It was still a long walk back to the outskirts of the park, but try as she might, Lightning couldn't quite shake the trembles from her stomach. Even when she looked over at her friends, carrying on as if they had always done so, she still felt the sheer strength of the echoes, fluttering about within her mind.

Yeul was strolling beside her, and when she spoke, it was quieter than before. "I wonder how much things have changed since I've been gone..." Her arms were drifting down at her sides, and she was staring out over the glittering cityscape, taking it all in at leisurely pace. "These buildings, they're so..."

Noel spoke up from slightly ahead. "Impressive, huh?" He moved over to walk beside them, hands in his pockets.

Yeul began to nod. "You really don't focus on stuff like this, even when you're... Watching." She glanced over towards where Vanille and Serah were talking, just ahead, only slightly out of earshot. "But it does feels good to be back in action."

After a moment, Noel's shoulders went tense. "We do have some things to catch up on, don't we?" For a while, he stared over at Yeul as if she might slip away at any moment, to fade back into the realm she had been residing in for so long. "...Maybe not now, but once you feel situated again, I'd like to know everything that went down, back then, same with right now."

Yeul glanced back at him, and slowly, she began to nod. "Count on it."

Lightning began to look away from the pair, urging herself a bit to catch up with the rest of the group. "Hey, Hope... How's the arm?"

Hope turned to face her with a smile. "Light, don't worry about it..." He lifted his arm up between them. "It doesn't even sting anymore."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, and she leaned in to examine the makeshift bandaging, but after a moment, she nodded at him. "Just keep me updated on it." Slowly, she began to look back at the sidewalk, and then over at the nearby patch of green beside it, which led out into the low, hilly fields of the park. "Are you ready to head home?"

After a moment, Hope nodded. "This place wasn't really like I thought it would be." His gaze drifted up, traveling along the outlines of the massive, towering skyscrapers, and then back down, towards the smaller, yet imposing buildings below, until he was finally looking back at the distant forest, which slumbered just within the middle of the park. "All the stories I've heard... They all say different things, but nothing like this."

Lightning glanced at the ground. "I know what you mean." After a moment, she looked up to see Serah waving at her from just up ahead. "But it does remind me of when I was a kid." She slowly began to wave back. "There was always something different around every corner, and everything felt so... So new."

"Hey, Light!" Serah skipped over to stand beside them. "Has Vanille told you about the festivals that they have here in the park?" Her aura was shimmering, rippling in place. "We've got to come back sometime soon and go with them, okay?"

Lightning took a long moment to examine Serah's expression, and for a moment, it was almost as if she were looking at her sister as a mere child once again, begging her to come along and look at something that she had found. "...We'll talk about it."

Serah tried to calm herself, slightly, before she turned around to look at Fang and Vanille, who were standing closer to the edge of the park. "I mean, they did sort of invite us... It'd be rude to not come visit them at least once in a while."

Lightning fought the sudden urge to sharpen her own tone, to speak out and remind Serah of their lone, little village, and of their responsibility towards its people, but when she saw the way Serah was staring at her, so genuinely happy, just to... Exist, and to be standing there beside her, that Lightning merely began to nod, and walk forward again.

Fang gave them a tiny wave. "Everything alright over there?" She was leaning against the metal barrier that separated the field from the sidewalk, twirling a set of car keys in her hand. "Looks like a clear night, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting back."

Lightning walked up beside them. "I want to thank you for helping us today." She looked over at Vanille, and then down at the pearly, folded staff that she had clipped to her belt. "Hey, talk to your aunt about that, okay? And everything else that happened back there."

Vanille nodded. "I will." She began to smile, despite the somewhat distant look in her eyes, as something within them had been slightly shifted. "Fly safely, okay?"

Fang nodded as well. "Yeah, can't have you end up getting pancaked on the side of a skyscraper, now can we?" She leaned forward to nudge at Lightning's shoulder. "But seriously, get home safe."

