Shadow was thoroughly exhausted from running and being afraid. She closed her eyes

and tried to rest but she could not. Her body was caked in mud and blood also stained her

thlay. The thorn bush protected her partially from the rain but that was not enough.

Shadow was completely drenched. Comfort wasn't coming, but Shadow tried her hardest

to get to sleep. Maybe she would wake up and this would all be over… Finally, (after a

long time of discomfort) she fell into a deep dreamless sleep. As she slept, the rain

continued coming down. Shadow woke up once and looked over at her leg. At first she

thought it was gone. Mud had completely covered it. The kit moved her leg slightly. It

still hurt. Tears started to fill her brown eyes. She blinked, and rivers of tears formed that

flowed through the mud on her face. "M- Marli," she cried. "I'm so cold.. I thought you

would be here longer! Why are you gone? Why did this have to happen? Why!" she

yelled, not thinking that elil could hear her. When she realized what she had just done she

was quiet and listened for anything that could have heard her but the only sound was the

rain. It suddenly sounded so beautiful, as if it was singing to her a special song. The rains

lyrics never repeated. She wiped some mud away from her eyes and closed them. "Like

the sounds birds make," she thought. With her head rested on the ground, she fell asleep

listening to the music.

Shadow didn't wake up till Frith's light crept through the tangles and thorns, telling her

that she was alive and the mysteries of night were no longer around to scare her. Her eyes

fluttered open as she lifted her head. At first she thought she had just fallen asleep out silf

while playing with Sunflower but the pain in her leg reminded her where she really was

and all that happened last night. Shadow crawled out of the muddy spot she had been in

and onto some grass. The thorn bush was still around her. She lifted her leg and began the

painful and long process of cleaning the blood and mud off of her. Frith was high in the

sky by the time she had completed. "Good enough," she said with annoyance in her voice.

Now it was time to think of what to do now that her marli was dead. Just thinking about it

made her want to cry, so she did… She cried on and off the rest of the day while hopping

around confused and distraught. With every step came the pain and with the pain came

those vivid memories that constantly reminded her that her marli was dead and never

coming back. She was alone. Very alone…