Wish: The Fallen King

[Squirrelflight]

Let's just cut right to the prologue. P:

I feel displaced in my kingdom of disgrace
And I feel shamefaced for the sin I know I can't replace
And I can't help but feeling a little low down
Or should it be the other way around
It seems my smile appears upside-down
I guess then it's called a frown
&&----------&&
I'm falling down, broken my crown
I feel like a king who's lost everything
I'm falling down, down to the ground
Will you catch me, because I'm falling
I'm falling down
I'm all alone, trying to survive on my own
And I need a light, to guide me when I walk through this life
Perhaps even give me eternal life
And he'll have a beautiful kingdom
And I'll live with him and his son

Prologue


No time for goodbye he said
As he faded away
Don't put your life in someone's hands
Their bound to steal it away
Don't hide your mistakes
'Cause they'll find you, burn you
Then he said

If you want to get out alive
Run for your life
If you want to get out alive
Run for your life

--get out alive. three days grace.


"We're almost there," a woman panted in the darkness, her bronze eyes flashing fearfully as she glanced over her shoulder to meet the darker gaze of a man, his dark features displaying nothing but calm, like the ocean after a storm.

The woman looked down at the bundle she held dearly in her arms, her eyes softening as a shaft of light, shining as a small crack in the cold stone walls, lit up the pale face of a baby, his eyes tightly closed, fast asleep.

I pray we are not too late, the woman thought darkly, listening to their muffled footsteps as they raced through the damp and gloomy halls, ocassionally splashing through murky puddles and listening to the scuttle of sewer creatures as they moved out of their way.

A shout from far behind them made the woman shudder and pull the child closer to her, as if in fear she might lose him at any moment, wanting to feel his warmth one last time.

"We'll make it," the man said gently, as if he knew what she had been thinking. As soon as he had finished speaking, something whirled through the air, and he flinched, tripping, slamming on the ground.

The woman gasped, crouching down, one hand rapidly racing over his left shoulder, murmuring words that were too low to hear, and swiftly dislodged a black barbed arrow covered in blood, near black in the darkness.

"Get up!" she hissed, tugging at him with one arm while holding her child close to her, bronze eyes wide with desperation.

The man shook his head, and sat up, his breathing normal despite the arrow wound in his shoulder. He looked at her for what may have been seconds or even minutes, then stood up, dragging her with him, embracing her and the sleeping baby.

"My love..."

She shivered and stepped away from him, into moonlight, her face fully revealed, her clothes dull in the silvery light.

Her pale face was drawn, her eyes knowing, sorrowful, her once snowy white dress ripped and covered in blood, the tiara on her head lopsided, sitting softly on top of her curly dark brown hair, sweat on her forehead.

In her arms, the man could clearly see the dark bundle where her--no, their--child slept, his face calm, sleeping with the dreams that only a child would dream, unaware of the danger that he had caused, the destruction that would follow after tonight--just because of him.

His eyes traveled up to her face, taking a moment to admire the few freckles that dotted her high cheekbones, the deep bronze her eyes were with the lighter speckles of amber within them. Then, he heard another shout behind them, and his hand slowly went to the sword, sheathed, at his side, and drew it out with a small shake of his head.

"You must go on without me," he finally said, and tore his gaze away from hers, facing the darkness, where he could see guards with their torches, hear the sound of baying dogs as they strained on their leashes to race on ahead and tear apart what they were chasing--them.

She breathed in a ragged breath, and closed her eyes, sighing.

"I know...will I ever see you again?" her voice was soft, and her eyes opened slowly, her head lifting as she reached up with one hand to turn his head so he was facing her.

"This is the last night, love," he whispered, lifting her head up so he could kiss her one last time, then kissing their son on the head.

She looked him over, at the dark black leather clothes he wore, to the bag he wore upon his back, which, as she watched, he took it off, and handed it to her.

"It will be his once this ends," was the only thing he said once she tentatively took it, her fingers tightening on the rough fabric.

"I love you, you know that, right?" she whispered. "I will wait for you until I die, and if I do not see you again, we will find each other in the land of the dead and be together for all eternity."

He smiled at her, his teeth flashing, unnatural in the darkness.

"My heart belongs to you and only you, my beautiful. You know that."

Then his smile faded, and he stepped away from her, a fierce light in his eyes, the desire to protect what he loved burning within him, his sword gleaming.

He muttered something, and the sword changed--it seemed to swirl with lightning and fire, flames flickering within the steel, lightning flashing.

"You need to leave now," he said. "Sasha. Go. Now."

Sasha turned around, gathering her child closer, the bag on her back, her head lowered, taking off into the darkness.

"I love you..."

The words seemed hollow as she ran alone.

But not alone...

The baby shifted in her secure arms, oblivious.

[Squirrelflight]

Your parents say everything is your fault
But they don't know you
like I know you
they don't know you at all

I'm so sick of when they say
It's just a phase, you'll be OK you're fine
But I know it's a lie

--the last night. skillet.


The woman sighed and lifed up a dusty dress, shaking it out and holding it back, golden dust particles floating slowly around in the empty room in the bright sunlight.

She looked around, taking in the room itself; it was a long attic, with wood floors and scattered with boxes and discarded parchment on broken tables.

"So long ago," the woman sighed, and lay the dusty dress down, her long fingers lingering on it for a moment before she withdrew them as the only door, at the other end of the attic, opened, and a girl walked in, breathless, her auburn hair windswept and messy.

"My Lady," the girl panted, then began walking toward the woman, and the woman faced away from the girl, dazed.

When she reached the woman, she narrowed her eyes slightly, and crossed her arms.

"What is it, Squirrelflight Ora?"

Squirrelflight winced at the word "Ora"--it was something she was frequently called, though the proper term would be Oracle, and no one called her that.

"Selene, I am leaving the manor," Squirrelflight announced, and Selene turned around to look at her, her face stunned.

"...Why? Why would you leave me?" Selene murmured.

The Oracle shook her head, then ran a hand through her curly hair. "Selene, you are caught up in the past, and no one can help you there. You cannot concentrate on the future or the present, and we are tired of pretending that everything is okay, when it isn't. Wish has begun to corrupt and we are not going to wait for you to gather your wits." The teen paused, worried. "But I will be leaving. I can be more than an Oracle."

She spoke of something else, her inner power, something more powerful than her Oracle power. Something so dark and powerful that she had used it only once, and hardly came out alive.

Selene winced, then her face soured, and fear flashed across her beautiful features. "You're taking him with you, aren't you?" she accused, suddenly crazed, her eye twitching. "You're going to leave me all alone!"

