Chapter Fourteen: The Shadow's Weapon

Boreas fell through smoke and ash, deep into the crevice in the Earth, the temperature mounting rapidly as he raced towards the boiling, exploding magma in freefall. When he saw a slight inlet a few metres below, Boreas didn't waste a moment grasping at this last straw: his mind lashed out at the scalding air rushing past him. A hurricane of ash and smoke blew against him, blowing him into the ingress. He landed hard on stone as hot as a furnace, and Aqua instantly fell on top of him, knocking what little air remained out of him. Two smaller impacts followed. Fortunately the earthquake was weakening, letting them climb off one another quickly.

"Run!" Boreas howled, quite unnecessarily as none of them enjoyed either the scorching heat or the rocks tumbling down the collapsing shaft. They sprinted, managing to keep to their feet despite the tremors and the pain of walking on the searing rock, as the entrance to the cave collapsed behind them, cutting them off from the shaft. The blockade of rocks didn't keep them safe from the erupting magma behind, though: barely a second after they fell, a thin squirt of high-pressure lava blasted through a crack, missing Boreas by two metres. The heat, which had just died down to non-painful levels, surged up, and Boreas' fur combusted spontaneously in a few places. He sprinted on, as the obstruction of boulders behind him was already starting to glow and molten rock was leaking through rapidly.

The agony of his burning shoulder and tail was soothed as Aqua extinguished the flames in passing. They left the magma and the worst of the heat behind quickly as the tremors stopped, and almost began to slow down to rest and soothe their burns and wounds. But that was impossible: they had to keep going, as these caves were filling up with deadly smoke rapidly. It moved a lot faster than the magma itself, filling up the dark caves where Larissa was the only source of light. They all tried to breathe as little as possible, as the toxic fumes were torture to their lungs. It wasn't long before everyone but Aqua was wheezing and coughing badly, their lungs and throats sore. There was no escaping it, and meanwhile the temperature was rising again.

Sofia stumbled and sank to her knees, choking on the smoke with loud, rasping coughs that included little droplets of blood. Larissa, of course, rushed to her aid, but was pushed away by Aqua, who heaved the Kirlia on her own back. Larissa shot her a filthy look, but it made more sense than a romantic gesture: the Vaporeon could hold her breath for five hours and didn't need to worry about keeping the flames on her back alight for them all to see. Unfortunately, the need for Larissa's flames was lessening: the glow of magma emanated from behind once again, the all-consuming river of destruction starting to catch up even though they were going back up to the surface. It was unbelievably heavy to run in the heat, unable to draw much breath. Boreas had no idea how long he could keep going before he too began to collapse and was incinerated by the magma.

The sound of rushing water ahead heralded the underground river rushing through the cave ahead. It came from the right arm of the split they encountered and flowed down into the left arm, into the depths of the Earth, dragging loads of sand and small stones with it. Aqua nodded and pointed upstream, so they began to half walk, half swim against the underground river. Larissa only entered the water with a shiver, and her flames dimmed quickly, but she too climbed against the rushing stream, their only possible saviour from the eruption behind them. It wasn't long before loud hissing and a hot, steamy wind from below came as the two subterranean rivers met each other at the split. They kept climbing against the rushing stream until, finally, the cave narrowed ahead of them. There was no more air, just a wall of rushing water that filled the cave entirely. Boreas sat down in the knee-height water, taking a deep breath of reasonably clear air as he contemplated in just how much trouble they were.

"The earthquakes and the cave-in must've diverted the river down here... All these caves will fill up with either magma or water soon."

"Then let's not stay here," Larissa said sharply. "Aqua, swim upstream and see if we can get out that way. Leave Sofe here for now."

Aqua blinked, a bit surprised to be commanded by Larissa. "Sure." She disappeared into the wall of water ahead while Larissa splashed some water on Sofia's face to try and wake her up.

"...I'm sleeping, don't want to go in bath... Oh, hi 'Rissa! Why does my throat hurt, why is there water, where are we?"

Larissa giggled and gave her girlfriend a tender hug.

"We're in trouble," Boreas said darkly. "She's taking far too long..."

Larissa looked up. "She's been gone barely a minute."

"Ever tried holding your breath for barely a minute?" Boreas asked. "It's surprisingly tough to do while swimming as fast as you can. But you'd take far longer: Aqua is a very fast swimmer, so if she's not back yet, it means there's a long way to go..."

