//------------------------------// // Protection // Story: The Four Foxes // by colt alchemist //------------------------------// A few days have passed since the foxes have arrived in Ponyville. The day to meet the princesses were shortly coming up. Ryota sauntered through the Everfree Forest. The wind was blowing with cool air that hit fur, sending mellow vibes throughout his body. He came across a small stream midway through the forest. In it, he noticed several small silhouettes that were swimming with the current.   His golden eyes squinted and backed up away from the stream. He lowered his body towards the ground wiggled his legs, his sight never leaving the stream. With one leap, he pounced right into the stream, water splashed and he landed right on his target. His head dived down into the river and quickly emerged with a flopping trout on his jaws. He flung the trout on the trout where it continued to flop around, fins waving and gills gasping. After that, he lunged out of the stream and onto the trout, where he pinned it down and performed the killing bite. It didn’t take long for Ryota to devour it, all of it’s remained were scattered around. The feeling of fresh trout filled his stomach with delight, he smiled and licked his lips. He turned to the stream and pounced back in for seconds. This time, he came out with two trouts in his jaw. He flung both of the fish onto the ground and ended them as he did with the first one. The fox was about to beginning feasting on one of the trouts when the sounds of hoofsteps hit his ears. “Interesting sight, to say the least. I hope I’m not interrupting your feast.” Ryota looked up to find Zecora on the other side of the stream, smiling down at him. He then noticed the scattered remains from his last meal. “Oh, hello,” he said, averting his gaze from his own mess. “I may not know much of a fox’s hunting habits, but don’t you usually prey upon rabbits?” Zecora wondered. “We do. But I found out that Reiko and Fluttershy had an argument the other day involving one of her hares. She ended up using something called ‘the stare’ on her,” Ryota explained. “Ah, the infamous stare. A mysterious ability I would say, demands those who wronged her to stay away,” Zecora commented. “You’re aware of it?” Zecora nodded in response. “Oh. Anyway, I decided to have a talk with her. I told her of my disapproval of her forcing my sister to quit hunting and explained how we needed protein in our systems. After what felt like endless bickering about what’s ‘ethical’ we came to a compromise. Of course, Reiko wasn’t happy to hear that. I don’t blame her.” “Hopefully that vixen won’t start a riot, but are you sure that deal would fit into your diet?” Zecora asked, concerned. “I think it would. As long as we don’t harm any animals that are within Fluttershy’s care. Which is strange, because it seems as though every squirrel, bird, and rabbit in this forest knows her.” Ryota turned his head and spotted a small rabbits eyes in the bushes. The moment he spotted him, the rabbit leaped out and ran right out of the forest. Most likely headed towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “Besides, I was in a fishy mood,” Ryota said as he poked the fish with his paw. “In that, I meant I felt like eating fish today. N-Not that I was suspicious about anything. I don’t see anything to be suspicious about.” Zecora couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not to worry, my friend. I knew what message you were trying to send.” Ryota chuckled back in response and scratched the side of his head where his chipped ear was. “If at all you grow tired of food from the river, I know of a place further into the forest where your stomach won’t quiver. There, a castle stands where you’ll find some animals that can get by without the assistance of Fluttershy,” Zecora informed him. “Yes. I think Starlight told me about that. She said she would take us there some time,” Ryota replied. “But, she never mentioned any castle.” “It is an old place, one I often pass by when I am out searching magic fungi,” Zecora said. “Sounds like an interesting castle,” Ryota commented, his curiosity grew upon hearing news of this castle in the middle of the forest. “I hope all works out for you. Now come, bring those fish back to my hut,” Zecora ordered as she pointed to the fish Ryota has caught. “I will prepare you a fish stew that is sure to fill your gut.” “Oh you don’t have to do that, I don’t mind eating them raw,” Ryota replied. “I insist. I was out and about foraging for some herbs anyway. I’d like to catch up with you and talk about what you’ve been up to, ever since we’ve met that other day,” Zecora added and smiled. Zecora turned and began walking back towards her hut. Ryota couldn’t help but smile at her peculiar