"Calamity!"

The sound of my name rings in the open air, echoing through the wintery valley, and as it reaches my ears, I do nothing but brush it off.

My boots sink into the freshly fallen snow, and the bitter wind sinks through my fur and into my skin. Running as fast as I can, a bitter anger resides deep within me, boiling my blood despite the cold world I'm trapped in.

I'm not quite sure where I'm going; only that I want to venture as far as I can from those wizards-wizards who think they're a step above everything else. Maybe if I could find my way, I would go home...but...it's been so long...I'm not sure…

The landscape is nothing but snow and mountains and the occasional tree. Now, the cobblestone path I followed to the castle is completely obscured by the endless hills of white.

"Calamity! Wait!"

A hand catches my wrist, spinning me around. The motion of me moving forward keeps my body moving in the same direction, and the weight of something (or someone) crashes into me, pushing me down toward the ground. My breath leaves me as I sink through a layer of snow, eyes squeezed shut as I let out a yelp from the force of the impact above me, I'm thankful that the soft snow is there to cushion the blow of my fall.

A warmth lays over top of me sharply contrasting the cold beneath. However, it leaves me quickly, and I open my eyes to gaze into familiar amethyst.

Valerian pants, his cheeks and nose flushed with pink from the cold. His white hair flecked with shining bits of ice and snow sticks up in every which direction, giving him a youthful wild visage. Hands buried in the snow on either side of my head, he looks at me first with panic and then relaxes. He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes and managing a small smile. "I caught up to you…"

"Yeah, I can see that," I mutter, looking away toward the mountains with a disdainful scowl. "Now get the hell off."

Eyes shooting open, the color on his face deepens as he scrambles to his feet. "S-sorry about that! Here, let me help you up."

He holds a hand in my direction that I can't help snickering at. "I'm fine. Leave me alone," I grumble as I too stand, batting his hand away. Honestly, I'm perfectly capable of standing on my own. Brushing myself off, I ignore the flabbergasted expression on his face and turn in the direction I was heading.

"Hey! Stop! Where are you going?" I can hear Valerian's footsteps behind me, following me like an incessant puppy.

"I'm going home," I reply sharply, throwing an annoyed look at the storm wizard close on my trail.

"Where is that?"

"Does it matter?"

"I think it does. You're from Avalon, right? What part?"

"Shut up and leave me alone!" I hiss, turning on my heels to bare my teeth at him.

He blinks in surprise at my outburst, stopping in his tracks to look at me owlishly. Taking in my words for only a moment, he then shrugs and crosses his arms. "I can't do that. You owe me. We made a deal. You're supposed to give me a chance to change your mind. Running away breaks your promise."

"I don't care. I'm not coming back to kill you. I've had enough of your face for one day!" I huff, glaring at him before turning my head away.

"Really? Enough of this handsome face? I doubt that. I think you're just in denial."

"De-Denial?!" What the hell is he smoking?! My head whips around, jaw slack at his bold statement. As if I would ever be attracted to his kind!

"Heh," he chuckles to himself, as if satisfied by both his statement and my reply. "Look, I'm just asking for a chance. Can we just start over?"

Start over?! What does he want: for me to try killing him again? I'm sorely tempted, but I hold my tongue as he raises his hand toward mine.

"Valerian Legendmancer, Storm Wizard from Ravenwood. It's an honor to meet you."

I sigh. What good will any of this do? I suppose that I could...humor him. It wouldn't hurt in any way, I guess. After all, I do have an agreement to adhere to, and for the time being, he knows how to leave this place and return to Avalon.

Tentatively, I give in and place my hand in his, shaking it gently. "Calamity Dragonbane, Knight of the High Road."

"The High Road? I remember it as a beautiful place," he comments with a small smile, shaking my hand in return before returning it to his side.

"Yeah, it is…" I mutter, my mind losing itself in memories of the red and orange leaves dangling above the fields of untouched green and the numerous cream-colored cottages lined along the cobblestone path leading to Caer Lyon. I can almost feel warm breeze of endless summer rustling my fur and the sounds of young badgers sparring as they train to become true knights of Avalon.

"I actually came from a world without magic before I came to study at Ravenwood," he comments, shrugging as he steps aside gestures in the direction I was originally running. "Would you care to join me for a walk?"