Squirrelflight took a step back, her hand curling. "It has been Seen and it will happen. Yes, he's coming with me, Selene, and you cannot stop it. The Gods would not forgive you for playing with Fate."

Selene drew herself up, and Squirrelflight raised her head, her eyes meeting the amber glare of the older woman, her lips pressed together tightly.

"You can't have me arrested, Selene. Lady you may be, but where I am from, I am a Queen, despite my age," Squirrelflight said firmly, and she felt satisfied when Selene's eyes narrowed and she took a step back. "If they heard I was arrested for simply telling you that I was leaving with your son, you would be dead before dawn."

"You and your magic tricks!" Selene hissed. "You and your people take pleasure from leeching us dry, don't you?" The woman stepped back until she was against the wall. "Fine, go. My son will never step foot in this castle again--not while he's with you."

Squirrelflight sighed, and turned away, her eyes watering at some unspoken word, some inner emotion, and she stomped off, slamming the door behind her.

--------------

Shadowsoul looked up as Squirrelflight stalked over and flung herself down next to her, her eyes swimming with emotion.

"Have trouble?" she asked her lifelong friend, smiling to herself as she remembered that Squirrelflight was only three days older than her--and three inches taller.

In response to the question, Squirrelflight turned over and lay on her side, her hair covering her face.

Shadowsoul playfully nudged her and was instantly thrown off the low-hanging branch she had been slouching on, her face planting itself on the grass, dirt in her mouth.

"What the hell was that for?" Shadowsoul growled into the ground, and aimed a punch at Squirrelflight, reaching deep inside her to where she felt the tree's power, and hit Squirrelflight on the back with a tree root, which wrapped around the girl and forced her to stand on her toes as the tree pinned her arms to her side.

Shadowsoul stood up with the help of the tree, and she stood on a tree root, her arms crossed as she studied Squirrelflight.

"Tell me what's wrong and I'll ask the tree to let you go," Shadowsoul demanded, her near golden eyes focused on her friend's ocean blue ones, and she watched as Squirrelflight's eyes darkened and her face hardened.

Stubborn fool! Shadowsoul thought, irritated, and the tree roots tightened their hold on Squirrelflight.

As if she sensed what was going to eventually happen, Squirrelflight's face relaxed, though she still looked grumpy, and Shadowsoul released her hold on the tree's power, and both her and Squirrelflight landed lightly on the ground, both of them staring at each other warily, and Shadowsoul visibly allowed herself to relax, though she was ready to kick Squirrelflight for flinging her into the dirt.

"Selene is being...difficult," Squirrelflight muttered, almost to herself, and Shadowsoul frowned at the news.

She knew that Squirrelflight was going to be leaving soon, and she knew that the Lady would be difficult--she would be losing the Oracle and whoever followed the Oracle would most certainly leave, too, leaving the Lady alone.

"And what about Talax?" Shadowsoul asked, and was rewarded by a glare from her friend.

Oh.

Squirrelflight looked lost, and Shadowsoul felt sorry for her friend--she knew that her friend had feelings for Talax, even if her friend hadn't said anything. And she didn't blame Squirrelflight--Talax had gotten quite a few looks from the young women in the area....so she wasn't surprised that Squirrelflight liked him, too.

Though she found it humerous that Talax just treated her like a friend and was oblivious to Squirrelflight's affection.

"Well, I'm going to go with you guys even if we have to blow up the castle," Shadowsoul joked, and Squirrelflight gave her an incredulous look.

"Whatever!" Squirrelflight exclaimed, and tackled Shadowsoul. "You could hardly talk that tree into attacking me! I'd have to blow up the castle myself!"

Shadowsoul pushed her off after getting her in a headlock, snickering, when someone walked up behind them and dumped a bucket of icy cold water on them.

"HEY!" Squirrelflight and Shadowsoul hissed, both of them leaping up to see a figure clad in dark leather, his face hidden by a helmet, the royal crest on the helm.

Instantly, Shadowsoul felt Squirrelflight's entire posture change, and almost giggled as she realized what Squirrelflight had realized--that this was Talax...and he just poured water on them like a little kid.

"Hi," Shadowsoul chirped brightly, nudging Squirrelflight when she frowned and, almost unconciously, took a step behind Shadowsoul.

Talax removed his hood, and Shadowsoul studied him.

He had dark brown hair, which was shoulder-length, and looked windswept, despite the fact that he had been wearing a helmet, and his skin was slightly tanned, one of the things Shadowsoul suspected Squirrelflight liked about him so much--his skin was a nice shade, and totally made his eyes even cooler. His eyes, which were currently narrowed in amusement, were a cool near purple shade of blue with lighter blue flecks.

"What are you ladies up to?" Talax asked, and Shadowsoul caught the smell of the woods, and she curled her lip as Squirrelflight's mouth opened slightly, then closed.

"Er..just talking," Shadowsoul supplied when Squirrelflight didn't say anything.

Shadowsoul felt a flicker of annoyance when Squirrelflight still didn't say anything, and then felt awkward when Talax looked at them, then frowned.

"I heard that you guys were leaving.."

Squirrelflight shrugged, and Shadowsoul nodded, trying to look as if it meant nothing to her.

Talax opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the sound of horse hooves silenced him, and he looked over his shoulder as someone on a large gray charger approached.

"Sir." The voice came from the rider, a short man that looked even smaller by the horse he was on. "Lady Selene requests your company at the pond bridge."

Talax sighed and nodded. "Very well. I shall be there shortly."

Shadowsoul watched with narrowed eyes as he walked off, the man on the horse matching his swift step, talking to Talax.

She turned to look at Squirrelflight, but her friend was already walking away, her head tipped to the side, her arms swinging slightly.

Huh.

--------------

Squirrelflight hit herself on the head, groaning in dismay.

Today had been utter crap, and not just because Talax had shown up and she hadn't even been able to say hi to him, and she left Shadowsoul to do all the talking.

"Well, I didn't see that coming," she said to herself as she lay down on her bed, legs twined together as she stared up at the ceiling.

She sighed and closed her eyes, smiling as remembered that he had smelled like he had been in the woods all day--he probably had, knowing him. But then she remembered Shadowsoul's look as she realized that her friend had actually liked the smell.

Well then. Shadowsoul could jump in the pond if she didn't like the smell of a man.

Tap. Tap.

The Oracle looked over at her door and lazily got out of bed, smoothing out her clothes, which consisted of a cotton shirt and a pair of down pants, and slunk over to the door, cracking it open slightly.

Squirrelflight could only stare in amazement as Talax frowned at her, and she opened her door and allowed Talax to come in, curious.

"Um, what's up?"

Talax sighed and flopped on her bed, and she leaned against the wall.

