"So, Glenn is it? Where exactly are your lands?"

"You don't know, Chrissie? Oh yeah, I forgot...you weren't old enough to remember. About ten miles from here their lands begin. Just west of the river...and where the human road runs through...we have lost many to that road. Even we tread it swiftly and with great care."

"Please, call me Swift Heart. For now, anyway. " Swift Heart corrected.

"Serves you right...perhaps you will learn not to pick on lesser creatures..." Rhiannon interjected, with a snort.

"Swift Heart, is she ALWAYS this bitter?"

"Glenn, I don't know, I'm just getting to know her again after ten years...and you really do have to understand, it WAS a wolf responsible for all of it. So please, try not to get her too angry...I'm saying that as much for her sake as I am for yours..."

"I understand, I just wish she would learn to accept that I'm not that wolf..."

"It's harder for her to do than you think. You gotta understand, she's protective. She was alone because of that until she found her mate, and she doesn't want the same fate to befall her family as she went through..."

"And what of you?"

"Well...I'm not so at ease about it myself. But, I'm a Care Bear Cousin, entrusted with a mission to help out Earth. To that end, I'll do whatever it takes to fulfill it."

"And what, pray tell, will happen when you're done with it? Will you still harbor the same bitterness your sister does for my kind?"

"It's not in my nature to be bitter. But trust, now...that's harder to win."

"And what would it take to win your trust?"

Swift Heart stopped and spun to face the wolf, blue eyes quivering with so many mixed emotions. Like I really know how to answer that.

"I don't know, Glenn. Honestly and truthfully, I don't know if that can ever be done. Not completely, anyways. It's hard for me to explain. I'm a Care Bear Cousin, bound by duty to protect the feelings of others and teach others to share theirs. Right now, though, I don't know if I should be sharing mine..."

"And just what are yours?"

"I couldn't explain. In some ways, I feel the same way Rhiannon does. But, I have to stop and ask myself, is that because of the frustration of a life denied to me, or is truly because of you?"

"Do you really think it is me?"

"No, I don't. Still, though, a lifetime of hurt is hard to overcome in just a few minutes..."

"Completely understandable...I just wish I had the courage to do what you just did..."

Swift Heart was taken completely aback by his comment. "And just what did I do..."

"You spoke the truth, from your heart. That takes real courage..."

She blushed just a bit. "Thank you..."

"And for whatever it is worth, you have my trust. I wish I could win yours..."

She blinked. "You would trust me so easily?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"In a word, yes. You've known me and my sister for what, a day? Whatever have I done or she done to win your trust?"

"She has a bit further to go before she can win my trust. But what you do, you do without bitterness or prejudice in your heart. Your feelings are understandable, and I cannot blame you for your anger towards my kind. However, you have at least given me the chance to redeem myself, and perhaps, my people as well."

Swift Heart nodded, then turned her eyes away for a moment. "I was only doing what I was raised to do..."

"Well..." Glenn started to say, before being interrupted by the breaking of a branch in the distance. "What was that?"

Rhiannon and Swift Heart had also stopped, ears pivoting to and fro. "I don't know..."

Glenn sniffed the air for a moment. "Wolves...over there..."

Instantly Rhiannon shifted into an alert stance, glaring at Glenn. "Yours?"

He sniffed the air again, then shook his head. "I don't recognize their scents...in fact, they seem rather odd to me. The only way I can tell they ARE wolves is the fact that my ears can pick up their growling..."

Swift Heart just blinked. Guess it's not so bad traveling with a wolf... she thought. Aloud she spoke to Glenn, "How far off are they?"

He froze for a minute, then turned and shifted to an attack pose. "Right on top of us!" he shouted, just in time to take a broadside charge from one of them.

Rhiannon darted in front of her sister protectively. "You are NOT getting my sister without going through me first, you overgrown mutts!"

Swift Heart managed to get a look at their attackers and gasped--they were pure black with glowing red eyes. "Rhiannon...these aren't normal wolves...they're Shadows, in the form of a wolf..."

