KuliKuli motioned for her sisters to follow behind her, her eyes fixated on the wagon. Two men sat around the small campfire staring into its light, whilst the third member busied himself brushing the fur of his horse. One who had his back to the girls coughed turned his head to spit, causing Syri to dip her head further until her chin was inches above ground. Dimyri and Na'Vi were close behind, the pair locked eyes and cocked their heads, separating from the other two as they circled around the fire from the opposite direction.

  Crunch!

  KuliKuli's eyes nearly shot out, yanking her paw away after incidentally stepping on dry foliage. This got the attention of the nearest man, the drinker, as he turned around toward their direction. Wiping his nose, he leaned back and scratched his patchy beard, humming in thought when his friend called for him.

  "Oy! Ya hear sum'tin?" His ragged voice loudly contrasted against the calming crackle of the campfire.

  "Dun' knuw." He hacked up and spat on the floor, staring into his empty cup with a shake of his head. "Blimey."

  With a heavy grunt, he lifted himself off the log he sat on and begrudgingly made his way toward the rear of the wagon.

  KuliKuli bit her bottom lip and slipped through, shrinking down into her cat form with her sister Syri following her move. Their smaller size made it easier to pace through the shorter growths of shrubbery stealthily, closing the gap until they hid behind the trees. Their branches spread out, hovering above the camp like an umbrel. KuliKuli returned into her Nekomata form, pressing her back against the tree bark. Syri did the same, notably breathing through her mouth with a wide-eyed look.

  "Hey." She whispered, grabbing her attention. "Nervous?"

  Syri swallowed, nodding frantically.

  "That's okay, it'll be quick." KuliKuli peaked around, scanning the area before pulling back. "I count three men."

  "What if they have more in the wagon?" Syri asked quietly, trembling as she rubbed her arms.

  "We'll get through them, don't worry. Follow me." She shrunk back into her feline body, digging her cws into the wood before scurrying upwards. Her little body slipped seamlessly without struggle, finding a sturdy branch to sit on. Holding her breath, Syri changed into her white cat form and climbed up her own tree, mimicking her older sister. The pair now stood at a vantage point hovering above the lone soldier, blissfully unaware as he focused on carving a chunk of bark into the shape of a talon or beak, intent on making some sort of bird.

  The other soldier ruffled his horse on the head with a grin, patting his side and leaning back as he gnced toward the back of the wagon. "Lars, mind fetching me a drink from there?"

  No response.

  He shook his head, his shoulders dropping in resignation as he dug into the horse's saddle and fed him a carrot. His brows furrowed closer as he looked out to the rear. "Lars? Just a fsk will do. Lars?" He sighed and patted his horse before heading over. "Damn it Lars, I thought ye wouldn't be taking things this personal. I told you I wouldn't have done it if I knew she was family."

  He stepped back and bumped into the wagon wheel when he caught sight of his friend sleeping unconscious on the ground. Na'Vi crept over on top of the wagon, readying for another pounce when Dimyri jumped in and knocked the guard down instead, kicking him against the wheel before she nded.

  The lone man resting by the fire turned around, dropping his wooden project and tightening his grip around his knife. He stumbled back when catching sight of the two Nekomata, digging his fingers into his mouth with an intake of breath, ready to whistle for help. But he was pinned down when Syri crashed into him, burying his head into the dirt and muffling his cries. Csping her paws together, she swung down with a double fisted swing, knocking the man unconscious.

  "Wow." KuliKuli jumped down with a look of awe toward her panting little sister.

  Syri caught her breath and stood up with wobbly knees, smiling nervously. "Did I do okay?"

  "You did great." KuliKuli chuckled.

  Na'Vi climbed out from the wagon and headed toward them. "Some rations and smelly clothes, nothing else."

  "Think it's big enough for all of us?"

  Na'Vi shrugged. "Might be a tight fit, we'll need to be in our animal forms, but it can work."

  KuliKuli sighed with relief, looking back and waving her hands to signal the others.

  Emyri's eyes widened along with her smile, standing up from behind the bushes. "That's it, let's go!"

  "On your legs, come, come!" Squeaked Tootsie from her shoulder, urging the others to make haste.

