Field Training. For some, it was the best part of the school day. For others, it was their ritualistic time to get beaten. Cici was one of such people, Sasha wincing as her best friend was taken out in seconds. The fox careened backward, landing in a heap. The instructor lowered their hand to end the match, Cici's opponent relaxing.

“Final deductions,” the adult said. “Cecil. Why did you lose today?”

The fox groaned. “She was too fast.”

“Wrong. Your reaction was too slow. Mandatory switch training.”

Her ears twitched. Switch training was always a pain and a half, Sasha having gone through it more times than she could remember. It was how she and Cici got close. What had once been extra lessons spiraled into a routine of sparring near the dens every day. Sometimes they didn’t even do that.

Cici returned to the stands, plopping next to Sasha, who gave her a sympathetic pat on the back.

“At least you got farther this time,” the panther said.

Cici scoffed. “I really hate that stupid mutt.”

“The instructor or…”

“Both. Geez. Wanna rip that little puffball.”

She mimed the action, tearing off the imaginary canine’s head. Considering she’d never beaten the wolf once, Sasha could understand her frustration. But she also knew Cici had a bad habit of letting such things get to her. When she was on that losing streak with the boys, she nearly broke down crying. Seeing the fox’s anger this time, Sasha felt history repeating.

“Maybe we can try for a rematch?” she suggested. “Without the instructor to tell us off. In the usual spot.”

“Oh, we’re getting a rematch, alright. I’ll knock her teeth out so fast-”

“Match over!”

They both looked up, Sasha blinking at the sight of Cici’s opponent lying face-down in the dirt. One of the boys was standing over her, smiling proudly while the others cheered on his success. There wasn’t a scratch on him.

“You mean like that?” Sasha asked.

Cici’s tail wagged. “Yeah. More or less.”

The victor waved to the other students, his opponent rising from her daze. She gave a wordless nod as the instructor dolled out a post-battle debrief. Another Switch Training case. Cici frowned, both watching the wolf shuffle off to the stands as the next fight proceeded as normal.

“Still wanna knock her teeth out?” Sasha asked.

The wolf was sniffling a few aisles away, any semblance of pride long gone.

“Oh, without a doubt, Sash,” Cici said. "Probably twice as hard now."

The panther rolled her eyes. Though she loved her friend, she was such a tailbrain sometimes. As the final battles raged, Sasha decided to find the wolf later.

***

By the time her chance arrived, everyone was packing up for the day. Sasha swept in as fast as she could.

“Excuse me!” she said, sliding in front of the wolf’s desk.

By then, the class day was over, so most students were getting ready to leave. There were always the stragglers, though. The boys would chat amongst each other, and you’d get the occasional two groups butting heads. Never to an openly hostile extent. Such students always disappeared overnight.

“H-hello?” the wolf greeted.

“Hi there.” She extended a hand. “I’m Sasha. Sasha the Panther.”

The wolf only stared at her, one arm of her backpack slung around her shoulder. As expected. Though they’d never spoken before, Sasha had seen the girl around. Always alone. Usually in a corner somewhere. Such a thing wasn’t uncommon with the quieter students, who mostly tended to associate with each other.

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But after spending time with the boys, she’d learned to navigate both the loud and the quiet. She retracted her hand.

“Sorry if this comes off weird,” she said, “but you’re a sword-gal, right?”

The wolf raised a brow, Sasha simply smiling. It wasn’t the best opening line, but it got her attention, at least. And it wasn’t entirely inaccurate. Whenever they did weapon’s combat in Field Training, she’d usually opt for a sword. Granted, swords were the easiest to wield, but that was beside the point.

“I’m a sword-gal myself,” Sasha went on, “though honestly I prefer things with reach. Y’know. Lances. Staffs. Javelins. That sorta thing.”

The wolf still didn’t respond. A tough cookie. But Sasha wasn’t ready to give up. She buckled down.

“Is that your preference?” she asked. “Swords?”

The wolf continued to stare, Sasha squirming under the intense silence. What was supposed to be a quick chat was quickly spiraling into an exercise in mental anguish. Sasha willed herself to stay put.

“Daggers.”

The panther’s brightened, her silent opponent finally speaking back.

“I like daggers,” the wolf said. “They’re light.”

Sasha smiled. “Right. Daggers. The ones you throw or the ones you jab?”

“Both. Depends on who I’m fighting.”

“What if it’s a guy with a bat?”

The wolf chuckled. “I think throwing ones would be fine there. Assuming they don’t get too close.”

“If they do, no one says you can’t still jab with throwers.”

“No. I guess you’re right about that.”

The wolf smiled, her gaze suddenly a little less terrifying. Cute, even. Without the blank scowl, the wolf had a glow about her that made Sasha a little envious. But she didn’t mind it so much at that moment as the wolf picked her notebook off the desk.

“Um. I’m Iris,” she said. “Iris the Wolf.”

Sasha held out her hand, finally earning a shake this time around. It was…

The oldest memory she had of Iris.

“Was she always so small?” Sasha asked.

“Children are often tiny, Ms. Sasha,” GT chimed.

“Yeah, but still. Geez. Really hit that growth spurt, huh?”

She shook her head, watching the memories play out in front of her.

She didn’t know why it was happening. Or how. But she was suddenly watching old memories of Shiny. Mostly of her and her friends. How she met Cici. How she met Iris. Their time at the hideout. It all came to her, Sasha walking through them as if she were there. GT was at her side, the staff moving freely without her input.

“You sure this isn’t the afterlife?” Sasha asked.

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t feel the outside world.”

She nodded. Despite walking through memories, she could still feel Mr. Erin’s signals. Cici’s. Iris’s. Everything was as it should have been, minus her sudden trek through the past.

“How bad was I, anyway?” Sasha asked.

“You received a fatal laceration and were hemorrhaging at an alarming rate. If not for my intervention-”

“I’d be dead, right?”

The staff didn’t respond, Sasha sighing. That stupid tiger. Who even was he? And why did he want her dead so bad? She growled, the questions only piling up the longer she spent in her memories.

“I am keeping us tethered here,” GT chimed, “but it is your liaison who has preserved your life.”

“Mr. Erin?”

“Yes. He awaits your return, Ms. Sasha. But the choice is ultimately yours.”

“Whatdaya mean?”

The staff hesitated.

"This state is temporary,” it said, “but we can stay longer if you prefer. In here, time can stretch on as long as you wish.”

“Oh cool.” She nodded. “We’re still leaving though. No way am I keeping that weasel waiting.”

The staff, though mechanical in its mannerisms, seemed to glow brighter at the response. She folded her arms, the image of Mr. Erin out there only making her more eager to leave.

“He’s probably worried sick. Stupid. Let’s not make him wait too long, okay? We got stuff to do. Friends to find.”

The staff floated in front of her.

“Understood, Ms. Sasha. Whenever you’re ready.”

She grabbed hold of it, the memories around her beginning to fade.

Iris and Cici went away, along with the hideout she’d known for so long. Shiny disappeared, becoming a void of empty white that stretched out in all directions. Her ears twitched, the sounds of a monitor flowing through them.

“Ms. Sasha.”

“Hmm?”

She felt the world peel away, eyes shutting against it.

“Are we friends? You and I?”

She smirked, physical sensations returning.

“‘Course we are, GT. You even need to ask that?”

The world fell in around her, Sasha opening her eyes to the sound of beeping and the ceiling lights above.