"I'm going to try either way," Larissa said resolutely. "I'm going to swim up there, no matter how much water there is, and I'll take Sofia with me."

"You are?" Sofia said in a small voice.

Boreas rolled his eyes. "I wasn't planning on sitting around here until I either drown or burn to death either. But guess what? You can be as resolute as you like, but it's not going to help you breathe. If you want to survive this, you'll need to be smart, not just tough."

Larissa scowled at him, and once again he felt like a nervous little Eevee, intimidated by those fierce steel-grey eyes. "Then why don't you think of one? It's your fault we're down here in the first place."

"My fault?" Boreas asked incredulously, as the caves shook with a little aftershock. "My fault? My fault? Yes, I blew us into these caves, but only so we wouldn't get a dive into the magma!"

"M-maybe we should discuss this later..." Sofia said, a little quivery.

Larissa ignored her. "Yes, your fault. You brought us to Lazarle in the first place. You were so sure you tricked Lubyanka, you never even considered she might be tricking you!"

Boreas scoffed. "My dear young lady, I haven't been tricked-"

Larissa imitated his scoff and voice. "My dear old gentleman, she sent you on a wild goose chase to the other side of Fournaria and tried to kill us with an earthquake when we fell into the trap!"

"I don't sound anything like that," Boreas said coldly, "and what you haven't picked up on, is that someone must have known we were in Lazarle right now to spring the trap."

Larissa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

"No, it's not. Lubyanka knowing we were going here wouldn't be enough. Sure, they might estimate our travel time, but it'd be a big gamble. Far too easy for us to arrive the day before or after the earthquake. Yet it happened within an hour of our arrival. Someone must have spotted us in the last day or so, and warned Diego to start the quake."

"So?"

"That means the actual hideout must be nearby," Boreas said self-assuredly. "If anything, this confirms what Lubyanka said was true. We've just run into some defences, that's all."

Larissa glowered. "Don't you ever admit you're wrong?"

"Only when I am," Boreas replied, "so not all that often, no."

Larissa seemed about to shout, but Sofia cut in, her voice rather high and overly-cheerful. "So, guys, that earthquake, hmm? Any idea what c-caused it?"

Larissa's stern face mellowed into the remarkably sweet and loving smile she reserved for Sofia. "Well, you're the scientist. What do you think?"

Sofia frowned and wrung her hands. "I don't think it can be natural. The coincidence is too great, the quake too strong, and the location isn't likely to produce an earthquake."

Boreas rolled his eyes. "You really are brilliant at kicking in open doors."

Larissa snarled. "Don't make fun of-"

"It's alright, 'Rissa," Sofia said, blushing a little. "Although, we should consider that crazy coincidences sometimes happen. A one in a quadrillion chance will happen one in a quadrillion times, and if one just happens to b-befall you, it's all too easy to assume it can't be a coincidence and jump to wrong conclusions. Still, I think we should assume someone caused this... I don't think anything artificial could produce the energy required for a quake this powerful. So that leaves a very powerful legendary pokémon..."

At that moment, Aqua emerged, her head popping up out of the foaming water with a frown. "I found a way out, but it's far away. I can take you there one by one, I think, but you'll have to hold your breath for a long time going from air pocket to air pocket. And if one of them disappears, there's not much I can do; you're sleeping with Kyogre."

They were silent for a moment.

"Well?" Aqua said impatiently. "Come, grab on, we don't have much time!"

"You go first, Sofe," said Larissa, grabbing her hand. "I want to be sure you're safe."

"B-but," Sofia stammered, "what about you?"

"I'll be alright, Sofe. I can hold my breath well. Just go."

To the embarrassment of the others, they kissed each other rather lengthily. Boreas and Aqua exchanged an amused, but impatient glance.

"Come on, lovebirds," said Aqua, "you can continue that when you're both safe!"

Sofia let go of Larissa, slowly and with a longing gaze in her eyes, and held on to Aqua's waist. She shot into the great, bubbling mass of water, and they were gone. Larissa and Boreas were left sitting alone in the shallow, but rapidly flowing water.

"I have to agree with her," Boreas continued the conversation. "It can only be a legendary pokémon... But that makes no sense, he's only got-" Boreas stopped talking as realisation dawned on him. "Oh... Oh, this could be bad. Tell me: are there any legendary pokémon in Fournaria, other than Mewtwo? Think, any at all?"