"...Fine…" I mutter, letting the information sink in. A world without magic? Does such a place truly exist? Instantly, I was drawn into my younger, curious self...during the days I spent with Agravaine. "What was that place like?"

"My home world?" He looks at me for a moment, and I nod at his statement. "Hmm...It wasn't much different from any world, I suppose. It was very diverse, as were the people. Of course, most looked like me, but the way we thought and acted was all very different. In fact, my people were constantly fighting with one another. Sometimes, I think it was the bickering and fighting that drove away any magic we might have had long before I was ever born. And because of that, we were closed off from the rest of the Spiral. In fact, my people were so closed minded that they thought they were the only ones in the Spiral."

"Really?" It's a scary thought...the fact that there's more than one arrogant prick like Valerian in the galaxy. Following him closely, I wonder where we're going. Are we simply walking aimlessly through the snow? It wouldn't surprise me. He does a lot of dumb things.

"Yeah. One day, a talking, walking frog comes up to me and convinces me to come to Ravenwood. Nine years later, here I am," he chuckles, shrugging and looking back toward me with a small smile.

"What about your parents? They were okay with you being whisked off to a strange, new world?" I ask, as I know that eventually he's going to ask me for my own life story. Although, I hardly feel like sharing it.

His smile fades, and he looks back to where he's walking. "I lost my family when I was very young. I had no ties to my world when the Professor took me to Ravenwood. I doubt there's anyone left that even remembers I existed."

"Oh...Are the rest of them from your world too?"

"You mean Angel, Mariah, and Scarlet?" he asks, and I assume he's talking about the other wizards inside. I nod. "Well, Cody, Vanessa, and I were still students at Ravenwood when we met Mariah. While Cody was originally from Wizard City, Mariah was actually a member of high society from Marleybone. Her family sent her to Ravenwood as punishment for her...choice of sexuality. She was-and is-a lot to handle at the time, but eventually she joined the group when we took off to explore Krokotopia. After we met Lily and Skeet, our team went to a place called Darkmoor. We met Scarlet there, a slave one of the many lords. When we defeated her lord, Mariah bullied her into joining. As for Angel, he joined our team when we went to Agrabah in Mirage. He used to be one of the biggest thieves in all of Mirage, and ironically enough, he fell in love with Scarlet and joined the team. Unfortunately for him, Scarlet wasn't on his side of the fence, if you know what I mean."

"Did you love her too?" I ask, as it seems as if everyone adores that secretly demented Death witch.

"I've always seen Scarlet as a little sister. So, yes, I love her…just not in that way. Angel had a thing for pretty much every girl on the team like Cody does. Now, he has his sights set on Vanessa, but no one has seen Vanessa since she retired as Wizard City's most distinguished Warlord for three ages. Rumor has it that she settled down somewhere in her home world of Polaris."

I'd rather keep this conversation going and keep asking questions than him return the favor. "Who's Cody?"

"Cody is a childhood friend of mine. We met on my first day of school and have been best friends since. He's a myth wizard. In fact, he's the one you met when you were locked away almost a month ago. Do you remember him?"

"Yes…"

"Yeah...He has a thing for any woman he sets his sights on. It lands him into trouble a lot; in fact, he really is just trouble. I've had to save his ass more times than I can hope to count. But that's what makes a good friendship, I guess. Heh, I remember the day he saw Vanessa in Ravenwood, walking down the street from her latest class. He basically started drooling when he pointed her out to me, and he bet twenty gold pieces that he could get her to go on a date with him. I don't know what he said to her, but the look of fury on her face was priceless. It wasn't soon after when she literally froze his legs to the ground, slapped him as hard as she could across the face, and then taped a sign to his back that said: 'Slap me: I'm a manwhore,' haha," he laughed, a carefree expression on his face as he walked alone one of the stone walls of the mountains surrounding his castle. "From then on, he asked her out every single day that semester. He was slapped so many times that I'm sure that to this day, he still has a handprint-shaped scar on his face."

"That sounds brutal," I comment; although, truthfully, I probably would have done the same. Men are sickening, perverted creatures.