yet helpful nature and decided to follow. It would’ve been rude to reject her offer. He picked up his fish and leaped across the stream. Once he was across, he carried his fish and followed Zecora back to her home. Back in her hut, Zecora had finished preparing the fish stew. She poured it into two bowls and brought them over to Ryota, who sat patiently at the table. The steam entered through his nose, the scent of fresh stew cooked to perfection swam around in his mind. He pressed his front paws together and said, “I humbly receive,” before digging into his stew. The steamy flavor of the trout made him moan in delight. “I am glad you are enjoying the fish stew, I made sure it had enough ingredients to satisfy you,” Zecora said as she began digging into her own meal. “It’s perfect,” Ryota complimented. Zecora smiled. “It’s been a long time since we’ve last spoken a while back, how has pony life been treating you and your pack?” “For me, everything has been good. I found myself adapting well to this place rather easily,” Ryota replied. “We like to live a simple life, one that is not filled with strife,” Zecora said. “Yes. I made some friends and I’ve already got a grasp on how this realm works. I have to say, seeing clouds being moved like boxes by flying ponies will have to be something I gotta get used to,” Ryota added. “I’m honestly more concerned about my siblings.” “Oh? Do tell how they dwell.” “We’ve all been adjusting at different paces. Some of them have adjusted to their new home. Kichiro is working, although I’m certain he’s slacking off somewhere while his illusions do his job. Emi has been doing nothing but running around the place. Literally, she runs through Ponyville every day to make new friends or have a big adventure. It’s kind of funny, she doesn’t have any magic yet she has the most energy out of all of us. She’s already ‘attacked’ Spike ten times in the past two days.” Zecora chuckled to hear of the other foxes shenanigans. “The one I’m most worried about is Reiko,” Ryota added. This time, Zecora raised an eyebrow and a soft “hmm?” escaped from her lips. “She’s having the most difficulty adapting. Not just from ‘the stare’ but from this whole situation. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she has something of a temper problem.” “Oh, I could sense her rage from afar, it feels as hot as a star.” “Reiko has always been like this. Whenever she can’t figure something out, she loses herself in her own frustration. Most of her spells end up in fox-sized infernos. I’ve tried to help her control that temper, but that somehow makes it worse. And finding ourselves in this realm hasn’t helped. We’re supposed to meet the princesses in a few days, but I have no idea what will happen.” Ryota looked down at his stew. His doubts were starting to come back to him. Not just from his own anxiety, but also out of fear of what his sister would do. His concern for her only grew the more he thought about it. “Forgive me for saying this, don’t take this as a jeer, but I feel as though you have nothing to fear. I may not have known you for that long, but I can tell you’re compassion for your siblings is very strong. I do not know what causes Reiko's wrath, that will be something you must discover on your own path. The best advice I can give is to watch out for your sisters and brother, for even if you are lost you still have each other,” Zecora advised. Ryota’s anxiety began to melt away again. He truly didn’t know what causes his sisters fiery temper. Zecora was right about one thing, he still had his siblings no matter what happened. He felt more confident now, but still needed answers. For the moment, Ryota resumed eating his fish stew. Meanwhile, the CMC were all playing catch in the open field behind Twilight’s castle. They bounced the bright, red ball towards each other, giggling and smiling with every turn. Apple Bloom kicked the ball to Scootaloo, who then head-butted it towards Sweetie Belle, who smacked it with her front hoof and back to Applebloom where the cycle started all over again. They ran around in circles to make the game more interesting, which made their smiles grow even bigger. “Just a few more rounds, girls. Ah got chores to do,” Apple Bloom said. “Boo!” Scootaloo laughed. “Ah can’t help it. Heads up, Scoots!” Apple Bloom had kicked the ball to Scootaloo, but when it got close to her head an orange blur sped past and caused her mane to get in her eyes. “Hey!” Scootaloo yelled. She brushed her mane out of her eyes and found that the ball was gone. