FSE

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Here it is, the next chapter. Hopefully long awaited and, you know, not long forgotten...anyways, here it is. This part will be told from the views of our secondary protaganists, Myra and Aryn Sanvar'a. That's all for now. Remember, I appreciate criticism. Good and valid criticism, negative or no.

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Myra was just a regular reptilian. She, like many of her kind, hated the cold, enjoyed being in the sunlight and couldn't understand how someone could enjoy the rain.

Which was why she was upset with the storm.

The storm made everything dark and cold, with the rain never ending. And yet, today her father expected her to go to town, despite the pouring, bitterly cold rain.

She had never met one of the mysterious, isolationist northerners, no one in her village had. They tended to stick to their mountains and creeks up to the north, which she'd never understood. Apparently, it was cold all year round up there. Who would purposefully choose to live in a place like that?

She donned her thick cloak and put the hood up, ready for her expedition to the town. As she walked towards the door, she passed her brother who was busy whittling something by the fire.

"Going out?" he asked her, looking up. He was three years younger than her, a bit annoying at times, but generally a good kid.

"Yeah," she answered. "I'm going to town to grab supplies and the latest talk for father."

"Ah," he said, smiling puckishly at her. "Good luck with that. The rain is still coming down as fiercely as ever."

"Got it Aryn," she said, smiling at him. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to come along as well? I know just how badly you love the town."

"Ha, sure sis," her sibling chuckled, before his face went serious. "Be careful around the river. I'd bet that all this rain has made it swollen, if it hasn't flooded already."

"Aw, Aryn, is that a note of concern for your big sister that I heard there?"

"Nope," Aryn answered quickly, obviously lying through his teeth. "It's just that you're wearing my cloak and I'd hate to lose it. It's my favourite one."

Myra looked down and rolled her eyes. She was wearing his favourite cloak. She was just surprised he hadn't said anything about it until this point.

"Fine," she mocked, taking off the thick, waterproof robe. "I'll grab a different one. Have fun with whatever it is your whittling."

"It's a wolf," he said, holding up the carving. "They apparently live up north. I found a picture in one of father's old books and decided to carve it."

Myra walked over and picked up the carving. In its current state, it was rough and crude. But her brother was a master whittler and she knew the end result would be a work of art.

"Can I see the picture?" she asked, handing the figurine back to her brother. "Where did you find the book?"

"In the attic," Aryn said, taking the carving and handing her the book in return. "In that pile of books marked, 'do not read'."

"Yet you read them," Myra pointed out, looking at the picture. It was a strange looking creature, with a long and narrow jaw, pointed ears and round-pupiled eyes. Also, strangely enough, it seemed to be covered with some sort of growth.

"What is this stuff?" Myra asked, showing the picture to Aryn. "Is it some kind of infection or something?"

"I have no idea," her younger brother shrugged. "Although I assume it's natural."

Myra said nothing more, only going to the closet and grabbing a new cloak. She walked across the room, waved good bye to her brother and left into the howling storm.

Her feet squelched as she waded through the mud. The pounding rain never let up, with the wind shaking trees and making waves on the large puddles. A storm like this had not existed for a long time.

She whistled a tune as she walked along the long dirt road towards the town, not caring about the dampness of her cloak or the feeling of cold water trickling down her scales.

Eventually, she arrived at the river to find that her brother was right. It was flooding, but not to the point where she would be unable to reach the bridge and cross.

The young lizard waded through the water until she reached the bridge. It was amazing how much debris was caught in the supports of the bridge.

Myra jumped. That wasn't debris; that was a person!

She ran back down the bridge and waded towards the figure, who seemed to still be conscious but not active.

"Hey out there!" she called to the figure. "Can you move? Are you alright?"

The figure looked up at her blearily before it started moving, shoving itself away from the pillars that had stopped its journey down the river.

"No, stop!" Myra yelled. "You could drown!"

The person didn't listen and in a short while was free of the supports and rushed down the river, carried along by the current.

Myra rushed after it, but the current swiftly pulled it farther away from her. Thankfully, fate was on her side that day as the current pulled the figure to the shore, where it lay quietly.

