"Speak … humans!" Esu growled, his tone heavy with irritation, his patience wearing thin. When he asked, he expected an answer.

  "L-Look, we just came here to spend the night," the shadow-thieving human male spewed, now able to do so, as the moss shoots wrapping him and the female backed away from their mouths so they could talk. "It was them - they started it! They fought in your forest, set it ablaze - we only defended ourselves, Lord of the Forest.”

  As I expected, the mother mossbears let out a string of grunts, all of them disapproving.

  "Call him Esu!" I snapped through the human tool, my words aimed at my potential mate. "Esu is Esu. He... he has earned that name." Or so I gathered. It wasn’t just some fancy he had taken to, unlike the human title slapped on him.

  "Good to know," Deckard said back, his praise sparking a warmth in my chest. "I mean it. I don't remember the Imperial Beast Talkers mentioning this - but it's been more than a few years, and I was more or less just muscles back then."

  "Speak the truth, Deckard. No falsehoods."

  ‘Falsehood? Seriously, Korra? Who talks like that?’ The answer was simple; beasts.

  "Got it, girl."

  "Esu," Deckard spoke as the growling subsided, drawing the immediate attention of all the mossbears. "I came to save the girl. Those two and seven over there took her." Not a word about the young man who had worked for the fat little rat - now likely dead. Was it a slip? Hardly. The male, however, was admittedly unimportant.

  "Cub … indeed … weak."

  "Yes. Yes, she is."

  "Needs to … grow … stronger."

  "I can help her with that. That’s why I came - to help her grow." Startlingly, not a lie. He really did mean it.

  ?Human is telling the truth.?

  ?He could teach her the human ways.?

  ?This one interesting. Strong - for a human.?

  It was hard not to marvel at how my potential mate got the mothers’ approval so easily. A few words, and they were all nodding along. Sure, my advice had a lot to do with it, but still...

  "Interesting... indeed."

  "No, no, no. No, it was them! They torched your forest and slaughtered your young!" bellowed the shadow-thieving male, his gaze darting to Deckard and back to the beasts. If looks could stab, he would already have done the deed. "Say it, Rhea! Tell 'em!"

  "Speak ... human ... female. The… truth." Esu grunted as she cleverly remained mute to the urgings of her packmate.

  "I followed my leader. I did no harm to your forest or to any mossbears." Her words rang steady, no waver to betray a lie. Much as I hated it, she was telling the truth. Thinking back, her blade truly never touched a mossbear, and she only did as her packleader commanded.

  But the female wasn’t done. Her eyes slid over to my pack, cold and cutting.

  "The man lying there set fire to your forest and killed one of your own. So did that boy."

  'Bitch!' The curse bit out before I could stop it, beasts adding its spin to it as the growl rolled low in my throat. ?Vixen!?

  My body tensed as she threw a smirk in my direction. 'Did she understand me? Nonsense.' I was just stupid to growl out loud.

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  "I … see. Human … male … smells of … flame … and … ash," Esu spoke, his eyes sliding from the fire-wielder to the young workhand, Tate, bowing low beside my packmates, his forehead pressed to the dirt. "Speak … human. You ... killed … one of ... mine?"

  My packmates quivered under Esu's gaze, their fear for everyone to see, yet the boy stayed still. Impressive. He had more grit than I gave him credit for.

  "Oi, boy. He’s talking to you," my potential mate snapped. The young male turned to look at him, blinking like a startled prey. "Me, Mr. Deckard, sir? You mean me?"

  "Who else? Yes, you. Esu is talking to you. So…"

  Not strong, this one. Dim-witted, unaware of Esu's gaze. Blind to what it meant. In some ways, enviable.

  "Him? Oh I…sir… Esu, sir. I… w-what were you asking?"

  The nerve. Yet the anger that fell heavily on the clearing was not Esu's; it came from the mothers. The Lord of these woods patiently repeated his question. "Did ... you … kill … one of … mine … human?"