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared at the blank space where the ball was. “Where’d it go?” Apple Bloom wondered. All three fillies turned their heads to find someone familiar playing with their ball. Emi was lying on her back, giggling as she played with the ball. She tossed it around in her paws before kicking it high into the air only for it to land in her playful paws again. “Hey, Emi!” Sweetie Belle greeted. The tiny fox stopped her playing and noticed the three fillies. She flipped over and stood back up. “Hi, Sweetie! And...other Sweeties!” Emi replied, not remembering the others names. “It’s Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said. “We met at Pinkie’s party.” “Yes. I know. Sorry, you’re all cute and tiny, it’s hard to tell the difference.” The three fillies blinked and exchanged looks with one another, unsure how to respond. “Really?” Apple Bloom asked. “Yeah. You and winged-Sweetie are a bit confusing because you look at act alike and you’re almost the same shade of yellow-anyway what are you up to?” The CMC just starred with their heads tilted. Even more confused than before. They couldn’t tell if she was serious or if she was just being cute. Regardless, Sweetie approached her. “We were just playing catch. You want to join?” Sweetie asked. “Yeah!” Emi picked up the ball and balanced it on the tip of her nose. She bounced it up and down, every time she did the ball would land back on her nose like she was a sea lion, much to the fillies amusement. Emi then tossed the ball into the air. When it came back down to her, she spun around and hit the ball with her tail. It soared to Sweetie who caught it and bounced it off of her head. The fillies continued their game with their fox friend. “Have you gone on any adventures today?” Emi asked she tail-whipped the ball. “What do you mean?” Sweetie asked as she bounced the ball towards Scootaloo. “You’re called the cutie-mall crusaders! I thought that meant you go on crusades every day!” Emi chirped. “Sometimes we do. But when there’s nobody to help we just do this,” Scootaloo said as she kicked the ball. “Nothing wrong with that.” “If I could go on adventures every day, I’d become a monster hunter!” Emi said. “Why would ya want to do that?” Apple Bloom asked. “Because it would be fun! Conquering dragons, getting orbs for it, learning magic and looking pretty while doing it. What’s not to love?” Emi added. “I dunno. It sounds kind of dangerous. Even for us. And we love our danger!” Scootaloo bragged. “Nothing scares me!” “This coming from the filly who stayed up all night because of a silly ghost story?” Apple Bloom teased. “H-Hey, shut it!” Emi giggled as the blush formed on Scootaloo’s face. “Still. Sneaking up on Spike is one thing, but there are really scary creatures out there. Looking for monsters just to fight them doesn’t sound like the safest job,” Sweetie said. “Why not? Foxes fight monsters all the time!” Emi exclaimed. “What? No, they don’t,” Scootaloo scoffed. “Yes, they do! I saw-” Emi tail-whipped the ball and it flew right over Sweetie’s head. “Oops.” The bounced and rolled off straight into the Everfree Forest. The ball became a small speck, becoming unseen in the dark woods. “Aw man!” Scootaloo complained. “That’s the second ball we’ve lost!” “Not my fault. Somebody put too much air in it,” Emi said. “It’s a ball. There’s nothing but air in it!” Sweetie retorted. “Alright! I’ll go get it!” Emi raced off towards the forest after their ball. Soon she also disappeared into the woods. “We better go after her, she doesn’t know what’s in there!” Apple Bloom ordered. The other fillies nodded and chased after Emi into the forest. The tiny fox ran through the forest in pursuit of the runaway ball. Needless to say, she didn’t the spooky environment she had just entered. The sounds of wild animal calls fell deaf to her ears, the bent branches and creepy trees went unnoticed by her. All that mattered to her at that point was finding and retrieving the ball. She eventually found it floating in the middle of a green pond. There was a set of rocks that led right to the ball, almost like a perfect path was laid out in the murky water. Emi came to a halt at the edge of the pond. She was about to take her first step on the stones. “Emi, wait!” The tiny fox turned around to find the three fillies running up to her. “Hey, girls. I found the ball!” Emi chirped. “We can see that. But ya shouldn’t go runnin off into the Everfree Forest like that. It’s dangerous here,” Apple Bloom said. “Really? But Sweetie told me that you three explore this forest all the time,” Emi replied. “Yeah, but we usually have our sisters with us,” Sweetie said. “Or if we’re just going to Zecora’s,” Scootaloo added. “Ya can’t just wander into the forest without knowing the ins and outs of it,” Apple Bloom said. “It doesn’t seem that bad to me, it actually kind of reminds me of home,” Emi smiled, much to the fillies concern. “I’ll just grab the ball and we can go back to our game.” Emi turned and hopped on one