It took the lizard a bit to get to it, but when she did she frowned. It looked unfamiliar in the dim light of the moon, hidden behind the clouds.

She put her hands on it intending to turn it over and jumped back with a shriek. Its scales felt so weird. Ignoring the odd feel she rolled it over and nearly fainted.

The creature before her had a long snout, pointed ears, a tail and the strange growth covering its body. It was exactly like the creature that Myra had only ever seen a picture of once, earlier that day.

"Wolf," she whispered.

The wolf didn't regain consciousness until the lizard completely dragged him free of the water. Even then, she had to pound on his chest to dislodge some of the liquid from his throat.

The wolf jerked up and rolled over, getting to his paws and knees, coughing and retching upon the ground. His coughing fit went on for a bit before he drew in a massive breath of air.

"The others," he gasped, in a smooth, yet slightly rough voice. He raised a paw and pointed downstream. "Help the others."

Myra straightened up and looked in the direction the wolf was pointing. Further down the stream, she could see a large group clustered against the shore. That was, if she looked closely. Originally, she probably would have just put it down as a group of sticks and leaves clustered in a bad tidal area.

She jogged over to the group. They all seemed to be like the wolf, dazed and immobile, with the exception of one, who was hauling another from the water. He managed to get the creature's feet free before collapsing on the ground, gasping.

"Are you all right?" Myra asked worriedly. The entire group seemed in pretty rough shape, completely naked and half drowned.

The furred being in front of her did not respond, instead choosing to look about his group. He was sleek and appeared very much like the salamanders Myra had met before, as though he were built for the water.

Lying in the group was another of the same species as the awake one, who looked very much like him, albeit female. Right beside her was a sleek, black-furred creature, again, a female. The last two of the group was one that looked like the wolf Myra had dragged to shore earlier, with the exception of having brilliant russet fur and another that looked like the black-furred one, with a different muzzle and fur pattern.

"Where's Kiri?" the only conscious one of the group asked, panic in his eyes. "Where is he?"

The creature's eyes locked with Myra's own and he stared in confusion. Myra had never seen eyes so clear blue as his.

"Who are you?" he asked. "And where's Kiri? He was with us and then...gone."

"Kiri?" Myra asked the soaked creature before her. "I don't understand. Who's Kiri and why is he important?"

"Kiri's a wolf. And he's important because he's my friend. And friends don't leave friends behind."

"A wolf?" Myra asked interestedly. "I found one a bit ago. He's back there, a bit soaked and tired, but alive. Now, who are you?"

"Who am I?" the creature asked, staring back up at her again. "My name's Kytra. I'm an otter, trying very hard to help keep my friends alive. I asked this earlier, so I'll ask it again. Who are you?"

"My name's Myra."

"Well Myra, I suppose we owe you one for saving Kiri," Kytra gasped, shaking his head dizzily. "What are you doing out in this storm, all alone?"

"I was on my way to town for father," the reptilian explained. "He always likes to be-"

She didn't get to finish as Kytra's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed upon the ground. Evidently he was just as worn out as the rest.

Myra stood there for a second; she didn't know what to do. The lords of reptilian territories always said that the furred peoples of the north, the Ch'kiliil, were horrible beasts that would love nothing more to slay all reptilians. Yet here, this otter worked so hard to get his friends free of the rivers tearing current and was actually willing to talk to her.

She stood there for another minute, agonizing over her choice, before she made up her mind. No matter what the lords said of these creatures, they were still people and deserved to be treated as such.

She began dragging the bodies farther from the water, so they wouldn't get washed away in the current if the river surged again.

I wonder what they're doing here though,_Myra pondered, _they all came from a river, nearly drowned, in the middle of reptile territory. It doesn't add up.

Soon, she had all of them grouped out of the water and on dry shore, relatively speaking of course. She was about to run back to her house to grab her mount when she suddenly remembered about Kiri, the first she had pulled from the river.

She jogged over and picked him up, amazed at how light he was. When she had dragged the others too, she had realized that they all seemed remarkably light, but she had put it down to nothing.

It was only once she set down the wolf that she noticed the red lines streaking all across his back. They criss-crossed each other many times and some seemed older than others.

