REVISED AUTHOR'S NOTES

4/3/2022

If you're coming back to these notes as one of my readers, yes I'm still busy on this story. And prioritizing revision over new chapters for a while, sorry.

Revision is interesting. I had no idea how much stuff later on didn't connect with what happens earlier! Well, good thing that's fixed now. Everything should start to line up now. Can't really change the rapid POV switches without rewriting so that's still in there, sorry 'bout that.

Chapter 2

"Helpless and Hopeless"

The golden dragon was currently pulling at her own horns atop her head as she panicked, "What are we going to do, what are we going to do!?"

The blue one nearly growled, "Yes, this is bad. Now why not stay quiet and let me concentrate." He was sitting in his pillow with his eyes closed as an energy surrounded him slowly.

"Are you sure it's even working? I mean, even if it does, won't that cause problems?"

The blue dragon ignored her as he concentrated. After a few minutes the low energy field surrounding him started to hum slightly. A few seconds later it flashed a golden glow outwards and Spyro appeared in the room with them.

"That's perfectly fine, anytime I spend is good with you Cynd-" The purple dragon was slowly leaning in for what looked like a kiss before he noticed nothing in front of him.

He opened his eyes widely and looked around rapidly before a look of anger slowly crossed over his features and he regarded the blue dragon, "Ignitus? You can't just summon me here whenever you want, wait until I sleep at least!"

Fate desperately concealed her laughing, trying not to burst outwardly with it. Ignitus shook his head a little and sighed, "I'm very sorry Spyro. But we seem to have a problem at our hands now."

After the anger passed, a wave of embarrassment washed over his face in realization. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Of course. If it's important, it must take priority, I agree."

Ignitus nodded, then continued. "It would seem that after me and Fate had decided to bring the human over, and completed said task. That our expectations were… slightly off, from reality."

Fate growled, "That was all your doing, not mine."

Ignitus raised an eyebrow, "No use in saving your hide Fate, we're both at fault."

Spyro just shook his head in exasperation, "Alright, alright, just-.. tell me what happened, don't sugarcoat it."

Ignitus continued with an exasperated sigh, "The human is now here in the dragon realms of course. Unfortunately however, we have no idea where he is, or what he looks like. And he is now so young that he probably can't even fly yet."

Spyro's eyes widened and he sat agape for a minute, "H… How… How did you screw up so royally?"

Fate bursted out laughing, "It really is impressive isn't it?"

Ignitus avoided Spyro's gaze, "However we did complete the important part of the task. His old realm is no longer in danger."

Spyro shook his head and thought for a moment, "Okay, so… I'm guessing you didn't mean for it to turn out like this exactly, but what is the explanation for him being so young?"

Ignitus sighed, "My intention was to bring him here younger than before, as to completely reshape his body I would need to take some of his life force. So the easiest way was just halving his age at the very least. His memories and everything about him are still completely intact, but against my previous hopes, he turned even younger than I expected for some reason."

Spyro nodded slowly, "Why not do what you just rudely did to me, and use it to contact him?"

Ignitus sheepishly rubbed his paw, "Due to the nature of not knowing where he is, it'd be extremely dangerous to knock him out. For all we know he's standing on a rock above a pit of lava."

The thought made them all pale, but Fate started, "We can't contact him anyway..."

They both looked at her quizzically and she sighed, "His spirit may or may not have entered a dormant state when we brought him over here, I'm guessing it has something to do with the whole… de-aging thing." Spyro's vacant expression made her sigh, "The thing all dragons use to be able to connect to their ancestors? The very thing you're doing right now Spyro?"

There was an audible groan from Spyro as he realized what she meant now, then he spoke, "Okay. So we need to find him the normal way, or wait until he figures out how to unlock his spirit?"

"He's a hatchling, there's no way he unlocks it himself." Fate countered.

Ignitus nodded, "It's easy enough with help, but as we know, he may not find any out there."

Spyro sat down, "We're doomed to fail."

Ignitus rolled his eyes lightly, "Have some faith, Spyro."

Spyro fell to his side, "We killed a child…"

Fate walked over and hit him across the head with a paw, "Look, we saved an entire realm, that's not easy. And we're lucky that we have a chance to save the one possible casualty from happening. Or did you forget why you are here?"