  Janette groaned loudly as she pulled herself up using a nearby tree for bance, clutching her stomach in discomfort. Felix was by her side, fighting even more to pick himself off the ground. Emyri helped him up, being cautious with his arm.

  "Aaarrgh~!" He bit his hand to stifle his scream, tightening his expression. Both him and Emyri fell to their knees as she struggled to keep him up. KuliKuli's ears dropped when she saw this, racing over to help. Her sisters were right behind her, with Syri and Dimyri helping Janette walk.

  Felix needed more care as he sat back with a grunt. Emyri carefully dragged her cws around his arm, slicing the sleeve of his fabric as he tugged it off, exposing his wound. His bicep was stained red with blood running down his forearm and dripping off his pinky and ring finger. He ughed nervously when he caught sight of KuliKuli's panicked face.

  "Just a small wound, no big deal." He yelped, clutching his arm. It burned with each movement he made, feeling like its steel burrowed further into his flesh somehow. Just another scar to add to his body, nothing new.

  Emyri held his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "We need to keep it there for now, if we yank it free then you'll bleed heavily and we don't have a means to cover the wound. Here." She picked up his sleeve and tore it into one long strip. "Wrap this around for now, make it tight."

  "I can help." Janette volunteered, carefully sitting down to face him. "I don't think wrapping a wound would be an easy feat without delicate fingers."

  He offered her a smile, closing his eyes and feeling the wet strip coil around his arm and neck. "Perdilius is still out there."

  "I know.'' Janette responded.

  "Along with that hunter."

  Emyri's ears twitched upon hearing the hunter be mentioned.

  Janette scowled. "It's Perdilius that orders the hunter around."

  "You think..." Felix squeezed his eyes shut. "I hate saying this... you think this goes away if we... do him in?"

  Janette paused, looking him in the eyes. "Killing him? You're saying if we kill him, that will resolve this?"

  "Sounds uglier when you say it back."

  She continued wrapping the cloth around his arm. "It's ugly no matter who says it. I'm no killer, can't even stand up in a fight."

  "But sometimes... we have to make the hard choices to protect others." He looked at Emyri as he said that. She hung her head in silence. "That's what you said, right?"

  "I... I am not sure. I do it if it means protecting my family." She argued back. "Those men may have burned back there but they left us with no choice. Sometimes when it is out of our hands, it is kill or be killed. But to kill by choice, not by need, that is something I dare not touch on." She ended her words with a shudder just as Janette finished up.

  "There!" Janette asked, securing it firmly. "Better?"

  He nodded, holding his arm. "Thanks."

  "Thank me with a new house." She joked, getting on her feet with help. Felix didn't need any assistance to stand up, but he appreciated the offer from KuliKuli grabbing his other hand.

  Her eyes fshed as she hid behind the tree, waving her paws for the others to duck. Janette groaned with annoyance, feeling her wound pulse as she had to fall back and hide again.

  "What-What is it?" Syri asked.

  "It's him!" She whispered.

  Out into the wide-open field where Janette's house continued burning in an overwhelming bze walked a lone hunter with a scowled look. He intercepted the group of men observing the house from the rear, inspecting some of the wounded.

  "No sign of the girls?" He asked.

  One of the men shook his head. "Boys went in, said there was only three."

  "And the rest?"

  "Burnt to a crisp for all I know. Maybe they vanished." He snorted, "There's a big fire going on, and dey rather stay and burn then leave. I seyz let them burn."

  Leone rolled his eyes, pushing past him. He abruptly stopped, shaking his head and tapping his foot. His gaze turned from side to side, pondering on what they could have done. "No, they wouldn't. Not unless they-"

  His eyes narrowed as he scanned around, peering into the dark woods surrounding them. Stepping back, he roughly grabbed the same man by his arm and pulled him in.

  "Oy!"

  "None of you lot see any of them outside?"

  "None, I told ye~!"

  "Hmm." He shoved him away, marching straight toward the woods, headed for their direction.

  "Leone, don't!" Emyri whispered frantically, catching a puzzled expression from Janette.

  "We have to move," KuliKuli ordered, helping Felix up.

  "Bugger." Tootsie cooed softly, clinging onto Emyri's hair as they marched deeper into the woods, toward the direction of the camp.

