Triant

The Triant village hall was normally a space filled with music and song on summer days like this one. Banners hung from every wall wishing the people a 'Happy Skylamp' and 'Victory' over the Archon's forces. The harvest trophy – one of the greatest honors that a [Farmer] could hope for in life – glimmered from the podium at the end of the hall, waiting to be taken to its new home for the year. Sadly it, and the two runners up silver and bronze imitations, would be found wanting. So too would the posters plastered on the walls that called for the peasants to participate in the traditional 'Harvest Dance'.

Into this empty space, a Lycae and a Minxit entered, sniffing the air and finding that it stank of dust mixed with sweat. The odor of neglect hung over this place like a drape.

Klax scanned the room and saw a few storage closets at the back. He silently crept towards them and checked them for any supplies. Both he and Tara were near the end of this little run, and both of them knew their return to Sanctum would be a bittersweet one.

Perhaps that was why the great wolf seemed to be dragging his feet, pausing to look at the strange icons of humanity as he broke down each door and sniffed for anything they could use back home.

"You think we could actually do this?"

Tara asked the question from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see that she was entranced by the golden cup at the end of the room. Her eyes flew over the banners depicting their Archon on fire, with a Lightborn standing over him in triumph, silver eyes gleaming like a valiant angel's.

"Do what?"

"This," she explained, throwing her arms wide. "Live up here. On the surface. In their world."

"It's our world, too."

"We both live in it, but it's never really been ours, has it?"

Klax turned, slinging his bag over his shoulder and proceeding to walk past her. Ever since they'd split up, she'd been saying little random thoughts like this. He'd responded with little more than a nod or a gruff 'uhuh' as they went on their way. He'd sensed her tension. She'd sensed his reluctance. And they both didn't really know what the hell they were actually doing here.

He consoled himself by rubbing the container that concealed Jun'Ei's ashes. That was all that mattered now.

"We've got a future to think about now, y'know," she said as he walked by her.

He stopped and let out a gruff snort.

"Not me. Not anymo-"

"Of course you do!"

She said this without turning to meet his sallow eyes.

"This isn't you," she said. "I know you're hurting. I know this isn't what you imagined. I know it's not what you wanted but – I can't see you like this."

"Then don't look at me."

"That's not gonna work either, big guy."

They stood shoulder to shoulder, neither meeting the others' gaze, while the odd human banners and posters stared down at them. It seemed, even in an empty village devoid of life, they still felt they were under the thumbs of their enemies.

Tara brushed a stray hair out of her fringe and then set her hand gently on Klax's hulking shoulder.

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To her surprise, he didn't move away.

"You know she wouldn't want you to give up like this."

Their eyes finally met, and Tara fought against the urge to pull away. For a moment it looked like he was ready to rip her arm clean off with a bloodthirsty, vindictive snarl.

But then the moment past. His grip on Jun loosened.

"I don't know if I ever really knew what she wanted," he said. "If what she told Ethan was true, then everything we had – all of it – was just an accident that meant nothing in the long run."

"Klax, that's not –"

"Nothing!" he roared, so loud and with such amplification in the spacious hall that Tara let out a timid shriek of fear. Immediately, she saw that he regretted this outburst. She saw that he was regretting a lot of things, now.

He staggered away from Tara and sat down on the small stairs that led to the trophy podium, his eyes downcast and dejected.

"Prophets don't think like us," he said. "They see the entire history of the world – past, present, and future – and have to live with that knowledge. Because of that, she was always thinking ahead. Always looking to a future that was bigger than what I could see. I only looked for our own happiness, Tara. I only looked at our future. She – well – she knew that would be a lie right from the start."

He started clawing at his arms, scraping his claws along them till his fur began to rip and tear.

"And yet she kept it going," he whispered through gritted teeth. "Because – hell if I know."

"Because she loved you."

"Did she?"

"Come on Kla-"

"Did she?" he said again, louder and more agitated. "Was that even possible for someone – something like her? You heard what Ethan said. She wasn't even a mortal, not really. She was a concept. A concept that decided to make itself into a hybrid so she could lead us. I don't even know if she could really feel love at all."

"Bullshit."

He glanced up at Tara as she said this, and found that she had knelt down in front of him, staring into his face was sudden marked intensity.

"Lie to yourself if you want," she said. "But don't lie to me."

"How do you know at all what she felt?"

"Because I know what love feels like, you dumb mutt. And I'll tell you something – a girl doesn't just pretend. Especially if she could have any damn hybrid she wanted."

He wanted to look away from her, but she held his nose with her thumb and forefinger, like how human girls chastised their unruly pooches when they'd chewed one of their favorite dolls.

"Maybe she didn't know how she felt at first," she said. "But the way she looked at you, the way she talked about you – you can't fake that, Klax. Call it a Minxit's intuition. What she felt for you was real. I know it, because I feel –"

She stopped herself, her finger and thumb clenching down on his nose.

"I feel –"

"Tara."

"Yes?"

"You take my breath away."

The blush that suddenly came over the girl's face showed even through her fur.

"D-don't go saying stuff like that so –"

"No, I mean, I literally can't breathe."

The Minxit recoiled quickly, allowing Klax to fall back and finally let out a gasp of air. When he rose again, their eyes met, and instantly the tension between them was twisted into something else.

And though both of them didn't know exactly what that was, they began to laugh.

The most surprising thing was that it was Klax who started chuckling in the first place. Then, his chest heaved with real, roaring laughter that echoed round the whole empty hall. Before long, he was on the floor, and she was there with him.

She noticed, just as their contagious cackling had begun to subside, that he was still holding the Jun's urn in his left paw.

And yet, his claws seemed just a little less firm round its side.

"What in the name of all the Archons are we doing here, Tara?"

She smiled as she turned to him, her tail tucked between her legs.

"That's been my question since we started this whole thing."

"There's a real war out there," Klax mumbled as his eyes flew to the strange posters and banners dotted round the room. "A war we've been waiting for for centuries. And here I am moping around in a human village hall."

He felt movement to his left and then saw Tara had risen. Her outstretched hand was wiggling in front of him.

"Time to get up, dogbrain. Everyone's waiting for us."

For a moment, he just stared up at her and thought about some distant memory. He thought about how haughty she'd been ever since he'd known her. About how even Ethan and Jun'Ei before him had found it tough to wrangle this kitten.

Now here she was, standing in a human settlement even after everything they'd done to her, smiling down at him.

He looked down at her hand and pondered. Then, he slowly brought up his paw –

"TARA! KLAX!"

The doors to the village hall swung open.

And into the room ran Fauna the Hopla.

"Really, Faun?" Tara sighed. "You know, we were kinda having a moment here."

Fauna stopped abruptly before them, panting and drenched with sweat. Behind her, Lamphrey was standing by, looking even more dejected than usual.

"Faun? Wha-"

"S-Sanctum!"

Both Lycae and Minxit looked to one another, and then back at their stuttering companion.

"We have to go," she panted. "NOW!"

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