Miniature Wars *By Invite Only*

Rulio

Okay, Ruls. Here's your chance. This is the prince. Honestly, I don't know why people called him average. Well, considering that mine and the normal civilian's ideas of average were very, very different, I s'pose it all depended. No matter- I'd faced reasonably attractive mice before, not a problem now. Silvertongue time.

"I beg your pardon, Your Highness." I said softly, dipping my head and bobbing in a curtsy. Piercings and all, I could be charming if I wanted.

"Such formalities are not needed," he replied, just as quietly. "We haven't time to utter such frivolities." I nearly snickered, stopping only by biting my lip fiercely. On the inside, of course, so the prince wouldn't be offended. Nothing good could come of that. And then the realization came- if I hinted at my dislike of the monotonous days guardianship offered, I'd most likely be discharged altogether. 'We haven't time to utter such formalities'- we were at war, and pushing away what they thought was an opportunity to nobly and bravely defend would be as beneficial as telling the prince I didn't care if the entire farmhouse burned to the ground with him in it. No, I was stuck now.

"Indeed, sire, dire times these are. Times in which my services are ill-needed patrolling barren halls, when others do it with much more zeal and skill than I."

Hey, they don't call me Silvertongue for nothing.

The prince seemed to consider my statement. "Indeed, madame, I find it unnecessary to have as many patrols as we do at the moment. You would be better off in some other task." I wanted to scream "WHICH?!" and shake the mouse, but as long as Lady Rulio was employed, sadly, no shaking was to occur. The Rulio I knew and loved was locked up for the moment, held back until Lady Rulio was deemed unneeded.

God, royal-speak was rubbing off.

Zeilan

I clasped my paws behind my back, claws digging into my flesh. It hurt, but it was all I could do to keep from breaking down right then and there. In front of a guard...that would never do. But you're father is dieing ! You've got the right to be absolutely mortified! I had to admit, my subconsious put up a good argument.

My eyes shifted to the ground at me fight and I blinked back tears. I. Would. Not. Cry.

"I beg your pardon, but are you alright?" the guard asked quietly.

I blinked a few more times and looked up to her, giving my head a slight shake. "My father is dieing. How can I be alright?" I demanded, voice strained. I hadn't meant to sound harsh, but I didn't jump to apologize if I did either.

"The king?"

I nodded.

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

I sighed, and despite my best efforts to hold back, a tear managed to escape, absorbing into my fur. At least it never had a chance to hit the floor. "Would you...would it be too much to ask if I wanted to enroll you as my personal guard?" I didn't know what made me ask, but the words just sort of slipped out. Odd thing to say at the time, but I could use somebody to talk to.

Rulio

Oh my.

Thought one: our kingdom was on the verge of collapse. Our king -his beloved Majesty, King Kutch- was... dying. I had to blink a few times to clear my thoughts. Kings weren't supposed to die in the midst of war. They fought, and won, and THEN they died, but never before their children were married and... this shouldn't be happening.

Thought two: personal guard? The thought was enticing, in the most scandalous way. NOT to say I was planning an affair with the prince -the very thought made me shiver and made chills rip down my spine, down my tail, though it wasn't entirely disagreeable. He seemed of good nature... but the prince? I would be better with my creepy employer from my first gig. But it'd be better, far better, than having to walk about the barren halls, not even able to steal a single thing; imagine my pain, if you can.

So, naturally, I had to accept.

"Sire, I'd be obliged. I can think of no greater action in moral than defending our own prince." I gave a deep curtsy, ignoring the glint of white off my stud as my eyes shifted to my hind paws. I swished my tail once as a sign of gratitude and let my cape fall closed around my front.

Under it, I fingered the stitched message from my long-gone mother carefully: My Ruliona- take care, and put yourself first. No one can ever stop you, Ruliona, I know it.

I know it too, Mama. I know it too.

Alex

"Odd mice, to be sure... Come on, Rei. Let's get this stuff put away." No reply.
He looked around, and finally spotted her beside a young sparrow. She was stroking its
beak, whispering to it. I'll handle the armor, then.

Reisa

If a bird could smile, she'd swear this one was. It chirped and tilted its head, beady
eyes trying to watch her and Alex at the same time. Reisa laughed.

"He's a lively one, in't he?"

Laken~

Laken hopped down from her perch at the auction stage after selling off her youngest sparrows to the Duke's son. She shook her head quickly, the piercings clinking against one another, and flung the door to the auction room open. As she stepped out, the door still flung out, she heard it smack into someone... HARD. Said someone let out a yelp of pain and Laken gasped loudly. She ran around the door, and covered her mouth with both paws after realizing it was Snorks. "Oh my..." She said softly, getting on her knees. With one paw she moved Snork's paw from his nose and with the other, gently touched his bleeding snout.

"Ouch," he sighed, sitting up against the wall.

Laken gazed at him, her eyes slightly glazed over with tears. "Are you alright Snorks? I really didn't mean ta hit you!" She pleaded, sniffing softly.

