The sun had just gone down on the third day after I awoke after evolving the foxie, when the alarm was first sounded. Brixie and I had been helping Brax into his house- the older male had thrown out his back trying to teach a few young ones the 'proper way' to dig holes for fence posts. but all three of us stopped in our tracks when we heard several shouts of alarm echoing up from the main gate.

"Enna, please stay here with my father." Breathed Brixie, her eyes flashing with worry. She released Brax and most of the man's weight fell to my shoulder. Not that he was very heavy.

"Brixie, wait!" I called as the foxie woman dashed down the hill toward the ruckus.

"Oren, Draxly!" Snapped Brax, calling to his two aids- body guards really but Brax refused to accept he needed body guards during these troubled times- as we stood before the entrance of his home. "Go with my reckless daughter and keep her safe."

A short man with broad shoulders, blue eyes and a scar down his right eye flashed past, his brown fur and pale skin just a blur. That was followed by a second man, this one fox faced with blue-ish black fur and stunning golden eyes that I could still notice even with him darting past me. Oren had become a foxman and was one of the best flame wielders after Brax himself, while Draxly was the best hand to hand fighter the village had to offer. I didn't like seeing Brixie rush off into danger, but if anyone could keep her safe it would be those two.

"Come on, lets get you inside." I said, anxious to go check on the situation myself, even though there was little I could do to help, if the truth were to be told.

Brax grumbled profusely as I led him in, steeling aggravated glances over his shoulder as we went. I knew he wished to defend his people but there was little he could do in his current state, weather he wished it or not.

"I'm going to see what I can do." I told the elder once I had him sat down next to the fire pit. He pulled out his pipe and eyed me worriedly, but said nothing. "I won't do anything overtly dangerous." I told him.

Brax sighed, lighting the pipe. "I will not stop you... not that I can. But please keep in mind that to loose you would be catastrophic for the forest, not just the foxie. The goblins may not realize or even accept who you are but the damage will be done all the same if they get their hands on you."

Duly fearful, I nodded but steeled my resolve all the same. I couldn't just sit around here, not knowing what was happening, even if there was not much at all that I could do to help. "I will be careful."

Outside, the closer I got to the gate, the more chaotic everything became. First of all, this should not have come as a surprise. There were supposed to be scouts posted through out the forest so that, if goblins were spotted, then they could hurry back and warn the village. But we had not been warned at all.

I turned a corner and nearly ran into Brin. "Lady Enna!" She gasped and I saw that she had the arm of a foxmen slung over her shoulder and was aiding him to safety.

I do not know why I was shocked to see that he was bleeding, that his belly was barely held closed by a sing, pale hand. Nor did I think to see the proud and composed Brin streaked in blood over her porcelain skin, her hair now in knots and her too short robe torn in several places. I should have anticipated that. I should have been prepared to see blood and wounded and smell the fear in the air... but I really, really was not. Maybe, some where in my subconscious, I still though this was all just a dream, that if anything truly bad occurred than I would just be shocked awake.

But this was not a dream, and this foxman was dying before me, his life leaking out onto Brin's robes and the green, green grass.

I took one deep breath, squared my shoulders, and decided to be affected later. Now... now my foxie needed me. In what ever capacity I could offer.

"Let me take him." I said, reaching out for the man and, without thinking, sending him just a little of the energy the foxie had been sending my way since I arrived here over a month ago. I didn't know if it would help him at all but the stuff managed to give us all a glow up, surly it could at least preserve his life long enough for a healer to save him. "they need you."

Brin nodded and released the groaning man to my care. "Orvil has ordered the wounded be taken to Zix's place. She will look after them with the other healers."

I nodded without a word, turning straight from the battle toward the old healers hut while Brin wasted no time rushing back toward the gate and out of sight, furry tail bouncing behind her. The man was dead weight but I barely noticed as I dragged him toward the hut. I probably knew the man by name, but I could not bring myself to look closer at him. I didn't want to see a friend dying before my eyes. Was it cowardly? Probably.

"Bring him in, bring him in!" Snapped the familiar voice of the elderly Zix.

I hurried forward, both to aid the man and also to avoid being yelled at. Zix was one of the very few foxie that treated me like she did everyone- snappishly. Though she was roughly the same age as Brax she actually looked quite young, especially in her foxie form. She was short, thin and her fur was a mix of white and grey, her shoulder length hair tied back in a tight bun.

