As ambled on, always being aware of his surroundings. It had been just two hours since he had left, putting himself at risk once again, but now it was solely for Wayne. Still having not hunted for the day, his gizzard longed for a meal. Refraining, he kept walking. Secretly, he wanted to get this new aim completed in full as quickly as possible, yet had no idea how to go about breaking the tape at the end of the race. Fearing he had lost track of his direction within the fog, As stopped every once in a while and stood, but it did little. Every time he stood still, the racing thoughts came again, thoughts of whether he should have taken his belongings with him after all, the possibility of having lost Wayne for good, or worse still, whether he was doing the right thing at all, chasing something that could end up being all for naught had the former been true.

  The depression dipped at an incredible rate when a crack and a rustle was heard to the left of him, alongside the thicket he roamed by. Creeping in the direction, As leapt into the bushes, grabbing something, someone, and knocking it over onto its back as he gripped. Looking down, he saw a white-faced porcupine, its brown-tipped snout practically poking into As' face as the momentum of hitting the forest floor made them rebound. The porcupine's quills drove into the ground, catching the two earlier than expected.

  "WHERE IS THE HUMAN?! I KNOW YOU'RE WITH THE WEASELS! TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU STALKING ME?!" As demanded. He more than demanded. The objective of being quiet had mistakingly been dropped, As having realized immediately after booming.

  "Wh- What?!" The porcupine was awestruck, stammering while As shook them, "I- I have NO IDEA WHAT you're talking about! I'm looking for food! I'm not stalking you! I didn't even know you were there! Get- Get off of me!" He wiggled side to side.

  As gritted his voice, forcing himself to quiet down only a bit, "The last time a wilder said that, someone was taken! I know you're lying to me! Where did you take him?"

  "I'm- telling you the truth! I need to look here for my- my son, Cedry! He's sick! My wife is home cooking the only food we have; if I don't get back in time, she'll-!" As grabbed his snout, cutting him off.

  "I am not playing games. I know you're with the Exporine kingdom and you-... bastards took Wayne! Now, where is he!" As had forgotten once again in the moment, about Wayne's name change to Kevin.

  Visible anger showed on the porcupine's face. "You idiot! I don't know who you think you are, but tell me what you want me to say! I'm telling you what I know!"

  "I said, tell me where my friend is, and you won't get-!"

  "HEY!"

  A spear made of many bound quill tips pointed at the two within the bushes.

  "What is going on in there?! Show yourselves, under the name of the fallen leader Irethizon! If you do not, you will be punished at the paws of me, Patroller Dorse, with no trial!" The gruffest voice the two had ever heard screamed commands. "Stand, and come out with your paws raised above your heads!"

  The owl and porcupine looked at each other, and As switched to look behind himself.

  "Now!"

  As arose, standing to the side of the other.

  "Help me." The other raised their outstretched paw to As, signaling them to pull them up to their feet. "My back... I can't get out."

  "Silence!" The guard barked.

  As sighed, helping the porcupine; earthy sounds were made as their long quills exited the floor, small chunks of dirt clung to the spines. The two stepped outside of the thicket.

  "Under the fallen leader Irethizon, you two are trespassing on the grounds of the Exporine kingdom! I must know the reasons as to why, and it will be reported timely to the newly appointed leader, Erinaceus!" The guardsman's armor gleamed, shining into their eyes many times as he moved, despite the overcast clouds above and all around them. Many small scratches and inward pointed dents covered the pieces, and it was clear it had been used much before the current porcupine had acquired it.

  This is exactly what As had been afraid of.

  The light brown porcupine spoke up, "U-um, I was looking for food for my family! My son, he's very sick, and-"

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  "Silence!" The spear-wielder interrupted, a scowl across their face, "Everyone uses this excuse! Vittles! Tell me the true reason!"

  "It is the true reason! Please!"

  The guard let out a disapproving hum, "You!" The spear pointed to As, "What in the name of Einar is an owl doing on this property?"

  It took every ounce of strength for As not to combat nor yell, "I'm looking for someone-"

  "Who!"

  "They were..." As was confused for a moment as to whether or not he should speak the truth to an irredeemable Exporine member, "taken by weasels." He lowered his voice slightly, "I'm looking for them."

  "It is a bit far from the Cusel kingdom's grounds to be searching for a person, is it not?" The enemy squinted.

  "It is, yes, however I've been... lost inside of this weather, and I must have lost my direction. Please, forgive me. I would like nothing from your leader Erinaceus. I speak the truth." As' language became more elevated whilst he spoke. "We both will retreat in the opposite direction, and we will never mention what has happened." His tone was matter-of-fact.

  The patrolman stood for a moment, thinking of the course of action to take. "You two... will do exactly that. Keep your actions in order. Move that way." They pointed past them down the dirt path As had stumbled upon only minutes before the encounter. "This is a warning. A second instance will end in punishment of the highest degree!" To the two, it sounded as though it was hyperbole to some extent.

  The two turned and headed, keeping some distance between one another. The porcupine gave a deep exhale, "You have some charisma, don't you? That was lucky." He didn't sound very thrilled due the recent threat, "Kail."

  As remembered something in the moment for once, "Lantin."

  "So... you said screamed at me you were looking for someone?" As gave a serious 'Yes' nod in response. "I know these trees... If you help me find food... I can tell you of some places weasels go. That's who you were looking for, too, right?"

  "Yes. I... suppose it's fair," Any lead which As could get would be a miracle to him. "But if you turn against me, I will not be kind." His voice was serious.

  "No, I'm not going to do that, promise! I just want food."

  "I need you to swear." Again, As' tone swelled, as his talon touched his knife on his hip. Kail noticed.

  "I swear on Einar. You don't need to be against me."

  "Perfect. We'll hide in the shrubs when we go further down the path. Why were you in Exporine territory anyway?"

  "The... edges of the forest were clean. Other people took what they could... of course, me, too. The places I can look got smaller, and it kept... I- I've been having to go closer to the borders. I've had to look there for weeks. I knew I'd get caught one day."

  The two reached a safe distance, and broke into a very small clearing off to the side.

  "You, stay here," As said, "I'm going to look for anything I can. I'm a hunter."

  "Well, so am I, but..."

  "How do you do with putting down smaller animals?" As used the term 'put down' as opposed to kill.

  "I... don't."

  "Alright, I will go and find some." As looked into their blue eyes, "For the love of Einar... hold your end of the bargain." His voice sounded more light and airy when he hoped Kail would do as they were told.

  "No, no- I will. You don't need to worry about me."

  "I hope so."

  Fear of the bargain was now a driving force, added to the timer.

  A side quest was added to his endgame.