Disclaimer: I may be crazy, maybe even evilly loony, but I definitely don't own the TMNT. E and L have probably never even heard of me (save for that art contest thinga ma jig I won and they all signed a book and sent it to me).
A/N: Yup, I did come up with a name for this series. (readers: "Series! (gasp) It's a series?") Yes, dimwits, it is. That should tell you something. (readers: "Ahhh…now I understand…") Chimaera roughly means dream. I thought it fit around the plot lines fairly well, don't you? I mean, dragons are necessarily dreams…figments of our imagination, so to speak. No, it doesn't have anything to do with that ugly three-headed animal creature that has a snake for a tail. (gasp) Wow, I know! I did manage to keep my end of the deal and update before I leave! Holy monkey paste, it's the end of the world! Ahem. It's going to get a tiny bit darker around here (you'll know what I mean after you read).
9.
Lharom jerked back into wakefulness with a start and growled in a barely heard tone. Something had made a sound; he could bet his claw on it. His keen ears didn't lie. Around him the soft sounds of slumbering forms filled the air. He gritted his teeth when Raph snorted and turned over in his sleep, punching at Don with a closed fist. Don caught the fist and let his shell take the brunt of the blow. The two ceased activity and resumed their snoring. Jhadie, curse it, I hate first watch! The moon wasn't helping matters. It cast an eerie white glow on everything, making pikes out of the tiniest grass blades. His leaden eyelids started to droop once more as overwhelming weariness overtook his mind.
Another rustle and a muted crack made him start. This sound was much louder than the first and alarmed him. His hackles went straight up and he growled low and menacingly, hoping it was enough. Another rustle told him it wasn't. The wolfena bared his sharp white teeth and snarled a secondary warning. Two eerie glowing orbs suddenly materialized out of the darkness and he immediately went cold with nameless fear. They were a sickly, bright green, slitted, blinking, looking hungry…and that meant…He sent a panicked telepathic message to Saesha, who abruptly jerked awake and stood on shaky legs.
She bellowed in surprise, her eyes widening entirely, and spat white-hot purple flames at the eyes. The owner hissed softly and sidestepped the attack with liquid ease. Lharom snarled another warning before taking griffin form and throwing a groggy Don onto his back with his beak.
"What…" the turtle started to ask but he could feel the griffin under him radiating a petrifying form of alarm that deadened his nerves. He caught Kyrunir as the rukit was thrown up next and put him in front of him. Raph was already awake by now; the sounds were like thunder to his draconic hearing. He took one look at Saesha, who was putting on the best threat she could muster, and scrambled on hurriedly. Rijinn joined his sister to intimidate the unseen adversary.
Something shot out of the darkness, pale and luminously wet. It curled around Rijinn with lightning speed and recoiled with a pained hiss. The eyes narrowed malevolently. By this time Lharom was loaded with four passengers. "Let's go!" he squawked (or squeaked, if you were Kyrunir and were right by his head), launching in the sky with a powerful leap. One of the luminous things barely missed grabbing his hind leg as he left the ground. Saesha and Rijinn weren't far behind.
"What was that?" Kyrunir whispered, looking back down. But the thing was gone, disappeared from the grass.
Lharom was still trembling through his downy cover and fur. "If the dragons hadn't been there, we would all be dead now." The rukit shivered as a cool breeze went through his fur, chilling him. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to get far away from here." The stars above winked coldly at them as they fled the unknown monster they'd narrowly escaped.
When they finally landed it was almost dawn, as the faint beams of sunlight streaming over the horizon attested. Lharom landed heavily, exhausted from flying for so long. He waited until all of his passengers had gotten off, then collapsed, panting.
"What was that thing?" Raph demanded with a growl for an undertone.
Lharom's sides were heaving as he spoke. "It…that thing was a…beihl," he grunted.
"A what?" Don asked.
"A beihl!" the griffin exclaimed, his voice cracking. "They're creatures of pure nightmare and are attracted to primarily fear unless they've been called to hunt someone. They're somewhat of a children's horror story." Kyrunir nodded stiffly, as though he knew what Lharom was talking of. "But they're quite real. That one we left was looking for me. No doubt it was enslaved by Xetyphaes to find and kill me." Ukeera shuddered visibly and rubbed her arm. "However, the only way they're repelled is if you have a dragon with you. Dragons are creatures of dreams, which is why there are known only to be good dragons. Originally, dragons were dreamt into existence by an extremely powerful mage who has since then deceased, bless his heart. A dream is the exact opposite of a nightmare."
