Disclaimer: I don't own Redwall

Claimer: All the characters in the story are mine ESPECIALLY KAMILA SPIRITFEATHER AND NIGHTSONG (no stealing)

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Kamila Spiritfeather (Part 3)

/Where did Dukar take me?/ Kamila had been traveling for about an hour before she started questioning herself. Everything looked different some how. She didn't see the trees they had passed nor could she sense the other beasts that had ambushed them. The squirrel maiden sighed and looked down at the fan that was hooked at her belt. Tears filled her eyes again as she thought of Ma`pela's eyes widening in pain and then her broken body falling to the ground. Blood…she had seen blood leaking from the fox's chest. Kamila shuddered. She couldn't believe that her mentor was dead...it wasn't fair.

The flying squirrel shook her head and pressed on towards the place where Ma`pela had fallen. She passed beneath a tree and suddenly felt a rope fall around her again. Panicking, she whirled and swung out the fan, cutting the rope in half. She looked up into the trees but there was no beast there. She looked at the rope she had cut and furrowed her brow. It hadn't been tightened…in fact it was lax. The squirrel folded the fan shut and saw ropes hanging from the trees, the same ropes that had held her and the others captive.

Kamila bit her lip and turned to continue walking when she saw a sight that completely froze her to the ground. There lay Ma`pela, in the same place she had fallen with a puddle of blood beneath her still body. Kamila stopped in her tracks and after fighting back a sob, she knelt down beside Ma`pela and placed a trembling paw on the vixen's head.

"The sun has set beyond the horizon

Your time one earth is done

Your memory shall always burn

From moon of night to sun"

The words were simple but they were very meaningful according to the fox's culture. Dukar had wanted her to respect his wife and give her the proper burial. It would be hard to do something like that…but she had promised them that she would if one passed away. She slowly got to her paws and began to collect wood for a pyre./P

The sun faded behind the clouds as the lick of flames kissed the sky. Kamila stood near the pyre she had built, watching in silence as Ma`pela's wrapped form became one with the earth and sky. Her eyes watered with tears, a trail of dampness leading from her cheek down to her clothes. She hadn't found Dukar but she had found his bloody and broken blades on the ground…telling her exactly what had happened to the fox. She had thrown those into the flames as well, letting the weapons fade way with Ma`pela's ashes.

The squirrel rubbed a paw across her eyes and turned away, only to find Liskan standing right in front of her. Kamila shrieked in surprise but the fox suddenly…evaporated? What? The squirrel blinked and rubbed her eyes again. She was seeing things. What had Dukar drugged her with? The squirrel maiden shook her head and began to walk away from the burning pyre. She had done her part, she had said the prayer and she had bade Ma`pela goodbye in respectful silence. Still it didn't give her much closure. Her mentors…her friends had been killed…and the one responsible still needed to be brought to justice. The maiden looked down at the weapons at her side and growled.

They would be avenged…even if it cost her, her last breath.

That evening, she traveled back to Mount Bat Pit and spoke to Nightsong about the flying squirrel Dukar and Ma`pela had supposedly trained. The bat sighed deeply as she was asked the question. She had been told never to reveal the information unless it was under the greatest of circumstances. Well, this was important enough. After some prodding by Kamila, she finally told the squirrel the real story behind the "flying squirrel."

She said that the flying squirrel hadn't been trained by Dukar and Ma`pela, but had actually grown up with them. The three of them had been taught by another fox couple how to fight, survive, raise a family…and the code of their tribe. If they decided to leave the tribe, they would continue their training in secret and help when it was needed. The flying squirrel had worked with the foxes for many a season until she married another flying squirrel and had a child. Feeling that she had different obligations, she left the tribe and never let her family know what she knew, and what she was.

Nightsong glanced up at Kamila and pointed at the necklace at the young squirrel's neck.

"That squirrel maiden was your mother…ther. She never told Harem…rem what she was…was. She came to us when she was young…young along with the two foxes…xes. That's how we know them…them."

Kamila jerked back.

"My mother? But…why didn't she ever teach me how to fight? Why was she never with the warriors…wh…when was she attacked by Liskan?"