Lightning could only watch when her own aura began to move, bracing itself for when they made contact, and for a moment, only a moment, she could see the sharp, jagged outline of Fang's figure curl out and change, reacting to the link between them.

"Hey, you okay?"

Lightning blinked. "Yes... Sorry." She shook her head. "Just a little tired after all this." Lightning looked back over her shoulder to see that both Noel and Yeul had somewhat caught up with them, but were lingering back slightly, gazing out over the park. "Hey, Noel."

He looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said before, no overdoing it." She narrowed her eyes, looking at the side of his waist, where she knew that his wound still stood, despite the way he was standing. "You tear that open, and you really will need to find an actual doctor."

Noel quickly nodded, and gave her a short salute with his wrist. "Loud and clear, ma'am."

After rolling her eyes at him, Lightning turned back to look at Hope and Serah, who were standing just beside her. "Time for us to head home." She quickly reached out to ruffle her hands through the hair atop both their heads, but before they could formulate a protest, she was off, deftly ducking down beneath the railing, and then out into the fields below.

She ran without stopping. only glancing back to wave at the group they had left behind, and for a moment, Lightning swore that she could see Noel's wings. One was braced against the metal barrier, beside where he was resting his arm, while the other was wrapped around Yeul's, which were a much softer blue in comparison.

And when Lightning looked to the side, to where Fang and Vanille were standing, she could still see their own, brightened auras, one black, one orange, swirling out into the darkened, yet luminous city night.

She tucked her head down, running beneath the cover of trees, before her own wings snapped out into the air, sending her aloft.

A lone figure paced the narrow, silent streets, and in the dead of night, his only obstacles was only the occasional wandering drunk, or perhaps the stray cats that crossed his path. There was one that lingered, staring up at him with a look that made him chuckle.

It was a tawny creature, small and thin, likely from having to rely on wild rats, or whatever else it could find in the garbage.

The man knelt down, speaking softly, with his hand outstretched. "Hey, you. Notice all the commotion today?" He watched as the cat slowly began to approach him, until finally, it had nosed at the tip of his fingers. "Something like that's gonna make for one weird report, isn't it?"

The creature mewled at him, but after a moment, it had disappeared into a nearby alleyway.

"No time to chat?" The man rose back up to his feet, continuing on his way. "Much less talkative than I remember..." He almost laughed under his breath, but upon sight of a low, nearby doorway, and the swinging sign above it, he thought better of the idea.

When he pushed himself though the doors, the varying scents of food, alcohol, and somehow, something entirely different began flood his senses. "Some things, on the other hand..." He slowly began to walk forward, taking a seat at the end of the bar. "Never change."

It was a short while before the back door swung open, but soon, a familiar face had entered his line of vision. "Amodar, you old devil..."

Amodar grinned as he walked up behind the bar, sliding an empty glass across the countertop as he did so. "Damn, boy! It's not every day we get visits from our good friend, officer dandy..." He clapped at the visitor's shoulder with a low, barking laugh. "Rygdea! Where've you gotten off to lately..? Having too much fun with the boys in blue to remember little old us?"

Rygdea nearly snorted under his breath. "You know where my loyalty's at." He reached out for the empty glass, but Amodar blocked his hand.

"Hey, you on duty?" There was a small twinkle in Amodar's eyes, keen as a lofty hawk. "I can't imagine that you'd take time out of the blue for recreation... Not these days, at least."

Rygdea stared back at him, matching the challenge in his gaze. "Came here to speak with you, actually." He slowly leaned forward in his seat, resting his right arm against the counter. "Real interesting case, today..."

Amodar reached aside for a translucent bottle, one with a dark, amber liquid inside.

"We got a call about what sounded like normal gang activity; guy was running for his life in broad daylight." Rygdea watched the swirl of alcohol pour down, touching against the bottom of the cup with a quiet gurgle. "Dispatch rolled out fast, but strangely..." He reached for the glass. "By the time I got there... Case was declared, at least temporarily, null."