The sight made the young lizard twitch and she quickly investigated the rest to find they all had similar markings. All except the russet-coloured one.

Going back to the wolf, she looked closer at the injuries and discovered that at the back of the neck, free of any other marks, she could see a small symbol. It was the symbol of Lord Drysenn, a powerful reptilian warlord a short ways to the east. In fact, this entire territory was run by Drysenn. From the direction that the stream was flowing...

Slaves, Myra realized with a start, and not just slaves, escaped slaves!

The warlords had put out a decree an age ago that any Ch'kiliil were to be turned over to the warlords for a bounty. Never before had Myra thought about what happened to them.

Now she knew.

She also knew, from reading classified documents intended for her father, that raiding parties frequently went up north to retrieve "assets". Before, she didn't know what exactly that referred to. Now, with a sinking feeling in her chest, Myra had a clue about just what those "assets" were.

She hesitated for another moment before making up her mind. The warlords had steep penalties imposed upon those who were seen harbouring Ch'kiliil, or housing escaped slaves, whom she had always thought were reptile criminals.

Apparently not.

Myra quickly jogged the half kilometre necessary to get back to her house and hitched up her father's mount to the wagon. When that was done, she clambered up on to the wagon, flicked the reigns and was off into the darkness of the storm, not caring that she was breaking the laws of her people.

Because the Ch'kiliil were also people. And people help people.

The young wolf opened his eyes slowly and in confusion. Above him was a wooden roof, arching high above his head. He was lying in a soft pile of fresh straw, something that had never been allowed at the mines.

He sat up, his head pounding and body sore and looked around at the room he was in. The building was relatively dry, with straw scattered all over the floor. Against one wall was a line of stalls, three of them occupied with beasts of burden.

His friends were all present, albeit, unconscious and huddled in a small group.

The wolf blinked. His last memory was that of plummeting off a cliff into the darkness, a tremendously stupid idea, but one that was still better than being recaptured.

And apparently it had paid off. He was alive, his friends were alive. And they were free.

"Sleep well?" a smooth, obviously reptilian voice asked.

Kiri jerked his head towards the voice and noticed a young, female Scaleback leaning against one of the support pillars for the roof. Her yellow eyes locked with the wolf's own and, surprisingly, he could sense no hostility in them.

"Who are you?" he asked, not being too reassured by her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Does it matter?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You're warm, safe, dry. And still very much alive. That's more than can be said for where I found you, hmm?"

"Why would you save us?" Kiri asked nervously as the lizard straightened up and began walking over.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, frowning. "You were in trouble. You would have drowned if I didn't save you. I think that's pretty good justification, no?"

Kiri didn't say anything as the reptilian came over and sat beside him. He was terrified, being this close to a Scaleback but he sensed that she didn't mean any harm.

"I'm Myra," she introduced, holding out her hand. Her scales were a bright green, the colour of tree's leaves in summer. It was a nice colour.

"Kiri," the wolf stated, holding out his own paw and shaking with her. For some odd reason, she didn't seem surprised by his name, as though she thought it would be something like that.

They both glanced over as one of Kiri's friend bolted upright and looked around in panic. It was Kytra and he seemed pretty scared.

Then he looked over at Myra and Kiri and relaxed.

"Kiri!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You're alive! I thought for sure that..."

His eyes locked with Myra's and his excitement noticeably died down a bit. However, he didn't seem surprised to see her.

"So," he said calmly, "you are real. I wasn't sure whether you existed or if I was just too fatigued to differ truth and reality. Where are we?"

"In the stables on our property." Myra explained. "I brought you here from the river. What were you doing there?"

"Fishing accident," Kytra explained quickly. "We were on Kilringa Creek and-"

"Save it," Myra cut him off, raising a hand. "I know what you were. No reason to hide that secret from me."

"If you know where we're from," Kytra growled. "Then you know that we'd take any measures to avoid going back. Any."

"No need for threats," Myra protested, raising both her hands. "If I had any intention to turn you in, I would have done so already. No, I'm going to see about getting you back home."

