Stirring only slightly, I waited for the figure to approach us. My human heart stopped beating, and I stared in awe at the beautiful figure that appeared before me. Kurama's grip on my waist tightened, and I felt as if I might suffocate if he grasped me any harder. It was Lirra, but she had changed. Her eyes were an emerald as deep as Kurama's, buut even brighter. Long, sinuous golden claws replaced her delicate fingers. When I looked at her hand, it was contorted in several ways that only made it look ugly. Bright, corn-colored hair still streamed down her back, fluttering in the soft breeze. White, angelic wings beat slowly, creating a small gust.

"It's been so long since last I saw you," she said, approaching us. "Katie...Kaiina...it's all the same. You've become a weakling and that's why my master has sent me here." She came up to Kurama and whispered something in his ear. In turn, he turned on his heel and smacked her directly across the face.

"What do you want?" Iasked. "Whho is this 'master' you keep talking about?"

"I just want to fulfill my dear master's orders. He knows my power...he taught me how to use it properly."

"Well," I said, closing my eyes and sparing her a short laugh. "Let's see if he taught you how to use this properly!" As I charged forward, green light enveloped my fist. The claws disappeared from Lirra's hands as she rose into the air, dodging my attack. Instead, two crystalline blades ran down the length of her forearms, curving slightly for about two feet past her knuckles. Looking up, I saw them gleaming gloriously in the sun. It was almost as though Lirra controlled the world for that moment. We were just pawns, wandering, lost, alone.

Swooping down, Lirra smirked as she swiped one blade at me. I jumjped up and landed on the flat of it, smiling at my own ingenuity. Her face snarled at me as the other blade came toward my chest. Fortunately, I was able to dodge that one too, and I ended up behind her. Both our backs were facing each other as I drew my saber, fueling it with part of my energy, part of myself. Vines twisted around the blade, blending in as though they were meant to be there. Lirra watrched me, her two blades gleaming as she let her arms hang at her sides.

'"You aren't anything without him anymore," she taunted.

"No," I quavered, "you-you're wrong!"

"All you think about is him."

"Liar!"

"If he wasn't her anymore, you'd be as good as dead."

"Leave 'us' alone! If you want a fair fight, let me fight alone. Not me and Kurama...just me...alone."

One crystalline blade flashed by, and I ducked, feeling a few strands of hair come off. Falling to the ground, I threw my saber out in front of me and felt the full impact of one of those blades. While I was absorbed in one, the other sliced across my stomach. Blood flowed to the ground in in several large rivulets. There was no time to find a bandage; I would just have to end this quickly. Kurama clenched his teeth as he watched from the sidelines, staring anxiously at my wound. He felt my pain, saw that I was hurt, but he knew I wanted to finish this alone.

Panic, and then the vines that wrapped my sword tightly flashed green. Swiping the blade at Lirra, I watched it cut at one arm, denting her blade. How I'd done it, I didn't know, but it had saved me from certain death. "I thought you were a worthy ally for a while," I admitted. "Now I see you're just another piece of demonic scum." Lirra smirked at my ignorance, her vivid green eyes sparkling with delight. It seemed as though I had just displayed my boundless ignorance, and she meant to kill me for being such a fool.

"I'm not a demon," she said. "I'm not a ahuman, or a spirit, either." She glanced at Kurama, who defied her with a cold, hard glare. "I am an Avatar, a being created by another. My master has given me the breath of life, so I must obey him. To do otherwise would be ungrateful."

"But that's no reason to kill me," I argued, gritting my teeth. Lirra was still backed away from me, but my loss of blood was quickly tiring me out.

With a flick of her wrist, Lirra and her weapons were entirely mended. I squirmed a little as she prepared to lower a blade on me. "Your death is long past due," she declared victoriously, giving me her most arrogant grin. "My master has wanted your life in payment for his for a very long time." Rolling to the side, I just managed to avoid the attack. My saber glowed faintly still, and I drove it forward, into her shoulder. Clutching it in pain, Lirra reeled back in her anguish. It must have seemed so impossible that such a thing could happen to her. The shock on her face said everything. I was supposed to be the pitiful weakling, nothing more than a pathetic half-breed. My mother was no demon...she was just a lost spirit of the woods.

"Not bad for a weakling, eh?" I challenged, pressing my saber against her throat.