"Wonder why that could be..." Amodar slowly poured a glass for himself. "Well, I'm sure forensics had a good enough reason."

Rygdea took a short swig, savoring the fiery sensation upon his tongue, seeping down into his throat, and the warm, tingling sensation that began to swirl about his veins. "The place was a bloodbath, but we no body... Found a couple strands of hair, some of it even viable for testing." He leaned back again, turning the cup between his fingertips. "But none of it was human."

"...That would be out of the ordinary." Amodar smiled into his drink, despite the look Rygdea gave him. "Been a while since I've heard anything like that."

Rygdea narrowed his eyes with a quiet growl. "I can't keep them off your tail forever..." He lowered his voice, glancing around at the other various patrons of the bar, but nearly all of them were either asleep, giggling to themselves, or flat on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm serious, Amodar."

"Well you know... I was actually gonna call you, earlier today." Amodar tugged up a rolling stool, and he took a seat, leaning to the side. "Misplaced a little trinket of mine, but it all turned out to be internal affairs, you know."

At the other end of the bar, a young man who had been clearing tables glanced away, but the woman sitting nearby him did nothing to hide her stare, gazing out at both Amodar and the mysterious newcomer.

Rygdea lowered his voice even further. "Seraphim, Amodar? Are you serious?"

"Easy now..." Amodar kept his voice low as well. "We're all friends in here, if you've forgotten."

For a moment, Rygdea stared back at the woman who had such sharp, green eyes, but he made no move to stand up from his seat, instead glancing back at Amodar. "All I'm saying, is..." Carefully, he set his drink back down on the counter. "If you don't make trouble, there won't be trouble, and if I ever have to compromise my cover, so be it... But you are not as crafty as you think you are."

Amodar slowly nodded. "Nobody is."

The sky was black as pitch beyond the outer layer of clouds, and when Serah glanced down at the air below her, she found that she could no longer see the land below, only a mass of gray, churning mist.

"Won't be much longer." Lightning flapped her wings against the strong winds, squinting to see the position of the stars up ahead. "I do know this route pretty well, but sometimes the shard drifts a bit..."

Hope kept close to her side, beating his wings onward with all the strength that he had. "Hey... I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up this pace." Lightning could see that was panting slightly, but she couldn't tell if the liquid on his face was sweat, or simply residue from their flight through the clouds.

Serah called out from just up ahead. "You're doing great!" She pointed off into the distance. "Light, you can kind of feel it, can't you? I think that's the gravity field."

Lightning nodded. "You won't be able to see it though, not until we're right up on top of it..." She suddenly narrowed her eyes. Above the rush of air beside her ears, she caught hold of the distant, almost warbling of something... Mechanical.

Before she could call out a warning or even brace her wings to halt herself, a blinding ray of light shot out from within the hazy atmosphere, illuminating the three of them.

"Serah!" Lightning shouted, reaching out, until she had finally found purchase on her sister's shoulder, and she tugged with all her might, hurling Serah's flight path out and away from the beam. "Hope, where are you?!"

"Light?!" Serah called out at her from somewhere in the distance, but even when she squinted, Lightning couldn't quite see her through the brightness.

"Serah, just fly!" Lightning felt her own eyes squeeze shut, but she soon forced herself to open them slightly, just enough to see where Hope was; his wings were drifting, gliding himself along the lower currents of air. "Follow her, Hope! I'll meet you both over at rendezvous four!"

Hope's eyes went wide with recognition, and he nodded up at her.

Lightning's wings went taught, folding in on themselves, and her lips parted with a snarl when she turned to face the gathering light. "Long time, no see..."

The airship passed through the clouds with ease, rumbling on with both a deafening peal of sound, and constant vibrations, which her to the core.

Lightning saw Serah's departure from the corner of her eye, and she nearly smiled at the lithe, practiced grace that she used to accomplish it.

