The monsters toil as the sun rises and the snow begins to cover the ground.

White tents stand proud and many within the ever-increasing space inside these woods. The red-hot iron is struck by the diligent hobgoblin blacksmith, and a couple of goblins are girdling some of the fell trees, to make better materials to work with, or branches to craft spears and arrows. The rest are either waking up or learning the basics of fighting by the large ring of training just finished.

But while the camp works together like a single organism, in this body there are viruses.

"Andrei, you have to stop" Lina whispers as she enters one of the smaller tents, causing the human to quickly hide the poisons he works with "Think what would happen if they find out what you are trying to do"

"They won't, I'm good with this. But if you keep barging in like that you may as well scream it to the rest of the camp" He says with a deepening frown as he hides the mixtures beneath his shoddy pillow "Good morning to you too, or are you too much of a savage already to say that?"

"Morning" Lina replies, giving Andrei an uncharacteristic angry look, that quickly forces him out of his anger.

"Sorry, is just...fuck, the bastard is still alive," Andrei says after pressing his fingers against his eyes, Lina walks inside and stands in front of him, he reaches out and caresses her arm "Like a bad weed, it survives anything. And you have been spending more and more time with the hobgoblins, I thought you would stay with your people and fight from afar"

"Rokan made it so. I'm not good with the bow, but the spear and the shield, are almost like a different pair of arms" She says grabbing her spear with both hands, her eyes glancing at its length for a moment before looking up at Andrei's sadden eyes.

"You promised, Lina. To stick with your kind and fight from afar until we could get out of here" Andrei lets go of her arm and takes a step back, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I know...but, I have to do this"

"No, you don't. You have no debt with him, with the others. Ever since we got swoop with this group that goblin has put you in danger every chance he has"

"He has given me a chance. I am a silvertail..." her eyes look down for a moment, as the obvious piece of her missing forces her to correct herself "Was...Is in my blood to fight, but I was never allowed to. Now, I have people that respect me and greet me like one of their own, I haven't felt so welcomed in years"

"People?Their own? Are you listening to what you are saying? You are putting yourself in the same category as the monsters that raped and tortured those women, just like they did to your friends when they invaded your clan" His words cut deep, and force Lina to stagger back, but only for a second, as with renewed anger she takes a step forward.

"Monsters of clear, hairless skin, with no tails, nor horns, nor fangs, nor claws! Those were the monsters that did that, and the monsters that killed most of my clan! And the monsters that butchered, slaved, and tortured MY people for generations!"

"And that helped you, and cared for you, and looked out for you" Andrei replies, his tone soft, trying to embrace her but she gently shoves him away "Look, there are good people and bad people-"

"Am I a monster?" Lina asks, taking him by surprise "I helped them you know? I was there when they killed those humans, I supported them, what does that make me?"

"Of course not, you are not like them" He lets out a tired sigh "You are different, even if you can walk around freely and eat well, and sleep in your private tent it doesn't mean that you are free. You are a prisoner just like me"

"No, I am not a slave anymore, none of us are. Why can't you see that? Why do you want to kill him so badly?"

"He is dangerous Lina. He is too smart, and I don't like how he keeps pulling you closer to him, can't you see what he wants?" His words work on her, as Lina's mind returns to all the times he spied on her while bathing, and Andrei loses no time taking advantage of it "He lusts after you, as any other goblin would, just that this one is smarter, he will try to twist around you whatever ideas and words he can to make you willingly submit to him"

"...I'm not careless, or dumb, or weak. I can take care of myself" Her doubt melts away as the grip on her spear tightens "And I need to go train...please, stop trying to kill him"

For a moment, they look at each other in silence. How long had it been since they felt this...barrier? They both felt it, but none knew how to see past it. Andrei wants him dead, needs him dead. He knows the goblin knows who he is, and there is no need for verbal confirmation, ever since that night when he saw him spying on Lina he knew that Rokan picked up on his lie.

If he revealed that information, what would Lina think?

"Alright, I will stop" Andrei finally replies, reaching for her face and cupping it in his hand, Lina leans into it as she rests her hand on his, and a tender smile grows on her face "Just keep your guard up, and don't let him get inside your head, alright?" He asks and she nods gently, stepping closer and sharing a warm hug.

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They share a tender and brief kiss, then Lina walks out of the tent. The young Huani glanced at the tent of the witch, the two hobgoblins standing guard at the entrance, their eyes not golden, but purple, and their skin a much darker green. They were different from the hobgoblins she had grown used to, not even they approached them.

But as her eyes fell on the training ring, the many goblins waved around the newly made spears, fit for their size, like toys, as they waited for the man who would train them.

"Make a line" Rokan commanded as he approached them with his spear in hand. His deep, grave voice scared some of the goblins and they quickly ran around to obey.

They shared a look. The strange goblin who had been taken away by a devil on the brink of death, and came back with a witch and an army. How could you not respect that? How could you just ignore a powerful warrior like him? Even if deep within she despised him for what he was, Lina felt respect for him, admiration even.