All hostility immediately dropped from Kytra's face as his jaw dropped in astonishment. This Scaleback was willing to help them get back to their own territory?

"Back...home?" Kiri asked suspiciously. Unlike Kytra, he had no memories of Myra being there to save them and was more suspicious as a result. "Why would you help us get back home? How does that benefit you?"

"It doesn't," Myra shrugged. "I just always want to do the right thing. And after finding out you guys are, sorry, were, slaves, I managed to put together a bunch of clues that shows me just how bad the society we live in is. So, I'm going to help you leave it."

Kiri opened his maw to say something else, when they noticed that another of his friends was stirring. Wraith sat up and blinked around, surveying their surroundings. When her gaze landed on Myra, her ears flattened and she bared her teeth in a snarl.

"Wraith!" Kytra said, getting to his feet and stepping in her way. "Calm down! She's on our side!"

"Our...side?" Wraith asked, staring at the nervous reptilian. "That's not possible! She's one of them! She's a Scaleback!"

"Falskin," Myra corrected, annoyance flashing over the fear on her face. "And please don't ever call me that again. Yes, I am on your side. I rescued you all from the river and brought you here."

"Wraith," Kiri joined. "She's going to help us escape!"

The puma turned and locked eyes with the reptilian, disbelieving. Myra stared back with a confidence that she certainly wasn't feeling.

"Escape?" Wraith whispered.

It was about an hour later before everyone was awake and calmed down. Calmed down being a relative term of course.

They were all willing to sit and listen to what the reptilian had to say, but only Kiri actually seemed trusting of her. That was typical, Kiri always seemed able to determine whether someone was trustworthy or not.

Myra had feared more times for her life in the past hour than she had for the rest of her life altogether. But, amazingly, she was still willing to aid them. In fact, she seemed more determined than ever.

However, Myra had left not long ago, going to town to complete her original errand. Except this time, she had taken her father's mount so the journey would be completed in good time.

Which means that she had left all of them behind, discussing their possible fates.

"I don't like it," Tyra growled. "What if she's gone to get the guards? What if she's going to turn us over back to the slavers?"

"I doubt she'd do that," Kiri remarked, swinging his gaze around to meet Tyra's. "If she wanted to turn us over, she'd have tied us to any convenient post before we'd woken up. She's not stupid."

"Suicidal maybe," Wraith commented. "Helping a bunch of Ch'kiliil get back across the border, back to their homeland. It's almost got a story element to it."

"But what are her intentions?" Ari quizzed. "She's got no motive behind her help. It's illogical, especially for a Scaleback."

"Maybe that story that she's spun for us wasn't a lie," Kytra commented from one of the paddocks, where he was petting a large, beautiful beast. "Maybe she really does want to see us get back home."

"You're all missing out on the obvious," Svara growled. "She's let it slip a couple of times. Her father is one of them. He's Lord Drysenn's steward!"

The stable went silent for a bit after this announcement before Tyra growled, "I knew she was untrustworthy!"

"Hold on Tyra," Kiri snapped. "Just because her father is the steward doesn't mean that she's bad! Why else would she save us from the storm?"

"I say we run," Tyra said, completely ignoring Kiri's observation. "We're all good enough to move and we don't know what this Scaleback is going to do with us."

"Those of us that trust, do," Wraith cut in. "I believe her, as unlikely as her story is. We should just stay here and wait for her to get back."

"Trust is overrated," Svara warned. "Believe me. Those that trust strangers end up dead."

"Funny thing to say, considering that two strangers rescued you from the storm," Ari commented, shooting a glare at Svara.

The fox didn't say anything, instead choosing to ignore the otter. He had been nothing but aggressive to Myra in previous conversation and now it seemed that aggression was spilling over to his friends.

"I say we have a vote," Tyra stated, glancing at each member of the party in turn. "Those who wish to trust a reptile over common sense, raise a paw."

Kiri's paw was the first up, followed by Wraith and Ari.

"All who wish to trust their own abilities and common sense over the word of a slaver's daughter, raise your paw."

Tyra immediately raised his paw to his own question, followed closely by Svara. Kytra's paw remained at his side through both votes.