She lowered her voice to whisper. "Odin..." Lightning suddenly flapped, spreading out her mighty wings to each side, before her gunblade materialized, resting just within her open palm. "Let's hope you aren't rusty."

At the top of her back, her aura swelled, focusing itself around both her upper limbs and feathers, until they were almost completely hidden by the bright, swelling glow.

The ship groaned to a halt, shifting to a steady hover, before the mechanical sounds went dim, echoing quietly across the clouds.

"Sergeant Farron!" The voice boomed out over a speaker system, and she could only just catch sight of the figure who stepped out onto the bow. "We will accept your immediate surrender."

She slowly grit her teeth, then flew.

The man with sharp eyes, and a cold, lengthy sword was staring back at her. "...Never one for taking the easy route." His own feathers snapped against the wind, nearly as silver as the steel in his blade.

Lightning rose up, illuminated by the wide, blinding headlight, but she hovered for only a moment, before her wings swept down, and she dove straight for the airship itself.

Steel raised against steel, Rosch hissed, launching himself right into the impact, but Lightning snarled back, flaring her wings out with a sharp, mighty flap.

The steel screeched against its equal, sliding, grating, screaming until it all went still, and they were left with locked, silent blades.

"Sergeant Farron..." Rosch had braced both his arms into the clash, halting her blade with his own, which resting mere inches from either of their faces. "Now that's a face I haven't seen in many years."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Nice scar." With a glance towards the blooded mark on his forehead, she gripped tighter along the handle of her gunblade, refusing to relent from her first, furious strike. "Shame I didn't give it to you."

Rosch almost laughed, but when the sound caught in his throat, he glanced back at the rush of assembling soldiers, who began to gather all around them, weapons raised. "Your teeth are not as sharp as you think..."

Lightning kept her gaze locked on his, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. "My talons are."

His eyes almost seemed to flicker. "Lower your weapon, and you have my word... We'll take you and your people in alive."

"I'm not going back there." Her wings rose up even higher, and her muscles strained, pushing the clash of their swords down with all of her might. "None of us are... What happened to 'never surrender'..?" She let out a harsh, yet quiet laugh. "Gone with the rest of Cocoon?"

In one fluid movement, Rosch had disentangled himself, and without another word, struck down against her blade once more, and then again, again, until they were both trading blows without pause. "You are the last person to speak of such things..." He let out a ragged hiss when the soldiers started to approach, and he lurched forward with a savage, upward strike. "Stand down!"

The troops themselves soon slowed to a halt, but Lightning's frenzied melee went on, clashing and searing down against his own weapon, one strike for another, until finally, he had landed a single blow across her shoulder.

Her eyes went wide, but she didn't hesitate for a single moment, blocking yet another strike from the side, before she ducked back, only to swipe forward with the end of her blade.

Rosch felt the fleeting sting, and then the sudden, heart-dropping sensation of the thick, reddened liquid that had trickled down across his upper chest.

He could still hear as Lightning shouted above the oncoming din, as the soldiers took that moment alone to disobey orders, charging out across the bow and into her line of fire.

She spun fast, slashing, lifting out her wings to blur at the air around her, blinding them with a flash of incredible white, and red, thick, flowing red...

With a pale, shaking hand, Rosch reached up to clutch at the side his neck, on the wound so carefully placed, as to only slit part of his throat, and yet it bled, pouring on without pause, seeping out from between his tightened, calloused fingertips.

His thoughts drifted, then, back the child no taller than his shoulders, staring off into the distance despite the near-constant, yet quiet scolding.

"...Ceasefire." Rosch slowly rose to his feet, but he could only gaze through the frenzy of both armor and steel, beneath the constant, rapid cover of gunfire, smoke, and each white, blooded feather. "CEASEFIRE."

Without pause, she scrambled out across the deck, firing off a final, deafening shot into one of the upper propellers, before she had dropped, disappearing into the endless, inky dark.

The thick, leafy thicket rustled with each and every step they took, but the wolves that flanked them made barely any noise at all, creeping about over the darkened forest floor.

