past, 
cutting through the air just ahead of her nose before it hit the side 
of the wagon. She brought herself around in a moment, her hand 
grabbing tightly at her sword as she kicked he horse into a run, 
riding towards the source of the bolt. She could just see someone 
hiding in the shadows, standing just behind a low stone wall.

Another arrow flew past her, so close that she had to lurch to the 
side to keep it from hitting her. Pulling her sword free she pushed 
her horse as fast as it would go, charging at the wall where the 
attacker was hiding. Right before the wall she pulled back on the 
horse and kicked it hard, making the big animal jump over the wall.

The vixen braced herself as she flew over the wall, surprised to see 
four men waiting for her on the other side. The horse landed hard, 
the jolt of the impact rushing up through her rump and back, forcing 
her down in the saddle.

She quickly brought the horse around, leveling her sword at the four 
men. They didn't care to wait for her, two of men held bows and were 
already pulling the strings back, a pair of arrows pointed right at her.

Kallie kicked her leg up and slipped down off the horse, quickly 
moving the large animal to stand between her and the bandits. They 
were too closer for the arches to be much of a use, but the two 
swordsmen were close enough to be a threat.

One of then moved quickly towards her, but instead of attacking he 
smacked the flat side of his sword against the horse's rump. The 
gelding let out a cry and reared  up right before leaping forward, 
taking away the only thing between her and the men.

The vixen braced herself, her sword held at the read as her eyes 
flicked over the four men. They were mostly young, in their midteens 
at least, but one of the swordsman was older with a balding head. He 
had cleared her horse out of the way, and of the four he looked like 
the only one that wasn't scared out of their mind.

He was also the first one to attack, his sword swinging high as he rushed her.

With a flick of her wrist she brought her sword up to block his 
surprisingly poor attack. With her other hand she hit him hard across 
the face, then when he stepped back in surprise he punched him in the gut.

He stumbled back, gasping for air as the younger swordsman finally 
composed himself and attacked. He was far more skilled then his 
elder, bringing his blade around to attack at her exposed side, 
aiming at her and not her sword.  She danced back quickly and tried 
to block it, only pushing it slightly away, the pointed tip cutting 
through the fabric of her shirt.

As he brought his sword up she moved to attack him in return, but he 
was expecting it and his sword was already dropping down to block 
her.  He quickly pushed her blade away the brought his up, trying to 
bury it in her chest. It was all the vixen could do to lunge away 
from him, her tail flashing out behind her.

The young man pressed his advantage, swinging his sword at her again 
and again, forcing her to retreat further back each time. She tried 
to go on the offensive, to push back against him, but every time she 
thought she found an opening his sword was there to deflect it.

With a sick feeling, Kallie started to realize that every opening she 
thought she saw was one that he gave her, simply to play with her. A 
moment after that she felt something hit at the back of her legs, 
knocking them out from under her. She started to tumble backwards, 
glancing back to see that one of the arches had hit her with his bow.

She landed hard on her tail, her momentum forcing her to roll 
backwards. She tucked her head down, holding her sword out to the 
side and rolled back on her shoulders, avoiding a poorly timed attack 
by the older man.

The vixen quickly pulled herself into a crouch as the older man 
rushed at her, his sword swinging wildly. She brought her blade up 
under his, easily hitting his exposed hand with the flat of her 
sword, forcing him to drop his. Jumping to her feet she jabbed him in 
the throat with her hand then swept her leg around behind his, 
sending him to the ground choking on the air.

All of this gave the young swordsman a moment to regroup and press 
his attack again, rushing towards her, his blade flashing. She 
blocked him again, the constant impact of the blades starting to make 
her arms ache, she couldn't keep the fight up much longer... and it 
was becoming clear that she wasn't going to be the one to win.

She blocked the next attack, but found herself forced back again, 
this time towards the stone wall. As soon as her back was up against 
it there would be nothing more for her to do. She would be trapped.

Biting her lip, she searched for a way to gain any advantage she 
could. He was a better fighter then she was and knew exactly how to 
beat her, in fact she was pretty sure he was just playing with her by 
this point. There was no way she could gain any advantage without 
being wounded, so she had to be willing to accept that.

On his next attack she moved her sword to block, but at the last 
second twisted  her body and brought the blade down towards his legs. 
He saw the change at the last moment and dodged away, the edge of his 
sword cutting into her upper arm, parting the fur and skin. She 
pressed the small advantage, moving her blade again, forcing him to 
counter and take two steps back.

Kallie changed her tactics, instead of pressing her advantage into a 
fight she was sure to loose, she spun around on her feet, presenting 
her back and tail to him. A moment later, as soon as she was sure he 
was about to attack her from behind, she shifted her form.

