Season 5, Episode 18

"What happened?" Ink was talking to the notebook open on his worktable.

Tapping the pen against his teeth, he examined the sketch he'd done of the Marking he'd put on the no-fur who called himself Spitfire. The stories from his service were disconcerting. Some no-furs enjoyed the ritual. It was designed to bring pleasure with the inevitable pain. But, if the stories he'd heard from the Hares were true, Spitfire had reveled in it. The Hare who had led the ritual, Nickel, refused to talk to him. But the others were more than happy to gossip about how the no-fur had challenged and insulted Nickel.

In another situation, Ink would have loved the gossip and material to harass the stoic Hare. But Nickel hadn't been seen on deck since the ritual. Priest had excused him from his duties for an entire day. How bad had the ritual gone? Because it wasn't just Nickel hiding that had Ink going over his work.

Priest had stopped the ritual after the first stage. There was a second stage to it that all