"My mother is not happy about you leaving," Talax sighed, and put his hands under his head and lay down, and Squirrelflight crossed her arms, a little ticked off that he had taken over her bed.

"I know." Squirrelflight didn't know where he was going with this.

Talax sat up, his eyes fixed on his hands as he clenched and unclenched them.

Instantly, Squirrelflight felt a wave of unease, and she was unsure of where it came from, and her eyes focused on the full moon outside her window, then the world crashed down on her.

She zoned out for what could have been hours, or a few minutes, but when she finally came back to her body, she was laying on the floor, and she felt so cold, like she had been thrust into snow and left there all night.

She was shaking, and she flinched when something warm pressed against her cheek.

"You're awake...finally!"

Talax. He sounded so relieved, Squirrelflight felt herself smile a little, then frowned.

Her eyelids quivering, Squirrelflight sat up, looking at the dawn light filtering through her window, then at Talax, who was crouched next to her.

"You stayed here all night?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse, and she lifted her hand to wipe away the blood that bubbled out of her mouth when she spoke.

"Of course. You fainted right in front of me." He sounded like he was surprised, and Squirrelflight couldn't blame him--she sounded so ungrateful.

Her eyes searched his before she looked away.

"Right...."

Squirrelflight stood up, and Talax helped her up, both of them not looking at each other.

"Did you come by last night to say anything to me...before I, uh, blacked out?" she asked quietly, and Talax gave her a smile.

"Why, I'm leaving the castle with you when you leave!" he announced.

Squirrelflight blinked, trying to not show how relieved she was that she wouldn't have to kidnap him or force him to go--he was leaving with her either way.

"Great!"

She only hoped that Selene wouldn't try to stop them on their way out, because if she did, Squirrelflight and Shadowsoul would have to use force to leave, and she wanted to leave as quietly as possible.

She felt a wicked smile spread across her face as she planned out their sneaky departure.

"Do you like mud?" she asked Talax casually.

[Squirrelflight]

High behind your collar
What is done in vain
Truth is hard to swallow
So you pray to God
To justify the way you live a lie, live a lie, live a lie
And you take your time
And you do your crime

--let it rock. kevin rudolf.

Squirrelflight frowned and glanced up at the sun, then back down at the blackened sword in her trembling hand as she balanced in the tree.

The deadly weapon felt odd in her hand, as if it was rejecting her somehow, even though she had owned the sword for well over a year and had used it in plenty of training sessions with Shadowsoul on hot summer days that she was bored.

She tightened her hold on the short sword, and used the palm of her other hand to rub ashes from the firepit next to her onto the sword, smearing the last silver sliver that showed what the sword formerly was, and she rubbed more ashes mixed with powdered coal on the pommel of the sword, turning the topaz into a filthy stone--no one would look at her sword twice and reconize who it belonged to after tonight.

She smiled.

Lightly, she leaped down from the tree, landing in a half-crouch, her hair falling over her face. Squirrelflight stood up and brushed her hair out of her face, her smile lingering on her face as she walked to a small barn, the long shadows of the woods behind her following her up to the barn door, and she slid in through the small opening just large enough to permit a person to enter.

"About time," Shadowsoul growled from somewhere above Squirrelflight, and she looked up to see her friend hanging upside down from a beam, her hair falling down, her dark clothing blending her with the darkening shadows of the barn, and her eyes shone like two golden-brown orbs, suspended in air, her face hidden completely by shadow.

She looked like a vampire straight from Hell.

Before Squirrelflight could think of a reply, Shadowsoul had swung herself around and dropped the ten or so feet to the ground and landed with a flourish, flashing a smile at her much unamused friend.

Squirrelflight looked around, then relaxed when she realized Talax wasn't there--he wouldn't be asking any questions about whether or not Shadowsoul should have broken both her legs by the drop, or at least show a sign of pain.

She sighed at Shadowsoul's fail attempt at making her smile--they were about to break out of this stupid place, pass that fail excuse of a, what, a little castle? Or just a manor? The place, in her opinion, was too small and smelled too much like mold and many other best left unsaid things.

"Three tickets to nowhere, am I right?" Shadowsoul asked, bouncing around a little.

"Oh, you guys are early!"

Squirrelflight nudged Shadowsoul and they both turned as one to face Talax, who stood blinking half in the twilit barn, the sun's last rays giving him a slightly reddish halo around his head as he shouldered aside the barn door and entered the barn.

"No, you're late." Shadowsoul's tone was scolding.

Talax grinned at her. "And you're just finding an excuse to say something to me when you know Squirrelflight said to meet at sunset--the sun is just now set."

Squirrelflight turned her attention to what Talax had at his side. It appeared to be a sword--a little longer than her short sword, but it was curved and more flattened and broad as it got to the tip of the word. He wore it covered by a black sheath, and his right hand was resting on the hilt of the sword by the time he noticed her staring at it.

"What kind of sword is that?" she asked him, and he blinked.

"Why, Squirrelflight, it's a scimitar. Don't tell me you, of all people, wouldn't know what this is."

A scimitar.

"No, I knew, but I just couldn't name it--you know, with a brain as full as mine or Shadowsoul's, it's a little hard to remember everything when you know so much," she growled, then crossed her arms and shut her mouth with a loud snap that sounded unnaturally loud in the silence that followed her little outburst.

Shadowsoul was the first to break the silence as they all heard a horn being blown--a hunting horn.

"So, shall we head down to the only idiot way out of here or what?" she suggested lightly, and Squirrelflight felt a small prickle of unease at the look her friend gave her.

- - - - - - -

Shadowsoul sighed and followed Squirrelflight through the courtyard, already impatient as Squirrelflight stopped for the third time to make sure that no one was following them. After all, they so didn't have the Lady's son or anything!

Shadowsoul rolled her eyes as she ducked beneath a window as a guard walked past it, and she could hear his armor creak slightly as he moved, leaning out to peer outside, but not down, where Shadowsoul, Squirrelflight, and Talax were hiding, and Shadowsoul sniffed a little.

The guard was not a man--it was a woman, and, judging by the smell of her, she was scared stiff.

Of what? Us? Or just Squirrelflight herself? Shadowsoul thought in surprise as the guard withdrew and continued to patrol, and Shadowsoul scrambled after her friend as she bolted across the stretch of open field--

"Hey! You there! STOP!"

--and were seen by a guard on a horse. Great.

She heard Squirrelflight curse under her breath, and Shadowsoul nearly collided with her friend as she stopped suddenly and crouched down, a feral growl errupting from her throat.

"Wha....why'd you stop?" Talax hissed, and Shadowsoul held her breath as Squirrelflight glared at him.

