She knows! Oh heaven, she knows!

The voice in Chihiro's head that was setting off every alarm bell was never revealed to the older dragon. Instead, she managed to smother it, focusing instead on the devious dragoness that was questioning everything she could think of about Chihiro.

"The Goddess of the moon! That is certainly a very demanding job. Did you know Kira or how did you come by such a high position? You're so young…." she questioned with narrowed eyes.

Chihiro raised her snout a few inches in the air, "That dragon! Pff! I have my connections. I just happened to be in the area, I had to exterminate the vile griffin that had threatened me when I was only flying over its territory." Please forgive me Kira.

Mara returned a relaxed expression, walking towards the door that led further into her mountain domain. "Not guarding your flock?"

Flock…sheep…subjects? Oh! That hooded spirit…

"Unfortunately, no. Most left when Kira died."

"What a shame….mine are overpopulating….perhaps I'll send some to you," Mara commented as they passed down the tunnels side-by-side.


Raider still sat with his muzzle to the floor in the main chamber of Mara's earth-made castle. He had not once so much as twitched though did applaud Chihiro's performance internally. However, he did wish to tear the throat of the monster, Mara. She treated her people as if they were worthless nuisances! Mara was lucky her fat throat was too wide for him to get his teeth around; her mentioning Kira sent his blood pressure into overdrive.

Cautiously opening a bright eye, the beast began to study the still kneeling hooded spirit.

In the distance, delicate rounded ears rotated to pick up the unmistakable scream of the race his fate was intertwined with. Bolting from the room, he only prayed that somehow Mara hadn't managed to hear the call from deep within her mountain.

The savage ogre wolf practically flew out the intricate marble-covered den with a snarl gracing his lips. Kohaku, I know that's you.

Dashing over the snow and down the mountain side, the wolf's large paws kept him from sinking deeply. Ahead, he could make out an unmistakable mass of worm spirits. How on the moon! Worm spirits shouldn't be able to survive in the snow! This must be one of those rare snow types, that would explain why they're black…

Raider shifted into another gear, increasing his speed greatly as he watched a dragon-shaped mass of worms raise its upper half into the air. There was a second scream that matched the intensity of the first. The worms dropped from a dragon body and they started to spasm on the snow.

The wolf could hardly recognize the owner of the voice. Black patches coated more than three-quarters of the once mighty river dragon. He had definitely grown since Raider last saw him, but he was much too lean. A proud mane now sadly collapsed on one side with the hair thinning. What startled the wolf though was how the unfocused eyes no longer glowed white when he was in danger.

There was only black.