of the stones, then another. Once she was on her third stone, the pond began to form bubbles and the stones shifted. Emi quickly jumped off the stone she was on and back onto the ground. The three fillies gathered around Emi to see the stones rise up from the pond. All their eyes widened upon seeing a cragadile emerge from the water and wander onto dry land. The ball fell off the stoney reptile and landed right in front of it. The fillies heart raced, skipped beats, and jaws dropped. “Cragadile!” they all screamed. “Cragadile?” Emi wondered. She stared at the beast more with interest than with fear. Her head tilted as the cragadile slowly started to walk towards her, it stepped on the ball and popped it. “Run for it!” the fillies screamed and bolted away from the cragadile. It didn’t take them long to realize that Emi wasn’t with them. They stopped and saw that Emi was still looking at the beast with intrigue, even with it approaching her. “Emi, what are you doing?!” Sweetie yelled. The tiny fox turned around and ran towards the fillies while unknowingly avoiding its massive jaws. “Did you see the size of that thing?” Emi asked. “Yeah, we saw it, now let’s get out of here!” Scootaloo yelled. “What about the ball?” “Are you blind? It’s gone! That giant lizard popped it, now let’s go!” Emi turned back and saw the cragadile crawling towards them at a rapid speed. At the same time, Emi’s heartbeat started to pick up, but not out of fear. A small smile formed on her face. “Don’t worry, girls! I got this!”Emi exclaimed and charged at the beast. “Emi, no!” the fillies screamed. It was too late, Emi was already running straight for the cragadile. She lunged forward and headbutted the beast on the tip of its muzzle. The impact launched both of them back and they both rubbed their heads. “Ow! That wasn’t smart!” Emi groaned. The fillies stared at her, they couldn’t believe how strong she was. Emi shook her head and got back up. She charged at the cragadile while it was still recovering, she slid next to it and slashed its feet with her claws. Unfortunately, her claws barely left any scratches, not enough to draw blood. She looked down and noticed her claws were already becoming dull. “What the?” she gasped. She noticed the hard stone-like armor the cragadile was covered in. Emi growled and jumped on top of the beast and began biting down on its scales. She tore, gnawed, and chewed at every scale she could spot, but to no avail. After useless biting, she spat out the rocky taste from her mouth. She then made her way towards its head and sunk her teeth in it. The scales there were softer, and the bite was enough to make the beast roar. However, the cragadile shook its head until Emi came flying off and it smacked her with its large tail. “Emi!” The fillies ran to the fallen fox. “I don’t got this,” Emi moaned as she gripped her stomach. “Now what do we do?” Sweetie asked. Before her question could be answered, the cragadile approached the defensive trio and the injured fox. They all gathered and shielded their fox friend and waited for the worst to come. Suddenly, they noticed that the looming force had disappeared. They all opened their eyes to see the cragadile being dragged back, even the cragadile had a look of confusion. The fillies and the fox looked and saw something pulling the beast by its tail. When the cragadile moved its head, they all saw Ryota pulling back with his teeth. Their hearts resumed their normal paces as they looked on with relief and awe. With one thrust, Ryota swung the cragadile away from the four and into a tree, cracking the trunk in the process. Ryota growled and spat out a scale. He walked past the fallen cragadile and approached his sister and the trio. “Ryot-Ah!” Emi winced as she held her stomach again. Sweetie was quick to comfort her. Ryota’s eyes became more narrow upon seeing his sister in pain. “What happened?” Ryota asked. “We were playing ball!” Sweetie started. “Then Emi joined in,” Apple Bloom continued. “The ball bounced into the forest,” Scootaloo added. “And next thing we know, we’re being attacked by a cragadile!” Sweetie finished. “But it was nobody’s fault! Because the ball bounced itself here,” Emi chuckled while still holding herself. Ryota sighed and patted his sister. “Mother and I have told you not to take on larger prey.” “I-It’s not her fault!” Sweetie pleaded. “That cragadile attacked first! She was just trying to protect us.” “Y-Yeah!” Emi added. “I know that.” Ryota’s chipped ear twitched before he could say anything else. He then tackled the four of them out of the way of the oncoming cragadile. The rocky reptile collided into another set of trees and growled. Ryota got back up, looked down on the tiny group and made sure they were unscratched. He led them to a safe spot behind