War, it’s always the same thing, lives lost no matter which side you are on. Our war against humans has been going ever since I have a notion of self. Many of my brothers and sisters have fallen at the hands of humans since, regrettably, they are far stronger than we are. Perhaps the only thing we have above them is our reproductive capabilities, that’s only more meat for the grinder. I am not a combatant, my job is to keep track of our battles, of our fallen brethren and in some special cases of a fallen enemy. Well, it’s been a long time since I last recorded the death of a human at our hands but I keep doing my work like a machine, even if that means watching my comrades' deaths one after the other.

Not long ago I got to record one of the worst events as of late. The death of our beloved princess. Despite the constant warnings of the elders and the rest of us, she refused to stay put and would go out. She prided herself on her speed, admittedly she was the fastest among us, but that wasn’t enough. A human caught her off guard, and before she had a chance to flee she was slain. Many of my kin were enraged by this, I was one of them. The princess was like a beacon of hope for us, to see her lifeless body lying there was too much for too many of us. My brothers and sisters jumped to combat this despicable human, I would have too if not for my important position. In the end, their efforts were futile. The human ran away and so we gave chase only to have the tables turn on us. I believe this human had everything planned. Bringing us away from our hope so we could not retreat in our rage only to kill us all.

As always I survived, I was watching from afar being loyal to my ever-important job. Twenty of our brethren were slain on that day alongside our beloved princess. Why must the gods be as cruel as to take such a beautiful light of hope away from us? We wept for our fallen and especially so for our princess. Time went by and the wounds of that they began to heal only for that despicable human to come once more. The second attack was as wicked as the previous, almost as if taunting us as if telling us no matter our efforts we would never amount too much against this particular human. Our fortress was directly attacked, filling it with smoke it was obvious the wicked human was trying to suffocate us. My brothers and I escaped with hatred in our hearts only to find the same human that took our princess attacking once again.

Once again this human proved to be too much for us. Twenty new casualties, The human was relentless, in the end, we accomplished nothing. With a heavy heart I headed back and gave my report, the elders were infuriated, how dare this human commit such horrendous acts, we have had enough. A strategy was devised. It was only a matter of time for this human to come once again and this time we would be ready. Scouts were placed to inform if the human was to be spotted, we had set up an ambush. As soon as the human appeared we would retract our forces while setting up a bait, regrettably, the bait had to be one of us. I willingly offered myself for this dangerous task, I am old and I have already trained my successor if I am ever to participate in a mission I wish this one to be it. For the princess, I shall bait this human, and cause its demise.

Finally, the day came. Information about the human appearing had already circulated. All our forces were retracted in such a way that I would be the only visible one from my kin. The bait was in place while the rest laid in wait. It didn’t take long for the human to spot my presence and so it began. The human approach me with palpable killing intent. I only stared back and prepared myself, I would need to withstand for a minute or two so that the rest of my kin could completely surround our enemy. One hundred of my brothers and sisters would attack at once, the terrain was prepared to and so hit-and-run tactics where one of many attack options we had.

Our combat began and in an instant, the human had sent an attack my way, I pride myself on my speed and reflexes. I may not be as fast as the princess nor as cunning as the elders, but that did not matter now. A minute, I will make sure to make it. Our combat was going at high speed, I tried my best to dodge but despite my best efforts, some attacks still graced me. Blood flowed out of my wounds as I counted the seconds, Finally, I heard the war cry I had been waiting for. My brethren showed themselves all around us and charged with wild abandon. I quickly retreated, my body was in tatters, no longer fit for combat, if I were to stay then me becoming but a burden was simply a reality.

The human’s expression grew sour, truly a delightful sight. It didn’t last long, it only took an instant for the sour expression to turn into a cruel grin. The human was wild, its movements like no other I had seen, my brothers and sisters, with provided the best they could against such a monster only to die. I couldn’t watch at the side any longer, so I joined the battle too. It didn’t take long, by the end of it all I was on my side bleeding from a deep wound on my torso. My fellow comrades dead or soon to be. Sorry my princess, we were of no use, at the very least I pray we meet again in our next life.

