Stok was the last to emerge from Larxene's portal, and the Beta kept stride beside the Nymph, Creena now bringing up the rear. Parting several bushes, the group was amazed at how such a massive dragon ranch could be established: it seemed that the forest served only as a rim for the lush fields, several dragons grazing the fine grass while others feasted on wild game. "I can't see any kind of building," Stok murmured, shielding his eyes from the garish sunlight. Next to him, Larxene bit her lip.

"We'll have to portal around then," the Savage Nymph said steadily, yet her mind was on anxiety mostly for Axel; what was he doing back at the Castle? How would Larxene recover him? Sighing inaudibly, Larxene opened another portal.

"Stay here," Axel ordered firmly, placing Roxas in Zexion's arms. The godfather raised a suspicious eyebrow, but Axel only told him, "I'll explain later, okay? I need to find Larxene." The glimmering sheen in Axel's emerald eyes was enough for Zexion to believe, and the Schemer sighed.

"Do what you wish," Zexion murmured, stroking a sleepy Roxas on his head. "I'm certainly not stopping you."

Axel nodded fervently, yet he paced back and forth, grabbing tufts of his flame-red hair. "I have no idea where she is, though," the pyrokinetic growled, tugging gently. "I have to find her and tell her I'm okay, and that I'm so sorry..." The raw urgency laced in Axel's voice almost threw Zexion off his feet; the Flurry Of Dancing Flames heaved a distressed sigh and cup his chin, eyes closed in deep, troubled thought. "I just can't shake the feeling that something's happened...," Axel finally murmured.

"Axel," Zexion said quietly; when he had the man's attention, the Schemer said, "Larxene said something about going to a dragon ranch to look into a hypothesis of hers..."

Axel's eyes widened. "The dragon ranch...," he repeated. Turning around and calling a portal, he said over his shoulder, "Thanks."

The godfather only blinked solemnly as Roxas dozed in his arms.

Wrath put his nose to the ground, sniffing experimentally; raising his head, his lips curled back into a low growl of frustration. Beside him, Lust flicked her left ear in while Greed licked his lips. There's no scent all of a sudden, Wrath wondered grudgingly. How did they do it? There's no sign that they somehow disguised it with the earth...

While Wrath pondered on this strange development, Greed took the open opportunity to walk back toward a bush, lush red berries glittering invitingly. Sniffing the substances, and upon seeing they were of no danger to him, the plump dog gorged into the bush, berries and leaves alike forced into his mouth.

Lust turned her head and bared sharp fangs at her feasting brother. Are you even TRYING to stay focused? she demanded, bushy tail swishing, gas-flame blue eyes smoldering in contempt. Honestly, SLOTH would have been more intent on our mission! When Gluttony only returned with a loud mumble, Lust growled and turned back to Wrath, who stood looking smug at her. What? she barked, irritable.

Isn't it just amusing?the hyena-wolf began, yellow eyes glittering. The sin of lust is found as enjoyable in most people. It leads them to seeking an excess of it, which is gluttony. We are all connected, but the sins of lust and gluttony, like greed and gluttony, go particularly hand in hand. Gluttony and Greed get along for the most part, but you, Lust, cannot stand your feasting litter mate. Wrath gave a fanged grin and turned his nose to the air, sniffing quietly once more, while Lust was left to simmer in a hot temper.

I still can't stand you, she said to Gluttony, who had found another berry-loaded bush. Through narrowed eyes, she whispered darkly, You will lead yourself to your own demise through your own excessive, trivial nature.

Wrath heard the quiet remark, and he slowly turned his head to look at the back of his sister's neck. Letting his eyes rest there, he pondered on what she had just said; if Gluttony were to lay out his own demise due to his innate nature of the glutton, then weren't they all subject to the same respective fate? How could his sister single out Gluttony alone for something like that? Did she think she was above the compulsion of her sin? Even Wrath himself knew he would fall every time to his sin, and he felt his mane bristling now as he look at Lust and her brief ignorance. Enough, Lust, the silver-and-black hound growled.

Lust turned her head, and suddenly her pale eyes widened slightly at seeing her brother struggling with his sin. She had done something wrong; had he heard her comment just now? Raising a tentative black paw, Lust whispered, I am sorry, brother.

Gluttony sensed the tension in the air, and stopped stuffing himself to look warily, open-mouthed, at the close pair. He dared not go near Wrath right now if he was fighting with his fury toward a litter mate. All of the hounds knew that only Lust would be able to calm Wrath; they had been particularly close ever since pup-hood. This connection wasn't due to the relation between the sins of lust and wrath; no, this was a mutually deep bond between the two as individuals. Lust had always been able to calm the silver-and-black hound because of this.

Gluttony just didn't know that Wrath was angered at Lust this time...