"So, exactly how does a beihl work?" Saesha mused, pushing Rijinn off of her. He had jumped onto her with a squeak of very non-masculine terror when Lharom mentioned the words 'kill me'.
"The tentacles that it has suck your very life force out of you. Their eyes can paralyze you stiff; the only reason I was able to get away was because I had just enough strength to contact Saesha with a telepathic message. I would have been all but doomed. Among other things, they have the ability to strangle, like the common anaconda. That would have been our fate had we stayed."
"Basically you're tellin' us that unless we're around Saesha or Rijinn, we're fried?" Raph deadpanned, boring a pit in the dirt with his finger and watching small ants detour around it in small lines.
"Yep. But, we are in luck; another weakness is sunlight. They hate it and simply cannot bear it if it contacts with their skin. If it does, I'm told they'll melt."
Saesha rolled her eyes. "Remind you of a certain OZ character?" she grumbled. "And a certain turtle who couldn't stand her shrieks?"
"Yeah, but she melted with water," Don pointed out, smiling slightly.
"And Mikey sounds just as bad as her when he tries to impersonate Shania Twain," Raph added snidely.
"Who?" Kyrunir asked, clearly confused.
"Eh, ya wouldn't understand," Raph said, waving the rukit off.
Lharom stood shakily, testing his limbs to see if they would support him. "We should travel at night only because of circumstances. I suggest we take the daytime to travel easily. But when dusk comes we must fly unless we'd like another run-in with that beihl." He collapsed again and grinned sheepishly, as a best a griffin can. "I seem to be exhausted. Saesha, if I told you where to find some food…"
The purple dragon sighed heavily and stood again. "Alright, where?"
"Well, around an area like this, you'd be able to find some bankas. They should be ripe at this time of year." The griffin raised his huge head, squinting with yellow eagle eyes. "Yep, see some trees over there. But watch for the thorns; they're small and they hurt."
Don grunted, "It had to be thorny fruit trees!" and stood, slipping his Bo in its holster. "I've had just about enough of thorns!" Saesha leapt onto his shoulder as he stalked away through the short, stubby crab grass, rubbing an ear. When he reached the small trees, he spotted oddly shaped pink fruits nestled amongst the prickly branches. The turtle scratched his head and sighed. "How do you suppose we're getting in there without being stabbed?"
"Quit whining," Saesha said, hopping down and landing on the grass with cat-like ease. "At least they're not oljis thorns."
Don frowned and rubbed his arm where a scar from his last encounter dwelled. "And let's hope we'll never run into them again." His companion rooted around the base of the tree until she found an opening in the leaves and thorns into which she climbed. The dragon ascended the trunk carefully, avoiding the thorns and nimbly ducking branches.
"I would like to know why, exactly, we're always the ones getting provisions," she grunted casually, ripping off one of the bankas and throwing it to Don with telekinesis. The turtle nodded in agreement and caught another airborne fruit in his hand, putting them both down on the ground so he could catch the others she was pitching. Their shape made them relatively easy to grab; Don always made it his goal to catch the fruits by their curly stems and not their tender, bulbous body. The one time he made the mistake of doing the latter, it exploded, covering his hand in sticky juices. When he had a sizeable pile by his feet, he let Saesha know. The dragon emerged from the fruit tree grumbling and flicking off leaves and thorns stuck in her scales. "No harm done," she replied to the turtle's concerned looks. "I just hate thorns because they needle their way under my scales. It's quite a deal to get them out." To prove her point, she plucked another thorns out with her toes and stabbed it into the ground.
Don bent down to pick up their harvest but found them beginning to levitate right under his beak. He had to jerk back to miss getting bombarded in the face with fruit bombs waiting to be set off. Saesha only smiled malevolently and pounced on his tail, scaling it and his shell to end up on his shoulder. "You could've done it the easy way and jumped," Don muttered.
When they got back to the makeshift campsite, Lharom was still flat on his side, and taking a snooze it appeared. So were Ukeera and Kyrunir. "Claims he needs his sleep to be ready for night flight," Raph grunted, jabbing his thumb at the tawny griffin. "If ya ask me, he's bein' lazy."
