Kai POV:

Skylor and I left as soon as we were able. "Hey," I said. She turned to me. "Thanks for helping me out back there," I told her. I never knew I would need to owe my life to anyone. Skylor smiled and said, "You would have done the same thing."

I was surprised. Would I have? I'm a ninja, which means I am supposed to never leave anyone behind. But Skylor didn't know me, and she rescued me anyway. I was glad and all that she trusted me enough to believe that, but I wasn't sure if I believed it myself.

We walked next to each other through the snowy forest. It was cold, just not as cold as I remembered it yesterday. I still couldn't use my powers. I didn't talk about the pain in my shoulder, because I didn't want to look weak. It wasn't too bad anyway (yeah right, Kai's totally fooling himself).

It was the faint roar of a Treehorn to our right that stopped us in our tracks. I pulled my hood on out of habit and darted my eyes through the trees. Last time I fought Treehorns, it didn't end well, and Zane had to unlock his true potential in order to save us.

"Where are they?" I said, back to back with Skylor. Her head darted back and forth. She pointed to a tree. "That one," she said. I was about to run to it when she held me back. "They don't want a fight," she told me.

I scoffed. "Yeah, right. I've fought those things before, and they seem pretty aggressive." I watched her form fire in her hand and throw it out at the creature. It fell on its knees, its ghastly head showing. I pulled my arm back to reach for a weapon, but I hissed when I felt the pain in my shoulder. I didn't have a weapon anyway. That was stupid.

"What do I do?" I asked her, ready to help in any way I could, but I was pretty much defenseless at this point. "Use this," Skylor told me, throwing me a short sword she had on the side of her leg that I didn't even notice was there before. I caught it and ran towards one Treehorn, swinging the sword at its legs. The monster screeched and tried to kick me, but I was much more experienced now than years ago.

"Look out!" I heard Skylor yell at me. I turned to see a Treehorn coming straight at me. It knocked me down to the ground. Suddenly, there was a huge gust of wind that blew it away before I could do anything. Confused, I turned and saw Skylor with her hands outstretched a long distance away. She ran to me and held out her hand. "Come on," she said. "We need to get out of here before more of them show up." I couldn't say anything, so I took her hand, and she helped me up. We both ran from the creatures. After we were sure they were nowhere to be seen, I leaned against what I knew for sure was a tree, trying to catch my breath.

"You okay?" Skylor asked. I looked at her and nodded. I couldn't say anything. "What's wrong?" she asked. She must have seen the confusion on my face.

"How did you use wind?" I said slowly. Skylor looked at me for a long time. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I can absorb elemental powers. I absorbed…" She came a bit closer. "You absorbed wind," I finished for her.

Skylor sighed, looking down at the snow beneath her feet. She looked hurt, with a vacant look in her eyes, as if she wasn't fully here. "Perhaps it's time you knew everything," she said.


10 years ago…

Skylor ran through the streets and dark alleyways, the footsteps not far behind her. "I'll teach you a lesson," the gruff voice yelled at her. Scared, the 8-year old ran harder, clutching the apple to her chest (I know, cliché, but it's the best I've got). She darted into a hole and scrunched herself in as much as possible, praying she wouldn't be seen. She saw the man's feet right in front of her. "I know you're here," the man yelled, gripping a baseball bat tightly. The girl didn't dare breathe, she didn't want to be hit by it.

There was what felt like a long time before his feet disappeared again. Skylor waited until his footsteps had ceased in the distance, then pulled herself out of the hole. She ran the direction she had come, turning to glance behind her. Suddenly, the breath was knocked out of her as she ran into someone. She was just about to defend herself when she noticed it was a boy several inches taller than her. "Woah, careful there," he said in a cheery tone. "Wouldn't want to knock over anything by mistake." Skylor looked up into his face. He had a young face with somewhat bushy eyebrows and long, messy black hair.

"What have you been doing?" the boy asked. When she didn't answer, he pulled her into a dark alley. He watched her paw the apple in her hands and grabbed it. "Stealing is wrong," he said. Without a word, he threw it into the snow.

"Hey!" Skylor protested. The boy smiled at her. "If you want to get food, there's a better way, and you don't have to break the law to do it." He took her by the hand and led her through alleyways. "Why are you helping me?" Skylor asked. The boy turned to her.

"Because I know how you feel," he said. "No one should have to be alone. What's your name?" The girl hesitated before speaking. "Skylor," she squeaked. "What's yours?" she countered, staring into his dark eyes.

The boy smiled. "My name's Morro, but you can call me your big brother."

DUN DUN DUN! Skylor has met Morro! Yes, I'm back, people, and with more than ever! I have few more plans for this story, so it's almost done. If you don't already know, I had had problems with my Wifi at home, and my school Wifi did not allow me to access this website, so it's been real difficult. My family is in Canada right now for spring break, and I am going to work super hard to finish this story during this time period, so keep watching for more chapters soon. Can you let me know if you guys want more Skylor and Morro? Morro, in this story, used to be a good young boy, which makes his eventual story more tragic. Please review and let me know what you guys want to see. Keep in touch with Ardhoniel!