Once again a queen, Winter has a budding army and plenty to offer them to keep them loyal. Besides expanding her territory, she is using her forces to chase specific creatures for reasons nobody knows. None of them seem to be connected.
The changes...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Loki stayed beneath the water long after he knew he was safe. Long after Naja's pursuing silhouette was left behind, and after his own breath ran out, because breathing didn't seem so important any more. He stayed until a sharp pain in his chest and his slowly spinning vision reminded him that he was alive even if Whipper was not, and that Whipper had wanted it to stay that way.
Reaching the surface, Loki gasped for air. Then he let himself drift. It was strange, to be able to travel so far without having to swim. The river just kept flowing and flowing. Did it ever end? Or was there only one way out of this place—the way Whipper had taken?
'I can go home now' crossed Loki's mind on the third or fourth day, and he crawled out of the river and threw up until he couldn't breathe. Then he crawled under a bush and sobbed. The last of the Foresters was finally gone, and all he wanted was to have him back again.
It took the realization—again—that Whipper had wanted him to live to get Loki up again. The river was still there and his stomach was caving in, so he sat on the bank and glared at fish for a while before letting his reflexes catch a few. They tasted like dust. When he couldn't stomach any more, he got up and started walking. His leg was fine again.
"There, right by the stream. See him?"
Loki stopped. Three creatures, four tail-lengths away, Coppertail size. "Who's there?"
One creature stepped out onto the riverbank. Loki caught his smell and could not remember the last time he had felt hatred burn so deep.
"Hey, what's with that face?" said the alpha Coppertail-creature. "I've never hurt you or anything."
"What do you want."
Vyen sounded like he was debating making another friendly statement, but he reconsidered. "I'm here to make you a deal," he said. "You're strong, and I know you were smart enough to dupe that black-fur into thinking you were his friend. I'll call Naja off your tail if you join me. What do you say?"
"Get lost before I kick your skull in."
"You don't fancy being a ruler of Shelha?"
In a heartbeat, Vyen was flat on his back. "You're weak," said Loki. "Fight me, or you won't last a day in Shelha."
"I will with you on my side."
"And what makes you think I'd be any use to you up there?"
"You're not one of the stronger creatures in Shelha?"