Wrath snapped his jaws in the air, a spittle of saliva slipping down. Enough, sister, he ordered. Turning back to the pasture ahead of them, he said to the winds, We must find the intruders as soon as possible. Let's go.

Lust and Gluttony obliged, but the fox past Wrath with a tender lick to his black ear. She did not mind that he did not respond the gesture, and she felt no fear that he was now at her back as they all raced across the pasture to the other stretch of forest where -unbeknownst to them- their quarry was on the move.

The Hound Of Wrath was still her most beloved brother.

Monty closed his golden eyes in thought, rubbing his temples; it had been a long session, but he understood everything, as well as why Jester would want his help: hell, one werewolf to understand another werewolf, right? It seemed to make sense in Jester's head, and Monty was the more sensible and rational of the two brothers... Sighing, the older werewolf said, "You know I'm not very fond of going out of world now..."

Jester's tri-colored eyes flashed with paranoia. "Please, Monty!" he begged, rising slightly from his chair to stare across the wooden table. "I came to you, after yearsof being cut off from each other! I ran away from home because I couldn't stand mother's favoritism of you, and you know that! But I was never mad at you... I'm coming to you for help... Please...," he whimpered.

Leaning back, Monty took a long look at his younger brother. "Jester... I just don't know if I can leap into the world you're talking about again..."

Jester's eyes glittered, and his mouth opened to protest, canine teeth visible. "You're not thinking about yourself or me," he suddenly said, voice quiet and solemn. "What are you so afraid of?"

Monty's eyes flashed. "You never knew," he growled, shoulders beginning to rise. "I never told you of my mate, nor the daughter we conceived..."

Jester gave a start, mouth slightly slack now. "What...?" he breathed. "Where are they? Here?"

Monty shook his head remorsefully, head hanging. "Lucia... was a werewolf that I met in this world, almost fifteen years ago. We fell in love soon after, and took residence here..." Here Monty looked up to his younger brother, eyes still steady. "A few years later we were blessed with a daughter, a beautiful child whom we named Miranda. You know how much I loved to travel, brother, being able to portal by birth. I was the same way, and thankfully so was Lucia until Miranda was born; we settled down for just a while after that. When Miranda was a year old, she started accompanying us. We traveled to so many worlds, and then we came to the very world you described..."

Tri-colored eyes glowing, Jester slowly reseated himself.

"I, as well as Lucia, had always had a taste for the dangerous... And on that cloudy night all three of us were traversing a spacious, empty alley unit. Suddenly Lucia dropped to the floor on all fours in pain; she said she felt the change coming on her... Oh, what a fatal mistake it turned out to be... We never checked if that world's full moon was present... When the clouds parted, I fell as well, and Miranda, who wouldn't have experienced her first change until she began to physically mature, was left standing in-between us."

"No...," Jester breathed.

"I beseech you to let me finish," Monty asked, eyes closed. "At that time, a gang of young men intercepted us. At the same time, our change was complete, and they reacted by attacking us with knives. We retaliated, unaware in our bloodlust that Miranda was in the crossfire." Monty's voice began to shake. "Soon they were all dead, and we turned to where our daughter had been, while still in our werewolf skins. All we could see were the bodies and so much blood, on the ground and on our muzzles; we could hardly distinguish who we were attacking... But Miranda was nowhere to be found..."

Jester's eyes wavered immensely as he heard of his older brother's terible loss.

Monty lowered his head and sighed. "Lucia blamed herself for not protecting her daughter. She believed it was her fault with Miranda... She couldn't take it... It was so overwhelming for her. Of course I had grieved, I still do... But Lucia just... It was as if she had died with Miranda..."

"Your talking in past tense still...," Jester said, now expecting the worst.

"I'm still speaking in past tense because two years ago, I found Lucia in a meadow at the center of our gardens, basked in the light of the full moon. It was suicide."

Jester's breath hitched in his throat. "I'm so sorry, Monty," the werewolf breathed. "I didn't know..."

Monty held up a hand, but his powerful shoulders had sagged. Running his other hand through hair black as night, Monty heaved a sigh. "It's just that... I don't think I'll be able to take going back..."

"I never thought you to be a coward," Jester retorted quietly. When Monty's eyes met his, he continued. "You need to put that behind you, as heartless as it seems. You must move on, for your sake. I'm not saying to just forget about that incident and return to how it used to be, but you can't let that hold you down..."

Monty let loose a struggled growl of pain, holding his head. "Jester..."

The werewolf rushed to his older brother's side, a hand on Monty's shoulder. "Come on, Monty...," Jester coaxed. "This isn't just for me, now. This is also for you..." Making Monty look at him, Jester held out his hand. "Will you come with me?"

Outside, the ravens cawed and took flight, obscuring the moon with fallen ebony feathers.

A/N: It was a long long wait, but here's the next chapter. Sorry for the lack of Organization in this one, but the juxtaposition will occur soon, probably the next chapter. Everything'll come together soon.