Snow reached up to bush a branch away from their path. "Are you sure she said point four?" He kept his voice as low as he could possibly manage. "That's one hell of a distance to go, especially after all this..."

Serah kept at his side, and she soon stood up on her tiptoes, peering out over the mass of tangled branches and shrubs. "I'm positive." She shivered once, and pulled her jacket tighter. "She... She told us to keep going; it sounded like an order."

"I think she wanted to get you guys out of there, out of danger." Snow's jaw suddenly went tight, and after a moment, he forced himself to breathe deep. "An airship... It would've had to have been one of PSICOM's." He held back a low, rumbling sound. "Had a run in with them today, myself..."

Serah walked on, holding her bow at the ready, but after a moment, she lowered it, tapping at the curve with her fingertip. "Mog, we could really use your help."

Nix lifted her head from a patch of nearby shrubbery. "Hey." Her nose began to twitch, and her eyes turned towards where Mog had just appeared, standing tall. "Sniff?"

Mog looked down at the lithe, canine figure, before he lowered to all fours as well, nostrils flaring. "Yeah."

Slowly, Nix wagged her tail. "Race?"

"Hey, we're looking for Light, not goofing around!" Snow pointed at the woods. "You can run ahead if you want, but don't stop looking."

Nix had raced off in an instant, and Mog soon followed after her, trailed by Stiria at the rear.

Serah reached up to push through the branches ahead of her, but the air in her lungs seemed to grow almost frigid, and her stomach began to lurch. "She's... She's gonna be alright."

Snow followed on beside her.

"She will be." Serah clutched at her own hands, shaking her head back and forth. "She... She's just too-"

Snow walked forward, silently, and he pulled her into a steady hug.

"She's always..." Serah tried to fight back the moisture from her eyes, refusing to let her voice break. "She always does this, Snow!"

He took a deep breath, and whispered. "...I know."

"She... She just takes it all, and gets the crap kicked out of her, and-!" Serah bit down hard on her bottom lip, shaking her head where it was pressed against Snow's shoulder. "I... I must've aged a hundred years, just worrying about her."

Snow chuckled at that. "You don't look a day over two thousand."

Serah gently punched down against the center of his back, and she narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to wear a smile that could have just as easily turned into a sob. "We have to keep moving..."

He nodded. "Hey, we could try to fly above the trees while the sun's still down." Snow leaned back, and with his thumb, reached out to brush away the liquid from beneath her eyes. "We'd just have to climb."

Slowly, Serah looked up at the winding, towering trees, and after a moment, she began to move.

There was a small flicker, just beneath her nails, and as Fang leaned back against her armchair, curled up beside a warm glass of cider, she couldn't help but lift up her hand, staring down into the bright, visible veins, just beneath the skin that kept them safe.

"Fang!" Vanille's voice rang out from a nearby room. "What the heck did I tell you about not separating the laundry?!"

"...Sorry, must've been distracted!" Fang quickly glanced back at her fingertips, gazing down at the odd, yet almost welcoming thrum that was echoing on beneath. "Or I didn't bother, 'cause it's pointless."

"I heard that!"

"So shove it!" Fang almost chuckled to herself, but after a moment, her smile began to fade, and she narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the distant patterns that fluttered just beyond her line of vision.

"Fang, this is why!" Vanille had stomped in, holding up a pale shirt that had been stained with patches of both blue and green, but when Fang didn't even turn around to look at her, she hurled the shirt forward, sending it to fall across Fang's lap.

"Hey, are you able see much of yours, Van?" Fang kept on staring down at her hand, turning it over before her eyes. "I get these... Little traces, but I can't seem to make it show up when I want it to."

Vanille soon walked over, before she leaned down, staring at the curve of Fang's hand. "I can definitely see some of yours." She looked back at herself. "But wait, didn't Light say it was more of a... You know, a physical thing? It might not matter if we can see it or not."

