Alright. I'm back. Yeah, not the most happiest of returns, but... I've got my reasons. I'm hoping to have a new video up soon, to explain things in better detail, and to apologize to those of you I have had trouble PMing. I'll say it here, incase you read this story, (and I know some of you do), I am SO, SO, SO sorry for not PMing! And please, PLEASE don't take it wrong, it is NOTHING against any of you! But, I've had to take my mom to the hospital twice this week, and my school is driving me, quite insane. It's all I can do to survive, it seems. But, again, please don't take my sudden disappearance from you wrong, it's nothing against you, it's my life being turned upside down, inside out, and everything going wrong at once. The fact I'm able to write this chapter is only because of my mother is in the hospital, and I'm sleeping on the couch, so I'm up real late.
SO! Speaking of the story, I have at least one, maybe two more chapters before Moody Shadow continues, so hopefully my life will get back to normal, as will my writing and PMing.
I will do my VERY best to speak with those of you I haven't been able to yet, and will again explain what all has been going on in a little better detail, this is just so you all understand that it's nothing that you did, or anything, it's my stupid life going INSANE! SO yeah, I really hope you'll all enjoy this chapter. BOY have I missed writing. And YOU guys too! SO, enjoy, and I will HOPEFULLY talk with EVERYONE soon!

Chapter twenty six: Forgotten Memories

My eyes slowly flickered open, and I sat up, holding a paw to my head.

"Why do I always seem to be getting hurt?" I muttered to myself, as I pushed myself to my feet and looked around.

But I was very surprised by the sight I was met with.

"Hello young one. How does your head feel?"

I walked over to a small fire that was lighting up the night, and saw Aniu sitting by it, gently poking it with a stick. I sat down on an old log on the opposite side of her, and watched her.

"So, let me guess. Another lesson, huh?" I asked tiredly.

Aniu chuckled softly. "No child. Not exactly. But, you're also right too." she said.

I tilted my head to the side curiously. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Aniu stood up, picked up a small bucket behind her, and doused the fire, until the only light showing was that of a beautiful full moon. I looked at her as she turned towards the woods, and I slowly followed her.

Her tail slowly swished back and forth as she walked, and it almost seemed as if she walked on air, she was so graceful. It always amazed me. I followed her until she led me into a village.

My village.

I looked around, every house in its place, tigers everywhere, everyone was happy. It was as if the whole horrid event had never happened.

I stood at the edge of the village, mouth open in disbelief. I could barely believe my eyes. Everything was perfect, just like I wanted to remember it, but never seemed to be able to.

Not after all that my eyes had seen. Those memories, they would always be burned into my mind.

Aniu slowly walked over to me, a soft smile upon her face. "Welcome home, little one." she said in a mere whisper, as I walked into town.

I looked around, barely believing my own eyes. It was simply amazing.

And then I saw them.

I rubbed my eyes, sure that it wasn't truly real. But there they were, standing just a few mere feet from me.

"MAMA! DADDY!" I cried, as I ran over, and was tightly embraced by their hugs.

"Where have you been at, Shad'ika? It's almost dinner time!" my mother, Hīrō, teased.

I wasn't sure how to react, so I just went along, not wanting to end my dream, and lose them again. "Sorry mama, I was playing in the field." I said, smiling happily.

"Well, why are we not surprised?" my father, Kaminari, said, a twinkle in his eye.

I giggled when he scooped me up and threw me in the air playfully, catching me when I came down.

"Where are Leon and Tigress?" I asked, hoping with all my heart that they were here too.

My father sat me down, turned me around, and there stood two of my best friends in the world. Tigress and Leon ran over, and I hugged them tightly.

"We've been looking for you Shad. We wanted to play kick the cone!" Leon said, jumping up and down happily.

I smiled. That was one of my favorite games, other then tag, and Tiger-Tiger-Chicken. Though, so many of the kids tried to teach me something called, Duck-Duck-Goose, but I never understood that version of the game.

I ran off with Leon and Tigress, and we played until it got dark. We all headed inside after a while, hot and tired from our games, but smiling happily none the less.

