Fan Fiction ❯ Esthenia III ❯ The whole thing... ( One-Shot )

Part 1, Spirit

Ghost

It was cloudy out that day. Pagasis was sitting outside his hut as usual talking to Mona and Aquita. Not much was going on. The other Omogoa natives where just lazing about in the warm weather and briskly doing their daily work.

"It's really hot out today." Aquita repeated for the third time that day.

"How many times have you said that?" Mona asked.

"Three?" I said as I looked up at the sky.

"Well, there's no point in declaring it." Pagasis said. "We already know it's hot."

"Well, you'd think." said Aquita. "The sun isn't even out. It looks like it's about to rain or something."

This was normal for them. They didn't do very much. There wasn't really anything going on when I was there either. The only major times was when the demons came, but that hadn't happened in about a year. Everything seemed pretty boring that day. That is until Rinoa came running up to them.

"My mother wants everyone to the cliff!" she said urgently.

"Let's go then!" said Pagasis as he stood up.

By everyone, Rinoa meant the true Guardians. The true Guardians where the ones that could fly and could speak the universal Guardian language. There wasn't many of us on the island Esthenia. In fact, there was only five of us.

I was considered as a self Guardian being Esthenia herself. Pagasis was a winged horse Guardian. He was a dear friend to me. Always by my side. Kovu was a Dragonwolf and the leader of the Omogoa natives. His daughter, Mona, was also a Dragonwolf, but she was a hybrid so she wasn't a full blooded Dragonwolf. Corona was also a Dragonwolf and the mother of Kovu and Rinoa. She had been on the island for a very long time. Normally, she'd just sit up on her cliff and keep an eye on the island.

They met up with Kovu in the middle of the village, then took off to the cliff. Rinoa was following below in the trees. In no time at all, the three of them landed and Rinoa jogged up the path.

Corona was standing in front of the cave waiting for us. She was extremely tall compared to the rest of them.

"What's going on?" Pagasis asked her.

"Something is here." she said.

"Could it be Castirio?" Kovu asked. Castirio was a Filodrake from one of the neighboring islands. She'd normally bring over lost travelers that she'd beaten up.

Corona shook her head.

"No, whatever it is used magic to get here."

"Not again!" Mona groaned. "I swear, if it's another bitchy fox I'll scream!"

Pagasis looked at her and smiled. He knew very well that she was referring to one of our former enemies. It was a fox named Canis. She was a sorceress and tried to kill me once, but in the end, she was the one who was killed.

"Our visitor is in the meadow." Corona said. "I wish for all of you to meet it there and find out if it's a demon or not."

"Here we go again…" Mona growled as the three of them dove off the cliff.

Rinoa was well on her way down the path.

Pagasis could see her below him as we made our way to the meadow on the western side of the island. He wasn't afraid one bit of who the stranger might of been. He had dealt with much worse things.

They landed in the grassy field, and looked around. Nobody didn't see anything strange, but when a strange ghostly figure was seen bounding between the trees, Rinoa was in hot pursuit.

She disappeared into the forest for a second, then came back. At her heels was a huge, white, ghostly wolf.

It appeared to be flying as it ran. Its body was almost transparent.

"Help me!" Rinoa cried.

"Rinoa!" Pagasis called to her. "Don't move!!"

Rinoa looked at him like he was insane as she ran past with the ghost at her heels, but she stopped in her tracks and didn't move a muscle.

The ghost didn't stop however. It kept on going until it ran right through Rinoa.

She just stood there with her eyes wide. He fur ridged along her back and her muscles tightened.

The ghost finally stopped and turned around to face her. It seemed to have some kind of grin on its face as it stared at her with its empty eyes.

Just then, Pagasis ran forward until he was right in front of it, standing between it and Rinoa. His eyes flashed blue as he stared into its eyes.

The ghostly wolf was looking back down at him. It seemed to be hypnotized or something.

"Can you speak?" Pagasis asked it telepathically. "I know you can hear me."

The ghost didn't respond. Instead, it curled back its lips and showed dozens of teeth and a set of huge fangs. It's eyes flashed red and it let out a deafening roar. Red splotches began to appear on its chest and neck, and red was pouring from its mouth.
"Is… it a demon?" Mona gasped. All the color drained from her face.

"I don't know…" Kovu said. His eyes where wide with shock.

"It's a spirit." Rinoa said.

Kovu and Mona looked at her.

"You mean a ghost?" Mona asked.

Rinoa nodded.

Meanwhile, Pagasis still hadn't taken his eyes off the ghostly wolf. They where staring into each other's eyes. Suddenly, the wolf's body burst. A cloud of white fog illuminated the area. It hung for a moment, then it began to suck itself in, forming a new body.

Pagasis didn't move while everyone else moved back.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The dark stranger stood up. He looked very much like an Omogoa native with his human like figure and his wolfish head. Only he had long, white hair and his body was very dark brown. Only his snout, toes and the tip of his tail stood out white like his hair. He had cold yellow eyes.

"…"

"Answer me!" Pagasis demanded.

"He's obviously not going to answer you." Kovu said.

"You stubborn ass!" Mona shouted. She then reached for her knife that was sheathed on the strap around her leg. "I'll teach you to disrespect us!"

With that she charged at him at full speed before anyone could stop her. She drew out her knife and aimed for the stranger's chest. With a clang of metal and a bright spark, her knife was blocked by his sword.

He looked down at her with a grin.

Mona was furious. She jumped back and charged again. This time, he dashed out of the way as Mona swung the blade for his throat. She turned and glared at him.

"Enough!" Pagasis said as he stepped in between them, giving them both warning looks.

Mona lowered her knife. She still didn't take her eyes off the stranger.

Pagasis looked at them both.

"Now look," he said. "This isn't going to prove anything. So why don't we just put the toys away and talk this over like adults."

The stranger appeared to pay no attention to him. He was examining his sword with great interest.

"You're good." he finally said.

"What was that?" Mona gasped.

"You managed to put a crack in my sword." He said. "You are indeed a skilled fighter, but juvenile."

"You've got a lot of nerve for someone who is afraid to tell us his own name." Mona growled.

"I'm not afraid." he said. "Maybe I just don't' feel like it."

"Please." said Pagasis. "Just tell us why you are here. Are you a Guardian?"

"Guardian?" the stranger said. "Define Guardian."

"What!" Rinoa exclaimed. "Do you even know where you are?!"

"Not really." Said the stranger.

Everyone looked at one another. They didn't have a clue what to say.

"Are… you from a different world?" Kovu asked.

"Yes, what is your world called?" Rinoa asked.

"I come from the Spirit world." said the stranger.

"The spirit world!?" Pagasis exclaimed. "How did you get here?"

"Where exactly is here?" the stranger asked.

"You are in the Dream world." said Kovu. "Do you have any idea how you got here?"

"Well, I've heard rumors about some of us passing on to other worlds because ours becomes too over populated." said the stranger. "That might explain it."

"Over populated?" Rinoa gasped. "How can a world become "over populated"?"

"You see," said the stranger. "We are the spirits of the dead."

"The land of the dead…" Rinoa said thoughtfully. "Do you know of what world?"

"The Earth." the stranger said. "We are the spirits of animals from the human world. Whenever an animal dies, they go to the spirit world and their true form is unveiled. We can return to the human world and fulfill our last desires in our spirit forms, the ghosts that they see. We are all around them. Only few can be seen."

"What happens when you complete your tasks?" Pagasis asked.

"We can forgo our lives in a new place." he said.

"I get it." said Mona. "You must have completed your task, and you got sent to the Dream world."

"You got it." he grinned. "I have heard of such a place. Many of the spirits must come here."

"Do all of them have a spirit form?" Mona asked.

"Some." he shrugged. "Others may have powers. Have you ever heard of witches or vampires?"

"Yeah." said Rinoa. "Witches are a lot like sorceresses."

"That explains where Canis came from…" Kovu said.

"Well, what is your name?" Mona asked. "You've told us everything but that."

The stranger looked at her with a grin, though he looked slightly annoyed by her question.

"I am Karoko." he said. "And who are you, might I ask, oh-little-annoying-one?"

Mona pressed her ears back.

"I am Mona, and that's princess to you!" she growled.

"Are you planning on staying here with us?" Kovu asked in a kind voice. "We could use your fighting skills in our clan."

Karoko kept his frown, though, he looked thoughtful.

"Whatever." he finally replied, staring down a Mona who was glaring back up at him.

Always There

I stumbled on a shirt that was lying on the stairs. I growled and kicked it aside and continued up the stairs. Once at the top, I headed for my room. I

could still hear the angry voices from the floor below as I opened my door and walked inside. I then closed the door behind me and locked it. Feeling the relief of my refuge, I sighed and fell back on my bed. That had to be one of the worst summers I'd ever had.

My name is Christy Miller. The name might sound normal, but I'm not what you'd call your average person. Sure, I had a family, a mom, dad, and annoying sister. I went to a normal public school. Even my appearance was normal. The thing was I had a secret. I had what you'd call a split personality. You see, I appeared to be a normal person on the outside, but on the inside I was two persons. They lived inside my head.

One was named Esthenia. A sphinx with quite an attitude. Her personality was the one that came out most often. The other was named Pagasis. He was what you'd call my conscience, the Guardian angel on the right side of my shoulder. His personality was the complete opposite of Esthenia's. Though, lately, he hasn't been much of help.

A lot of bad things where happening. Many of them I should have been sad, but due to a minor problem, I couldn't feel sad. Instead, I'd get angry. I never really quit known why. It just started happening all of a sudden.

I was still glad of having Pagasis around. I was never alone. Even when nobody was around and the whole world hated me. He was still always there for me.

I covered my ears when I heard the yelling again. I couldn't stand it much longer. Inside my head, Pagasis was telling me that it was going to be all right. I tried to listen to him, but my body was shaking. There was a continuous rumble in my ears that almost completely blocked out his voice.

After a while, I could hear the steps creak as someone walked up the stairs, and across the hall to the room next to mine. It was my sister. Her and my mother's fight must have been over.

It was almost the same routine every night. It was usually over something pointless and dumb. It was my sister that usually started the fights. Her careless attitude completely showed that she had no respect for my mom. I didn't like it one bit. I respected my mom a lot, and whenever someone was mean to her, I got very angry. So that's why I'd normally break up their fights, but tonight, I didn't want anything to do with it. The fight went through so many extremes that I didn't want to get involved.

"You need to get away from there." Pagasis' voice told me.

"I know." I sighed as I stared down at his necklace. It had round blue beads and large white teeth. They where connected by a black leather thong that tied around my neck. In the center was a tiny dream catcher. Long ago, a friend had made it for him to keep him from turning into a demon, but now that he was a god, I needed it more than he did. "I can't take much more of this…"

I decided to visit the Dream world for the weekend. It was Thursday, and I had school the next morning. I wished it was still summer. I was in school for about a week already, and I had a lot more things to worry about than just angry people. Another thing I wasn't looking forward to was our uniforms. Every year we had to wear them. The teachers had already started assigning tons of homework, and I was totally behind on most of it. I couldn't rely on Pagasis on this one. He didn't know much of the things in my world, but he tried to help me out on as many things as possible.

I had always thought that he pushed himself too hard for my sake. Even in my dreams he tried. Though, being a true Guardian, Pagasis couldn't be in his true form, but he could disguise himself. Once I was dreaming that I was in a house…

I didn't have a clue who's house it was or why it was there. So I walked around for a very long time until I finally realized that there was no way out of it. I walked into rooms and through hallways and still couldn't find anything. I was lost. The house seemed to be a world of its own and went on forever. I walked into a room and found a large bed. Above it was an open window. Through it I could see outside. I could finally escape from the house, but instead of heading for the window, I walked to the bed. Something about it drew me to it. I wanted to rest. I laid down and fell into a dark sleep.

Moments later I opened my eyes. Someone was standing over me. I shot up. I was still in the room with the open window and the bed. I got up and looked at the stranger who had woken me up.

He was a boy. A teenage boy with short blonde hair. He had a friendly face and blue eyes. I've met this person before when I was only a small child. We where in what you'd call "puppy love". Then he moved away and I hadn't seen him since. Now, the older version was standing there and smiling at me in my dream.

He walked past me and sat on the bed. He then scooted back and patted the bed in front of him. Beckoning me to sit. Unafraid, I walked over and sat down in front of him.

He then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my stomach. He rested his head on my shoulder as he held me close.

I felt a sudden warmth spread through me. I felt like I was protected. Like nothing could hurt or touch me. That was the way I wanted to be held.

I reached back and touched his face as he kissed me lightly on the neck. Then suddenly, I woke up. The dream was over. I was back in my own room staring into darkness.

I didn't learn until the next morning that it had been Pagasis in disguise when I asked him about it. He told me that he thought it would make me feel better. Normally, I would get pretty angry about something like that, but for some reason I wasn't. I couldn't quite explain it, but I think it really did make me feel better.

I had always remembered my dreams like that. The one I described happened in the beginning of the summer. The strangest part about the whole thing was that my mom saw the person Pagasis impersonated the very next day at her work.

That wasn't the only dream I remembered. One thing was for sure I never had any nightmares. Sometimes, I'd have a dream that would start to turn into a nightmare, but then something would take over my body and beat up who or whatever was causing the nightmare. It was really strange.

I tried not to let these thoughts bother me. I know that it was something that I would have to put up with if I wanted to return to the Dream world. My knowledge of the whole thing was something I thought about every day. Pagasis told me that he could use his powers to make me instantly forget everything and live my life as a normal person, but I declined. No matter how much it bothered me, I couldn't leave the other world behind. I had a lot of friends, and in a way, it made me feel special knowing that I was the only human to ever enter the Dream world. Humans weren't aloud there. There where things called human hunters to kill any humans just in case one did manage to show up. When Pagasis brought me there, he gave me a charm that turned me into the sphinx, Esthenia so the human hunters wouldn't know I was actually human.

I lied there in my bed and stared up at the blank ceiling. After a moment, I finally made up my mind. I got up and walked out of my room. I went down the stairs and sat on the couch next to my mom in the living room.

She was still staring blankly at the TV, though she knew I was there.

I decided to stare too, but after a moment of silence, minus the TV, I sighed and looked at her sympathetically.

She took her eyes off the screen and looked at me. We stared at each other for a moment until she said, "What happened to your cheek?"

I took my eyes off her and set them back onto the TV screen. I could still feel the burning pain of the marks on my cheek.

"It's nothing…" I said.

Returning

I lifted my backpack onto my bed. I then folded a pair of blue jeans and a red tank top and set them in the bag along with my watch, CD payer, and cell phone. I then but the strap over my shoulder and headed for the door. I stopped to view myself in the mirror one last time before I headed out. My 16 year old self looked back at me. My reddish brown hair was a bit untidy and my bangs went to my eyes. It was just the way I liked it. I frowned when I looked at the sailor-girl uniform that I was wearing. It consisted of a white top with a blue sailor collar that tied in a red bow. The worst part about it was that I had to wear a blue skirt. I despised skirts. Mostly because I had to wear them every day during the school year.

The school bus horn made me jerk my eyes away from the mirror and toward the door. I ran out of my room and down the stairs, praying that the bus driver would wait for me. I ran to the front door and pulled on my shoes, then opened the door and slammed it shut as I sped out.

The bus was still there when I made it down my driveway. The driver opened the door. When I stepped on I looked up to see that he had a smile on his unshaven face and was shaking his head. I tentatively smiled back and climbed on. The little kids at the front of the bus went hay-wire as they hugged my waste and shouted my name as I strode past. I didn't like little kids too much, and I tried not to let them bother me, but when a boy was standing in the isle in front of me when I made my way to the seats to the back of the bus, I glared at him.

"Out of my way midget!" I said to him.

The boy looked at me then sat down in his seat as I strode past. I took my seat and looked at my friend who sat across from me.

"We've got to learn how to drive." I said to her.

When we finally got to school, I met another one of my friends by the lockers. I waved to him and greeted him as I walked to my locker at the end of the row. As I turned the combination lock he walked up to me and leaned against the locker next to mine.

"Are you doing anything this weekend?" He asked.

I jerked my locker open and replied, "Yeah, I am." I said as I took my bag off and hung it on one of the little metal hooks. "Sorry."

I had asked my mom the night before if I could go visit my dad for the weekend as an excuse to visit the Dream world. My real parents rarely spoke to one another. So my mom wouldn't know if I was actually there or not, and my sister had other plans for the weekend so she couldn't spoil anything either.

I knelt down and grabbed my books for my first hour class. My friend was still standing over me. I knew he was staring, though, I didn't return his glaze. I knew very well that he had a crush on me. He said so in one of the many notes he gave me. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that he said that he wanted to spend more time with me. I still refused to go out with him, I didn't date my friends. The last thing I needed was a boyfriend.

Both of us kept quiet for most of the day. I had a feeling that he knew that something was bothering me. I was hoping that he would just ignore me and do his school work instead of asking me if I was okay every hour. I guess I was just in one of those moods were I wanted to be left alone. I couldn't even concentrate on anything. I just sat there in my desk with my head on my books hoping that the day would end soon.

"Miss. Miller!" said the teacher in his usual monotone voice.

I lifted my head and wearily looked at him.

"What?" I sighed.

"I would advise that you put your face in your book instead of on it." he said.

Everyone else was staring at me. All of them had their books open on their desks. I opened my book after asking what the page number was, and to make matters even better, I had to read the page out loud while standing up in front of the class.

Once the bell finally rang signaling that school was out for the day, I headed for my locker. Many of my class mates walked past telling me how well I read in mocking voices. I ignored them and strode up to my locker. Finding my friend standing there and waiting for me I sighed and asked him what he wanted.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked me with concern.

"Yes!" I said. I knew that I sounded annoyed, but I was in such a lousy mood I didn't really care.

I opened my locker and put my books away.

"I'm sorry…" he finally said.

My eyes flashed. I stood up and turned to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked furiously. I couldn't stand it when people apologized for their feelings.

After a moment of silence he turned.

"I'll see you Monday." he said over his shoulder as he walked away.

I could feel my blood boil. I was angry again.

"Why do people have to do that?" I asked myself.

"That's the way they are." Pagasis replied.

"Well, it's stupid!" I said. "I don't date my friends."

"I know…" he said calmly. "Relax in a moment you'll be out of there so don't worry about it."

"I'll be there in a minute." I said as I grabbed my backpack from my locker.

"You got it." Pagasis said. "I'll be at the village. There's something I want to tell you, so hurry up."

"Okay." I said.

I walked to the front doors. I couldn't wait until I got there. I couldn't wait to see everyone again. I opened the door and walked outside. It was sunny out and very warm. The school parking lot wasn't completely empty. I was worried that someone would see me as I walked to the other end of the school to the large shrubs. I took one last look around to make sure I wasn't being watched, and opened one of the small pockets on my backpack. I pulled up a small wad of paper and unwrapped it to reveal a small glass ball. It was transparent and a misty white. This was my orb, my transport to the Dream world. This was another item Pagasis had given me when we first met. Using it, I could go to places I have already been to. All I had to do was picture the place in my head while holding it.

I held the orb tightly in my hands and pictured the Omogoa village in my head. Suddenly, the world around me sank into a blur of color. My body was floating as it began to change. My feet and hands turned into paws, my skin began to sprout long orange fur and a large pair of orange, black tipped wings burst from my back. My school uniform melted away as I landed on all four paws on the mossy forest floor. My senses where amplified about a hundred times better than when I was human.

Off in the distance, I could see the large, wooden huts of the Omogoa village. Smoke rose from the fires that burned in the small pits inside them and reached my nose. I could hear the native's voices and footsteps as they did their daily work. Their human-like bodies where brown while their wolfish heads were tan. I looked for a sign of the color white amongst them all. Then, I could see a pair of large white wings and a thick white tail. I knew right away that they belonged to Kovu. I smiled and ran into the clearing bounding on all four paws. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the natives wave at me cheerfully as I sped past.

"Hey Kovu!" I said.

He turned and looked down at me. He still looked as young as he did before, though he did show signs of aging.

"Hi!" he replied with a smile. "Here to visit for a while huh?"

I nodded.

"That's great. Pagasis told me that you were coming." he said. "I'm glad to see you. Maybe now something interesting will happen."

I giggled. It was true. Every time I came something always happened.

"Has anything gone on lately?" I asked him.

Kovu grinned.

"I'm leaving that to Pagasis." he said. "He's got plenty to tell you."

"Really?" I asked. "I wonder why he didn't tell me anything before…"

"Beats me." Kovu said. "Ask him that yourself."

"I will!" I said. I then turned. "I suppose he's at the hut."

"You got it!" Kovu said.

"See your around!" I called to him over my shoulder as I ran to my hut. The natives built a hut especially for me and Pagasis. I liked it a lot. It wasn't too big but it was cozy and comfortable.

I had a feeling that he'd be sitting in his usual spot by the door. I walked around one of the huts and sure enough, there he was.

He was in his human-like form and wearing his usual outfit. He greeted me with one of his smiles.

I ran up to him and threw my arms around him.

"I missed you!" I cheered as I squeezed tighter.

"I… missed… you too!" he wheezed. "You're suffocating me!"

"Oh, sorry!" I said as I let go. I then sat down on my hunches. I could feel my backpack between my wings. It was starting to itch.

"You need help with that?" Pagasis asked me.

"That would be nice." I said.

Pagasis' eyes glowed a bright blue as he concentrated on his powers.

I could feel my body change as a flash of light blinded me. When I opened my eyes I was standing on two legs. I was now in my human-like form too. I still had my paws and tail. Even my skin was still orange. I was wingless too. I slid the backpack off and sat it down.