Ignitus nodded slowly in agreement with her words, "So we want you to stand by, if we get any new info on his whereabouts, and maybe ask around some of the other towns." He asked hopefully.

Spyro stood back up and nodded, "Understood, am I free to speak about all of this with Cynder? Two people searching ought to be better than only one."

Ignitus smiled, "Please do, might want her help as well. She's much better with hatchlings."

Spyro rolled his eyes lightheartedly, "Whatever you say sir." Then Spyro came to another realization and grumbled something to himself before he looked back up, "Alright just… knock me out again when you know anything else... I guess. I'll try not to embarrass myself."

Ignitus smirked, "A few minutes later and it would've been way more embarrassing."

Spyro flushed bright red and began to walk away with his back turned, "Yeah, eheh. See you two whenever uh… I gotta get going."

Fate laughed, "We owe you one Spyro, see you soon."

He started to fade away as he mumbled something to the effect of; "Yeah you do."

I growled, which sounded so unthreatening, as if I was a small puppy about to pounce at a chew toy. But I don't care, this is frustrating! I was laying near face-first in the dirt, and spitting grass out of my mouth. I was attempting to walk again, but the most I could gather would be what I could best describe as; a drunk with no sense of gravity. The extra appendages made learning to walk on all fours a literal nightmare. I was becoming worried very quickly. I can't exactly do anything about my situation here if I can't walk, and I was losing daylight fast.

I stumbled a few more attempts away, but ended up making a mistake as I stumbled a bit too close to a decline in the terrain. I fell to the ground ungracefully, but with enough forward force to end up rolling down the hill. It wasn't a very big hill, but with my small size I rolled a considerable amount of times before slamming my tail into a tree. When my tail slammed into the tree it wrapped around it forcing me to take a good whack as my head got pulled towards the tree as well. I grunted in pain and anger, and I felt considerably helpless. I sat myself up and rubbed my face with one paw, and instinctively curled my tail around myself.

I had to hold back tears, which was odd for me. I felt like crying my eyes out, but told myself it was too childish and held them in "Come on, you're a dragon now. Dragons don't cry." At least, I didn't think they did.

I pulled my paw off of my face and noticed it was covered in blood, I felt worried, but also reasoned that it was just a cut most likely. I checked my tail, but it looked mostly bruised, I guess tails are at least a little bit stronger than my forehead. Who would've guessed?

I looked around for any good plants to make a bit of a bandage out of, but with the change in fauna it wasn't really looking to be going my way. I spotted something that looked slightly like cotton, I stumbled towards it carefully. To my relief it actually was some rather strong cotton-like material that was also quite long and oddly stretchy. Enough so that after gathering a few and wrapping my head it worked like a charm, though trying to tie it with paws is really hard I must say.

I felt exhausted now, and to my ever expanding luck, this world decided it would try to rain now. It began to lightly drip on my freshly bandaged head, then I felt it on my tail and wings, which was an odd and interesting new feeling. I scanned around myself for cover, there was a small little dent in the side of a small hill where the ground came up and covered it like an overhang. And it was even elevated so I wouldn't drown in the ever increasing downpour that was beginning.

I stumbled as quickly as possible until I made it, relief washed over me as I made a rather cozy little dirt bed. There wasn't much in the way of cover for the front, so if there were any predators I was most likely dead. 'But hey, who would prey on dragons of all things?' I thought. I dropped myself down and decided to chill here for a while, the rain was relaxing and night would be here in a bit. I hope night isn't too cold or I'll have some issues. I gently rested my eyes, but the rain, along with my walking attempts had exhausted me. This new world was odd, but I felt like I could maybe conquer it with enough time. I yawned and drifted off into a deep sleep.

"Alright so…" Cynder started looking at him with eyebrows raised, "Based on a guess… you guys pulled some kids' soul over here, and he's now completely lost?"

Spyro lowered his head slightly and sighed, "It wasn't just a guess, it was Fate we're talking about here. And his world was in danger."

Cynder looked skeptical at that but shook away the thoughts and continued, "That poor kid is probably traumatized and terrified." She said looking downwards with a sigh.

Spyro silently agreed with a huff as he shifted on the pillow he was laying on with Cynder, "We just have to hope he wasn't put somewhere super deadly."

Cynder shook her head, "Everywhere that's not Warfang is deadly for a hatchling with no parents looking after him."

