Don't expect to find much sympathy there, Rask.

I really need to introduce Hemlock to my nine-tailed fox.

Same here, cept mine would just put her in a time out box until her Wrath/Spite die... guarantee you she'd think much clearer after that, already lost one redeemable dude dont need to lose another least for me thats how I see it lol Yarrow and Hemlock were two sides of the same coin in terms of mental health buuuut Yarrows chance to redeem was taken...dunno if I wanna take a second, not gonna change anything and acting out of revenge/spite is just poison to the blood and never really ends.

Indeed. Mine would strip her of the ability to feel more than one emotion at a time. No blended emotions like melancholy or wistfulness. No, just sadness, joy, anger, etc, and only one at a time. WARNING: Beware Intrusive Thoughts. *evil grin*

Lmao XD im more of the lesson teaching type but fairs fair.

Psychopath. She can't empathize with others, so she's a psychopath, not a sociopath. Additionally, sociopaths hate the rules of society, and so strive yo bring about change in the social order. Hemlock seeks to ptotect her society, snd is willing to kill. Technically, that makes her a Zealot.

I really shouldnt start creating psychological profiles for fictional characters. That's a proverbial rabbit hole...

I disagree with just about everything you said. I do not see a path forward to agreement. I am, therefore, going to cease responding to you because this is NOT the place for us to flex at one another like a pair of sociopaths.

Good bye.

She can't be reasoned with.

Also, seeing Sprig like that kills me... :C

ya I remember seeing it the first time and it suuuuuckkkeeed hahaha /tears

Watching Hemock's hand changing her grip on her spear gives me the impression she's readying to use it to either attack or start driving him away.

oh ya she knows full well she cant take him shes counting on the fact he legit DOESNT want to fight her so if he says "NO" she will just go lunatic and hope he leaves that way...hes the object of everything that proves her worlds a lie and is standing right in front of her...she wants him capital G O N E GONE lol...

Rask doesn't exactly has his guard up either. I wonder if Hemlock is having second thoughts about "mercy", especially since he isn't jumping on the offered chance to leave.

oh trust me even with his guard down LOL...*zips mouth*

You've read the book on Patreon. NO SPOILERS!

Lots of people in the comments have, I havnt spoiled nothin lol

She's awfully confident for someone who's potentially thinking about attacking someone that is clearly more capable than they are.

Shes playing tough girl because the object of everything that proves her worlds a lie is standing right in front of her... shes probably aware...but she also knows he WONT attack her...shes playing him like a fiddle... main thing is she just wants him to leave she knows she cant take him lol...doesnt mean she wont try to desperately... Wrath/Spite makes you quite a fool and shes infected with it albeit I dont see her as irredeemable honestly but I DO hate her pretty bad.

I would also say she's on an adrenaline high from just offing that lad earlier, great writing overall c:

I mean that COULD be as well fam and ya Teagans a good writer. Mostly shes using it to fuel her tough act though and it DOES help...shes probably actually utterly horrified because she knows what Rask is capable of...BUT adrenaline can help you through that and you can mask it easier.

Will someone please get Hemlock a Snickers bar.

I was about to say chocolate doesn't exist, but we have seen New World animals so there's bound to be cocoa beans somewhere

maybe like...50

I AM BADASS SCOWLING BUNNY!! I GOT MY ASS KICKED AND HAD TO BE SAVED BY PREDATOR, BUT I CAN KILL AGAIN, I SWEAR!

ya ik...shes playing tough girl because the object of everything she believes in being a blatent bs lie is standing right in front of her and she HATES It...she just wants him to leave at this point, im sure she knows full well what he could do to her BUT she ALSO knows that he WONT...shes going to be playing this to her advantage...but yes Rask as everyone saw was 100x more combat than she could ever be honestly...thats what Oren was warning them about needing the advantage of NUMBERS...because HE KNOWS how powerful full grown competent predators are in this universe/setting... stick or no stick you are NOT 1 v 1ing any...Yarrows not even the worst out there and he was at his prime (Rask won by a thread to boot)...

