• (( read the description first so you can understand a few things about this first ))

    Jess sat curled up on a chair toying with something in her hand, her rifle leaning against the wall within arm's reach. She had been crying, and there were streaks of white mascara discoloring the grey fur down the sides of her face...

    Jack smiled across the table at Jess, showing his over-large squirrel teeth. He must have used half the money he'd been saving from his office job to get a reservation at a restaraunt this expensive, she realized. She smiled back, pressing his hand lightly.
    There was no one else on this balcony, it was the most prestigeous spot on the entire building. People below glanced enviously at them now and then, dining on the finest food and looking over the best view of the nearby mountain lake.
    She loved him for doing this, Especially since he knew she was going on a big mission the next day. She wouldnt be back for a month, and he must have wanted to bring her someplace in case... She banished the thought from her head. Being a soldier in the Other Militia was dangerous, and you couldnt afford to think about being killed in action. It was much too likely to happen, since the humans had the superior weaponry, numbers, and tacticians.

    Jack was saying something. "Jess... You know we've been together for a while now," He said, "And you know how much i adore you... not just because you look divine, but because your intelligent, patient and kind. Besides all that though, theres something about you thats so much different than other girls i've known. Other girls used to make me tongue-tied, but since i met you... i don't know, it's like you're able to connect my thoughts together." He smiled wryly. "I even lost my old stutter."
    She chuckled at the mention of his stutter. He used to repeat every other word three or four times in a sentance.
    "So." He swallowed hard before continuing. "I've been thinking. I've got some money saved up..." Jess' eyes widened, and she suddenly knew exactly what was happening. Jack stood up and knelt down, reaching for a small box in his jacket pocket...

    She stared morosely out the window. Someone knocked on the door, but she didnt bother answering. After a few moments, a white fox walked in. "Hey Jess." It was Tony. HE walked across the room and put a hand on her shoulder. "How ya holding up?" He said quietly, his expression one of concern.
    Anthony Gladpaw was a squad leader in the Militia, and her superior. Unlike a lot of other squad leaders, he was actually younger than some of those he commanded by a couple of years. Jess looked up at him and forced a weak smile. "Better..." She said through the ever-present lump in her throat. Tony didnt look convinced.
    He sighed and knelt next to her. "Look Jess, I know your still torn up about this, but the troop needs you. I would love to help you. Hell, if i could, I'd hunt down the b*****d sho did this to you, drag him back here, and make him apologize to you with a pistol barrel jammed down his throat. But you cant keep going on like this..."
    He stopped when he saw what she was holding. "Is that it?" He asked. She nodded and opened up her hand for him to see better. Lying in her palm was a thin band of silver, with a teardrop-shaped ruby set in it. Her engagement ring. The arctic fox shook his head. "It never should have happened... Especially not right after Jack proposed."
    He sighed heavily. "I knew him pretty well... Its hard to believe he's gone." Jess nodded, blinking back fresh tears. "Tony... It isnt fair. I'm supposed to be the one with the dangerous job. I'm supposed to be the one who risks my life... So why did he die?" Anthony shook his head. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time... That, and i guess you rubbed off on him. He died bravely."

    In fact, Jack had died as bravely as any soldier. On the way to work three days before Jess got back from her mission, Jack had been on a subway station, riding near the front. A few minutes into the ride, someone next to Jack had shoved him aside and pulled something out of his pocket. When he looked up, Jack had seen what nobeast else on the subway had seen... the man was a human. And he was wearing a Fury symbol on a chain around his neck... the symbol of people who considered the Others to be freaks that needed to be exterminated. Jack had tackled the man, pinned his arm to the ground, and broken the detonator that he had been holding... But the man got his other hand free, and shot Jack three times in the chest. He had died instantly after saving everybeast else on the subway.