And as the rest of the goblins, hobgoblins, and her formed in a line, Rokan slammed the end of his spear on the ground, and the training began.

Someone watched them, from not too far away, the Ahajlii woman closed the cloth of her new tent as she walked inside and stood in front of a makeshift altar she had made on the ground. To the ignorant eyes, this was a simple collection of branches tied together and dug into the ground, but to her, this was the living image of her faith.

She kneels in front of it, taking her helmet off and placing it between her and the altar. Next to her a wooden bowl with water, and a sharp dagger, with a candle lit nearby to provide extra light. She gently touched her growing eyebrows, then her growing copper hair. Wasting no time, she grabs the blade and the bowl, looks at her reflection on it, and slowly gets rid of any hair growing on her head.

A slow process, that cuts her skin and makes her bleed, but after more than one hundred years of repetition, if it hurt, not a muscle in her face gave it away. She simply looked at her reflection carefully to make sure she didn't miss a single spot. And as she cleansed herself, her mind raged with the events of the past weeks.

"Asha'li Ik Ysah'Ra..." She whispers.

Her heart was heavy with guilt, from what she had done. And her mind was confused, shaken, by what she had seen. But there was no way back, that bridge had been burned forever. And despite everything that happened, her spirit, although a little bruised, was just as strong as it had always been.

They were alive, they were safe, and that was everything that mattered.

Soon, after an hour of slow work, she washed her bloody head and dried it with a piece of cloth nearby. She pours the blood on the tree branches as her Ahajlii language whispers words of praise and adoration to the deity that gave them life. One hand holding the bowl that slowly pours the reddish water, and the other on the exposed dirt, as thin vines grow out of her fingertips, reaching the branches and seemingly giving them life as they unite and grow new leaves, even with the cold of winter.

Once she is done pouring the water, she rests the bowl next to her and raises her hand from the dirt, the thin vines withering away. She took a deep breath and stood up. Then began taking off her strange armor. Piece by piece she freed her body, revealing a thin light brown dress that from the waist down looked like baggy pants. The silk was a bit dirty but beautifully crafted with intricate details made to resemble flowers growing out of vines.

But the dress, gorgeous and gentle as it was, did little to hide the intimidating frame of the warrior woman. For her tall body was marked with scars of countless battles, and her muscles were toned and hard, with arms bigger than Jorrs, and a back broader than any other person in the camp. Yet, it was elegant, her body feminine despite the hardened muscles.

The cold air made her shake, and she freed her chest from the dress as her breasts were compressed tightly with bandages, both old meant to ease the use of armor, and new, courtesy of the goblin's deadly accuracy. She frowned, if she had been just a second slower, she would have died at the hands of the goblin.

Releasing her breasts from weeks-old bandages felt as good as it had always been. And after putting the dress up again she eagerly grabbed the newly made pelt coat given to her by the Huani girl, made from deer hide. Once dressed, she reached for her gauntlet and put it on. Tested it once, then put on the quiver with newly made arrows, and finally, grabbed her elegant and large bow.

She wasn't eager, but it was the terms they had agreed on. And while the thought came from time to time that she could kill them all, take their resources and leave with her friends...there was doubt. Even if she hated it, she acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, if she fought against the goblin, she would lose.

Stepping out of her tent she glanced at the training ring, the goblin nowhere to be seen, in its place, the Huani girl seemed to be left in charge of training the goblins, and the rest of the hobgoblins were ordered to do other tasks. Looking to her right she saw the group of Huani men practicing with their bows, and crossed eyes with the largest among them, someone as big and strong to rival her. His dark brown mane, uneven black horns, and goat-like eyes.

Silently, she walks past them, and knowing they like the idea as much as her, they follow her out into the woods, where she will teach them how to better use the bow, not the way these soiled experiments have learned from the humans, but the way their true masters have perfected over the centuries.

Of course, she won't teach them the best, just enough. To keep her friends safe.

"And there she goes~," Indri says as she waves goodbye to the Ahajlii, even if she doesn't see her.

"Great Empress, I hope she won't kill any" Enon says worriedly. Being carried on his sister's back as they walk to Rokan's tent.

"I hope she does, I want to turn that goblin's face into a pulp" Indri adds chuckling to herself, to her brother's displeasure "Oh come on, I'm not going to kill him, just almost, make him see his ugly maker for a bit"

"No violence, let's just keep our heads low until spring comes, and we can leave...anywhere else"

"Whatever you say, just make sure to hide the Startears well"

"Of course, they are safe...and hopefully you won't have to use them ever again," He says, with his hand reaching to the tiny black horns on his sister's forehead. She blows like a horse in response.

"At last it makes it easier to carry your fat ass" She replies waving her cut arm around, causing both of them to chuckle, but her more than her brother "I'm sure the cook wants to do you, he will starve the rest of us if he keeps giving you so much stew"

The siblings laugh until they realize that they stand right in front of the tent where they slept for many nights together, and after a few seconds of silence and hesitation, they walk inside.