Nightsong sighed and went on to say that Kamila's mother had decided to send her to the bats when she was of age to learn how to fight, that's why she disapproved so much of Harem teaching Kamila the different ways to slay a beast. It would corrupt her mind. Her mother also never joined the warriors because she was suppose to keep her "training" silent, even though she was a better fighter then her husband. At the question about Liskan, Nightsong looked down and spoke softly.

"Your mother would meet with Ma`pela and Dukar…kar every other night during the week…week. One evening, they were attacked….acked by Liskan. Your mother was struck with a dart….dart…one that was filled with poison…son. She only had a certain amount of time to live before it took effect…fect. That's why she began to get sicker…ker and coughed a lot. The dart caused illness…ness that is non curable unless given the…the antidote. Your mother never received it…it, that's why she died.

Kamila sat completely still. Her…her mother had been murdered? It wasn't just any kind of sickness? The flying squirrel slowly got to her paws and walked to the cave entrance. Dukar had never told her, Ma`pela had never told her…Nightsong had never said a word until now. She felt betrayed. Here she was suffering with sadness over her mothers death while her murderer was out running free. It just didn't seem right. No wonder Dukar and Ma`pela had tried so hard to keep her away from the fox. They didn't want him to let something slip that would make her go insane…they didn't want her to be told the truth and completely fade away. Still, because of their sacrifice, they were dead.

Kamila walked out of Mount Bat Pit and collapsed within a tree, her eyes troubled. She would leave the mountain that evening and search for a way to forget what had happened… to try and continue her life without her mind being clouded with the resent and hate that swam around her heart.

Three days passed after Kamila left the sanctuary of the bat's lair. She hated to leave them behind, but her mind was troubled and the last time that happened, she had traveled to find a new haven. Nightsong had decided to come with her. She didn't want to leave the young maid on her own, especially when Liskan was out there to get her.

For the first few days, she didn't find any type of refuge. She was forced to rest out in the open, her eyes always looking, waiting for some beast to attack her. Nightsong was faithful and would at times nag the sky squirrel to sleep. Kamila didn't know what she would have done if it wasn't for Nightsong. On the fourth day since she had left Mount Bat Pit, she came across a gigantic mountain that seemed to stand all by itself against the sea. Thinking that no beast lived there, she advanced towards it, Nightsong fluttering just above her.

She got maybe within 100 feet of the mountain when something snatched her by the back of her scarf. Fearing that it was Liskan or his horde, she whirled and grabbed a sai. Before she could even use it, a sabre was pricking her throat. A husky and demanding voice filled her ears as the sabre pressed a bit deeper.

"Mind telling me wot you are jolly well doing around these parts wot?"

The squirrel glanced up slightly and found her eyes meeting those of a large hare. She gasped in surprise, never having seen a hare in her life before. A screech from overhead caused the squirrel to jerk back as Nightsong came careening down towards the hare's ears. The spry creature spun Kamila around, knocking her to the ground as he dove with her away from the bat.

"I say! Dashed rude of you Nightsong!"

"Tis what you get…get for lashing out at creatures before explanations… tions."

The hare chuckled and gently helped young Kamila to her paws, the squirrel still quite shaken up from the spin. She took a step away from the new beast as he held out an arm towards the bat. Nightsong fluttered down and landed on his arm with one footpaw in greetings before she took off into the air again. The hare smiled and then addressed Kamila in a much friendlier voice.

"Sorry about that miss. Bit of a mix up doncha know. Allow me to introduce myself wot. I'm Corporal Rolen O`kara, dashed odd name I know but ask me mum and pop about that one wot."

He gave the maiden a kind wink as he sheathed his blade. Kamila looked up at Nightsong uncertainly but a small screech caused the sky squirrel to act. Slowly, she made a small bow with her wings out stretched while whispering to him.

"My name's Kamila Spiritfeather..tis nice to meet you."

"Aye, like wise mi`ladybuck. Now, how would you like a gander of ol Salamandastron over thar?"

"Salawhat?" Kamila asked with a raised eyebrow. How come they couldn't just give these places small names? Rolen laughed and threw a paw around her shoulders.