Spyro raised his head to protest, "Not true! There's…" He stumbled at that.

Cynder just looked at him amused, "Go on?"

His eyes flashed a moment, "There's quite a few settlements and towns. Even a few cities he could end up in."

Cynder sighed, "Any of those have a welcoming committee for an out of world visitor?"

Spyro huffed, "Either way you'd have to try real hard to get yourself killed in a few places."

Cynder smirked, "I've seen hatchlings do stupider stuff."

Spyro laughed, "You and I both." He rolled on to his back.

"Speaking of which, did you get Kaali to bed alright?" He asked her with a smirk.

Cynder giggled, "She went to bed when I asked, but she kept asking me if you died when she saw me hauling your body upstairs. I explained multiple times you were okay but she had it set in her mind that you had died."

Spyro's eyes widened, "And she went to bed peacefully with that knowledge?"

Cynder laughed much louder, "She said she'd get over it and crashed in her bed almost instantly!"

Spyro tried to seem angry but ended up laughing, as they were laughing the sound of thunder rang out. Both of them sighed, the prospect of a hatchling stuck outside in a thunderstorm being a concern.

Cynder's mood dampened at that, "So why did you guys take his soul, exactly? You said something about his world?"

Spyro sighed, "I'm really not sure how it happened. You know how vague Fate can be, apparently his presence was causing imminent catastrophic damage to his realm. And also his emotions were so heavy they seeped out of his realm and into ours. I feel bad for him, the poor hatchling didn't ask for any of this…"

Cynder sighed loudly, feeling a similar feeling as her mate, "Fate… If that hatchling dies, she'd be no more sad over the prospect either. She'd just say it was worth saving his realm over."

Spyro shook his head, "I don't think she's that heartless, and is she wrong though? Saving the whole realm seems pretty worth it?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, "It is worth it. Just not fair for the little one. I really hope we can find him."

"We're gonna try our best." Spyro started, giving his mate a nuzzle, "But… I have a feeling…"

She looked at him quizzically, "Oh? Is this one of your savior of the world… purple dragon of legend sort of feelings?" She teased.

He looked at her in mild playful annoyance and chuckled, "Come on we're both responsible for saving the world. I don't know…" he looked off to a window nearby, "I've just got this feeling, fate won't betray him so easily."

I jolted awake to the sound of thunder. I freaked out when I looked around myself until I remembered my predicament and sighed. I was shaking, as the wind was very chilly, but other than that, at least I felt dry…

Oddly enough while I was sleeping I felt like I was being watched by something. I wrote it off as just my brain scaring me, and it must've just been a bad dream putting me on edge.

The sound of the rain was relaxing, but it failed to put me back to sleep due to the occasional boom of thunder. 'Thank whatever god there is that the rain isn't acid, or like… lava.' The thought seemed silly, but in a new world like I thought I was in, it seemed like a realistic fear.

The rain, to my relief, had not flooded this area. In fact it seemed to slope downwards, making the area right outside my little dust bed, to be a water slide of mud. 'Well, not going anywhere tonight.' I'd surely slip, and be carried away if I were to take even a single step off my mound.

I heard the sound of what appeared to be louder rain, or hail. I sighed, not expecting this storm to die down anytime soon. I closed my eyes to try and force a couple of hours of sleep, but the sound got louder, and louder. And the intensity of it only seemed to heighten. 'Alright, maybe I spoke too soon. Is it raining like… boulders or something?' As the sound rapidly approached, I became more anxious, until I heard a long, very deep howl.

Fear flashed through my mind, and my entire body's adrenaline skyrocketed. Though I knew my best bet was to stay put, I couldn't outrun a pack of wolves, in this weather at that either. I just had to stay here and pray to whatever brought me here. Even still my body was in instinct mode, and I decided to use what adrenaline I had to do something.

I began to dig into my dust bed, I tried to make a deeper hole I could hide in as the sound of possibly hundreds of… something, approached. 'I can only hope they're wolves, what if they have some kind of heat vision?' I managed to bury myself so that I could no longer be seen if I huddled into it really close.