"Lay off, Raph. He's bum tired," Rijinn replied from his position nestled between Lharom's large forepaws (A/N: Just to clarify, Haradrian griffins have all lion limbs. The only thing eagley about them is their head and wings.) "It wasn't as if you flew three miles last night." The turtle snorted and made a pillow out of his arms as Don sat quietly beside him.
Raph sighed and furrowed his brow. "Donnie, why were we brought here? How did we end up here and not Splinter?"
"The first question I can't answer for you, Raph," Don replied, picking at a blade of grass. "However, I have a theory about the second. It appears that only those of us with any kind of dragon DNA in our system, meaning tails, ears, eyes, were detected by the magical energy in the egg fragment." Saesha settled by his head when he curled up into a ball on the grass.
Rijinn puffed a bit of smoke. "So, what do you wanna do while lion butt over there sleeps his worries and cares away?" he asked. He was greeted with a trio of soft snores. "It always happens to me…" he groaned, settling down for a nap.
Dakari squinted painfully as the sun's light came in contact with them. Last night had been, simply put, not fun. Not by a long shot. They'd been attacked by a fiend from the darkness when they had bedded down for the night. Currently, Leo was resting from the fast and furious melee they had before dawn. He'd been the one who saw the beihl first.
As the turtle had snuggled into Tunali's stomach for warmth, a tentacle seized the teela by his barrel. The animal was terrified beyond measure, thrashing around in its luminous grip. Leo, furious and fearful, whipped out a sword and slashed the thing in two, dropping his teela on the ground. The teela, now fully aware that they were under attack, squealed and ran behind Leo to hide. The turtle brandished his katanas openly, making sure whatever had grabbed Tunali was aware that he had weaponry.
Another tentacle shot out of the darkness, constricting him around the waist and lifting him up. Dakari leapt in and saved his friend from further harm by smiting the thing with his sword and slicing it through. Leo seemed to be alright for the moment, except for a sudden weariness. Later he'd said he felt his feeling seeping away from every inch of his body and into the tentacle.
Finally, the entire creature emerged, sickly green eyes glowing eerily. It was impossible to look at without feeling an imposing threat blanket your mind, throwing you into paralysis. Watishi charged out of the darkness behind the beihl, bellowing madly in her dash. It missed being trampled by the enraged teela with only inches to spare. Dakari used this distraction to disconnect another of its many arms. It hissed angrily and wrapped the rabbit in two or three tentacles. He sensed this thing stealing his life from him as his nerves went numb with cold.
Leo had snapped out of his stupor at just the right time, making a fevered dash at the beihl. Dakari was fading. At the final second, he darted in and stabbed the beihl with both katana, drawing a steady shriek from it. Much to his dismay, as soon as he removed the weapons, the wounds he'd caused healed themselves. The creature was angered by his action and slapped him away with a floppy, yet hard foot. Somehow Tunali managed to catch his tail in his mouth and hurl him back at the beihl.
The turtle, rocketing back to his adversary, slashed off the tentacles that held Dakari, injuring the beihl momentarily. Watishi took her master and spirited him away to the far side of the camp while Leo parried slimy arms and cut them off left and right. It was easy to see the creature was growing impatient and grabbed him by the right foot, swinging him upside down and causing him to drop his swords in surprise. The beihl opened a previously invisible mouth, causing his attention to be drawn to it. He found his gaze held in an unbreakable prison as a long tongue emerged, open and sporting teeth.
Tunali came from behind, rearing up and falling back down to squash the beihl's head with his weighty feet. It dropped Leo again, falling away from the blow. The turtle got up, the mental damage the beihl had dealt now taking its toll. He collapsed onto the pebbly ground like a sack as Tunali dueled with the monster, leaping nimbly away from its grasp only to dart in once again and bite its horrible flesh with sharp front teeth. Had it not been for the sun's timely arrival, they would have died last night.
Now Dakari felt guilty about causing his friend such horrors. He turned around to check on the turtle, who was dozing fitfully, sandwiched between Watishi and Tunali's bellies, his head pillowed on his teela's neck. He sighed and stared at the still steaming, thick, black, gooey puddle on the rocks, the only remnant of the attacking beihl. What I'd give for Usagi's advice right now, he sighed inwardly, shifting on the boulder. It's a wonder I've gotten this far without his help.
