---
And finally… finally the tranquilizer kicked in. The boar's head wobbled. Limbs buckled. It groaned, swayed...
And collapsed. Silence fell.
Only Muse's heavy, furious snorts and Zephyr's sharp, ragged breathing filled the corridor. Fenna lowered her bow slowly, checking Zephyr with wide eyes.
"You okay?" she asked, voice cracking slightly.
Zephyr coughed and gave her a tired thumbs-up from where he lay sprawled in the ash.
The Ember-Tusk Boar twitched once... then stilled completely.
Zephyr clutched his injury and bleeding hip, wincing as the pain flared hot through his nerves. His tunic had been sliced open by the tusk's edge, the fabric charred and stuck to his skin. Blood ran in thin rivulets down his thigh, glistening dark against the ash coated ground.
Fenna was at his side in an instant, sliding to her knees in a fluid motion that kicked up a swirl of soot. "Let me see it," she said, her voice tight with concern for Zephyr wellbeing.
ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!