"Kytra," Tyra frowned. "Aren't you going to vote? Your vote could make a tie here."

"Both sides have good points," Kytra said, not even turning away from the Kazamn he was petting. "But both have bad points. While it is stupid to wait and trust on the word of a lizard, it is equally dumb to run outside with no clue of where to go in the middle of a storm. So, I'm going to stick with my sister."

"But she voted to..."

"Stay and wait, yes I know. I'll stay and wait for Myra, with the others."

"You're all completely mad!" Svara snarled, making everyone jump. "You're going to die! Come on, let's go!"

"You've been outvoted, Svara," Ari pointed out. "We're all staying here. That was the verdict."

"Yeah," Svara sneered. "But I'm not following it. You're welcome to stay here and wait for your inevitable capture, but I'm going for the border."

With those words, the russet-furred fox opened the door to the stable and stepped out into the night. After a moment's hesitation and an apologetic glance, Tyra followed him, leaving the remainder of the stable in a state of fierce confusion.

"They left us," Ari whispered, staring aghast at the door. "They just...left us. How could Tyra just..."

She broke down into tears and buried her face in her brother's shoulder, who soothingly patted her back though his eyes were moist. Wraith and Kiri couldn't believe that one of their oldest friends, the third arrival in the cabin after themselves, would just get up and follow a strange fox out into the storm.

They huddled together in mutual grief for a time and this was how Myra finally found them.

"What happened?" Myra asked, pushing open the stable door and seeing the entire group, minus two, huddled together in grief. The fact that two were missing was worrying enough, but seeing them all this upset made the reptilian almost scared. "Did something happen? Where's Tyra and Svara?"

"They left," the wolf, Kiri, answered in a hollow voice. "They just...left. They didn't trust you to help us get out of here."

Those words, even though the young wolf had no intention of it, cut Myra deep. She was hurt that after all she'd done to save them and keep them safe, that two of them would leave. And it hurt even more to see that they'd leave their friends behind to get away from her.

But, on the other hand, it felt good to know that these four had believed her at her word and stayed behind, even though it meant splitting from their friends.

"I'm...sorry," Myra said, not quite sure what to say, or if the Ch'kiliil culture even reflected what exactly loss meant.

Kiri and Wraith both smiled half-heartedly at her, with Kytra giving a respectful nod. Ari didn't make any motion, having fallen asleep a long time ago in her brother's arms.

"I doubt that this will make it better in any way," Myra began hesitantly, "but while I was in town, I got you all something. A bunch of somethings."

She set the heavy bundle that she'd been carrying on her back of the ground and unwrapped it, the slaves crowding forward curiously. Lying on the bundle was a pile of various coloured fabrics, some food and a few small, silver vials.

They eagerly snatched up the food and started eating, their starving stomachs grateful for every bite. In short order, there was no more food on the blanket, just the fabric and silver vials.

"What's all this?" Ari asked, having been awoken by her brother, wiping away some bread crumbs from her mouth and gesturing to the remaining items. That bread had been the tastiest she'd ever had, not spoiled like the stuff from the mines.

"This is clothing," Myra said, gesturing to the pile of multi-coloured fabrics. "It's all loose fitting so that your-" She gestured at their fur, "whatever this stuff is won't get pulled. Try it on."

The Ch'kiliil group eagerly grabbed up the various items and tried them on. The matching took some time, but eventually, they all chose their clothes.

Wraith wore a practical, emerald green top and shorts that complemented the colour of her fur beautifully, while Kiri chose a pair of black shorts. Kytra and Ari settled on similar outfits, comprised of a grey top and shorts for Ari, while her brother just took grey shorts.

The small, remaining pile of clothes only served to remind the former group of the members they'd lost.

"And last, but certainly not least," Myra intoned, gesturing at the silver containers. "This is medicine. It doesn't do much in the way of healing, but it will completely kill all pain you're feeling. Now, my final two gifts..."

She turned around and picked another bundle off the ground.

"These are robes," she said, depositing them in a pile. "If you have to travel in public, use these. These will mark you as a member of the Hydliis, the upper echelon of reptilian society. With the hood up, one shouldn't even be able to notice that you're not reptilian. And finally, this."