Lirra glared mercilessly at me, and then used her wings to beat the saber off of her throat. Flying up, she took quite a bit of effort to do so. White feathers fell down to the ground, creating a soft carpet as she beat her wings heavily. Kurama gazed up, and then took a fighting stance. "Katie," he said, "watch out. She may not look it, but she still has plenty left." When I actually tried to read her energy level, I realized he was right. It was still of the charts, far more than I could ever counter. There was no way in hell that I was going to beat Lirra like this.

"I could kill you," she mused, "but I suppose you'd like an exhibition of my powers." Raising one hand, she summoned black energy until I couldn't see any of her hand. Kurama stood beside me, ready to face whatever it would be together. A single rose was in his hand, and I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering that scent. If nothing else, it would givbe me something to remind me of what he had been like if either one of us were to die.

"If it comes down to it, I'll always love you," I whispered to him. Slipping him arm around my waist, he squeezed tightly.

Up above us, that black orb was hovering, but soon the world changed around us. From all my visits to the Plane of Luminescence, I was used to it, and Kurama buried his face in my hair. Lirra disappeared, and we were in the barren world of ice. No matter that it was cold, though, because I could still feel blood drizzling steadily down my body. Kurama noticed and found a dry patch of ground to lay me down on. "Now don't move," he said softly. I did as I was told, and soon he took off his shirt. Feeling the chill set in on me through my jacket and my thin t-shirt, I tried to tell him not to, but he pressed a finger to my lips.

Each half of the shirt was torn again and again, until I had several strips of cloth covering my wounds. "That fight made me think," I said softly while he sat there, trying not to look bothered by the cold. Already his lips had turned blue though, and I saw him shiver slightly. "Either of us could die any day, so we shouldn't have to wait. Some people want to wait for years and years, but by the time that's over, we'll be too old to enjoy each other, and we might get sick of each other. You have to nourish love while it's still alive. Otherwise, it'll end up being too late."

"You're right," he said, bending over a little to stroke my cheek. His red hair fell over his bared chest gracefully, but I still doubted it was enough to keep him warm.

Lying down next to me, he got settled beside me. I was surprised to feel just how cold he had become, but soon my warmth had flooded through him once more. "I love you more than I'll ever love anyone," he said, wrapping both arms around my neck and gazing into my eyes. It was always so transfixing when he did that that sometimes I didn't listen to what he was saying. "Kaiina...will...will you...allow me to take your hand in marriage?"

Glorious shock swept over me, and he produced a small white box. Opening it, he revealed a beautiful diamond ring. Roses stood out on the band, and I took it in awe, slipping it onto my finger. Once it was on, I admired the beautiful diamond and then embraced him with all I had. We kissed more passionately than we had ever kissed before, and didn't break it for what seemed like hours. "I guess I had to do it before I had to up and leave again," he said. "Besides, we've really known each other for longer than they know."

"Not quite," I said, "but it's a good enough explanation."

A day or two passed before we left that spot, and strangely enough, we soon found ourselves in a balmy, shady woods. This place seemed so like the spot where he had died the first time around that I hazarded a glance down at the ring. Lush greenery surrounded us, and the shade moderated the humidity of this forest. "I remember this place," I said quietly, casting my eyes down. "This is where we met before..." Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Don't think about that now," he said. "I'm here. I'm not dead."

"Not yet," a voice whispered from the shadows. Letting me go, Kurama surveyed the area, the rose still clutched in his hand. Lirra was perched on the branch of a nearby tree, balancing upright with the help of her wings. White silk bound her feet, blowing in the gentle breeze. The two crystalline blades still extended beyond her forearms, and I could feel her power everywhere. It was so overwhelming. For a while there didn't seem to be one source, but a thousand different ones.

"So," I said, "you want me dead again." I reached down to unsheath my saber, but it wasn't there. All I had to fight with were my hands and feet.

Immediately, a green aura enveloped me, and beside me, Kurama flourished the rose, turning it into a long whip. Thorns covered its length, and I fingered the place in between my breasts where it had stricken me before. Pain flashed there for a moment, but then I refocused on the figure in the tree. "It's so entertaining to play with you two," Lirra said. "Both of you are insecure without each other...two parts of a whole that cannot be complete without the other. If I kill one of you, the other will take care of itself. Now which to tear apart first?" Eyeing my ring, she smiled, making her decision all too easily.

"I see you have something to remember him by," she mused, staring at the intricate design. "Now where does such a young boy get the money to buy that beautiful jewel? He must love you greatly...to waste his money on a wretched whore like you. All you're in it for is the pleasure...your own personal gain."

