Premier-General Abakwa looked through his reports. Whatever it was, it roag them. He started writing a report to the Epan govers, to the UNN, to Guguo.

  At the end, he almost fot, he scrawled a quick letter to Olympiada. It was worth a shot.

  It was Hell from when it began. There was no gradual increase of pressure, the moment Kavaa stepped into the Jungle behind Fer and Kassandora, it started to flood onto them. Branches swung like swords, trees became massive clubs, vines became vipers, even the leaves became tiny razor-sharp rain that pelted at them from above.

  Kavaa watched Fer and Kassandora plough through the Jungle. Kavaa only had to swing her sword every now and then to cut vihat were attempting to snag at her legs. They moved quickly, too quickly for mortals, but none of them were mortals here.

  The moon shone overhead, Kavaa would catch sight of the starry sky every few minutes whehey came a less dech of Juhe dark blues were fading intes, daproag. It didn’t matter much to the three ihe opy above them blocked most of the light. Kassandora suddenly stopped, turned and unched her greatsword spinning past Kavaa’s head. The Goddess of Health jumped and twisted to watch a massive pnt, with maw spilling with acid colpse behind her. “Watch your step.” Kassandora said and then grunted.

  The Goddess of War looked down to a vihat had ed under her armour. Joyeuse reappeared in her hands, she twisted and smmed the bde down onto the ground. Her armour fshed, it disappeared for a sed, Kassandora ripped the vi of her stomach, threw it away and her gaus started to rematerialize.

  Kavaa managed half a step, magic already ready to heal Kassandora when the woman gruhree wooden roots stabbed through her chest. Of War swung her greatswain, split them and jumped backwards. She through the spines away, ripped them right out of herself leaving gaping holes and Kavaa’s feet. “Healing, now.” Kassandora said through a grunt. Her armour finished reappearing apart from her back. Kassandrit her teeth as Kavaa started to heal her, still swingio protect the two of them. “Dodge left, from above.” Kassandora said through the pain as Kavaa looked up.

  A tree was ing down on them. Its razor-leaves whistled through the air as the wood came down. Kavaa grabbed Kassandora and pulled her left. The tree above moved just as swiftly, something that rge should not be able to move so fast. It whipped through the air, ging trajectory immediately, branches shooting out straight at Kavaa and Kassandora. The Goddess of Health raised her shield, ducked, and tried to cover the woman on the ground as Kassandora threw her bde into the air.

  Fer came in like a onball, Of Beasthood was nothing but a blur. The tree above them exploded into wooden shards as Fer let out a bestial roar. She smmed into and through the , and the , grabbed into the ground, dug her feet in, and unched herself towards the two as more vines grew out of the ground. Kavaa watched Fer effortlessly cw through the ground and roots and vines around them. She drew a circle. Grabbed the two, then jumped forwards.

  Kavaa grunted as Fer threw them, then grunted when she smmed into the ground. She closed her eyes, bit her tongue and still let out a scream as her magic healed her brokehen she id her hands on Kassandora’s back, the Goddess of War was already on her feet as she raised her bde and turned backwards. Of War grit her teeth, her knees shook, but her wounds closed, muscle and bone and an regrew in its pce. Kavaa threw the blood of herself as Fer caught up to them.

  “That’s the skin done.” Fer ented. She pulled a teen off Kavaa and drank Helenna’s blood without wasting a drop. Kavaa watched, awestruck. Her body was covered in matted fur that was drenched in blood, but the woman had no wounds on her. Fer stopped, her ears quivered, her hair sat up and she looked down at her leg. “Spiky.” She said to herself and then leaned down to pull out a spine as long as Kavaa’s arm was thick from her thigh. She gave it a look, then flicked it away. Kavaa blihen sed her with magic. The wound had already closed, the muscles had regrown. If there was no blood, there would have been no sign of damage. Fer gave the air a sniff, looked around and pointed. “Iniri’s trail is that way.” She turned back to Kavaa and Kassandora. “ you two manage?”

  “We .” Kassandora said as Kavaa nodded. Her own sword was barely a toothpipared to Kassandora’s, and Kassandora was a toothpipared to Fer. The Goddess of Beasthood towered over the two of them.

  “It’s more dangerous now.” Fer said as she set off at a brisk pace. Kavaa had to jog every few steps to keep up, she stayed close to the two of them, jumping at every and any sound from the Jungle, no matter whether it was the wind or some branapping in the distance.

  “Seems safer.” Kassandora ented. Her sword disappeared, but her armour stayed on. She looked back to Kavaa. “That was good work Kavaa.”

  “Thank you.” Kavaa said as she stumbled on another branch.

  “Those men described it as the skin, didn’t they?” Fer said as she kept on walking. Thick bushes y ahead of them. Fer stopped, look back to the two smaller Goddesses, then turned and puhe nearby tree. It colpsed slowly, and then fell on the bushes. “Don’t touch these, they’re poison.” Fer said.

  “How do you know?” Kavaa sed them with magic. They were indeed poison, but she hadn’t felt Fer use any of her own energy.

