Kirin knew something was horrifically wrong by how he was walking: head down, hand to his eyes, and his pace was quick, as if he was trying to get away from something. She was under strict orders to remain inside her father's den. Mika was a big boy and leaving now would alarm them and make them put her under an even tighter watch. She had absolutely no intention on being left behind. Following him could jeopardize her ability to evade the guards her father put on her.

She heaved a sigh as she realized that she couldn't just leave him be, despite all of this. Mika had followed her to make sure she was okay when she was so distraught. Kirin could get some credit, even, from the chief by claiming that she was repaying her debts as soon as she had an opportunity. Maybe he'd see how important it was to her to be able to continue helping them.

Having justified it to herself, Kirin jumped off her bed and crept towards her bedroom's door. Quiet. Were the guards even out there?

Kirin very gingerly pushed the door open and peeked out. Yep. They were there. She shut the door again as she swore. There was no way she could sneak out that way, and this was pretty much wilderness; Mika could protect himself, yes, but what kind of tracking skill did he have? If he managed to get out of view of the village he mightn't be able to find his way back.

Another reason to go after him tucked in the back of her mind, Kirin went back to her bed and stood up on it. Getting the screen out might make plenty of noise, if she did it wrong, and Kirin wasn't known for her crafting skills. She was known for her fighting skills, being one of the best warriors her village boasted, before she had enough of her father and ran away the first time.

Regardless, Kirin just plain had to get out of that hut. She grasped the bottom of the screen, and pushed outward, holding her breath.

After a few seconds of pressure, the bottom of the screen popped off, and she clawed it frantically to keep it from falling out of her hands. Kirin got a firm grip on it, and pulled it inside. She stepped off her bed, shoved the screen underneath it, and then leaped back up on the bed.

She was out of the window and on the ground in short order; she took a moment to regain her bearings, and then snuck around the house and darted in the direction she saw Mika go. Kirin feared that he'd gotten too far away from her for her to track him, but as she made her way cautiously to the village's gate, she caught sight of him, walking straight past the guards. Too caught up in wondering why Mika was so distraught, the guards didn't seem to notice who the Woren girl following him was.

The girl waited until she was well past the guards to call to him. "Mika!" she yelled, once she felt she was far enough away. "Mika, wait!"

He paid her no attention. Kirin called after him a few more times, before choosing to save her breath and merely continue to follow. Mika headed right for the stream that Kirin had gone to; having only had real experience with Woren males, she wasn't sure how to proceed. Well, there were the men she interacted with at the inn in Wyndia, but they didn't count, they were so transient.

As she debated, Mika spoke. "They're planning on leaving you behind." Kirin murmured in anger, but he didn't give her a chance to respond to him. "Apparently, since you're pretty much royalty, your wishes don't matter. Only the village's opinion matters. You belong to them and you have an obligation to do as they wish. And I just wondered, does she realize who she's talking to? Is she seriously saying these things to me, of all people?"

"Mika…"

"I mean, what a load of rakda dung. And she knows better. She knows what that means for me. I can't believe she'd think that…"

Kirin came to stand beside him. "I'm still not sure what's up with you," she said quietly, "but tt obviously hurt. And I'm sorry. Royalty, as you call us, can be pretty damn insensitive."

"I'll say. No wonder you ran away. I would have too, if it'd been an option."

She looked back to the stream. "Now I'm curious. I know you know what you just implied."

"I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"But you obviously want to."

Mika didn't answer right away. When he did, he spoke cautiously. "Dark Dragons are treated like slaves. We barely have person rights. Not allowed to rape or murder us, but good luck getting such a crime prosecuted. It gets even worse when your parents refuse to acknowledge that the child is theirs. Now," he said, "imagine that you are a Dark Dragon born to a Light Dragon Prince of Dragnier."

Kirin had her hands to her mouth, staring at him in open pity and horror. "And Nina knows all this?"

He shrugged. "She's betrothed to Ryu. I have to assume she does. Law or not, it's not very becoming of the heir apparent to keep secrets from his to-be co-ruler."