"Shut...up," I snarled, my aura getting larger and brighter. "You wouldn't know about those things, being such a monster."

"You don't even know what you are," Lirra said teasingly. "You're just a bastard child...the product of a scared spirit and a lust-filled wolf king. Your father, Fehreil, would never have wanted a child as pathetic as you...a simpering pup crippled by such a weakness as love." Raising my hands, I summoned up several vines, sending them at her in my fury.

For a couple of seconds, it looked like I had her trapped, but then the vines came apart of their own will, severing themselves. Laughing at my attempts, Lirra only smirked. "You're in the Plane of Luminescence," she said. "You're in my world, living with my rules. You are both at my mercy...the players in a play, pawns in a chess match." Kurama leapt forward and challenged her in a series of martial arts moves, flying at her like a maddened bull. Each time Lirra managed to dodge with the grace of a swan, shifting only slightly to avoid his swiftest attacks. Finally, they stopped, and all was silent. Though she was unscathed, Lirra looked slightly drawn.

"What exactly is it behind this world?" I demanded. "What makes it yours?"

"It is me," she said. "I sustain it...I am the Plane of Luminescence personified."

Gazing at her in astonishment, I waited for a couple seconds and then thought of an idea. If she was sustaining it, then all I had to do was distract her with many attacks, sap her energy slowly until she would be easy to kill. Sending out several vines, I covered them with thorns, letting them scratch at her until she had several small cuts all over her body. However, it still wasn't enough. Mother, I thought. Rhia, I don't know how to use your powers...please, help me save him.

Minutes passed, and soon I just went on the defensive, sending out my power to block whatever she threw at me. Suddenly, there was a tingling that ran up and down my spine. I kept on fighting while the voice spoke to me...

"Mother?" I asked, looking around Hell's Grove. For the first time, I wondered why it still held that name. It was beautiful if you knew it, and it had always provided soft grass for me to lie upon. "Mother?" I called again, knowing that she would be here, in her natural home.

"Yes, Lyara," she replied. "Oh, forgive me, Kaiina. I forgot...your father chose to name you something different. I, however, always though Lyara would be a lovely name for my child. Kaiina, why do you look so distressed?" Vivid red-orange hair spilled down her back freely, and her slight frame was draped with vines and leaves, its only covering. Dark shadows flitted about, but they didn't seem to bother her. Eyes as pale a green as I had ever seen stared out of her youthful face.

"I need to know how to defeat her," I said. "Lirra is the one who stands in the way of me and my lover, and then we can live out our lives together happily. Please, mother, I don't know how to use your power yet."

"Find your center," she said, closing her eyes and focusing with me. "There is the answer you look for. It will kill her without fail, but you must be prepared to die if you use it. Few have sufficient power to wield it and live, but use that, and it will at least save your love." Looking into Rhia's loving eyes, I wished I had known her before. My father had always said my mother was a high-bred wolf demon like him. A while later, I had realized that his 'wife' had been nothing but a mere concubine, a woman placed in the throne of a queen to trick me out of my heritage.

"Thank you," I told her, and then embraced my mother for the first time ever as she faded away from me forever, back to the world where she belonged...

When I came to, I dodged Lirra's attacks. Kurama was helping, but it was mostly my fight at the moment. Surprisingly, I'd managed not to get any limbs chopped off by those formidable scythe blades while conversing with my mother.

I did as she had told me to, and tried to find the center of my being, my soul. It lay behind so many thick barriers, but I finally reached it, letting many dark secrets fall away. Inside, I saw why this part had not been revealed to me before. It blazed with power that I had never seen before. Wild and untamed, virtually untouched, it begged to be let out. Before I could though, the sound of a weapon soaring roughly through the air reached my ears. I fell backward and slowly started to lose consciousness. A scream that was not my own rang through the air, but by then I was too disoriented to tell whether Lirra was dead yet or not...all that mattered was that it was over...

A/N-YES! I finally reached the climax of the story. Loved writing the fight scene with Lirra, and I'm sorry for those of you who may have liked her cool, rather cryptic character. I love something about every character I create, so that's no problem for me, but I like to think that there are fans for each one of my OC's. Anyhow, the last few chapters are gonna be so great! Can't wait to wrap up this story...the note on my desk kept telling me to finish this before Christmas(or it's never getting done), but I am way early! wOOt! Love to my one reviewer for chappie 12...I know you're out there guys...you're just...hiding sniffle

Peace Out!

Miari