"Baby please, go all the way
It feels so right being with you, here, tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold me close don't ever let me go."

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Shenanigans go down at the feast, some good, some bad. The Regent cooks more malevolence.

---

The Regent indeed did not take the news well. Fortunately for the messenger, his shoulder was too bad for any throwing of objects or slashing of claws. After he banished the terrified feline from his chamber, he set about thinking up a more immediate solution to this problem. After a few minutes, the investigator entered the room. “Sir-”
“There you are! What have you been doing this whole time?! Whatever efforts you made were clearly not enough. This town’s only reason for existing has just been destroyed!”
He growled menacingly. “First you tell me these fires are part of some resistance, tell me you’ll investigate, find nothing, and now the ENTIRE SMITHY’S BEEN DESTROYED!”
The regent’s last words were overtaken by a roar. The investigator found his back was pressed against the door. “S-sir, I’m sorry about this, really. But I’ve interrogated everyone, even some of our own. I have a few suspects, but most just look like sympathizers. None were in the right place at the right time.”
The regent sat down, his spleen empty. “I heard there was someone inside when it happened.”
“Halen, the head blacksmith.”
The regent’s head shot up. “What?!”
“Yes. He claims to have walked in on the perpetrator while he was setting up the oil. As he tells it, the man - for it was a man, - pushed the pots with a pole and escaped before they exploded. He was not so lucky, and was caught in the blast. He’s recovering in the infirmary. We’ve let his daughter visit him.”
“Halen, you slimy canine bastard!”
The investigator scratched his face. “Sir, Halen was accounted for during the first fire, he couldn’t be-”
“Idiots, all of you! Listen up. I want you to get the word out to my officers, this is what we’re going to do…”

~~~

Molkka trudged through the snow miserably. He was too far out from Frostblight to hear the explosion, and his head was wrapped in a blanket so his ears were covered anyway. He had never been to the coast, but his keen nose drew him to the salty waters.

~~~

When Bronze heard there would be a feast from Pil’s excited shouting, he wasn’t interested. Though, after a few minutes the prospect of hot food caused him to sigh and stand up. “I guess a bite wont hurt…”
He climbed the cliff and followed the direction everyone else was going. He was still working things over in his head. Frankly, he didn’t agree with his father. He couldn’t stop travelling now, he had to find a spot free from the war. He felt bad about it, but now that he’d met Pil and learned of his father’s fate, he no longer saw the point in following Marten anymore. He sighed shakily, and internal conflict brewing within him. Marten was as true a friend as any he’d ever had. So were all the others. However, Marten’s plans clearly lead him in a direction Bronze did not want. Kathresh and Arbalest seemed to be just fine with it though. Where would he go if not with Marten? He had no direction, no idea where he might find peace. “Perhaps the answer will reveal itself…” he muttered.

~~~

On one side, having just arrived from the fields, a large crowd of escaped slaves stood waiting for the other group to do something. The other group, standing in front of the large collection of huts, clay buildings and tents, was almost every feline on the entire island. Their numbers were half that of the escapees. No one said more than two words as the tense air suppressed any movement. The elder walked between them, looking first at the baffled and confused faces of his people, then to the wary and nervous faces of the ex-slaves. “Who’s hungry?!”
Some seconds passed before little Yez yelled from the crowd. “I am!”
Plenty of other felines took up the shout, and some of the canines and mustelids did too. Elder Laurel turned to them, putting on his warmest smile. “You friends are of course welcome! This island is a bounty to our larders, and we have plenty of food to go around.”
He sniffed the air. “Of course, on such short notice, we’ve only been able to cook up a large pot of larvae soup.”
He gestured to a nearby rock formation. Long stones lay overgrown with creeping plants and snow. They might have been a stone building, but the creators were long gone. They made for great seating now, though. “Sit, one and all! Food will be out shortly!”
Kathresh had never seen a situation like that diffused quicker. Arbalest was nearbly, and she waved him over. “That was impressive, eh?”
“I suppose. Never underestimate the power of larvae soup.”
Kathresh gestured to Flasu, who never left her side. “Let me introduce me to my friend Flasu. Flasu, this is Arbalest.”
They regarded each other, and Flasu smiled. “Nice to meet you, Ringtail!”
Arbalest raised an eyebrow. “Ringtail?”
“Oh, there’s no offence meant. I just thought your tail had handsome colours.”
Arbalest looked at Kathresh. “I like this guy.”
Kathresh giggled.