"Thank you." I said with a sign of relief. I then looked down at myself and saw that I was back in my school uniform. I looked up at Pagasis to see him laughing. "Not funny!" I hissed.

I then tossed my bag over my shoulder and headed for the doorway.

"I'm going to change." I said flatly. "When I come back you have got to tell me what is going on."

"Okay." Pagasis chuckled.

I walked inside and smiled. I could see that the natives did a good job rebuilding the hut after the village was destroyed. The dream catchers where hanging back on the walls and our fur lined beds where back to where they where.

I sat down my backpack and opened it. I then slid off my skirt, and put the jeans on. These where the jeans I always wore. My mom wanted me to throw them away because there was a hole in the back of them. I couldn't tell her that it was for my tail, but I still managed to keep them from her grasp.

I put my shirt on and folded my uniform and sat it on my bed.

"I hate that thing…" I growled.

I then walked back outside. I was met by a huge, black, wolfish face with red eyes.

"Hi Rinoa!" I exclaimed as I jumped forward and hugged her nose. It was only large enough for me to put my arms only half way around her huge snout.

"Hi." she said. "It's good to see you again."

I let her go and stepped back.

Rinoa was nearly twenty five feet tall. Her body was covered with black, shaggy hair. Her ears and eye markings where even darker then her body. Most would say that she was a demon, for the colors black and red symbolized evil, but Rinoa had the heart of gold.

I turned to Pagasis. He hadn't left the spot where I had left him. Rinoa and I sat down.

"So, there's something you wanted to tell me?" I asked.

"Yes." he said. "A lot has been going on lately. We have a new tribe member."

"Really?" I marveled.

He told me of the whole story about the strange ghostly wolf and where he came from.

"His name's Karoko?" I said.

"Yes." Pagasis said. "I guess he's from the Spirit world."

"And you say that he was white and he had blood pouring from his mouth?" I asked. The picture of that looked kind of grim in my head. "You know… I was reading about a ghost in a magazine. They described it just how you did. Only smaller I guess. That's pretty scary."

"Do you want to hear something else that's just as scary?" Rinoa asked with a stern look.

"What?" I asked.

"It's Mona." Pagasis said. His smile vanished too. "She's pregnant."

Training

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"What!" I exclaimed. "No way!"

"Yeah." Pagasis nodded.

"Well… um… Who!?" I asked.

"We don't know." Rinoa said. "She refuses to tell anyone."

"Not to sound gross…" I said. "But can't you smell it?"

"She won't let us get close enough." Rinoa said.

"What about Aslynn?" I asked. "She knows everything."

"She claims that she doesn't know." Rinoa said. "She won't say anything either."

"What if I ask?" I said.

"I guess you could give it a shot." Pagasis said. "She really doesn't have any other friends that are girls around here…"

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's probably training with Karoko." Pagasis said.

"Training?" I questioned.

"Mona wants to learn his technique." Rinoa said. "There's no doubt that he's a skilled fighter. I just wonder why they are together so much."

"How come?" I asked.

"They hate each other." Pagasis said. "They're never getting along. Every time they're together they're fighting or arguing about something."

"Either way he isn't very nice." Rinoa said.

"Yeah right!" Pagasis said with a mocking laugh. "You just don't like the fact that he scared the wits out of you when he chased you."

"Hush…" Rinoa said. "You didn't look so brave yourself."

"Yeah right!" Pagasis grinned. "Who was the one who stopped him from turning you white with fear?"

They where still at it when I left them. They always got into things like that. It was sheer proof of their friendship. I walked into the middle of the clearing and took a good whiff of the air. I pin-pointed Mona's scent. She was in the forest. As I found the path I began to realize how they knew she was bearing children. Her scent was different. I couldn't quite explain it. I walked until I heard the clank of metal. I then realized that they where in a small clearing just outside the path. I walked through the under brush and found them.

They where circling each other. Staring into one anther's eyes with anger. Mona was wearing her usual tattered dress. She seemed a lot older than I remembered her. Her snout was thinner and her hair was longer.

Karoko was exactly how Pagasis told me. He was dark and had long white hair.

Mona dashed forward and attempted to slash his chest.

Karoko dodged out of the way and tripped her with his outstretched foot.

Mona fell into the mossy ground. She rolled over and growled at him.

"You've got to be quicker." Karoko said. "You'll never master it at that speed."

Mona stood up. She had bruises on her arms and knees.

I somewhat wished I wasn't there. I felt like I was intruding so I decided to leave, but as I turned away, I could hear Mona say my name. I turned to see the both of them staring at me.

"Hey Mona." I said timidly.

Mona smiled and ran up to me and greeted me with a hug.

This definitely wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

She let me go and grabbed onto my shoulders.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to come back!" she said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah!" she said. "I haven't had a regular girl talk in a long time. You know… There's always Rinoa but she's always so serious…"

I laughed.

"Who's this?" Karoko asked as he appeared by Mona's side.

"This is her." Mona said. "Esthenia."

I felt like I was being x-rayed as he looked at me from head to toe. The strangest part was that he didn't have a scent to him.

"A human…" he said. "I remember them well. I suppose you may deem this rude on what I'm about to say but it will take me a while to warm up to you."

Mona rolled her eyes.

"You see." he said. "Humans think they're so superior. They have no idea how many of us have been killed. Our world is even starting to over flow with spirits because so many animals die each day."

"Really?" I said. I felt a bit hurt. I had no idea we humans killed that much.

"Lay off her!" Mona said. "Give her some respect. She didn't do anything. Are you going to punish her just because she's human?"

Karoko didn't take his eyes off me. He continued to look me over from head to toe.

"We'll see." he said.

"So, what are you trying to learn?" I asked Mona.

"Karoko here is trying to teach me his stealth technique." Mona replied.

"What's that?"

"It's when you can move so fast that no one can see you." Mona said. "He says he's willing to teach me but I have to work hard."

"It's very hard work." Karoko said. "It will probably take you more than a year the way you are."

"Hey, don't blame me!" Mona said.

It was true. I could smell sour hate coming off the both of them. Though, I still couldn't find an identification scent on Karoko. I could just smell his emotions.

"So, you're a ghost?" I asked.

"Not exactly." Karoko said. "I am a species called a spirit wolf. Though, in the human world I was a ghost."

"Woa…" I said. "Do you know how you died?"

Karoko gave me a look. He then turned away while slipping his sword back into it's sheath.

"That is something you shouldn't worry about…" he said. "We're done for today Mona."

He then walked away without a second glance.

"What was that about?" I asked. I felt a bit remorse. "Was it something I said?"

"No." said Mona as she smiled at me. "Things like that wouldn't bother him. I think he's emotionless or something."

She couldn't exactly prove that seeing as how I could smell emotion coming off of him.

As we walked back we began to talk some more. I really didn't want to bring on the subject of her being pregnant. I didn't want her to become angry with me. Since she didn't even tell her parents I had a feeling that she wasn't about to tell me either.

"So, from what I hear you're having boy trouble." she said as we entered the village.

"Yeah…" I said. "Men are such a pain."

Mona just laughed, I could tell that she was thinking the same thing too.

Mystery

Mona and I headed for my hut to find her parents, Pagasis, Rinoa, Aslynn and Aquita waiting there for us. They all had serious expressions on their faces. Neara even looked a bit frightened.

"What's going on?" I asked as we halted in front of them.

"Well," Kovu started. "We didn't really want to tell you this because we didn't know if it was exactly true. We didn't want to frighten you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Over the past few weeks," Pagasis said. "We began to find out that some of the natives where disappearing. We just realized this not too long ago, so at first we figured that they where just out hunting."

"What?" I marveled. "Where they hunters?"

"Yes." said Kovu. "We didn't think it was too strange that they where gone because they are normally gone for quite a while when on a hunt, but they've been gone for too long. That was over three weeks ago. And that's not the most of it. There are also others that where reported missing yesterday."

"Did someone see them leave or something?" I asked. "Surely if they where being snatched away we'd hear it."

"That's the strange part." Kovu said. "We didn't see any signs of struggle. They had to of just walked away, but we don't see why they would, and if someone did have to leave, they'd tell us."

"Weird…" I said. I then looked at Mona. "Did you know anything about this?"

"No…" she said. She was eyeing her parents with deep disgust. "Nobody told me anything."

Kovu and Neara stayed silent, though, they returned the look she gave them.

"Did anyone see or hear anything strange lately?" I asked. "Maybe it is the work of a demon."

"No." said Kovu. "I asked my mother if she'd seen anything strange lately, but she said that she hasn't."

"You know…" said Rinoa. She had somewhat of a frown on her face. "When I think about it, it didn't start happening until Karoko arrived."

There was a murmur. We all looked at one another. I didn't want to believe that Karoko was the cause of everyone's disappearance. I knew very well that he wasn't very nice, but deep down he was good. I looked at Pagasis and he had the same expression I did, telling me that he probably thought the same thing.

"Well," said Neara after a moment of silence. "We shouldn't start pointing fingers just yet, but I'd advise to all of you to keep your eyes open."

"Good point." Aquita said. "If you want, I could have some of my troops scout the forest for them."

"That might be needed." Neara said. "I'm sure they'll turn up sooner or later. Remember we are on an island. There's nowhere else to go. Anyway, if it is our ghostly friend, just remember that there is a whole tribe of us and only one of him."

"That is pretty strange…" I said as I sat down with a wooden tray in my hands. I leaned against the wall and looked down at my dinner. I wasn't sure if I was hungry or not. Was my stomach full, or was my mind?

"What's that?" Pagasis asked as he took a bite of a large red apple.

"The fact that everyone is missing." I said. "I mean, wouldn't someone smell them or something?"

"Another strange fact…" Pagasis said. "We can't smell them either. It's like they just vanished."

"Well, how come you didn't tell me about this before?" I asked. "I know very well that my being "afraid" wasn't the only reason."

"You're right." Pagasis said. "It's just that… Every time you come here something happens. We just didn't want you to have to get involved again. We wanted you to have a pleasant stay for once."

"Well, I'm involved now." I said. "I'm a Guardian too, and I want to find out what is happening."

"Maybe they just went to another world." Karoko's voice said.

I looked up from my tray to see him standing over me. He was leering down at me with his bright yellow eyes.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

Karoko grinned.

"Well, maybe they got thrown into a portal and got sent to another world." he said. "Don't think I haven't heard that story."

"Right…" I said. "Do you know anything about it?"

"You know," he said. "It appears that a lot of folks around here are believing so, but I suppose that's how all outsiders are treated."

I frowned.

"That's not true." I said. "Trust me."

"Trust you?" Karoko chuckled. "That's a good one. Like I said before, I don't trust humans."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"I don't care what anyone says about him." Pagasis said. "That guy creeps me out!"

"He's just different." I said. "We both know what that's like huh?"

Pagasis smiled. He then picked up another apple and took a huge bite.

"Remember what happened last time?" I asked with a smug grin.

Pagasis' eyes popped open. He had been turned into an apple once by Canis. I found the whole thing pretty amusing, but I don't think he did.

"Well, I wasn't prepared." he said. "This time I'll be ready."

I smiled.

"Weirdo." I said as I grabbed a piece of jerky off my tray and raised it up to my mouth. "You where right about Mona by the way."

"Really?" Pagasis said.

"Yeah." I said. "Actually, I didn't even want to ask her about it. She seemed so happy when she saw me. I suppose I didn't want to ruin the mood."

"I can't blame you." Pagasis said. "Before you came, she really didn't have anyone to talk to. Her parents are a bit disgusted with her about the whole ordeal about her being pregnant. They are angry at the fact that she won't tell anyone who the father is."

"Give me time." I said as I took a bite of my jerky. "I'll squeeze it out of her. Tonight, she wants me to go with her to the cliff to visit Carona. I said I'd go with her."

"Good plan." Pagasis said. "You haven't seen Carona in a while. I bet she'd be happy to see you."

"Not only that." I said. "Maybe she has an update on our mystery."

"You have a point there." Pagasis said. "Let's just hope that it's a good update and not a bad one."

"Esthenia!!"

I looked up and saw Aslynn running at me. Her long black hair flowed behind her. It was a lot longer than I had remembered and she showed signs of aging. Though, she still looked very young. She knelt down and threw her arms around me.

She took me by such a surprise I nearly dropped my tray.

"Hi Aslynn!" I said.

"I missed you so much!" she cheered as she let me go. "Ahh, I see you've been using my potion."

"Yeah, I haven't seen a pimple since." I said. "That stuff did the trick."

Aslynn laughed. Her bright, reflective eyes shimmered many different colors whenever she moved her head. Her eyes where special. They allowed her to see the past and future. Her role in the clan was the priestess and the second beta. She had very good knowledge when it came to medicines and stuff. She also had immense spiritual power. It was enough to blast a demon's head off its shoulders.

"Well, I'm glad you're back." she said. "A lot has been going on since. You have a lot of catching up to do."

"Oh yeah." I said. I had this feeling that Mona's problem, the new clan member, and the disappearing natives wasn't the half of it.

"Well, I'll see you around." She said as she turned. She smiled down at Pagasis and pat him on the head, then walked away.

Pagasis looked a bit confused.

I just smiled and continued eating my dinner. After the first few mouthfuls I began to think again. Karoko's image was fresh in my mind. I thought of the thing's he'd said about the dead reincarnating into other things with powers.

"Pagasis!" I suddenly exclaimed.

Pagasis nearly choked on his fifth apple from my sudden outburst.

"Do you see the resemblance!!?" I asked as I grabbed his arm.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Aslynn and Karoko! They look almost exactly the same!"

Forever Young

After we ate, I met up with Mona at her hut. We then decided to take the path to the cliff instead of flying. The sky was beginning to get dark but we couldn't see the stars. It was cloudy and chilly out that night. Only the light of the full moon broke through the heavy gray clouds. I had a bright blue hooded sweat shirt that I stashed in my hut a while ago in case I got cold.

"Woa!" Mona said as she examined my shirt. "What bright colors!"

"Than you." I said. "It may not look like much but it's pretty damn warm."

Mona laughed and we started on our way. It was dark in the forest as we entered the path. I could see perfectly in the night. Every nook and shadow.

Mona turned to me and pointed at my face.

"Woa!" she exclaimed. "Did you know that your eyes where glowing?"

"Yeah." I replied. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah…" Mona nodded. "Karoko's eyes can do that too."

"What's up with you two anyway?" I asked. "You both seem so mean to each other yet you continue to hang out?"

"You know…" Mona sighed. "My parents asked me the same question."

"Oh…" I said. I took my eyes off her and onto the path ahead. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"It's all right." Mona said. "I know very well that you know about me."

I couldn't lie about that. Though, I wanted to. When I looked at Mona again she looked very sad.

"Well, anyway." she said. "I suppose you can ask me anything you want. I'm not going to keep it a secret from you."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because," Mona said as she smiled at me. "You are truly the only one who I can relate to. We are both considered different. I was the only one in the village that was born in my generation so I never really had anyone that was my age to talk to."

"What about Rinoa?" I asked.

"Indeed we can relate." Mona said. "But her logic doesn't mix with teenage problems. I know I'm not a teenager anymore, but I fell that no matter what age I am, I'm still the same, and you are always there to relate to my problems and understand them."

I didn't say anything to that. Mona sounded so sincere. I knew right away that she was willing to trust me with all of her secrets.

"You know… It's funny." I said.

"What's that?" Mona asked.

"Well, you know how when you are young you'd give away anything just to be grown up?" I said. "And when you're older you'd wish that you where young again?"

"I know that feeling." Mona said. "I guess that when you're young, you wish that you could do the things that the older people can do, but when you finally get to do it, you realize that it's not at all cracked up to what it's supposed to be. Then you wish that you had cherished the days when you where a child. Well… I guess that's life."

"Yeah," I said with a bit of humor. "It kind of stinks…"

Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up and blew a scent to my nose. Mona and I froze. After a second we looked at each other.

"That's Aslynn…" I whispered. My curiosity was beginning to build up. "What would she be doing out here?"

Mona shrugged.

"Come on." she finally whispered as she crouched low into the under brush and off the path.

Trying to be as quiet as I could, I followed her until she stopped. She then turned and whispered, "she's here. Come see."

I crawled forward and next to her when she moved over. We where looking into a clearing through a large shrub. I could see two figures standing in the center. It took my eyes a moment to adjust. Slowly, yet clearly, the forms of Aslynn and Karoko appeared in the place of the shadowy figures. Luckily, the wind was blowing their scent to us and not our scent to them. I felt kind of guilty for intruding, but my curiosity kept me there.

"I'm glad you showed up." Aslynn said.

"I wouldn't have if it wasn't for the fact that you threatened to tell everyone my secret…" Karoko growled. "Is this about Mona?"

"No." Aslynn said. "Though you can't deny the fact that you are the father of her child."

Karoko glared.

I felt as if an ice cube had slid down my throat. I looked at Mona out of the corner of my eye to see that she had a look of shock on her face.

"I'm here to talk about something else." Aslynn said. "How did you die?"

"What's that?" Karoko glared. "How does that concern you?"

"Your past does." Aslynn said.

"It was a disease." Karoko said. "I was captured by the humans and they used me as a test subject. Since the experiment failed, they left me in the snow to drown in my own blood."

I gasped. I had no idea that Karoko had died such a horrible death. No wonder why he didn't like me. It was humans that killed him.

"What about before that?" Aslynn asked.

"What do you mean?" Karoko asked.

"If you where born of the earth as an average wolf then your past would show it, but yours is just plain empty." Aslynn said.

"Are you suggesting that I was a reincarnation?" Karoko asked.

"That's exactly what I am saying." she said. "I know that you are blocking your scent, but you can't hide it from me. You smell like that of my brother. He was evil and injurious. He was so dark I feared that he would become a demon."

"Are you saying that as your brother I was punished in my second life by a brutal death and then having to roam alone for years to get my revenge?" Karoko asked angrily.

"He was a murderer!" Aslynn said. "And how else can you explain the fact that you look just like me? After your second life, your soul must have been forgiven and given a second chance to live your life."

I sat there in the bush and watched. My mind was racing. Aslynn's brother was once the clan beta and was destined to marry Neara and become the tribe's leader, but he deceived everyone and killed Neara's parents. Then, when Neara found out, she killed him.

"And what about you?" Karoko asked. "How is it that you have powers? You can't hide it from me."

"What…" Aslynn gasped.

"Confess." Karoko said. "You're a reincarnation too."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aslynn said.

"You are a spirit too." said Karoko. "Though, not the same type as me. You have such immense spiritual powers. I bet you where a witch as I was a ghost."

"Then how is it that we just so happened to be on the same island?" Aslynn asked. "I bet that it would be one in a million for us to be together. Isn't it just a bit of a coincidence?"

Another gust of wind blew. This time it was from behind us.

I looked at Mona in horror as Aslynn and Karoko looked at our hiding place. We backed away as quickly and quietly as we could. When we reached the path, we ran as fast as we could towards the cliff. When we finally began to tire out we slowed down to a walk.

"Do you think they saw us?" Mona asked.

"I hope not." I panted. "Did you hear what they where talking about?"

"Yeah!" said Mona. "Karoko, Aslynn's brother?"

"Karoko, the father?" I asked.

Mona looked at me with wide eyes. Her secret was out and she knew it.

"Well, I thought you'd ask me that sooner or later." Mona said. "I didn't plan on having you find out that way."

"But… how?!" I asked. "You two hate each other."

"Sad but true…" Mona said. "I don't know… I guess that we just got so hyped up while training one day that one thing led to another."

"I see…" I said. It was strange to me how things like that could happen. Of course, it had never happened to me before, but the thought of it ever happening to me kind of freaked me out. "How come you wanted to keep it a secret?"

"Well, my parents know how mean he is to me." Mona said. "They would probably forbid it. They would want the best for me. They could banish him from the island or something."

The thought of Neara and Kovu doing that to someone seemed pretty unlikely to me. They where usually kind to people no matter who they where.

"You know…" Mona said, taking me out of my trance. "What about you and Pagasis?"

I felt the color drain from my face.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I don't know." Mona said. "It seems to me that I wasn't the only one who had a guy take me by surprise. By the way you talk about the subject, you seem to be speaking from experience."

I didn't reply. Her words took me all the way back to the time when he kissed me.

"There's nothing to really talk about." I finally said. "He's my Guardian."

"I see…" Mona said.

We continued to walk up the path in silence. I had a bad feeling that Mona thought I was angry with her or something for asking me about Pagasis. I wasn't angry, but I was so shaken by the memory I didn't want to go back to it. We walked until the foot of the cliff came into view. As we began to climb up the rocky path I stopped and turned to Mona.

"I would do anything to be young again." I said. "But I couldn't bear to bring back my past."

Mona smiled.

"You may want to forget your memories," Mona said. "but, no matter how old you may be ,or how far you put the past behind you, you'll always be forever young in your mind."

Part Two- Shadow

Panic

At that moment I felt like I had a big sister all my own. I, myself am a big sister, but I never knew what it was like to have one. I knew that I wasn't very nice to my little sister, but when she was in trouble or needed advice, I was usually there for her. I felt the same security that my sister must have felt around me at times. Mona's words hit me deeply. We are forever young in our minds. We re-live our old memories every time we think about them. I never really though about it that way.

Mona and I continued to walk up the steep rocky path to the top of the cliff. We decided to change the serious subject and lighten things up a bit.

"So?" I asked amusingly. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?" Mona asked.

"You know..." I said with a crude wink. I had this feeling that teasing her about it would help her see the lighter side of her situation.

Mona's face turned a bit pink. She had a sheepish grin on her face.

"Well, it's... fun?" she said with a giggle.

