Tulore tightened the bandage and ignored the whimpering. She nodded and the man's friends let him go.

"He may live the night. If he does, his chances are good," she said woodenly.

The cries and despairing nods turned her away. She did not give the man good chances, not with the strength he had lost already.

She moved on to the next person lying on the ground.

The small Fuka boy, not even ten years old, coughed wetly and a red-black blob of dried blood and mucus dribbled out of his mouth. Tulore pushed aside the parents, she should have gotten to him earlier, but there was no way to look over all the injured and tell who needed help most.

"Save my-" Tulore tuned out the sounds coming from the boy's parents and kneeled down next to him.

He had had too much bad air, Tulore could tell from the way his body was trying to cough it up. She thumped him once in the back, hard, and listened to his rasping breath. It gurgled wetly in his body.

A miracle it would take, one she didn't have for him. The little packet of white powder nearly tumbled out of her fingers but Tulore managed to catch it before it spilled. Lucky boy, she had only three more in her bag.

She shook her head at the sounds and wordlessly handed the parents the bright red packet. It would be up to them to use it if they wanted to.

Tulore got up and someone caught her arm as she almost fell over.

That human boy was there beside her, concern evident on his face. She shrugged him off and walked to the next Fuka lying in the grass nearby, not feeling the clutching fingers of the parents she was leaving behind.

This one was almost as bad but, Tulore looked up at the rows of injured and dying people, she thought it might be possible. The burns across the arms and legs would be impossible to treat if the zombies' curse spread to them, but she could try. She had at least managed to save most of her stock of curse-breakers and the recipe book. Much good that would do her without her tools.

The silence of indifference wrapping around her was like a comforting blanket that the human boy just would. not. stop. poking holes in. What part of 'I don't want to hear anything' did he not understand?

She shook him off again and finally, after the sixth time, he got the message and wandered off somewhere else.

Tulore bent over the next woman, most of her tail missing.

"What do we do?"

The Fukas hanging around Banage were looking a bit lost without their leader, Cato thought. Banage just sat on the edge of his cart, staring at the dying fires of the village.

Perhaps he would have better luck with this guy.

"Banage," Cato said. The old man glanced at him but went back to staring at the village.

"Banage," he repeated, "we have to leave. You must lead the Fukas out of this valley before the zombies arrive again, there is no wall and if you stay, you will all die. Tulore is too busy and she..." Cato trailed off, he felt it was wrong to say it but he did feel that something had broken inside the Elder.

The sight of her dead uncaring eyes as she worked feverishly on those she could save, and condemned those she couldn't, was unsettling.

But based on what he remembered of the map and how fast the zombies moved, the huge group Ka had spotted earlier would be at the mouth of the valley in two days and if they didn't all get moving now, they would have to scale the mountains to the sides or risk being trapped inside the valley. Based on what happened after the zombies caught fire, Cato knew very well what would happen if the Fukas had to fight the zombies outside of a prepared killing ground.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that they had to leave the valley or die.

And so, even if the Fukas had lost their home and belongings, he had to get them moving. If the Elder wouldn't do it, Banage was the next option. Tharoden hadn't come out of the burning village.

"Tell me," Banage said suddenly, "Was that my fault?"

If you had thought about the consequences of setting the zombies on fire inside the village, you wouldn't have done that. "No. It was a good try, the zombies wouldn't have been concentrated enough in any other place. No one could predict that the zombies don't care if they're on fire. "

It was a terribly high cost for a lesson in testing pet theories before putting them to use. One that Cato would have to remember.

"Thank you, but I can tell that's not what you think," Banage smiled grimly. He raised a hand to reassure his clan members, who were looking worried. "We have to leave, you say? When?"

"As soon as possible," Cato replied instantly.

"So be it. Perhaps I should have sought your advice more instead of seeking glory," Banage paused, "but even now my blood boils with anger and I find I still wish to lead. "

The Fuka unfolded from the edge of the cart painfully and slowly, like a wounded beast struggling to stay alive. "All who are strong enough will return to the village to salvage what we can before we leave. Go in groups of ten, go with any others who are strong enough, and destroy any zombies still moving. If anyone is still alive, save them. We leave when the Little Night starts. "

The smoke haze hung in the sky, a pallor on the world that shaded everything into a grey dim land.

Tharoden picked his way gingerly down the Elka tower, feeling a little lightheaded from his wounds. He'd live though, unlike two others who might not for much longer.

He was examining the bodies looking for survivors when another Fuka popped out of the burnt out alley far down the road.

