I love the red speech bubbles!

I think it’s an indication of the lingual differences between species. When we first met the prey from the gorge, all of their speech bubbles were green because the critters had their own dialect that Rask couldn’t understand; all he could hear were chippers and squeaks. Oren and Sprig mentioned that they needed to speak slowly so that Rask can communicate and hear them. So I hazard a guess that this red speech bubbles refers to a predator dialect that Hemlock can’t understand upon hearing; all she can probably hear from Yarrow right now is snarls and growls.

Also helps with keeping track of which character the bubble is coming from.

I didn't notice the speech bubble colors until now. A very cool convention. Jackaloo used b/w prior to his/her characters coming out and then color when they did. Do we have a linguist here who might add some insight into the ideas/possibilities of color or type setting my provide? Thanks.

It was nice knowing you, Yarrow. Do us a favor and take Hemlock out as she takes you out.

It's interesting to see a character who once was rather tough n aggressive have that pale face of fear.

A weapon isnt a guarantee, it's a force multiplier --> and when that force is 0 xD it doesnt help!

well technically not 0, maybe less than 1 ... there is also numbers to consider and other factors. discussed it before but some trolls refused to listen.

True but, when your enemy impales himself on your weapon, you don't really need a lot of force.

The outcome depends largely on reaction speed and tactics. We've already seen that Yarrow is quick enough to spring up a tree and kill a squirrel before his victim has time to react.

If he slaps the spear shaft down with one hand, Hemlock is defenceless and he can go straight for her throat. But has he evaluated the danger of the spear correctly?

True. From what I've gathered from reading this story, I doubt very seriously he thinks it's more than a stick not to mention that his eyes are "on the prize" so I doubt he's even considered the spear.

A lot still depends on Hemlock's reaction speed. In a moment, Yarrow's body will be horizontal, above the spear and parallel to it, denying her a chance to impale him. Whether Hemlock herself has mastered the spear, or only used it on a few occasions, is unknown at this point.

All points true and well-taken. Only time will tell. (Although, I do have an idea as to how she could still impale him if he's above the spear as you pointed out. Always remember this saying a friend of mine is fond of saying. "I'd rather be lucky than good.")

Well, remember, bravery (misguided or not) is not the lack of fear but facing it.

Time for Yarrow to die.

Blood begets blood!

spear up, and into the heart~

Well...... yeah........ pretty sure he's gonna die by that "bobcat"!

Really feel for Rask. Seems like they cannot catch a break at all.

I doubt this is going to end well. 😱

Team Hemlock! Go!

Gut him Yarrow!

Damn, he really is too hurt to get up

Theres no waiting anymore Rask

Hmm, either Yarrow impales himself on the spear or he manages to get past Hemlocks defense and pin her. If that happens I think Rask will intervene and tackle Yarrow or even stab him in the back with the broken-off spear head. Either way Rask probably saves Hemlocks life. Whatever happens is going to be exciting!

I love the fear and the focus portrayed in Hemlock's eyes here. She's terrified out of her mind but also is determined to eliminate any threats that could harm herself or the others back at the forge.

I hope she comes out of this okay.

Well..., Rask’s father’s about to get run through.

Welp, this isn't ending well

Get him! Poke him! XD

I wonder if Rask is reacting like that in the last panel because he doesn't want Yarrow to get hurt or because he doesn't want Hemlock to get hurt (or maybe both).

Hemlock the Impaler.

Ach, I hope Yarrow doesn't get killed here.

See - I can't help but fall into the "Yarrow's done nothing wrong" camp:

Presumably he's also survived and fled the "cull" Rask alluded to earlier
He's genuinely excited to see his offspring
He wants to treat Rask as an adult (call him by his name)
He wants to support Rask (noticing how thin he is and making a kill specifically for Rask)
Twice he's stopped fighting Rask when Rask's been the aggressor

Gotta feel for Yarrow on this one, coming across his kid and all this going down. Him ending up on the wrong end of a spear thrust, honestly, would be a rougher death in the comic for a character than Sprig's, I think.

In other words - great storytelling here. Looking forwards to the next update!

Same, and I'm sure Rasks life views weren't so different to Yarrows before arriving at the forge.

Not to diminish what Hemlock went through.

By the way, everything about these panels (each and every one of them) is just epic

I kinda love Yarrow's confidence

Yarrow just won't LISTEN will he? Gah so frustrating! XU99

*Can't wait for the next one*

Also hemlock's face with the dilated pupils is haunting

I'd say Yarrow's chances of surviving this are basically nil.

This is going to be an interesting fight for sure.

To be fair even if she gets killed he will be mauled by the others after all that noise

Well, now it's like bobcat)

Wish this updated every Monday like it says it does. Author has been skipping to nearly every 2 weeks for the last few pages. I have yet to see a weekly update. Getting to the point I just gave up and only read when I see the notification in my Submission notices

The entire comic, start to end, is available on Patreon for $5. If it's not worth $5 to you, that's fine, because otherwise only costs you a little patience.
For what it's worth, I genuinely don't like posting on the day of, or the day after, a mass shooting. That's my choice. Other times, I'm just not available during peak hours on Monday, so I'll post on Wednesday, or skip a week.