I couldn't help but laugh with her on that one. I suppose the more older you get the more amusing the subject was.

We continued to talk about the subject. Mona seemed to be pretty straight-forward about it. I knew there was a sick mind under her serious exterior. I suppose the more older you get the more sick minded you get as well. I found it all kind of funny. I never really had anyone who I could speak my mind to. I couldn't really discuss things like that with Pagasis or the other people I knew. I felt uncomfortable talking to my mom about it too. That was another reason why Mona felt like a big sister. I didn't feel uncomfortable around her.

We found Carona lying on the ledge with her paws crossed out in front of her and her large wings folded at her sides. She was looking out at the cloudy night sky when we walked up to her and greeted her. She turned her massive head and smiled down at us.

"Esthenia." she said. "It's good to see you here."

"Good to see you too Carona." I said as I smiled back. "What are you looking at out there?"

Carona looked away from us and back up at the sky.

"The winds." she said. "There's something out there. I'm waiting for the wind to carry it to me so I can find out what it is."

"We heard that something strange was going on." said Mona.

"Yes." said Carona. "The missing hunters. Your father told me. We cannot see or smell them. So there is no possible way of tracing them."

"Maybe Karoko was right." I said.

"What's that?" Mona asked.

"Well." I said. "He said that maybe they where taken to a different world through a portal or something."

"Portals..." Mona said thoughtfully. "That would be silly. The only one who had the power to do that hasn't been seen in years."

"That's a good point." Carona said. "If your grandfather did return I would have smelled him. Though, I cannot truthfully say that everything is perfectly all right."

Mona and I both gasped and looked at her.

"What do you mean" Mona asked.

"Something's out there." Carona said. "I can sense it."

"Is it a demon?" I asked.

Carona shook her head.

"How come we can't sense it?" Mona asked. "Everything smells perfectly all right to me."

Carona took her eyes off the sky and set them on Mona.

"Your senses are clear when you're old." Carona said. "In your youth, you are more alert about what is around you instead of inside you."

"I don't understand." Mona said.

"When you sit and wonder about a million possible things, you start to discover hidden senses within you." Carona said.

"So?" I asked. "What do you think is out there?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about it. I looked out into the shadowy forest, then to the shimmering ocean, until Carona sighed deeply.

"Karoko..." she said. "About what he and Aslynn where talking about..."

"How do you know about that?" Mona and I asked at the same time.

"Like I said." said Carona. "When you're old, you discover things."

"What about them?" Mona asked.

"Karoko said that he died of a disease in his former life." said Carona. "Yet he hasn't carried it here."

"What?" Mona asked. "What are you saying? So how does that give you any leads?"

"How do you think that a few select persons can carry a virus but never get effected by it?" Carona pointed out.

Mona and I thought about it for a moment. Then it came to me.

"Because they died of it their former life!" I said.

"You got it." said Carona with a grin.

"How on earth did you know something like that?" Mona asked.

Carona kept the grin and let out a chuckle.

"Old age." she said.

"You don't suspect that Karoko spread it to them do you?" Mona asked.

"That wouldn't make sense." I said. "If he was the one spreading it then just about everyone in the tribe would have it. Especially you."

"But I still don't get what it would have to do with the natives missing." Mona said. "Is it some kind of wandering disease?"

"There's rabies." I said.

"What are rabies?" Mona frowned.

"It's when an animal has problems with the nervous system and can't drink water. When canids get it, they wander allot." I said.

"But we'd still be able to smell them though." Mona said.

"Good point..." I said.

"Do you think this "rabies" thing might be it?" Mona asked Carona.

We both where looking at Carona now. She was looking out into the forest. Her ears where so erect they where standing straight up.

"You must go!" she said urgently. "Something is happening. Fly to the village, don't take the woods."

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was so startled I could feel all the color drain from my face.

"Just go!" Carona said as she stood up. "Tell everyone to that I'm behind you."

"What are you going to do?" Mona asked.

"I'm going to fly everyone here." Carona said. "It's not safe anymore. Now hurry!"

Mona and I spread our wings and dove off the ledge.

"What was that about?" I asked. I could feel my body shaking all over.

"I don't know..." Mona said. She had a very serious look on her face. "We'd better tell my father right away. My grandmother wasn't the same."

"What do you mean?" I gasped.

"She smelled different." Mona said. "She has grown thinner and more thoughtful. Something is troubling her deeply. She didn't show it on her outside because the problem was inside. Something is seriously wrong. I've never seen her that way before."

I looked down and saw the glow of the firelight of the village. I could see only a few natives walking outside. The others must have gone to sleep for it was very late. It wasn't too long before we landed in front of my hut.

"Pagasis is probably inside." I said. "You go to your parents and I'll give Pagasis the scoop."

"Okay." said Mona as she turned away.

I went to the doorway and opened the leather flap that hung over it. A dim fire glowed in the center.

Pagasis was lying next to it. He was in his horse form and wide awake. He watched me enter and smiled when I saw him.

"How was it?" he asked.

"We don't have time for that." I said.

"What's going on?" he asked. His face expression changed when he saw mine.

"Something is wrong." I said. "Carona wants all of us to go to the cliff. She'll be here in a short while to fly everyone there."

Pagasis didn't ask anymore questions. He immediately stood up and followed me to the door. There, we met Kovu, Neara, Mona, and Rinoa. Neara looked panic stricken and Kovu and Rinoa looked as stern as ever.

"Okay," said Kovu. "We have to split up. Each of you go to a hut and wake everyone up. Tell the warriors to grab their weapons. If mother senses something wrong, then we'd better take her seriously."

"Right!" we all said as we split up.

I ran to Aslynn's hut first. I knocked on the side of her door.

"Yes?" I heard her say.

"Aslynn," I said. "It's me."

In no time at all, the whole tribe was standing in the center of the village. All of them looked pretty frightened. I could hear many of them discussing the possible problems that had occurred. None of them where close to right. I stood with all the higher ranking ones on the outside of the group, telling them what Carona had said.

A massive wind and the sound of wings told us that Carona was there. She landed on the outside of the village, and ran up to us.

"Is everybody ready?" she asked.

"Yes." Kovu said. "I still don't know what you are trying to accomplish by doing this.'

"Something is out there." Carona said. "If we don't get everyone to a safe place then they'll all be killed."

"I'm staying here." Kovu said. "I want to see what it is. I am strong enough to handle it."

"Not alone you're not!" Rinoa said. "I'm staying too!"

"Rinoa," Carona said. "You'll have to help me carry them."

Rinoa didn't argue. She had great respect for her mother, though, she looked pretty stubborn about it.

"Okay..." she said.

"I'm staying too father." Mona said to Kovu.

"Why don't we all stay." said Aquita. "We'll be stronger in our numbers."

"Good idea." I said. "I'll get the silver arrows."

I ran over to my hut. I walked inside and went to the far wall where I had my bow and quiver hung. The leather quiver was full of chrome colored arrows. They where magic, and did anything to the target you commanded them to. I put them over my shoulder and ran back outside where I saw the natives climb onto Carona and Rinoa's backs. I felt a bit worried about Rinoa. She couldn't fly, but she was pretty strong and agile. It would only take her seconds. I looked at the group I was staying with. Kovu and Aquita both had their spears out and ready. Neara insisted on staying but Kovu wouldn't let her.

"They need someone to keep them calm." he said to her. "If they don't have their leader they'll be lost."

When Neara finally gave in, Kovu hugged her tight.

"I'll be all right." he said. "Don't worry about me. Just do what you do best."

"Okay." Neara said. She then turned and joined the others.

The six of us watched as Carona jumped into the air and few over the treetops and out of sight. Then watched as Rinoa ran up the path with lightning speed.

I looked around at everyone. They all looked alert with their weapons in hand.

"So," I said. "Where do we go from here?"

Ambush

There was no doubt that everyone was afraid. I could smell fear and anxiety coming off of everyone. Well, maybe except that of Pagasis. He rarely showed fear at most times. It made me wonder if his lack of fear was from all his past experiences.

"Well," said Kovu. "I suppose we just sit an wait. Maybe we can' t smell them but they can smell us."

"Very good." Aslynn said.

Everyone turned and stared at her.

"Aslynn!" Kovu gasped. "Why are you still here? We thought you went with everyone else. This is far too dangerous..."

"Spare me." Aslynn said. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself."

Pagasis sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll be right back..." he said as he walked away.

I watched him walk across the village and go to our hut where he walked inside.

"I wonder what he's up to." I said.

"I've never seen grandmother afraid before." Mona said. "Do you think she's all right? I've never heard her talk about being old before and she's grown so thin."

"Indeed she is aging." Kovu said. "You're right. Let's just hope that Rinoa keeps a sharp eye on her."

Pagasis finally returned. He was in his human form and had a large red apple in his hand.

"You had a stash in there didn't you?" I asked while placing my hands on my hips.

Pagasis nodded and took a bite of the apple.

"I was just thinking..." he said as he swallowed. "By what you told us about this disease, do you think that maybe Karoko should have a say in it?"

We all turned to Karoko. I almost forgot he was there because he was so quiet.

He didn't look at anyone. He was staring down at his sword.

'Karoko?" Pagasis asked. "Is it true?"

Karoko glared. He didn't take his eyes off the sword.

I could see that he was examining the crack that Mona had put in it.

"I don't know how you all learned of that." Karoko finally said. "But I assure you that they didn't get it from me."

"What kind of a disease was it?" Kovu asked.

Karoko sheathed his sword.

"It was called the shadow." he said. "Humans think that animals can not understand what they are saying but when they explained what was happening while I sat there in my small cage. I understood every word.

"They where trying to create a cure for a virus called rabies. I didn't have them to begin with but when they captured me and took me away from my home, they injected me with the rabies virus."

"How cruel!" I gasped. "They can't do that!"

"Well, apparently to them they could." Karoko said. "They kept me in a cage in a large room filled with strange lights while I felt my body change little by little. I began to feel thirsty, yet I couldn't stand the thought of water. I started to go blind and I started pacing around the little room I had. I could still think and hear though. All my thoughts rested on what the humans where saying.

"They said that they had finally found a cure for the virus, and that they where going to use it on me the next morning, but when the lights went out and everything was dark, I heard a strange noise. Nobody was ever there at night so I woke up and listened. I still couldn't see anything but I knew that someone was there. There where two of them. I heard one say to the other that they where going to switch the vials. One contained the antidote, and the other contained the shadow virus."

"I know them!" I said.

Everyone gasped and turned to me.

"It was all in a magazine article." I said. "There is this group of people who are trying to wipe out the wolf population in the north. The ones you speak of where caught the next day after they switched the vials. They and the scientists where taken in for questioning and where asked them about what they did with the test specimen. They said that they let it go back into the wild."

"That's about right." Karoko said. "The next morning, they injected me with the virus. By then they realized that something was wrong, and I knew it too.

"I started to feel like I wasn't in control of my body. I went blind and I couldn't hear anything after that, but I could feel my body move through the cold snow. My mind was only on one thing, and that was to feed."

"I... never knew that humans could be so cruel!" Mona gasped.

I lowered my head. I felt a sudden guilt rush through me. I was human.

Mona looked at me and gasped.

"I didn't mean it that way..." she said. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe that those humans did that."

"I can't either." I said. "I don't understand why they would do that to animals. It's just not fair."

Pagasis put his arm around me and smiled. He always did that to make me feel better.

"Don't worry about it." he said. "I bet that if you had a chance, you could stop all of those things from happening. It's not your fault that people are like that. You are human, but you aren't like that."

I smiled back.

"So," Aquita said. "This shadow virus was brought here, but if Karoko carried it, then how is it that we all don't have it?"

"We asked Carona that one." Mona said. "But even she didn't know that one."

"What is that?" Kovu suddenly asked. He was staring out at something.

The rest of us looked too. At the far end of the clearing, I could make out a moving object. It was slowly heading toward us.

Karoko unsheathed his sword.

We watched as the object drew closer. We couldn't make out what it was until it stepped into the firelight. It appeared to be one of the natives.

"Who are you!" Kovu called to it.

The native didn't reply. It continued to move as if Kovu's words didn't reach it. It wasn't until it got even closer when we gasped.

I could see it almost perfectly now.

It was slinky and extremely thin. Its skin was hairless, and tight to its bones like a corpse. Drool leaked from its open mouth.

"What the hell!?" Mona gasped.

"That's one of the warriors!" Kovu exclaimed.

"Spirit form!!" Karoko shouted. His words echoed as he transformed into the large, ghostly wolf. He was about as tall as Kovu and his fangs where like knives. His eyes flashed red as he let out a thunderous growl. He then walked out and stood in front of Mona.

The creature wasn't intimidated. It continued to walk blindly forward. Its eyes where white and empty.

I then realized that it wasn't drooling. It was blood that was coming from it's mouth. I drew out one of my arrows and nocked it.

"This is what it must look like." I said. I was shaking all over.

"That's the smell of deer's blood." Aquita said.

"I get it!" said Pagasis. "We are unable to smell them because they have no blood, and they don't have any emotions either. They must attack anything with living flesh and blood. They can see us by our heat."

"Oh, my gosh!!" Aslynn screamed.

"What is it!?" Kovu asked.

We all took our eyes off the diseased native and realized that we where surrounded by them.

All of them where slinking out of the forest. Many of them had missing limbs. Only torn muscle tissue and tendons hung out from where their arms or legs where supposed to be. Some of them even had both of their legs missing and where crawling with their arms.

I shuddered. They reminded me of something that crawled out of a horror movie.

"We're surrounded!" Mona cried.

"Here we go!" Pagasis said.

The Fatal Bite

Karoko let out a roar. The blood started to form on his chin and chest.

Mona stood behind him, looking extremely frightened as the creatures closed in.

"Whatever you do!" Karoko roared in a deep voice. "Don't let them bite you!"

"Okay!" Pagasis said. He then transformed back into his horse form. With that he charged into the wall of glowing white eyes, goring several of them with his horn.

Kovu charged too. With his spear he ran one through the chest.

The creature didn't fall. It kept on coming at Kovu with the spear in its chest. It didn't seem to feel the pain.

"What are these things!?" Kovu gasped as he stabbed it again.

"Don't you see!" Aquita said as he whipped his spear and knocked one of their limbs off. "They're already dead!"

"But how can they move!?" Mona shouted as she stabbed into one with her knife.

I was shooting several of them with my arrows. I told them to die, but it wasn't working. They just kept on coming at me with the arrows sticking out of them.

"Hell with this!!" I shouted. I was so grossed out and afraid that I swung my razor sharp claws, hitting the creature in the neck. When its head fell off and fell, I knew the way.

"Their heads!" I yelled to everyone. "Cut off their heads! They won't be able to smell us anymore and they can't move their bodies!"

"Right!" Karoko roared as he leaned down and bit off one of the creature's heads with his huge jaws.

A blast of light from behind me told me that Pagasis had used one of his magical attacks. I turned to watch and felt a hand on my shoulder. I gasped and peered over to see that it was green-grey and moldy. The worst part was that there was no body connected to the arm. I threw it off of me and turned around. I felt like I was going to puke from the sight. There where several of the creatures trying to get to me, but whenever another one got in their way, they ripped through it with their teeth and claws. I roared and a jet of fire burst from my mouth. The flame caught on to them, but they still continued to move as if there was nothing happening. The smell of burning flesh reached my nose. It smelled so bad that I felt like I was going to faint.

"Well," I said as I jumped back. "That was a bad idea."

The creatures where closing in on me. I reached for one of the arrows from the quiver on my back, but I felt that my quiver had been cut off my back somehow.

"Oh, great!" I shouted. I figured that when they where reaching for me they ripped it off my back.

"Excuse me." Aslynn said as she stepped in front of me. She looked pretty calm and collected. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her.

"Oh, Aslynn!" I said. "I have it under control."

"Oh, yeah!" Aslynn said as she held her hand up to one of the creature's heads. "I hate to tell you this Esthenia, but you look like your about to wet yourself! Eths-Kiay!!"

With that, a white blast erupted from her fingertips and blew the creature's head off.

"You see?" Aslynn said. "It's all in the wrists!"

"Whatever!" I choked. "What are you talking about? I don't know any of that Kung-foo grippy stuff!!"

Aslynn laughed. She reminded me of a maniac.

"If you have any problems, come find me." she said as she leapt away.

"I didn't have any to begin with!" I shouted behind her.

I then turned and sliced my hand at one of the creature's necks. Something strange happened this time. My claws left a flaming trail and decapitating three of them at once.

"What the...?" I gasped.

Then, it was over. Apparently, there wasn't as many as we thought. The corpses lay all over the ground. I looked around and turned to my friends.

Karoko was the first to look at me. Right away he transformed back into his regular form. His facial expression told me that he was confused about something.

Pagasis transformed back into his human form and looked at me too. He had the same expression as Karoko did.

Soon, everyone was staring at me. All of them had fearful expressions on there faces. I knew there was something defiantly wrong.

"What is it?" I asked.

Nobody spoke. Instead, Mona just pointed to my right arm with a shaky finger.

I looked down and felt the color drain from my face.

One of the creature's heads had a hold of me with its teeth on my right shoulder. Its fangs where driven deep inside of me. Its white, blind eyes where open and staring.

I screamed and grabbed it with my claws and ripped if off my shoulder. Blood started to leak from the wound.

Pagasis ran up to me.

"Don't tell me..." he gasped.

"She was bitten..." Karoko gasped.

"No..." Mona and Kovu breathed.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of Pagasis. He was just standing there and staring into my eyes. I could feel my body begin to tremble. Was I going to die?

"She's done for..." Karoko said.

Control

I couldn't believe it. I could feel the throbbing pain in my shoulder now, and my warm blood stream down my arm. My knees began to shake wildy. I could hardy keep enough balance to stand up. I could see all my friends standing around me with wide eyes.

"How fast will it take its effect?" Pagasis asked.

"It takes about a few weeks." Karoko said. "But, I'm a wolf. I don't necessarily know how it effects other species."

I lost control of my legs. I couldn't hold up my body any longer. I slammed to my knees and tried to hold the rest of myself up as my arms began to tremble. I was extremely frightened. The pain in my shoulder was so bad I wanted to die right there.

Pagasis dropped down beside me. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hang on Esthenia!" he said as he held me close to him.

"Aslynn!" I heard Mona say. "Can't you come up with some kind of cure? If we don't help her soon, she'll die!"

"I'll see what I can do!" Aslynn replied. She then ran to her hut.

"I... can't feel my body..." I trembled.

It was true. My whole body went completely numb. I couldn't even feel my friend. I could hardly move. I even had trouble keeping my eyes open. Over Pagasis' shoulder, I could see everyone staring at the ground. I could smell their sorrow and see the gleam of their tears.

"Don't feel sad for me..." I said. "You should all leave this island or you'll all die with me."

"What are you saying?!" Mona yelled as she turned to me. "Don't you dare just give up like that! You don't know what you're saying!"

I was dying. I should have been afraid, but for some reason, I wasn't anymore. Flash backs of my past started to pass before my eyes. All of my embarrassing moments, all those times I should have been sad for people, and all the trouble I was put through. All of it made me feel angry. My life should have been better than that. It all even trailed back to the year when I first learned of the Dream world. That year where everyone turned their backs on me and treated me like I was a crumb of dirt.

I suddenly stood up. I took in a deep breath through my nose. Everything was red. The only thing I could hear was my heart beating in my chest. The only thing that was on my mind was seeing the red and smelling its sweetness.

I found myself charging at the one in front of me. Inside, I could see a girl telling me to stop. This girl looked familiar to me, but I ignored her and drove my claws forward. The blood moved out of my way and grabbed my by my wrist.

"Esthenia!!" a voice called.

I gasped. The words seemed to echo inside of my mind. I have heard this voice before. I blinked.

Pagasis was standing in front of me. He had a cut across his cheek. He held out in front of him a necklace.

"Pagasis..." I gasped. I could hear myself speak inside of my head, though, another voice drown over it. Telling me to attack. I did my best to ignore it and keep my hands to my sides.

Pagasis put his arms around my neck. Seconds later I heard his voice inside my head.

"Esthenia!" he said. "It's Pagasis. Try to control yourself!"

"I can't!" I replied. "I can't move my body. Someone else is inside my mind and controlling it!"

"Fight it!" Pagasis demanded.

"I'm trying!"

"Just hang on! Aslynn is coming back." he said. "She's going to try to help you."

The red returned and I could see the blood all around me. It was wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I instinctively struck. I had a hunger, and I couldn't sustain it. I was starving...

Then, I felt a sharp pain around my neck. I fell backward, taking my grip from my foe. I started to get the feeling back into my body. I blinked and everything was back to its original color.

"What... happened?" I gasped.

I could see everyone standing around me. All of them had their weapons drawn out. Pagasis was standing in front of me. He had a tare in his shirt and the scratch on his face was bleeding, but his face remained expressionless.

Beside him stood Aslynn. She had a triumphant look on her face.

"Aslynn?" I asked. "What is going on?"

I was so confused. At the time I had no idea what had happened to me.

"You are under a control spell." Aslynn said. "That collar you wear repels the effect of the virus."

I felt my neck. Something smooth and solid was there. I couldn't see it at all, but I could see the necklace that Pagasis put on me, and below that was the hart with wings. I then looked down at my hand. My claws where longer and my skin was unusually dark. Another thing was that I had a long, gold bracelet that went from my wrist to my elbow. I looked up my arm and saw a gold cuff just below my shoulder along with a black stripe. I looked at my other arm and saw the same thing.

"What? Am I?" I asked.

"Your countenance has indeed changed." Aslynn said. "The effect of the disease has brought out your true power. As long as you control it you'll be fine."

