“Meneurmut, now!” Stella shouted at the mage as we fought a Horned Rabbit on the tenth floor of the Labyrinth. We didn’t fare so well, and we only faced one. Our timing was simply off. Annoying, though not that unexpected, as this was our first dive into Fallen’s Cry, the first fight in the full lineup.

There was myself, Korra’leigh Grey, the squad tank, and more. Then Harper Breadbaker, our sharpshooter, markswoman, and bomb maker. Impossible to overlook was our giant ember mage Meneurmut Ironhoof, nor the handsome-ish [Bookkeeper] - our squad swordsman and the front line, Freyde Welkes. The last addition was Stella Palemoon, our so-called leader. And, of course, I couldn’t forget Idleaf, who couldn’t miss the fun.

Sounded like a good lineup, tank/fighter, swordsman, aura warrior/support, mage, markswoman, and bard - sort of. And it likely was a good lineup. Only, finding any kind of coordination in the mess that our battles tended to be was hard, to say the least.

Sure enough, yesterday, Stella, the leader of Squad Four, got to spend more time with the squad members, but that hardly prepared her for an actual squad fight. She quickly found that there was no order in our fighting and everyone was kind of doing what they felt was best. At least I was, messing with whatever plans she had in the process.

To be honest, that was what my mentor taught me - I mean, going by my guts, not the part about screwing with Stella’s plans - and given my now beast nature, it worked for me. What excuse the others had for screwing up, I had no idea. After all, they trained in the barracks under the supervision of those taught by Rayden, who adhered to an entirely different creed than Deckard. In a nutshell: the best way was to be well prepared - that involved order, where everyone knew their roles and what to do in any situation.

Of course, that didn’t mean Rayden wanted her men to be mindless zombies, unable to take a piss without being told to do so. If anything, it was the other way around. She wanted them to be able to think outside the box to make critical decisions without having to be told - while following the command.

Still, I didn’t think that what was happening on the battlefield right now was necessarily what Rayden had in mind when she talked about the need to keep one’s mind open. It took even Stella by surprise.

It all started off, as usual, by diving into Fallen’s Cry to the faint cry of Traiana in my mind, accompanied by Sergeant Pinescar - we were still too green to go there ourselves. Stella, to our surprise, had traversed the Labyrinth up to the eighteenth floor so we could move straight to the tenth, the last floor of the Labyrinth occupied only by the Horned Rabbits, no Two-Tailed Foxes. Fighting them, she judged, would be too much for our first fight when we had yet to fight as a squad. The Horned Rabbits it was then.

We discussed our roles, what we were going to do, and I told them about my rune, my new skills and the loss of the barrier skill. Adjusting our plans accordingly, we set off, finding the first beast to hunt rather quickly. Then it was a matter of following the fighting plan we settled on.

Stella raised her auras, buffing our entire squad, and I engaged the rabbit with her and Freyde on my heels. The beast, only grazing on the grass so far, finally noticed us and squealed in delight at its new food source, just as I moved in and delivered my skill-and-aura-boosted roundhouse kick to its jaw. It sent the quarter-ton beast crashing to the ground.

That was when it went sideways.

No one expected it, not even me. And that’s something to say. I knew about my new kicking skill, about the rune on my shoulder that I was using within the maximum safe limit of 8% once again. I was faster, stronger, and more agile, yet its combined effect had taken my breath away. Yesterday, my kicks didn’t pack that kind of punch.

“Didn’t you forget to tell us something?” Freyde remarked as he moved to my left, going after the beast that was quickly picking itself up off the ground. The same query was in the eyes of the others. ‘Since when was she so strong?’

I didn’t know the answer myself though, and found it really baffling. I mean, I was training here just yesterday, hunting the beasts myself for furs and meat to sell. Nothing’s changed since then, so I should know my strength. Yet I obviously didn’t.