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-Journal of Bunidas watcher of the horned rabbit’s battles

Back with Lia:

“am tired. What the hell is up with this freaking pests, did I disrespect their ancestors or something!”

I couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly while looking around me. Corpses of horned rabbits were everywhere. Around a hundred of the little critters had come out of the surrounding hills and rabbit holes in the area, moreover, the little bastards had used hit-and-run tactics and rotation of groups. If anything, it reminded me of guerrilla warfare that I would see from time to time on the news from earth. Really it’s a little scary to think about it, since if anything it proved they had some intelligence.

It far more time to pick the loot compared to the battle duration, but I can’t complain. Even if horned rabbit’s horns are cheap a hundred of them is a fair bit of coin so if anything I’m happy. The only downside to the whole thing is the fact that I’m covered in rabbit blood and my armour will need some repairs. Naru and Pyrka were delighted to participate in combat after ten days of being unused inside the guilds armoury, as for me, I am happy to stretch my muscles after a long time. However, above all else, I am happy to take my stress out on the little critters that had caused me so much trouble. Next time bring twice, no, trice these numbers, I shall take you all on.

After delivering my spoils to the guild and washing the blood off, I was making my way towards the old man’s smithy to pick up Naru’s and Pyrka’s sheath. To tell the truth, I am surprised that it’s ready. The old man had promised yesterday that he would have it done by today’s afternoon. The old fart couldn’t stop salivating after seeing my two minokens. He would go on and on about their craftsmanship and to make it worse the two weapons took the praise with unshakeable narcissism. It was headache-inducing, to say the least.

As I stepped inside the store the old man was already running to the back of the store, am guessing to fetch the sheath. It only took him a few seconds to come back with a pair of wooden casings under his arm. His smile was so wide I swear it was reaching his ears.

“Ah! my finest work for such fine blades, go ahead, open and admire my work. You will find yourself more than satisfied! haha!”

Really loud old man! I sighed slightly and opened the first. A white sheath with golden embroidery sat silently inside the box. At a glance I could tell this was Naru’s sheath as not only the colour but the shape gave it away. I could tell the old man had put all of his skill into crafting this as the white segment shimmered slightly under the light.

“Oh! is this mine, yes I accept, this looks great, and it’s just my style! Moreover, is that velvet I see on the inside! it must be oh so comfortable I can’t wait”

“Hey, hey! Open the other one, I wanna see mine, don’t make me wait, come on!”

Pressured to continue by the two who’s excitement had shot through the roof, I opened the second box. Inside was a black sheath that gave a creepy feeling, the black surface looked like some kind of black tinted glass but that wasn’t all, within it I could see red lines flowing in a mess around it, like veins pumping fresh blood through it. Before the two could start giving me a new headache I took the sheath placed them on my back while placing them inside their respective sheath.

“Uwah! it’s so comfy, Lia give the old man my thanks, this is the best!”

“I must agree with my sis, that old man did a great job, nothing better than having a comfy personalised sheath”

Those were Naru’s and Pyrka’s opinions, respectively. Admittedly, the old man did a great job, not only inside and outside, but the thing is that they are also comfortable to wear for me. The old man looked at me with an expression of joy. It was obvious for anyone present that I was satisfied and so was the old man.

“Thanks old man, you did a great job but is the previously agreed price alright? I feel that this sheath are far more valuable than a gold coin or two”

“don’t ya worry abu’t that lass, any extra expenses were for my own satisfaction. Besides, unlike weapons sheath, don’t get damaged often so I will get to see ya rocking my wares every time you come. Not to mention ya will become a walking promotion poster for my store, so if anything look at it as a future investment”

“if you say so”

I took out the previously agreed price, which was a gold coin and forty-three silver. We chatted for a while, and then I left. Finally, things have stabilised so I get to relax and enjoy this new life of mine.