"You mean... I'm a pure Sphinx?" I asked.

Pagasis nodded.

I looked at him again. I then realized that I had given him the scratches. I walked up to him and threw my arms around him.

"I'm so sorry!" I cried.

"You didn't do it on purpose." he said. "I'm just glad you're alive."

"So..." Mona said. "Is she cured?"

Aslynn turned to her.

"I'm afraid not." Aslynn said. "Indeed the collar keeps her from losing control, but as soon as she goes back to her world, it will lose its effect."

"So, what can we do?" Kovu asked.

"I can try to create an antidote." Aslynn said.

Karoko sheathed his sword.

"How?" he asked. "Do you actually think that you can create something it took the humans years to accomplish?"

Mona turned to him. She looked furious.

"Why do you have to be so negative, you jerk!" she shouted as she got up into his face.

Karoko glared down at her.

"There's no sense in arguing." Aquita said. "We had better devise a plan, and fast. There is bound to be more of those things any minute. So I suggest that we all put our heads together and think things through."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Mona backed down and stared at Aquita. She had never heard him sound so serious, as did the rest of us.

"I'll stay here." Aslynn finally said. "The rest of you should go to the cliff and see if everyone made it there all right."

"That sounds like a plan." said Kovu. "But I'd advise that someone stays here with you."

"I will." Aquita said. "It is my sworn duty to offer my services to my superiors."

"What's with the formality Aquita?" Mona asked. "Aren't you more of the 'Look at what I can do!" type?'"

Aquita smiled at her.

"You are correct." he said. "I'll show those wrecks what I can do."

"Right.!" Kovu said. "We should all head out immediately."

"Will you be all right?" Pagasis asked me as he spread his wings.

"Yes." I said. "Let's go."

Something Worth Living For

I didn't tell them about what was really on my mind. Everything wasn't all right. In the back of my mind something was telling me to attack. It was telling me not to trust him or anyone else. I knew that it was my evil side. Though, I was under control it was still there trying to tell me what to do. I didn't know how long I could stand to hear it.

"I'm sorry." Pagasis' voice said inside of my head. "Things weren't supposed to happen this way."

"How is it that every time I come here something bad happens to me?" I asked. No, it wasn't me. It was the other voice, the evil one.

I looked at Pagasis who was flying next to me.

He had his eyes straight forward. There was a tear rolling down his cheek.

I felt a surge of guilt rush through me. Have I hurt his feelings?

When we finally landed on the cliff, I turned to him as everyone else walked to the large cave. His tears where gone, but I knew that something was on his mind.

I took off his necklace and handed it to him.

"I cant wear this anymore." I said. "It's not me talking to you"

"I understand." Pagasis said as he took it, but he didn't put it on. "You where right you know."

"About what?" I asked.

"Every time you come here you always get hurt." he said. "I think that when this is over you should..."

"No!!" I interrupted. I knew what he was about to say. "I am NOT going to forget about this place! So forget about it!"

Pagasis grabbed my hand.

I gasped.

"I can't stand to see you getting hurt." he said as he looked into my eyes. "If you died I wouldn't know what to do!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Pagasis, when I die, you will too."

"That means that I will no longer exist in this world." Pagasis said. "When my spirit is taken, it will exist in a new place, and I'll live on. But you'll be in a different place. I don't know what happens to humans when they die, so there is no guarantee that we'll ever see each other again, or you'll just cease to exist. Either way, I won't forget about you and It'll haunt me forever."

He then pulled me close to him.

I wrested my chin on his shoulder. I could feel a tear stream down my face. I was actually crying.

"Pagasis." I said. "You've been like a brother to me. You've always protected me and helped me..."

"I'm your Guardian." he said. "That's what I'm supposed to do."

"There's another reason." I said.

"I love you..." he said.

I felt my body seize up. I slipped from his grasp and backed away. I could feel the anger building up inside of me. I hated those words. I hated to hear them from anyone. I didn't matter what kind of love it was.

Pagasis just stared at me. He looked a little hurt, but I knew that he was thinking about what just happened.

"Those words..." he finally said. "They stir something inside of you don't they?"

I didn't reply. I just stood there wondering where he was going with this.

"I see..." he said. "I can't help but wonder why you fear those words. Surely your mother or others say it the same way."

"I don't love anybody." I said.

"There has to be a reason." he said. "Does something in your past have anything to do with it?"

"No," I said. "It's just the way I am."

"I see." Pagasis said. "Well, in that case it means that you don't want to get attached to anyone."

I gasped. His words hit me like daggers. I could feel my hair rise up.

"What gives you that idea?" I hissed.

"It's the way you react to the words." he said. "I couldn't help but notice that whenever someone says it to you, you get angry or annoyed by it."

"And how would you know that?" I asked.

"You forget." Pagasis said. "I am a part of you now. I can feel your emotions and see your thoughts."

When Pagasis said this, I couldn't help but feel a little invaded.

"Anyway, the thing that I can't understand is why you feel this way." Pagasis said. "Why don't you want to get attached to anyone?"

I didn't know how to answer that. I could feel my claws go deep inside my hand as a cleaned my fist. I was too angry to feel the pain. I hated to have someone get the best of me. I wasn't going to give in either.

"I don't mean to pry you." Pagasis said. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. We should be going inside. The other's will wonder where we are."

He turned and began to walk away.

I didn't follow. I just stood there and wondered. I couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. I then realized that I was breaking my bond with my best friend. I wasn't trusting him with the truth. I was keeping something that should be known from him. I was the one being selfish.

"I don't want to hurt others..." I said. My eyes where on the ground. I was going to go through with it.

Pagasis stopped and looked at me over his shoulder.

"I just couldn't bear the fact that I'd have to leave everyone someday." I said. "If I get attached to people, they'll be sad when it comes time to break up."

"Esthenia..." Pagasis said. "If you think that then there will be nothing worth living for. That's a part of life. If you keep going on the way you do, then you'll just throw your life away."

I gasped.

Pagasis turned and smiled at me.

"It's good to hear that you care about others more than you worry about yourself." he said. "But there are times where you have to stop worrying and just go for the things that matter to you."

I didn't move. I didn't even look at him. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I had no idea that I worried that much.

"Well," Pagasis said as he turned away. "I'll leave you to think about it. It's good to know that there are emotions under that rough exterior of yours."

I looked out at the world. Everything was dark and the sky made it even look even darker. I knew that it was very late. My mind was extremely clear. Maybe it was because I was so tired, but one thing was for sure. Pagasis made me realize something. I was worrying my life away. I let people walk all over me and I used my foolish pride to cover it up. I turned and saw my friend walking away to the cave at the other end of the cliff. I gasped and ran up to him.

"Pagasis wait!" I called.

Pagasis stopped and turned to me.

When I got to him I through my arms around his waist.

"You're right." I said. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me." he said. "You should be thanking yourself. Only you can change your ways. I can't do that."

I smiled. His modesty made me feel warm inside. I felt as if a hundred pounds where taken off my back. He made me realize that I had something worth living for.

"I love you..." I finally said. "Thank you for being my friend."

Part Three- The Carrier

Wandering

I stood on the edge and looked out at the world. The sky was still dark and cloudy. It looked like it was about to rain, but it still didn't come. No matter how long I sat out there, I didn't feel a single drop. I wasn't sure if I was just waiting for it, or I was dreading it. I normally didn't like the rain. As a matter of fact, I never liked it. To me, whenever it rained, something miserable was going to happen. Misery was the first thing on my mind. For some reason, I felt like jumping off the cliff and searing for something. I had a feeling that it was one of the effects of the disease.

I couldn't sleep. After Pagasis and I went back into the cavern, we found Kovu and Mona telling everyone what happened. At the first sight of me, they came running with sympathetic looks. Some of them where even driven to tears. I couldn't understand it. The thought of it all still infuriated me. Seeing someone else's sorrow made me angry, and jealous that I could never feel that way. Whenever I was sad, no matter where I was, or even the cause, I could never get sad. When everyone else fell asleep, I lay awake. I felt restless and un-tired. So I went outside and I stayed there for quite a while and thought to myself.

A million thoughts crossed my mind. Many of them where on Aslynn. If she could find the cure. Would I have to live here? I had no idea. I knew that the solid collar around my neck was the only thing keeping me from losing control. I still didn't know what it looked like. I knew that it was made from some kind of metal. The part that I didn't understand the most was how it worked. Aslynn had said that there was some kind of controlling spell on it.

That was another thing that made me wonder about Aslynn. Was Karoko telling the truth when he said that she was a spirit too? That thought just blew my mind away, and I couldn't also help but wonder why it was such a coincidence that they had been brought back together again. The more I looked into it, Aslynn was right. Karoko was Hons, her brother. His attitude and even his looks resembled him. Though, Karoko seemed a lot kinder, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Maybe his former life in the human world as an average wolf really was some kind of punishment. The real question that dwelled in the back of my mind was how he ended up back in the Dream world and back to the same island.

I found myself sleeping with my eyes open. It wasn't until something nudged me that I sprang awake. It was Karoko. He was in his spirit form as the white ghostly wolf. He was about the size of a normal wolf.

I smiled down at him, trying to hide what I was really thinking.

He just looked up at me with his black eyes. They reminded me of two black holes. They had feeling to them though, they weren't just cold.

"Hey." I said. My voice sounded sleepy.

Karoko just tilted his head to the side.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm not inside." I said as I reached down and touched his head.

Goose bumps raised on my arms. Karoko's head was solid and soft like regular fur, but he was freezing cold.

"I bet you miss being back on earth…" I said as I ignored the coldness and stroked his head. "With you wolf pack, and not having a care in the world."

Karoko just let out a whimper. His eyes wandered to the ground.

I sighed. I knew that his old memories where hurting him. I had this feeling that he felt more comfortable in that form. I knew he could speak, but it was obvious that he didn't wish to speak in that form. Just like an average wolf couldn't talk to a human. One thing that made me wonder a lot was the fact that he was being so nice to me. Did he finally trust me?

"Karoko…" I said. "I'm sorry."

Karoko took his eyes off the ground and back onto me. He cocked his head to the side.

"I can't stand to think of what those humans did to you." I said as I took my hand away from him. It was beginning to feel numb from the cold. "You shouldn't have been punished like that."

Karoko's eyes grew large as he stared up at me. It was a haunting gaze that gave me the chills up my spine. I then realized what I said.

Karoko took his eyes off of me and said in his deep voice, "solid form!"

I stood and watched as the ghostly body melted into his other form. It was amazing to see.

"How do you know of that?" Karoko asked as he gave me a glare. He was back in his regular form and was standing in front of me on two legs.

I felt a feeling of dread wash over me. I didn't want him to loose his trust with me again just because I over heard he and Aslynn's conversation.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to keep myself from looking like I was lying.

"I already know." Karoko said as he walked up to the ledge and sat down cross-legged. "You over heard our conversation last night."

"I'm sorry…" I said. I felt a surge of guilt run through me.

"Well…" Karoko said with a shrug. "I suppose it is best for you to know what's going on."

I gasped.

"Karoko…"

"This is your island, isn't it?" Karoko asked as he peered at me over his shoulder.

"Yeah." I said as I waked up and sat next to him with my feet hanging from the ledge. I still didn't know where he was going with this.

"Well, than you'd better know everything that goes on here." Karoko said. "I know that I wasn't supposed to come here."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I was astounded by what he was saying. He was actually willing to have a conversation with me.

"Someone brought me here." Karoko said. "It's too obvious. There is no way that it was only a coincidence. If Aslynn really is my sister, then there would be one chance in a million that I would end up here. Another thing is that I don't remember completing my task in the human world as a ghost."

"You know." I said. "Remember how I mentioned that I read about those people?"

"Yeah."

"Well, in another magazine there was a topic about super natural stuff." I said. "About ghosts and lots of other weird things."

"You mean to tell me that you read about me?" Karoko asked as he peered at me from the side.

"I think so…" I said. "The article mentioned something about an abandoned laboratory in the north that was said to be haunted by something. It showed a picture of the building and I recognized it as the same building that I saw in the other magazine. That was the same laboratory that those scientists where using."

"That doesn't surprise me." Karoko said as he took his eyes off of me and back out into the ocean. "I bet that I wasn't the only innocent creature to be kept there. There are probably spirits all over that place. Each searching for a way to escape."

"Do you think your task was to escape?" I asked.

"No…" Karoko said.

"Why?" I asked. "Didn't you want to get out of there?"

Karoko sighed and looked at me. His yellow eyes seemed to glow from the little light there was.

"To tell you the truth…" he said. "That whole time I was there, escaping was the last thing on my mind. I knew it was futile and just a waste of my time. What I really wanted was to sink my fangs into the human's throats one by one."

I gasped.

"They took me away from the only thing that was dearest to me." Karoko said as his eyes lit up.

"You had a mate didn't you?" I asked after a moment of silence.

Karoko smiled.

"You're smart for a human." he said. "Yes, I did. I was the leader of my pack with her by my side. She was beautiful and strong and had a free spirit. She and my pack were the only things that mattered to me."

"Oh…" I said. After that was a moment of silence. I felt sorry for Karoko. All of those memories he had must have been hurting him badly. He seemed to be careless about most things, but I knew that he had a heart in there somewhere.

"Karoko…" I said. "Do you really want to stay here?"

Karoko looked at me again.

"What kind of question is that?" he asked with an eye brow raised.

"Well, you seem like type that would just wander off and do whatever he pleases." I said.

"Oh…" Karoko said. "That was nice…"

"No!" I laughed. "I didn't mean it like that! What I mean is that you should become a Guardian instead of wander. I want you to stay here."

Karoko's face turned to shock.

"Wha? This is stupid!" he said as he stood up.

I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked with a grin. "Cant stand it when someone is being nice to you?"

"No! I don't care about that!" he said. "Something like that is just a waste of my time. Do you actually think that I'd stay here just for you, human? Your dreams mean nothing to me."

"Nope." I said. "But you'd stay for Mona."

Karoko took his eyes off of me. His eyes where out into the forest.

"You should get some sleep." he said quietly after a moment.

"What are you going to do?" I asked. I had this feeling that he was going somewhere.

"I've got work to do." he said. With that, he vanished out of thin air.

I gasped. Thinking that was the strangest thing I've ever witnessed, I stood up and walked to the cave. I peered inside to see only darkness. I could hear the breaths of those who where sleeping. The whole cave smelled of wolf. I walked inside. Careful not to step on anyone, I searched for the place where Pagasis slept. My night vision finally kicked in. I could see the natives sleeping on fur blankets all around me. I looked over to the far corner and saw Pagasis lying there next to a stalagmite. He was in his horse form and was curled up next to a massive white body. Right away I knew it was Carona.

I stepped over the sleeping natives as quietly as I could as I made my way over to them. When I made it over, I could see that Pagasis wasn't sleeping on one of the furs, but there was one next to him. I knew that it was for me. I laid down and stared up at the shadowy ceiling. I was thinking about Karoko and what he was planning on doing. I hopped that he wasn't leaving us, but then again, he didn't say anything when I mentioned Mona's name. I knew he was ashamed of the fact that she was bearing his child. I didn't quite know why. That is until I began to think of what he said about his former mate, and before I fell asleep, I realized that he still loved her.

Night Walk

I had a dream that night. A very tense and sudden one. I couldn't exactly remember what was happening at the time because everything was going so fast. The only color I could see was red. It was everywhere. I could see forms of mass moving around as I moved. I didn't know where I was going, or what I was doing, but I knew that it was for a good reason. I then saw something move slowly out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and my surroundings halted also. I gazed at the moving object. It was slowly walking toward me. I stared at it for a moment. Then I crouched low. I had this feeling that it couldn't see me, so I waited for it to get closer. After a moment, it moved again. It was in my direction. I then stood up and attacked.

The fresh smell of grass came to my nose. I could feel a soft touch on my face and a light wind that felt cool and refreshing. I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the sky. It was a deep blue and the stars were fading. The clouds had finally gone away. I laid there in a daze for a while. I knew that I had been sleeping but I was so tired that my body felt like it was made of lead. I then sat up when I realized that I was lying in the middle of the meadow on the western side of the island. I sat there and thought about how I got there. The dream was still fresh in my mind. I then looked down at my hands. My large black talons where covered in red. I gasped.

"Oh my…" I said as I stood up still staring at my fingers. The smell of blood was faint among the scent of the grass. I knew right away that I had killed a deer. I looked around in horror. I was afraid to see if the animal's carcass was still around. Another thing that had me worried was those diseased natives. I didn't know how long I'd been lying there or just how I got there. I was lucky they hadn't attacked me while I slept.

"Maybe I wasn't dreaming…" I said to myself as I looked out into the ocean. A cool wind blew my way. I could feel the chill on my ears and nose. Out into the water, I could see distant islands. All dark amongst the steel gray ocean. The horizon glowed a soft white, telling me that the sun was about to come up. I sighed and smiled. I had never seen the sun rise before. In my world, I could never see it because of the trees. At that moment, I didn't care about returning to the cave. I wanted to see it just that once. I was about to sit back down when my right ear twitched. My ears where so sensitive they picked up the softest sounds. They twitched like that often and it drove me crazy. I gasped and turned.

Something tall and ghostly was walking amongst the trees. It didn't really have a recognizable form, but I could see clearly that it was in the form of a person. It was transparent and glowed a soft blue with black swirls on its head and arms. Long spines where sticking out of its back and flowed behind it like super light hair.

I froze when I saw it turn its head and stare at me. I racked my brain trying to think of what this creature could be. The first thing I thought about was Karoko, but he didn't look like that did he? I decided to be brave and call out to it. I found it pointless to run.

"Who are you!" I shouted up to it.

The creature continued to stare. It then disappeared with a faint pop.

"What the…" I gasped. "Its gone!"

I waited a moment, not taking my eyes off the forest. For some reason I had this feeling that it wasn't gone for long. I couldn't smell it either.

"More ghosts?" I asked myself. "Will this spirit thing ever stop?"

When my right ear twitched again, I knew something was coming. I stood my ground as I waited for it to come.

A large white wolf emerged from the under brush and ran to me.

"Karoko!" I shouted with a relieved smile.

Karoko ran up to me. He was no larger than a horse at that time. I thought it was pretty neat how he could change sizes like that.

"There you are!" he said. "I've been searching for you."

"Searching… for me?" I asked.

Karoko nodded.

"When I returned to the cave to che… I mean when I returned I could see that you weren't there." he said.

"You came to check up on me didn't you?" I asked with a grin and raised eyebrow.

"That doesn't matter." he said. "You where walking in your sleep."

"I was sleep walking?" I asked, amazed. I never had a history of doing so.

"Yes." he said. "It must be one of the effects of the disease."

"Oh, that's great…" I growled as I sat down. "Now I can't even sleep."

Karoko let out a deep sigh and sat next to me.

"You have it lucky…" he said.

"How is that?" I asked.

"What happens to us wolves is different than what happens to cats." he said. "I never told anyone what really happens…"

I looked at his sad face. He seemed so much more compassionate when he was in that form. Even if I could feel the coldness of his body, I felt warm inside. It made me glad that he was warming up to me.

"What really does happen besides the fact that you die?" I asked.

"You drown in your own blood." he said. "You regurgitate all your blood until your body grows too weak, then you slowly suffer. That is all I remember of what happened to me. Luckily, I didn't wander too much. The humans must have decapitated me when I was found so I wouldn't kill and spread the disease."

"How horrible…" I said.

"Don't show your pity…" Karoko said. "Don't waste it on me anyway."

"But I'm not wasting it." I said as I smiled at him. "I'm giving it to you as a friend."

It was quiet as Karoko and I stared out into the ocean. The sky was getting lighter as the sun peaked over the horizon.

"So…" I said. "Where you that big, tall thingy?"

Karoko nodded.

"You have another form?" I asked.

"It's my poltergeist form." he said. "I'm surprised you could see me."

"Poltergeist?" I asked.

"Yes. A poltergeist is a type of ghost that can possess things and change their forms. They are invisible to the naked eye. You must be one in a million who can see them."

"So… that's what type of ghost you are?" I asked. "When I see you in this form I think of you as just a regular ghost."

"There is no regular ghost." Karoko said with a grin. He then commanded his solid form, and transformed back to his normal self. He sat down next to me.

"There are many different types." he continued. "Each of us have a solid form, and two spirit forms, a true form, and a haunting form when we get angry or afraid."

"So, your poltergeist form is your true form?" I asked.

Karoko nodded.

"So this form is your haunting form?" I asked. "Are you angry or something?"

Karoko looked at me and laughed. He seemed to resemble Rinoa a bit whenever he laughed. It was just plain scary.

"Like I said." he said. "A poltergeist can freely change their forms. We are the only types who can do it. I prefer to be in this form, but you know when I have the blood effect when I'm angry or scared?"

"Yes." I said.

"Well that is my true haunting form." he said. "A haunting form resembles what you looked like when you died. Some of them could be pretty scary. It all depends on how you died."

"Weird…" I said. "I had no idea that being a ghost was so complicated."

"It is…" he said. "It's almost like being alive again, but…"

"You watch the world go by as you go on…" I said.

Karoko looked at me.

"How would you know something like that?"

"Because," I said as I looked sadly out into the sea. "When I come here, I remain young as everyone else ages. Time goes by faster here."

"What about the horse?" Karoko asked.

"He's immortal." I said. "He ages with me."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," I said with a laugh. "Apparently he's a half god. It would have been helpful to know that the first time I came here. That was about three years ago…"

"He was set to die then?" Karoko asked.

"Yeah…" I said. "He brought me here to the Dream world to help him. The whole thing let to a huge war."

"Did you see Hons?" Karoko asked, avoiding my eyes.

