Phoenix pushes away the half-eaten deer and takes a few steps to the side. He tones down the flames coating his body so they're just as short as his fur.

"Wh-what?"

"Do you need me to repeat myself? Attack me!"

"O-ok." I take half a step forward, but then I hesitate.

"Just so you're aware, I could've killed you a dozen times by now."

"You've got this, Clap!" Wolf says encouragingly.

"Go, Clap!" Dove claps his hands.

"O-ok. Let's s-see." I take a tentative step forward. Phoenix sits down.

"This is the lamest fight ever. I'm beyond bored."

Come on, Clap. You can do this. Just attack Phoenix and see what happens; you're not going to learn anything from sitting around and not trying it. Let's do this!

I leap forward, jumping so I'm going slightly faster than everyone else if they were running. Phoenix snorts, and just before I make it to him he sidesteps, wrapping his paws around me and pinning me to the ground. His fangs brush my neck.

"Dead," he says.

"Cheater," I grumble.

"How was I cheating?"

"I-I don't know."

"You were running straight at me, which is about the worst way to attack since I know exactly what you're going to do. Don't ever do that again." Phoenix lets me get back up and says to try again.

"Take him down, Clap!" Dove smiles when Phoenix shoots him a death glare. "Just teasing, Phoenix. No need to get angry."

"Come on. Are you going to attack now or not?"

"Go easy on her, Phoenix. She hasn't ever fought before," Brook juts in.

"Do you think Guard or Soldiers will go easy on her? 'Cus I sure as hell think not."

"D-don't go easy o-on me. I-I-I need t-to learn one way or a-a-another, right?"

"Yeah. But we don't have all day."

Let's do this, Clap. Let's take Phoenix down. I take a deep breath.

I run straight at Phoenix again, and he sighs. When Phoenix lashes out with a forepaw, I jump, sliding under his paw and clambering onto his back. Phoenix pauses for a split second, and I barely have any time to react before the black cat rolls over, pinning me to the ground as he stands up. His fangs brush my neck again.

"Dead," he says.

"I-I-I'm gonna get you next time!" I growl, shaking the dirt and leaves from my fur.

"Uh, huh," Phoenix replies sarcastically.

"I-I will!" I dig my claws into the ground.

"Yeah, right. You've fought twice and lost both times?"

"Wow, Phoenix. Way to go. You've managed to crush her confidence." Dove peels the bark from a stick as he shakes his head.

"What? I'm being honest. Am I supposed to lie?" Phoenix looks genuinely confused.

"No, don't lie. I think you're a good sparring partner but not the best teacher. How about I see if I can teach Clap some things and then she can try them out with you. Does that work?" Dove stands up and brushes the dirt from his pants.

"Fine," Phoenix says reluctantly after a few moments.

"Wonderful. So, Clap. What do you already know?"

"I-I don't know." I shrug.

"Well, you just saw a battle and sparred with Phoenix a bit. What did you see there?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Did you notice anything in either fight? Perhaps repeated moves or things that worked well or not well? Maybe something stood out to you?"

"Hmm. I-I-I was in the t-tree in the middle of th-the Green Grass Field a-a-and a-a Guard came up th-the tree a-and I-I-I couldn't fight him. Th-that didn't work. Oh! K-Ky summoning th-the Blood Demon worked well, but only h-halfway well. He d-died. Th-that stood out only 'cus he bled out. A-A-Arcane will bring him back, though." Phoenix stiffens and growls lowly when I mention Ky and the Blood Demon.

"So why do you think what you've remembered worked or didn't work?"

"K-Ky died-."

"Ky's not dead! He's in that place between life and death, so don't ever say he's dead again!" Phoenix interrupts me.

"Ky's t-temorarily dead, a-a-and that isn't good."

"Not good?" Phoenix growls. "It isn't 'not good' as you say; it's absolutely horrible! Ky should be alive and standing right here. If it weren't for you guys and we'd never run into Wolf and Dove. If it weren't for Ky having woven that fireball illusion. If we hadn't gone over to Wolf and Dove to see why Wolf hadn't reacted the way we thought she would. If I hadn't fallen into the portal to the Green Grass Field. If we hadn't followed Wolf and Dove when they said they were going to see what was in the portal. So many 'ifs' and Ky would be standing right here."

Phoenix rises to his paws, stalking towards me with a snarl.

"Yeah. Like I-I said before- it's not good."

"Not good is the understatement of the century! Ky dying is the most tragic thing that has happened. And when we get to Arcane, he will bring Ky back. And if he doesn't, I'm going to force him to revive Ky. Then we're going to slaughter KG14's army before I kill him, even if it's the last thing I do."

"Have you ever fought before today, Clap?" Wolf picks at the last few bits of meat from her rabbit.

"N-no. I-I never needed t-to."