"What do you mean, Chrissie?"

"I'll explain later, right now there's no time...just let me get a clear shot at them..."

"Clear shot? What are you talking about? Last time I checked sis, we ain't carrying any weapon of any sort..."

"You'll see. Just get me clear."

Glenn was doing a fair job holding his own against both of them. "What manner of creatures are these? They attack without soul, without honor..."

"That's because they don't have one, Glenn..." Swift Heart shouted, taking a second to size up the distance to one of them, then shifting her stance, watching Rhiannon dart around trying to separate the pair into single targets. She'd only get one clear shot right now, but it was enough.

"All right...let's do this...Care Bear Countdown...four...three...two..one...and STARE!"

All at once her tummy symbol glowed with incandescent light before a solid lance of pure positive energy shot forth and slammed headlong into the first Shadow wolf. It screamed an unearthly sound before reverting into its native form and floating away, back into the darkness from whence it came.

The second was on a beeline for Rhiannon...and Swift Heart had no time to shift her aim before it tackled her broadside. Her sister tumbled a ways along the ground before smacking hard into the stump of a tree. Dazed, she glanced around, trying to get her bearings straight.

The wolf, however, had sensed its true target and made a rush towards Swift Heart.

"I see now, they're after me..." she muttered, turning to face her adversary--a bit too slow. Her eyes closed as she realized that she wasn't going to be in time to do anything...and braced herself.

But nothing happened--just a growl and a blur of grey shooting past her closed eyes to intercede between her and the beast.

"You want either one of these two, hell spawned creature, you must first pass me..."

The Shadow wolf didn't respond--of course, it had neither the need nor the capability to respond even if it had wanted to. It simply charged.

However, Glenn's block gave Swift Heart the time she needed to prepare for another shot. This time, her response was slightly quicker than her first shot, and that same blast of starfire energy lanced into and through the other Shadow...this one simply dissipating into nothingness.

After the light died down and her tummy symbol returned to normal, she blinked and glanced around for her companions. "Everyone okay?"

"I'm all right, though I must confess...that was astounding. I must say again...exactly who are you, Swift Heart Rabbit? Are you an angel, sent from above?"

"Oh, don't tell me..." Rhiannon spoke, still somewhat dazed from her meeting with the tree stump. "Don't tell me you're even THINKING about that..."

"It's all right, sis...I don't think he means it in THAT way...I just think he's a bit astonished by my abilities."

"Now I understand what ya meant, sis. And I gotta say...wow."

"Told you I could defend myself, Rhiannon..."

"I knew you could, Chrissie. Just...not ever like THAT."

She turned to Glenn. "That, Glenn, was a Care Bear Stare. I can't explain how it works, really...something about how we focus the positive energy in ourselves into our tummy symbols..which in turn cast that energy out against whatever evil we happen to face. Since we have no weapons, it is our only way we can defend ourselves."

"I see. Not something garden variety, it seems."

"You got that right..."

Swift Heart blushed again. "Guys, I was just doing what came naturally to me..."

"I know, " both rabbit and wolf spoke nearly in unison.

Rhiannon looked around to see if there was anything else waiting to ambush them, then turned to Glenn. "I suppose I owe you one...although right now I'd just take that against the pain your kind caused me..."

"I guess I can accept that..." he said, then turned to Swift Heart.

She sighed and looked up at him. "Although she won't say it, she's thankful you saved both me and her. It's just gonna take a long time for her to admit that."

"I understand."

"As for myself...well...perhaps you have gone a long way towards earning my trust...thank you. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without your help."

"As with you, I was just doing what came naturally to me. We wolves defend our pack with our lives if it becomes necessary."

"I see..."

"Maybe you and I are not as dissimilar as one would think..."

"Perhaps not...but still..."

"What is it?"