Watishi let out a snort and he turned around again, staring shallowly at her. Her glare seemed to say Yeah, yeah, get a grip, will you? He didn't die, so stop feeling sorry for yourself, dang rabbit. I should cook you over a fire right now until you get some sense baked into that thick head of yours. He let his long gray ears droop ever lower and picked an aedil flower from a sparse patch of dirt, staring at the blue and white petals as if he hoped it would suck him into a void.
He heard a groan and his mood spiked toward the cheerful side once more. "Dakari? What're you doing over there?" Leo asked quietly. Clearly from his tone of voice he was still feeling a bot woozy. Tunali and Watishi let out a simultaneous whicker and nuzzled an arm each.
He could nearly hear Watishi reply Feeling sorry for himself, that's what he's doing. "Nothing," he said simply, dropping the flower. It floated gently down to the ground before shrinking into a shriveled crust of its former self.
"Dakari-san…what was that thing?" Leo asked with a frown. "And what did it want?"
The rabbit got up and walked over to them in short strides. "It was a beihl. And it was hunting me. I've been causing the Empire trouble ever since I arrived here. Xetyphaes must have found a way to enslave one and send it after me. But if he was able to do that…" His eyes widened. "He must've sent one after Lharom!" He growled a curse under his breath and grabbed Watishi's saddle. The teela struggled to her feet clumsily, as her limbs were a bit sleepy from lying down for so long. Leo too staggered upright, balancing with his tail as he bent over to retrieve Tunali's saddle.
"Lharom is one of your buddies I'll guess," Leo said, a shot in the dark really.
"Yes, and a yatined (A/N: Haradrian curse. :) good shape-shifter too," Dakari grunted, strapping Watishi's saddle in place before giving her a pat. "Forgive my language, but circumstances are grim."
The turtle was confused; he had no idea his friend had just cursed, but he shrugged it off. "Er, right. Where are we going?"
The rabbit grinned tightly. "South, to Fruruwur. I won't ask you to repeat that seven times fast," he added to lighten the mood, blue eyes sparkling. Leo chuckled. "He usually can be found around the Wompag forest."
"Right. Does he have particular forms he likes to stay in?" Leo asked, mounting Tunali on wobbly feet. "It might make it easier to find him," he suggested as Dakari clambered onto Watishi. It was rather amusing to see him do it to say the least; the teela was a few inches higher than the top of his head, so he really had to leap for it.
"Griffin, covey, or wolfena, though I doubt he'll be a covey." Leo hid his embarrassment at not knowing what in heaven's name Dakari had just named off. Well, all except for the griffin. "They're too small for his liking, and what he likes is travel." The rabbit pulled out a weathered map to figure out where they needed to go. As he read through the map, Leo pulled out his katana – the one with the turtle pendant on the handle. It sparkled back up at him in the early morning sun. "Well, alright, follow me, Leo!" Dakari stuffed his map back into Watishi's saddlebag before whooping like a cattle herder and causing his teela to jump forward. Leo hurriedly sheathed his katana and gently squeezed Tunali's sides with his knees. He mooed and darted after Watishi, stirring up pebbles in his wake.
About a half hour later, they happened upon a curious scene. They were just passing through a gorge near the south east rim of the Darian mountain range when Leo's sharp eyes spotted a jeering group of…something he couldn't label. They were little, about a foot tall standing on two legs, and yet in such a large mob they could've easily overpowered a lone traveler. And by the looks of it, they had. Cornered was a female tan rukit, snarling like a demon from hell. She didn't look like she could fight with weapons, but by heaven, she could make a mean growl through those incredibly sharp teeth.
Dakari hopped lightly off Watishi, now fully recovered from his guilt trip, and sneaked up behind the nearest imp. Grinning madly, the rabbit dealt it a severe blow with the handle of his katana to the skull and booted it forward. The force of his kick parted the mass of his comrades, throwing the stricken creature into the rocky wall next to the rukit. Of course, they noticed. One squealed and made several opening and closing motions with his mouth, all the while hopping up and down like one whose rear was a-flame. Apparently the leader, he brandished his toothpick of a spear and left about a score of his followers to guard his prey while he and the rest attempted to take Dakari down.