"You two, keep going. I'm going to create a huge distraction," Squirrelflight growled, gripping the sword Shadowsoul knew very well that she would not use--Squirrelflight had more effective methods of creating a distraction than a silly sword.

"Fine," Shadowsoul said curtly, and pushed Talax along as the guard approached closer and closer on his large dark brown horse.

Shadowsoul sighed as they neared the only exit, and nearly tripped over a tree root that she didn't notice before.

"Okay boy, cover yourself with mud."

Talax scowled and crouched down, scooping up a handful of mud from the creek in front of them, smearing it all over his face and in his hair as well as on his clothes--anyone looking at him wouldn't be able to tell him apart from a begger.

Shadowsoul narrowed her eyes and just covered her face with the mud--and she chose the mud based on where the tree roots were. She took mud from where an old willow had it's roots tangled down into the creek--it would help her out in the long run if she didn't have plain old mud. Tree mud? Sure.

"Squirrelflight will be joining us shortly, so let's blow this joint and get out of here," Shadowsoul said roughly, dashing off to follow the creek to the stone wall it went under.

"After you," Talax panted, and nodded at the five foot high opening in the wall that allowed the creek to flow through.

Of course.

Shadowsoul gave him a sour look before stepping into the icy cold water and stalking the five or so feet to the other side, making sure that Talax was right behind her, and she jumped up onto a tree root that stuck out over the ground in front of her.

"That wasn't as fun as I thought it would be," she sighed, depressed.

Talax gave her a dark glare. "And I suppose you wanted to blow up the entire place?"

Maybe he reads minds, Shadowsoul wondered.

It wasn't too long of a wait next to the creek--Squirrelflight appeared quickly, ducking her head and tugging a large shadowy animal after her, making sure it it could actually fit through the opening, and smiled at Talax's expression--he looked like he was going to throw up...or kill someone.

Shadowsoul snickered.

"Okay, Talax, I got you a horse," Squirrelflight announced, and Shadowsoul felt like she was going to die if she didn't laugh soon--Talax looked really sick.

"But...but....what about you two?" he stammered.

Shadowsoul stared at him incredulously for a moment before Squirrelflight glared at her.

"Well, we don't like riding horses. They're nice and pretty and all...but no. And we don't have far to go, so you won't need to worry about gallavanting off into the sunrise and leaving us behind," she explained while Shadowsoul busily looked at her muddy nails.

"..Oh."

Squirrelflight threw him the reins and crossed her arms as he mounted the large destrier. The horse was too small for Squirrelflight or Shadowsoul if either of them did want to ride it--the preferred the animals of their homeland.

Squirrelflight sighed, and started walking off down the path, and for the first time, Shadowsoul noticed that Squirrelflight wasn't just covered in mud--she had something else smeared across her face. But she didn't have any more time to wonder what it was, because Talax had coaxed the horse into a trot, and she followed behind, alert for any sign of pursuit.

- - - - - - -

Staring at the flickering fire in front of her, Squirrelflight couldn't help but feel uneasy as she turned her head to stare at the thick stone walls in front of her--their next destination.

"So..who wants to crash a party?" Shadowsoul had asked earlier, and she had given her a weak smile in return, already knowing that something huge was going to happen.

They were going to snag two people at this party--it was a celebration for Hail and Scarynose, two siblings that were both getting ready to leave the town and go back home. But, they would never see their family. They had a bigger destiny--something more important to do before they could think of anything else.

Talax approached and Squirrelflight couldn't brood on the subject any longer as she viewed his new outfit with interest.

He was dressed up like a real prince--and Shadowsoul was dressed in her usual black leather with her hair tied up so that she could do her work easier.

She sighed.

Why Shadowsoul wanted her to go to the party with Talax instead of going herself, she had no idea. It wasn't as if people weren't going to stare anyway--two people slipping in dressed in new clothes and pretending to be married.

She almost gagged.

"Let's go," she muttered, and glared at Talax when he snickered as she lifted the bottom of her dress slightly so she didn't get pine needles on it.

She hated dresses with a fiery passion and wished all dresses would burn.



She eyed the people at the party with distain, and then blinked a few times and tried to relax, though she was ready spring at the moment it was too dangerous for them to stay.

"Let's go," Talax whispered, and tugged her into the thick of the crowd, and Squirrelflight slipped her arm through his and smiled at a young woman as they passed her, though Squirrelflight was thinking of ten ways she could possibly knock her out.

For the past hour, it was nothing but greeting people, making friends, and talking about the little and unimportant things in life that these petty people seemed to care about. Crops, shops, horses, and their familes. It was what most of them talked about, though Squirrelflight and Talax ran into a few people who actually talked about the host and hostess of the party, Hail and Scarynose.

Once, Squirrelflight ran into someone she thought she reconized by his dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, but someone ran in front of her and when she peered into the shadows where the man was, he was gone.

And, finally, the moment arrived--they ran into Hail and Scarynose, and Talax stepped away from Squirrelflight to bow slightly to Hail.

"May I have the honor of dancing with you?" he asked, and Squirrelflight watched Hail's cheeks pink slightly, and she turned to her brother--younger by a year--and he nodded, smiling.

"I suppose if you take my sister, I'll be having this dance with your lovely lady," Scarynose said, and Squirrelflight was shocked to hear the deep accent he spoke with. She had been so used to hearing the talk of the people around the kingdom that she had forgotten the accent--it was, no doubt, not from around here, and Squirrelflight quickly remembered to act her part.

"I suppose it's a fair deal." Talax's teeth were blinding as he smiled and took Hail's hand and led her off, while Scarynose studied Squirrelflight until she felt like slapping him.

"Well, I can tell you don't want to dance with me," he began, and she frowned.

"No, I was just thinking about something. My apologies."

Before Squirrelflight could say anything else, Scarynose had stepped forward and was slowly walking toward the dance floor, and Squirrelflight's eye twitched as she looked up to the ceiling of the building they were in, then dropped her gaze quickly.

- - - - - - -

Shadowsoul was sitting on a ledge in the shadows of the ceiling, watching the party, much amused.

Squirrelflight looked up at her--directly at her, then she looked away, but not before Shadowsoul read the look on her face before it was hidden behind a fake smile at who she was with.

Narrowing her eyes, Shadowsoul studied Scarynose's face, and smirked.

Then she looked over to where Talax was dancing. She was impressed. The man could dance.

He was dancing with a beautiful woman with chestnut brown that fell down her back. The woman was dressed beatifully in a white dress that hugged her body, and Shadowsoul thought it was a shame that the dress was probably going to get ruined tonight.

The woman smiled at Talax, and Shadowsoul instantly knew who the woman was--Hail. One of their targets of tonight.