I stumbled into her hut. It was smaller than Brax's but still one of the largest in the village seeing as how it doubled as the healers home as well as the hospital for the community. I didn't like being in here at the best of times- no doubt due to my long history with hospitals, but it was especially horrific now. The battle must have been large given the already dozen or so wounded Zix and her staff were dealing with at the moment. The fight had only just begun! but on nearly every furr lined bed lay a man or woman in varying states of hard shape.

"Lay him here lady Enna." Gasped one of Zix's nurses, her golden yellow fur now streaked in blood as she directed me to a bed farther into the tent.

I did as I was told, trying to block out the pain laced moans around me. I gently lowered the man to the bile of boiled -for hygiene reasons- furs and was nearly bowled over as Zix brushed past me. i watched as she examined the man's wound and the nurse began soaking rags to clean him up.

"It is bad. But... the bleeding has stopped." She threw a suspicious glance over her shoulder at me.

"I tried to send him strength..." I said, my voice weak even to my own ears.

"You are pale and shaking." She huffed, those eyes now narrowing.

Wrapping arms around myself, I shook my head. "I'm alright."

"tch." She said, returning her attention to her newest patient. then she spoke again, her voice more gentle now. "If you are well then I am sure there are more useful things you could be doing than hovering around here, getting under my paws."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I steeled myself for what lay outside the tent, and with a last nod at the healer's back, hurried out of the hut and got back to making my way to the front lines. that, apparently, being the main gate to the village.

At the gate, all was chaos. I passed several other foxie and foxmen taking wounded to the healer's hut and tried to send them all a little energy. the first few times i felt nothing, but as the numbers grew larger, I started to sense the depletion of my stores.

Half the main gate had been broken through, a make shift battering ram crafted from a forest log abandoned next to the wreckage. And I saw my first real look at the goblins. they were shorter than the foxie and foxmen now but still looked to be the far stronger race. they were short and a little gangly, but the had muscle and stubbornness on their side. the came in shades of green and grey, many bald but a few had tails or hair at the backs of their bald heads. there eyes were wider and their ears massive, each nearly the size of their own heads and sticking out horizontally.

I watched, at a loss for what to do, as two of the green beast tackled a foxman, knocking the taller man to the ground and beating him with wooden clubs. Horrified, I was about to rush to the man's aid when a strong hand held me back and three foxie dash forward to aid the downed man.

"What are you doing here Lady Enna?" Asked Orvil. He was now taller than me, his fur and long hair red and currently disheveled. "This is no place for you milady."

"I need to help." I said, voice horse and limbs shaking as I funneled yet more energy toward anyone I could. "I can help."

"I appreciate the sentiment Lady Enna, but you have been training for all of three days. leave this to us-"

"Look out!" Came a sudden call, cutting of the hunter mid sentence.

Immediately the red foxie yanked me to the side, using his own body to cover mine as a massive boulder slammed into he dirt almost exactly where I had been standing just a moment before.

"Damn goblin strength!" Snarled the normal calm Orvil as we both straightened up. "Blast the lot of them. Brillum! get the flame users in position! We need to rout them out of the village." He was all but ignoring me now as he shouted orders out over the fighting. "Lady Enna, if you must help than please head over to the archers. they are shooting out into the goblin ranks. Jut be sure to aim into large groupings of them, yes?" he pointed to a raised platform that had been built a ways down the fence for archers to perch and fire.

I accepted the role given to me and ignored the slight on my archery skills- i was a pretty bad shot after all- dashing out of the main battle and toward the platform. I did not send energy to every foxie I passed this time but I did try and lend aid to the wounded at least. I jumped another boulder that the goblins had tossed over the fence at some point and ducked under a torrent of foxfire shot by friendlies. It would not have hurt me given I was not its target, but you try not dodging fire that is coming straight at you!

As I came upon the platform I could already make out several familiar faces, Brixie and Ozzie among them. Both had their bows drawn tight by their ears and were taking careful aim out into the goblin ranks. As I came to the roughly built stairs I snatched up a bow and quiver of arrows out of the now horribly depleted racks used to keep them ready for use. breathing heavy I scurried up and took a spot next to the very stalwart looking Ozzie without a word.

Raising my borrowed bow I looked out over the fence to see the horror that lay beyond. there must have been at least two hundred goblins out there amongst the trees, all looking eager for the fight. I took a deep breath, aimed as best I could for a point deep into the enemy ranks and fired. I never looked long enough to see if any of my arrows met their mark; Before they could hit I was already taking aim at a new, green or grey face. I willed the goblins to please, pretty please, just leave.