"How did you wind up being so nice, and...well, noble? "

"Well...you see, my father issued the edict to his pack that we were not to hunt anymore, and instead search for plants and other foods because he felt a great sorrow over what he had just caused. Not even a month before, my mother was lost, one of the many casualties of the human highway that runs through our lands...he was so grieved by that he swore never again would he or anyone under his rule ever cause that kind of grief to another living creature. For ten years, we have lived by that rule. He promised himself then that his children would be raised to be kindhearted and loving, more noble than the world around us would believe us to be..."

"I see...well, you really are different...but..."

He glanced at her to see her blue eyes meeting his green ones. "You're so different it fascinates me...how could something that caused me so much pain in my life be at the same time so warm...I can't understand that for the life of me...there is really only one thing I can even relate to it..."

"And that is?"

"Years ago, when we had just barely grown up, we had to face a great evil called Dark Heart. He was evil to the core, yet one human girl stood up for what she believed, and in doing so, freed him from the evil that possessed him..."

"And how did she believe?"

She bowed her head in thought for a moment. "Good or bad, you're still worthy of being trusted. You're still human inside. That's pretty much what she believed."

"And that relates to me?"

"Yes...because I'm beginning to understand now, I can't blame everyone for the actions of one. Especially when those actions are years and years in the past. I should just be grateful now that my sister is alive and well and move forward."

"Agreed..."

"Yeah..."

"I never thought your kind possessed such power and courage, myself..."

"Yeah, I guess wolves would have thought us for years to be just small, helpless creatures that deserved nothing but to be hunted..."

"I must confess...you fascinate me as much as I do you..."

Swift Heart blinked. "I do? How?"

"You may not be a wolf, but you possess the heart and the spirit of one. I believe so, anyway."

"Why...thank you..."

He just smiled at her and laid a paw on her shoulder. "No matter where our paths take us, I consider you as much as part of my pack now as though you were born into it...this I swear..."

She closed her eyes, then opened them and smiled at him. "Never thought I'd see the day. And thank you again."

"No, thank you, Swift Heart...for showing me what real courage is. I owe you something that I cannot hope in a lifetime to repay, except with my life...you have shown me loyalty..."

Rhiannon trotted over to her sister's side. "We going on now?"

"Yeah, in a minute..."

Rhiannon looked up at Glenn. "DON'T go getting any ideas now...you know your kind and hers don't get along..."

Glenn blinked at her comment, then looked down at Swift Heart. "What is she talking about?"

Rhiannon just laughed a bit. "Don't you see it, sis?"

"No, not really..." Actually, I do, but it'd be silly to admit that to my sister. I love her as much as anyone loved their sister, but she'd never understand.

"He's gone all head over heels. And I'm telling ya, it'll never work. I'll say it again--wolves and rabbits weren't meant to get along, much less be together..."

"Remind me to show you Care-A-Lot and the Forest of Feelings sometime, sis."

Rhiannon just blinked, then stared at her sister. "You can't be serious..."

Maybe...maybe not. Maybe it's just me learning finally to overcome my fears. But to find something beyond that..this I never dreamed of. And this is why I can't tell you now what I'm thinking...

"Rhiannon, he saved both of our lives. I think he's done enough to earn at least a measure of our trust."

"Yeah, yeah...anyways, it's getting late. I'd suggest we find somewhere to sleep. Preferrably with him FAR away from you, sis..."

Glenn just shook his head. Sheesh...what's it gonna take? It's not like I have any designs on her sister...I just admire her courage and strength. She is worthy of my friendship--even if no one else but my pack would think so...

Night fell, and three souls watched the stars twirl through the heavens.

"Hey, sis..."

"What is it, Rhiannon?"

"Can you see your home from here?"

"Oh, Care-A-Lot? Well...let's see..." Her eyes scanned the skies for the North Star--which the Care Bear Family referred to as the Great Wishing Star--then tracked slightly to the left, looking for an outline familiar only to her...there it was... "Yeah, it's right over there, little to the left of the North Star..."

"I don't see anything..."

"It's hard to see at night..."

"Oh."