"I suppose not. Mika, I… I can't even imagine. I thought she was, I don't know… a little more compassionate than that…"

"Oh, she's plenty compassionate. She's also passionate about her duties as a ruler and naive. Kind of hard to understand the conditions in the lowest gutter when you're used to being atop your ivory tower. I know she didn't mean it the way it sounded. I just…"

His voice trailed off, and Kirin thought that words simply failed the man at that point. It was tough to be understanding in those conditions and, while she didn't experience anything quite as horrific as that, she imagined that Mika probably didn't really want to be understanding. He probably just wanted to tell the princess off for her insensitivity. Kirin opened her mouth to tell him that she'd talk to Nina, if he wanted, and stopped; Mika's eyes were narrowed, squinting on the horizon. "Kirin. Do you normally experience large groups of anyone or anything passing through this area?"

"No," she replied, following his gaze. Her throat felt tight when she saw what he did. "We usually go weeks without seeing anything but a few monsters or bandits. Never a group that large."

"The Urkans followed us," Mika said grimly.

"How do you know it's the Urkans?"

"It's either the Urkans or the Dragons and either way, we're in trouble. The Dragons left us alone in Wyndia because they had a treaty with Wyndia. There is no such arrangement with any Woren clan and they will attack if we don't surrender."

"But you're the Destined!"

"And they don't care. We have to warn the village."

Kirin dropped to all fours and sped off as Mika followed behind at a jog. Halfway back, the Woren girl stopped and turned. "It's no good," she called to him. "They're going to catch up to us!"

Mika turned and cursed; sure enough, the troop approaching them was gaining on them fast, and Mika could now see the colors of the Urkan army, and two of the Guardians. "There's no way we can-"

His words were cut off by the sharp braying of a guard's horn; the village had seen the impending invasion. "Time to give them as much an advantage as possible," Mika said grimly, drawing his sword.

Kirin edged closer to him, fur ruffled and claws extended. Her tail flicked and her ears pressed backwards; Mika thought he felt the air change slightly, as it did when someone used magic. That feeling was confirmed when Kirin whispered something, and magic tendrils wrapped around the pair, protectively.

Only a minute later, the first Urkan soldiers reached them.

The battle was immediately furious and desperate, Mika and Kirin struggling to keep up to defend themselves. They quickly found themselves back-to-back, to keep their attackers where they could reach them. Kirin and Mika healed each other magically, as well as they could; his magic was better suited for such things, and so Kirin tried to focus her own on augmenting her attacks.

Desperately close to being overwhelmed, Kirin screamed, "Mika! You're a Dragon, right?"

"Not the time to play question games!" Mika hollered back.

"Use your power!"

"Are you out of your mind?" In ordinary circumstances, she'd be angry at the insult, but right now she was angry because that was clearly a 'no'. "I'd die before I transformed!" Mika yelled at her, breath short and spare attention shorter. "You would if I-"

Kirin yelped as Mika bumped against her, his words cut off abruptly. She snapped his name and looked back; a leering Urkan soldier stood now where Mika had been. Kirin screamed and cut the soldier down, stealing a glance at the ground. Her companion had crumpled to the ground, red staining the brownish-green of the prairie grass beneath him.

She roared in rage and grief, lashing out violently at her attackers. She was going to die. She'd distracted Mika too much and now he was dead and she'd be following him shortly, but like hell was she not going to take as many of them with her as possible!

A much louder roar shook her from her rage. Another Woren warrior leaped at one of Kirin's attackers and Kirin looked around, startled, realizing that the majority of the fighters surrounding her were her own people. In moments she was surrounded by her own kind, the Woren who had leaped to her rescue in the circle with her and Mika, weeping and repeating her name over and over again. Kirin's desperation-hazed mind cleared just enough for her to identify her savior: "Father…"

Mika knew headaches. One of Aldin's favorite targets, when he was a child, was Mika's head. He'd been knocked out by blows to the head many, many times.

But it was nothing like being hit with the broad side of a sword.

He groaned as he forced his eyes open; the light hurt him terribly but given his circumstances when he lost consciousness, he had to know what his situation was now. "Oh, thank goodness," a voice from beside him said, genuinely relieved.

Mika gingerly turned his head to look at his companion, a thick but snappy remark on his tongue. It died on his lips as his sight focused enough to see her clearly. "Dress?"

Kirin smoothed the skirt of her dress on her knees self-consciously. "Figured it'd be best not to make waves with events being what they were," she said, smiling hesitantly. "I mean, you almost died. Not that I think that Father would let someone die because he's mad at me, but there's no point in testing that theory."