"Salamandastron ol bean. Now come on, you look a bit pekish for a bit to drink and eat."

Without any sign of protest, Kamila and Nightsong were swept away into Salamandastron, which would soon become the haven they had been searching for the whole time.

Weeks passed and Kamila became quite accustomed to the rules and regulations of the mountain. She hadn't joined ranks or anything of the sort since most of the soldiers seemed to be hares and after hearing what kind of a bind she was in, Rolen advised her not to join. He didn't want her to end up in any more trouble. So Kamila was forced to sit on the side lines and watch as the hare's practiced or ran errands for the badger lord, Elmstrike.

On one particular evening, Kamila sat beside the shore line, her eyes gazing across the vastness that lay before her. Rolen walked up and sat beside her, a couple of warm oatcakes resting in his paws.

"Want one?"

The squirrel waved her paw dismissively and wrapped her arms around her legs. No beast, not even Nightsong knew of her life…of what had happened before she reached the sanctuary of the bat lair. Rolen raised an eyebrow at her and after he placed the oatcakes on his lap, he wrapped a paw around the maiden's shoulders.

"Want to tell me wots on your mind?"

Kamila sighed and kicked at the water that was threatening to swarm around her footpaws.

"I just…I don't know. I want to do something more then just watch you all train. I want to train with you and help the badger lord…"

Rolen sighed and patted her shoulder gently. They always seemed to have the same talk. The hare gazed out over the water and spoke softly to the young maid.

"Kamila, now you know I don want you to get hurt wot. I think it twould be best iff`n you just take it easy fer now. It'll help ease the-"

"Don't say it….I'm trying to escape my feelings and working on the things I have been taught will help me."

She retorted quickly. Rolen closed his eyes. Though it was against his better intuitions, he slowly nodded his head and tapped the sai at the maiden's side.

"Then train with us lass, wot. I'll talk with his lordship and we'll jolly well have you working in no time." He winked and ruffled her headfur. "You might regret your decision wot."

Kamila laughed and shoved him gently in the side. Rolen shut an eye and playfully pushed her onto her back so that the water ran across her ears. She stared at the hare and swiped at him with her paw but he caught it and tweaked her lightly beneath the chin before slowly getting to his paws. Kamila stared up at him and slowly rose with the aid of his paw.

"How come you're so kind to me?" Rolen tilted his head in surprise and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know me gel. You're a friend, I'm always friendly with my friends wot…heh. Now come on miss, I'll race you back to the jolly mountain wot wot!"

Before he could take off running, Kamila shoved him in the damp sand and dashed forward.

"Hey! Bally bad form marm! Humph. I'll give you ten lashings for that wot!"

He scrambled to his paws but as he did so, he saw that Kamila had stopped running. She stood staring at the ground, her back ridged and her shoulders tense. Rolen jogged to her side and placed a paw on her shoulder which she shook off quickly.

"Kamila…you alright?"

"Would you ever hit me Rolen?"

The hare took a startled step forward and crouched down in front of her. He shook his head vigorously and lifted her chin gently with his paw so he could see her worry filled eyes.

"Kamila…I'd never bally well hit you…why would you even think I would..wot? I was just joking back there." The sky squirrel looked into his eyes then slowly nodded her head and began to walk towards the mountain again. The hare frowned deeply and wrapped his paw around her shoulders again. "Kamila…tell me wot this is about… please…"

The sky squirrel glanced away for a moment then moved the fur near her lip so he could see a scar from the side of her mouth to the bottom part of her jaw, her father's lash. Rolen frowned and slowly nodded his head, understanding a little bit of her actions. Gently, he steered her towards the mountain. It was the first time she had ever shown another beast the cut…or even remotely let them know what had happened to her. Silently, he walked back inside…preparing themselves for a long night of talking.

Weeks passed and Kamila was inducted into the ranks with the other hares… though she never really had a title. She fought and trained with them, laughed and joked with them. She performed errands for the badger lord and was generally a great help to Salamandastron. Everything seemed to be going her way. Her life was back in order, her sadness and hate had diminished and she felt as if she was actually doing something with her life. That was about to change however.