Slowly, Fang shrugged. "...Guess so." She set her hands back down on her lap, closing her eyes, even when she heard the sound of Vanille walking away. "Mind if I take a look at those pictures?"

Vanille called out from within the hallway. "Sure, just try to keep them all together! I don't want to lose any."

After a long moment, Fang opened her eyes, and she leaned forward to pick up the stack of paper that was resting atop the coffee table.

With the various sketches in hand, Fang began to stare at the image of a tall, winged figure who brandished a firearm, of sorts, before she turned over to the next one, which showed two creatures in flight. They were very small, and quite fuzzy, but for some reason, they didn't seem to need wings to keep them aloft.

Fang began to set aside each sketch after she had fully examined it, but when she turned to the image of a familiar woman, one who was facing the horizon with her gunblade sheathed, Fang couldn't help but smile.

When she turned to the next picture, which held the image of Lightning in uniform, standing at attention, Fang wondered what sort of life she had led before the fabled fall. She slowly traced her thumb over the top of the image, before she flipped to the next page.

There, Lightning had her weapon unsheathed, but somehow, her expression was much less serious than before... Even though another swordsman was locked against her in an obvious combative stance.

Fang brushed her fingertips over the edge of the paper. "You're an odd one, Lightning..." She chuckled to herself. "But... What could've happened to that smile?"

The drawings offered her no reply.

Fang slowly reached for her glass, whispering something under her breath. "...Suppose I'll just have to ask."

The breath left her lungs in a sharp, keening wheeze, and she staggered, falling down to her knees, clutching at her shoulder and the side of her chest.

White feathers were drifting down along the damp, mossy ground, scattered slightly by the breeze, but many of them had been broken, or worse, severed in half, rendering them quite immobile.

She stopped to breathe, but the thick red mist began to gather within her lungs, until it was sent hurtling with a sudden cough. The dark liquid started to dribble down her tongue, into the edge of her mouth, pooling just beside her teeth.

Her body slumped forward, but she quickly reached out, gripping, grasping at the tall, jagged ferns, and then at the sloped, crumbling ground that lay there, just beneath her, until her hands could hold no more.

Breathless, flat on her back, Lightning simply stared, gazing out into what seemed like an infinity of jagged branches, twisting and curling among themselves, until the had grown so close... So intertwined, that they were barely discernible from each other.

When her wings cried out beneath her, she did nothing to fold them away, or even to move them sideways, she merely grit her teeth, and slowly, closed her eyes.

The wind began to whisper in her ears, down throughout her splayed, tangled hair, and she gently tilted her head, listening, feeling the immediate chill that swept over her body in waves, until there was a sound, something quiet, yet enough to rouse open her eyes once again.

He bore a proud, golden gaze, and a sweeping, silver crown.

Lightning stared up at the sleek, powerful form, and at the long, tapered feathers that lay streamlined across his sides.

"This could have been avoided." He blinked once, and slowly tipped his head to the side, gripping the branch below him. "You've become rather reckless."

Lightning opened her mouth to speak, but a harsh, wracking cough rendered her silent, spilling blood across her chin.

"...Is this what you want them to see?" He lowered himself, perched in a way that his shadow would completely shelter her. "The little ones... They'll follow you, even now." His voice went low. "Would you lead them to the very same fate?"

"I'm not... Dying." Lightning spat, baring her teeth. "I've had-" She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. "Worse than this."

"No, you're merely throwing yourself at the ground..." He began to step forward along the winding branch. "You might pick yourself up after, walk again, but it's grown slower every time... This punishment is needless."

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut. "I..." She reached up to cover her mouth, to wipe away the blur of scarlet. "I failed them, Odin."

The eagle stared back down at her, standing tall upon his perch. "Then do not fail again."

Nix trotted alongside the tree trunks with Mog at her heels, but after a brief moment of sniffing, she paused, lifting her nose even higher into the air. "Scent..."

Mog rose up on his hind legs. "It's Light?"

