"Oh no." Janette whispered as her trees began to ignite one by one, lighting up the darkness like candle lights in the abyss. It's fiery bright glow burning bright with yellow desire, catching on from tree to tree, scorching her apples into ash. She could only stare from inside, stunned at the realization of what had occurred.

  "Barricade the doors!" Felix demanded, shoving the backrest of the dining room chair against the door handles. Dimyri stood by the dining table, passing the chairs over to Syri, who in turn passed them to Felix. He continued stacking them behind the front doors, keeping six chairs to hold the doors shut. He turned around, catching his friend as she watched the fire coming closer and closer. Some of the tree branches snapped and fell to the grass below, spreading the fmes. Her mares whined loudly and stood up by their hind legs, kicking the air. They twisted and turned, pacing around the fence in a panic.

  "Janette, we need to go!" He shouted, spotting KuliKuli sprinting down the hallway. He looked back to see Janette frozen in pce. Her lips pressed together to surpress a whimper, feeling a cold sweat trickle down. Her eyes reflected the yellow glow outside of her house, making its way to consume each and every tree, surrounding them in the process. Her friends were shouting, reaching for an escape, a way out. While all she could see was her family's life burn away.

  "Janette!"

  "Wh-Wha, huh?" She blinked, panting as if she were out of breath.

  "JANETTE!" Syri's voice echoed loudly in her ears, yanking her aside by her arm.

  Fwyiii!

  A bolt had pierced through the gss, impaled against the wall. Janette turned to face Syri as she tugged at her arm.

  "Please, we need to go now!"

  "M-My house." She mumbled, lips quivering as the feeling of dread weighed on her shoulders enough to pin her down.

  KuliKuli wasted no time retreating toward the backdoor, throwing her weight to barge it open. She stumbled on her feet, gasping and turning around in time to feel a bolt graze her right forearm. She scurried back inside, hiding against the wall as a flurry of bolts zoomed through the doorway. Her mother came down the hall only for her to raise her paw, shaking her head. "D-Don't!"

  She flinched, tensing up as another handful of bolts shot inside. The open door kept her separated from joining her mom, and their ears picked up on the men outside arming their crossbows. Emyri breathed in deep and ran through, snagging her daughter by the wrist and using her body to shield her from the exposed outdoors. The pair managed to crash back into safety, but not without Emyri wincing in pain.

  "M-Mom!" She crawled in to inspect the cut on her mother's side.

  "Just a graze, are you hurt?" She asked, sitting up and scanning her up and down with urgency.

  "I'm fine, aren't you hurt?"

  "Nevermind that!" She dismissed her concerns, pushing her back through the hall to join with the others.

  Dimyri gnced over the window frame, her eyes widening as she spotted a herd of soldiers stacking hay along the left side of the mansion before setting it abze. They would fan the fmes to spread it around. She snapped her head around at the sound of gss breaking in the opposite rooms. When Janette searched inside for the cause, she shrieked at the sight of a fire set in the guest room. Syri swooped in and held her arms, pushing her away.

  Felix rejoined with KuliKuli, holding her paws. "Did you check the back?"

  She shook her head furiously, "They have us surrounded, too many for me to count. All armed and ready to shoot."

  Janette was escorted back to the dining room with the rest of the group, only for another projectile to crash through the gss of the front doors. This was no bolt, it was a fire arrow, and it was soon joined by many more aimed for each window.

  "GET DOWN!" Felix called out, throwing himself to the ground.

  "AAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Someone screamed out, he couldn't tell whom as he hoped the others were unharmed. After the fire arrows shot through, there was a moment of silence until the crackle of ash and the growing warmth began to join them. Janette stood on her knees, her eyes fixated on the portrait of her parents. An arrow struck into the bottom frame, and it took several seconds until the fmes licked away the smiles they had.

  Emyri looked around, searching the ground and table frantically. "Where's Tootsie?"

  "I have her here!" Na'Vi cried out, opening her paws to reveal a curled-up Pixie holding her legs and looking around.

  KuliKuli rolled over and held Felix by his arm. "The room is catching fire, we need to leave!"

  "Where? They have us trapped!" Syri panted, staying close to Janette.

  "Anywhere but here!" Felix answered for her. KuliKuli led them through the kitchen and dining room, toward the front door where the stairway sat. He stayed by the door, ensuring no one was left behind. "C'mon, hurry!"

  Syri coughed, cupping her mouth. Dimyri squinted, rubbing her eyes and feeling a burning sensation on them. The fire had grown indoors, with smoke beginning to cloud the building with its dense gray fog.

  "The windows!" Dimyri rushed to the opposite end down the left side of the mansion, hoping to discover another exit. "This way!"

  She hurried toward the nearest window, pushing it open and filling her lungs with clear air. The moment of relief was short-lived as she was met with a handful of men with green bottles in hand. One of them popped the cork open and took a swig, gulping down greedily. He sighed, wiping the red liquid from his chin before hurling it through the window.

  Dimyri jumped back, watching the bottle spsh at her feet and make a mess. She gasped and realized its purpose as another bottle joined in, catching some of her arm in the spsh. The growing puddle of alcohol expanded until the borders made contact with the fire, bursting into a scorching explosion sending Dimyri through the door and against the hallway wall.

  When she opened her eyes, she jolted upright at the sight and quickly padded down her arm. Some of the bze stuck to her fur, and it made for a frightening sight when the others joined her. Syri and Na'Vi fell to their knees, rapidly spping her arm to put the fire out, their voices intermingled into a nonsensical jiberish of panicked woes. Emyri pushed them away, gring at Felix. He nodded and slipped his tunic off when she snatched it away and wrapped it around her daughters' arm. She hung her head and exhaled loudly, silently pleading before removing the cloth and revealing the singed fur.