She handed Kiri a leather tube.

"In here is a map," the reptilian said, smiling at his expression. "This should help you get to your own lands. Be very careful."

"I don't know what to...how can I ever thank you enough?"

"By living to prevent your story from happening again," Myra said, stepping forwards and giving the surprised wolf a hug.

"Hey Myra?" a new, male voice called as the stable door slowly opened. "You back yet? Who you talking to?"

Another reptilian, dressed in a thick robe that was dripping wet hustled into the room, head down. He walked in a bit, took the heavy robe off and draped it over an empty paddock, oblivious to the stunned mammals that were staring at him.

He turned around with a big smile that froze on his face the moment he saw the others. His silence, which reigned for a short time, clearly indicated the shock that was raging through his mind.

"Myra?" he asked, the smile rapidly turning to worry. "Who are these? What are they doing here in our barn?"

"Simple, Aryn," Myra croaked nervously. "They're...they're, well, um..."

"Just some weary travellers," Kytra said, stepping forwards and thrusting his paw at Aryn, who noticeably flinched. "We've been on the road for hours and that's where we met Myra, who offered us refuge in your barn."

"Why the barn?" Aryn asked, taking Kytra's paw in a handshake. "And where did you come from? I've never seen any of your kind around here."

"Aryn!" Myra snapped, obviously warming up to the deception. "Don't be rude! They are our guests, for the time being."

"Okay, okay," Aryn said, throwing his hands in the air. "I wasn't meaning to be rude. I was just a little curious where they came from. After all, no Ch'kiliil are native around these parts."

"That's our concern," Kytra, not unkindly. "You can just be assured that we've come quite the ways to get here."

"Fair enough," Aryn agreed. "My name's Aryn. As you probably already knew. I'm Myra's younger brother."

"Kytra," the otter introduced himself. "That's Ari. She's-"

"His twin sister," Ari cut him off, stepping forwards to give a handshake of her own. "Although he won't admit it, I'm the older one."

"I'm Wraith," the puma was next to introduce herself. However, unlike the others, she didn't step forwards to shake Aryn's hand. She was like that.

"And I'm Kiri," the young wolf introduce himself, baring his teeth in a grin that made Aryn flinch.

However, Aryn didn't seem afraid of Kiri, more like really interested. Or at least, really focused.

"Kiri," he asked, almost shyly. "Do you mind if I carve your likeness? I've been working on a whittling project for a while. I'm carving a wolf."

Kiri quirked an eyebrow. He rather liked Aryn already and wouldn't have minded, but he thought that it was an interesting coincidence that he was carving a wolf just as the wolf was passing through.

"I wouldn't mind, Aryn," Kiri said with a smile. "But we're going to be leaving here in not too long."

"Oh that's all right," Aryn said, turning around and heading for the door. "I don't need long. Hey Myra, since I'm heading in, I'll let father know we have guests."

"No!" Myra protested, a little too sharply. "I mean...we don't need to burden father anymore. His work is getting more stressful all the time recently and our friends here will be leaving any day anyway." "I...guess that makes sense." Aryn frowned, as if puzzled by his sister's outburst. "Alright then, I'll go grab my carving and knife."

With those words, both parties turned away from each other and Myra breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been really panicked that her clever brother would figure out that something was wrong, or that they would somehow let slip the information.

"Oh, Myra. Could you come here a moment please?" "Sure, Aryn," Myra said, her heart momentarily freezing up. "What do you want? If you're wondering, I already put the groceries in the house."

"I wasn't wondering, but thanks," Aryn said, his voice dropping several levels. "Your friends, they're slaves. Aren't they?"

"How did you kno-"

"Please," Aryn chuckled, raising a claw. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you were hiding something. And no Ch'kiliil have been down this way in almost a thousand years. And....turn around."

Myra did so, confused. Behind her, the entire group was standing around talking. Kiri was making a point in some kind of joke, making everyone laugh, his hands waving in the air and his back to her.

Oh Sythrym, his back...

"Yeah," Aryn said grimly, noticing her reaction. "Those scars are pretty indicative, if everything else wasn't. Unless I had proof, I wasn't going to say anything. But when they turned around...yeah."