Nix inhaled, and her nose twitched back and forth. "Blood." Her muzzle brushed down against the tiny droplet, and beside it, there was a broken branch. "Light's."

From a short distance away, Stiria called out, barking into the frigid air. "Come here!"

Nix ran over immediately, followed by Mog, and before long, they were peering down upon the sight of a pale, broken feather, which drifted across the forest floor.

She was suddenly quite weightless, drifting soundlessly within the vast, infinite dark, and she could scarcely tell if her eyes were open or not.

There was the distant, yet deafening sound of steel, of screeching things, alive or otherwise, and the sound of desperate, battering blows, clashing back and forth, and back again, screaming against each other. It sent a shiver through her blood, as if she were really the one awake.

I'm not..? The realization came to her as a sharp, yet fumbling lurch, and her eyes flew open with a gasp. I'm not awake...

Thin, almost invisible bits of ice were scraping against her skin, gripping, grasping at the ribbon that swirled around her, black and red, repeating, again, again, until she was suddenly falling, wind searing at her face.

Beneath it all, her heart beat steadily on, counting each and every breathless moment, until suddenly, out of nowhere, she could see eyes within the dark.

Such sharp, burning things; they gazed out from far below, coiling, staring back into her own, with a strength she could barely comprehend.

Slowly, she held out her hand.

The lithe presence rose, and it darted out, racing to meet her, but with each soft, feathery touch that brushed out over her fingertips, up to her arms, she nearly froze at the sight of each long, glimmering talon, scraping into the darkness-

Her alarm clock shrieked.

Fang sat up with a shuddery jolt, gasping for breath, and for a moment, she could only shiver beneath the cold, lingering sweat, still reeling within the confines of her skin.

Across the room, at her windowsill, a few faint rays of sunlight were starting to peek in from the curtains, but her room was still dark, and the air was still cold... Far colder than the world beneath her covers.

Slowly, Fang reached up to rub at her eyes, and with a deep, shaky sigh, let her feet dangle over the edge of her bed.

The dry leaves rustled beside her ears, whispering on, speaking to her in an old language, one she could never hope to comprehend.

After a moment, her left wing began to twitch.

With a groan, she slid open her eyes, only to find that the night itself had been slipping away from her, fading back into the horizon.

The sun was slowly rising.

She fought away a shiver, then for a moment, she simply stared up into the trees, gazing at the empty perch above her. Her eyelids dropped, but when she felt a short, insistent flickering within her hands, she began to lift them.

The points were still sharp.

She began to flex her fingers, bending them down, mindful to not pierce her own skin, even if it was already cracked and blooded. She gazed at them, those gifts, hers, and hers alone... She slowly, carefully willed them away, back into her aura, alongside her wings.

Laying there, without a trace of her more avian features, Lightning stared up into the gathering glow, and she soon felt the slow, steady warmth of it drift down from between the branches, gracing her skin, below.

She could still hear the rustling, which was growing steadier with every passing moment, until suddenly, a large, fuzzy face poked itself out from within the forest. "Hey!"

Her gaze turned towards the wolf. "Hey, yourself." She closed her eyes again, breathing deep. "Just tell Snow I'll back in... Maybe a month or so." Lightning jumped, grimacing at the sudden, frantic licking at her cheek. "Hey-" She scowled, frowning. "Fuck, don't be gross!" She quickly shoved the wolf away, swatting at its muzzle with her hands. "His familiars just had to be these-"

The wolf barked at Lightning. "Snow!"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "...Yes, genius."

Stiria sat down. "Family."

After a long, silent moment, she started to lift her hand, hovering just between herself and the wolf, before it moved forward to nuzzle her, and slowly, Lightning began to stroke her fingers in between each tuft of fur.

"I guess we are... Sort of." Lightning curled her fingertips, and watched as each point, each talon began to reform, black as night, and as sharp as broken glass. "But you're still just a dumb pile of fluff."

Stiria wagged her tail.