  Blank confusion again. "K-Killed who? Mr. Deckard, sir - I don’t understand."

  "That mossbear, boy."

  At that, his eyes lit up. He sat straighter, meeting the Lord of the Forest with a puffed chest. "Yes, sir Esu. I slew the beast alone. No one aided me."

  Even in beast form, I wanted to groan and smack my forehead. Was it too much to ask for him to show a little less excitement? Did he even grasp who he was facing or the danger breathing down his neck? Apparently not.

  "Dull ... mind. Brave ... heart," Esu rumbled, switching to the beast talk. ?How ... well ... the human … fought??

  The mothers didn’t hold back their disappointment in the human male’s skills. Still, they were honest, recounting the fight in detail, and Esu listened closely.

  "You ... were ... challenged ... and ... won," the Lord of these woods grumbled, nodding his head to the pile of moss that used to be the mossbear the young human male had slain. "She ... now ... returned to … forest. You are ... free .... to leave."

  Esu's words didn't only take my breath away. 'The workhand... free to leave? Just like that? What the bloody hell was going on?' Those thoughts ran through everyone’s mind, including mine - well, everyone’s but the workhand, who stood there looking as confused as ever. Damn annoying. It was like he had all the luck in the world, while I had to claw for every bit of it. How was that fair?

  "M-Mr. Deckard, sir?"

  "Didn't you hear him? You're free to leave. Go!"

  The young human blinked, glancing towards the edge of the clearing, where the path to the human nesting place wound. “B-But sir…”

  "What? Him? Just 'cause he killed one of those b..." the shadow-thieving male snapped, stopping himself from saying something he’d regret. "I want to be challenged too."

  "And ... you … will. By ... those ... who are… eager ... to challenge."

  A cold shudder ran through me. "Deckard! Esu means the adult mossbears."

  "Felt a bit too easy," he said, giving me a smile.

  "I wanna fight. Now. Get these fucking lianas off us and let’s finish this already," the shadow-thieving human male growled, seemingly oblivious to the growing anger of mothers. "Ain't that right, Rhea? Rhea?!"

  "Only if we must," the female poised a little more level-headed, though the moss shoots wrapped around her were as thick as a man’s arm. "I mean. I don't mean to trespass your forest any longer than necessary."

  "What? Are you serious, Rhea?! Do you think that..."

  "Trespassed ... unchallenged ... and ... challenged ... none ... of my ... pack. Free ... to pass."

  "You’ve gotta be joking. Look, I didn’t challenge anyone either."

  The shadow-thieving male wasn't the only one taken aback by Esu's decision. Not only did it stir the mothers’ wrath, but the thought of her running around somewhere sent shivers down my spine.

  "No. No, no, no. Deckard, you have to stop her."

  "How? I'd hate to piss off Esu, you know."

  "Just... just tell him about the thought fuddler."

  "Who?"

  'Damn it!' The proper human word for that bitch seems to have left my mind. Right, Mind!

  "Mind mage! That the two of them worked for a mind mage."

  "Why don't you tell him that? I mean, he might take it a little more seriously from some like you, than…"

  Stupid. I was so stupid. He was right. Still, I couldn’t shake the hesitation, wondering why none of the mothers had spoken of the mind mages. 'Did I miss something?’ I thought they were outraged by that bitch fuddling with the minds of their young? However, not having much time to think about it, I gathered my courage and told him.

  ?Thought… fuddler!?? Esu’s roar rattled me so hard, I collapsed back down, my bones trembling. ?Yes ... their … thoughts ... are … indeed … fuddled.? His words weren’t aimed at the two tangled in the moss shoots, but the Shadowbrakers pack standing off to the side, silent as shadows. His gaze brushed over them for a moment, then snapped back to the pair. The mothers’ glares, however, were locked on me - clearly displeased I had told him about the mind mage at all.

  "You ... in pack ... with ... thought … fuddler?!"