Pulling myself together, I moved, thinking. Did I mess up with the rune? Or did my [Roundhouse Kick] skill already tiered up? A quick check told me it did not. It couldn’t have been my weight then, could it? Sure enough, I managed to eat three bowls of meat that Deckard brought yesterday, and I had one this morning for ‘light’ breakfast - honestly, I was kind of amazed I wasn’t already sick of meat - but that was just a few kilos difference in weight. My breakfast simply couldn’t have had that kind of impact on my kicks; I flat-out refused to believe that.

Anyway, when I got close to the rabbit again, Stella was already there, deftly seconding Freyde while Harper pelted the beast with bolts and Meneur’s magic sought its way through the attacks of those two. The beast, though it tried, was unable to do much. Freyde and Stella, working well together, gave the rabbit no room to charge or jump away. Seeing them, one sickening truth rose up in front of my eyes.

There was no room for me in that fight; I wasn’t needed.

That realization didn’t sit well with me at all. It rubbed my fur the wrong way. Actually, it pissed me off so much that a growl ripped from my throat as I lunged for the beast to show the others my worth. Skillfully finding the right timing, I delivered a kick to the rabbit’s hind leg just as it shifted its weight onto it and then screamed in pain along with the beast that went down again.

My triumph, greatly overshadowed by the pain of hitting the beast’s femur, didn’t last long, though. Whether the quarter gnome had utterly forgotten me, as I feared, or just misread my intentions, I had no idea, but he didn’t manage to avoid the falling rabbit, staggered, and got in the way of an already-fired bolt. But my rotten luck didn’t let it end there. That would be too good.

Though the bolt didn’t get through his armor, it packed enough force to send him to the ground. Worse, it bounced so badly that it swiped Stella across her face, her own blood blinding her eyes.

Of course, something like that didn’t blind Stella entirely. That would be ridiculous. She didn’t share that with me, however, I was pretty sure our leader had a similar skill to my [Spatial Domain]. According to Deckard, that was pretty much a necessity at the higher levels of the fights. You could have the sharpest eyes, but unless you had another pair on the back of your head, it was impossible to cover your entire surroundings without some kind of all-around perception.

My bet was on her auras. Aspen told me that mages, her included, used mana to see their surroundings. Anyway, while not blinded, it threw her off and gave the rabbit a chance to pick itself up and take charge. Not at me, though. Again, that would be too good. Harper was the target.

Forgetting my aching leg, I took off after the beast. But there was no way I could catch up before it reached our markswoman, not in my human form, and even if I was in my full-beast self, I wasn’t sure I would be able to match its speed. The beast was built for a high-speed charge; I wasn’t.

“Idleaf!” I shouted at the spirit, whose job was supposed to be to handle situations like this one, where Harper or Meneur were in danger. She was to distract any attacking beast. Yet instead of doing her job, she kept searching the grass for the right blade to play on.

With my shout, Idleaf perked up and raised her head. Too late to be able to do anything, though.

Of course, Harper was no greenhorn who would shit her pants at the sight of a beast like a Horned Rabbit charging at her. She didn’t panic, nor did she stay frozen in place. One of her flour bombs appeared in her hand instead and exploded into a white cloud a few heartbeats later, just ahead of her. Obscured from the beast’s sight, she moved from its charge’s trajectory and did so at the last second.

Just a smidge later, and the beast would have hit her. This way, the rabbit shot through the cloud of flour and stopped on the other side, confused, looking for the prey it didn’t crash into. Before the beast, mistakenly taking us for its prey, realized what had happened, I burst out of the white cloud and landed another roundhouse kick, this time to its side.

Considering where I hit the beast, it didn’t have the same effect as my two previous kicks, and it just squealed in pain before pouncing on me. At that moment, Stella appeared beside me, her eyes already open and focused on the beast she slashed across its cheeks. Our leader was fast, faster with her sword swings now that she had both hands and wielded two swords than I was with my kicks. While I managed to land one, she cut the beast thrice.

To its credit, the rabbit wasn’t entirely stupid. Seeing that it was incapable of pouncing on us under our attacks, it tried to hop away and make room between us.