"Well, at least she got to wear it and she seems to actually like her dress," she muttered, glaring down at Squirrelflight, who was dancing, much to Shadowsoul's surprise, with Scarynose and she looked like she was a better dancer than Talax was.

Shadowsoul scowled.

Squirrelflight better not ruin that dress--it wasn't Shadowsoul's, but it belonged to her sister, who gave it to her at the last second before Squirrelflight came to collect her to leave their home to travel to Dark Kingdom.

Shadowsoul thought briefly of Wish, the kingdom that was falling apart as it was being taken over by someone who's name no one knew, or dared to speak. The kingdom was in need of their heir, who had gone missing. Badly.

She sighed.

Why couldn't Squirrelflight have seen who the heir was? Why did they have to go off and collect a bunch of young adults? To do what, save the kingdom? Shadowsoul rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she doubted her friend, but sometimes she doubted the prophecies that she cast.

Too many of them involved dying.

She sat back against the wall and closed her eyes as she listened to the tinkly music that played through the room.

Her hand edged to her side, her hand digging into her pocket for what she desired--there. Her hand curled over the small round object and she smiled to herself as she dropped the small smoked black orb down, down, down to the dancing floor.

[Squirrelflight]

edit: Number of words: 2264. Not nearly as long as I WANTED, but...eh...oh well...:U

Bleh. This is kind of a filler, and I have no idea how long it is. Just thought I'd try and confuse you guys with this chapter.

For most of the ahem, chapter, you should listen to One Winged Angel. Actually, I demand you listen to it when, uh, the unexpected part happens. Fo sho. Plz. Then you'll understand why I wrote it like that//why I came up with the idea. >XD One Winged Angel ftw. <3

Please excuse any spelling errors. :3 I never read my stuff over to see if everything is spelled right...

I never knew
I never knew that everything was falling through
That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth
But that's how it's got to be
It's coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
The smoke and who's still standing when it clears, and..

--over my head. the fray.




Shadowsoul retreated out the small window behind her, her hair instantly whipped around as a cold breeze greeted her, and she ducked down, sliding down the side of the building with ease.

Her eyes widened to take in the night scene--only a second or two had passed--and instantly jumped on the back of a large black stallion, hushing him as he reared in protest.

"Shush, you," she hissed.

- - - - - - -

Squirrelflight felt awkward as she danced. She hated dancing, and would, under normal circumstances, never dance, especially with someone like Scarynose.

Not that she didn't like him, it was just that he was a little too comfortable dancing with her.

Did he always dance with strangers? she thought, irritated, then, she looked up and her eyes locked on the small black object falling down with raptor vision.

"Look, let's go outside for some air," she suggested lightly, and almost shoved Scarynose out the open door as the black ball Shadowsoul had dropped struck the dance floor, covering the entire room in a thick black cloud of harmless knock-out gas.

- - - - - - -

"What's going on?!" Scarynose demanded, only to be ignored by his dance partner has she and looked at him with an earnest expression.

"Sorry, but...you have to come with me," she said, her blue eyes hardening for a moment as Scarynose crossed his arms, but flicking to the ground for a moment.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked once more with more force.

"You and your sister were going to get killed tonight. Talax and I just saved your butts. And you have to come with me before...before someone more dangerous gets you."

Scarynose curled his lip.

Not like I have a choice...unless I can knock her out or something.

- - - - - - -

Shadowsoul looked up as Talax approached with Lady Hail, both of them looking embarassed, though Shadowsoul was sure Hail was more angry at being kidnapped thanTalax was uncomfortable with kidnapping her.

"Oh hi," she greeted them cheerfully, and opened the carriage door she had borrowed while people were running around screaming their heads off at the black cloud that was starting to sweep through the castle and houses.

They needed to hurry.

Hail frowned at her, and then looked down at her dress, and Shadowsoul quickly hid a smile.

Hail's dress was stained with black and ripped slightly at the bottom, and Hail herself had black smudges on her arms, though her face looked perfectly clean and stainless from the knock-out gas.

"Get in, Lady," Talax sighed, then turned away, crossing his arms.

Shadowsoul wondered what he was thinking briefly before she, too, turned away to look for Squirrelflight and Scarynose with a small prickle of worry.

"Holy CRAP!"

Shadowsoul turned in the direction of the voice she knew so well, and snickered as Squirrelflight came stalking into view dragging Scarynose by his ear.

"You are the worst possible person to have EVER live, you know that?" Squirrelflight ranted, shoving him into the back of the carriage with his sister and slamming the door. "You should never, ever try to knock out a woman trained in all sorts of combat who also kidnapped you to save your freaking life! Ugh!"

"Having fun?" Talax asked lightly, his lips twitching as Squirrelflight rounded on him, her face red with anger.

"Yes I AM having fun. Thank you for asking!"

Shadowsoul grinned at both of them. Squirrelflight looked like she was going to rip someone's head off, and Talax looked like he regretted opening his mouth to say something to the angry woman in front of him.

"Let's go," she chuckled. "Talax, get on your horse and follow on the left side--Squirrelflight, just...get on the stupid horse and follow on the right side."

Squirrelflight eyed the large stallion Shadowsoul had gotten for her with an uninterested look, but hopped on and crossed her arms without complaint.

- - - - - - -

Squirrelflight felt herself falling asleep on the stallion's back, her head resting against his neck as he walked beside the carriage, and Squirrelflight sighed at the same time as the stallion.

"Yeah, you're bored, too, huh?" she murmured, stroking his mane as he tossed his head, as if in reply.

She looked to the right, where she was facing, at the mountains before her and the cliff edge ten or so feet away.

SQUIRRELFLIGHT!

The voice that screeched in her head was unexpected--she jolted upright and, instantly, the stallion reared, his hooves striking the open pre-dawn air.

Half alert, half asleep, Squirrelflight gripped the stallon's mane even as something dark seemed to seep out of the rocky path under her.

"What in the world is that?!" she heard Talax exclaim, and she glanced over her shoulder and realized that she had somehow ended up ahead of the carriage--even though she was going slow--and was alone with the spooked stallion.

Crap.

Before she could gather her thoughts, the stallion bucked, and Squirrelflight found herself thrown from the horse, and landing face-first on the rocks.

"Squirrel!" Shadowsoul screamed, and Squirrelflight looked up in surprise as she realized her friend didn't use her full name. "Look out!"

"Heh. Heh. Heh."

Squirrel felt her eyes widen fully in horror as the voice reached her ears.

Oh no. Oh no. Crap.

With warm blood splattered on her face, she slowly rose to her feet, staggering as something ran past her, the wind howling in her ears and whipping her hair around as she lifted her head to stare face-to-face with a massive beast.