The Char clan person pointed at him and shouted something, then the rest of the group crept out cautiously.

Tharoden looked at the group of Char clan hunters, wondering what mischief they were up to now. But he was too tired to get his anger up, even if this entire disaster was their fault.

What did it matter after all? Even if he bit their heads off literally, it wouldn't bring the village back.

The group of ten approached him slowly, pausing to check bodies and burned houses along the way. They even went into one burned out husk to take a pile of grain that had survived, the thieving bastards-

Sigh, no point in getting angry. After burning down the village, Banage apparently was stooping to looting. And Tharoden was sure he was going to get away with it.

He sat down at the base of the Elka towers and waited for them to arrive. Perhaps he was about to suffer an 'accident' now.

"Tharoden?!" The leader of the group exclaimed as they entered the village cooking area right across from the Elka towers.

"Oh, it's you," Tharoden muttered. It was that scout who had reported in... what was his name again? Ryulo?

Ryulo put away the arrow he had kept nocked to his bow. "Oh wow, you're still alive?" he asked redundantly, looking around at the crowd of bodies around the tower base. The place of Tharoden's not-so-doomed last stand, the place where so many of his cousins and the loyal supporters of the Elder had fallen. So very many of them.

"I'm not the only one," Tharoden sighed. He still had people to protect and Ryulo could probably be trusted to do the right thing, whatever Banage had told hiim to do. "Eight others and the Elkas are at the top of the tower. Mii broke her wings even more and can't be moved. Seven injured total, three very seriously. Is Tulore with you?"

Ryulo shook his head, "She's... busy. "

Well, of course.

Ryulo helped Tharoden to get up, and eyed him as Tharoden swayed a little. Oof, perhaps he had done a bit too much bleeding. "I'll make that eight injured. "

Without waiting for his reply, the young hunter took a deep breath then pulled down the cloth wrapped around his mouth to yell out a hunter's call. It was echoed twice from different places of the village.

"We have a way to get Mii down. It was my idea too," Ryulo said while the other groups started to converge.

Tharoden did his best to look curious and the younger man started to explain the pulley system that the human boy had wanted to introduce at the well. They had originally meant to use it to move fallen walls in case anyone had been trapped but Cato had explained the principles to Ryulo just in case they needed to use it for something else.

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In this case, the something else was to lower Mii down the tower with a makeshift cloth stretcher. They might have only just enough rope and might need twenty men to hold up both ends of the pulley structure, but it would be possible. Probably.

Cato had also took Ryulo aside and specially told him to make sure the Elkas were safe. For what, the boy hadn't explained.

Tharoden sighed again. That meddlesome little brat. Him and his ideas had already caused all this destruction and... oh, what was the point. They had nothing left to destroy.

"And where would we go?" Tharoden crossed his arms defensively, his eyes glittering in the torchlight.

There was no question in the meeting that all the Fukas would remain together, stay or go.

"I have heard of Inath many times, I think Inath was said to be three days to the south?" Cato asked.

"We haven't had contact for over two years. Who knows where they are now?"

"People don't migrate that fast," Cato shook his head.

Banage pointed down at the ground, "if we go south and follow the old roads, we will find Inath. That way lies our hope. "

Cato had scratched out a much larger scale map in the dirt, following Ka's and Banage's inputs. Light from the torches once the Little Night started, it was just large enough to make out the approximate route.

The information they had outside of the valley was very limited but Ka thought that the roads might follow the edge of the sea further down towards the southern mountain range. It was a rough trail to have to drag children and injured Fukas through, the more seriously injured might not survive the trip. But Cato was certain that they would not survive if they stayed and the cold calculus demanded that they take the chance on the journey instead.

"There's another problem," Tharoden said, "the humans themselves. "

There was an awkward silence as Banage closed his eyes.

"Er, I'm not aware that humans would be a problem, why would they?" Cato asked.

"The Inaths came many years ago and forced us to fight for them," Tharoden explained, still in that weary tone of his, "when they left, we were glad to be free again. "

And left unsaid was that Cato was proposing to deliver the Fukas back into the Inath's hands. "What did the Inaths do?" Cato asked, "did they force everyone to fight?"

"They took some hunters every year, to serve as scouts in their armies. They took our food, to feed the armies. We died for them and they did nothing for us. "

They protected you from the monsters, but Cato did not mention that. It was obvious that the Fukas thought they were exploited. And perhaps it was even true, such a small village would be hard pressed to provide much provisions and fighters. On the other hand, the Inaths didn't destroy the village, by pillage or taxation, which meant that the Fukas would at least stay alive in Inath lands.