"Yeah, but Cody usually just moves on to the next best thing when he doesn't get what he wants. He's flighty to say the least. He moves through lovers like a child with a bag of candy."

'Isn't that all men?' I wonder.

"What about you? Have you ever fallen in love?"

Crap. He asked a question. I should have been more on top with my own. I looked away from him, hoping that I can pretend not to hear his question and instead answer with one of my own. "So, what's your favorite color?"

Stupid. So stupid. Honestly, could I not have come up with a better question?!

"...Purple? Don't change the subject. You have to answer some of my questions too. Don't be evasive. It's not like I'm going to run through the Commons in Wizard City, spouting off all your deepest, darkest secrets," he points out dryly, raising an eyebrow at me.

"..." I lower my head, staring at my boots as they repetitively raise themselves out of the snow only to disappear again in white.

"Well? Fine. If you don't want to answer that question, I'll move onto something a little easier. What do you do for fun?"

"Fun?" I blink, tilting my head for a moment in thought. I haven't really done anything recreational ever since Agravaine's death. For so long, I've been so focused my training and on my revenge that I haven't done anything. "I...um...I haven't...done anything 'fun' for...a really long time…" I whisper, looking away as my cheeks heat the slightest amount in embarrassment.

"Truly? That's...awful...I'm sorry. What did you like to do, then?" he asks softly.

I pause for a moment in thought, reaching back into my memories oh so long ago. "I enjoyed training. It was my dream to be a knight…"

"But besides training? Is that all you did: train?"

"Sometimes Caer Lyon would hold extravagant parties in the town square in honor of our king. I enjoyed attending-the folk songs, the sound of the lutes, the dancing, the gambling, all of it," I recalled, lost in the memories. "I can remember…when I would watch Agravaine trying to charm a lady to dance with...when he would...eventually fail and end up asking me to dance as a last effort. The night would end with a bonfire...and everyone would take turns leading another song dedicated to the king and Avalon."

Valerian smiles, nodding as I speak and then finally adding on when I finish. "So, did you sing too?"

"Uh...um...Well...I-I-I'm by no means a go-good singer…" I manage, flushing as I look away. The topic of my singing has always been a sensitive subject. I don't consider myself in any way a decent singer. I'd rather sing with the whistle of my blade than anything.

"I bet you are. You have a decent enough speaking voice," he teases, elbowing me with a playful smile, and I cast my glance away. "You should totally sing something for my birthday this week."

"I...politely decline the invitation…" I bring out, swallowing bashfully as I reach up to subconsciously rub at one of my ears. "Your birthday, though...It's this week?"

"Yeah...Mariah is forcing me to throw a party. It's in two days. She's practically invited everyone from like...14 worlds...including those snot-nosed pigs from Wysteria…" he whines, rolling his eyes with a slight pout. It makes him seem much younger than he seems to be.

"How old will you be turning, then?"

"Uh...twenty-one, I think," he says slowly, eyes narrowing in thought. "It's amazing to think that I became a wizard nine years ago...Really...It doesn't seem like that long…"

I catch Valerian smiling slightly as he walks beside me, and he stops suddenly in his tracks. "Come here, I want to show you something." He motions for me to follow him, and he disappears between a crevice in the mountainside. I duck my head and squeeze through the crevice, scooting with my back pressed against the wall from the tight space. A bright light shines from the other side, and I wince as I finally step out and into something from a dream.

Bright green grass gently sways in the wind, flowers in full bloom and wafting delicate aromas into the air and thus into my nose. A river runs through the hidden plateau that is sheltered above from the wintery world by a mountain ledge. I step forward, blinking in awe as I watch Valerian walk toward a white bridge stretching over the running water. He pauses at the top with a cheeky grin and waves me on.

"Come on! You look like you've just tasted chocolate for the first time!" he laughs, a light and carefree sound.

Following him over the bridge, he leads me to a private gazebo, the pillars decorated with trumpet vines. The trumpet vines honk at my arrival, tooting their horns in a delightful song. It makes a small, genuine smile appear on my face for the first time in a while. They remind me of the trumpet vines back home…

I reach out to touch one of the flowers in awe and don't care of the looming presence of the Storm wizard behind me. Everything else seems to fade into the background as the trumpet vine toots happily at my touch, pressing into one of my paws for my attention. Another gets jealous, honking loudly, and Valerian laughs as he speaks up.

