As Kali gnawed on the last little bit of bone to get at the tasty marrow, Avalon slept gloomily, a little rain cloud all to herself. Raieil wished she wasn't so easy to demoralize; the bishen would slip into a deep depression at the slightest provocation from their black sister. She knew that Kali almost didn't even find it fun anymore to bother the poor little blue. Her own anger, however, so easily provoked, was endless amusement to the black.      Kali grinned toothily at her white sister. ***      Timra heard the crunching of bones as one of the creatures (they could tell that there were three, from the noises that they made as they ate) gnawed on a leftover. 'Sahshen's mouth watered, and a string of drool spattered on the dry leaves at their feet.      There was sudden silence from the other side of the bushes, and all three knew that they'd been discovered. Adrenaline surged, and for what seemed like a lifetime, the urge to flee warred with the desire to fight, and they sat frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. ***      The 'sisters' rested for a little while, until Avalon woke and Kali was about done with her breakfast. Suddenly, the blue's eyes widened and she looked behind them into the dense foliage.      *I heard something,* she whispered to the other two, who both turned their attention. She shifted slightly, lifting her smaller paw so that they could turn around silently and face the bush fully.      There was no other sound for a long moment, then a sharp hiss and a snarl, followed by a form almost as jumbled as their own bursting from the underbrush. It flew at them, silver claws slashing, teeth bared in a savage snarl. It had huge backward curving horns cresting it's canine skull, and even though it used them as though it were a confused deer that thought it was a rhino, they were still dangerous. One bound after it burst from the bushes and it was on them.      They were surprised at first, though not entirely unprepared. Kali snarled in return, baring her own set of sharp teeth, and Raieil wasn't far behind. Even Avalon was caught up in the heat of the moment, bringing her own claws into play.      The beast, whatever it was, seemed to be having some trouble. More than once, it was in a position to take a nasty bite, but it cried out, its voice sounding very strange, and lost the opportunity. After a short scuffle, the three bishen had it pinned, their tails wrapping it's legs and arms, as they sat on it to hold it down.      For a moment, it struggled desperately, then seemed to do a complete three-sixty, it's long ears flicking back and it's eyes widening in terror.      "Please don't hurt us," it pleaded in a voice that sounded completely different than the one that they had heard cry out. "Patchwork didn't mean any harm. Patchwork was just trying to escape," it winced visibly, and the voice changed yet again, desperately berating itself. "Don't tell them that, stupid!"      In an amazing shift of personalities, the bishen watched on as it spoke, not to them, but itself, three distinct personalities surfacing to argue with each other. They were stunned.      "What else was I supposed to say?"      "Don't say anything!"      It hissed fiercely before speaking "Jussst let me kill them. Then maybe we'll have something decent to eat."      Both of the other two voices answered, sounding appalled. "No!"      "Kei," one voice whimpered plaintively "How are we gonna get out of this one?"      "Maybe they'll just kill us quick and get it over with." The second voice answered gravely.      It hissed again, and the hiss turned into a pitiful whine halfway through, but didn't say more.      Awed by this creature, who seemed to have even worse problems than they themselves did, the bishen just sat there. Maybe it would be best to put it out of its misery, though Avalon abhorred the thought, and Raieil wasn't to hot on it either. Even Kali decided to let it live, which surprised the other two, until they learned that she just wanted to play with it.      All three pairs of dark eyes returned to the cringing form beneath them, its eyes tightly closed, waiting for the death blow.      Avalon spoke softly, bending low to reassure the creature, who's name seemed to be Patchwork, and for good reason, she thought; it's hide looked as though it were made up of several different beings sewn together. She gently stroked its face and ears with her smaller paw, as one might comfort a frightened rabbit, until it stopped flinching at her touch and opened it's golden eyes a crack.      *There now,* she said, still petting its soft fur *There, it's alright. We're not going to hurt you.*      *Much,* Kali interjected for only the other two bishen to hear. They glared at her mentally.      Raieil eyed them sternly before speaking. *If we let you up, you're not going to attack us again, are you?*      The creature shook its head, then, as though that weren't enough, spoke in the softer, more timid voice that had seemed to take charge and speak before. "Patchwork promises, Patchwork won't even look at them strangely."      Satisfied, the three conjoined bishen released their hold on its arms and legs and slid off. It stayed on the ground for a moment, then scrambled to its feet, looking all the more like a spooked deer or rabbit. Or both, all three thought at the same time. It didn't stand up straight, however, but cowered a little, as though showing that it wouldn't even be taller than the three if they didn't want it to.      Kali grinned toothily and thought of all the fun she could have with this thing. Raieil rolled her eyes, and turned to mentally berating her black sister. Avalon was the only one to keep her full attention on Patchwork, and she smiled, hoping that they would recognize the gesture.      They seemed to, for they smiled back tentatively. ***      *We really won't hurt you, it's alright.* the blue head said, her smile never wavering, though it did seem a bit sad.      Timra was confused and afraid. Apparently, Hisahshenik had overwhelmed their mind with a red haze, and all three had leapt into the fray whole-heartedly, until Blaze managed to break free of the berserk rage and keep the other two from hurting... whatever it was... too badly. Kei hadn't revived until they were pinned, but his kind was more aggressive than Blaze's in the first place; more apt to fight rather than flee.      Now, they were at the mercy of... Blaze still didn't know what it was. It had three heads and three tails, but that was where anything resembling individuality ended. The black, white and blue bodies fused together at the waist, their colors mingling in a lovely calico-like pattern before splitting again into their individual tails.      Blaze thought he remembered an old story he'd heard or read somewhere, about a many-faced, angel on the right hand of Niaryalii, who fought her battles and blessed her chosen. "Hauvashi'Niaryai," he murmured in something approaching awe.      *What?* all three voices sounded confused, and all three pairs of eyes turned in Timra's direction.      They swallowed and Kei wished Blaze luck, not even wanting to get mixed up in that particular conversation. 'Sahshen was sulking. Well okay, Blaze was on his own.      " Hauvashi'Niaryai," he repeated, then translated it "Are you... are you the Champion of Life?"      The white blinked, as did the blue. The black laughed uproariously.