Lightning crackled overhead, striking the ground, and a blue and black fire sprang up from the rocks, creating a large clearing free of Squirrel's friends.

Squirrel...

The voice in her head was not that of the beast in front of her--it was Shadowsoul.

Please don't be a fool and fight him. Shadowsoul's tone was begging.

Squirrel stared up right into the ruby red eyes of the demon.

"Hello, Blackheart," she greeted him, her fingers twitching as the black demon smiled his sharp-toothed smile.

Blackheart's entire demon body was three times her size, covered in black fur, spikes down his back and on his tail. His rounded ears were flattened as he stared down at her, his broad shoulders flexing.

"A giant bear." Squirrel's voice came out as mocking as she wanted it to be.

Shadow, don't let Hail or Scarynose or Talax anywhere near the fire--and you need to get them away fast.

Before Shadow could reply, Squirrel had crouched down and leaped up with inhuman strength at Blackheart, her left hand curled into a fist as she brought it down on his bear head, and she winced as the impact numbed her arm.

Blackheart shook his head and opened his mouth, letting out an ear-splitting roar.

"Oh, Blackheart, you should fight me as your human self. True forms are no fun," she teased as she rolled away from his clawed paw that swiped at her, his claws mere inches from her face.

SO BE IT.

Squirrel felt a flicker of fear, but backflipped away quickly as Blackheart charged at her, his body becoming smaller and smaller, until he was just a black shape racing toward her swiftly retreating figure.

"Show time," Squirrel muttered, moving her hands in a complicated motion, and the air around her shimmered before Blackheart crashed into her.

The clang of metal made her wince, but she glared up at the man before her, both of their overly-large swords scraping against each other.

"Long time..no see," Blackheart mocked, and moved his body slightly, his glittering red eyes seeming to laugh at her.

Squirrel narrowed her eyes.

Before she could react, he had moved his sword and kicked her in the side.

She drew in a jagged breath as she fell, kicking out at her enemy while rolling away from his blood-colored sword.

Squirrel gritted her teeth as she stood up, far enough away from Blackheart to look at him fully without fear of being kicked or having her head lopped off.

Blackheart stood there with a smile on his pale lips, his white face looking all the more whiter with his dark blood-colored hair falling down his shoulders, giving him a slightly spooky appearance to someone who wasn't used to seeing it.

He laughed at her expression when she stared at what he was wearing--it was the exact armor her father had worn when she left their kingdom.

Which could only mean one thing.

"You. Bast.." she didn't finish what she was going to say, and, instantly, was standing behind him, her eyes clouded over with red.

She struck out with her free fist at his face, and was surprised when his hand flashed up to stop her, crushing her fist within his own, and Squirrel felt the bones in her hand break--all of her fingers, her wrist.

She felt him lift her up with his other hand--his sword was in its sheath--by her throat, and her heartbeat quickened as she was lifted up off the ground, her broken hand hanging uselessly while her other was holding her sword, though she knew it would be useless--she didn't have enough energry left in her to keep the sword there.

As if the thought was a magic word, the sword dissolved, leaving Squirrel defenseless to the man she hated most.

"I saw you got to the party before I did," was all he said as she stared down at him hatefully.

"Y..Yes...I did.."

His words confirmed what she had suspected--that he truly was after those she was seeking to restore the Wish kingdom. To destroy them all before she got the chance to bring peace and a new era to the world.

No, you're wrong, a voice hissed in her head, and she blinked in confusion.

Now I wonder who that was. So many people are starting to talk in my head I'm wondering if I'm crazy.

Blackheart's hand tightened around her throat after he stared at her for a second, his red eyes swirling--actually swirling.

Squirrel wanted so badly to look away, but it was hard to not stare at his eyes--his pupils were splitting to where there were two in each eye, spinning and swirling around and around, hypnotizing her.

Her breath slowed down and she felt her eyelids droop as she continued to stare at his eyes, paralyzed.

"Tell me, Aphrodite, why are you here?" Blackheart asked softly, his voice a purr.

Squirrel stirred a little as he used her Old name, but she couldn't move--she was too far absorbed into his power, his hold on her body too strong.

"Perhaps...the same reason..you once came here...Ares.." Squirrel murmured, mentally kicking herself as she spoke his Old name.

Blackheart stared at her, and she stared back. Red eyes stared into blue for a long time.

She knew that he was digging into her mind, but he wouldn't find much--everything she knew was too well protected for him to reach.

"And what, Aphrodite, is that reason?" His voice was still soft, almost whispering to her, though Squirrel could feel his fingers tighten on her throat, choking her.

"...To...save...and...protect..."

Blackheart's fingers dug into her throat, and she gasped as she felt blood trickle down her neck, her eyes widening as she watched it trickle down Blackheart's arm like a little creek.

"What use is Poseidon to you? And Oceanus?" he asked angrily, though he released a little bit of his hold on her throat.

"Poseidon rules over storms and all ocean life, while Oceanus rules over arts and magic--both are sea gods...I aim..to also find...Ouranos...you can't stop me..."

Blackheart's eyes narrowed, though the swirling intensified.

"Oh, but, Aphrodite, I can," he murmured, stroking her face with one hand, and she glared at him, unable to move.

"No, I will never give up." Her voice was stronger than she thought it would be, and she smiled as he frowned. "Did you know Ouranos took the shape of a girl this time?"

Blackheart stiffened, and, instead of answering, threw her at the ground.

Squirrel braced herself, but it still hurt when she left a two-foot deep hole in the ground, though it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

She felt her eyelids flicker, then had the brief sensation of something wet on her face. Probably blood.

Rest now. The voice from before, the one she didn't know, calmed her, but did not take away the firey pain that Squirrel felt as she slipped into unconsiousness.


She looked around her in confusion, then screamed as fire enveolped her, and all she heard was the sobbing of a child.

"Where are you?" she shouted, unable to see through the thick smoke that swirled around her.

"I'm here, I'm here!" the child--she could tell it was a girl--screamed.

She ran as fast as she could through the clogging smoke, her heart hammering in her chest as she ignored the fire licking at her, her eyes narrowed, trying to see.

Suddenly, she felt nothing beneath her feet, and stared down at the pit that was ablaze with fire of all the dark colors. Black, red, orange, even gray.

"No, no!" she screamed as she fell down into the pit, unable to move, as if she was being forced to drop down into the pit of fire that waited eagerly to destroy her.

And all she heard was laughter echoing in her ears.

[Squirrelflight]

...this chapter was written really fast--I had a lot of time, and I'm probably going to get another chapter up in a few days. :U I'm getting tired of writing all this emo out, so I might add another fight scene, but a longer one that includes Talax, Scary, Hail, and Shadow.