Late one night while she was resting in her barrack's room, she heard a scuffle going on outside. Still groggy, she threw a blanket around her shoulders and headed towards her window to see what was going on. Down below she saw a scene that broke her heart. Rolen was being held by three rats, his paws twisted behind his back and a spear pressed to his throat. A cloaked creature stood in front of him, growling out questions which the hare refused to answer. Each time he remained silent, one of the rats would deal him a harsh blow to the face or body.

Not being able to stand watching his torment, the squirrel climbed out of her window and gripped the side of the mountain. Slowly, she began to climb down, listening for the words that passed between them.

"Tell me where she is and maybe I'll go easy on you." Rolen remained silent followed by a blow to the gut. "I grow tired of your incompetence long ears. Now tell me where she is!" Once again Rolen was quiet. A crack to the leg caused him to lose his balance and fall to one knee. The cloaked beast snarled and kicked the hare savagely as he spoke to his cronies.

"Bind him. We'll draw her out and kill him later." The rats set about to their duties but they didn't get far as two stones clanked across their heads. The cloaked beast looked up and saw the squirrel hanging by a stone on the wall. Narrowing his eyes, he drew something from his cloak and stepped on Rolen's back.

"Come on squirrel brat…it's either you or the hare. Which will it be?" Kamila narrowed her eyes as she let go of the mountain side and suddenly slammed into him. The cloaked beast tumbled backwards but pulled the maiden with him. As they fell, she felt something stab into the side of her neck. Gasping in pain, she shook her head furiously and scrambled to her paws. She reached to her neck and felt…a dart sticking out of it. Her eyes widened and she looked back to the beast who turned out to be none other then Liskan.

Warmth suddenly flooded Kamila's body and she fell to her knees, her mind fading in and out. She saw the fox come to her side and grab her by her headfur, his sword poised to stab her through.

"Goodbye squirrel brat. I'd let you die to that poison but this will be much more fun."

He lifted the blade but never got to use it as Rolen knocked him to the ground. Kamila fell sideways, her head striking the sand as everything whirled in front of her vision. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Liskan running from the hare.

The squirrel awoke awhile later, her head bathed in sweat and her eyes glazed in pain. Shudders ran through her body as she coughed constantly from the side effects of the poison. Was this the same thing her mother had had to go through? Or was hers a lot slower and more painful? Kamila really didn't want to know. Rolen stood over her, his paw rubbing a damp cloth across her brow as another hare began mixing herbs.

"Will she be alright?" The voice came far away to Kamila. A shadow crossed her eyes as a figure responded.

"Doesn't look good Corporal. Nevah seen something like this before, wot."

"Just do wot ya can to help her wot.! She helped to save my life."

Kamila groaned softly and turned her head away from the voices. They were only paining her head. /So this is how it's going to end/ She thought to herself with a silent snort. /I'm going to die just as my mother did. So much for living a spirited life/ The squirrel lifted a paw and rubbed it against her brow. Rolen slipped his beneath hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on Mila, ya kin do it. Just stay with us wot. We'll find out how to cure it."

Cure? There was no cure. She was going to die. There was no hope for her now. The squirrel's paw fell away from Rolen's as she began to fade. The voices began to vanish from her mind though she did hear the last snip bits.

"…grab anything on him?"

"Just his cloak….bottles…poison."

"…see them…We…..them and…"

Then she knew no more. Her mind slipped away into the threshold of darkness, threatening to swallow her up and never let her go. All the pain fell away and opened up to visions of her past. Of her father hitting her, of her mother's death…of Ma`pela's death… of her last few days at Salamandastron. Her life was about to end and that was the only thing she could think about? Suddenly she began to feel her heart beating against her chest. How she felt it in her dreams she didn't know. The sound of a clock ticking slower and slower filled her mind followed by the whispers of another beast.

Something wasn't right. She knew she was dreaming but that voice…she knew it so well. In her dream, she slowly walked towards the voice, the one she had heard so many times when she was a child. The darkness in front of her changed to that of a forest, the soft pale moonlight filtering through the trees and illuminating a small pond of water. She saw herself kneel beside the reflective mirror, staring at her face as it shimmered against the pond. Suddenly, the water swirled and a shape arose from it.