Leo jumped in front of the rukit abruptly, taking an offensive stance while raising his tail in a threatening gesture. An imp to the right made the first move, and it would prove a costly mistake on his part. Since they were so lacking in height, the turtle had to crouch to get a kick into their gut. Naturally, being to short also contributed to their weight mass and he went sailing from a simple side kick. Leo blocked a weak spear thrust while fending off three others from the left with his other sword.
In Dakari's fight, one of the imps had the substance between the ears to blow for reinforcements, which wasn't a good thing for the duo of fighters. "Leo, it's time to go! They are coming with more!" Dakari grunted, sheathing his longer katana and darting to Watishi. The turtle mumbled a sheepish apology to the rukit he was defending before grabbing her around the waist and leaping over the fray of imps. Naturally, she felt a bit violated and fell into stunned silence as Leo dodged pint-sized blows to his legs. He fought the urge to chuckle.
When he reached Tunali, the teela was dancing with the anxious urge to leave the gorge. Leo deposited his bundle on the saddle in front of him before leaping on behind her and 'yah'ing thunderously to Tunali. He leapt forward, kicking away several imps that had tried to hinder their escape. Little did he know, those reinforcements would prove very bad news. Just as they rounded a corner to ascend to the outskirts of the plains, several tiny spears ricocheted off the rocks in front of them. Tunali reared and squealed in surprise, nearly flinging Leo and the rukit off. She was still quiet, but who knows how long that was going to last.
Up front, Dakari was having the same problems, if not worse. The imps he was fenced in by had brought a large wolfena to no doubt devour himself and Watishi. It was lunging against the chains that held it; quite amusing to see, since there were almost thirty imps to a single chain. The rabbit's teela pinned back her ears and snorted a challenge. "You're going to get me killed," he muttered darkly when they released the animal. Yelling in an animalistic tone, he ripped out his katanas and charged at the drooling predator.
The wolfena sidestepped and swatted him on the back when he sprawled past. Her claws scratched his tunic open, revealing the chain mail underneath. Dakari growled and circled around the animal suspiciously. She suddenly darted forward and tackled him to the rocks, pinning him. Her mouth opened slowly, adding to the effect of her terrible breath and sharp teeth. "Nice…breath!" he gasped, straining with her jaws and trying to keep her teeth away from his head.
Leo was playing somewhat of a jousting match behind. Tunali would barrel through the ring and at least one imp would get shish ka bobbed on his sword. But for every one he took out, two would take its place. The rukit was beginning to recover from her stupor and seized one of his swords with soundless request. She slipped off the teela gracefully, still baring her teeth, and slashed skillfully through at least a dozen imps by herself. Leo fought to conceal his surprise and continued to 'joust' with his adversaries.
Watishi saved her master a fatal bite by butting the wolfena away from him. The carnivore hit the wall, getting showered with dust and rocks in the process. She shook her head to clear the stars, panting and pulling up her lips to give more a threat to her presence. "I love you!" Dakari threw his arms around Watishi's neck and kissed her glossy brown cheek shamelessly. She whickered softly and coughed a bit louder than the affectionate gesture, a teela's laugh. "What do you mean, I'll never get a wife this way! I've charmed you, haven't I?"
The wolfena charged while they were bantering, nearly taking off his head. Had the rabbit not seen it seconds before and ducked, it would've been bye bye bunny and hello barbecue night. He parried a bite and slashed her muzzle, drawing a stream of blood. He used the distraction to chop off an ear, extracting an agonized howl from the starved animal. She whimpered pitifully, tail between her legs. Dakari raised his eyebrow, clearly asking if she had enough. She whined and licked her bloody nose, backing away into the spear points of her captors. They jabbed at her hocks and jeered to goad her, but she'd had enough. Whirling, she snapped off the head of one of her torturers and loped up the gorge path, crimson dripping from her head.
Now Leo and the rukit stood back to shell, panting. Tunali also had his tail between them as if to ensure he was still in the fight. The only sound was of their breathing and distant, mournful howls made by the retreating wolfena whose butt Dakari had just professionally kicked. Neither he or she spoke to each other but instead used blows to convey their feelings. She attacked swiftly and mercilessly, obviously accustomed to swordplay. Leo was more on the defensive. Then the imps apparently heard something that terrified them. They took on a pathetic countenance before scrambling up the sheer walls of the gorge, leaving Leo and the rukit to pant in peace.