That’s when Freyde showed up at his hind legs and prevented the beast from doing so with a well-aimed sword slash. A heartbeat later, Harper’s bolt plunged into its front leg.

“Meneurmut, now!” Stella shouted as the beast staggered, frustrated and pissed beyond belief. I could almost read its mind as its intentions shone bright, speaking to my beast instincts. ‘How the mere prey dare!’

Nevertheless, avoiding the mage’s golden stream of ember magic proved to be beyond the strength of the rabbit, and it burned deep into its body. The following pained squeals were not easily listened to, at least for me, so I jumped up and delivered a drop kick to the back of the beast’s neck, putting it out of its misery.

Your group has defeated [Horned Rabbit: lvl 48]

The fight was over. The fallout of the mess I more or less got us into was about to kick off.

Harper, Freyde, and Meneur all glared at me while Stella just stood there looking at the downed beast, taking deep breaths to calm herself and collect her thoughts. If she was going to lay all the blame on me, I was ready to defend myself, though.

“This...” she finally said, looking up from the beast. “...was terrible.”

“I’d say it went pretty well,” Harper smirked, goading Stella, knowing full well that even by our standards, it was bad. Stella shot her a glare.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who fucked up.”

“That’s right,” Freyde nodded. “What the fuck was that all about, Korra? We were doing well before you sent that beast flying at me.”

I returned his stare.

“It wasn’t just her fault,” Stella was quick to jump in. Honestly, not the one I expected to defend me. “First and foremost, the faults lie with me.”

“You mean the shit about you being our leader?” Freyde asked. “That you’re to blame for our failures and all that? I didn’t expect you to be so virtuous after you yelled at us all day yesterday from dawn to dusk for the small mistakes we made...while we were PRACTICING, if I may add.”

“Yeah, is there something between you two that we don’t know about?” Harper chimed in, making obscene hand gestures.

Stella blushed; I growled.

“I’m not saying that Korra is blameless, just that the first mistake lies with me. I failed to take into account that she’s not used to my auras.”

“Ah, that’s what it was,” I said as I realized where my extra pack of punch had come from, a boost from her. “Damn! I didn’t expect it to make such a difference.”

“And that’s what I’m talking about. The three of them got a taste of it yesterday; you didn’t. Seriously, it would be better for everyone if you took part in the training, Korra.”

Hard to argue against that. I was all too aware that by not attending all of Squad Four’s training sessions I was only missing out. “I wish I could. But other than diving into Fallen’s Cry, I simply have no time. I told you.”

Stella nodded. “Yes, you did. Rayden told me, too, that your attention and time are not just on your squad. Now you’ve seen the result, though.”

True. “I did, and it bugs me, believe me.”

“But, huh?” Harper snorted, no malice meant. “Training with Deckard from morning till night, I guess?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t show up with an extra level or two today.”

At Freyde’s remark, I just shrugged. I had already told them I spent most of the day running back from Esulmor. Although the question of my leveling was nagging at me as well. I basically spent the whole day as a beast, pushing my limits and even using that damn core in my underbelly. Guess it simply wasn’t enough to push me to the next level.

“Anyway, that was my oversight,” Stella said loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “That second attack, though, Korra? What was that about? “

Should I tell them? It was kind of embarrassing. But keeping it a secret wouldn’t solve a thing. “I’m supposed to be your tank, right?”

“Yeah?” Our leader didn’t get it, and I didn’t blame her. So, nervous as fuck, I told them all about how I was feeling at the time. To my utter surprise and relief, no one laughed at me; not a single remark was made.

“I see,” Stella said at last. “I didn’t consider your beast side. Does it tend to be a big issue?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t go wild. Unless I go too far, then...I don’t know. It has yet to happen.” And hopefully, it never would.

“I’ll keep that in mind. However, I was speaking more about how much your beast side effects your, let’s say, judgment.”