a boulder. “Stay,” he ordered. The four peaked around the boulder to see him approach the cragadile, the fillies found it difficult to look away from his seven tails and chipped ear. Ryota growled and bore his teeth as the cragadile turned around and hissed at him. The beast charged at Ryota, he slid under the beast and slashed at its legs, which proved useless. “Ryota! His scales are super strong! They won’t chip away!” Emi yelled. The seven-tailed fox turned to respond to his sister but got smacked by the cragadile’s tail. Emi cringed at the attack, feeling somewhat responsible for it. Ryota got back up and shook his head. He glared at the cragadile, smoke began to cloud his vision. Fear stirred up as he looked down to find smoke emitting from his jaw again. He violently shook his head to clear the smoke away. “No!” he hissed. Apple Bloom tilted her head at the gesture. She wasn’t sure why he freaked out about the smoke, but she was more concerned about his survival. Ryota continued to shake his head until the smoke was completely gone. The cragadile charged again, but Ryota dodged out of the way. Its tail was about to smack him, but he evaded the attack. He turned and noticed the frightened faces of the young group, especially Emi’s. Her frown and sad eyes had a mixture of sorrow and fear. While distracted, the cragadile chomped down onto Ryota. A surge of pain coursed through him as his right side and front right paw was caught in the beast's jaws. He screamed while blood dripped from his jaw. “Ryota!” the four screamed. The fox felt a small strike in his chest. His tails flickered together, small sparks emitted from them. He let out a static growl. His whole body became covered by bright electrical energy and forced the cragadile to let go. The young group all covered their eyes. When the light dyed down, the fillies gazed at seeing Ryota’s eyes glowing and the uninjured claws were engulfed by a bright blue aura. His tails were nearly covered with bright bolts. Emi gasped and pointed at Ryota in excitement. Ryota charged at the cragadile, leaving behind a trail of lightning. Using his illuminated claws, he easily slashed right through the cragadile’s legs, it roared. Ryota sprinted all around the beast and struck him with lightning quick attacks. He leaped off trees and boulders and landed a strike on the beast, he struck it several times in the face and muzzle, scales teeth fell off with every strike. To finish it off, he sunk his teeth into its tail and swung it back into the pond. When it splash landed, Ryota leaped up and landed on a nearby tree branch. There, he fired a lightning bolt into the pond, electrocuting the cragadile until its skeleton could be seen. The cragadile fell and sunk into the pond, it’s body still slightly twitching. Ryota landed in front of the fallen beast and his body returned to normal, though he was still bleeding. The fillies and Emi approached Ryota. “That was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. The fillies then attack him with compliments and ‘thank you’s’ and kept replaying the moment back in their heads. Emi approached Ryota with her head down. “I’m sorry,” she said. Ryota smiled and gently patted her head. “I’ll show you some time. How to take on bigger prey.” Emi looked up upon hearing those words. A wide smile formed on her face and she nuzzled up against the uninjured part of his body. That was all Ryota needed. His worried from before were still there, but he felt like they died down a little, knowing that she was safe because of him. It was clear to him that he needed to protect them even more now. Back in Ponyville, Reiko was walking down the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres. When she got there, she noticed Applejack and Rarity speaking to each other in the orchard. Reiko noticed that they both had worried looks on their faces. She approached the two mares. “What’s going on?” she asked. The two mares turned and noticed Reiko. “Oh, howdy partner. What are y'all doin here?” Applejack asked. “I figured I would check up on Kichiro, make sure he didn’t drown this place in apple juice or anything,” Reiko replied. “Can he really do that? Is he able to?” Applejack wondered with more concern in her voice. