144 Interlude (123a)

Shiro Colins had his paws full.

Tonight was the night of the Tournament, and there was a throng of Travelers and Comrades going up the mountain. Right now, most of the Skycrown Wilds were all intently watching the battles to decide the next Mountain Prince. It was the perfect night for Snowy's latest and most desperate plan yet. They loped together now, whiskers in the wind, tails outstretched behind them for balance as they sped over the deep snows of the far south.

But there was trouble.

First, there was a blur of white on the left. Then a tumble of snow on the right. Shiro and Snowy were at the very foot of Skycrown Mountain when they paused. They exchanged knowing glances and cautiously turned to face these oncomers back to back. They did not wait long.

The oncomers revealed themselves out of courtesy and confidence, if nothing else. They slipped in out of the snow on every side, four on Shiro's, four on Snowy's. White wolfcats, all of them there to stop Snowy's Plan.

"Yip." Shiro greeted them, eyes narrowed. [So, it's you guys.]

"Grr." Came the reply from two throats. The third tail from his left wagged a bit. The fourth in front of him narrowed eyes right back.

One of the wolfcats on Snowy's side lifted a muzzle and howled for reinforcements. As if having the two of them surrounded and outnumbered eight-to-two wasn't enough.

[You cowards. You don't even dare bite us without Cragwatcher to babysit you!] Snowy snarled.

They did not deny it, but they were not baited into fighting her either. They knew something of her power, and something of Shiro's. They were seasoned fighters, wary and wise, patient hunters, and they would not charge in for glory when there was certainty of absolute victory less than a hundred lopes away.

Shiro's ear twitched as he backed into Snowy meaningfully. [You must go. I will hold them as long as I can.]

[Don't. Just… don't. Not even you can take on all sixteen tails at the same time.]

[I'll be fine. I'll meet you back at base after I respawn.]

[You're planning to die for me?! I won't have it!]

[Why not?]

[NO.]

Shiro whuffed a sigh. [Then we break through together. Race them up the mountain.]

[Agreed.] Snowy struck on the spot.

Shiro snarled loudly and lunged forward, causing his four opponents to back away instinctively. They raised barriers; snow shields, ice sheathes, even a wind barrier… but nothing came at them. No teeth, no claws, no tail or sonic power.

Instead, Shiro spun round and fired a chain of Hypersonic bolts into Snowy's four just as she pulled a Sonic Charge on the one on her far right. His bolt slammed into it before she did; the combination of both together broke through its ice sheathe and bowled the wolfcat over.

Shiro was building up a Hypersonic Charge before Snowy's victim could hit the snow. Snowy took one glance behind and hesitated a bare moment.

[Go! I will follow!] Shiro said, as the enemy wolfcats responded at last and lunged at him from all sides. Two of them went after Snowy.

Shiro H-Charged at the two going for Snowy. He slammed into them with enough force to make teeth fly, and then kept going, heading straight for the mountain trail. [Race you to the first human den!]

[Try to keep up.] Snowy snorted, and dashed for it.

But then a human voice shouted, "Get them!"

For a moment, Shiro dared hope that help had arrived. Maybe the humans understood, maybe the Mountain Princess had sent someone to greet them, somehow knowing…

But no. One glance told him the truth. The newcomers weren't Mountaineers. That big shape hovering overhead didn't belong to the Three Kingdoms.

That was the Celestial Comrade Home up there, and the Breeders thought it would be a fine time to add a few of the rare white wolfcats for their selection.

[See?!] A savage voice behind them howled. The towering form of Cragwatcher loomed with more of his sect. [This is the failing of the old ways! This is why the Traditionalists should not be followed! Look at the humans! See what they do to us!]

[This is the whole point of Nakama World!] Shiro shot back both an argument and a H-bolt at him. [It is for the children! For them to Travel with us and learn with us!]

[And what have they learnt except to leave us?!] The great scarred shape snarled.

[Don't worry, Cragwatcher. Those Breeders coming now aren't leaving just yet.] Snowy assured him, as she and Shiro dashed for the mountain trail.

She should know. One of those Breeders in particular targeted her. She looked vaguely familiar - probably someone from one of the Comrade Homes Shiro had visited with Colin in the past. She had two Cloudysaurs and a Bubblesaur and was building up a fog bank thrice Shiro's height. Whatever she was doing, whatever she was hiding in that fog, Shiro didn't want anything to do with it. [Snowy! Hurry!]

That bare moment's hesitation, that turning around to call to Snowy, was what saved Shiro. Lightning hammered down from the Celestial Comrade Home right where he would have been had he not slowed down. It struck so close, he could almost smell plasma; his fur and both tails stood on end. Thunder exploded in his ears, and then he couldn't hear anything. There were other lightning strikes and columns of fire, but Shiro couldn't hear any of it. All he could hear was a shrill sound.

[Run!] Snowy was barking at him, but he couldn't hear the sounds from her muzzle. He only heard the single thought that she shoved at him.

They ran. Breeders were coming down, one here on a flying Comrade, one there on a big heavy one that landed hard enough to make the ground shake. White wolfcats and Comrades were fighting and the fur was flying, but Shiro heard none of it. He did not slow down, and neither did Snowy. This had gone past trying to sneak to Skycrown to accomplish a mission, past running for their lives. They were running for their freedom.

{Or at least, Snowy is. By her own stand, she should be willing to let herself be Tamed if there were any worthy, but there is too much at stake now, too much depending on her. We can't let that happen.}

{As for the White Wraiths behind us… they're not going to let themselves be Tamed. There are few enough in Nakama World worthy to bond a white wolfcat in any case. Especially a fully grown one. I doubt any of these Breeders could.}

Not only that, Comrades were starting to vanish in groups. The reasons for it was obvious enough; Cragwatcher and those who stood with him were striking directly at the Breeders, and the Breeders were getting killed back there. Shiro imagined a lot of them would be yelling about the surprise, that Nakama World wasn't supposed to work like that… but he couldn't hear any of their complaints or screams. All he heard was that shrill ringing in his ears.

{Don't you get it, you greedy humans? It doesn't matter how elite your Comrades are, how many hours you've spent training them in the Gym, what kind of money you've spent buying them equipment. It doesn't matter that your badge is purple or red, or even brown. It doesn't matter how much humans admire your Celestial Comrade Home or value your services.}

{All that matters is that my kind are no longer willing to serve you. They would go Frenzied first. You have no chance. No chance at all.}

They were learning that the hard way. A concentrated attack by the Breeder with the sauri finally managed to take down one of Cragwatcher's followers. Foolishly, she dashed forward to touch the fallen wolfcat, thinking to Tame him.

But he would not accept. He didn't care about any of her accomplishments or ranking. His refusal was a philosophical one; he simply refused Taming itself. On top of that, touching a Wild that refused to be Tamed meant it would regain its full strength. The fallen wolfcat leapt to his feet and blasted her point-blank in the face with a Hypersonic Bolt. She and all her Comrades vanished.

For some reason, the other Breeders seemed to take that as a challenge. Maybe their colleague simply wasn't respectable enough, or didn't have the right mix of Comrades, maybe the White Wolfcats were simply holding out for someone worthier… someone like themselves, perhaps…

{Arrogance, all of it!} Shiro shook his head as he and Snowy left them all behind. {It would take someone like Michi or Colin or…}

A shadow darkened the sky. Shiro looked up, half-expecting to see another Breeder on a big Comrade coming in for a landing.

Instead what he saw above made him wish he knew a few swear words.