The flying squirrel backed up and stared in fear as a transparent figure with blank eyes stepped away from the water's edge. It was a flying squirrel like herself and looked… just like…

"Mother?"

Ralenda blinked her blank iris's until they took on their typical glow. The flying squirrel stared at Kamila in surprise as she reached out to touch her daughter. Her paw fell through the younger one, making Ralenda smile slightly despite the fact that she could not touch her daughter.

"Yes Kamila tis me. But you must not be here…tis not your time."

"Wh?…Where am I?"

"At the gates of the dark forest, your spirit is giving up but it's still hanging on. You mustn't move forward Kamila, step away and go back into the world of the living."

"But…but why? Why can't I stay here with you?" Ralenda sighed deeply and spread out her paws. The water beneath her glowed a soft blue as visions of Kamila's past fluttered within it. The squirrel maiden looked into it as her mother spoke in an eerily quiet voice.

"Your task has not been completed yet Kamila. The night has not betrayed you yet, and your heart has still yet to be broken and mended. You must live to finish what has begun."

Kamila looked up with a start as her mother slowly backed away towards the water again.

"Betrayed? What do you mean? Mother what are you talking about?"

"I can not say Kamila. This you must find out for yourself. Go back to the world of the living and finish what has begun." Kamila got to her paws and tried to run towards her mother.

"What do you mean what has begun? Mother wait! Don't leave!"

"Finish what has begun Kamila….finish what has begun." Ralenda's voice faded away as did her spirit as the water wrapped around her. Kamila moved forward to follow her mother when a searing pain suddenly flew through her body. She jerked and felt her dream collapse all at once as voices reached her ears.

"Good thing you grabbed his cloak, wot."

"I saw him hit her..I figured if it was poisoned he'd dashed well have something to counter it, wot. She'll be alright then?"

"Aye, that she will." Kamila shut her eyes tightly as she tried to distinguish one voice from another. Where was she? What had happened? The flying squirrel groaned softly as she opened her eyes again. They weren't as glassy but she still felt rather sick. Rolen looked down at her while her heart began to ease back into it's normal pace. She was at the mountain…she was safe, for now. She watched the hare as he moved his paw over her eyes and pressed down gently.

"Rest Kamila, you jolly well need it." The squirrel didn't hesitate to oblige. Her mind swirled and though she didn't fall asleep, she did cross between the world of reality and darkness.

A week later saw Kamila in full health. She stood in front of Salamandastron, a sack over her shoulder and her eyes saddened as she realized what she had to do. She couldn't put the hares or any beast at risk because of her. Liskan was still out there and as long as she stayed at the mountain, she was only going to cause more harm to her friends. She didn't have the heart to tell Rolen she was leaving. Instead, she had left a note for him and then set out to find a new haven.

Nightsong flew above her, refusing to leave the sky squirrel's side. Kamila didn't know where she was going, but she knew eventually she'd find another sanctuary for a time before she had to press on again. She almost felt like a nomad, wandering here and there, only stopping for a time before pressing on. That seemed like her lot in life. It wasn't fair though. She would have given anything to stay with the hares…except for Rolen's life.

What her destiny was, she didn't know…would she ever find a place that she could call her home? She doubted it. Would she be able to make friendships that weren't shattered by the likes of a fox? No…she was destined to live a life with no real companions save Nightsong. Friendships would be made then broken, safety would turn to danger…it would happen all over again and she knew it.

All she could do was press on and live the life her mother wanted her to live. But did having a spirited life mean she had to become solitary? Yes…yes…that was the meaning. Being solitary meant that she didn't have to be touched or hurt again. Being solitary meant that she didn't have to break any friendships. Being solitary meant she didn't have to have any beast to depend on her.

Being solitary meant being alone…but then again…that was her lot in life.

And so she pressed on, looking out towards a life that would constantly be hunted down, a life that would try to remain solitary…and alone. A life…that would eventually lead her to revenge.