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen Sweetie Belle, have you, darling?” Rarity asked. “Huh?” Reiko replied. “She and my sister and Scootaloo were all playing together. Apple Bloom was supposed to help with sorting out the apples, but she hasn’t returned,” Applejack explained. “Ah’m startin to get worried.” “What do you want me to do about it?” Reiko asked. “And by that, I mean is there any way I can help? Not trying to be rude.” “It can be hard to tell sometimes,” Applejack muttered. “What?” “Nevermind! I have no idea where she is. Ya think ya can pick up her scent or something?” Applejack asked. Reiko blinked. “I’m a fox, not a bloodhound.” “Sorry, I didn’t mean nothing by it.” Reiko stared at the farm pony, unsure how to process what she just said. She sighed and regained focus. “I’ll see what I can do. But I promise I’ll find them,” Reiko assured. “Thank ya, kindly, Reiko,” Applejack replied. “What about your brother?” Rarity asked. “Eh, he can wait. Be right back!” With that, Reiko ran through the orchard and out into the field, determined to find the missing fillies. She formed a cocky smile as she began to run faster, even though she has no idea where they are. Her smile quickly disappeared upon seeing the fillies and Emi emerged out of the forest. She stopped running when she spotted an injured Ryota limping out with his paw hanging and his entire right nearly covered with blood. Her heart sank as she knew she had already failed at her task. “What the hell happened?” Reiko asked. “All I wanted was some fish,” Ryota chuckled. “Apple Bloom!” “Sweetie Belle!” Reiko turned around to see Applejack and Rarity run out of the orchard to hug their sisters, Scootaloo and Emi. The four of them then told them of what Ryota did. Applejack and Rarity walked past Reiko and towards Ryota. “The girls told us what ya did for them,” Applejack said. “Yeah. I was-” Ryota found himself crushed by the mares embrace. “Thank you!” Rarity exclaimed. “Ow,” Ryota groaned, as the pain returned. “Oh, sorry!” Applejack said as she and Rarity backed off. Ryota noticed a small smudge of blood on Rarity’s chest. “I think I got some blood on you,” Ryota pointed out. Rarity looked down and nearly gagged at the sight of the blood splatter on herself. “I-It’s alright, darling. It will wash off. I hope,” Rarity winced. “Y’all can clean up at my place,” Applejack assured, then turned her attention to Ryota. “And as for you, we gotta patch you up. That paw of yours doesn’t look too good.” “I suppose. But I do-” “Now don’t give me none of that, ‘I don’t want to be a bother,’ nonsense. We’re cleaning up that wound and that’s that.” “I guess I have no choice here,” Ryota chuckled. Applejack smiled and began to lead Ryota back to her house. Before she did, she turned and face Reiko. “And Reiko. I mighty appreciate what you were trying to do. I mean that.” With that, Applejack began to lead Ryota back to the house and Rarity following. Reiko claws dug into the earth as she watched Ryota disappear into the orchard. She could feel her blood boiling again. A task she was willing to do and Ryota already did it. She growled and smoke escaped from her jaw. The smoke quickly dyed down and her anger was soon replaced with something else. Something more melancholy, and she couldn’t place her paw on it. Ryota limped through the orchard as he tried to keep up with Applejack. Luckily, the farm mare noticed the pain in his movements. She slowed herself down and wrapped his uninjured paw around her neck. “Here, lean on me,” Applejack said. Ryota released his weight onto Applejack. Even though he was much taller than his siblings he was still pretty light. She held onto his paw as they walked. “Thank you,” Ryota said. “Ah can’t believe ya took down a cragadile by yourself,” Applejack replied. “It must’ve been a truly grizzly fight, given your injuries,” Rarity added. “I’ve actually fought worse monsters back home. I’m not trying to brag, I’m just saying I’ve tackled these sort of things before,” Ryota said. “Yeah, like way worse! Like monsters more scary than..than..than a cragadile! Or dirt spiders!” Emi exclaimed. “I don’t find that hard to believe,” Rarity replied. “Ah remembered the first time we fought off a cragadile,” Applejack mused. “You’ve fought those monsters before?” Ryota asked. “Yep. It’s quite the interesting story. Some of it, anyway.” The group of friends made it to the farm house where Kichiro emerged out of the barn and saw his wounded brother. “Hey, Ryo!” Kichiro greeted. “That looks fatal. Can I touch your paw?” “Kichiro, that’s your brother!” Rarity scolded. “I can see that. I don’t need two monocles,” Kichiro said.   “Quit foolin around and come help us!” Applejack ordered as she, Ryota, Rarity, and Emi entered the house. “Uh, fine!” Kichiro groaned. The three-tailed fox returned to the barn where five copies of him were busy moving crates of apples around and leaving out the empty ones for bucking. All the copies turned to him as he approached. “Alright, fellas. Break time.” He snapped his paws and all the copies turned into piles of dust. After that, Kichiro made his way to the front door. “So, Ryota, how many animals did you hunt today? Can we tell Fluttershy?” he teased as he entered the house, ready to be of little help and instead gaze at his brothers bloodied body.