It was kind of funny how she tried to tiptoe around me, not to piss me off too much after she technically killed me. “I’m a go-by-your-guts kind of gal. I rely a lot on my instincts, even more so in my beast form...even have a skill for that. Instead of frowning, I growl. What else...hmm...”

“You’re not wearing shoes,” Meneur pointed out.

“Yeah, that. You have no idea how much I’d love to wear them, but I find them so uncomfortable because of who I am. It’s nuts.”

“You bare your teeth, quite often. Even as a human,” Freyde said, quickly adding. “Don’t get me wrong; it’s hot.”

“You drool when you smell good food, and your eating manners are a bit bestial,” Harper threw in her bit.

Frankly, I was somewhat aware of it all, but hearing it all put down like that made me feel more like a beast than ever before. “Thanks, guys,” I growled, making no attempt to hide my bared teeth, and turned to our leader. “There you have it, Stella.”

This time around, I was really expecting a snide remark from her. This was a golden opportunity, after all. However, she seemed hell-bent on being a good leader, and if something like calling me a fucking beast crossed her mind, the thought didn’t leave her trap. “Well, I knew you’d be hard to deal with, just in a different way.”

Now I was curious. “In what way?”

Stella grinned. “That you’d have a beef with me as a leader.”

“Ah, that. I can see I’m not much of one...yet.” A little threat there. Who knows what shit will happen in the future?

She took it in stride, or so it seemed. “Anyway, looks like I have a lot to think about. Should study some books on shifters, perhaps, or even on beasts.”

Ah, there it was. Bitch!

“Freyde,” Stella suddenly said aloud as she turned her attention to [Bookkeeper].

“Yeah, I know, I wasn’t fast enough,” he said, rubbing his shoulder where Harper had hit him and glancing at [Baker].

“What? You jumped into a fired shot, Pointy Ears. What do you suppose I should have done about it, huh?”

“Read the battlefield a little better,” Stella noted, taking Harper’s breath away.

“What! How the fuck is that my fault, he...”

“I know, Harper. All I’m saying is that you should focus more on the whole battlefield and not just on the beast you’re facing. As a result, your bolts are cutting it pretty close. Next time, it might not end up with a light wound like today, but much worse. The same goes for you, Freyde. If you focused more on your surroundings and not just the beast, you would have seen Korra landing that kick and be able to react in time.” Stella did believe that, or at least I didn’t catch a hint of doubt or a lie in her voice. Quite likely, the reason why neither Freyde nor Harper objected further and just took her criticisms and observations as it was. That, or they just didn’t want to be yelled at like yesterday in the barracks.

Since Stella had no complaints about Meneur, who did his best in the fight and actually didn’t screw up, she turned her attention to the World Tree spirit still searching around through the grass.

“Ehm, Idleaf?” To Stella’s credit, she accepted the presence of the spirit in the squad quite easily. Not that she had much of a choice.

“Yes, Stella?” the spirit asked briskly back as she tore her eyes from the ground.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but could you recap for me your role in the squad?”

It wasn’t that our leader didn’t know. We talked about her role before the fight. What Stella hinted at was the fact that Idleaf did not live up to the said role at all.

The spirit pondered, trying to remember the exact words. “If any beast should get away from the three of you, I’m supposed to draw its attention, so it doesn’t harm Harper or Meneurmut.”

“Right. Then why didn’t you?”

At that moment, Idleaf drooped her shoulders and wings, a crestfallen look on her face. “I couldn’t find the right blade of grass to play. All the good ones are bitten off or drooled on. Look.” She held out her hand with several blades of grass in her palm, the rabbit’s drool still dripping from them. “I can’t play on those.”

Just the sight of it was gross, let alone the thought of putting it close to my mouth. What turned my stomach upside down, however, was the realization that what I thought was dew in the grass cooling my feet as I walked through it was actually a nasty shit left on the grass by the Horned Rabbit as it grazed on it earlier.

Little did I know that my day would get even worse.