Number of words: 2890

Enjoy...:U

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok
But that's not what gets me

--what hurts the most. rascal flatts.

Shadow stared down at the water anxiously, her red-brown hair a dull color in the dark afternoon.

"Hail, are you sure that there are fish here?" she asked, apprehensive.

The woman crossed her arms and pointedly looked down at her feet, where three fish lay, their silver and blue scales glittering, and Shadow sighed.

"Well, let's just go," she muttered.

As she stood up to stretch, the sun shot out a golden ray down on the river, warming Shadow instantly, and she sighed, letting her hair fall in front of her face the way Squirrel often did when she didn't want anyone to look at her or know what she was thinking.

It's been a week, she whimpered to herself. Squirrel, where are you?

"Hey, let's go!" Hail shouted, already sitting on the back of the cart that they had 'borrowed' for the moment, her leather-clad legs dangling over the side.

Hail's dress had been ruined by the time they stopped at a small town (mostly thanks to Shadow) and they had to buy her a more suitable outfit for their travels.

Without Squirrel, Shadow had to explain to Hail and her brother, Scary, why they were being taken far away from their home and all they had known, while Talax sat in the front of the cart, guiding the large bay stallion through the valley they were traveling in--a neat place wedged between two mountains that Shadow wished she could go back to.

At first, Scary had been upset and denied any plan to 'save the world' as he put it, and Hail had accepted it calmly.

"After all, it explains why I'm so different," she had said to Shadow when asked why she wasn't freaked out. "I've always known there was something else I had to do, and I will do the best I can."

Shadow sighed.

Nothing was easy right now, especially since Squirrel was the one that knew what to do.

If only Shadow could access the Oracle power locked up deep within her, but it took many hours of practice, and it had been a long, long time since she had need of that power.

"Do you think that Squirrel's going to be joining us soon?" Scary asked when Shadow settled down on her side in the cart, and she instantly turned her back on him, facing the cart wall.

She sat up in surprise when Hail spoke up before she could.

"Look, idiot," Hail growled, "Squirrel had to go fight something huge, if you didn't notice the massive size of it. Oh, wait, you fainted. So you wouldn't have realized that Squirrel had risked her life so that Shadow could get us away, and here you are asking in a cheerful child's way when Squirrel's going to join us." The woman paused and glared at her brother.

"Hey, don't get all pushy--"

"How about you be more respectful? Not to be rude to you, Shadow, Talax, but there's a good chance Squirrel didn't survive, and if she did, she's going to want to take her time and make sure that our tracks are being covered so no one can find us again," Hail finished, clapping her hands together once before turning around to watch the sky, her eyebrows scrunched together, her lips pulled down in an angry scowl.

- - - - - - -

Hail stared up at the sky sadly, watching the dark storm clouds swirl and float by quickly, and a few drops of rain splattered on her cheeks, but she didn't mind. She loved the rain.

"Great, it's going to rain," Scary muttered to himself, and Hail looked back into the cart, her eyes an unusual gray, like the ocean calm before the storm.

Scary was curled up by himself. Shadow was sitting next to Hail, though they hadn't spoken to each other for nearly an hour, both lost in their own little world.

Talax was still guiding the horse along the dusty mountain path, shielded from the rain by a thick hooded cloak, the bay horse with a blanket over his back.

Shadow shifted and sat up, twisting around to peer behind them for a moment before moving to sit up next to Talax, whispering something in his ear.

Hail frowned and studied Shadow.

What she knew of the younger woman was that her name was Shadowsoul and that she was a few days younger than Squirrelflight, and that there was something other than human genes hiding in her--that much she decided for herself when Shadow told them that Squirrel said to go on without her. But other than those few things, Hail knew next to nothing about the strange warrior that shared her thoughts with her lost friend.

"We're at a village," Talax chirped happily, and Hail's mood instantly brightened up like a fire.



By the time they reached the village the sun had come out of hiding, casting the world below in a golden light, highlighting the wet forest and the surrounding area in a way that made Hail think everything was fresh and beautiful.

Everything to Hail looked nice after the rain, even if it had only been a small drizzle of rain.

She yawned and hopped out of the cart as soon as Talax halted it.

"Don't go anywhere," Shadow ordered, sliding out of the cart quietly and more slowly than Hail had, and Hail thought Shadow made her look like an awkward duck next to a swan.

Which made Scary look like a half-dead chicken when he stumbled out of the cart and almost stumbled into Talax, who was standing there looking around, and looked like he was going to hit Scary.

"Tahhhhhhhllllllaaaaahhxxxxx," Scary droned, and Hail stared at him suspisiously.

Was he drunk or something? When did he get something to drink..?

Talax apparently came to the same conclusion she did: Scary had had something on him when they left the party a week ago. Or he picked something up in the last town they stopped at.

"Go sit in the cart, brother," Hail muttered, and shoved him in, closing the latch door down and locking it so he couldn't get out. He'd be out cold in a few minutes.

- - - - - - -

Wake up. Now.

I rolled my eyes and moaned as pain lanced up my side, giving me a throbbing headache.

"Unngh..."

My eyes opened slowly to see a pair of deep brown eyes that I felt I reconized staring at me.

I stared back, unsure of what to do--all I could see was the eyes, inches from my own, and then the eyes blinked slowly and whoever was standing over me moved back so I could see more.

It was a man, and behind him, a woman and a teen, all staring at me, though the teen was smiling while the short, for she seemed short next to the teenager, woman was frowning, obviously stressed.

"Nice to see you, Aphy," the teen snickered. "Too bad you couldn't hold on just a little bit longer--we just happened to be in the area, so we could have helped you kick Ares into the dirt." The teen sighed, and I stared harder at her, trying to remember.

"Oh!" It was the short woman that spoke, her eyes changing from a deep dark blue to a bright red quickly. "Priapus you better learn to keep your mouth shut when it needs to be!"

Priapus! That was who it was, and as soon as the name was said, I fell back, wincing in pain, staring up at the clear night sky, thinking.

The last time I checked, I had been fighting with Ares and had taken a serious beating, and was slammed a few feet into the ground. But that was the end of it--I couldn't even remember what happened before the fight. And...why were they here? I sat up again and studied them.

On Priapus's shoulder there sat a little black-and-white rabbit, his nose twitching constantly, and I bit back the urge to say something.

"...What happened?" My voice felt odd to me, more smooth than I remembered--like it belonged to a sly being instead of just me.

Priapus's hands went down to her sides, where I saw her briefly stroke the two daggers--one on each side--before reaching up to pat her rabbit on the head.

The woman sighed, and then looked at the man, who I reconized as Phoenix. Not a god, for he bore no god name, but a man of extreme magical talent and the First Phoenix of existance.