Luka~

Luka grinned as he ran, his fingers wrapped around Bonnie's wrist. He flung himself onto Ember's back, the bird squawking with surprise, and pulled Bonnie on behind him. He pulled Ember's reigns and the three of them shot into the air, Ember pulling a couple of fancy moves in the air. "Wh-where are we going Luka?" Bonnie demanded, her paws wrapped around his mid-section tightly, in fears of falling off.

After all, the were extremely high up. The were overlooking the stables, kingdom, and even the pond. "Somewhere, you gotta put this on though." Luka spun around in the saddle, Bonnie flailing her arms wildly. "Careful now," he steadied her with a chuckle and tied a red headband around her eyes, smirking.

"W-what is-" Suddenly, Ember shot downwards, Luka laughing out rather loudly. The bird shot through the reeds in the pond, and finally, dived under water, shooting straight down. They were only under for one or two seconds before they were in a dark cave. Luka hopped off Ember's back, helping Bonnie down. He took her paw and led her carefully through the cave, Bonnie talking aimlessly behind him. He just chuckled and wrapped on arm around her shoulders, lifting her over a crevice in the small cave.

"You can take it off now," Luka smiled as they came out on the other side of the cave. Tall grass was all around them, and they stood on a ledge, over looking the valley below.

~~

The valley~

Spoiler

SNORKS

I tried to offer a reassuring smile, but my snout was throbbing too badly for any of that. "I'm a knight, Laken. I'll have to put up with much, much worse than this. Don't worry too much about it too much," I managed, winking. It was throbbing horribly, but Laken didn't need to know that.

Laken sniffed and shook her head, earings clanking. "We need to get it cleaned or something," she murmered.

I nodded and pushed myself to my feet, sweeping a paw across it likely and stared at the blood caked onto it. I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and pressed it lightly. "There. Good enough until we get to your place."

ZEILAN

I smiled gently, forcing back the dread reeling inside of me. I wasn't ready to be king, not even close. If I was crowned king now, there was no doubt that the whole kingdom would be burnt to the ground or ravaged by owls in a matter of hours. Long live my position as prince.

On the bright side, I had a personal guard. With any luck it would ward off the coucil until I could sort things out. "I can think of many actions greater in mora; than keeping me safe, but I'm pleased with your decision either way," I said quietly, "And I suppose we can drop all of the formality. I hear too much of it in a day as it is."

I winked and took a deep breath. So much to worry about, so little time to sort things out.

Oh yes...I still had a group of scouts to dispatch into enemy territory tonight. An action I was dreading. The generals should be left to that in my opinion, but they need 'consent' from somebody in power.

I shook off the thought and and dipped my head at my new guard.

Rulio

Instinct told me to curtsy again. Intuition told me that would seal my rank as just a guard. But since when did I care? And since when did princes wink? At pierced mice with knives on their hips, at that! A scowl flickered across my face, and I was glad the prince was looking away. I wrapped a paw around the hilt of my dagger and flicked my tail twice, unsettling some sawdust nearby.

"Right then, your highness."

"Please, call me Zeilan."

"Sure thing."

I almost tripped over my own paws. Zeilan? His fir... first name? Added to the, well, appearance... was he asking for another fangirl? I knew for a fact that there was already a fanclub under the bed. Where I would want to be now, if not for the Mafia scouting the streets for me. I shuddered.

"Is something wrong... oh dear, I don't even know your name."

My throat pinched up. Here was the risk. If he recognized my name -which he undoubtedly would, I was a wanted criminal for god's sake- I could very well be hanged within the day.

"Ruliona." There. My first name, and most people didn't even know it was that. Not too dangerous.

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you." I rolled the name around in my mouth. Ruliona... I guess it was a nice name. Ruliona, Ruliona, Ruliona.

I decided I liked it.

Bonnie

"LUKA!" I squeaked as Ember promptly dove down. I felt his stomach tense up and soften as he laughed. Where the heck were we going? As the altitude decreased, I squeezed him tighter and prepared myself for the impact. However, things went by in slow motion as we hit water. I felt my fur being jostled by the currents, and Luka reach back and steady me, again, as I was nearly swept off of Ember. With panic, I then realized I was running out of air. I became more alert, more nervous, but relief soon came when the bird erupted out of the water into a cold atmosphere. Where were we? I don't remember home being this chilly. The thump of Luka's feet on the ground was followed by his paw in mine, pulling me off of Ember. My feet hit what felt like stone, but I didn't have long to ponder it with Luka ushering me out onto softer ground. He told me to take off the bandana, and when I did, I was blown away. Rolling hills and tall grass surrounded us on all sides. In the distance, mountains towered over the land, as tall as life itself. I found myself forgetting to breathe as I spun around, admiring the beauty. It made me feel so, well, small.
"Luka..." My voice trailed off with a crack, as I took a few steps forward. I felt Luka's breath on my shoulder as he began to speak. "Do you--" He was cut off as we heard the screech of an eagle above. Luka's face changed to panic as we saw the bird dive down for a kill. I felt the farmiliar thrill of a battle rising as I gave him a knowing smile, took the needle from his waist, and charged for the point of impact.