I sat grinning in my chair, swigging a mug of ale on a hot Sampetran summer day, my tail lazily swirling back and forth on the floor. Me and my four best friends there, Saeros the marten, Quickclaw the ferret, Rippscarr the stoat, and Alaine the marten, were intently listening to a drunken fox telling a tale of how he persuaded a dangerous flock of seagulls (He had a way of story-telling that could make anything seem deadly, even a potato) not to attack his ship by flattering the leader. "Your eyes are like onyx spheres, and oh how the light reflects off those glossy white feathers..." Saeros started to have a slight giggling fit, but the rest of us somehow managed to keep our laughter under control. Suddenly the door swung open and in stepped a tall hare wearing a scarf, a hat, mittens, and a heavy jecket. Several of us laughed at the sight of this, for it was the middle of a scorching summer day, but the hare was dressed for the cold. We all laughed and a few of us led the hare inside, offering a cold drink. It was not what we might have usually done, as we normally despised goodbeasts, hares especially, but we were all ing ood humor, and the comical hare managed to lift our spirits even more. The six of us, fox included, persuaded the strange hare to sit down at our table, and before we knew it, we were all swigging ale and telling stories. Little did we know the hare was just a piece of bait. A distraction, to keep us busy, while none of us noticed the entire army of hares on the shore, led by a badger-lord. The more experienced, older corsairs of the tavern, watched us distastefully, staying away from the hare. Somehow they knew he meant trouble, but the six of us were half-drunk, and our sense of judgement was gone. It was then that the first ten hares of the army on the beach stepped forward, approaching the tavern. That was when they met the former Lady Silverstar, sitting with her back against one of the tavern walls, fidgeting with the hilt of her curved shortsword. She was a squirrel, actually, recently arrived. She hadn't received the kindest of welcomes because of her species. Despite this, she was quite set on living on Sampetra, so she lived outside the tavern, rather than in. The lead har was surprised to see a squirrel on corsair land, so he suspected Silverstar was stranded. He kneeled down so he was at eye level with the sitting squirrel. "Excuse me, good squirrel, but do any vermin creatures reside in that inn?" he asked, nodding toward the tavern. Silverstar did not answer, but simply stared at the hare, paw on the hilt of her sword. He asked again and a third time, but no answer from the squirrel. At last he rose with a scowl on his face. "Very well then. We shall fidn out for ourselves." And with that, he returned to the spot where the other hares were, to tell the badger lord something that Silverstar couldn't hear. It was almost my turn to relate an interesting story to my friends when the door opened slowly and Silverstar walked in, seating herself alone at a table and sipping her grog with not much of an expression on her face. The tavern quieted, and we all stared at the squirrel. Everyone knew she lived outside the tavern, and she rarely ever came inside unless there was something unusual going on outside or in. An ermine near the door named Alihja flung the door open and several of us gathered over to have a look. Exactly one hundred hares stood on the shoe, facing us with weapons drawn. Alihja sneered. "Rather rude of them not to give warning. Just marching onto our island without so much as asking permission." I shook my head, gripping the pearl handle of my dirk. "But how are we going to stand up to them? They outnumber us." We all turned and stared at the one hare who had come in as a distraction. Several of us grew evil grins on our faces, and we rushed over, quickly tying up the hare who did not dare resist the vermin that outnumbered him. The hares on the beach charged us, but came to an immediate stop as soon as they saw me and Saeros brought the hare out of the tvaern with our blades at his neck. Evidently this hare was valued by the rest of his army, because they quickly lowered their weapons. The hares filed back onto their ship, while the two of us walked the hare up as well with the badger following behind. We had three archers on the beach as well, with arrows aimed at the badger to make sure none of the hares would attack me or Saeros as soon as we let the hare go. All worked out perfectly, though all of us were very disappointed that we didn't get to kill any of the hares. Still, we couldn't risk a battle where we were outnumbered. They'd be back, though, in greater numbers. But little did they know that we would have greater numbers as well, and then there would be a battle like those only told of in stories. We awaited the arrival with sharpened blades.