I thought my eyes where going to pop out when he asked me that one. I really didn't have the heart to tell him that Hons was a ruthless killer as Aslynn did.

"Yeah…" I sighed. "I met him."

"Was he mean to you?" Karoko asked.

I gasped and looked at him. It made me wonder if Karoko really did care about me.

He didn't glance back. He seemed to be so ashamed that he didn't want to make any eye contact.

"No." I said. "He never spoke to me directly."

"I wish I could remember." Karoko said. "I'm still unsure if it's even true."

"How is it that you remember your formal life, but you can't remember the one before that?" I asked.

"I don't quite know…" Karoko said. "Well, I am a ghost. Ghosts remember what happened before they died. Maybe reincarnations don't."

"I see…" I said. "That sounds logical to me. Who knows… maybe I'm a reincarnation. Anyone could be. It's just something that's best not knowing."

"Even if you where a killer in your former life…" Karoko said as he turned to me with a smile.

I felt as if an ice cube slid down my throat. He was actually smiling at me.

"You're weird…" I finally said.

Karoko frowned and cocked his head to the side.

"Oh…" he said. "That was well appreciated."

"Can't you take a joke?" I asked with a grin. "Why do you have to be so serious all the time? It makes you sound old."

"What do you mean `old'?" Karoko asked with a chuckle. "Would you be happy if I started talking like Aquita?"

With that he put his sword over his shoulder and made a funny face while saying, "Hellllooooo…"

I giggled. I was glad to hear that he did have a sense of humor. I took my eyes off of him and back out into the ocean. The sun was just bearly peaking over the horizon. I sighed and smiled.

"Well, we should be heading back." I said. "I bet the others are getting worried."

"Right." Karoko said as he stood up. When I stood up he turned to me. His face was inches from mine. "Don't you DARE tell anyone what we discuss."

I frowned. I figured that he was done being nice.

"Of course." I said. "Why would I tell anyone?"

"You're human." he said. "You can't trust them with anything."

He turned and began to walk away. I stood for a moment with my fists clenched and staring at Karoko with anger.

"Are you coming?" Karoko asked me over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" I said as I started walking. I tried not to sound angry.

"Some things never change…"

A Mother's Love

It was completely light out by the time we made it back to the cliff. Karoko and I hardly talked the entire time. Practically because he transformed back into his spirit form and allowed me to ride on his back. I would have been more happy if it wasn't for the fact that he only did it because he was complaining that I walked too slow. His body was freezing. It made my hands go numb after a short while. I tried to ignore it. I didn't need Karoko telling me that I was a wimp next. I also though it was amazing that I was riding on a ghost. Most would say that it would be physically impossible. I admit that I would have too if someone asked me about the subject, but then again, that isn't a very frequently asked question.

Just as I hopped off Karoko's back, Pagasis came running up to me.

"Esthenia!" he exclaimed. "When I woke up, I didn't see you anywhere..."

"Sorry." I said as I wrapped my arms around him. "I just went for a walk."

"A walk?" Pagasis asked with a raised eyebrow. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him glance at Karoko over my shoulder.

"Yeah." I said as I let him go. "I hope I didn't worry you too much."

Pagasis' jaw dropped. Right then I knew he wasn't too happy with me.

"What do you mean by theat!?" Mona asked as she ran up behind me. She was closely followed by Kovu and Rinoa. They all made me feel guilty with their worried expressions. "You could have been attacked by those... things!"

"Well, I didn't..." I said with a shrug.

"She was with me." Karoko said.

Everyone turned and looked at him. Including me.

"I'm not going to lie to you all." Karoko said as he transformed back into his solid form. He sat his sword on his shoulder. "The girl couldn't sleep, and I can't blame her. So, she decided to go for a walk. I wasn't going to let her go alone so I just followed her."

I smiled. I didn't want him to tell everyone that I was sleep walking. I knew it would have worried everyone even more.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pagasis asked.

"I didn't want to wake you up..." I said.

"Just..." Pagasis said. He grabbed my hand.

I gasped and looked into his eyes. I felt a surge of guilt rush through me when I noticed that his eyes where beginning to tear.

"I don't want anything to happen to you..." he said.

"Okay..." I said.

"Well..." said Rinoa. "I think that maybe some of us should check up on Aslynn and Aquita."

"Right." said Mona. "Maybe she's found the cure!"

"I'll go!" I said.

"Me too." Pagasis said.

"I think Mona and I should stay here." Rinoa said.

Mona looked up at her with a frown.

"Why can't I go?" she asked.

"Just in case those things come back." Rinoa said. "There should be a lot of us here now that the whole tribe is."

"What about the warriors?" Mona asked. "They can take care of themselves."

"They have a bigger chance of getting bitten." Rinoa said. "They are skilled fighters, but a Guardian is more powerful than all of them put together."

"You and grandmother should be able to take care of them though." Mona said.

"Trust me." Rinoa said. "I just think it would be best if you stayed here."

"We won't be gone for long." I said to Mona.

"Let's go then." Kovu said. He then turned to Karoko. "Are you coming?"

Karoko glanced at Mona.

"No." he said. "She's been slacking too much.'

"Right..." said Mona. "Training."

"Take it easy on her!" I said as I turned to the edge of the cliff along with Kovu and Pagasis.

"Whatever..." I heard Karoko say as I leapt off the cliff.

"Well..." Kovu said as we soared to the village. "How did everyone sleep last night?"

"I slept all right!" Pagasis said. "Why?"

"Well needless to say I didn't." Kovu said. "I had no idea how much our clan snored!"

Pagasis and I laughed.

"What are you going to do about that?" I asked.

"I don't know." Kovu said with a chuckle. "Maybe I'll use that sticky silver stuff that you bring with you to put over their mouths."

"What?" I asked. "You mean my Duct tape?!"

"Yeah." Kovu said.

I bursted out laughing.

"What?" Kovu said. "That stuff could replace our armor someday! Who knows! Maybe we'll start making our homes and clothing out of it too!"

"And I thought I had a fetish for it..." I choked, trying to stifle myself.

"Hey Pagasis!" Kovu called to him.

"Yeah..." Pagasis replied.

"Remember that one time Esthenia stuck an apple to your forehead and threatened to shoot it with one of her arrows?" Kovu laughed.

I snorted as I let it all out.

"How could I forget..." Pagasis said sarcastically. "Needless to say, I'm more afraid of the tape than the apple."

"Oh, come on, Pagasis." I said with an evil grin. "Remember that one time you were turned into an apple?"

This time it was Kovu's turn to laugh uncontrollably. He doubled over and veered sharply to the left as he lost control of his wings.

"I'm surprised you still even want to look at an apple!" I said.

"I don't." Pagasis said with a smug grin. "I just want to eat them."

We landed moments later. Everything looked quiet. The corpses still lay scattered on the ground from the night before.

I sighed the head that had a hold of my shoulder. I walked up to it and kicked it. I then sighted my quiver lying on the ground. I bent down and picked it up. I examined it and saw that the strap was broken. Pagasis appeared at my side.

"I wonder where the others could be..." he said.

"I think they're inside." I said as I held the broken strap over my shoulder.

"I know that..." Pagasis said. "I mean the creatures."

"Oh."

"Well," said Kovu as he walked to Aslynn's hut. "Let's find out how these two are doing."

We followed him inside.

"Hey guys!" Aslynn said. There was a large bowl filled with green liquid sitting on her lap. She sat it aside as she stood up.

"Well," Pagasis asked. "Are you on to something?"

Aslynn's smile faded. Her ears jerked back.

"I'm afraid not..." she said.

"It's all right..." I said as I pat her on the back. "You can take your time."

"But..." Aslynn said. "Don't you have to be home by tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about that." I said. "Just try your best. I don't want to rush you."

Aslynn smiled and nodded.

"I remember the last time I was in here..." Kovu said. "I was knocked upside the head with a piece of wood."

Pagasis snorted.

"So," I said. "Where's Aquita?"

"Oh, he's out collecting some herbs." Aslynn replied. "I'm going to try something new."

"He's out picking flowers?" Kovu asked.

"I guess." Aslynn giggled.

"You know I'm not going to let him live that down." Kovu chuckled.

Just then Aquita walked through the door. He had a basket in his arms.

"Hey..." he said when he sighted us.

Kovu walked up to him and looked into the basket.

"Flowers?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Herbs..." Aquita corrected.

Kovu reached into the basket and pulled out a stem with a blue flower on the end.

"Can I have this?" he asked. "I bet my mother would like it..."

Aquita just let out a mock chuckle. He then snatched the flower from Kovu's hand. He then walked up to Aslynn and held it out.

"For you." he said with a satisfied grin.

Aslynn's face turned red as she took it.

Aquita turned to Kovu.

"You see..." he said. "It was much more appreciated here. I bet your mother would have eaten it."

Kovu frowned.

"Did you just insult my mother, captain?" he asked sternly.

Aquita froze. His ears dropped and he suddenly looked timid.

Kovu walked up to him and looked down at him with a glare.

I was confused. I think everyone else was too. Aquita was Kovu's best friend. Was Kovu actually showing dominance toward him?

"Syke!!" Kovu shouted as he punched Aquita hard in the shoulder.

Aquita dropped the basket in shock. He then frowned when Kovu shot out the door.

"Hey!!" he shouted as he bolted out the door after Kovu, leaving the rest of us standing there in confusion. "Get back here you dopy behemoth!!"

"Some things never change..." Pagasis sighed.

"They remind me of puppies." I said.

"Ah, yes..." Aslynn said with sarcasm. "View our fearless leaders."

"So?" I asked. "Did you guys have anymore problems last night?"

"No..." Aslynn said. "Surprisingly, we didn't see a thing."

"That's good." I said.

"Maybe we killed them all." Pagasis said.

"Maybe..." Aslynn sighed as she bent down and picked up the basket that Aquita dropped. She then carried it over to one of the shelves on the far end of the hut. "But the carrier is still out there."

"Oh, yeah." Pagasis said. "We have to track it down."

"I don't think it's any of the natives." I said. "We would have smelled it in the cave."

"I have a feeling that it's roaming the forest somewhere." Pagasis said. "Remember , it was the hunters who got infected. Whatever it is, it dwells the forest."

I stood there for a moment and racked my brain. I watched as Aslynn emptied the herbs from the basket and into another bowl.

"Hold up!" I said. "You say it was the hunters. Maybe it was what they were hunting."

"Huh?" Aslynn and Pagasis said at the same time.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "There is no other possible animal on this island that could freely walk around. It couldn't be an aqua fox, because they cant survive long without water. It can't be a human hunter because they haven't been around lately. So that leaves us with one thing."

"A deer..." Pagasis said.

Just then, we heard a shriek from outside, followed by a surprised yelp from Kovu. All of us gasped and headed for the door.

"Oh my..." Pagasis breathed as we halted outside.

We all stood in horror as a huge mass of white headed toward us. I recognized it right away as Carona.

She was ambling slowly toward us. Her large, green wings where badly torn and folded clumsily at her sides. Her head was hung low and her jaw hung limply open.

"Mother!!" Kovu cried. He ran to her.

The rest of us followed.

"Carona!!" I cried. "What happened!"

Carona froze when she saw us halt in front of her. There was red all over her chin and on the corners of her mouth.

"Mother!" Kovu exclaimed. "Don't tell me..."

"Don't worry about me, my son..." Carona said in a strained voice.

"How did...?"

"I received the fatal bite." she said. "You must destroy me before it takes effect..."

"NEVER!" Kovu shouted. "Mother... You must fight it!"

"I have lived long enough my son..." Carona said. "I am here to help you one last time..."

She let out a painful shriek as a shower of blood erupted from her mouth. Her eyes flashed blue.

I grabbed Pagasis' arm as I looked away. I felt the hair ridge along my neck. I knew Carona for a long time. Seeing her like that made me want to die myself. I've never seen Kovu sad either. The weird part about it all was that I wasn't sad... I was just... grossed out.

"It's an elk..." Carona said as she straightened herself up. Her whole body was shaking.

"Mother..." Kovu said weakly. He walked up to her. "I can't let you die."

Carona backed away from him.

"Don't come near me." she said. "I could loose control..."

"I don't care!" Kovu cried. He ran forward and wrapped his arms around her neck. Carona lowered her head. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.

The rest of us where froze on the spot. No one knew what to do. I couldn't just stand there and watch Carona suffer. Neither could Aslynn.

She walked up to Kovu and Carona. She placed her hand on Kovu's shoulder. Tears were streaming from her shining eyes.

"There's nothing we can do for her..." she said solemnly.

There was no doubt that Kovu was crying. He didn't want to let go of Carona's neck, but when Aslynn pulled him back, he let Carona go and jumped back when she hurled more blood from her mouth.

"Carona!!" Aquita cried. He too began to weep.

I didn't let go of Pagasis. My body was shaking all over. I could feel Pagasis' body shake too. There was absolute shock in his face, and his face was whiter than usual.

"This is the only way..." Aslynn whimpered. She let go of Kovu and stepped in front of Carona.

Kovu didn't stop her. He just stared up at Carona. Tears were streaming down his face.

Carona was staring back down at him.

"My son..." she said. "I will always be with you and your sister. Look after the island for me..."

Kovu nodded.

"Okay..."

"Be strong..." Carona said. "You are a great warrior..."

"I will avenge you mother..." Kovu said. He stood tall and his ears were erect.

" I swear it..."

Carona then looked at me.

"Esthenia..." she said.

I let go of Pagasis and stepped toward her.

"Yes...?"

"You mustn't loose your will to this..." she said. "Remember what I told you. We don't live forever. This is the hardship of being a self Guardian..."

"I understand..." I said. My fists were clenched. I could feel the blood drip off my knuckles as my claws pierce the palm of my hands.

Aslynn raised her hands.

"Do as you must..." Carona sighed. She closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Aslynn began to chant something in the native language. Her hands and eyes began to glow. She had them raised to Carona's snout.

"Forgive me..." Aslynn wept. "Clean the evil from her soul... Let her rise... oh mighty moon goddess... open heaven's door... take her spirit and let her soar!!"

Just then, a white light erupted from her fingertips. Carona stood rigid as the light struck her. She looked as if she had just received a powerful electric shock.

When the light vanished, Aslynn stepped back. She looked incredibly weak.

Carona still stood. She was staring at me until her eyes closed, and she collapsed. Her massive body shook the ground like thunder beneath my feet.

Just then, Aslynn's legs gave away and she fell also.

Aquita gasped and ran to her. He raised her head in his hands. He waited a moment until she opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry..." she said. A tear slid down her cheek.

Aquita smiled weakly. He then wrapped his arms around her back and held her close.

Kovu dropped to his knees. He didn't take his eyes off of Carona's body. His ears were hung low with grief. Body was shaking forcefully as he sobbed.

I just stood there. Hardly believing what had just happened. I unclenched my hands and my arms just hung limply by my sides, and blood dripped down my fingertips. I wasn't really staring at anything. The red was clouding my vision. It was from all the blood I was smelling in the air. I couldn't think of anything to do but stare into the red void. I didn't want to return to reality because I knew what it had in store for me, and sorrow wasn't something I could handle easily.

"One weekend..." I thought to myself. "Such a short period of time is all it takes... to take someone's life away."

The Death Goddess

Kovu stood up. His face was a bit red and his cheeks were soaked. Beads of sweat were collecting on his forehead.

"Well..." he said. "We can't stand around here and mope around. Mother wouldn't have wanted that. Aslynn..."

Aslynn raised her head. She looked under Aquita's arm at him.

"Yes sir..." she sniffed.

"Keep working on that antidote." Kovu said. " There has to be something. Use your spiritual power to track it down."

Aslynn nodded.

"Aquita." Kovu said.

Aquita rose his head off Aslynn's shoulder. His ears sprang to attention.

"Return to your warriors at the cave." Kovu said. "They'll need their captain in case of an assault."

"Right..." Aquita said as he stood up and helped Aslynn to her feet.

"Pagasis..." Kovu said. He looked at the ground.

Pagasis sprang to attention.

"You and I will go back to the cliff and give everyone the bad news..." Kovu said.

"Then we're going to hunt down the carrier."

"What about me?" I asked.

"I requested that you stay here with me." Aslynn said.

"Oh..." I said.

Kovu turned.

"We best be going..." he said as he spread his wings.

Pagasis transformed back into a horse.

"Better jump on..." he said to Aquita. "It's a long walk back to the cliff."

Aquita picked his spear off the ground and walked up to Aslynn.

"Take care..." he said.

"You too." Aslynn replied. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Aquita's face flushed. He then turned to Pagasis and climbed onto his back.

Pagasis looked at me.

"I'll see you in a while." he said.

"You got it." I replied.

With that, they took off into the sky.

I turned to Aslynn.

"What do you need me for?" I asked her. I was hoping that it had nothing to do with my protection. Just because Carona died, didn't mean that I was going to as well.

"You are going to be my test subject." Aslynn said. "Since you have the disease, I `ll need to see if my concoctions work. I also need to talk with you."

"Oh..." I said.

I followed Aslynn back to her hut. When we got inside, Aslynn grabbed a metal rod and stirred the small fire that was lit in the center of the room.

"So..." Aslynn said. "You know about Karoko and I?"

I gasped.

Aslynn turned and smiled at me.

"You must understand that this is very serious." Aslynn said. "Karoko is indeed Hons. There is no doubt about that."

"I know all of that." I said as I sat cross-legged on one of the furs. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well," Aslynn said. She picked up the bowl full of the herbs and sat down in front of me. "Nobody else should know of that. Mona knows it as well, but she knows the circumstances."

"What are they?" I asked.

"If you remember correctly," Aslynn said. "Hons was the clan beta. You remember the law. The beta must be wed with the princess."

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped. "You mean..."

"Yes." Aslynn said. "Revenge is an ugly process. Even if Karoko is an entirely different person, they still wouldn't forgive his soul. Surely they would try to banish him."

"And I suppose that him being with Neara's daughter wouldn't help either." I said.

"Not at all..." Aslynn said as she picked up a stone and began rubbing it inside the bowl.

"I see..." I said.

It was quiet for a moment. The only thing that could be heard was the dull scraping of the stone in Aslynn's hands.

"What's that for?" I asked curiously.

"I'm crushing the extract out of them." she said.

"What do you think it'll take to get rid of this?" I asked.

"I'm not quite sure." Aslynn said. "I may be able to see into the future, but I can't exactly see the causes of it. It's just something I'll have to learn on my own."

"So," I said. "Do you think you're a spirit too?"

"I don't quite know." she said. "Unlike a ghost, I can't see my past life. I am a solid type. I suppose I'm merely a witch."

"In my world," I said. "Witches were considered as evil beings that caused misfortune."

"So." Aslynn said with a chuckle. "You say that maybe I'm evil?"

"Oh, no!" I said with a smile. "I don't think your evil at all! I mean that they where only thought of as evil. Like ghosts, there are different types of witches."

"How do you know so much?" Aslynn asked.

"It's amazing what you can read about these days." I said. "There are witches that are good. They're called wiccas, I think. Wiccas use their powers for good. They use herbs and plants and stuff."

"I see." Aslynn said. "Well, that's a relief. I was starting to think that I was about to turn green and sprout warts."

"Warts?" I laughed. I pictured Aslynn looking like a hag. It just didn't seem right.

"I wonder how many Guardians are spirits." Aslynn said. "By the sounds of things, there are lots of them... Dang! I still don't get it!"

"Get what?" I asked.

"You see." Aslynn said. "To get this completely right... I need something that doesn't exist in this world. It's not herbal."

"Maybe I have something..." I said. "I'll go get my back pack."

"Okay." Aslynn said as she continued stirring.

I walked out of the hut and made my way to mine. I tried not to look at Carona's body as I walked past. I didn't need to feel emotional again. Though, I couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do with her body. There was no doubt that Carona was large. She probably weighed over four tons. I then began to think of why I was thinking about it. Before I told myself not to think about it. I guess that proved that I couldn't get my mind off of it. It made me wonder if I would have thought different if I was my regular self. The strangest part was that I wasn't sad one bit...

"Carona..." I thought to myself. "Why..."

"Death comes unexpectedly... Doesn't it?"

I froze. I turned my head to where the voice had come from. I looked at Carona's body.

"Who's there?" I asked. I felt my hair raise as I looked at Carona more closely.

"Carona..." I asked myself. "Is... that her?"

"No." said the voice.

I gasped when a tall native woman stepped out from behind Carona's body. She had incredibly long, black hair, a dark brown body, and a tan head. Her bright green eyes where on me. Her body and hair had a golden highlight to it. She seemed to glow. Her weightless dress swayed in the light wind.

"Who... who are you?" I asked.

"I am death..." she said.

"You're... a jackal." I stammered as I took a closer look at her. I noticed that her ears were more pointed and her fur was shorter than a wolf's. There was also Egyptian markings around her eyes.

The woman's eyes glowed. Her hair rose as a strong wind picked up.

"I'm surprised that you can see me." she said. "You have a gift."

"You're Tswuki Mona... aren't you?" I asked.

The woman laughed. Her long pointed fangs made her look ferocious and wicked. "What are you doing with her?!" I exclaimed as Carona's body began to glow.

"I am taking her soul." Tswuki Mona said. "It is my duty as a god."

"A god?" I gasped.

Suddenly, the world around me melted into a void. The only thing that remained the same was Tswuki Mona standing in front of me. I closed my eyes. I felt as if my heart were being jerked from my chest. This feeling was familiar to me.

"What's happening to me?" I gasped. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I tried to open my eyes once more, but my vision was blurry. I couldn't see anything at all. I then realized that I couldn't move my body. In fact... I was unsure if my body was even there. Then, I blacked out.