Larissa shrugged. "Not as far as I know."

"What about legends about them? Just silly stories that people tell?"

"Plenty of them, but you know what people are like. They love making up fancy stories, but it's not like any of them are true. As fun to hear as they can be, it's not like the settlers of Praeclara really had to decapitate a Lugia, or like Giratina really lurks about to take kids who went to bed late to the Distortion World, or like Groudon really sleeps under mt. Jund, or-"

Boreas raised a paw. "I've heard that one before. Doesn't it have to do with the creation of Fournaria?"

"Well, sure," Larissa explained with a somewhat apologetic smile. "They say that after Groudon finished the other continents, it wasn't satisfied, because Kyogre kept flooding them. So it furiously stamped up Fournaria, protecting it with tall mountains and cliffs, so Kyogre could never threaten it. But the effort exhausted it, so it went to sleep under mt. Jund. Sofia says Fournaria is actually mountainous because several tectonic plates converge and-"

"Mt. Jund," Boreas interrupted, "it's a volcano, right?"

"Yeah, Fournaria's biggest."

"And... Is it nearby?"

Larissa shrugged. "It's not next door, but isn't that far either. That destroyed village, Marchesa, was on its slopes."

Boreas remembered how unimportant the tiny hamlet had sounded, how he had figured it had probably been levelled by an eruption. If only he'd known the volcano was the one he'd heard stories about... Maybe he would have given it more thought. "Well then, we'll go to Marchesa next."

"Because of Groudon?"

"Because that's where the Shadow's base is. All that stuff Lubyanka told me about them destroying Lazarle to be able to establish a hideout in peace... It was Marchesa they destroyed for that!"

"So Lubyanka tricked you after all," Larissa said smugly.

Boreas frowned. "Are you ever going to stop whining about that?"

"The moment you admit it."

Boreas rolled his eyes. "No need to be so childish."

"Childish?" Larissa said sharply, almost losing her footing in the water. "You're the one who doesn't want to admit he was wrong. You're the one who acts like he's the leader, when I can think of three pokémon in this little party who'd be far better at it."

Boreas laughed coldly. "Aqua maybe, but you or little Miss Mental?"

It didn't get the expected rise out of Larissa: instead she just gave him that piercing stare. Boreas blushed and began to feel quite rotten. "Sorry, that was childish and unnecessary."

Larissa's stare didn't soften. "At least you can admit that."

Boreas shrugged. "Yeah. I really shouldn't say stupid things like that."

"Well, maybe-" Aqua appeared from the water and Larissa just about jumped her. "Sofia?! Is she-"

"Safe and well," Aqua said. "Now it's your turn; grab on."

Larissa began protesting. "Take Boreas first, I-"

"No time for discussion," Aqua said sharply. She exchanged a worried glance with Boreas as Larissa took a deep breath and grabbed on. Their time was clearly running out. The darkness was instant and complete, that pitch-black absence of all light that's only found underground. Boreas sat alone in the rapidly flowing water, waiting and thinking. Soon, he heard the worrying sound of water splashing into more water coming towards him from below. The caves had nearly filled up, but at least the water had beaten the magma.

The water level in Boreas' cave started to rise within a minute of him hearing the sound. Soon, he was up to his shoulders in it, and soon after he let go of the ground, floating on the surface now that it was fairly still, albeit rising rapidly. He could feel the roof of the cave brushing against his ears. Aqua hadn't been gone for long, she couldn't possibly come back in time... He had only seconds before the water filled the entire cave...

But wait: where was the air going? It could hardly just disappear. Boreas splashed about at the surface, trying to find where the air was leaving the cave. Just when the roof began pushing him under, he found it: a narrow shaft leading up. He had to squeeze his shoulders, but just barely fit through, bobbing at the surface, which continued to rise rapidly. But unfortunately, the shaft was getting narrower up above, certainly too narrow for a Glaceon to fit through. Only one thing for it, then: Boreas created a thick sheet of ice a metre or two above him, blocking the shaft. The pressure began rising almost instantly. His ears popped again and again, and he could even begin to feel the mounting pressure on his eyeballs and inside his lungs. The sheet of ice started showing spontaneous cracks.