~~~

Troy definitely felt bad now. Because of her urging, Halen was now badly injured. The felines had revived him for a few minutes to question him, and after that he passed out again. They had let her do her work near his bed, and she constantly glanced at his face for signs of life. When his eyes eventually did flutter open, her work was flung aside. “Dad?”
He groaned. “By the blazes of Drifrasa, what happened…?”
Troy glanced around the room, noting the guards were watching closely. “You were in an accident at the smithy. An explosion.”
He raised his paws up to his face. Patches of fur were scorched off, and he had a lump in his head the size of his fist. “An accident… Oh, that’s right. It wasn’t an accident, It was that terrorist, he was in the room with me!”
Troy stroked his forehead, calming him. “I know it wasn’t, I just didn’t want to panic you.”
He calmed down. “Oh… Yeah, okay…”
She leaned over to feign a hug, but instead whispering in his ear. “You’ve done it, you’ve done everything you can do. Please just rest now. I’m sorry for getting you into this.”
She straightened up, and Halen squeezed her paw. “Please don’t talk like that. It wasn’t your fault.” He whispered.
She nodded. He continued speaking. “I want you to get a message to your mother. Tell her I’m alright, I’ll be with her again soon.”
“I will.”
He nodded contently. “I think I’ll sleep again. Please stay until I do.”
“Of course.” She said, a pride as well as a sadness welling in her chest.

~~~


The two groups didn’t mingle at first, one group staying on one side of the rock formation and one on the other side. But, as the soup was served and the alcohol began to flow, things got relaxed. In an hour, there were fires, dancing and singing, and much revelry. It was a long time since and of the slaves had had such a party, and it was welcome, no matter who they were partying with. Bronze and Marten sat wolfing down their third bowl of soup. Bronze took a swig of his ale. “Marten, you’ve found the best island in the entire sea!”
He laughed, face flushed with the heat of a nearby bonfire and his drinking. “I think you may be right! An excellent respite.”
Bronze stopped eating and watched a line of drunk dancing people waltz by. “I almost wish this was our destination.”
“You and me both, Bronze.”
Bronze looked into his soup solemnly, prompting Marten to pat him on the back. “Cheer up, Bronze. The night is young!”
He smiled again, and raised his mug. “…Yes, you’re right.”

Near the edge of the revelry, where the noise and heat was less, Rita and Harimau sat eating slowly. Neither of them liked loud parties much. They felt relaxed for the first time in weeks, and at last they had time for frivolous chatter. The ale helped with that, as well. Their conversation was aimless and shallow, both grateful to not have much to worry over in that moment. Harimau was a little tipsy, and was pondering if he should - casually - bring up his feelings for her. However, a very nagging part of his brain held him back. He couldn’t. Not knowing what he knew. Both stopped talking as a figure stepped into the furthest bonfire. It was Garth. Rita scoffed. “Ugh… And I was just starting to have fun.”
Harimau watched him for a second before turning to Rita. “What did you talk about out there, if I may be so rude?”
She remained silent for a moment. “I… Never mind. I failed, anyway. He…”
She laughed humorlessly. “He tried to make me think Khol is dead.”
Harimau felt a shock go through him, and he froze, his limbs feeling like they were not his. “Isn’t that pathetic?”
She looked up at him. “Right… Harimau? What’s the matter?”
He forced himself to look down. “Rita…”
“He lied. He lied, right?”
His face was betraying. “Rita, I’m s-”
“He lied! He lied! He always lies!”
“It was too sudden, I-”
“Noooo…!”
Her cry was accompanied with a flurry of fists. Harimau easily caught and held both of her arms with his impressive strength. “Rita! Stop for a moment, please!”
She stared at him with terrifyingly piercing eyes. “Tell me he was lying, Harimau.”
“He wasn’t. I was.”
Her eyes shifted from intense to watery in an instant. She heaved a great sob and began to cry. Harimau pulled her into an embrace for a moment, but she fought her way out of it. “No! Get off me!”
She tore away, running into the forest. Harimau was on his feet and tripping over the stone he was sitting on in an instant. “Oof! Rita, please let me explain!”