I finished just in time as the sound began to race by me, the sounds going over the top of my head, and outside the entrance of my little cave. The sound was deafening, like a train whipping past you. I huddled, and even though I was shaking uncontrollably, it seemed to be working. It just kept going though, the thunderous sound of their running continuing on for what felt like an eternity. Then after what seemed like ages the sounds started trailing off into the other direction.

Just as I started to relax, I heard the sound of another set of paws pass by the outside of my cave. My fear heightened as I heard the running of the one I just heard begin to come back my direction, 'Did he see me?' I thought in a panic.

I heard sniffing outside my cave, drawing closer and closer. 'Smell?' My mind screamed. How did this thing smell me through this heavy rain? I was covered in dust! I looked down at my paw, and brought it to my forehead. I noticed a distinct lack of the male-shift bandage, my paw covered in blood. 'I'm bleeding again!' Panic and fear struck through me as the sniffing got closer, I shivered and cried in my spot, hoping that whatever beast this is knew mercy.

My lungs screamed, but I couldn't afford a single sound to my predator. As the sound got to the inside of my little cave, I heard once more the distant howl of what was most likely the leader of the pack. The sniffing stopped, and as if nothing happened the beast took off once again, releasing a howl of its own. I took a deep breath as I tried to fill my lungs once again, the pain in my chest immense. I had somehow lived through that, the amount of relief I felt was washed away by the amount of terror I had experienced.

'I could've… died. That would be it, no more Gale. Just like that!' I thought to myself, the weight of my situation hitting me, the small barrier I had put up of positivity broke down, and I began crying like… Well, like a baby. I huddled my tail around myself, forgetting the sounds of the rain, I cried myself to sleep. 'Someone help me, I don't want to be alone…'

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping. Though my entire body still ached, and my mood was already declining. I forced myself up, clambering up over my little mound. The sun was out in full force, and taking a step out I felt the warm rays through my scales. The feeling did cheer me up a bit, but I was still hopelessly lost, and confused. My breathing shallow, and my mouth dry, I scanned around me. 'Ironic with so much water last night, it's now what I'm looking for.'

In my immediate area, I could find nothing but the trees surrounding me, and the small cave I hid in. Sighing, I noticed a hill to the back of my cave, deciding to climb it and find a water source would be crucial. After entirely too much time being spent getting my stupid legs to work how I wanted them to, I managed to reach the top of the hill, with no breath left to spare. After a moment lying in the grass, I sat up and scanned around the treeless hilltop.

Now it wasn't quite the amount of vantage point I had wanted, but it was better than nothing. I could make out some mountains in the distance, which would be a bad direction to go. But the rest of my view was trees and trees for miles. 'No village, no city.' I thought bitterly. I could see a dip in the tree's, as if something parted them. Thankfully it wasn't far, so I set it as my course, expecting a potential river.

After what felt like hours of walking, I reached my destination. The walk was mostly downhill, so I had to be super careful of slipping as it was still muddy. And I was still stumbling, though much less than before. Once I neared it, I began to hear the sound of water flowing, my relief was overwhelming. When I broke through the tree line onto the bank of the river, my first thought was how fast it was flowing. 'If I try to drink from it I'll get swept away for sure.' My efforts vaporized instantly. I let out a growl of frustration and slammed my paw into a nearby tree, 'How is this fair?! What am I doing here, what am I supposed to do? Is this a cruel joke? Is this a game? Why didn't I spawn in like, a city, where is my tutorial for this?'

After the mind race of questions, I sighed and took a deep breath to calm myself. 'Think Gale, What now?' I looked back to the river once more. And a thought came to me, 'Rivers, follow rivers and streams. Civilization comes soon after.' With a bit of newfound determination I picked myself back up and carried myself downstream. 'Forget a tutorial, I'm living.'

Sure enough, it's easy to say something, it's easy to mean it as well. But that does not make it any easier to accomplish, and at the moment I wasn't sure of my chances on the whole living thing. Either way I trudged on, half tripping my way through the muddy banks of a new world. I had gotten better at walking, but my legs still weren't exactly strong, so they got weak and tired easily. I had to take breaks regularly, and it was definitely a downer to turn around and see where you were an hour ago. My estimation is that I had gotten around a mile and a half or so from the start of the river.

