The coyote saw the baby hare charging toward him and smiled. Gil had found and eaten many hares. They had posed little threat to him and were easy to finish off, even if they gave quite the chase.

And now one was running right toward him?

Easy pickings, he thought, batting away the squawking falcon chick. Chicks were good but their feathers were a nuisance. He'd save it for later once he was done with the hare.

He sat back on his haunches, ready to pounce on the hare once it got close. This thing is stupid...And why is it screaming like that? Ugh. Whatever. Let's shut it up-huh?!

Gil was just about to snag the hare in his paws when it jerked mid-run. He caught nothing! And then the hare had the nerve to stand and slam one paw into his face.

Growling, Gil swiped at it but the hare just dodged again, running to his blind spot before punching him again. No matter where Gil turned, the hare was always behind him, punching and dodging with ease.

When had a hare ever fought back like this? And why was it not running?

Gil didn't understand and he didn't particularly care. All he knew was that once this gosh-darned leveret was tired, he would end it for toying with him.

An idea hit him when the hare darted behind him once again. If he could just kick it...Gotcha!

His back paw crashed into the hare's stomach, flinging it backward. With a predatory grin, Gil ran over to it. The hare was wheezing and clutching its stomach. The kick must've done some serious damage.

I should kick more often, Gil mused as pressed his paw against the baby hare. He noted that it was smaller than usual, a little more than three-fourths the size of a regular-sized leveret. It didn't matter to him; he'd eat and be on his way.

He leaned down to seize its neck in his mouth when he heard a shrill battle-cry and then: 'Get away from him!'

Peck! Peck! Peck! Peck! Peck! Peck! Peck!

'Gah!' Gil cried out, using his tail to smack away whatever was pecking at him. There was an 'oof' and then a thump. He turned to see the chick slowly righting itself before facing him with an intense glare.

'Y-you won't h-hurt m-my friend!' it cried. She cried Gil corrected himself. It wouldn't do well to misgender a fellow animal, even if they were prey. With that in mind, he glanced back at the hare. Ah. It's male.

He watched in vague amusement as the hare struggled to his feet, standing on his hind legs before falling back to his hind legs. Panting, he called out: 'Twig! You've gotta run!'

'I c-can help! I've g-got a-a strong p-peck!'

'Yeah, but Michi will be mad at me if something happens to you?'

Gil paused. Did the hare just say Michi? As in, the Great Fox of the Falcon Plains? The One who Names? The Guardian? The Devastating Black Tide? The sly fox who's been around his Ma's den way too many times for them to be considered 'just friends'? That Michi?

Gil shook himself out of his thoughts. The babies were still bickering about whether or not the chick called 'Twig' should stay or not.

'Children', he said in the most regal voice he could pull off. 'You know Michi?'

The hare's ears twitched as he looked at Gil. 'You know Michi?'

'Why of course I do!' Gil gushed. 'He's my Ma's-er, well, I probably shouldn't say this in front of children...Ahem, I've known him ever since I was a child. He Named me himself!'

Shuffling his feet, the hare glanced at Twig, who glanced at him. After a second, they both nodded before the hare spoke up again. 'Okay. We believe you.'

Gil blinked. Just like that? He wasn't lying but...they just accepted his story without a second thought? Interesting, he thought. They've already forgotten about the fight...Well, since they're Michi's, I won't hurt them any further.

'Might I ask what such younglings are doing out and about in the Falcon Plains? It's quite dangerous.'

The hare puffed out his chest. 'I'm strong! I helped Lima Bean kill a griffin?'

'Did you now...' He had an inkling about who this 'Lima Bean' was, but he doubted the Leaper Mouse had killed a griffin. All she ever cared about was eating lima beans. It was an unhealthy obsession, but the few times he'd mentioned it, he got a [Wind Gust] to the face.

'So, again, what are you doing out here? Far away from Michi's foxhole...'

'Oh! I'm gonna try to become Toad kin!'

Twig groaned. 'B-but toads a-are disgusting!'

The hare ignored her. 'I was gonna befriend that toad over there and see if he would grant me the title, but then you came along and-'

'What toad?' Gil hurriedly interrupted.

'What do you mean-Oh, no! The toad's gone! Aw, man! I'll never get that tongue skill!'

'It d-doesn't matter,' Twig chided. 'W-we've got t-to go back n-now, Bo. It's a-almost time!' She started hop-running in the direction Gil remembered Michi's foxhole was in.

Bo grumbled as he ran after her. 'See you later, Mr. Coyote.'

'Hmm...Bye.'

Gil watched them go, the abnormally small hare and the disabled falcon. Interesting duo. Well, I should go find something to eat since I just lost my meal...Ooh, some lima beans! I'll make a note to give some to that insufferable mouse the next time I see her...

Sydney opened her eyes to find herself in...a dungeon cell?

Musty air, manacles on my wrists, low lightning, cell bars...yup. A dungeon.

She sighed. She couldn't even die in peace? I guess truck-kun's magic too strong...Oh? I hear something...

Turning her head, she saw a familiar form stirring next to her. "Marco?"

The boy's eyes popped open. "Oh, hey, Syd. You've been out for a while."

"When'd you get here?"

"Little over an hour."

"Me?"

"'Bout thirty minutes."

"Cool."

"Yeah. Oh, and there's a girl over there. Don't know her name, though."

Sydney looked over and saw the girl he was talking about. She noticed that the girl also had manacles on her feet and chains pressing against her stomach.

"She doesn't look familiar to me either. Hey, shouldn't we be freaking out or something?"

"Oh, I did already. Just give your brain time to adjust."

Sydney was confused for a moment before the gravity of their situation really hit her: she had died, been reincarnated, and was now locked up in a dungeon for no apparent reason. She had died. And she was only 17! This-this was an outrage! She was too young to die! She couldn't be-

"Alright, I think that's enough now. Don't want the guards coming back because you started hyperventilating or something. They're jerks. Plus, I saw one of them eyeing you in a pretty disgusting way."

Sydney took a deep breath of the musty dungeon air. "We're dead."

"Yup. Or, well, we were dead."

"Okay. I think...I'm gonna go back to sleep now..."

"You do that, Syd."

Without another word, Sydney Greenburg passed out.

Schwab

A long chapter! Sorry, no death today. They became friends instead.

Anyway, you'll be seeing more of Sydney, Marco, and Mystery Girl. A very, very brief introduction, but you'll get to know more soon.

Peace.