The War for Eventyr

10 | Peace for All

After a couple turns and narrow passes she had to crawl through on her belly, Skadi finally reached Kleng's den.

It was a mess. Lemming bones lay scattered across the floor, and the bedding dragged in was tattered and strewn about. The air smelled strongly of urine, but Skadi wasn't sure why he'd mark the burrow as his own when she could hardly bear to stand in it, much less live here.

He didn't have a vixen to nag his ear off, so why keep it clean? Or at least, that's what Njall would say. Skadi swallowed the lump in her throat as she remembered that she'd never get the chance to share a den with him. To share a life with him.

Kleng turned at the sound of her footfall. His jowls were curled in a scowl. He bore his teeth, and her hackles raised in defense.

"I know what you did, Skadi."

She returned his growl with exposed fangs, holding her ground.

He began a slow circle around her. She followed him with her gaze, a sharp pain biting into her neck as she craned her muzzle to keep him in sight. He prowled along her blind side––while her body stayed low and her muscles tensed. Skadi wasn't yet sure if the hostility was more than empty words.

"You truly are ignorant." Saliva flew from between his jaws as he spoke. A slow shake of his head followed.

Skadi scowled at him. "I am. I have no clue what you speak of."

A snort left his muzzle––short and abrupt. "Really?" he asked. "You must take me as a fool, dear sister. Or perhaps it's beyond your comprehension that I might have eyes. And ears. Everywhere."

Skadi grew impatient with his jabs. She lunged toward Kleng in a forceful show of speed, expecting him to fall back or duck away in fear. Instead, her paws landed right before his own, her nose nearly collided with his, and Kleng never flinched.

"I wonder if the rumor is true." The words were flat and forced out between gritted teeth. Skadi felt his warm breath on her cheek. A chill crawled down her spine as she stared into his yellow eyes, sharp like icicles glinting in the sun.

She didn't speak. She didn't breathe. Though the spike in her pulse was surely audible, the thud was much louder than that of a lemming far underground.

Kleng laughed. "I wonder what Mor will think."

A gasp escaped her lips. She cursed herself for being so weak.

"You're becoming soft, Skadi." He picked up his pacing once more, treading the filthy ground in front of her as he cast the words like sharp stones. "That was our chance to gain the upper paw. We could've used that Leafborn." His voice trilled––as malicious as it was amused. "Imagine the secrets we could've scraped from its tiny brain."

Skadi swallowed. As much as she hated to imagine the brown fox beneath Kleng's claws, her brows creased at the thought of the queen's. Her muzzle stung when she remembered the last time she'd disappointed her mother, when her mistake was enough to gain another jagged scar on the outside. Her heart still bled within. "He didn't know anything," she pleaded in a whisper. "He was too young."

"Youth is all the easier to break."

"I couldn't hurt him!" Skadi's voice raised to a shout, even though she knew that arguing with Kleng would lead to nothing. She'd have more success speaking to a glacier. "Enough foxes die in this war already."

Kleng tsked, a smirk curling on his lips. "And yet, I don't think you've ever killed one. Not yet at least."

She met his eyes with a fierce gaze. A question gurgled in her throat, spilling out as he shushed her again.

"You've actually given me a great idea. Since you're such a hero, I've got just the noble quest," he chimed. "You spared the young fox's life, so now he owes you."

Her heart fluttered. She shifted her weight onto her haunches, backing a couple steps as she shook her head. He couldn't be serious.

Kleng nodded, lifting his lips to flash her with a toothy grin. "And when you run to the Leaf Skulk claiming that your cruel brother chased you out––that you have nowhere else to go––he'll have no choice but to offer you a place to stay."

"And then what?" Skadi's head sank in a fake show of dismay. Her chest heaved slow and heavy breaths to hide her excitement at the prospect of getting out. Even if it were only temporary––even if she knew it wouldn't be without a price.

"You'll bring me something. Anything and everything," he snarled. "We're going to take them down from the inside. All thanks to our spy."

She raised her voice in objection. That was too conniving. There was no honor to that kind of fight. "I can't do that––" She fumbled for reasons, for a desperate excuse that Kleng might understand. "I'll get caught. Killed. What act of goodwill would it be to send a spy into their ranks? Then they'll never accept a treaty."

He cocked his head. "You won't be caught, not unless you want to be. You're the best liar I know." His voice softened, cooing with feigned flattery. "Just pretend the little fox is your new boyfriend. Your new Njall. Then certainly you can keep a secret." Kleng's smile tore into her heart, as sharp as his fangs.

Skadi bit her tongue until it bled, hoping that a new source of pain could keep his hazy image from her mind.

"Besides? What do you think war is?" He laughed, scorn souring each hearty chuckle. "All peace and rainbows? Perhaps you do need to set foot on a battlefield sometime, and now is that chance. Why agree to a treaty when we can force them to do our will––or give them a chance to say no, when we can just kill any fox who won't help us? There will be peace for us all when we unite to murder every Flameborn, just like they murder us."

"No," she said flatly. She wouldn't be responsible for the deaths of innocents. She was guilty of enough already. "I won't do it."

"But you will." He took a step closer, placing his muzzle in her face. "Or I'll tell the queen. Then you'll have no choice but to leave with your tail between your legs. If the Leafborn take you in, and you don't return, we'll mount our attack without warning. More innocent foxes will die, and so will you."