"What do I have to do to keep-"

"You know me better than that, sis," Aryn frowned. "I care about people too. And the Ch'kiliil, despite all the Lord's statements to the contrary, are indeed people. I won't tell father. Who knows what he'd do to you and them eh?"

Myra frowned, thinking on it. Their father was what could be and often was, politely called a monster. He cared very little for the lives of anyone, including his own children and had killed several of their servants.

Luckily, they had been raised by their mom until she had died in childbirth, leaving Myra and Aryn, ages eight and five, to the mercy of their father.

But they had each other and stayed away from most of the rooms where their father lived when he wasn't kissing the boots of Lord Drysenn. This explained where they got their generosity and caring from, when their father was the exact opposite.

When their mom had been around, he'd been much different. A caring figure, a fun-loving dad. It was only after...

Myra shook her head. This wasn't helping her. Or...was it?

"Thank you Aryn," she said simply to her younger brother who simply smiled.

Myra went back over to the group of former slaves, who greeted her like an old friend and drew her into the circle to share in the companionship of Kiri's story.

"Aryn," Myra whispered into her younger brother's ear as he carved his wooden wolf statuette to look more like his new subject, Kiri. "I need to talk to you."

"Fine," Aryn said, standing up and stretching out his arm. Kiri, who had been sitting on a tree stump for half an hour in conversation with Kytra so Aryn could get the features, looked up and received a wave, letting him know he could get up.

Kiri stood up from the stump, stretched and walked over to his friends, of whom only Kytra was still awake. The two of them lay down with the rest of the group and soon, their deeper breathing could be heard, indicating the fact that they were asleep.

"What is it Myra?" Aryn asked, smiling at the people whom he'd come to see as his friends. Despite the fact that they'd basically been bred in captivity, they were all very clever. Kytra and Ari were even capable of writing their own names.

"I plan to go with them," Myra said, not mincing words or softening the blow. Her brother needed to be told. "I'm tired of our father and his tyranny. His abuse to his servants and to us. His domination over those he sees as lesser."

"But I...if you...if you leave, you won't be stopping any of that. Just ignoring it and self-deluding yourself."

"I know," Myra said sadly. "But if I leave, I stand a greater chance of changing this than if I stayed. And let's face it, they really don't stand much of a chance getting through reptile territory without a guide."

"Yes, but you don't have to be that guide!" Aryn protested, knowing full well that his sister had made her mind and that nothing would divert her from this course. "Get one of the servants to do it or something!"

"Master Aryn?" a new, timid voice asked from outside the stable. "Are you in there? Master Sanvar is looking for you."

"What does he want, Phoebe?" Aryn asked, walking to the door and opening it a crack. "Does he want me right now?"

"Yes sir," Phoebe said, cringing away as if expecting to be hit, even though she knew Aryn would never do that. "He said for you to come as soon as possible."

"Alright," Aryn said, nodding courteously to the servant, who was only a little better treated than a slave. "Thank you Phoebe, I'll be right in."

Phoebe beamed at him and turned away towards the house, hood pulled up despite the fact that she loved the water, being a salamander and all. House decorum demanded it.

"What do you think he wants?" Myra asked, cocking an eyebrow at her brother.

"Not sure," Aryn admitted, lips curled into a frown. "But I'd better get to the house and find out. Father doesn't like it when I'm late."

With those words, Aryn quickly donned his waterproof cowl and stepped out into the storm. Myra stepped to the door and watched him until he got to the door of the house and disappeared.

At least, she thought as she closed the door behind him, the storm seems to be settling.

It was an hour later before Aryn returned. In that time, Myra had fallen asleep right next to the group of Ch'kiliil, but slowly migrated in her sleep until she was right in the middle of them, her cold blood absorbing the warmth of theirs.

Aryn smiled at the sight, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He walked over and gently shook Myra awake. She sat up and stared at him for a minute before realizing where she was, leaping up while being careful to not step on any tails.

"What is it, Aryn? What did father want?" Myra asked, noting how Aryn seemed a little shaken up. She was worried about him.