I opened my eyes. Everything was dark. I couldn't smell anything either. My body felt weightless. I tried to stand up, but nothing happened. I looked down and saw nothing. My body wasn't there.

"Oh... my..." I said.

With a flash of light, Tswuki Mona appeared in front of me.

"Where am I?" was all I could say.

"You are in limbo." Tswuki Mona replied. When she spoke, her mouth didn't move. It reminded me of how Pagasis spoke when he was in his horse form.

"I... dead?" I asked.

"Truly..." Tswuki Mona said humorously. "You are. You are now merely a spirit. It has been sucked from your body. If you haven't realized, your heard beat is absent and you aren't breathing."

She was right. I wasn't breathing. She said that I was only a soul. I then remembered why the feeling was so familiar. Canis had attempted to take it with her soul stealer.

"This is so wired!!" I cried. "Why am I here?"

"I want to see who's hands my island's fate depends on." Tswuki Mona said as she floated around me. "You are a sphinx, are you not?"

"Yeah..." I said. "I chose this."

"You are Egyptian too." she said as she halted in front of me. "You have good taste. Egyptians were some of the very first creatures to set foot in this world."

"I've heard the legends." I said

"Yes." Tswuki Mona said. "But you forget, the legends are merely stories. They are no living proof of how this world originated."

"You mean..." I stammered. "Where it came from?"

Tswuki Mona nodded.

"This world, like many worlds, was non existent at one time." she said. "It was created after the human world. It was meant for those of us who wanted to make a difference. Nobody wanted to stay with the new species called man kind. They were dishonest and greedy creatures. They treated the earth's creatures like monsters and slaves. Why humans were created in the first place was beyond me. So that's why this world was created. So we could live at peace and locked for all eternity. Though, I still can't help but wonder why we serve inside the human minds."

"Then, when an evil minded spirit destroyed my body, I met Anubis, the god of death. He told me all I needed to know."

"Anubis?" I asked. "Isn't he an Egyptian god?"

"Correct." Tswuki Mona said. "He told me that he and I were a lot alike. When he was merely a mortal, he killed the mate of the great dream god. For that, his soul was punished and he was forced to serve him. His reason: he too was also longing for the reason why the Guardian's were forced to devote their lives to the humans."

"How were they forced!" I demanded. I was starting to feel a bit irritated by how she was speaking to me. It seemed as if she was lathing me.

Tswuki Mona laughed again. This time, her voice split. One sounded like her real voice, and the other sounded like a man's.

"Pathetic human..." she said. "If the Guardians refuse to protect the islands, the world will die. Only the power of dreams can keep it alive. Anubis wanted to know the truth, and he was punished."

"He was a demon!" I shouted.

"Indeed, he was a demon..." Tswuki Mona frowned. "But to maintain that... he had to feel embittered. He was enraged about why he was forced to serve the humans when they gave us nothing in return."

"You're wrong!" I shouted. "Don't you see? We humans depend on you, and you depend on us! It's a circle. What you want to do is break the cycle."

"How is that?" Tswuki Mona growled. "You give us nothing."

"You fool!" I said. "You said it yourself. The islands will die without human dreams."

"Silence!" Tswuki Mona growled. Her fangs were glistening over her bottom jaw. "What would you know about it..."

"It's Anubis...!" I exclaimed. "You merged with him didn't you!?"

"You're cleaver..." Tswuki Mona grinned. Her voice split again. "Indeed, we agreed that my power alone wasn't enough. With our powers combined, we could take more souls and reincarnate them."

"To the human world..." I gasped. "You want all the Guardians to trade with the humans. You're sending the dead human souls to the Dream world."

"That's right." Tswuki Mona said. "By becoming Guardians, the humans can realize just how hard it is."

"How hard what is?" I asked. "It's not hard at all... It depends on the hum..."

"The human." Tswuki Mona interrupted.

I felt like kicking myself for saying that.

"If the human doesn't care, then the Guardians suffer." Tswuki Mona said. "The humans are selfish. They don't care how much pain we go through. I've seen it all. A dying island is taken over by a plague of demons and the Guardians one by one are destroyed. Then they are merely taken to the over crowding spirit world. My way, the re is no over crowding and the humans can see."

"But not all of the spirits are ghosts." I said. "The others don't have a clue what is going on."

"What are you saying?" Tswuki Mona asked. "What does this have to do with the ghosts?"

"What I mean is..." I said. "That the ghosts are the only ones who can remember what happened in their past lives. The others are just reborn and live as normal Guardians without knowing anything at all. Many of them aren't even spirits."

"How do you know such a thing?" Tswuki Mona asked. She had a look of question on her face.

"Karoko told me." I said. "He's a ghost. He came from the human world."

"Karoko..." Tswuki Mona said thoughtfully. "That name sounds familiar."

"You've heard of him?" I gasped.

"No!" Tswuki Mona suddenly said. "It's him!! The one who took my life away! He was the first one I sent to the human world to suffer! He's... here?"

"Yes." I said. I began to feel very nervous by the way Tswuki Mona spoke of him. "Please... You must understand. He isn't like that anymore. He's changed. He had no idea who he was until Aslynn told him."

"How did he return?" Tswuki Mona growled.

"You mean..." I gasped. "You didn't know it?"

Tswuki Mona floated toward me until her nose was inches from mine.

"You may poove as some use after all." she said.

"What are you going to do?" I hissed.

"I want you to kill him!"

"What!!" I roared. "Are you crazy! I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Tswuki Mona said. Her voice was calm once more. "You wouldn't mind killing Hons..."

"But he isn't Hons!" I hissed. "He's Karoko and he's kind. He would never do what Hons did."

"Silence!" Tswuki Mona growled. "How dare you speak to a god like that!?"

"You know..." I said with a grin. "It's kind of funny how you claim to be a god, and yet you have no control over certain things. It seems to me that you're afraid of me being in the Dream world in the first place. You probably brought me here to convince me to give it up!"

"Are you telling me that you are more powerful than me?" Tswuki Mona chuckled.

"That's right..." I said. "You know... I always thought that Tswuki Mona was a great leader by what the others told me, but now I see that you are vengeful and full of hatred."

"The others..." Tswuki Mona spat. "They wouldn't care..."

"What!?" I exclaimed. "What are you talking about? Neara and Wotan loved you very much! Now you have a granddaughter that is no more than your reflection."

"Feh..." Tswuki Mona huffed. "What you speak of is nothing more than sorrow. Why would you care anyway. You show no emotion."

"I... cant..." I said.

"What do you mean you cant?"

"I mean that I can't feel sad." I said. "It happened about a year ago... I just get angry. I haven't cried out of sorrow in a long time."

"That just proves that you're a true Egyptian." Tswuki Mona said. "We have no emotions of other peoples woes. We just take care of ourselves."

"Then... you mean that it has to do with me being a sphinx?" I asked.

"That's what I mean." Tswuki Mona said. "You know... if you did leave this world and never return, you may just turn back to normal."

I thought about it for a second. It would have been nice to be able to feel sad again, but then, I thought of Pagasis. I couldn't stand the thought of never seeing him again. He was a part of me.

"I can't do that..." I said.

"Why not?" Tswuki Mona asked as she floated upside down. Once more, her face was no further than an inch from mine. Her amber eyes were on mine. "Is it the horse? Besides your love for him, what do you have to loose?"

"I don't love anyone..." I said. "I just don't want to be separated from him. He's a part of me. It would be like losing half of my soul."

"I see..." Tswuki Mona said. "Then you are foolish. You could become a normal girl again. You wouldn't have to worry about what goes on in this world. You wouldn't have to risk your life every time you visit."

"That is true..." I said. "But that's a risk I'll have to take. My dreams are very important to me, and now that I understand just what my dreams do for this world, I want to help even more."

"You feel special?" Tswuki Mona said. "Does the fact that you're the first and only human to set foot here make you feel special?"

"No!" I hissed. I began to feel even more angry. "That's the last thing I want! I don't care about that. I know what you're trying to do, and I'm sorry I can't help you, but I'm not sorry enough to give in."

"I see..." Tswuki Mona said. "So maybe I'll just send your spirit back to the human world instead of to your body that lies back on the island. I could still make you forget this place even if you refuse to."

"Than why don't you?" I demanded.

"Because, something is holding me back..." Tswuki Mona said.

"What's that?" I asked bitterly. "Your conscience?"

"No." she said. "Though, I don't enjoy telling you this, someone is protecting you... Your soul has a barrier around it. It only allows you to go this far."

"Who...?" I gasped. "Could it be Aslynn, or Pagasis?"

"No." Tswuki Mona said. "They have no knowledge of you being here. When I transported you here, I froze time. Whoever it is, is able to move faster than time itself."

"Karoko..." I said.

"You must leave here..." Tswuki Mona said.

"Please..." I said. "Before you send me off I would just like to say that you really need to visit the island more often. Then you'll see how carefree and happy everyone is. They still think of you. You're still alive to them. Your spirit still lives in Neara and Mona."

Tswuki Mona nodded.

"Fine..." she said. "I'll heed your request. In the meantime, find out what you can about how Karoko came to be here. Also, find out who is behind the interference in time."

"Fine." I said. "I'll do it."

"Fare well..." Tswuki Mona said with a wave of her hand. "Until next time..."

She suddenly disappeared, and I could feel myself hurling back into darkness once more.

Part Four- The Lighter Side

Wind

Everything that had been happening to me was starting to get on my nerves. I had no idea that just one visit could cause so much havoc. It all made me wonder if it would have happened if I didn't come. I knew that I wasn't the cause of it, but I was still a problem. If I didn't get bitten then Aslynn would be free and the others didn't have to worry. Another thing that bothered me was the fact that Carona had caught the virus. It wasn't only the fact that she had died, but it was how she caught it. I had been sleep walking the night before without a doubt. Maybe it wasn't an elk that had bitten her, maybe I was the one!

I walked into my hut as if nothing happened. It would have seemed to the people around me that nothing happened because Tswuki Mona froze time just to talk with me. She was nothing like I had expected. She seemed to be evil and tainted with revenge. I hoped that she took my advice. The way she spoke of everyone gave me the vibe that she thought that nobody missed her. Though, I had this feeling that many of her memories were wiped out when she merged with Anubis.

I looked around hoping to find something that would help Aslynn. I looked on the shelf over my bed and found my old CD player. My thoughts went back to the times were she and I would listen to our favorite songs and sing along with them. Aslynn had such a beautiful voice.

I also found a pencil box filled with colored pencils. Pagasis had me bring them so he could try them out. His drawings didn't turn out as good as he hoped, but it was what he wrote with them was the good part. He once drew this little wolf duct taped to a tree, and below it he wrote: "Does life get you down? Put yourself out of your misery." I think he did that after the apple thing.

I was also teaching Pagasis how to write. He was progressing, but he wasn't the greatest yet. When he practiced, I was at school. I let him use my body, and sat at a desk and wrote. Apparently, people would ask why I was writing with my left hand. He told me that when we switched back. It was really weird how we did that. When he was in my body, I could see through my eyes, but I felt like I was sitting in a little dark room without any control over my body. We could still speak to each other though our minds too.

Though he wasn't good at writing, Pagasis got pretty good at typing on a key board. I told him how to recognize the letters on the keys and in no time he was typing up essays. He normally didn't do my homework, but when it came to typing something up, he was there and willing to do it.

I put the things in my back pack and turned to the door, that's when I saw my roll of duct tape hanging on a wooden peg across the room. I smiled and walked over to it.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to hide this on me…" I said out loud. Normally, I'd hear a response from Pagasis, but I realized that he wasn't with me anymore.

I sighed and walked out. With both feet on the ground outside, I stared in horror as one of the diseased natives were limping across the village. It was headed for Aslynn's hut.

"Aslynn!!" I shouted as I started running toward it. "Look out!!"

I ran at the creature as it turned and let out a gargling growl. I dashed forward and swung my claws for the creature's throat.

It must have seen me coming because it ducked and tried to bite my arm as it swept over the creature's head.

I was expecting Aslynn to come out and see what was going on, but after a while, I had this terrible feeling that something happened to her because she was nowhere to be seen. I called her name again.

The creature tried to throw itself onto me, but I dodged out of the way.

"Get away you freak!" I screamed. I swung my hand as hard as I could. A voice in my head was telling me to say something. I decided that it was the evil side of me telling me to kill. In that case, I wanted to kill. So I did. "HELL FIRE!!"

A blaze of yellow erupted from the end of my claws as I slashed at the creature's neck. This time, it couldn't escape. The fire hit and it sliced the creature's head right off its shoulders.

The body walked around for a moment, not knowing witch way to go. I found it humorous for a moment until it fell over. I then kept my mind on track and ran to Aslynn's hut.

A feeling of dread took over me as I pushed aside the shredded cloth that used to be the door. I looked around and saw Aslynn lying on the floor. I ran up and knelt down beside her.

"Aslynn…?" I said. I could feel my body shaking once more. "Are you okay…"

I slipped my hand over her snout. I was glad to feel a light warm wind hit my palm. She was still breathing so she was alive. She had no scratches or bruises on her. She looked as if she were merely asleep.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, and called her name in hopes of waking her up. When her eyes didn't open, I knew that it was no ordinary sleep she was in. It had to be a spell of some sort.

I growled and sat down thinking of what to do next. I wondered what could have possibly taken Aslynn by surprise. Nothing in the world could escape her eyes. I then thought of what Tswuki Mona told me. Someone was stopping her from taking my soul, and that someone was faster than time itself.

"It has to be that same person…" I told myself as I lifted Aslynn onto my shoulder. At that point I realized that I talked to myself an awful lot.

I decided to take Aslynn back to the cave and warn everyone else about the stranger. I still didn't have a clue on who it could have been, though, I still couldn't imagine that Karoko was behind it.

Aslynn wasn't too heavy to me, so it was no problem to walk to the door. I reached the real problem when I got outside.

About ten more diseased natives were walking towards the hut. Seconds later they had us completely surrounded. It made me feel gross just looking at them, but I was more nervous than anything. I wasn't sure if I could take them all on by myself let alone with a friend that was ASLEEP!

I wasn't sure how I could fight and protect Aslynn at the same time. I didn't want her to get bitten. I couldn't stand to see another one of my friends die. I spread my wings and attempted to fly, but I was weighed down by Aslynn. I wasn't strong enough to lift the both of us.

"A fight it is then…" I said as I sat Aslynn down behind me. "I DARE you to try and touch her!"

They came at me like a brick wall. I went at them with my new found attack and went full force. I managed to kill a couple but the rest were so crowded around me I could hardly move without feeling their nails touching me. I then gasped when a couple of them grabbed Aslynn. I slashed them, knocking them backward, but it didn't kill them. They just had holes were their chests used to be. They just got up and started slinking back over.

I knew then that I needed help.

I called my friends names as I grabbed Aslynn and ran for the hut. I slashed through the creatures that were in my way. I didn't think that I killed any of them, but I didn't care at that moment. What I was worried about was if Aslynn was all right.

When I got inside I quickly sat her down and found a large wooden board that she used as a desk and put it in front of the door to block the creatures from coming in. Once it was secure, I examined Aslynn's body to make sure she didn't get bitten. She had a scratch on her right arm, but she wasn't too badly injured.

Relieved, I stood up and looked at the door. I knew that the barricade I put there wasn't going to last for long. On the other side, I could hear banging and scratching sounds. When it started to move, I called for the others again in hopes that they could hear me. After a moment I realized it was futile.

An arm broke in through the side of the door. In panic, I ran up to it an hacked it off. I then thought of something.

"Torrik!!" I yelled as loud as I could.

Another arm broke through the wall on the other side of the hut. I bolted to it and sliced that one off too. I knew that any moment they would be inside.

Suddenly, all was quiet. All that could be heard was a light wind. Perplexed, I walked up to the door and peeked through one of the holes that one of the creatures made.

I gasped.

The creatures lay dead all around. There was no motion, but there was somebody standing there with their back to me.

It was about the size of a regular man, but looked nothing like one. It had a long, thick orange tail that had tan stripes, brown hair with gold tips that was drawn back into a spiky pony tail, and through that, a pair of large orange ears lay on top of its head.

I removed the desk and walked outside.

"Who are you!?" I asked the stranger.

The stranger turned and faced me. It was definitely a man. The one thing that told me that was he wore a black shirt that was open revealing his chest. Along with that, a black pair of what looked like cargo pants. He had a young human face. It was a normal skin tone that turned into orange fur at his chest. His brown eyes looked calm.

"You remembered..." he said. "I didn't think you would."

"T- Torrik!" I exclaimed.

Torrik was a Filodrake from the island of Ceair. One time I got lost on that island and he rescued me. He told me that whenever I got into trouble, I could just call his name and he'd be there for me. Though, I never remembered him to look like that.

"How!?" I gasped as I looked at him from head to toe.

"Oh, this?" he said calmly as he looked himself over. "It was a shock to me when I found out, but that was years ago."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Don't tell me…"

"I'm a ghost." he said. "Though, not the type of ghost your friend Karoko is. I am what you'd call a sprite."

I was too shocked to murmur. All I could do was stand there and stare.

"I suppose this is surprising for you…" he said. "If you'd like, I could turn back into my normal form."

"No!" I said as I placed my arms out to stop him. I then put them down when he gave me as strange look. "I mean… you don't have to. It's just a shock I guess…"

"Isn't it?" he asked with a smile.

"What exactly is a sprite?" I asked.

"A sprite is an elemental spirit." he said. "Though, it isn't a pure ghost, we have a spirit form too. That's what I'm in now. Unlike ghosts, we died of natural causes. Ghosts are born only when there is murder or anger involved."

"What element?" I asked curiously.

"Wind." he said.

"I see…" I said. "I guess that makes sense. You can move pretty fast…"

"Yup." he said. "And a good thing too. You looked like you were in a bit of trouble."

I let out a tired sigh.

"You have no idea…" I said.

"So, what happened to you?" he asked as he looked me from head to toe.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're not human…" he said.

"Oh!"

I remembered then. When we last met, I was a human because my charm was stolen. On top of that, I looked totally different from my regular sphinx form.

"I'm a pure sphinx now…" I said. I then pointed to the collar on my neck. "This is suppose to keep me under control, I guess."

"Really…" he said. "That's pretty interesting. I would like to hear about it more when we help your friend out in there."

"Right!" I said.

We went inside to check up on Aslynn. She was still fast asleep.

"I don't know how it happened." I said as Torrik lifted her over his shoulder. "When I came back she was like this."

Torrik looked at her for a moment then back at me.

"She's definitely under a spell." he said.

"Who do you think is behind it?" I asked.

"I'm not quite sure." he said. "Come on."

I followed him outside. There he laid Aslynn on the ground.

"You might want to step back." he said to me.

"Okay…" I said as I backed up.

Torrik stood for a second with his eyes closed. When he opened them, they flashed yellow.

I murmured in awe as he grew and grew.

"I think I might be able to carry BOTH of you now." he said. He was back as his regular self.

I was looking way up at him now. He was about seventeen feet tall with a large pair of wings. He looked like a normal Filodrake.

He picked Aslynn up and sat her on his shoulder. He then held out his clawed hand to me.

I stepped on and he hoisted me onto his back with ease.

"You might want to hold onto her tightly." he said.

"You got it." I said as I held on to his wings with one hand and Aslynn in the other.

With a powerful sweep of his wings we were in the air within seconds.

I could already see the cliff towering overhead.

"There!" I shouted to him.

"All right!" he said.

Suddenly, the world around me became a blur as Torrik forcefully flapped his wings. The wind stung my eyes so bad I had to close them. My stomach gave a mighty lurch as we halted.

I opened my eyes. We were standing on the cliff.

"Well…" I blinked. "That was fast…"

Torrik let out a chuckle as he rested his hand on his shoulder so I could climb off. I took Aslynn in my arms and stepped on.

"Thanks." I said once both feet were finally on the ground.

"Don't mention it…" he said.

I looked over to the cave. I could see natives sitting outside of it enjoying the sun. They hadn't seen us come in. I turned to Torrik and saw that he had disappeared. I frowned as I looked around for him.

"Shall we?" he said over my shoulder from behind me.

I gasped and spun around. I could see that he was back in his spirit form.

"Scare you?" he asked.

"No…" I said. "Come on."

I smiled and began to think to myself as we walked toward the cave. Things were just getting weirder and weirder. The whole spirit thing had me confused. Another thing that was on my mind was the strange feeling I had. I wasn't quite sure what it was about. So when I asked myself inside my head what was going on, I didn't get a reply. I then realized what was wrong with me. For three straight years I've never gone more than an hour without Pagasis.

Deception

As we approached the cave, the natives looked up and saw us. Some of them ran into the cave. Moments later they returned with Neara and Aquita at their heels, and met us at the mouth of the cave.

"Is she okay?" Neara asked frantically.

"She's asleep…" I said.

"Wha…"

"Hello." Torrik said as Neara's gaze turned to him.

"Uh… hi…" Neara said with a raised eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

I handed Aslynn over to Aquita. With her tightly secure in his arms, he rushed her inside.

"Where's Pagasis and the others?" I asked Neara.

"He, Kovu, Mona, and Rinoa went to hunt for the carrier." she said. "After I heard about Carona I was so worried about you…"

She started to break down and cry.

I hated to see people cry.

"We'd better help them." Torrik said.

"You want to stay?" I asked him.

"Why not." he shrugged. "It's more interesting here than it is over on my island."

I smiled. I then turned to Neara with a thought in mind.

"Neara…" I asked. "Where's Karoko?"

Neara looked at me through teary eyes.