Alright, making my prediction now:

Rask isn't going to get the opportunity to run, they're gonna be found by the rest of the village and Rask and Hemlock will be brought in. Everyone will be paranoid over the fact it was another pine marten who did the killing, and almost immediately after they allowed a pine marten into their community, and they will accuse Rask of being a spy. Oren and Egg will probably try and argue against the mob mentality but to no avail, Rask brought the pine marten with him and there could be more waiting to strike, so they decide they need to kill him, make him a warning to the other martens that they will not be prey. Things will escalate and Hemlock will feel forced to come to Rask's defense, and explain that Rask and the marten weren't working together, and that Rask saved her life. Being moved by the one person who hates Rask the most coming to his defense, Oren is allowed to quell the mob and save Rask from being killed. However, when Rask goes to thank Hemlock for saving him, she will coldly reply that they are now even and nothing more, and she still doesn't trust him, she just couldn't let him die after he just saved her life.

You're giving her way too much credit.

Hemlock coming for his rescue XD sorry. no.

Why did you suddenly start posting 2 pages a week? I hope it’s not because this story is coming to an end or that you’re going on a long hiatus =/

Note the Kickstarter info on the bottom of the page.

there's a handful more pages to the chapter (she has them all posted for the end of this chapter on patreon!) but after this, there's going to be a break before the new chapter. I'm not sure how long, but between doing the kickstarter for prints of this to be a physical comic and drafting up the next chapter before it's made, there's probably going to be a bit of a wait. But there's about 200 pages in this chapter so don't worry there's still plenty of comic left in this one before the hiatus starts here, if there's even one at all with the pages only being posted here once/twice a week. Who knows, by the time it catches up to the patreon, the next one could be ready!

I understand, that she take her time calmly to work on the next chapter! I'm a Togashi fan and I have experience when it comes to waiting, but I always feel distressed at every Hiatus XD

I understand that! The pain of waiting for new chapters of a book/comic or season of a new show can be super painful!

I'm posting three pages this week to coincide with the KickStarter ending and a major story beat. Then, it's back to Mondays, occasionally skipping a week if I'm out of town, etc.
This chapter/volume of the comic will run online until November at that rate, which is around when the next chapter will be picking up on Patreon... so, you're not looking at anything more than a 1-2 week hiatus anytime soon!

Veganism - an urgent, modern parable.

Seeing Rask cry hits me right in the feels. Poor little guy.

I feel for Rask here. He's dealing with so much emotional turmoil but he knows he doesn't want to go back to his old life. He's had a glimpse at the other side of the river, where everything can be different. Where he can be safe and accepted by others for what he is and not just seen as a hungry carnivore or small game.

I know Hemlock is being harsh, but she is trying to stay her hand at ending Rask. I think she's doing it more for Sprig at this point than herself, but still, that's a pretty big step for her.

Your giving Hemlock way too much credit (not that I find her irredeemable though, she can be.) she acting 100% selfishly and in according to what SHE desires...she wants him gone and is trying to play tough even though she was clearly 100% worthless against Yarrow (an actual competent predator and now one that defeated said predators is standing right in front of her...)...he can absolutely annihilate her combat wise without question...she hates this fact, she hates that hes breaking her world apart by being what she thinks is impossible, and she hates the fact that Yarrows right about her little playing pretend thing shes doing (she will NEVER be a hunter no matter how hard she tries) her worlds falling apart around her. She wants the last object reminding her of this just out of sight, the fact Oren took a strong liking to Rask doesnt help matters in her eyes either Oren and Rask synergize VERY well. But yes your spot on about Rask. TLDR: Hes the object that is everything Hemlock sees as impossible and it is crumbling her world apart and honestly anyone would hate that and would want the focus of this gone.

lol "if your lucky" she says LMAO...

Absolutely LOVE the contrast between dead Sprig and happy Rask pre-Stone Hollow. I've been waiting for this moment where Rask reveals to Hemlock how he mentally changed, and holy shit, is it beautiful! Awesome work yet again, Teagan!

So much going on here. Am not sure what to say.

