This new voice was the boar, who had seethed quietly up to now. He boomed, "This halfbreed is always causing fights in my stable! I demand he be rem--"

He had not seen General Russett, who had apparently finished berating the ogre and and the dragon and had now stormed up behind the boar and the blonde spirit. She was short, or at least much smaller than the boar, but that did not prevent her from grabbing one of the boar's tusks and yanking him quite easily down to her eye level.

"You are speaking," she hissed through tightly set sharp teeth, her yellow eyes fixed on his, "well above your station."

And then she grabbed the front of the blonde spirit's uniform, straightening up. Both the blonde spirit and the boar seemed stunned out of responding as she turned them on their heels and said, "Now off with you both. The assailants were my trainees, so this is now above your pay grades. And you," she shot at Yoshi, who looked apprehensive, "Come with me."

The blonde spirit and the boar stalked off to the stables, seeming rather defeated; Yoshi followed Russett meekly, and they set off to the southern end of the pasture fence, leaving Liya and Helly alone. Helly stirred uncomfortably.

"Liya," ne said, at last, "are you all right?"

Liya didn't look at nem, instead just setting her face to heal itself. The broken veins under each bruise and scrap lit silver, and within seconds she'd brought the swelling in her cheek down some. "Yoshi says they pick on him like that all the time," she said accusingly.

"Liya," Helly said again.

"He reports it every week an' no one does nothin'," Liya went on angrily. "What was I s'posed t'do, walk away?"