"He agreed to staying here and looking after everyone while our Guardian's were away." she said.

"I'm up here…" Karoko said.

I looked up.

Karoko was sitting there on top of the cave. He was leering down at us. Mainly at Torrik. His eyes then trailed off.

"Hey you kids!" he shouted as he pointed to a group of pups that were running. "Let me say this as clearly as possible: Run, fall, break face!"

The pups looked fearfully at him as they froze in their tracks. With their little tails tucked between their legs, they walked back to the cave.

"That was smooth." Torrik sighed.

Karoko's attention went back to him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Torrik." he replied. "And you're Karoko."

"A rocket scientist…" Karoko said. He then stood up and leapt down.

Torrik just stared at him calmly.

"Someone else is here Neara." I said to her.

"What makes you think that?" she asked sarcastically while staring at Torrik.

"Well…" I said. I thought about it for a moment. I was still unsure of telling her that I met her mother. "Someone put a sleeping spell on Aslynn. Nobody else was in the area when it happened."

"Nobody?" Torrik said sarcastically.

"Well, there was some more creatures…" I said quickly.

Neara's jaw dropped. She then sighed.

"Well… I guess I now know what happened to the rest of the hunters." She said. She tried to keep a somber look as she spoke, but I could tell that she was about to start crying again.

"Oh… Neara…" I sighed as I gave her a hug. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine soon."

"Everything isn't fine…" she sniffed. "Half our tribe is gone, Carona is dead, and now you are infected…"

"I know…" I said sympathetically. "But hey, look at the bright side. Not everyone is dead… We are still alive and we can fix it."

"You think so…" Neara said as she backed up. "You're starting to think like Kovu."

"I suppose we'd better go help the others then." I said.

"What about your cure?" Neara asked.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Aslynn can't do it now." she said. "How will you go home tomorrow?"

"We'll think of something." I said with a smile. I then turned and smiled at Torrik. "Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are." he said.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on these guys." Karoko said.

"Good idea." I said.

Torrik and I turned and were headed for the path. That's when I smelled it. It was strong and made my lips pucker. It was the sour smell of hate. I spun around and looked at the top of the cave. I felt as if an ice cube slid down my throat.

Digarah was standing there. He was staring at me with his malicious red eyes. He looked as if he had no care in the world. His expressionless face proved that.

"Oh my god!!" I yelled. "Karoko above you!"

Karoko and Neara both looked up and gasped. Neara screamed.

Digarah ignored them. He continued to stare at me hauntingly.

His gaze gave me goose bumps. I had this feeling that he was after me alone.

"Spirit form!" Karoko commanded. He then transformed back into the white ghostly wolf. He was enormous! His eyes flashed red as blood started to appear on his chest and oozing from his mouth. He let out a thunderous roar.

Digarah finally looked at him. He had a look of no interest about him as he stared Karoko down.

Karoko leapt up at him with open jaws.

Digarah dashed out of the way as Karoko landed on the roof of the cave.

I ran for Neara and grabbed her arm to pull her out of there.

She followed me. She looked shocked and frightened all at once.

We halted next to Torrik. I turned to Digarah and Karoko.

Karoko was trying to grab him with his blood stained teeth while Digarah leapt out of the way. Karoko let out another angry roar and attempted to stomp on him when Digarah landed next to his feet.

Many of the natives started appearing at the mouth of the cave. All looked horror struck. Mothers held their children back and shielded them from the fight. Many of the warriors appeared too. Each of them had their spears in hand. When Aquita finally showed up, Neara called to him.

"Aquita!" she called. "Keep everyone back. Take them into the cave as far as they can go!"

"Right!" Aquita replied. He then turned and ordered his warriors to do the same.

They did as they were told and turned to the crowding people. They all held their spears out in front of them and started pushing them back.

I felt useless as I watched Karoko and Digarah battle. I could see that Karoko wasn't quick enough to even touch Digarah.

Digarah let out a chuckle. His eyes flashed red as he pointed at Karoko.

Karoko's body seized up. He stood there rigid as he let out painful yelps. He must have been tortured by Digarah's psychic powers.

When Karoko let out a final roar he fell. Slowly, his body began to shrink until he was about the size of an average wolf.

"Karoko!" I called to him. I was worried if he was all right or not, but then I realized I was being dumb. Karoko was already dead.

Karoko didn't move. His black eyes were still open. He appeared to be shaking.

Digarah jumped back on top of the cave. He returned his eyes to me.

"What do you want here!?" I finally demanded.

"I see he didn't completely do his job…" Digarah said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" I yelled angrily.

Digarah's expressionless face turned into a sneer.

"But he did do what he was supposed to do." he said. "He managed to give the shadow to another carrier. He also managed to deceive you all."

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Don't listen to him, Esthenia." Neara said as she reached for her knife. "He's just trying to trick us."

"Really?" Digarah said. "How do you think he got here?"

I looked at Karoko on the ground. I could see that he was trying his best to stay on his feet. I couldn't let Digarah give away his secret. Neara would surely kill him.

"Don't you dare Digarah!" I shouted knowing his intentions.

"Dare to what?" Digarah chuckled. "Surely you wouldn't care."

"What's that mean?" I hissed.

"How do you think you got infected." he said. "How do you think the shadow came to this world, yet Karoko didn't have it?"

"It was YOU wasn't it!" I shouted. "You sent him here!"

"Good…" he said. "Yes. I did send him here. He was to go back the human world and give it to the humans that did that to him. But when he went to the spirit world, I intercepted him and brought him here instead to carry out my bidding. He found the rightful carrier, and gave it to him."

"You… bastard." Karoko groaned as he stood up. He was back in his solid form. He had his sword in hand. "I'll kill you for that!"

"Not before she does." Digarah chuckled while pointing at Neara. "Lass, do you remember your former mate?"

I gasped. I looked fearfully at Neara to see her angry expression.

"What are you talking about?" she growled. "Hons is dead you food, and he was NEVER my mate!"

"Do you think so?" Digarah asked humorously. "Who do you think Karoko is? He's definitely Aslynn's brother…"

"Shut up!" Neara yelled.

"And why?" Digarah asked. "Is it too difficult to hear the truth?"

"No!" Neara growled. "You're lying. There's no way that Karoko is Hons!"

"Seeing is deceiving." Digarah said. "Looking through him I can see the spirit of the murderer. You could even smell it if you focused your mind on it."

"You idiot!" I yelled. "He doesn't have a scent!"

"He does now!" Digarah said as he swiped his hand.

With a sigh, Torrik collapsed.

I dropped down next to him.

"Torrik!" I called. "Are you okay?"

"He's under the same spell I put the priestess under." Digarah said. "He won't waken for a while."

I gasped as the smell of Hons met my nose. I stood up and turned to Karoko. His fear also met my nose.

"Torrik was protecting him…" I thought to myself. "He must have also been the one who protected me from Tswuki Mona."

"See him now?" Digarah sneered.

Neara's jaw was wide open. The hair ridged along her neck and back. She looked angry and shocked all at once.

"You…" she growled. Her eyes were on Karoko.

"Neara…" he said with his hands out in front of him.

"Neara!" I said as I grabbed her arm as she reached for her knife. "He isn't the same person! You have to understand…"

"What do I have to understand." she growled without taking her eyes off of her target. "Hons murdered my parents and tired to take our tribe from me. I don't care what he may look like. It's his foul spirit that took their lives!"

"Not only that…" Digarah said with a humorous tone. It seemed to please him to see others in pain. "He's also the father of your grandchild."

I gasped.

Neara let out a yell as she slipped from my grasp and charged at Karoko. She swung her knife as Karoko dodged out of the way.

"Neara!" he exclaimed. "You don't want to do this!"

Neara ignored him and ran at him again with her knife over her head.

I was reminded of how Mona was when she was slaying Demons. Her and Neara were definitely related, and they both got their knife fighting skills from Tswuki Mona.

"This is enough…" Torrik said quietly.

I looked back down at him. His bright brown eyes made my smile.

"The spell wore off…" I said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." he said. "I'm a spirit. Things like that don't effect me too much." He then stood up. With a small glare up at Digarah, he took a small step forward and vanished.

I gasped and looked around. He was so fast I couldn't even see him.

He reappeared between Karoko and Neara. He was holding Neara's arm and blocking Karoko.

"You both are fighting like pups." he said calmly. "You are out to destroy him Neara, and that's just what Digarah wants."

"His spirit killed my family." Neara quietly growled. "And now it is passed on through my own kin. I never thought he could have sunk that low…"

"Look at him Neara!" Torrik said. "Do you actually think he's the same person? Do you know how much torture he was put through? He paid for his crime. He doesn't even remember who he was."

"Neara…" Karoko said. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner..."

For the first time since I've known him, Karoko actually looked sincere.

Neara sighed. Her face didn't look as angry as she tensed up.

"I still don't trust you…" she said. "Just how much do you love my daughter."

"More than life itself." Karoko said.

Neara gasped.

Torrik let go of her hand and Neara's knife made a dull clatter sound as it hit the rocky ground.

"Now." Pagasis' voice came from behind me. "We are all going to get together and rid this island of evil once and for all."

The Big Death

I gasped and spun around.

Pagasis was standing there. Behind him was Kovu, Mona and Rinoa. They all had a look of shock on their faces as they stared up at Digarah.

Mona however was staring at Karoko and Neara and both were staring back at her. By the looks of things, Mona heard about the whole thing.

I ran up to Pagasis and threw my arms around him.

"Thank god you're here." I said as I let him go. "We're in serious trouble."

Pagasis smiled at me.

"I can see that." he said. He seemed pretty calm about the situation. "Don't worry. It's all of us versus him. He doesn't have a chance."

"He never gives up does he?" Rinoa growled.

I looked up at her to see that her eyes were blue and her fur was ridged along her back.

"Digarah…" Kovu growled. "How DARE you show your face here!!"

Digarah's gaze turned to him.

"Nothing in particular my son." he smirked. "I'm just enjoying seeing all your pathetic faces."

"Kovu." I said. "He's the cause of it all! He's the one that brought Karoko here!"
"Is that so?" Kovu grinned. "How very interesting…"

"Isn't it…" Digarah said. "Well I suppose I should stop talking and destroy you all now that I have you in the same place."

"Just try it!" Pagasis yelled.

With that, Digarah rose up. He made a large red ball in his outstretched hand. Just when he was about to throw it he paused.

All of us stood our ground. Though, none of us had any idea why he stopped. Our question was answered when my right ear twitched again.

I spun around to see the most bizarre thing.

An elk stood there. Or what looked like to be an elk. It had these strange long hair-like things along its spine and tail. It was unusually thin and had large, white eyes.

"The carrier!" I gasped.

Everyone else spun around.

"He's mine!" Karoko shouted as he transformed back into his spirit form as the white wolf. He then charged at it.

The elk didn't hesitate. It charged back.

Meanwhile, the rest of us jumped out of the way as the ground beneath us became a crater from Digarah's attack.

Kovu and Mona leapt into the air.

Mona let out a war cry as she drew out her knife and dove at Digarah.

Digarah dodged out of the way and began to laugh. His eyes glowed red and he stared at her as she circled back.

Instead of flying at Digarah, she turned her course and headed toward her father. Both of her eyes were red.

"Not again!" I growled.

"What's happened to her?" Torrik asked.

"Digarah has the power to control her with his mind powers." I said.

Pagasis appeared next to Torrik.

"I think we'd better pitch in." he said.

Rinoa was already ahead of us. Her eyes glowed blue as she shot a large, blue fireball from her mouth.

Digarah took his eyes off of Mona and Kovu and dashed to the side as Rinoa's attack sped past.

"Pests…" he said. He threw out his arms.

The ground beneath us began to rumble as about a dozen boulders rose from the dirt and hovered in the air. They stood for a moment, then dropped.

We jumped out of the way as they crashed to the ground were we once stood.

"We can't get close to him!" I said.

"Yes I can…" Pagasis said as he jumped into the air.

About a second later, he came crashing to the ground next to me. He sat up and shook the dust from his hair.

"What was that?" I asked as I helped him up.

"He's gotten so much stronger." Pagasis said. "I bet he's been living off another island's nightmares for all these years gathering his strength."

I looked up at the laughing monster. Just below him, hovering in the air, was Kovu and Mona. Behind me was Karoko and the carrier fighting it off. For some reason, the whole scene looked stupid to me. Why wasn't I doing anything? I decided to listen to the killing voice inside of me.

"I'm a pure sphinx right?" I said.

"What?" Pagasis questioned.

"Then I should be strong enough to take him on." I said. "Stand back."

"What are you talking about?" Pagasis asked. "There's no way…"

His voice vanished from my ears as I listened to the instructions my evil self was telling me. My vision turned red as I took a few steady breaths through my nose. I could smell Digarah's flaming heat and the stink of his hate. The whole scene was familiar to me. I then remembered that I felt the same way the last time I fought him. I was so angry, that I had turned into a pure sphinx instead of a demon.

"Hey Digarah!" I shouted up to him as my body began to heat up when he glared down at me. "Remember last time?"

Digarah didn't reply, though, the scent of fear met my nose.

"Do you know how much you've given your family hell?" I asked as I walked toward him. "How much you made your people suffer, how much you destroyed their lives? Well… you got your wish. Your mate is dead. Are you happy now?"

"Carona…" Digarah said quietly.

"Just how much did you love her?" I smirked as I halted when I got almost directly below him. "Was it enough to give her and your children grief?"

"Silence!" Digarah barked.

"Well…" I said. I knew I hit a weak spot in him at that point. "If you wanted me so bad… If you wanted to destroy the island to get your revenge… Here I am. I'm ready to fight you."

"Then you're ready for your doom." Digarah whispered in a dangerous tone. "For years I've been waiting for this day. Just to see how powerful a human really is."

"But I'm not human Digarah…" I said with a grin. "I'm a sphinx."

"We'll see…" Digarah said. He then held out his hand. A large red ball began to form.

I looked over my shoulder to see the others coming for me. They probably wanted to help me.

"Stay were you are." I said to them. At that moment I could see Pagasis and Torrik freeze. "Go help the others. Digarah is mine…"

"Are you insane!" Pagasis called to me.

"Yes." I said. "I'm insane enough to kill so I suggest you stand back."

With that, I leapt into the air. A blaze of red sped past my head as I dodged Digarah's attack. I listened to the voice inside of me telling me what to do. It was kind of like listening to Pagasis' advice inside my head telling me to do good things and such. Only these were bad things, and I was counting on them. Right when I knew I was directly in front of Digarah. I slashed with my hands as hard as I could commanding the Hell Fire attack. The yellow and red streaks shot from the tips of my claws and at him.

He managed to dodge out of the way but it didn't stop the attack from tearing into his right shoulder. It began to bleed almost immediately. Digarah roared at me. He then charged with lightning speed.

I dodged out of his way and did the same thing again. This time it tore through his wing and shredding it almost completely off his shoulder.

Digarah fell. With his psychic powers wearing off from the shock and his torn wing, he couldn't stay in the air. He slammed to the ground almost at the mouth of the cave. He laid there a moment in the dust, then slowly rose his head and looked at me as I landed in front of him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Pagasis and Karoko battling the Carrier, and Torrik, Kovu and Neara help Mona out who had just snapped out of her trance.

"You see that Digarah?" I asked as I glared down at him. "That is your defeat."

Digarah glared at me maliciously. His bottom jaw was bleeding, as were his wing and shoulder. He looked helpless.

I thought I had finally won over him. That's when I heard my friend's terrified voices from behind me. Just when I turned my head, I was struck hard from behind. I was thrown into the outer wall of the cave. My back slammed into the stone and I slid to the ground, hardly able to move. My limbs felt completely numb. I looked up at the deformed elk pawing at the ground. I knew it was going to try and charge me again.

Digarah stood up and grinned.

"It's under my control." he said. "I am his master. He was born because of me."

"That's good to hear…" I groaned as I tried to sit up. I gasped and looked up as I heard the elk's hoof beats coming at me.

I did the only thing I could do, and that was to block. I held my arms to my head and chest and waited for impact. That's when I heard the swish of a blade and the sound of a slaughter. Followed by the smell of blood. I looked up and saw Karoko standing in front of me with his sword. In front of him was the head of the Carrier. I smiled at him.

Digarah let out a roar of rage.

"You managed to spoil it this time but this island will die!!"

"No it won't!" a voice called behind him.

Digarah turned just as a knife struck him in the back. He fell to his knees as he let out a loud shriek.

Mona walked up to him and pulled the knife out of his back. Her attack had been so quick I didn't even see her come.

"I'll be needing this, demon…" she said cooly. "That was a taste of the stealth attack."

"Wench…" Digarah growled quietly. His whole body was shaking. With that, a burst of red lit the area and blinded us all.

When my vision finally returned, I could see that Digarah had fled. I looked around but didn't see him anywhere.

"There!" Kovu shouted as he pointed out into the ocean.

We all turned our heads to see a small form flying clumsily away.

"He won't get away that easily!" Aslynn cried.

I blinked. She was standing right next to me.

"Karoko, Torrik, let's show him not to mess with spirits!" she grinned.

"Right!" the other two said.

The rest of us took a step back. We had no idea what was going on, but one thing was for sure, Aslynn had a plan, and it was a powerful one.

"Spirits combine power!" she commanded as the other two began to glow along with her eyes. "With the speed of wind, the stealth of a ghost and the magic of a witch, rise ocean spirit!"

All of us stood and stared at Digarah. A moment passed and nothing happened. I turned to Aslynn.

"What did that do?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just watch." Aslynn said with a sweet smile.

We continued to watch. Then suddenly, an ocean Guardian jumped out of the ocean and snatched Digarah in mid-air. Then it dove back into the ocean.

All of us gasped. There was a moment of silence, then…

"I wanted to kill him…" Mona groaned. "That's pathetic. Even he didn't deserve to be eaten by a fish!"

"I wanted to kill him too…" Rinoa whined.

"Are you both brain dead!" Pagasis cried. "The bastard's dead!!"

"But…" Kovu said. "A FISH!!?"

"Come on…" Neara said. "It could have been something a little bit more dramatic…"

Torrik, Aslynn, Karoko and I just stared at everyone stand around and argue. Aslynn let out a giggle.

I looked at her.

"Pathetic…" I said.

"Tell me about it!" she laughed. "I figured if I wanted him do die, all I had to do was ask."

"I can't figure you people out…" Torrik said while lightly scratching his head.

"Gratitude doesn't

Torrik stared at him. come naturally to them does it? " Karoko asked as he stared at the others.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

Karoko growled.

One by one, the natives emerged from the cave. They were all confused about what was going on. When everyone was out there, Neara announced that it was all over. Everyone cheered. This had to be one of the happiest moments in their lives. That is until a pup had to open his mouth.

"You all are heroes!" he shouted while sitting on his father's shoulders. "So… how did you kill the bad guy?"

"A fish ate him…" Mona said bluntly.

The crowd let out a disappointed murmur.

"That wasn't very heroic." one said.

"A fish?" another groaned. "What happened to weapons?"

"It was an ocean Guardian…" Aslynn corrected.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"A gigantic fish is no different from an ordinary fish you know." said one of the warriors.

"They all have scales and fins and stuff." a pup said.

"What would be the difference?" an elder asked.

Everyone glared at him.

"You have no brain old man…" another murmured.

"Hey!" one barked. "No put-downs!"

The crowd continued to talk about fish and put-downs. The rest of us just stood there wondering what the world was coming to.

"Well…" Neara finally said. "I suppose they'll shut up when we tell them they can go back home…"

"Good point." Kovu said. He then cupped his hands over his mouth. "You can all go home now! Also, any volunteers for corpse clean-up would be highly appreciated!"

Neara punched him on the shoulder.

The crowd was silent once more. All of them were staring at Kovu.

"Nice job dad…" Mona said breaking the silence. Her voice seemed to echo. "Now they'll never go home…"

Cure

"Well," Aslynn said as she sat down in front of me. "Since you have to go home tomorrow, we can stay up all night and try to create your antidote."

"That's a good idea…" I said. "Anyway, I won't be able to sleep tonight anyway."

I listened out and heard the beating of drums and the sound of happy singing. The clan was celebrating. Basically to the fish. Though, we were all puzzled too. When we got back to the village, we found that Carona's body had mysteriously vanished. In the meantime, Aslynn had called me to her hut to discuss something.

I reached over to my back pack and pulled out the stuff she had asked for.

"Thank you." she said as she looked at everything. "You can go for now and have fun. I'll call you again when I need you."

"Okay." I said as I stood up. I turned and walked out the door.

It was nearly dark outside. The sky was red from the sunset. It made it look like the clouds and treetops were on fire. I wandered over to my hut were I found Pagasis, Aquita and Mona sitting and talking.

As soon as I came into her view, Mona stood up and ran up to me.

"Guess what!" she squealed. She looked very excited. "Mother and Father had a talk with Karoko. They agreed to letting him stay and become the next alpha!"

"Is Karoko okay with that?" I asked with a grin.

"I don't know…" she said. "It might be too hard for him."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Beats me." Mona said as she looked around.

Just then, I heard Pagasis scream from behind me. I spun around to see that he had stood up and he was backed against the wall of the hut.

"What's wrong?" Mona asked.

"That…" Pagasis said as he pointed to a small basket loaded with apples.

"What?" I asked with a grin. "Are you finally afraid of them?"

"I don't know!" Pagasis said. "I thought I just saw one of them move!!"

Mona and I let out a sigh.

Aquita was just staring at him like he was nuts.

"I'm serious!" Pagasis cried. His eyes got wider and he pointed at the basket again. "Look! See, it moved again!"

All of us looked.

"What in hell are you talking about?" Aquita asked.