She was already out of sight. He scrambled up. “No… No!”
He wiped his face and ran into the forest as well, crying almost as much as Rita was.

Rita and Harimau weren’t the only people who were discontent. Beel sat near the edge of the festivities with a few others. Some were too scared to mingle with the felines, some, like Ace, had come to keep them company, and others were of the same mindset as Beel. Ace was entertaining a group of ladies with some comedic stories (which, having been cooped up in a ship together for years, they all had already heard a hundred times.) when Garth meandered into the firelight. Beel nodded to him. “Hey there, Garth. You look like you’ve been through hell.”
He sat down nearby as Ace’s crowd roared with laughter. “Yeah… You could say I was punishing myself.”
“Well, you’re welcome to sit here if you like. As long as you’re not feline I don’t care what you’ve done.”
Garth fetched himself a mug of ale and raised it to his mouth. “if only you knew.” He muttered, too low to be heard.
Beel continued going on, as though he was dying to have a chance to talk. “Look at them all over there. Dancing without an ounce of shame! Drifrasa is somewhere weeping right now, let me tell you.”
“Yes…” Garth said.
“Tsh. If I see anything really blasphemous, I’m going to act.”
Garth was silent. A party like this, with ale flowing like water? There was bound to be some ‘blasphemous’ behaviour…

Kathresh, Arbalest, Elder Laurel and Flasu were all sitting in a semicircle around one of the low bonfires, trying to solve a riddle the elder cooked up. It went thus: “I am fire-fretted, and I flirt with the wind. My limbs are light-freighted, I am lapped in flame. I am storm-stacked, and I strain to fly. I am a grove leaf-bearing, and a glowing coal. What am I?”
It had them stumped. Kathresh sat thinking hard while Arbalest and Flasu threw out answers willy-nilly and argued playfully. “Arbalest, you mustn't have a brain if you think the answer is… ‘grass’”
“It makes sense! It flirts with the wind, meaning it flows, it burns which is what all the fire stuff is about, and it’s literally a grove of little leaves!”
“Doesn’t explain the coals or being storm stacked.”
The elder tossed another log onto the fire. “Hehe, you two are on the right track!”
Flasu’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Uh, it’s… a rock?”
Kathresh giggled. “A rock?”
He looked over at her. “Yeah! Like… okay, maybe not…”
They all laughed. Kathresh watched the elder place yet another log on the fire. She straightened up and grabbed Flasu’s arm. “It’s wood!”
The elder clapped his paws. “Yes! Very sharp, Kathresh.”
Arbalest and Flasu looked at her expectantly. “What?” She said.
“We want you to explain.”
She sighed. “Didn’t you figure it out the moment I said ‘wood’? Fine. I am fire fretted. Wood fears fire since it’ll burn. I flirt with the wind. Trees sway in the wind. I am light freighted, now that one stumped me. Lapped in flame, once again in regards to wood burning. Storm stacked is referring to trees knocked over in a storm. I struggle to fly, wood is heavy. Leaf bearing is obvious, and when you finish burning wood, it leaves behind coals.”
Arbalest clapped, and Flasu looked her in the eye. “I’m impressed.”
Her tail once again began thumping against the stones. She casually placed her paw over it to stop it from moving. “Oh, it wasn’t that hard, with Elder Laurel flinging all those logs about.”
Flasu glanced at the elder. “You were hinting this whole time!”
The Elder cackled and slapped his knee. “Hee hee! It was hard to keep a straight face as you two watched me holding the solution!”
Arbalest swatted the old man’s ear and took a swig from his ale. “Old fogy.”
The Elder roared in laughter. “Ohhohoh! You’re lucky I’m drunk, or I’d smack you something awful!”
Flasu leaned over and whispered into Kathresh’s ear. “I’d trade my best hunting knife to see that.”