My head hurt so much. I just wanted to lay down and go back to sleep and forget...forget what..? I couldn't remember.

"Aphrodite," Phoenix said, crouching down next to her, his brown hair falling down over his forehead. "Aphrodite, don't ignore me."

I did ignore him. By closing my eyes like a child, I refused to look at him or aknowledge that he was there, waiting patiently.

Finally...

"Aphrodite, if you don't look at me, I will take away all the powers you posess and turn you into an ant," Phoenix growled, and I reluctantly opened my eyes.

"What do you want?" I whispered, more to myself than him.

Priapus and Phoenix sighed at the same time, much to my annoyance.

I didn't know who the woman was, though she looked disturbingly like a friend I had a long time ago, back when I was among my own kind.

She saw me looking at her, and she smiled, her eyes flashing to a warm yellow before they settled into an odd shade of brown.

"Well, Aphy," Priapus began slowly, then stopped, frowning. "Phoenix and, uhh...well, they were on their way to drop me off safely nearby so I could join you guys..."

I blinked.

Priapus...Pri...

The name clicked in my mind, and I opened my eyes fully to stare at the teenager with a small smile on my face, though I was sure the smile was going to look horrible--I could tell I had bruises on my face.

Pine. That was who it was.

Pine winked at me, and I noticed her rabbit was gone. Sparky, her little rabbit that she had with her everywhere.

My head still hurt a lot, but I ignored it as Phoenix stood up and motioned for me to do the same. I blinked up at him. He looked so tall when he was standing.

When I went to stand up, something weird happened to me: I tried to stand, but I fell down instantly, and I felt all wrong.

My legs seemed to be where my arms were, and my arms where my legs were, and I felt like I had an extra leg or limb or something attatched to my body.

"Squirrel, if you don't stand up right the first time, we understand," Pine said, and I thought she looked like she was hiding something. A frown? A small look of worry down at me?

Then, suddenly, I looked down at myself for the first time--actually looked at myself, and horror rose within me as I realized why they were all uneasy, why the rabbit had vanished when I smiled, and why Pine looked away, why Phoenix now stared at me sadly, and the woman who's name I couldn't remember looked close to tears.

My body was so different. So horribly different.

I was no longer human.

When I looked back up, my guests were gone, and I suspected that they were afraid of my reaction.

Without my human form, left in my True Form, I no longer knew who I was. I withdrew inside myself, afraid to embrace the beast.

- - - - - - -

Shadow did not sleep that night. She couldn't sleep.

All she could think about was that Squirrel could be dead--out there somewhere. Who knew what Blackheart was capable of now, especially since it's been years since either Squirrel or Shadow had seen him?

Sighing, Shadow hopped down from the tavern's roof lightly, taking care to not disturb the crowd of people inside the warm tavern--The Sly Fox, as it was called.

She walked through the village slowly, grateful she was alone tonight, her eyes taking in the different houses and stables. Some of the houses were a green-gray color, made of stone, while few were made from oak wood and even fewer were made with a rich brown wood, something she couldn't name, and the stables were identical to almost every one she had seen in her life.

The plain wood stables made Shadow miss her old horse, Songdance, and Squirrel's horse, Marianna.

She thought back to when they were both little kids, no more than thirteen, both of them excited out of their minds about going to the Soul Stable, a place where one would find a horse to bond with.

She wasn't sure if she would find a horse, even though her and Squirrel were going a few days ahead of the other children, and was certain that all would reject her.

Until Squirrel practically shoved her into the herd of unbonded foals with a cheerful grin, her arm resting lightly on her chosen foal.

Songdance and Marianna looked almost exactly alike--both were large with a war horse build, but carried a grace unlike a normal horse, and lived as long as their bond, aging the same as their bond.

Songdance was a little bit bigger than Marianna, though Shadow had always thought it was because Songdance was a stallion and Marianna was a mare, though Squirrel said it was because Songdance ate too much and needed to go on a diet.

Shadow sighed and wished she could run her hands through the beautiful brown stallion's black mane, to look at his large blue eyes again, though she knew it would be a while yet before she could be reunited with him, and the same went for Squirrel.

She shook her head and looked around, realizing that she had wandered back in the direction of The Sly Fox and was no longer shielded by the soft shadows of twilight.

"Hey, you visitin'?"

Shadow whirled around, her hand flying to her black hilted short sword before she paused and realized that it was a man, though she kept her hand on her sword cautiously, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," she said slowly, in case he was drunk. "I am visiting."

The man frowned, and she decided he was not drunk and was decent enough to where he wouldn't try anything.

"You have a place to stay, right? This place gets really dangerous after dark," the man said, his eyes scrunching up as he looked at her.

"Oh, I'm staying with some friends at Blue Moon," Shadow muttered, then turned around and walked off before the man could add anything more to the conversation that she deemed unnecasarry.

She heard him muttering behind her--probably about how young folk disrespected their elders and how they had no idea how the world worked. Shadow had heard it all before. She didn't need another lecture.

Especially from a strange man like him.



Shadow poked her head in the door slowly, smiling when she saw Hail sleeping on one of the beds, her mouth open slightly.

Talax and Scary, after Scary got a massive hangover, took the room next door to theirs, and Shadow was so happy that she didn't have to look at Scary anymore or listen to him. She was ready to let her fist meet his face.

With a quiet squeak, Shadow closed the door and tiptoed over to the free bed and flopped onto it louder than she meant to, and Hail bolted upright, her eyes wide with alarm.

"..It's just me. Go back to sleep," Shadow muttered, while Hail looked around nervously before sinking back down on her bed, under the thick cotton covers.

Shadow sighed and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully, musing over the past week and the distance traveled.

I wonder where Squirrel is, she thought. If she's dead, I'm going to avenge her death. She'd do the same for me.

Shadow took a deep breath before rolling on her side, facing the wall, curling up on top of the bed, not feeling the need to use the blanket.

Tomorrow would be another day. Hopefully, a better day.

Briefly, she wondered how she was going to face the next few days without Squirrel there. Both of them had grown up together and were nearly inseperable--this was the longest she'd gone without at least hearing Squirrel's thoughts or having a message from her.

She had so much she wanted to tell her friend. The days spent without her were weird, and pretending to be human around everyone alone was odd, too. Not to mention having no one to mess around with in the middle of the night with an inhuman game of tag in the woods, or seeing who could run the farthest or jump the highest.

Shadow narrowed her eyes and studied the wall. She was just going to have to pretend Squirrel was on her way--for Hail, Scary, and Talax, at least, if not to reassure herself that her friend was on her way to them right now. If only she knew if she was alive.