  Dimyri's arm was left slightly burnt, but she couldn't feel the pain. Whether it was from the adrenaline of the house being on fire didn't matter, she flexed her paw and nodded, approving that her arm was fine.

  Syri coughed loudly, folding over to her knees. The smoke had expanded and grown dense enough that a deep breath was met with a burning sensation in their chest. Janette tore a strip from her dress and covered Syri's mouth. Na'Vi felt her paws quake with tiny fits of delirious coughing and wheezing. She gasped and unveiled a sickly Tootsie, fallen over clutching her stomach.

  "Can't-" She wheezed, her face turning red as she hacked and coughed loudly.

  Felix ran his hands through his hair, turning from side to side. The back door was covered by archers, and the sides were engulfed in fme. KuliKuli searched him for answers, but he was just as clueless as she was.

  KuliKuli cleared her throat, feeling the smoke disrupt her breathing as well. "Upstairs, we should run upstairs!"

  "Up?" He looked bewildered but wanted to hear her suggestion.

  "Less smoke upstairs!"

  "No!" Janette coughed, rubbing her throat. She shook her head, gasping for air and pointing down the hallway. "Inside!"

  "You want us to stay inside?" Syri grabbed her arm, breathing into the cloth to filter against the smoke. She passed it to Janette. "If we stay, we'll burn!"

  "Trust me! Door-!" Janette broke into a coughing fit, feeling Emyri hold her arm to keep her from falling. "Hidden door! Celr!"

  "The Celr?"

  Janette nodded, "Follow me!"

  The group turned around with Janette leading the way. She limped and slid along the walls, occasionally sharing the rag with Syri at her side. They passed by a rge window, exposing themselves briefly to the men outside.

  Perdilius frowned, drumming his fingers against the cover of the book tucked under his arm.

  "They appear to be retreating further inside, father." Raz observed, peering through with a looking gss in hand.

  "I see." He raised his hand, twisting his wrist and drawing a spiral in the air. His men understood the sign, some of them adjusting the straps on their armor while their comrades passed them axes and spears from the cart stock. Their horses huffed, shaking their heads nervously by the sight. The whole field burned brightly combating the midnight darkness, leaving a trail of shadows marching through the path between.

  Raz bit his lip, feeling uneasy about his father's decision. But Perdilious remained steady, his gaze focused on the mansion ahead. The cat girls sat frozen in an upright position with their backs to him, unnatural steady in their posture like statues waiting for his next order. The priest pondered on the idea of sending them off but thought otherwise, believing they would suit him better should something go awry.

  Leone held his hand to his weapon, pacing off the side to scope the building from afar. His palms felt cmmy with sweat as he exhaled, licking his lips as he was unable to pry his eyes away from the mansion. "Please." He pleaded in a soft whisper.

  Janette had led them toward the middle room of the building where the firepce sat with a portrait of her family hung on top. At the center stood a modest wooden table with a potted flower, sat neatly to hold the carpet in pce. Janette pointed at the table, catching her breath. KuliKuli kicked it aside and pulled the carpet away, exposing the hidden hatch.

  SMASH!

  The girls jumped up when a rge crash echoed down the hall, seemingly from the front entrance. A group of armored men rammed through the entrance, dropping the structure between them as they retrieved their weapons in hand.

  "They're inside!" Dimyri cried out, "Hurry!"

  Janette crumbled to her knees, padding around her sides with a look of shock. "The satchel! The book is in the satchel upstairs!"

  "Felix!" Na'Vi passed Tootsie over to Syri, thrusting her arms down to reveal her cws. "Can you fight?"

  "What? What about the satchel?"

  Dimyri stood upright. "I'll get the satchel."

  "No no!" Her mother intervened, "You go with your sister. Take Janette and Tootsie, we'll meet you there."

  "I can't just leave you here, I can fight-"

  "I know you can! I don't need you to fight, I need you to survive!" She scolded her, raising her voice.

  Felix turned his attention to KuliKuli. "Go with them."

  "No."

  "You have to, it's you he wants. You and your sisters. I'll protect you, don't worry."

  "Felix, we're in this together!"

  "I know! Just do this for me please! I'll be there in a moment, just go!" He demanded. Reluctant, she nodded in silence.

  "Over there!" Someone shouted, the sound of heavy footsteps fast approaching.

  Dimyri seemed ready to argue with her mother when Emyri interrupted.

  "Don't argue now, go to them. Keep them safe. MiMi and VeeVee are here, that means the clutter might still be alive."

  "But they're not themselves." Dimyri reminded her.

  "Exactly. I need you to protect them, be their guardian. Go! And stay safe." Emyri kissed Dimyri's forehead, pushing her away. "I'll be there; we will be there. I promise."

  Dimyri swallowed, silently gncing between her, Felix, and Na'Vi. Janette pried open the hatch, revealing a set of stairs that descending deep into hollow darkness. Syri moved in first with Tootsie, followed by Janette. KuliKuli went in next, but when it was Dimyri's turn, she froze.

  "Go!" Emyri ordered, much to Dimyri's shock. Frightened, she moved in and hugged her mother before hurrying down the stairs.

  Wasting no time, Emyri kicked the hatch shut and spun around.

  "They're here." Felix warned them, catching sight of their silhouettes around the corner.