He felt something pull on his rear leg, and gratefully took a big gulp of dense air before diving under and grabbing a hold of Aqua. Her voice sounded livid. "I almost died when I found that room flooded and empty!"

"You could've found it flooded and containing a drowned Glaceon instead," Boreas thought, though he had no way of talking back to her. They shot through black water at great speed, occasionally pausing at a tiny air pocket to let Boreas breathe. They reached the surface without further problems, finding the river was now running largely underground, yet there was still a way through the rubble. Larissa and Sofia were already up at the surface.

The valley had transformed completely. No longer tall and narrow, its ruined sides were now shallow, bald, and rocky. There was no remnant of Lazarle visible, nor of the river, which had gone underground completely, nor the forest. The valley was a ruined, destroyed landscape of jagged pieces of rock and trees shattered like matches sticking out of the ground at odd angles. A heavy, dark smoke came from a few places as the magma still seeped around underground. The thought of a weapon like this in Diego's hands chilled Boreas, yet there was a hopeful side to it: its first use had failed to achieve its goal and hadn't killed anyone.

–

The days passed as they tried to find a way to Marchesa through the mountains. Despite the start of summer, the days grew cold as they went into higher reaches. It wasn't until the journey's final evening that they saw mt. Jund, rising up on the other side of the valley below. There was barely anything left of Marchesa itself, which had been partially buried under volcanic ashes. Yet mt. Jund itself didn't look much like Larissa imagined volcanoes to look: it looked more or less like an ordinary mountain; neither blackened nor with its top replaced by a gigantic caldera, and it wasn't smoking either. There was even some snow on its top, albeit less than on most other mountains.

They camped high up on the mountain facing it across the valley. It was a very clear evening, so Larissa was looking at the stars with Sofia again, lying on their backs on the grassy mountainside while Sofia did most of the talking. As much as Larissa adored how sweet her girlfriend's enthusiasm could be, there were times when she got a bit bored by it, and this was one of those times. She certainly didn't regret telling Sofia to be herself; if occasional boredom was the price she paid for making Sofia happy, Larissa was fine with that. Still... She could distract her easily enough. She began cuddling her and covering the side of her head and neck in kisses.

"...And then, when the star – hihihi – begins shining, the nebula around it... What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Larissa said innocently as she gave Sofia's ear a lick, "just keep talking."

"R-right," Sofia blushed. "So the nebula, er, it starts contracting b-by its own gravity andandand – or did I already say that? In any case, there's this star being formed and – ahh... And then-" all of a sudden, she turned around and snogged a surprised Larissa passionately. "You," she whispered as they broke apart, "are distracting me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Larissa smirked. "I'll stop it, then."

Sofia frowned as she tried to keep in her laughter. Larissa grinned back. Sofia just about jumped on top of her. "Don't laugh, I'll get you for that!"

Larissa allowed Sofia to have the upper hand in the ensuing play-fight, which soon turned into a lot of snogging and petting. Larissa's heart beat rapidly as her mind was in flame; she couldn't get enough of Sofia, she drove her crazy with desire. The only distractions were the cold and the fact that Sofia was wearing her jumpsuit, which had its omnipresent pockets stuffed full of all kinds of things. It created an unpleasant barrier between them, which made it impossible for them to be as close to each other as they wanted to be.

All of a sudden, Sofia stopped kissing Larissa and got off her, blushing deeply. "You know," she said, "it's getting late. Andandand cold too. Don't you think it's cold?"

Larissa, who was starting to feel rather warm before Sofia suddenly broke it off, wasn't sure what to say. "Um."

"Yeah," she continued, "definitely cold. I think it's about time I went to b-bed, don't you?"

"Oh. Um, if you want..." Larissa said, confused and a little heartbroken.

"I do, I do," Sofia had a weird grin on her face. "So... I'll be in my tent, if you need me."

Larissa watched her walk slowly to her tent and get inside, still lying on her back in the same position. What had she done wrong? Had she somehow offended Sofia, or let her down? Maybe she was going to fast? Or maybe... Maybe Sofia didn't love her after all? Maybe she just wanted to be friends again? Maybe she had just gone along so far to please Larissa, or maybe she had just changed her mind, discovered she didn't love Larissa after all? Maybe-

Larissa turned to look at the small tent as she heard the zip open. A blushing, curly head popped out, looking a little impatient. "It's cold, isn't it?"

