"Quite a shame really." Said the stallion. "You have nice big br..."
BRAK!
Blood instantly blew out of the horse's nose as Grace's staff connected with his it, making him stagger back. Using the same momentum from the swing, she thrust the butt end of her staff just under the ribs of the tawny feline who was just about to lunge with his dagger behind her. The feline bent inward, eyes wide, stunned and winded from the blow. Grace took advantage of the opportunity by whipping her body around and driving her knee into the feline's face with a sickening crunch, sending him flat on his back. The crooked dagger the feline held clattered against the pavement and spun away.
The stallion bent down to draw a hidden knife from his boot and wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve of his free arm. "You witch!" He lunged but found himself foiled as Grace twirled around, her staff sweeping his legs out from underneath him, making him land painfully on his back. Grace stomped down hard on his stomach and clubbed the dagger out of his clenched fist. "H-How...?" the stallion gasped, wheezing for breath.
"If I can keep track of over 80 children, I can certainly manage a couple of amateur thugs!" said Grace firmly with an angry glare. "I'm cranky, irritated, and late. Just be glad this is all I did to you." Without looking back, the polar bear walked away, leaving the two thugs on the cold pavement, gasping for breath.
Xylina had just ushered the kids to their rooms when she heard the door open. The aged lynx with silver hair held the squirrel babe gently against her and walked to the main entrance.
"You're late." commented Xylina as Grace hung her traveling cloak
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Thanks for covering for me though. Are the kids in bed?" asked Grace.
"Well, I agreed that they could stay up 15 minutes longer as long as they were quiet and stayed in their roo... is that blood?" Xylina pointed at the cloak that Grace hung. Grace looked at the spot of blood on the hem and groaned in disgust.
"It isn't mine." said Grace as Xylina raised an eyebrow..
"You didn't use magic, did you?" asked Xylina.
"Just to discern who was behind me." said Grace. "If I did use offensive magic though, I probably would've killed 'em."
"So many petty thieves out now?" Xylina sighed. "This angel hunt is only complicating things."
"Speaking of angels, how is the little guy?" asked Grace.
"Just fine. Fell asleep five minutes ago." Xylina placed the squirrel babe into Grace's arms as his eyes blinked open. "Well, he was asleep..."
Grace cradled the babe and ran a finger across his little tummy. He giggled and grabbed her finger. "Little Jamesey..."