Glenn silently trotted over to her, staying just enough out of the light cast by the campfire they'd set--thankfully Rhiannon had the sense to bring along some supplies--so that Rhiannon couldn't see him, and pitched his voice just enough for Swift Heart to hear him.

"Sorry I must talk and sneak about like this...but I do not wish to draw the ire of your sister, Swift Heart..."

"I understand..." she replied, keeping her voice equally low.

"Still, how does she figure I have any designs on you?"

"Huh?"

"She seems to think there is something more between you and I..."

She just shrugged her shoulders, the firelight reflecting off her blue eyes. "Don't ask me what that is...I wouldn't know."

"Well, for what it's worth, she seems to think I want you as a mate..."

She blinked a moment before regaining her composure. "Yeah, she does seem to think that. Although she's right on one point--our kinds haven't gotten along since time began."

"Agreed..." he said, a slight tone of dismay to his voice.

"I'm sure a wolf would think the same of it."

"Perhaps.."

"I'm pretty sure of that, Glenn..."

"But still..."

She sighed softly, then shook her head. "I really don't know what to think of what she thinks, Glenn...really, I don't..."

"But she IS your sister..."

"Yes, she is. But sometimes I find that I don't quite share her thoughts about some things."

"Like what she said?"

"I'm not sure."

Glenn sighed and closed his eyes. "Suppose for a minute she's right and I do want you as a mate. Do you think that was possible?"

"Glenn, I don't know, ok? I've seen odder pairings in my life...It's just..."

"Just what?"

She sighed and looked up at him. "Even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I'm ready to even try. I still have so much that I need to think about. And admittedly, one of those things is how my sister would react..."

"You mean to say that you would honestly give it a chance..."

"Maybe...maybe not. I don't know. I just know that right now I wouldn't be ready for it..."

"I see..."

"What if your sister reacts unfavorably?"

"At this point? It's the safest bet I could make that she would. And I couldn't stand to lose her. Yet...this is also my life, and my choice."

"I understand...I think."

She looked up at him with sleepy eyes--after all it was getting late--and raised her paw to stroke his cheek, gently, still in a friendly sort of manner. "If ya wanna know what I really think..."

"I don't think I would have said anything to you if I didn't want to know."

"One thing I learned long ago, and especially proven to me double this past day, is never overestimate the impossible. And honestly, you're worth the chance. But it's me that's not ready to take that. Maybe, someday, I just might...just not right now, ok?"

"I can accept that, Swift Heart...now, let us rest. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

"I agree. Good night, Glenn."

"Good night, Chrissie..."

She didn't have the heart to correct him. Besides, he'd earned the right to call her by her birth name.

After she'd fallen asleep, though, and before he became too sleepy to make the attempt himself, he gently kissed her on the forehead. "Maybe, one day..."

Three hours later, she was wide awake, whereas Glenn and Rhiannon had fallen asleep. She planted her blue tail on a rock and pondered the sudden turn her life was taking.

She looked up at the stars and sighed. "Oh what am I doing?"

She closed her eyes and let her head droop. "I really do think he's wonderful...but still, I don't know, I really don't. And there isn't anyone who really can help me...who can I turn to, my sister? She'd just jump all over me telling me is isn't right...and as much as I love my sister, this is my decision to make...and yet...there's just so much more on my mind. I mean, I have this mission to complete...to help Glenn and the others, perhaps even my sister.."

"But still..." She just sat there, her ears hung low. "Why'd he have to be so nice, anyways? I mean, if he acted like any other wolf this would be sooo much easier for me. He's...different. So different, and so warm and so...argh..."

She sighed, then closed her eyes, blushing just slightly at a thought she was having. "Oh, stop it, Swift Heart..." she muttered to herself. "Ya shouldn't be thinking those things..."

She shook her head. "Yeah...I shouldn't be thinking like that. And I can't help thinking that way either..."

Again her blue eyes went to the stars. "I wonder what Mom and Dad would have thought? It's times like this I wish I had the chance to know them...just as much as I can sure use the help from my other family..."