"Well, I'd say that was a lovely little skirmish, wouldn't you?" Dakari remarked wryly, sliding down the slope to the left. Watishi arrived less gracefully, rolling down the incline like a barrel of water. She mooed darkly. "Terrible, you say? I thought it was a needed break. Things were getting too strained around here." Another grunt. "Don't you act like a smart aleck to me, you fussy…" She kicked him in the shin, effectively cutting him off in mid sentence. He grimaced and rubbed his stricken limb, sheathing his swords with the other hand.
Leo turned to the rukit. "So, what exactly were you doing out here?" he asked politely enough, taking his sword from her hand. She stared at him, smoldering inwardly. He exchanged glances with Dakari, who shrugged.
"You're just not a ladies' – OW! Cut that out!" Watishi glared at him as he nursed another bruised shinbone, whimpering pitifully.
"It's okay; don't mind him. He's a nutcase. Can you speak at all?" She continued to lock gazes with him, conveying a creepy message with her icy brown eyes. Leo scratched his head. What to do. Mikey had always been the people turtle. Himself? Well, Leo tended to lurk in the shadows and keep to himself when they had guests.
Then his sharp hearing picked up the disturbances of rocks above on the cliff. The rukit looked up, immediately turning stormy. "Fiyesei!" he heard a masculine voice bellow. Dakari apparently knew the meaning of the command and dodged several missiles with yelps. Leo had barely enough wits about him to duck a dart. Wait…dart? Oh shell…Tunali reared, squealing in terror as the darts zipped past him, burying themselves in the rocks where Leo had been standing.
The rukit was, apparently enraged, waving her arms like a mad man. "Halawur!" she roared. "Halawur!" There was no halt to the barrage. Dakari, whose energy was spent from wolfena wrestling, soon became oblivious to many of the darts coming his way. Inevitably, he got shot in the neck. He collapsed on the ground, paralyzed and rapidly blacking out.
Leo would've lasted much longer had it not been for the fact that he was the single target now. Two of the missiles embedded in his flesh, one in his shoulder and the other in his thigh. He fought to stay standing, but his muscles complained of overuse and gave out on him. The last thing he heard before traveling to La la land by way of knock out poison was Watishi bellowing her terrible fury.
When Naicro nudged him to get up, Mike stayed on his plastron. "C'mon, dude, five more minutes," he moaned. The white vern snorted softly and resorted to taking a grip on his tail with his teeth and pulling. "Okay! Ow, ow OW! I'm coming!" The turtle scrambled to his feet, immediately getting blinded by the morning sun. "Oh, yeow. Would it hurt to say, 'The light! It burns!'?" he asked, squinting.
Aireilei landed nearby. "Be thankful, Mike, we let you sleep in almost an hour and a half," she retorted. "And today we're walking so you can smell the fresh daisies and frolic with butterflies. How's that sound?"
The turtle rubbed his rear. "Yeah, I think my butt will go for that more than another ride on Naicro," he agreed. Mike looked around, seeing only himself, Naicro, and Aireilei. "Hey, where are the others?"
"Finding food, Michelangelo," Naicro replied, sitting down on his haunches.
"Well, why'd you wake me up?" he pouted, throwing his arms in the air. "I could've had another hour!"
Aireilei glared at him. "Because, knowing you, if we let you sleep any longer, you'd feign to stay unconscious when we tried waking you again." Mike grumbled an apology, sitting down. He craned his head to look at the sky, seeing multiple cumulus clouds. After a while, he sighed.
"Is there anything I can do besides sit here on my gludious maximus all day?"
"Do you really want to know?" the white dragon shot back.
"Uhm, if youkeeplooking at me that way, no."
"Good."
Okay, forgive me for keeping Mike's segment so terribly short, but my brain's malfunctioning due to excitement for the road trip. I love road trips, to be quite frank with you all. And oh dear, the cruelty! I left you to struggle with a dead ringer cliffie for two whole weeks! (grins nervously as Chibi, pacphys, and Ramica slowly start to growl and approach her) And before you ask, I'm going nowhere near Hurricane Dennis, so no worries there. Uhm, I leave tomorrow, which is why I did the update today. No time tomorrow because I have to get ready. So, without further ado, love you all and I'll see you in two weeks!
LN