"Well, that's gotta change. You're going to be dead weight to us if you can't fight, so you'd better learn quickly. Can't have you dying," Phoenix growls. His flames burst back to life from being just as short as his fur.

"Take that back right now," Brook races forward to stand beside me. "Take. That. Back."

"Make me. I'm right that Clap is just dead weight if she can't fight. She'll be a liability 'cus we'll always have to be looking over her."

I don't say anything as I watch the argument unfold.

Both Brook and Phoenix are seething, and I'm sure their voices could be heard for miles around. Brook doesn't back down as Phoenix's flames spread out in a ring around him.

Wolf juts in, arguing her own point with nearly as much stubbornness and anger.

When Phoenix jumps forward, Brook doesn't budge but I scamper back. She immediately moves to stand over me. Dirt and mud tangles the long fur covering her hooves.

"Guys!" Dove shouts. But no one listens. Well, apart from me.

"Guys!" Dove tries again, this time louder. But his voice still falls on deaf ears; everyone else is too enveloped in the argument.

"GUYS!" All eyes fall on Dove.

"Cut it out!"

"And why should I listen to you?" Phoenix glares at Dove.

"Because we're going to get nowhere bickering with each other! Our end goal is the same; we all want the King to die, don't we?"

"We all want KG14 dead, but I've already called dibs on killing him. This is a fight between me and him, and I'm sure as hell gonna win." Phoenix's face contorts into a snarl.

"King Garonda XIV- and don't you dare interrupt me, Phoenix- has taken something from all of us. We all want him dead equally as much as you. This is a fight between him and all six of us."

"Yeah, right. None of you can want KG14 dead as much as I do."

No one talks much after that. Phoenix settles down beside the deer and continues devouring mouthful after mouthful. After a few minutes of deliberation, the black cat lets Dove take one of the deer's legs and roast it over the fire.

"Are you going to eat any more, Clap?"

"Huh?" I look up.

"I said, are you going to eat any more?" Phoenix repeats.

"Oh, n-no. I-I-I'm full."

"What's with the stuttering?" I shrug in reply.

"Please think very carefully about what you're going to say next," Brook warns.

"What? I was asking a legitimate question." Phoenix glowers at Brook.

"Can you say anything without snarling or glaring?"

"Yeah, I can." Phoenix makes his voice overly nice and pleasant.

"Not sarcastically?" Brook raises an eyebrow. Phoenix opens his mouth to speak, but Dove beats him to it.

"Weren't we just talking about being nice to each other? We're not going to bring Ky back when we find Arcane or kill the King of Ragdon if all we can do with each other is bicker. Please? Can we please be civil with each other?"

"He's not the King. He's no King of mine," Phoenix growls. His eyes light up, burning with fury.

"Yes, I agree. We can't take down King Garonda XIV if we can't get along with each other." Wolf nods in agreement with her brother.

"Didn't we agree to call him Garonda?" Phoenix hisses.

"Sure. Let's refer to the King as Garonda." Dove shrugs.

"Wonderful. Now that that's settled, let's go to bed." Phoenix curls up beside Ky's motionless form.

"Do we need to do anything with the fire?" Dove eyes the crackling blaze warily.

"No. Did you think it was going to burn out of control?" Phoenix lifts his head.

"Well, uh. Kinda."

"Wait, s-so it's not gonna s-s-spread?" I look at it in awe. That's so cool!

"Yeah. It's not going to do anything other than blaze. It's not gonna smoke either since it's magic. Now, I'm going to sleep so don't bother me."

"Come on, Clap. Let's go to bed now. Don't worry; I'll be right here for the entire night." Brook nudges me to lay down.

I circle the ground a few times before settling down and wrapping my tail around me. I focus on making my breaths come and go in slow, even rises and falls of my flanks. When Dreamland finally claims me, I drift off into a restless sleep. I toss and turn, waking up again and again.

xxxx

It's sometime around midnight when I give up on trying to go back to sleep. I lift my head from my paws and take in my surroundings. Brook is fast asleep above me. The forest is nearly silent, save for the chirp of crickets and the occasional rustle of the bushes or hoot of an owl. It's so quiet, it's almost loud. What's that called again? Something silence... My mind becomes so consumed with trying to figure out what the word that's on the tip of my tongue is that I don't notice what's behind me. Oh! Deafening silence. That's it. Deafening silence... I'll have to remember that. It isn't until after a few more moments that I turn around.
Phoenix has wrapped his forelegs around Ky in a sort of hug. He looks as though he could pass for sleeping, except for when his ear twitches or the tip of his tail flicks. He also looks like he's keeping as still as possible.

Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying The King's Remorse! Please vote and comment! 

Why is Phoenix trying to stay as still as possible?

Why does Phoenix think that no one can want King Garonda XIV dead as much as he does?

Will the group be able to make it to Arcane, provided he is still alive? Or will they keep arguing and bickering so much that things fall apart and they each head their own way?

-Werewolf14-