"Um," Larissa said, even more confused. "A bit, yeah."

"I-I mean," Sofia continued, "it's cold here in the tent, b-but I imagine it's going to be much colder outside yet."

"I guess so?"

Sofia gave her a bit of an exasperated look. "So what I'm saying is... Hihi, well... If it's going to get too cold for you out there... Well, it's getting cold for me in here too."

"Um. Is it?"

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Yes. So... M-maybe you'd like to... Come in and... uh... Well, we can keep each other warm?"

"Oh," said Larissa, mentally kicking herself. "Oh, um, yes, sure."

Sofia disappeared back into the tent with a wink and Larissa quickly made to join her, her heart pounding and her cheeks aflame under her fur. How had she missed that? She'd been worried and heartbroken for no reason at all; of course Sofia loved her. She entered the tent and found herself looking at Sofia's rear, as she was for some reason facing the other end of the tent. She had taken off her jumpsuit, clad in the shirt and shorts she wore underneath. Larissa hadn't noticed before how short those shorts were, and how well they showed off the shape of her rear. She scraped her dry throat, though she suspected Sofia was fully aware she was there already.

"Oh, there you are," Sofia giggled as she turned around. In the tiny tent, there wasn't much room, yet she could've easily put more than a few centimetres between their faces if she wanted to. "I thought you'd enter on the other side."

Larissa was happy to play along. "Of course you did; why wouldn't I walk all the way around the tent first, my gorgeous little tease?"

"Not a clue," the Kirlia said innocently, edging even closer to Larissa.

"Not much room in here, is there?" Larissa said, managing to keep herself under control despite Sofia's proximity, her flirting, and the way the entire tent even smelled like her.

She nodded and grinned. "Not much. I'm afraid we'll have to sleep very closely together."

Larissa returned Sofia's grin, a deep blush on both their faces. "I'm sure we'll survive it."

Sofia pulled her down into a lying position, pulling a blanket over them. There really wasn't much room between them, probably less room than the stuff in Sofia's pockets had forced between them before.

"No reason we shouldn't," Sofia said coyly. "After all, what could possibly happen while we sleep?"

"Nothing, nothing at- ahhh..." Sofia entangled her bare legs with Larissa's, very gently stroking Larissa's paws with her own feet. Their lips touched for a moment. "Nothing at all... Except, maybe, one thing."

"What's that?" Sofia whispered.

Larissa began to kiss her neck. "Remember old Giratina? I think it might drop by."

"And why's that?" Sofia gasped, her hands rummaging over Larissa's back as she cuddled her tightly.

Larissa looked up and smirked. "Because you've been a naughty girl, obviously."

"I haven't," Sofia protested.

"Oh yes, you have. First you invite me into this far too small tent, knowing full well how hot I already am for you, and then you proceed to greet me rather uniquely." Sofia squeaked as Larissa lightly slapped her bum.

Sofia giggled and nuzzled Larissa's face. "It wasn't on purpose, you entered at the wrong side of the tent. And b-besides, you're the one groping me. Something about a pot and a kettle comes to mind."

Larissa's blood was boiling with desire as Sofia's legs continued to stroke hers. One of her paws had slipped under Sofia's shirt and was caressing her stomach, her waist, and her midriff. They looked into each other's eyes and saw only love and desire reflected. In that moment, Larissa's mind made the final step away from seeing Sofia as her friend instead of her lover as her inhibitions faded and she began kissing and touching her like she never had before.

–

Larissa woke up in a tent lit by the red morning Sun. The tent's other occupant was cuddling her, her curly hair all over the place and itching Larissa, her slight, white body covered only by the blanket they shared. She was so very peaceful and beautiful in her sleep, an angel fallen from the sky. Larissa's heart pounded as she vividly remembered last night. She had had no idea someone could feel as good as Sofia had made her feel. They had been at it for ages, as neither of them had been particularly sure what worked and what didn't. They had been very exploratory, trying out all kinds of things to try and find out what was most pleasurable to the other. They had been slow at it, and that was alright; after all what was the hurry? Sofia had even touched Larissa's mind a few times, briefly let them share in each other's ecstasy. Since she had found out she was gay, Larissa had of course imagined what the sex would be like, tried to figure out how it worked with two girls. But to her delight, she had discovered the real question wasn't how, but how many times.