  “I smell it.” Fer replied as she jumped onto the massive log and the walking. Kassandora jumped up, and then gave Kavaa a hand to lift her up. “So Kavaa, you’re a doctor?”

  “I am.” Kavaa said as the two caught up to of Beasthood. The bushes around them spread out into the darkness of the Juhey even tinued further than the massive tree had fallen.

  “Wait here.” Fer said. She jumped. Just like that, simply jumped, and smashed into one of the nearby wooden trunks. It colpsed o them. “ you make that?” Fer shouted from the distance. Kavaa looked to Kassandora as they both looked down into the poison brambles around them.

  “I .” Kassandora said. Her armour disappeared.

  “I ’t.” Kavaa said the words a her pale blonde hair be swayed by wind. Fer picked her up.

  “You too Kassie.” She said just before Kassandora set off. “Keep your armour on, if you ’t make a jump, then call.” The world briefly became a blur, and then it stopped just as suddenly. Fer dropped Kavaa onto the fallen tree as Of Health colpsed to her knees. Kassandora picked herself up and her armour reappeared. Fer bent down to Kavaa. “Are you alright?”

  “That was too fast for me.” Kavaa mumbled as she healed herself again. It was two ribs this time, she wao roll over and cry. “I…. AHHH!” Kavaa screamed as her own magic healed her. Rib liced with rib, born reformed, and she lost sciousness.

  Kavaa awoke to Fer and Kassandora kneeling down besides her. Fer merely stared curiously at her, Kassandora was holding onto her hand, those big red eyes of hers shining. “How long was I out?”

  “Half a minute.” Kassandora replied with a sigh. Kavaa got to her feet as she felt her hand. Was Kassandora really worried about her? She didn’t know what to do with that image of Kassandora’s eyes in her mind. It couldn’t… Kassandora was the Goddess of War… Fer set off again, strolling down the massive piece of fallen wood.

  “Are we going the right way?” Kassandora asked.

  “We are.” Fer answered as the two caught up to her. “These pnts are fresh. Six, maybe seven hours they’ve been here.” She looked around again as they kept walking. “So, Kavaa, as I was saying, you’re a doctor, aren’t you?” Kavaa gave a questioning look to Kassandora, how could the woman be in a chatty mood now? Kassandora merely shook her head.

  “I am.” Kavaa replied.

  “Mmh.” Fer answered. “I’ve met doctors before, you know?” They came to the edge of the tree again and Fer she air. “What hurts less? Being carried or being thrown?” Kavaa took a moment to reply.

  “Thrown?” Kavaa answered. Fer grabbed Kavaa’s stomad threw her underarm as if she was a ball. Kavaa flew the air, spinning, she saw Kassandora being unched behind her in the same gentle manner, on her spin, she saw Fer disappear as the wood cracked underh her. Kavaa closed her eyes, curled up into a ball, and wished for this to end already.

  She nded into something soft. Kavaa opened her eyes to Fer’s face smiling down at her, those cat’s eyes then looked away, Kavaa was dropped onto the ground, and Fer caught her sister. “That was easier, wasn’t it?” Fer ughed and scratched her head. She turo point again. “Iniri’s trail is that way.”

  “The’s set off.” Kassandora said. Fer harrumphed and began her brisk pace, giving the air a sniff. Kavaa saw the fur on her arms standing at attention.

  “So as I was saying, I met this doctor once, he tried to walk into my nds.” Fer began as if reminisg a good memory. “He tried to expin the human body to me I remember.” Kavaa did not want to know what happeo that doctor. She kept silence as she walked through the vines on the grass. It really was easier here, now that they were past what the Arikans referred to as skin. Fer rounded a tree and tinued. “So, he tried to expin it to me, I’ll be ho, I didn’t really uand it.”

  “It’s not easy.” Kavaa felt she had to say something, but she picked her words carefully. Fer famously had a bad temper in the Great War. She looked at that mountain with its mane of gold walking ahead of her. It was hard to imagine a bad temper on that.

  “It wasn’t.” Fer agreed. “But I remember, he talked about the skin being like fur, and then inside, you have wolves running around you that hunt everything down.”

  “You mean white blood cells?” Kavaa asked.

  “Don’t bother expining, she’ll fet anyway.” Kassandora whispered from the side.

  “Very funny little sister.” Fer said. “Don’t be rude now, but to tinue Kavaa, I think so, I don’t really remember.” Fer stopped, her ears rose, they greointed and turned indepely. “Something about an immune system.”

  “Yes.” Kavaa said.

  “Yes, posed of tiny little wolves that eat everything.”

  “What does this have to do with anything?” Kassandora asked.

  “Well, don’t be scared now, but wouldn’t that make us illnesses here?” Fer said. She pulled out another teen and quickly drow.

  “I think the word you’re looking for is bacteria.” Kavaa said gently.

  “Well, I think there’s tiny little wolves chasing us.” Fer pointed forwards. “Iniri is that way, but it knows we’re i.” Fer took a step forwards as Kavaa came to a stop.

  The Jungle began to speak.