If some wandering beast suddenly decided it was thirsty, it'd have the added benefit of a snack to go with it. I tried to keep such thoughts suppressed, but they were ever present. The sun had already passed the center of the sky by a bit, so assuming the same day length, it was around one or two in the afternoon. After a while I noticed the forest around me began to change. The trees had gotten shorter and darker, and there were humongous mushrooms sprouting around everywhere, taller than the trees.

The decline had gotten steeper which meant slower pace, but due to the shorter tree and sharper decline, I had a much better view of the valley. For a moment I forgot my grievances, the view was gorgeous. And even better, my heart stopped as I could see a puff of smoke on the horizon. I focused harder and nearly jumped in excitement, I could see chimneys, and a few rooftops as well! It was quite a ways away, but I figured another day maybe and I could be there.

'Maybe if I shout, I could catch someone's attention as well?' After a moment of thought, I realized it would have to be a last ditch effort. If the village could hear me yell, so could every predator in the entire area. My face paled, and I resolved to stay silent until at least twice as close.

So I began my trail, with no regard for my fatigue. My mind was no longer racing with panic, but excitement. 'I WILL live.'

Spyro landed next to his house with a less than graceful thud, huffing out a long sigh. His mate landed not much farther away with a look of annoyance. "I can't believe you're giving up so early, Spyro, this is practically your job!" She blamed him.

He looked back and shook his head, "I am not giving up, but wearing ourselves thin isn't going to help," He said firmly. "Look it's getting late, the villages and cities are going to sleep, we won't get anything flying around out there in the darkness. Plus, we have a daughter to take care of."

She sighed and walked over to give him a nuzzle, "Sorry, I'm just… Stressed I guess. Nobody in the entire south and east regions have seen him. I'm a little worried about a missing hatchling."

Spyro nodded in agreement, they silently opened their house with solemn faces. Upon entering they were immediately struck with a little ball of scales, "Mom! Dad!" She said excitedly.

The two looked down at their daughter with a smile as she was cream colored and had a magenta underbelly, and looked quite similar to Cynder. She looked up at her parents and giggled, "Did you find the alien?"

Cynder smiled solemnly, "Afraid not sweetie, also he's not an alien, he's a dragon too."

She just shrugged, "Still from another world."

Spyro leaned over and whispered into Cynder's ear, "Remind me why we told her where he came from?"

She rolled her eyes, "Because she would find out anyway with how much she sneaks into our conversations."

"Oh hey, you guys are back." They looked up at a younger dragoness, she had orange scales and a white underbelly.

Spyro smiled, "Hey, thanks for watching her Ferra."

She just smiled, "Eh she's easy to watch, most of the time."

She began walking towards the door, "Anyway, I have school in the morning, and mom's probably waiting for me so we can eat."

Cynder walked over, "Of course!" She handed her a payment of a few coins and Ferra nodded in thanks.

Spyro called after her as she left, "Don't be late to combat class tomorrow."

She groaned, "Man you aren't even teaching tomorrow, cut me some slack." She turned and smiled though, "See ya."

They waved and closed the door as Kaali looked slightly upset. "I don't need a babysitter." They laughed and continued on with their evening.

Later that night Spyro and Cynder conversed with each other in their room. Spyro, with his head shoved straight into the pillow, "I still just can't believe they're so irresponsible." He said with a muffled voice through the pillow.

Cynder, not as interested, didn't even glance up from her book as she hummed a response. Spyro sat up, "Seriously, they're the celestial diplomats of our universe… And they just treat a child's soul like some object to be experimented on."

Cynder shook her head, "I've been telling you, I don't like when others hold that much power. No matter how old and wise they may be. But your mood has changed quite a bit on this. I thought you believed it was a good choice, since they supposedly saved his old realm?" She said putting down her book and looking at him questionably.

Spyro looked downcast at his pillow, "I know we don't know him. But all I can think about when I think of him out there, is how terrified our little kaali would be, and what he must be going through."

Cynder set her book down and nuzzled into his chest, "I know, the thought makes me upset too."

After a few minutes, they both felt the sudden oncoming of drowsiness. They both fell asleep, and woke up to find themselves in the library. The two celestials were conversing over a cup of coffee as Spyro and Cynder approached.

Spyro growled, "What exactly do you two want?"

They looked over in surprise as Fate sighed, "You did not find him I presume?"

Cynder glared, "No. This little scavenger hunt you made is quite tricky. With a time limit tacked on to it as well. Find the child before he dies, good one."