Rask has the unfortunate fact that he is a good person working against him, here. He can never go back to how things were. He's seen the other side, now, and he is small enough (and not quite enough of an obligate carnivore) that he really does have another choice, once the door is open.

Hemlocks using the fact hes a good boi against him too...by feigning toughness and using his emotions against him...shes hoping he will just leave and shes probably fully aware he wont attack her so she is free to poke away and he either stays and eventually gets stabbed or runs which is what she wants anyway...hes the object of everything she thinks is impossible in the world and she hates the fact shes right in front of him and just wants him to LEAVE... also the fact Oren and Rask synergize insanely well probably infuriates her to no end. After finishing the chapter it def feels like the comics turned towards a different path than the original description/intention so dont expect to refer to that def a change OR perhaps the intention WAS to mislead and then surprise people...you'll understand in a handful of more pages.

Poor Rask has a better grasp of reality than Hemlock. She's so full of resentful fear, that I hope he's able to be able to break through to her. He literally has cut himself off from the world he grew up in and is trying to embrace a 'Hopeful' change. Rask really is going through a a hell of torment and the one befriended is dead at the hands of his Dad. His Dad is dead at the hands of a Rabbit who doesn't want Rask to be a part of 'her' world. I can also see he hasn't let go of the spearhead, which would suggest he's still on guard from Hemlock. I hope Oren can get there to reason with her. Unless she tries to attack Rask or claim that he was going to attack her, this has the potential to spiral further out of control. The tension and the torment is fantastically displayed and makes us sympathise further with Rask's plight. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Angst much Rask?

The dude just lost one of his only friends and his dad, and a psycho is now threatening him with death if he doesn't leave the one place he's felt safe.

I love how you've written Hemlock, I think she's a very compelling, well developed character, and is far and away my favourite

Seeing the degree of hate she gets in the comments is always sad, and I just wanted to share some positive feelings about her since she gets so little

Also amazing page as always!

The Hemlock Hate only really comes out on FA thankfully, most other sites and the Patreon people are way more chill.

Agreed though, she's an interesting one.

Hemlock is really on a power trip now. Rask saves her life, proves that, even in the face of his own father, he's not willing to just LET people die, even someone as hateful as Hemlock, and, after watching her kill his own father while he was trying to reason with, he still manages to be as reasonable as anyone possibly could. She killed a predator that was no longer a threat, in a relatively helpless position, after getting her rear presented to her, and she thinks she's got the wherewithal to just decide Rask has no place there anymore, in spite of everything she literally just saw.

She seems to just want blood. The problem with that rears it's head in this page and the previous one. Although she just wants predators dead, Rask's mere existence contradicts every justification for that world view that she could possibly have. She probably tried to reconcile that world view briefly WITH Rask's existence, but deep down knows that it's simply not possible, so, rather than change (which is an incredibly painful process, by the way, especially when you're this deep set in your ideas), she's trying to distance Rask from herself, from her people, and from the movement she's trying to make. That's why she gives him the ultimatum: Leave, or die.

In my honest opinion, this is reprehensible behavior, but it doesn't fully make Hemlock unredeemable in the world presented in this comic, BUT it does say to me one of two things: She will likely get worse before she gets better, OR she will be offed at some point.

I think it’s going to get worse.., for her. When it finally comes crashing down around Hemlock’s head (figuratively) and she hits rock bottom…, then she’ll start changing for the better.

Well that’s my feeling anyway.

I was about to say, "Don't let go of that spear head, Rask - you might be needing it." But then I realized, after seeing Yarrow in action, Rask could probably defeat Hemmy more easily without the distraction of an unfamiliar weapon in his paw. That's assuming his injuries don't slow him down too much. Hanging on every page now....

Rask... ;w;

Sprig became a friend, like Egg, and watching Sprig get killed by Rask’s own father is what’s turned Rask.

Hemlock doesn’t see the anguish or conflict with Rask. She only sees predator, and blind hatred!

This certainly speaks to me, not really knowing where I belong is sort of a life story. I'm new to all of this, though when I can finally find the time I'll start from the start and hopefully catch up.