"You called?" a voice in the trees called, softly and just barely above a whisper.

"Who's that?" Swift Heart answered back, astonished and just barely able to keep her voice down, stifling a yelp so much her voice sounded more like a squeak.

"It's me. True Heart...I just thought I'd come down to check out how you were doing...well, that and I couldn't sleep much either so I took a look down at Earth and just happened to see you...what's on your mind?"

"Well...you didn't overhear me much did you?"

"Not too much, no. Just bits and pieces. But whatever it is, it's deeply troubling you. You're never up THIS late."

"How do you do it, True Heart?"

"Do what, Swift Heart?"

"How do you and Noble Heart make it work all these years?"

"Well, I'll tell you a secret, just between us females. It isn't easy, and wasn't at the beginning."

"Even now, after all these years raising the Care Bear Family?"

"Even now...love has its ups and downs just like anytihng else in life. Just because Noble Heart and I are Care Bear and Care Bear Cousins doesn't mean that there aren't moments we don't see eye to eye."

"Oh...but how did you even make it work in the beginning?"

"Well, it was hard...our families didn't exactly approve of our union, us being differing species and both my family and his thought it best we stick with our own kind. But, we didn't see it that way..."

"You really loved him, didn't you?"

"As much then as I do today, Swift Heart--with all my heart. We promised each other that no matter what happened, we'd see it through...and if no one else understood that but he and I, that's all that mattered. I didn't expect anyone else to understand our love...we just did what came naturally to each of us."

"I see..."

"And I suspect you're having the same problems?"

"Well...yes, True Heart. I see the wisdom of what he tells me...and yet I can't bring myself to accept it. I mean...it was a wolf that separated my sister and I...and now I have one falling for me..."

"And what of how you feel?"

She lowered her head, sighed, then looked back up at True Heart. "I think I feel the same way...but it just doesn't make sense..."

"To the world, to your sister, or to yourself?"

Swift Heart sighed again. "All of the above."

"Swift Heart, did it occur to you that love isn't supposed to make sense? It's not something you make into something rational. It's what you feel most deeply. Trust what you feel, and don't try to question why you feel it or whether it's the way that everyone else thinks it's supposed to be. "

"I know, True Heart. Silly thing is I've always known it. I'm just scared of what my sister would do...I don't want to lose her again.."

"Swift Heart, if she truly loves you--and I've been watching from time to time, I've no reason to think she doesn't--she'll understand, It might take her some time to come around to the idea, but she'll understand..."

"Yeah, you're right. And perhaps that's all I've really needed is reassurance..."

"Perhaps. That and you were never really one to jump into anything too fast...running is the only thing you do that way."

Both of them had to laugh at that. "But sometimes that's just the way it happens. And you just have to allow yourself to open your heart to the possibility. Especailly if you truly feel the way you say you do."

She lowered her head, her eyes gazing at the ground. After a long pause, and a deep breath, she looked up at her mentor. "I do."

"Then there really is nothing else I need to say, Swift Heart...you've had it in you all along. You just neeed to show yourself that you could do it."

"Thanks, True Heart..."

"Any time, Swift Heart. Now, get some sleep. You do, after all, still have a mission to complete. "

"Right...and wouldn't Noble Heart be worried at you being gone this time of night?"

"Oh please, Swift Heart...his snoring at night sounds a lot like Lotsa Heart Elephant trumpeting, accompanied by a yard of locomotives. Trust me, he's sleeping soundly. And I've dealt with it for twenty years of marriage..so I deserve a little bit of a break now and again..."

"Twenty years? Geez, that's a long time to be with just one..."

"Aye, it is...but it's been the happiest and most complete twenty years of my life, and I wouldn't trade them--or him--for all the treasures in Care-A-Lot and Earth combined, Honestly, I'm looking forward to another twenty and more...Good night, Swift Heart."

"Good night, True Heart."

END CHAPTER 2