Suddenly, on of the top apples flew from the basket and nailed Pagasis right on the forehead.

Pagasis screamed and ran. The apple was floating behind him and knocking him on the head every so often.

The rest of us just stood there and watched with blank looks.

"So he was telling the truth…" Mona said.

When Pagasis jumped behind me and tried to use me as a shield. He grabbed me by the shirt and looked up at me with pathetic, frightened, blue eyes.

"Make it stop!" he wailed.

I grinned at the hovering apple. It was about an inch from my face. When I held out my hand it landed in it.

"Karoko…" I said. "That's enough…"

The apple glowed, then Karoko appeared in front of me. The apple was still in my hand, but not possessed anymore.

Pagasis' jaw dropped. He then let out a growl.

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" he shouted as he began to chase after Karoko.

Karoko ran with a satisfied grin.

"I think your father is starting to rub off on him…" I sighed as I watched them.

All of us laughed.

"I suppose Pagasis will never look at another apple again." Mona giggled.

"Don't be so sure." I said.

We continued to watch them and laugh. Just then, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I looked over and saw Torrik standing there.

"Hi!" I said as I spun around.

"Can I have a word with you?" he asked me.

I felt my heart began to beat.

"O…kay…" I said. I then turned to the others. "I'll be right back."

Torrik and I walked down the path. We decided to walk away from the village so the noise wouldn't distract us.

"So…" Torrik said. "I'm amazed you remembered…"

"Remembered what?" I asked.

"My name…" he said.

"Oh…"

"I wanted to ask you about how the human world was…" he said. "It's been a while."

"You were human your past life weren't you?" I said.

"Yeah…" he sighed. "I died of malaria when I was twenty."

"I guess that's natural." I said. I couldn't really think of anything to say to that.

"How old are you now?" I asked. "Just for kicks…"

"In human years…" he said. "I'd be twenty five."

I almost fell dead in my tracks.

"Twenty five!"

"Yeah."

"You look so young!" I said.

"Yeah, well I guess as a Filodrake I look a lot older huh?" Torrik grinned as he rubbed that back of his head.

"Those clothes…" I said. I was staring at his outfit. "They couldn't have been made here."

"That's right." he said. "The best part about being a sprite, you can choose what you want to look like. Since I am a Filodrake, I wanted to look somewhat human. I thought it would look cool. Anyway, I was a big fan of M.C. Hammer."

I laughed.

"So…" he said. "Where do you come from?"

As we walked, I told him what town I was from and what school I went to. When he told me everything…

"Wow!" I gasped. "That's really close."

"Yeah." he said. "Too bad I died. I could have met you."

"I still don't understand…" I said. "I just don't know if I'm dense, but how exactly did you come to be here in the Dream world? If Karoko wasn't forced here, he would have been sent back to the laboratory were he died. Why didn't that happen to you?"

"Well," he said. "First of all, remember what I said about the difference between sprites and Ghosts?"

"Yeah."

"Well, after I died, I was taken to the spirit world. The gods there gave me a new place to life. They chose the Dream world. So, I was re-born without any past knowledge of my former life, but when I sensed a god nearby, I had to investigate."

"Was it Tswuki Mona?" I asked.

"The death god?" he asked. He smiled when I nodded. "Yeah, it was her. I went searching for her and when I found her, she told me everything. Apparently, she had come to tell me anyway."

"Why?" I asked. "When she talked to me, she appeared to hate humans."

"She does very much." Torrik said. "I suppose she thought it would make my life more miserable if I learned that my second life was a lie. I had always thought I was an average Filodrake. Instead of getting confused or angry, I looked at the brighter side of it and thought of it as kind of cool."

"That's neat." I said. "I wouldn't know what I'd do if I found out that I had lived a former life. I think it would be weird."

"Well," Torrik said. "Then it's a good thing you don't know. My philosophy is if you don't know about it, then leave it be."

"That used to be mine…" I said.

"What is it now?" Torrik asked.

"Looking at the bright side…" I said.

Torrik smiled.

"You are a wonderful person." he said.

I gasped and looked at him. Was he flirting with me?

"I never would have thought I could find the right person for me in this world." he said. "Now I see that she wasn't in this world at all…"

"Torrik…" I said. My chest was pounding like a drum.

We stopped. The forest was completely dark now. The moon was visible, making the mossy ground glow.

"I can't…" I finally said.

"Why not?" he asked. "Unless there's someone else…"

"Torrik…" I said. "You can't be serious…"

"It's the horse isn't it?"

"Pagasis… and me?" I exclaimed. "Oh, no, no, no… We aren't involved like that. He's just my friend."

"You know he does care about you…" Torrik said.

"I know…" I said as I looked at the ground. "He told me so himself, but I cant… I just feel that it wouldn't be right."

"I understand." Torrik said. "Well, I can't make you feel the same way about me, but I can do my best to make you change your mind."

For some reason, I began to laugh. I didn't quite know why, maybe it was because of what Torrik said. I was shocked to find out that he liked me. He was way older than me, but I suppose that age wasn't a factor in the Dream world. Though, I couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

"Keep trying…" I finally said. "Just don't hurt yourself."

"I'll do that." Torrik said.

After a moment of silence, we began to talk some more about the human world. I never really had anyone to talk to about it. He was the only one who had actually been human that I know of.

"Well…" he said as he stretched. "I'd better be leaving."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he said. "I bet my sister is trying to take my territory again."

"It sounds a lot like my sister…" I said.

"Anyway…" Torrik said as he leaned toward me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me in a tight hug. The sweet smell of compassion met my nose. "Tell your horse friend he's got a rival. I'll see you around!"

With that, he disappeared.

I stood there for a moment. For some reason I was a bit confused, but for some reason, instead of being angry at the fact he hugged me, I felt good… I turned and saw Pagasis standing there. I gasped.

He didn't appear to be angry or confused. He actually had a smile on his face.

"All right…" I said with little enthusiasm. "What did you hear?"

"I have a rival?" he asked. "I was unaware."

"Well." I said. "You know now I guess."

Pagasis looked at the sky. He then smiled and ran up to me. He put his arm on my shoulder and looked back up at the sky again.

"Bring it on!" he shouted to the stars as he threw his free fist in the air.

I laughed.

"You boys are goofy…"

"I know…" he said. "But face it, you can't live without us."

"I don't know..." I said. "I bet the world would be peaceful without them…"

Pagasis just let out a mock laugh.

"Aslynn found your cure." he finally said as we began to walk back. "She sent me out here to tell you that."

"Really!" I exclaimed. I then began to run. "Well, hurry up then!"

I walked into Aslynn's hut with Pagasis at my heels. I could see that Aslynn looked proud of herself.

"Try this!" she said as she held up a sample in a small wooden spoon.

I took the spoon and held it to my nose.

"This smells like cabbage…" I said.

"So…"

"All right…" I sighed. I then drank it. It even tasted like cabbage. It made me make a sour face.

"I don't think it's working…" Pagasis said after a while.

We were all just sitting there for a moment waiting for it to take effect.

"What was the point of that?" I suddenly asked. "I don't think it's working at all."

"I know…" Aslynn said. "I saw you drink it in a vision. Now I just have to wait for the final ingredient to arrive."

"What?" I asked. "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't finish it?"

"Well…" Aslynn shrugged. "I decided to use my powers this time."

I put my hand on my stomach and groaned.

"This had better not turn my hair purple or give me constipation." I hissed.

Aslynn laughed.

"Don't worry. It's safe."

"Do you know what the final ingredient is?" Pagasis asked.

"Not yet…" Aslynn said. "3, 2, 1…"

Just then, Karoko walked in the door. He had a long piece of duct tape wrapped around his nose, and he wasn't too happy about it. His voice was muffled, but it was enough to understand that he was cussing at Pagasis.

"Serves you right." Pagasis snorted. "Possessing an innocent apple…"

"THAT'S IT!!" Aslynn yelled gleefully as she stood up.

Karoko's eyes flashed with horror as Aslynn ripped the tape from his nose.

"What was that for!" Karoko yelped as he held his nose. His eyes were watering.

"Don't be a puppy…" Aslynn said as she examined the tape. She began to sniff it.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"That's it!" Aslynn repeated. "What is this sticky stuff?"

"Glue…" I said.

"I'll need a larger piece…" Aslynn said. "Hurry."

I looked at Pagasis who shrugged and walked out of the hut, closely followed by Karoko who was saying that he wasn't finished with him yet. In less then a minute, Pagasis returned with the roll.

"Where's Karoko?" I asked as he handed it to Aslynn.

"Oh… nothing." he said as he sat next to me.

My right ear twitched as a voice shouted:

"Pagasis! Get your ass back out here!"

"Pagasis…" I sighed. "Did you tape Karoko to a tree?"

Pagasis just shrugged.

"I'll be just a moment." Aslynn said as she stood up. "Make yourselves comfortable for the time being."

So Pagasis just sat and talked as Aslynn worked on the remedy across the room.

"So…" Pagasis said. "Why didn't you take Torrik's offer?"

"Excuse me…?" I said.

"Just kidding." Pagasis said with a wave of his hand.

I looked at him for a moment.

"No your not…" I said. "I can smell it you know…"

"Oh…" Pagasis said. He then had a sheepish grin on his face. "I forgot about that… So how long have you had this ability?"

"Since I became a sphinx." I said. "It used to be my "secret" power."

"I see…" he said. "I suppose you would want something like that to be kept a secret. I bet it comes in handy…"

"It does…" I said. "So I know if someone is trying to B.S. me."

Pagasis laughed.

I laughed too. Suddenly, a wooden cup appeared in front of my face.

"Drink this!" Aslynn said. "This is it!"

I looked into the cup. It was a funny green color and smelled of duct tape.

"Come on…" Aslynn said as she inched the cup toward my mouth. "Don't make me feed it to you…"

I took it from her and looked at Pagasis.

"Well…" I said. "I'll see ya around…"

With that, I tipped the cup and the liquid went into my mouth. It tasted like it smelled. It was enough to make me gag. Then suddenly, I felt as if I were floating. My breath was swept from my lungs as I heard the evil voice inside of me scream and die.

Moments later, I opened my eyes to find myself shivering. I was on all fours on the floor staring at the ground. I could feel drool dripping from the corner of my mouth. I wiped it away with my hand and looked up to find Pagasis and Aslynn both staring at me. They were both smiling.

"Did it work?" I asked. For some reason, I found it hard to talk.

"It did!" Pagasis said. "You're back to normal."

I looked down my arms to see that the gold cuffs had vanished. My claws were also shorter.

"I… I really am back to normal…" I said as I strenuously sat up. I then chuckled as I looked at Pagasis. "I suppose that duct tape really did the trick!"

Pagasis leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm glad." he said.

I laughed again as I let go of Pagasis and dove at Aslynn.

"Thank you so much!!" I exclaimed as I squeezed her tight.

"You… welcome…." Aslynn gasped.

"I'm glad to see that you're better…"

We all turned and looked to the door to see that someone was standing there.

"Ni… Niegie!?" I exclaimed.

Niegie was an eastern Dragonwolf from a different island. We met him last year when he was delivered to our island by Castirio.

"Yup!" Niegie grinned. "I figured since I smelled you here Esthenia, I'd drop by for a visit!"

I ran up to him and gave him a hug too. For some reason, I was in a very huggy mood.

I backed away just as Aslynn bolted past me and threw her arms around him too.

Niegie looked pretty smitten.

"This is so great!" I said. "I suppose we should all go outside now and see how everyone else is."

As we headed for the door, Pagasis stopped me. I turned and looked at him.

He held out his necklace.

I smiled and took it. I then tied it around my neck.

"Well…" I said inside my head. "I'm glad things are back to normal."

"They aren't." Pagasis' voice replied. "They weren't normal in the first place…"

When we got outside, a large group was there waiting for us. All of them giving me hugs and calling my name. I was actually glad to see them for once. Mona practically threw herself on me as she squealed: "You're back to normal!!"

There was a party going on. All the natives were dancing and talking joyfully. All glad that the Digarah's evil had finally ended.

Mona and I went to her hut to get changed for the special occasion. I normally didn't like wearing skirts, but I didn't care. I was so happy I wouldn't have cared if I ran around naked. I slipped on the leather skirt and top. I then put on the green headband over my ears and under my bangs. It was given to me by Mona. It once belonged to her grandmother, who is now the death god along with Anubis.

When we emerged, I was met by Rinoa and Aquita. Rinoa licked me on top of the head, leaving my hair a big slimy mess.

"Sorry…" she grinned. "I forgot to swallow."

I just let out a mock laugh as I desperately tried to fix my hair.

"You look good for being normal." Aquita said.

"Uh… Thanks?"

Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Karoko standing there.

"I'm glad you're back to normal." he said. "Though, I'm not sorry for doubting you. I think it made you tougher."

"That's nice." Rinoa said sarcastically.

"What's that?" Karoko asked.

"You heard me." Rinoa said with a glare.

Just then, Karoko transformed into the white wolf. He was almost as tall as Rinoa.

"Don't talk to me like that!" he growled in a deep voice.

"Don't make me bite your head off." Rinoa barked. Rinoa looked very scary when she was angry.

"Yeah?" Karoko said with a sneer. "I'll growl at you and vibrate!"

"The hell?" Aquita said.

We all wondered the same thing as Karoko's body began to vibrate and make a dull mechanical sound.

We all began to break down and laugh.

"And someone told me he had no sense of humor!" Aquita laughed.

"That's enough Karoko." Pagasis chuckled as he appeared next to me.

Karoko looked at him. He then shrank back into his solid form. He had a grin on his white muzzle.

"How was that?" he asked Rinoa.

Rinoa didn't reply. She just stared at him in a confused way.

"Hey, Pagasis." Aquita said as he leaned toward him. "Is it just me, or is Aslynn beginning to look older?"

"The hell?" Pagasis said. "Uh, Aquita, that isn't Aslynn. Her hair isn't that long."

"What!" I exclaimed as I looked to were they were looking. Just before she vanished, Tswuki Mona was standing next to one of the huts. I smiled.

"I think you're both seeing things." Mona said. "There's nobody there."

"Whatever…" Pagasis sighed.

I looked around at all the natives. For once, seeing their happiness made me happy too. Before, I was jealous that I couldn't feel the same emotions as they could.

"Let's go dance!" Mona said to me as she grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the group who were dancing to the drum beat.

"Okay!" I said as I ran next to her.

"Be careful!" Karoko shouted behind us.

Mona grinned.

"Don't worry!" she shouted over her shoulder to him. "Our pup will be fine."

"Yeah right." Karoko huffed. "That's what they all say until it's born with a dented forehead or something."

I laughed. Mona and I joined the dance and had a blast. I felt like as if a thousand pounds were taken off my shoulders. Everyone was happy, I was happy, and for some reason, I felt like for the first time I was actually in love with somebody. I just couldn't keep my mind off of Torrik. Every time I thought about him, I would smile and think about what he told me. It wasn't that I didn't love Pagasis either. It was just that I loved him more as a brother and best friend, and I didn't want to change that.

Things got even more wild when Kovu, Aquita, and Niegie drug out the old karioke machine. We all began to laugh when Kovu and Aquita sang in the microphones to something they've never heard before. Their voices were amplified and seemed to echo, making everyone turn their heads to were the sound was coming from.

The song they were singing to happened to be a remake, and a funny one.

"You pushed my face down on the BBQ grill…" Kovu sang.

"Now my scars are all healing but my heart never will." Aquita continued.

"You set my house on fire."

"You pulled out my chest hairs with an old pair of pliers…"

Many of the native men held their chests and groaned to that one…

When their song was finished, Niegie walked up there and took the microphone and began to sing to the next song on the CD.

The song was called "Crawling In The Dark". It was one of Pagasis' favorites. Apparently, Pagasis had taught Niegie the song before because he was singing it perfectly without any help. He had a great voice.

Just when he was about to get to the main chorus, Karoko stepped onto the platform and took the other microphone, and together they sang it. They both sounded great.
"I had no idea he had such a nice voice." Mona said to me.

"It must run in the family." I said as I looked at Aslynn who was jumping around spastically. I just shook my head and laughed.

That whole night, all we did was party, until one by one, the natives retreated to their huts to got to sleep until it was just me, Pagasis, Aquita, Mona, Karoko, Aslynn, Niegie, and Kovu who were sitting around the fire. Still chatting and talking. I was far from being tired. I had to go home the next day and I wanted to spend as much time with everyone as possible. We were also drinking something that I think probably had something to do with us being so awake.

"What's in this stuff!" I exclaimed. I thought it tasted really good, though I couldn't really think of a flavor for it. I had just finished my fourth cup.

I enjoyed listening to Kovu's and Aquita's jokes.

"You remember that one time I we put a beetle in Neara's bed?" Aquita asked.

"Oh, yes…" Kovu sighed.

"Beetle?" I asked. "You have beetles here?"

"Didn't you know?" Pagasis asked. "Now just how long have you been here?"

"I know…" I shrugged. "I suppose I just never stopped to look."

"Are you afraid of them?" Kovu asked.

"Kind of…" I said as I cringed. "I really hate these disgusting things called June bugs."

"How big are they?"

"About this big." I said as I made a circle with my fingers.

Everyone began to laugh.

"What?" I exclaimed. "That's huge!"

"Finish the story, Kovu." Aquita chuckled.

"Well… that night I was surprised to see that Neara was sound asleep, she hadn't noticed it at all." Kovu said.

"And do you want to know why?" Aquita asked.

"It wasn't in her bed." Kovu said. "The genius here put it in MY bed. I woke up to find it on my face."

"His WHOLE face." Aquita said as he grinned at me.

I gasped.

"You mean…"

Aquita showed my the size with his arms.

I scooted closer to Pagasis and looked around as everyone began to laugh even more.

"It's all right." Aslynn said. "They can't hurt you."

"But still…" I cringed. "They're disgusting!"

"You wanna hear something disgusting?" Aquita asked. "The fact you're enjoying that drink in your hand."

Aslynn had poured me another glass, and just when I was about to take a drink, I froze and looked up at Aquita.

"What?"

"That's made of elk urine." he said.

At that moment, I took the cup and poured its contents into the fire.

Everyone laughed again.

Aslynn punched Aquita on the shoulder.

"He's lying." she said. "It's actually made from a fruit."

I frowned and looked at Aquita who just shrugged. I then grinned and turned to Pagasis.

"Fetch me my weapon good sir." I said as I held out my hand.

Pagasis grinned and handed me my roll of duct tape. This roll was extra special because believe it or not, it saved my life.

Right when Aquita saw the roll in my hand, he bolted.

I got up and chased him around the circle we sat in as everyone watched and laughed.

"Help!" Aquita yelped. "She's gonna kill me with that!"

"Careful." Pagasis said. "She'll rip off every hair on your body with that."

Aquita just stared at him horrifically as I came up behind him and stuck a long piece to his back. He looked over his shoulder trying to catch a glimpse of it.

"Can someone get this off of me?" he asked.

Aslynn stood up and grabbed a hold of it. She then ripped it off and Aquita jumped about ten feet into the air.

From were I stood, I could see that the tape had ripped off a lot of Aquita's fur.

"What did I tell ya?" Pagasis asked.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Niegie said.

We laughed some more. Sometimes, I think there was some kind of addicting alcohol in those drinks.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Well, that's practically what happened. The next day I went home early, but before I left, I journeyed to the cliff alone. Once on top, I looked out into the world and sighed. The adventure was over once more. For some reason I knew that something was going to happen. It always did, but unlike all the other times, Digarah was finally defeated. It made me think if Carona was truly happy. That her restless soul could finally rest in peace.

I thought about Torrik more than ever too. Though, I knew it would have been impossible for us to be together. I still remembered what Carona told me those many years ago. Time went by quicker in the Dream world. In about ten years, I would still be young and Torrik would probably be dead. Pagasis however, would remain with me for the rest of my life. Though, I felt kind of sorry for him knowing that he had to go through the same thing as me when it came to seeing our friends aging and dying. It was a fact of life I guess. It didn't have to be fair, but it had to be there. It was the balance of life, and it couldn't be broken.

About a month later, I was taking a walk through the woods back in the human world. I never wore any shoes. I guess I was just used to being barefoot and free. The woods was the most comfortable place for me. I felt as if I were it's Guardian. Just like in the Dream world. I then realized I wasn't the only one, for a white wolf was seen on top of a yonder hill staring at me with its blue eyes. I stared back. I then had an idea of were her body went. It was something I had to wait for when I got back home.

"Hi, Carona." I said.

The wolf just stared for a while longer, then it disappeared over the hill.

"I guess it'll take a while for her to warm up to me again." I said to myself.

Among the beautiful pictures, that hang on Memories wall,

The one of a dear old forest, seemeth the best of all.

Not for the gnarled oaks olden, dark with the mistleloe,

No for the violets golden, that sprinkle the vale below

Not for the vines on the upland, where the bright red barriers rest,

Nor the pinks, nor the pale sweet cowslops, that seemeth to me the best.

I once had a little brother with eyes that were dark and deep, in the lap of that dear old forest, he lieth in peace asleep.

Light as the down of the thistle, free as the winds that blow, we roved there that beautiful summer., the summer of long ago.

But his feet on the hills grew weary and on of the autumn eves, I made for my little brother a bed of yellow leaves.

Sweetly his pale arms enfolded my neck in a meek embrace as the light of immortal beauty silently covered his face, and when the arrows of sunlight lodge in the tree tops bright, he fell in this sunlight beauty asleep by the gates of light.

Therefore, of all the beautiful pictures that hang on memories wall. The one of the dear old forest seemeth the best of all.

Written by Great Grandma Sly