"It won't be as bad as here, at least they have an army to fight with," Cato pointed out.

Further discussion was rendered moot as there was a crunch and a patter of feet as Ka landed roughly on the ground, flapping his wings forwards to slow down. The torches wavered in the draft and reflected the fear in Ka's shining eyes. The Elka man packed away his wings deftly and joined the standing meeting.

"The zombies!" he said urgently, "There is movement at the grave! They're digging themselves out!"

Cato blinked for a long moment before he remembered the mass grave Tulore had made them throw the first wave in. Apparently these zombies didn't stay dead.

"How soon will they be free?" Banage asked quickly.

"Some were already moving, but they're still digging. How could this happen even after you killed them?!"

"No one has any answers here," Banage said, "we can't pack quickly enough because you," he pointed at Tharoden, "didn't want us to leave! We would be on our way by now if you hadn't overruled me!"

"We have no time for arguments," Tharoden sighed, "I suppose you win then. "

Practically everyone at the meeting stared at him in surprise. Tharoden agreeing to leave?! Just like that! Only Tulore continued to look at the map, muttering inaudibly to herself.

"Even if we start now, the zombies could find us before we can move. If that happens..." Banage paused, the thought of the zombies among the children and injured was too horrible to contemplate.

Cato interrupted the gloom settling on them, "you need a distraction. "

"Like what?" Banage asked.

"You did it once already," he pointed out.

Almost as one, the council glanced over to the hunters of Char clan, sitting a distance away out of respect.

"We have lost too many hunters already, but experience counts for much and we need every advantage possible," Banage sounded like he was convincing himself. He beckoned to the man sitting in front, the one who had garnered much attention for his bravery in the only attempt to poke the zombies.

The council let Banage explain it to the young hunter.

"Ryulo, we need another miracle. "

Once the order to pack up was given and the council was dissolving to coordinate the effort, Ka pulled Cato aside.

"I cannot imagine what you had to tell Tulore," the Elka said, "she saved a double potion of curse-breaker for Mii. Two Fukas might be dying because they lack it. "

"It's a ploy, Ka," Cato admitted, no point trying to deceive the very people whose help they needed, "we need you here. With your help, we can avoid getting lost, we can track the movements of the zombies and we can scout our way. You can save far more than two lives, and since Mii can't fly, you can't abandon us if she stays alive. "

Ka gazed at Cato, as if weighing him up. Was he going to declare Cato an honourless manipulator? Cato wasn't quite sure he didn't deserve that.

"Clan One owes much to the Fukas," Ka said finally, "we would not abandon them in this time of need. " Then he sighed and continued in a less formal tone, "Despite the demands on my honour, Mii is my wife and pairbond. I cannot find it in me to return the potions and so I find myself in blood debt to you. "

Cato shook his head, "not me. It's the Fukas who are giving up their curse-breaker. "

"You were responsible for making Tulore save Mii, so my debt is to you," Ka explained, lapsing into formal language again, "We would say you have a blood debt to the Fukas, but we do not count honour among the wingless. "

"I don't think I deserve this," Cato said. How could it be when he was the one manipulating Ka?

"Then just remember that I have loyalty to you now as well. "

Cato came back to find Arbor and Toal arguing, one-sidedly, about who would pull the cart that was being shared by the blacksmith and Danine's family.

"So, what were you talking about with village council?" Danine asked. The rest of the Fukas had been subtly discouraged from listening in.

"We were deciding where to go. And whether we should even go at all," Cato said wearily. Still, he wasn't tired enough to miss that Danine was merely distracting herself. "Tharoden didn't want to leave at all and Tulore simply kept silent. "

"Ah, and I suppose Banage won the argument?" Danine asked, gesturing at all the Fukas packing up.

"Yes. We're still leaving. But it wasn't Banage, Tharoden simply gave up," Cato said, "I think, watching the village burn... might have been a bit of a shock for him. The zombies from the first wave coming back made it so we can't stay anyway. "

Danine didn't reply and they lapsed into silence. The insistent rejection of Irld was met by the equal insistence of Toal, still arguing over who should take the cart first.

"Are you all right?" Cato asked finally.

She just looked gloomily at the ruins, her tail and ears lying flat.

There was nothing to say, and any words he might offer would just be flat and meaningless. Cato hadn't grown up in that village, and he had found it uncomfortable, like a fish out of water.

He could only hope that these Fukas would be able to find a safer home in Inath, and that Cato would find more answers as to why he was here.

If only reaching Inath could be easy.