As Em'brel approached the fire, she could see one spot near the source of warmth was already taken. Jack sat there, looking into the flames though his eyes seemed focused on something a thousand miles away. As she took a seat, he finally became aware of her presence and looked up and smiled, though this time, the smile didn't reach all the way to his eyes. Em'brel offered her own half smile in response. "Something on your mind?"

Jack laughed half-heartedly and returned his gaze to the fire, but at least he didn't seem quite so lost in thought as he answered. "Oh, I'm just second, third, and fourth guessing myself. We're exhausted, our supplies are running low, and we're trapped between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. Can we really win? Should we have taken B'arthon's offer back at the outpost? Or in the valley? Should we take it now? As much as I disagree with his means, I can't deny that the ends he's trying to achieve are similar to ours. Am I just trying to impose human morals on you all? Am I the one creating unnecessary conflict?"

Em'brel shook her head and leaned back on her stool, holding herself in place with her hands gripping her leg plates as she responded to the deluge of questions. "Well, I can't help you with whether or not we can win, but I know that we're all proud to be part of trying to make something better, even if we fail in the end. As for you imposing your ways on us, you handed the reigns off to S'haar for that reason, didn't you? Sure, you offer ideas and advice, but in the end, S'haar makes the final call."

Jack's brow furrowed as he continued staring into the fire. "But what if she's biased toward me because we're in a relationship? what if she's just going along with whatever I say?"

Em'brel laughed hard enough that she almost lost her grip and fell off her stool. As she recovered, she admonished Jack. "Oh, you are so lucky you said that to me and not S'haar! For the record, you considering all aspects of your choices is actually one of your strong points, but if you think for one second that S'haar is the type to not think for herself just because she's got an itch that you scratch you're thinking yourself into dangerous territory that'll have you sleeping out in the cold for a night or three! Of course, if it was me, or many other females, there might be some risk of that, but the whole reason you and S'haar first met is that she's such a radically independent thinker it placed her at odds with her entire village! S'haar may put some weight behind your thoughts and opinions, but that's only because you've proven yourself repeatedly in a relatively short time. In the end, the only one who makes up S'haar's mind is S'haar!"

Jack smiled again, and this time the smile reached his eyes in a way that indicated he was probably about to make a wisecrack of some sort. "You make a good point, but if I haven't beguiled S'haar, how do you explain her falling for me to begin with?"

Em'brel started to take a breath to answer when S'haar's voice joined in the conversation from behind. "Well, any other time, I'd say it had something to do with your intelligence and determination in overcoming any obstacles in your path, but after overhearing that, I'm more inclined to say it's because you remind me of Grim as a pup. Seeing your big sad eyes and knowing you'd be lost and alone without me, how could I leave you to fend for yourself? You'd just be gobbled up by some larger predator in no time!"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Jack looked wounded by her words. "Hey now! I was here before Grim, so he obviously reminds you of me, not the other way around! Besides, how do you know some other argu'n woman wouldn't take me in and feed me? I've been told I'm very cute, in a manly sort of way!"

S'haar chuckled as she sat down next to Jack. "With those big puppy eyes, I suppose you just might be able to 'beguile' your way into some other female's tent, but before you try, you'd best remember one important thing."

Jack's good humor seemed fully reestablished as he gave in to his curiosity. "Oh? And what's that?"

S'haar's answering grin was wild-eyed and toothy enough to remind everyone how dangerous she could be when she put her mind to it. "I'm the fiercest and scariest predator on this planet!"

-

As B'arthon scabbled over the last of the debris and looked back, he sighed. It would be at least another day before he got his army out of the valley, and that's assuming they left behind a decent amount of supplies. As Hal'dek cleared the ridge, the young Lord decided it was time to admit he'd lost...again, and it was time for a change in tactics. Turning to his second in command, he made his decision. "Set up our forces in defensive positions. You'll need walls and choke points, so if they decide to come back this way, you can fight them when and where you choose."

Hal'dek looked surprised. "The way I chose, Lord? Won't you be the one making the call?"

B'arthon shook his head. "No, I'm going to take a few hunters and head back to the valley to speak with my father. I have doubts we can win offensively with what's left of this army, but we've at least got them trapped. He's had time to consolidate his hold on the valley, so if I can get that old wolgen to supply a sizeable force like I'd first requested, we can finally end this farce decisively. You just need to hold this point so they can't escape. I'll handle the rest."

Judging by the shocked look on Hal'dek's face, he'd been expecting punishment for letting the enemy escape, but B'arthon knew it was no one's incompetence that had lost them this round. Between them drugging B'arthon, hiding in underground pits, and using their strange magics to bring down the mountainside to cover their escape...again, Jack had simply out-thought and out-maneuvered them. However, the human was quickly running out of resources, and his ability to work miracles to avoid direct conflict had to be nearing its limits. B'arthon could sense the end to this hunt was approaching, one way or another.

As Hal'dek left to issue the appropriate commands, Vox'thon spoke up at B'arthon's side. "Do you think they'll surrender this time?"

B'arthon shook his head, knowing she'd pick up his vocal intonations even if she couldn't see the motion from her current location. "Not until they've run out of all other options, and I doubt that'll happen before their people start dying. Though, if my father doesn't get in the way, I will offer them one last chance before the fighting begins, but I suspect only force will finally sway them."

Vox'thon fell silent after that, but B'arthon didn't share her melancholy mood. If he was honest with himself, despite his numerous losses, stretching his mind to try and anticipate and counter Jack's ingenuity was one of the most exciting challenges he'd ever faced. The noble grinned at the thought of the rapidly approaching climax of this hunt. He could finally understand what some of the hunters meant when they said the meat of a particularly dangerous hunt was always the most delicious.