He closed his eyes and straightened his head; looking at her hurt his neck. "I thought we were done for."

"Yeah, me too. They realized we were missing at about the same time they saw the Urkans and put two and two together. They almost didn't get to us in time, though." The Woren picked at the seam of her dress. "How do you feel? Do you want me to bring your friends? Just leave and let you sleep?"

"I want to just sleep, but I should talk to Ryu. I bet my brothers are fit to be tied by now, too."

She stood up. "They've been pretty good, actually. Little Ryu cried a little bit but once we convinced him you'd be okay, he settled down. Teepo was itching to go punch people in the shins, though." Mika laughed, the action hurting his head, as Kirin's smile grew. "I'll bring Ryu, though I don't think the kids should see you yet. I bet you'll be out cold again by the time I get back."

"Then wake me up," Mika replied with a sigh.

That was the last he knew until Ryu's voice calling him, telling him to wake up. When Mika managed to get his eyes open, his cousin said, concerned, "Hey. How're you feeling?"

"Like my head got introduced to a broadsword."

"Pretty much as you should, then." Ryu sat down where Kirin had been. "You had us worried, Mika. By the time the battle had cleared to minor skirmishes, you weren't breathing. I thought we'd lost you."

Mika grinned. "Yeah… like that would happen… You can't think that I'm not one of the Destined anymore, Ryu. Our chance meeting in Wyndia, surviving a battle I had no right to- that's got to be more than dumb luck."

Ryu didn't respond as he fixed his gaze on his hands, clasped in his lap. "Yeah… Nina would like to speak to you, if you're up for it."

"I don't think I am, not right now. I'm almost done with this conversation, in fact." Mika was getting very, very sleepy again. "Sorry."

"It's no trouble. She just wants to apologize for her insensitivity. She felt horrible, Mika. She just wasn't thinking when she said what she did."

"I know she didn't mean it maliciously," Mika replied quietly. "That doesn't change what she said, but I do want to talk to her. In a bit."

"Alright. I should let you get some rest, huh?"

Mika nodded, and closed his eyes, murmuring too quietly for Ryu to hear him. Ryu didn't wake him to discover what he was saying. If it was important, he'd probably remember what it was when he woke up.

Back in the main room of the hut, his two other companions waited anxiously. "He sleeps," Ryu told them. "I'm not sure when he'll be okay to travel again. We may have to leave him here."

Kirin flicked her tail. "He is welcome here for as long as he needs to recover and anytime," she said. "You all are."

"Indeed," said Leon, coming into the room. "I still have my daughter because of you all. Thank you."

"We probably still have Mika because of you," Nina replied. "If anyone should be giving thanks, it's us."

"Regardless, Kirin is right. If he must stay behind, he is welcome here. We will do everything we can to make him comfortable and help speed his recovery."

"Thank you," Ryu replied. "I suppose we should rest, too, and then start preparing to leave. We need to keep going."

"Please hold off on your preparations," Leon interjected. "I have some things I must think about and decide on before your departure. The results of this meditation may alter how you must prepare."

Leon left then, leaving the small group to wonder what exactly he was thinking about and how it could possibly change their plans.

The next morning, Mika felt well enough to get up and move around. All four of them were surprised by this; the decision to leave Mika or take him with was put off for a day. That day, he was able to entertain his little brothers for a few minutes.

The quiet on the prairie held; no further Urkan soldiers were seen. Everyone in the group began to relax as Mika healed quickly, except for Ryu. Nina thought him to be strangely displeased at how well his beloved cousin was recovering, and mentioned this in passing to Leon, who smiled. "He hoped Mika would need to be left behind. He's in less danger with us."

The whole week, Leon watched them. He watched Mika and Ryu. He eavesdropped on the conciliatory talk Mika and Nina had. He paid attention to how Kirin played with little Ryu and Teepo to keep them occupied.

When Mika had made a full recovery, he, Nina and Ryu sat together, discussing their plans. Leon, again, watched from a distance as Kirin flitted around, helping them to plot their course through the prairie, going to make sure the clan could provide provisions, kept the children busy while the adults talked. She made no effort to hide how sad she was as she went about her business.

Finally, when the conversation turned back to how much food they would need to get them safely to Dragnier again, Leon intervened. "You're planning to bring too little," he said quietly, padding into the room and flicking his tail as he went.