"Father gave me a big speech on how in our society, duty and honour are key. He told me that one day he planned I would take his position as head of the family. Then, after his big speech, he took me out back to 'demonstrate what a failure of duty looks like'"

He paused and Myra felt a sense of dread. This wasn't going to end well.

"They had the master keeper of a mine a little ways to the east, a Master Keeper Syivyen. Evidently, a couple days ago, a large group of slaves escaped his mine..."

His sister tensed. She knew where this was going and she wasn't sure that she wanted to hear it.

"He was naked," Aryn continued after taking a deep breath. "Scourged by whips. He was hung in an 'X', with ropes securing his ankles and wrists. Then, as I watched, father gave them an order to kill him. They took this big axe and..."

He broke down into tears and Myra soothingly patted his back. There was no reason that a fourteen year old should need see that right in front of him. That was another couple dozen score marks against her father.

Aryn cried for a long time before a furred hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed gently as Kiri knelt down beside them. Myra twitched a little. She hadn't even known he was awake.

Aryn cried for a bit more before he suddenly grabbed Kiri in a tight embrace and cried into his shoulder. Though the wolf was surprised, he didn't protest.

It was another while before Aryn finally regained his composure. He released Kiri, whose shoulder was now soaked and stood up.

"Thank you both," he said quietly, as Kiri regained his feet and Myra shook her foot, which had fallen asleep. "It was so brutal."

"People can be like that," Kiri said quietly, apparently reflecting on his past. "We all have that side of us, but the good keep it under control."

"You were from his mine, weren't you?" Aryn asked, staring the wolf in the eyes. "You're the reason he was put to death."

"Likely," Kiri said, looking at his feet. "He was a cruel, vindictive monster, but I'm sorry to hear about his fate."

"You really are too nice, Kiri," Myra said, shaking her head in wonder. "Regretting the death of a slave driver. Your tormentor."

"You'd regret the death of your father, wouldn't you?" Kiri asked, looking them both straight in the eyes. "No matter how bad someone is, they are still a person. And if we do not feel empathy for them, we are no better than they are."

"How'd you know of the situation with our father?" Aryn asked, eyes narrowed. To his knowledge, they'd always spoken of that situation when Kiri was out of earshot.

"I listen," Kiri said, twitching his ears to make a point. "And I have really good hearing. I've heard everything. I know what you plan, Myra."

"And...would you be willing?"

"Of course," Kiri said, smiling at her. "And I'm sure my friends would agree. But only if Aryn wishes to come as well. You two rely on each other and I cannot-"

"I'll come," Aryn said, a new steely fire present in his eyes and voice. "Our father is a beast. A monster! I never wish to see him again."

"Very well," Kiri said, quirking an eyebrow at him. "I'll talk to the others."

"No need," Wraith's silky voice cut in. "We've already agreed."

The three of them turned around to see the other three, whom they'd all thought to be sleeping, staring at them. Ari had a large smile piercing her muzzle, while her brother had a slightly smaller grin on his own. That was unusual; Kytra was never outdone in the smile department. But it was genuine.

Wraith had her usual expression on, which was to say, neutral. But her eyes were dancing with a cheerful light.

"How could you agree in complete silence?" Aryn demanded. "And did you hear our whole conversation?"

"Ever heard of nodding?" Kytra asked sarcastically, his smile widening. "Well, we did that. And as for the whole conversation, Ari and I were awakened by Wraith to hear the last part. I don't know how much Wraith heard."

"Since Aryn mentioned about something being brutal," Wraith smirked. "You guys weren't exactly being quiet."

"Not being quiet? It must be Ch'kiliil hearing or some such. A sleeping Falskin would never have heard our conversation."

"Ah, but we weren't sleeping Falskin." Kytra chuckled.

"Regardless," Kiri said, glaring at Kytra. "You should gather your things, your most precious possessions. We leave tomorrow, no matter the rain."

"Very well," Aryn nodded. "We'll go pack. I can't believe it, we're finally leaving!"

"Don't automatically assume life is going to get better," Wraith warned. "It could get worse. Much, much worse."

"We know. We know..."