Family.

Chapter 7:

Nosedive wondered through the pond in a bit of a dream, the place was way too quiet. He was the only one up, lately he'd actually had time to think about what had happened in his life, normally his brother would keep him occupied so that he wouldn't but with a wedding to organize he didn't have much time for his ever-loving baby brother. Lately he'd been having the same haunting dream about a friend he'd lost in the invasion. Her name was Saffron, she was unusual to say the least her family could be traced back quite easily to Ducaine's time and legend has it that one of her ancestor's helped him fight the saurian's magus. She was a witch, a powerful one too, that's why she was dead now. Draganus had murdered her and her 'clan' himself, believing that with the mask missing they were the only viable threat, she was ten. Draganus had broadcast it to all of Puckworld, he saw his friend die on a huge screen and he remembered how much he had cried that night, how much the look in her eyes had haunted him for these past few years since and wished with all his might that there was someway to bring her back. He sighed and headed into the kitchen and grabbed a soda out of the fridge, sat down on a stool and started to drink.

Dive looked round when he heard someone moving around in the next room and decided to check it out, it was probably just Canard and Silver back from another of their all nighters, getting a little friendly to finish the night off. He opened the door just enough to see who it was and was a little surprised to see that it was Nina.

"Hey Nina," she looked up, no longer frightened of her new family, "what are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep." Was her simple answer.

"Bad dream huh?" Dive said with understanding.

"Uh huh." Nina replied absent mindedly whilst she started intently at whatever she was holding in her hands.

"What's that?" Dive asked as he moved closer, he stopped when he saw what it was. A frighteningly familiar pendant, it may not have been the same one as hers but it was definitely the emblem of the Thorn Blood clan, her clan. Dive eventually gathered his senses enough to ask, "Where . . . Where did you get that?"

"I found it," Nina looked at Dive and her expression changed from interest to worry, "What's wrong you look funny?"

"I . . I knew someone who owned one like that once."

"Really, you want it cause I don't really like it s'just my daddy was real mad when it got lost so I made sure he never finded it." She held out the small pendant to him and he gingerly took it, with a sickening feeling he turned the pendant over to find the initial's of the owner. He wished he hadn't it was hers, 'STB' was inscribed on the back like he'd seen it so many times as a child. "Nosedive are you sure you okay, cause you looks scared." Her words fell on deaf ears as he felt his hand clamp around that small piece of jewelry and his body turn and run. He didn't stop until he got to his room, he ran to the closet and grabbed a shoe box and rummaged trough all of the memories of his time of earth and found the one thing he'd managed to keep safe form childhood, through the camps, through everything. He picked up his memory and though his hand was shaking he compared the pendant to the one around the neck of the white feathered, black haired girl in the picture, before he knew it he was sobbing for all he was worth. He knew it had been hopeless to even think that she might have somehow survived but it was still hard to let go.

And that's how Wildwing found him, sobbing in the corner of his room. Nina had woken him up after Dive had just run off, worried that it had been her that had upset him. Of course the noise of his sobbing had woken up the lighter sleepers and they the heavier, so everybody else were standing outside his room wondering what could possibly have upset their blonde teammate so much that he was bordering hysterical. It didn't take much for Wildwing to work it out, he'd seen the carnage Dragaunus had brought down upon the Thorn Blood's as well, and Nina had told him about the pendant, so when he saw the tattered picture of Dive and Saffron at his Grandmother's house on Puckworld he instantly wrapped his arms around his brother and let the teenager sob into his shoulder until Dive cried himself out and to sleep. He then picked him up and placed him in bed wrapping the covers around him and placed the pendant and picture on the side table. As he closed the door and was faced with ten questioning faces he motioned everyone to go the rec. room so that he could explain.

"Saff?" Asked Phoenix when the others had set off.

"Yeah." He replied sadly, she nodded and decided it best to put Nina and Millie to bed as she already knew what was wrong.

Wildwing entered the rec. room and nodded gratefully at Tanya when she gave him a cup of coffee. He sat there for a while, not sure of how or where to start.

"Well what's wrong with him this time?" Asked Mallory in her usual insensitive way. Wildwing shot her a glare before answering.

"He just had a nasty reminder of something he rather forget," Wildwing sighed and decided to start from the beginning:



TO BE CONTINUED: (P.S. Sorry it's so late I've been skiing so bit busy, anywho, more to come soon. Oh and sorry it's a bit short, I've got horses and work tomorrow and it's quite late!)