All four of them seemed surprised by his intrusion. "Sir," Ryu said hesitantly. "All due respect, of course, but we agreed that you shouldn't send any of your warriors with us, in case the Urkans attack you again. I don't think that danger has passed."

Leon grinned toothily. "I'm sure I can spare at least one warrior. Although I haven't asked them yet, I wanted to know what you thought."

At this, Kirin spoke up. "Father, really… we had many casualties in that battle. We'll be crippled if the Urkans attack us again if the injured are not healed by then. We need every warrior we have."

"Truly? We had a few skirmishes while you were gone, daughter. Regardless of how impressive your performance was, I do think we'd survive without you. The Destined need you more than we."

They all stared at him, mouths agape, and Leon laughed. "Well?" he prompted. "How do you feel about our Kirin joining you as a representative of our tribe?"

Ryu nodded. "Yes," he said, solemn. "We would be honored for Kirin to join us once more."

"Oh, Father!" Kirin cried. She threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Leon put his arms around her awkwardly. "There is no need to thank me for doing what I should have from the start. You've proven capable of handling yourself. I was just too proud to see that. I'm sorry."

Over in the corner where the children were keeping themselves busy for the moment, little Ryu watched the adults curiously. He was the only one who saw the shadow fall across his older cousin's eyes. Ryu was near desperation- it was very, very carefully controlled, and Ryu smiled with the rest of them, but it was there.

Kirin was nice and she was strong. Little Ryu was happy she was coming with them. So why was his big cousin so scared?

Alexandre looked around him, cursing softly. He had little choice when he made the decision to become human, but as a human, he was ill-equipped for this particular task. Healing dying Dragons was draining.

He stood, having done everything he could for the young woman at his feet, leaning heavily on his staff. He wiped as trail of sweat from his temple, intending to only stop long enough to catch his breath. Alexandre was completely immune to the disease that had gripped Caer Xhan- and therefore his reason for choosing to come as a human rather than a Dragon- but his compatriots had their hands full without a human cleric collapsing from exhaustion.

That said, right now, they couldn't spare his efforts, either. At the rate that this epidemic was killing Dragons, Caer Xhan wouldn't have any left within days if it was left uncontrolled. No one of Draconic blood was permitted to enter or leave, but they didn't know if other species could carry it.

The current rumor was that Ladon had sent this plague because the Dragons had displeased him somehow, and that Myria had finally convinced him of how dangerous the Dragons really were. Those statements were absurd, but a growing number of people in the city- including Dragons- believed it. It was far more likely that Myria herself had engineered this disease, in Alex's opinion. Everyone knew that the vast majority of the scientists in the Skystation were Myrians. Alex just didn't know why the King hadn't outlawed Myrianism, since it was no secret that Myria had it out for the Dragons since the beginning of time.

Then again, there was really no humane way for a nation to outlaw a religion. What were they going to do to the citizens of the Draconic nation who were Myrian? Force them out of the country? Force them to go underground if they wanted to practice their religion? All that would do is fuel hatred. The world had already done that far too many times.

"Brother Alexandre!"

Alex turned to the sound of his name being called, and bowed slightly to the speaker as he approached. "Father Agravaine," Alex replied, respectfully, as the Ladonic priest bowed back.

"How are you holding up?" the priest asked him.

Alex held back a tired sigh. "Fine. I just wish I could do more."

"You are doing plenty, child. Plenty. You look fatigued. Maybe it's time for a rest, hm?"

The cleric shook his head. "No, I'm fine. The longer I'm out, the less time a Draconic cleric has to spend exposed to the disease. I can continue."

The priest wrung his hands. "Oh, dear me, Brother Alex. I beg your pardon, but are you sure? After all, if you make yourself ill from exhaustion, you won't be much help later. It is much better to ensure that you remain healthy."

Alex smiled. "I am fine, Father Agravaine," he reiterated. "I know my limit, and I don't intend to cross it. I give you my word."

"Very well, Brother, very well. Return to the church if you need any supplies or such."

"I will, Father. Thank you."

"Ladon bless you," the priest said emphatically, meaning it from the bottom of his soul. As the man walked away, back towards the church, Alex's smile faded and his gaze turned to the south. "Hurry, Ryu," he murmured. "There isn't much time left."