Surrounded

Vallum jumped to his feet and ran out of the door. Kenra was a moment behind him. She wasn't sure of what was happening, just that something wasn't right.

'Show me one more time where you are, Raef.' Vallum reached out.

'Moo.'

The location became apparent to Vallum and he took off in that direction with Kenra on his tail. The two in trouble weren't far away, because they had returned to this city in preparation to hunt down Kenra. After several minutes of sprinting full speed through the twists and the turns of the city, Vallum and Kenra found themselves in the back alley behind a tavern. Before they rounded the corner, Kenra stopped Vallum so that she could gauge the situation first.

"That is a nice bull you have there, little miss." A rough voice said. Kenra looked around the corner and saw Sari with her back to Raef, standing in the middle of a band of ruffians.

"My bull is stronger and more deadly than all of you put together times ten." Sari said in a brave voice. She stood confidently and moved while she talked. She looked surprisingly at ease.

"We just want your bull and that's it. We are gonna leave you alone, little miss." One of the men put his hands up in a placating gesture and tried to step closer, but was sent jumping back when Raef lowered his horns suddenly.

Vallum watched as Kenra's muscles tensed and she got ready to spring into action. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't kill them. Please." He whispered.

Kenra didn't question his plea, she simply nodded.

"How easily can you knock a person out." She asked him in turn.

"If I'm careful, I can do it in a single blow."

"Be careful then. I'll protect the two in the middle and cause a distraction. You deal with the ruffians as you see fit."

Kenra flitted into the sky and before Vallum even registered it, she was in the circle right beside Sari. Her hood was up, so she looked very intimidating with her crooked lightning shaped blade held in front of her as a warning to those in front of her. There were several shouts when she made her appearance, and the group had a lapse in attention due to the surprise.

There were eight men. Four of them blocked each end of the alley and the walls kept the targets trapped. Vallum decided that escape from this situation is all that they needed, so he prepared to incapacitate the four men closest to him when they came sprinting out of the alley right past him. A few moments later, Raef, Sari, and Kenra casually walked out.

"What did you do to make them run out li-" Vallum started, but was interrupted by a flying hug from Sari.

"Big bro! You made it! And the bull is still alive, too!" Sari clung to her once again free big brother.

"Were you thinking of eating Raef?" Vallum asked quizzically.

"But what happened to you?" Sari ignored his question and stared wide-eyed at the bandages that covered Vallum's torso.

"I just got a bit scratched up from that big lion," Vallum lied.

"Ohh, yeah. That lion was gigantic, wasn't it?" Sari looked over at Kenra who still had her hood up, "Who are you?"

Kenra dropped her hood and smiled at Sari. "First, you help bring Vallum to me safely and now you have taking care of his precious bull for him. Thank you so much." Kenra went up to Sari and patted her on the head.

"Oh! It's..." Sari trailed off as her feelings conflicted with each other, "... You. I was actually looking for you so that I could go save big brother." She thought for a moment and then asked, "How come you are so scary? I have never seen someone make a gang turn tail that fast."

Vallum looked at Kenra, interested. He had never seen her as scary before, so he wondered what it was that she did to scare the men away.

"I train to be scary." Kenra laughed.

"Can you train me?" Sari asked.

"No. Your acting skills are already terrifying." Vallum cut in. "Anyway, it's getting dark. You are going to come stay with us at the inn, right Sari?"

Sari hesitated and looked back and forth between Vallum and Kenra. Kenra gave her a welcoming smile. "You aren't going to do anything weird, are you? You said you like her more than big sis, and you slept in the same bed as big sis."

Kenra raised an eyebrow at Vallum and he blushed, quickly shaking his head. "We aren't going to do anything, you crazy kid. We will get you a separate room if you want." Vallum said.

Sari tossed him a coin, "If you don't do anything weird then I'll be happy to stay with you, big bro."

"Quit acting like Vynn!" Vallum cried.

'Moooooo. (Hey, don't forget about me.)'

Vallum went over and wrapped his arms around Raef's neck. 'Thank you so much for protecting Sari. You are the best friend.'

'Moo (Is that her?)'

Vallum laughed, 'Yeah buddy, that's her.'

Raef walked up to Kenra and put his muzzle to her chest.

'Woah buddy!' Vallum called.

Kenra wrapped her arms around the huge bulls muzzle and gave it a hug.

"You have been protecting Val too, haven't you?" She asked him.

"Moo."

"I thought so. Thank you, too. I was so excited to meet you. We are going to get along well."

"Wait, so you really can talk to animals, Kay?" Vallum looked awe-struck.

Kenra just looked at him and winked. "We should be getting back to the inn. We will have to get a place in the stable for him." She gestured to Raef.

The four of them walked back to the inn and got settled into their room. Vallum sat on the floor while Kenra sat on the bed.

"You can sleep with me tonight," Kenra told Sari, "The bed is plenty big for the both of us. I am hardly bigger than you," Kenra laughed.

Sari had frozen in place after coming in and was struck with indecision when Kenra spoke. Sari's eyes darted between Vallum and Kenra.

"I... can't sleep with you. Big br- I mean Vallum likes you. You are the one that is taking him away from big sis. The only problem is that you are kind of like a big sis too." Sari's face lit up. "Hey, big bro! What if she is my big sis too! Her and Vynn. I can have two big sisters. You can be with both of them."

Kenra stared at Vallum, waiting for his response and all he could get out was a gulp.