We ate dinner, then Leon and I went up to my room, while Tigress helped clean the dishes with our parents, since it was her turn.

Leon and I colored for a little bit, then we decided to play fight. That was one of our favorite things to do. We loved play fighting, since we were so close in strength.

Leon tried to tackle me to the ground, but I side-stepped, and he fell on the floor. I laughed, and he jumped up, and we both fell to the floor, laughing. He then started to tickle me, and I rolled away, laughing.

"Get back here!" he growled playfully, as he jumped on my back, and wrapped his arms around my neck.

I laughed, and rolled over a few times, trying to knock him off, but he held on gently, as to not hurt me. I smiled playfully, and began to roll again, but then I started to feel funny.

I stopped rolling, and Leon tilted his head to the side. "Shad?"

He carefully got off me, and moved around in front of me. I could barely see him, as my vision was blurry. Then after a minute, my vision went dark, and I heard Leon screaming for his parents.

I sat up, gasping, and looked over at Aniu, who was sitting by the small fire again.

"W-was that all... a-a dream?" I questioned, very confused.

"In a way. It was more, a memory." she said, poking at the fire.

"From when my weakness was found..." I muttered softly, earning a nod from Aniu.

"Exactly." she said softly.

"But, why did you show me that? W-what was I to learn?"

She sighed deeply. "That is for you to understand. Whether it be something about your neck. Or your dreams. Even your family, and friends. That is for you to understand, not me." she said softly.

I sighed, and dropped my head into my paws, resting my arms on my legs. Everything was so confusing for me right now, especially being so young.

"When will it make sense?" I asked, looking at Aniu.

She sighed again. "I wish I knew child. I wish knew." she said in a whisper.

I sighed again, nodding slightly. Then my ears perked up, when I heard what sounded like... Singing!

I turned, trying to pick up on the sounds. I got up, following the sound through the forest, which caused Aniu to follow me curiously. I followed the sound until I saw two wolves. A black wolf, and a white wolf, male and female. The male was the voice I heard, singing to the female.

I moved closer, staying in the bushes, listening to his song.

"You and I. Flew to high. Now, we're falling free. Through the night. Burning bright. And colder than the sea!"

I started to move towards them, but was stopped by a gentle paw on my shoulder, which belonged to Aniu.

"Who are they?" I asked.

Aniu looked at them sadly. "They were my parents."

I tried to walk towards them again, but Aniu gently pulled me back.

"No dear." she sadly looked at them, with a far away look in her eyes. "Some things are best left forgotten."

I shook my head in confusion, not understanding why she would want to forget her parents like that. I sighed, but wouldn't push it, for fear of upsetting her.

We walked back to the fire, and just as before, she put it out. She turned to me, and gently patted my shoulder.

"It's time you headed home dear. You've got a lot to catch up on." she said, but I could tell she was worried.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Just stay strong sweetie. Things will work out right soon." she softly said, before she disappeared from sight.

I sighed again, and closed my eyes, slowly ending my dream.

If only I had know that I was waking into a nightmare...

Welp! There ya have it. Looks like Shad isn't going to be having a good time when she wakes up. Looks like I've gotta write soon, so you all know why, heh heh heh. But yeah, like I said, I've got at least one, maybe two more chapters before I have my main points out, so I really hope to write more soon, being it's like, quite literally, 1 AM, when I am finishing writing this, and I'm gonna proof read it before I post, so... I'm gonna be awake for a while, haha. But yeah, I hope that my little explanation before this chapter helped you all to understand what's going on, why I haven't been talking much, or replying, and all that. Once again, I'm very sorry, and thank you for understanding! So, I hope to talk with you all soon, if at all possible. And I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Later all!

OH! And also, for those of you who are curious, let me give the meaning of Shadow's parents names, and the song.

The song is, Hunter's Moon sung by Ryan Kelly, from Celtic Thunder, and man is it GOOD!

The meanings of Shadow's parents names are:

Hīrō; means, hero
Kaminari; means, thunder.

So, once again, I am so sorry for disappearing, not replying or writing, and all that stuff, and I really hope to talk with ya soon!