"They like you."

"Apparently so," I mutter as I reach out to the jealous vine, touching its petals gently as a whole chorus starts up in protest. I step back, containing a small laugh as I know I won't be able to give my attention to all of them.

"All right, all right! Settle down," he chides, wagging a finger at them as they all droop and eventually quiet down. The depression seems to loom in the air, and a small feeling of pity forms in me. Nevertheless, Valerian waves me out of that mindset, motioning for me to stand next to him as he leans against the railing.

As I approach him, I look over in awe at the beautiful spectacle before me. A large pond stretches out in front of us, covered in lily pads and tiny green frogs swimming and hopping about as they please. The crystal-clear spring water sparkles with light, almost like a there's a million diamonds beneath the surface. Cat tails sway like the grass and complete the picture of the beauty before me. I can't help but mutter, "Wow…"

"Yeah…" Valerian sighs, arms laying on the white railing and knuckles pressed against his pale cheek. "I like to come here to think...or really just to relax...When I'm here...it's like...just for a little while, everything seems okay-like the Spiral is at peace."

"For the time being, it is," I comment, and I know that it is because of the Storm wizard and his team. I can't deny that evidence, but at the same time, they did so at a steep price.

Valerian pauses, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. "Does that mean I already changed your mind?"

"No. Not even close, wizard scum," I growl, glaring at him for his audacity to think such a thing.

"But this is progress. We're holding an actual conversation with no attempted murdering or yelling or fighting," he points out with a small smile. "I'll take what I can."

"Hmph, whatever…" Although, he has a point.

"Calamity...who was your brother? What was he like?"

The question comes out of the blue and causes me to blink in surprise, and he doesn't look at me as his amethyst gaze is casted solely on the pond below us.

"...His...name was Sir Agravaine...one of the Knights of the Round Table and one of the most respected in all of Avalon. He was smart...kind...and very talented with a sword. He taught me everything he knew, even though I'm a girl. There aren't many female knights, you know. He would have given everything for Avalon…" I manage, and the topic creates a knot in my throat. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"...Don't think that I'm oblivious to the things I've done for the Spiral. I don't remember your brother. I don't remember what I did. It all blurs into the history of nine years. However, I know the pain of what happened and of what you feel is all too real…" He sighs, turning toward me with one hand on the rail and the other waving as he speaks. "For what I've done to you, and for what I may have done to many others around the Spiral, I am truly and humbly sorry. I can only ask for your forgiveness…Whether or not you can accept that, is not up to me."

I regard him for a moment, and the sincerity in his eyes is unquestionable. That fact alone causes unease in my stomach, and I turn my head away so that I cannot see it anymore. I will not allow for his smooth words to trick me. I am not gullible.

"Calamity...Look at me."

Reluctantly, I turn my head enough so that I can look at him from the corner of my eye. "Hmm?"

"I do not care what you decide to do to me at the end of this week-whether you decide to spare my life or not. However, I do care that when you make that decision, you can do so with no regrets. I've had my share of regrets; do not step into my shoes and follow upon the path of guilt. Trust me, it sucks."

He tries to let out a small chuckle at his last sentence, but I can sense the tenseness in both his words and his body. There's a certain pleading in his eyes, and I close my eyes in defeat and give a small nod. "I will take that into consideration."

"Thank you, Calamity," he manages with a relieved sigh, looking toward the setting sun in the distance. "Then, if you will excuse me, I would presume that everyone else is getting worried around now. Will you come back with me?"

I hesitate, looking toward one of the trumpet vines as a distraction. "I'm not quite sure I want to return just yet…" I don't feel like talking to that stupid Burrower.

"If you're worried about Skeet, I'm sure Scarlet already talked him down. But, take your time. Head back whenever you feel ready…" he says, bowing slightly toward me as he takes a step back. "Thank you for listening to what I've had to say."

Valerian turns around, heading out of the gazebo and over the bridge toward the crevice. As I pet one of the trumpet vines absentmindedly, I let out a small sigh.

I'm not sure what came over me, but the moment I saw the wizard nearing the crevice, something in me snapped.

What am I even doing?

"Valerian! Wait!"