  "Put out the fire." Felix urged, grabbing onto the horse as it whined and cocked its head. "Put it out!"

  Frantic, Syri and Na'Vi fell on their knees and began tossing dirt to put out the light, obscuring it with dust before it sizzled away.

  Tssss~

  KuliKuli held her breath, staring at the hunter's silhouette once he arrived at their previous hiding spot. Some of Perdilius' men approached him, speaking to him but he paid them no mind. Crouching down, Leone reached out and dragged his hand along the base of a tree, rubbing his fingers as he eyed the liquid that stained them. KuliKuli felt her eyes expand as he noticed Felix's blood, only for him to catch sight of something else on the ground. She pressed her paw over her breast, gulping down her fears as her heartbeat began to rise.

  One of the soldiers brought a torch over when Leone shoved him back.

  "Put that away before you scorch the whole forest down!" He snapped, turning his focus back on the trail he discovered.

  The soldier turned to his comrade with a puzzled look before stepping back. "With no fire, how can ye see a thing?"

  "Trust me, I see... everything." Leone answered confidently, stepping into the mud as he pried open a wooden hatch. "So that's how they did it."

  "Bastards!" The other soldier shouted, "Those fuckers 'ave slipped away!"

  He and his friend ran off, making their way toward Perdilius to deliver the startling news, leaving the hunter alone.

  KuliKuli squinted, her golden pupils glowing in contrast to the darkness that hid them. She wondered to herself how this man could find their tracks despite having no source of light with him. It didn't hinder him in the slightest as he wiped his gloved hands clean with a handkerchief, stuffing it away as his hazy eyes followed the trail of muddy paws and footprints. Slowly he gnced up, his eyes following their direction as he stepped closer.

  KuliKuli froze in pce, unable to pry her eyes away from him. Despite his human appearance, he effortless stepped over thorny pnts and ducked below hanging branches that anyone would have crashed into when walking in the dark. She understood that for her kind, there was no such thing as darkness. Cat eyes had adapted to see in the night, only emitting a low glow of light in return. Felix had begun to have eyes like hers, a result from his transformation after he became her mate, but she didn't know anyone else with that kind of sight. Even the lesser succubus they met at the Night Dwellers Hub needed nterns to guide her through the night.

  She wondered why the night caused no issues with him as she watched him approach their destination step by step.

  "Kuli, get in!" Felix whispered to her, settling at the front seat with the reins in hand. Janette was helped into the rear of the wagon, with Syri, Dimyri, and Na'Vi entering next. Emyri paused when it was her step, watching her daughter staring forward toward the approaching hunter.

  "Sweetie, we have to go!"

  But KuliKuli couldn't hear her, she felt the world grow silent when she and Leone locked eyes.

  His eyes glowed just like hers!

  "Wh-What?" She was lost, breathing heavily as Leone fast walked toward their camp.

  "He found us." Felix gasped, twisting the reins in his hand. "Get in, now!"

  "H-His eyes." KuliKuli turned around, her mother pulling her by the arm, dragging them into the wagon.

  "Gcius." Leone chanted, csping his hands together and twisting so that his fingers pointed in parallel directions. A swirl of particles gathered around his grip, collecting drops of water from the mildew air and wet leaves. Once his hands parted, they fused together and crystalized into a ball of ice, to which he effortlessly unched into the front wheel, pinning them down.

  "Damn it! Everyone, get out!" Felix shouted, climbing down. The girls jumped out from the back, running further into the woods with him.

  Leone stood by, watching them scurry away. He patted the frightened horse before freeing it from its reins, hearing the growing commotion of movement drawing near.

  "Sir! Sir!"

  Perdilious and Raz turned their attention toward the panting men that approached them. "Yes?"

  "That hunter, he found a hatch south of the pce. The girls may have slipped out the back!"

  Perdilius frowned, calmly walking toward his three cat girls and pcing his hand on MiMi's shoulder. "Find them." He ordered, waving a strip of cloth from Felix's shirt, something he kept in his care since his capture. He passed from one girl to the next, letting them get a good whiff of his scent before they ran off.

  Raz stood by his side. "What do we do next?"

  "Follow them. Bring the wolf too."