Sunrise swept over Imbushko. The night was restless inside the stronghold, the broken mentalities of the captured warriors and the triumphant Ferals all came together to keep everyone awake.
By now, Mare and Murmosa returned. Both packs ignored everything that was happening inside and got straight to playing with each other again.
Males tackled one another while females mimicked another female's chirps and sounds.
Ether got down from his post above the west side gates. The morning air made him wish he packed something to shield himself from the cold.
His small figure came into view of the warriors. They were all kneeling before the proud Feral packs, Sivro, Zellus, and Reraian.
"Well, what happened to your leadership?" Ether's remark caught the group's attention.
One of the warriors, a Zegus female, tried getting up to respond. But she was instantly forced back to the ground by a much stronger and more capable Feral male.
"Let her stand," Ether ordered.
Everyone heard his command, even the warrior. She got up, before approaching Ether, she took off her helmet and tried her best to keep a straight face.
"What is your name?" He asked.
The warrior flinched at the question. "Me..? I am... no. No, why should I tell you?"
Ether frowned. "I am not here to hurt you, please answer my question. I want to treat you like if you were one of my own. Let's work together here and I'll see you and your allies safe."
"I am unsure if I should trust you. Just call me Noti for now," Noti answered.
"Good enough. Noti, you probably already know of me and my Legion -"
Noti looked down at Ether's grey pants with black armor on the knees. "You're Undying Revenge, and this is your Infinus Legion. One that hates my Legion for no reason."
Ether noticed her voice. It sounded off, as if she was frightened. And rightfully so. This was an experience she didn't expect to have. Especially when encountering the leader of the whole Legion.
Before continuing their conversation, Ether turned to look at one of the Ferals. "Go get enough fruit and water for every one of these warriors. They are under my care, now."
Despite talking to one Feral, four got out of their positions and scattered off to find what Ether that one to get.
He ignored their unorganized split, turning his attention back to Noti. "I have a reason, Noti. The thing is they don't want to tell you why."
Noti noticed Ether's soothing voice, it was a Yonie's charm doing its magic. She eased up, allowing herself to feel comfortable around him.
"Well, what is the real reason?" Noti's shaken voice began to ease as well.
"I don't know why they decided to attack me and my brothers. But once we sunset, I wasn't going to standby and allow Kas, Alise, and Dire to lead any forces," Ether replied.
After hearing this, Noti looked down at Ether. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth slowly dropped. She heard the answer to that question before.
"The reason why they did that was because they were afraid of you three. Your father was a powerful man, too powerful. And his mother was feared by everyone. And the two generations before your grandmother were the same," Noti answered.
Ether looked at her, dumbfounded. He didn't know how to respond to this. They were so young, inexperienced, and loyal. Why would they fear such small siblings?
He wanted to deny this. But he couldn't. Memories from his early life confirmed some of what she was saying. He remembered Solice getting visited by Kas and hearing them get into an argument.
During that time of his life, he was still very frightened and cautious. Hearing all those loud screams and the swearing made him crumble to his knees and cry.
"B - but we were so young. Why would they be so afraid?" Ether asked to himself.
"They didn't know any better. Alise was worried about what you could become now that Thresher blood was tied to the Coros lineage. I bet she thought you would murder anyone on sight if they bothered your mate or something," Noti reminded Ether of her presence.
All four Ferals came back with the resources. They handed them out to everyone in the group without needing to hear Ether tell them to.
He tried processing what she was telling him. But it felt off. He couldn't tell why Alise was so afraid of Thresher and Zegus genetics coming together, especially when the offspring turned out to be male.
"I... I think that's nonsense. Why would she be afraid of half Yonies? Wait - wait, no. That's the thing, she is afraid. Alise is afraid of the world," Ether shot back.
Noti noticed Ether's tune of voice. She understood the pain in it and tried to reason with him. Deep down, she admired Ether. Where he stands compared to where he stood, it was an impressive journey.
But this was the same one responsible for the mass loss of warrior life. Undying Revenge refused to go down until the Light Legion's leaders were down as well.
"Think about what was going through Kas' mind. He adores his daughter and wife. If you became a threat to the Legion, then he would want you gone because he fears what you could do to them," Noti's understanding voice told him.
Ether's eyes drifted to the ground below. In a way, he could see why Kas was afraid. Ether had his own family, one that he adored.
Ever since Verick, Talis, Menkas, and Cerus attacked them, he has been keen on slaughtering those there that day. But when the news came back to him about their defeat, Ether felt ashamed.
That shame he still feels today. He struggles to keep that pain inside as Noti silently watches Ether's strange behavior.
She tries to get closer to Ether, but a Feral instantly pushes her back to her group. Noti landed on top of two other warriors. They struggled to free themselves from each other.
"Don't do that, let them be," Ether ordered the Ferals.
In response, that same Feral slowly made his way to them. He lowered his hand, waiting for Noti to take it. And she did. He held it tight as the Feral pulled her back up.
"It's difficult to swallow that, I can tell. But please, understand that attempt wasn't made for no reason. Take your people and go somewhere else, thousands are dying because of this conflict," Noti tried to reason.
Ether's eyes slowly climbed back up to Noti's face. "I can't. I am too far gone. Ophus and Encur ended their feud to join forces with my Legion. They don't like the Light Legion either."
Noti seemed shock at Ether's response. "Please, I am begging you. Do not continue fighting. My whole family is in there, the same with my group's family. We don't want them to get hurt."
A tear rolled down Ether's cheek. "I - I don't want them to get hurt either. But I can't stop this. I am not alone in this battle, Silssy and Enoptes have joined me."
The two fell silent. It became awkward, standing right in front of a weeping leader while also feeling sick at the fact he couldn't stop a war.
"I can do one thing. It's small, very small compared to what you're giving up. But what I can do is help you all sunset and run away to a different region. I can let you all go back, gather your family and return," Ether suggested.
His frantic eyes opened, revealing his dilated pupils. "Then I can give you all some warriors of your own, and live free somewhere else."
Noti turned to look at her group. Their faceless masks looked back up at her. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, but from their body language she had a general idea.
"Well?" She asked, waiting for confirmation.
One by one, her group mates either nodded or gave thumbs up. They were shocked to their very core by how powerful Infinus truly was.
This experience taught them the biggest Legion's didn't always have the upper hand. Infinus had fewer numbers, but had stronger hearts. Courage, persistence, and leadership kept them going.
"It appears we are all taking the deal," Noti answered.
Ether felt a bit better. His few tears dried up and voice loosened up.
"I'm glad. Go, return to your Legion and bring back your families. I will be here waiting for you all," Ether told them.
Every warrior stood up and slowly walked out of the circle of Ferals. They watched over their shoulders as Ferals from all packs stared at them leave.
As they got out of eyesight, one of the Ferals turned to Ether.
"Why did you offer them that? How do we know they aren't going to get reinforcements?" He asked.
"Because I trust them. They are afraid, just as I am. Deep down, we are all afraid of ourselves and each other. But we don't say anything about it, because showing weakness means an easy target," Ether answered.
Some of the hybrid Ferals, Zellus, slowly made their way to where Murmosa and Mare were. But they didn't want to interact with them, they wanted to reach the gates.
"Hey!" Ether called out to them. "Wait for them, then bring them to me."