In terms of sheer physical strength I could see from my higher perch, that the foxie and foxmen were still outmatched, even if they now had a foot or two on the green invaders. But the foxes were making the best use of what talents they did have: agility, bowmen-ship, and fire magic. I could not pick a new target without seeing a burst of flame closer to the broken gate while, simultaneously, blocking out the most gruesome screams that- had I still dreamed as I once did- would feature prominently in my nightmares for years to come.

My arm was beginning to actually ache when I reached for another arrow and found my quiver empty. I cursed a blue streak, actually causing Oliver to halt his efforts to gawk at me open mouthed for a few seconds before his mother hip checked him and he got back to work. I was pretty sure that a handful of the words made no sense in this world... besides, there was no point feeling shameful for exposing a teen ager to foul language when he was literally killing people at the moment.

That thought had me stumble slightly as I headed back down the stairs for more arrows. A passing foxmen steadied me but didn't hang around or even say anything before he to returned to the nasty business of death dealing. I took a single deep breath, shook my head to clear it, and hurried on my way. Break down later.

I had just handed the empty quiver to the foxie manning the supply and took the filled one she handed me when there was a shout of eagerness that had me spinning on my heel. But it was not the foxes that were celebrating. As I watched, several of my furry companions fell to the dirt as a dozen or more Goblins broke through the ranks of foxie and foxmen, entering the open space used as the entrance to the village.

they cheered and laughed, one lifting a spiked club and hammering into a foxmen's torso with glee. I screamed in horror and rage, notching an arrow and taking aim. For one the shot rang true and the offending grey skinned goblin took an arrow straight to the eye. In slow motion I saw the orb explode, drenching the grey skin in deep red blood, four-fingered hands rose up, clutching its face. My stomach roiled but I had no time to think as the surronding goblins now set their large eyes on me.

"Lady Enna!" I heard Brixie screech, making me realise that the world, for that brief instance, had been silent. But horrid sound came crashing back in at the same time the red furred foxie jumped from the platform and landed, two feet and one hand, on the earth before me. "Get back!"

The next second there was a black furred foxie and a brown haired foxmen landed either side of her. I had not even noticed that Draxly and Oren had been on the platform. Both males took a defensive stance before me and on either side of Brixie, their fur and hair on end. Brixie and Draxly both held jagged daggers while Oren's hands held twin flames in his clenched fists.

"Stay back Lady Enna." Growled the deep voice of Draxly, his dark fur on end and impressively intimidating. "The forest can not afford to loose you."

I did not like the feeling of abandoning my friends, but I knew the foxie was correct. I was no match for even one goblin in a hand to hand fight, much less a dozen of them. "Be safe." I said, stomach roiling. I spun and hurried back up to the platform where Ozzie was leaned over the side, clarly mid jump, but held back by the collar by another male.

"Come on Ozzie." I said, my own voice almost a growl with suppressed emotion. "We have work to do."

He took one last glance down toward his mother where she battle for her life, before visably pulling himself together. he removed his foot from the banister, the other male let him go cautiously, then the younger foxie squared his shoulders and joined me at the rail. We both gazed out at the battle field, and, to my surprise, we looked to be gaining the upper hand in this fight. Apparently our greater numbers coupled with the foxes fire control was beginning to win out.

I raised my bow once again and started firing all over again. Just a moment later Ozzie started to do the same.

"Fall back!" I heard a deep, wet, sounding voice bellow out. My eyes searched out it's source and then my eyes fell on a most vile sight. Mostly hidden in the forest cover, I saw what appeared to be a wooden palanquin, being hoisted up onto the shoulders of four heavily muscled goblins. and on that palanquin sat what I assumed was a man. But it may very well have been an excessively huge toad as well. I was betting it was just a particularly heavy set and wart covered goblin. I could not see the goblin's face and the porters were fast to take him away.

At the mysterious goblin's bellowed order, the other goblin's began to extricate themselves from the fray, the foxes chasing after them. They did not chase far, and I did not dare shoot after them, given I may have hit a fox by mistake.

"let them go!" Shouted the voice of Orvil, though I could not see him. "Don't be lured in!"

My heart raced, fearful of my friends being lured into a trap. Luckily, as I watched, the foxes listened to Orvil and came to a stop before trudging back toward the village.

"Mom..." I heard Ozzie whisper in a panicked hiss and my heart rate picked up again.