A wave of power rushed down through her body as it started to flow, 
her mass increasing in moments, her shape flowing back. She felt her 
pants grow tight over her rump and legs, the seams straining for a 
fraction of a moment before the stitches were ripped apart by her 
expanding form. Her growing hind legs rushed backwards until she was 
standing on all fours.

Rearing up on her forelegs she kicked out with both rear feet, 
feeling them impact something both hard and giving. There was a wet 
crunching sound from behind her followed by the sound of something 
crashing to the ground.

The vixen'taur dropped back down to her four feet and spun around, 
glaring at the other three men. The archers were already running hard 
across the field, the old man had moved to the side of the man she 
had hit, a look of horror on his face. The young man was laying on 
the ground, blood covering his chest and bubbling from his lips.

She took a step towards the older man, but all he did was gather up 
his fallen friend and start to follow after the archers.

Kallie stood there for a moment, debating if she should chase after 
then, but she had been told to stay with the caravan if she could, 
and it seemed like following some bandits wouldn't be the right thing to do.

The decision was made for her when she heard Duimlar call out her 
name. Turning her head she saw him riding hard towards her. She 
watched him as he easily leapt his horse over the wall then turned it 
around to face her. "Are you injured?"

She let out a sigh as she put her sword back into the sheath, not a 
single drop of blood on it. "Just my shoulder, but not too badly," 
she said, motioning at the wound.

The otter nodded and turned to look at the fleeing men before 
snapping his head back around to look at her, his thick tail 
swaying  wide over the horses back. "What has happened to you?"

Kallie placed a hand on her larger flank. "I can turn into a 'taur as 
well," she admitted, even if it was obvious to anyone looking.

He coughed a bit, then turned back to look at the vanishing forms of 
the bandits, then down at the blood on the grass, following it up to 
her hind legs. "That seems like a useful skill. They have been dealt 
with for now, we should return to the caravan. Can you turn back?"

She thought about it for a moment, then blushed a bit as she looked 
down at the remains of her pants hanging from her waist. "I didn't 
bring a clean set of clothing."

Clicking his tongue Duimlar shook his head. "In the future you must 
prepare yourself for such eventualities. Gather your horse and return 
to the caravan, we shall discuss things there."

"Yes sir," she replied, then crouched down to gather up her belt and 
her dagger, lifting it gently from where it had fallen to the ground. 
When she climbed back up to her four legs she found the otter had 
already moved on.

It took her about ten minutes to find her horse and calm him down 
enough to walk him back through the fence gat and return to the 
caravan. She could see the remains of the battle as she approached, 
arrows lined two of the wagons and she could see Lenhall working on 
someone near the front. Other than that no one else seemed to be 
seriously injured.

As she got near someone cried out and every head turned to look at 
her. She blushed more, not sure how to feel as everyone watched her 
return. Her pace started to slow as she got closer and closer to the 
wagons, not sure if she could take the attention.

The moment was broken as Lenhall finally got a good look at her, then 
dashed to her side. The canine had blood on his shirt, but it was the 
thin sort of blood that happen when you brushed against someone else, 
he didn't seem injured. He said nothing about her current form, 
instead he gently took her arm in his hands and looked at the cut on 
it. "The wound it shallow, I should be able to treat it without issue."

"Thank you," she said softly.

Duimlar barked at them. "Tie the horse to the back of the wagon, 
we're moving on right now!"

She jump forward, quickly pulling the horse along to the last wagon 
in the caravan, quickly ting the horse in place. As soon as the knot 
was done the wagons started to move with a bit extra speed then before.

As the road on Brend moved back down to her, giving her a short look. 
"You should have stayed with the caravan."

"Sorry, I didn't think," she replied.

He nodded. "It's alright, I've seen it before. How did the fight go, 
did you land any good hits?"

"No, not with my sword at least, I need to learn to fight better," 
she admitted.

The young man nodded and looked back at the head of the caravan. 
"Well... my father was a sword master, and he taught me for many 
years before we came to the keep. I could help you if you would 
like," he offered.

"That would be nice," she said with a smile, after that they lapsed 
back into silence. They rode on towards the place to camp for the 
night, no one sure what to say, though a few people cast looks back 
at her quadruped from.

In retrospect she knew she should never have chased after the arches, 
she could have gotten herself killed, and nearly did. Still, she sent 
them running, so it couldn't have been all bad, but she knew she was 
going to be dressed down by Duimlar.

Still, a part of her suspect that this wasn't going to be her last 
trip with the group. She had done her job, she just had to learn to 
do it better, and with Brend's offer for further sword training, she 
was sure she would do all right. She just had to get through the rest 
of the trip first, and have her arm treated as it was starting to ache.

FIN


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