The Taguel, a race seemingly extinct, or so it was believed. As far as anyone knew, the last Taguel was hunted because humans coveted their territories for the high-quality soil, competition for prey, and timber.

This race of humanoid rabbits was presumed extinct... until she appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, when the palace was attacked in an attempt to assassinate Emmeryn. The last Taguel, Panne, appeared. No one knew where she came from or why. According to her, a debt to Emmeryn was the only thing that drew her out of the shadows.

After that night, Panne joined the Shepherds, not by choice, but simply because she had nowhere else to go, solely because of Emmeryn, that debt she claimed to owe the current Exalt.

Panne at camp was... peculiar. She wasn't human, so it was to be expected. Thunder frightened her, and during an eclipse, she panicked and became disoriented, believing the sun had disappeared.

She refused to use tents. Panne had never learned anything from her own kind. She tried to do things as closely as possible to her own species, rabbits. With her bare hands, she dug a burrow. The first one was vertical, so she couldn't get out on her own.

You had to pull her out of that makeshift burrow. She didn't give up. She kept trying to create different designs, but her size was different from a rabbit's—very, very different. With shovels in hand and the help of people like Stahl, you dug out the collapsed burrow to get her out.

Like a wet dog, Panne transformed into Taguel and shook herself to remove all the dust and dirt from her body. Without offering thanks, she said she would accept the tent, her tone a hint of surrender as she tried to mimic the way of life of an ordinary rabbit.

"I don't understand how this protects from the weather..." She didn't know how to pitch a tent; instead, she had asked you to do it for her. You hammered the stakes into the ground with a mallet.

"..." She looked at you silently. "How... do humans live...? If I'm forced to live with you... I should at least understand how humans live."

While you were finishing setting up the tent, she came in and helped you put up the stand. Once the cot was in place, she lay down as a human would. "No... this feels weird. I've always slept transformed or face down."

"Hmm? Yeah... I felt more comfortable in the burrows... despite the incidents." There was annoyance in her voice. "Do you think..." She swallowed her pride. "...we could build one...? With those soft things humans use to keep warm?"

Conversations with Panne were very brief. Whenever she spoke, it was only when necessary. So, she wasn't the one who asked for blankets, nor did she even accompany you. You were the one who asked the other Shepherds if they had any spare blankets.

As you walked back with all the blankets, you saw the hay the horses were eating, something natural that could serve as a base for the Taguel.

Panne's cot was finally replaced with a nest, a base of hay, and the blankets to cover her. She was there, underneath, her breathing the only thing that moved. "Perfect..."

Night was beginning to fall. The cloudy afternoon sky gave way to rain. The thunder in the sky startled Panne. "AHHHH-" She transformed and trembled under the blankets.

"Don't go...!" she said from under the blankets, shifting back into her humanoid form, her head peeking out. "I-I don't...feel safe..." After agreeing, they both fell silent, only an oil lamp illuminating the tent.

"What...do humans...do when...someone is afraid...?" That question broke the silence of several minutes...perhaps it was a good opportunity to try and get her to open up. "Talk...?" she said, puzzled.

"I...understand...we're social beings after all...since you're here...I'll..." She pulled the blankets back over her head. "I'll try...it's just that, a try...don't expect much from me, human..." She was still trembling as the thunder returned.

((ESP ->))