She suppressed her laughter and realized, with a little rush, that in order to lean over and whisper, he had to put his paw on hers. Now that he’d looked back over at the bickering pair, he didn’t need to keep his paw there, but he did anyway. Kathresh could tell he knew this from the satisfied grin he had on. She grinned back, slowly letting her fingers intertwine with his. She didn’t know if it was finally being safe, the amount she’d had to drink, the atmosphere, her recent epiphany or Flasu, but she felt incredible that night. She just wanted to stay there in the firelight forever. However, the fire was growing with all the wood Elder Laurel was chucking into it, and she felt her fur begin to singe. She let go of Flasu’s paw. “Be right back, I gotta get some fresh air.”
“Don’t fell off a cliff!” Arbalest said, the drink getting to him.
Flasu watched her walk away, a dumb expressing on his face. Arbalest jabbed his arm. “Hey buddy.”
“Yes?”
“Go on! Follow her!”
“What?”
Ge giggled drunkenly. “You should know the signs, maaan… She wants you to go with her!”
He stood. “Oh. Thanks, Ringtail!”
“No prob, buddy.”
Flasu stepped over the stone and followed Kathresh over to the nearby woodland’s edge. Arbalest called after him in a singsong voice. “Good luck~!”
He hurried and caught up with her. “Hey.”
She looked over in surprise. “Hello. …Care to walk with me?”
“Alright.”
They strolled through the cool night, around the entire oblong shape of people, fire and stones. Flasu clasped his paws behind his back awkwardly. “S-so… tell me about your land. Aside from it being wracked with war.”
She thought for a moment. “Alright. Well… we have less food than you do here, at least not all in one place. The countryside’s been stripped clean and there isn’t much farming. We’ve built great cities, like your town but many times bigger and more impressive-”
She stopped and looked up at him apologetically. “Not that your town is without charm…”
He chuckled. “Oh, I don’t mind.”
“Good. They have some of the most wondrous technologies there. A sewer system, marvelous building techniques… I could go on about it all day.”
“That sounds very grand. I’d like to visit some day.”
“You wouldn’t be able to, most of our largest cities have been taken over by the felines.”
There was an unexplained silence before Kathresh realized what she had said. “Sorry, you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do, don’t worry.”
“I know… all felines aren’t evil. Most of them are just following their religion.”
“I know, Kathresh.”
She sighed. “I just- I know it’s true, but I can’t convince myself.”
She stopped and faced him. “I’m a soldier, Flasu. I’ve killed a lot of your kind.”
There was another silence, before Flasu answered in a quiet voice. “War… Is war. We’ve had conflicts before, however small. I don’t hold it against you.”
She smiled and took his paw, stepping closer. “Thank you for understanding.”
Without warning, she pressed herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. He accepted her embrace, rubbing her back. “No problem.”
They stayed like that for a while, until Kathresh chuckled. “There’s something nostalgic about this.”
“What?”
“Nothing, Flasu.”
She stepped back, not taking her paws off him. She realized she was about to kiss him, and had a conflict in her head. Before she could work out an answer, she leaned forward and nibbled his lower lip, and before she knew it, she was engaged in a deep passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her again, this time slowly exploring her contours. She returned the affection, letting out a soft whimper. They broke for air, laughing a little. Flasu stroked her cheek fur. “You know, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met?”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is.”
He kissed her again, pushing her back until she hit a tree. She growled, tail whipping furiously in time with his. He broke for air again. “Uh… you’re okay with this, right? I mean, this isn’t just the alcohol doing this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay with this?”
“You said it was forbidden by your religion.”
She slipped a paw under his loose shirt. “I also said I’d lie with a feline again because I think that rule is insect shit. I wasn’t lying.”
He grinned, and leaned in again.

Beel had his eyes locked on the spot Kathresh and Flasu had just disappeared. “I’m sure of it. They’re engaging in unholy acts!”
He reached under his clothing and produced a knife from his belt. “Drifrasa, guide my paw.”
Garth watched him go,and stood, unsure of what to do. “Uhh…”
Luckily, Ace noticed. “Hey, where’s he going?”
“I think he’s going to stab someone…”
Ace’s ears shot up. “Oh, shit!”
Beel was already running.