Larissa had an idea as she felt Sofia's nude body against her own under the blanket. She blushed and silently giggled at her own cheekiness. She knew she probably shouldn't, but it was a bit too appealing. She lifted the blanket up a bit, getting a good look of Sofia in the morning light, her beauty looking unreal and ethereal.

"I'm already awake, you know."

Larissa yelped and dropped the blanket. "Um, sorry, sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have, um, I was just-"

Sofia silenced her with a little peck on the cheek. "Don't worry about it, it's not like you didn't see it all yesterday."

Larissa blushed. "Well, that's true."

"Still," Sofia grinned, "don't do it again. I'm far too comfy and warm under the blanket..."

Larissa nodded. They were quiet for a while, until she spoke again. "Sofe, um, what we did last night..."

Sofia raised an eyebrow. "You mean shagging each other to heaven and back?"

Larissa burst out in embarrassed laughter. "Um, yeah, that."

"No need to be prudish with me," Sofia said teasingly, "I mean, what's the point, considering you li-"

"I know," Larissa interrupted, a deep blush on her cheeks.

It only increased Sofia's humour. "Hihi, and yet you're embarrassed to say it. Such a sweet little prudish mountain girl."

Larissa laughed. "Oh, shut up. I just wanted to say it all felt amazing. Though I've now got muscles I barely know I had aching."

"Same here. That's interesting. I think I know a good cure too. Maybe... We should give them some more exercise?" She snuggled up closely, making eyes at Larissa. With a powerful lurch in her stomach, she realised just how irresistible Sofia was.

"Maybe. Although," Larissa offered some mock resistance, though she had already grabbed Sofia's hands, "Aqua and Boreas will expect us to get up at some point. We're going to look for the hideout today, after all."

Larissa moaned a little as Sofia began to rub her feet with her own, slowly and deliciously. "On the other hand, the hideout can wait..."

–

"Taking their time, aren't they?" Boreas said, looking at the Sun getting higher in the sky.

Aqua smirked. "So impatient."

"I'm not impatient," Boreas said, "I'm just saying."

"You know perfectly well the only reason Larissa wouldn't get out of bed early is if there were more fun things to do there."

"Or she overslept," Boreas joked.

Aqua chuckled. "Sure, and maybe she's going to break some rules next. Anyway, I don't mind:" she took a bite of fish. "Lwwves mwre brwwkfwst fwr ws."

"For you, you mean," Boreas said.

"I'll have you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Well, I'm sure you know best when it comes to meals," Boreas said with a nudge towards the slight curve of her stomach.

Aqua laughed, but it sounded rather hollow, and she averted her eyes.

"Hey," Boreas said, regretting the joke already, "you know I didn't mean anything by it, right? I was just teasing you, love."

"It's fine," Aqua said, her good mood gone.

Boreas put a paw on her shoulder. "Dear, I think you look gorgeous either way. A tiny bit of chub only makes you look better. Anyway, it's barely noticeable."

He realised that wasn't the right thing to say, that he was sounding shallow, and was going to add "And, more importantly, I love you no matter what you look like," when he was distracted by Larissa and Sofia appearing. It was obviously impossible for them to hold hands walking, but they made a good attempt at it, Sofia's arm around Larissa's shoulder, while Larissa petted Sofia's leg affectionately with each step. There was a serene, obviously post-coital love between them.

"Good morning," Boreas said slyly, "come, sit down and have some breakfast. We've got fish sandwiches, if you're still hungry for more."

"Thanks!" Sofia chirped, sitting down on a stone. "I'm famished!"

Larissa, on the other hand, did pick up on Boreas' joke and blushed quite deeply. "Um, we overslept," she explained flatly.

"Together!" Sofia grinned.

Larissa began to shush her with something between embarrassment and giggles, but she was interrupted by Aqua shushing them all in a rather more serious way. She pointed down into the valley, focussed. It took Boreas a moment to notice what she meant: tiny shapes were moving deep down below. It was impossible to see what kind of pokémon they were at this range, but their mere presence this far away from civilisation was enough: they had found the Shadow's hideout.

–

AUTHOR'S NOTES: My guess is that some of you are probably starting to get a little tired of the focus on romance there's been lately, so let me put you at ease: there will be none of that stuff for the next bunch of chapters.