Ignitus grunted, "Silence, all of you."

Spyro's eyes flared with rage, "I'm done pretending like what you two did was admirable. You two can't just play with souls like this anymore… it's just not right!"

Ignitus' despair showed on his face, "This is not my first mistake in my lifetime, Spyro." Spyro wanted to retort, but his words caught in his throat.

Fate, staying quiet, quietly spoke up. "We have some good news."

They looked towards her curiously, and she continued, "Last night when he was asleep, I think I found his soul. But I can't tell where he is or anything, I could only tell because it was a hatchling with a higher language maturity."

Cynder stirred uneasily, "You read his thoughts then?"

She shook her head, "I read his dreams, they were still nonsense, but… it looks promising. I might be able to establish a link that lets me read his thoughts and see through his eyes."

They all looked more relieved as Spyro spoke, "Well let's get to it, don't want him waiting any longer than he has to."

Cynder nodded, "How do we start?"

She laid down on her pillow, "I just need silence and some time." They nodded as she closed her eyes and began to focus.

I was growing used to things now, my legs that at first seemed useless I was getting the hang of. I looked back at my wings and shook my head, 'Yet I can't even find the muscle for those.' Either way I nearly skipped my way through the forest. I had reached the bottom of the incline and it would be a straight shot from here, though I was still more than likely two or three miles out.

I made it to a clearing as the sun was getting considerably low. I couldn't even see through the tree line as the darkness enveloped the forest, and I resolved that I would get there tomorrow. Scanning my area, I noticed a log that seemed to be hollowed out and I grinned, 'Perfect!' I approached the log, and easily managed to fit inside with room to spare.

Fate, after staying silent for minutes, suddenly spoke. "I'm starting to read his thoughts." She said eagerly.

The room waited anxiously as she started to relay them, "What is with these stupid wings, where is the muscle for them? At least I'm getting used to the legs, it could be worse." She repeated.

Nearly forgetting the need for silence, a huge sigh of relief filled the entire room and Spyro and Cynder smiled with relief. She continued, "I'm at the foot of the mountain, hill whatever, it looked to be about three or four miles into the valley. I could reach the village by tomorrow around noon or so."

Spyro's eyes widened, "He found a village! Can you see where he's at?"

Fate shook her head, "Trying." She continued to parrot, "Can't drink from the river due to the speed, but maybe the villagers have water? And food. Man, I'm so thirsty."

The room's mood slowly fell, and Cynder grimaced especially, leaning into Spyro. "Stop here for the night, there's a log over there I could sleep in, perfect."

Ignitus sighed, "This is great news, if we can get an idea of what region he's in we could find him by tomorrow."

After minutes of silence Spyro asked, "Is he asleep?"

Fate shook her head, "He's daydreaming while he tries to put a bed together out of grass."

Fate sat up after a minute, "I have his vision!" She started, "Small dark trees, giant mushrooms. There are mountains in the distance."

"That sounds like the west region to me," Cynder said, with a nodded agreement from Spyro.

Fate sadly parroted some words, "I can't believe I signed that stupid contract. That golden dragon probably… knew this would happen, she doesn't care… I'm so alone, I miss my old life. I miss Lucy, and I miss my sister. She would know what to do." Fate clearly felt horrible as she tried to hide her face from the others.

The rest of them felt a bit of pity as Cynder felt similar to how Fate must feel, "The little one had family right? What happened to his old body..?" She asked slowly.

Fate didn't want to answer as she avoided eyes, "I couldn't have known anything about his family situation… but yes, his soul was taken therefore his body… stopped, in his old realm."

"So you killed a hatchling. We've been over this already." Spyro said annoyed, with a sigh.

"I can't imagine the pain that caused in his realm…" Cynder muttered sadly.

"I didn't want to! I…-"

After a few seconds Fate shot up from her spot, "He suddenly just exploded into a mind race of fear and terror. I-I can't see anything that would cause it. He's rushing as fast as possible back into his log I-"

The room now holding their breath, Fate continued parroting. "The wolves again! I barely lived through my encounter from last night! There's no way… is the cut on my head still bleeding?" She paused and confirmed, "His paw is covered in blood, his mind is racing again. I can't make out a thought."

Spyro growled, "Ignitus! Wake me up!"

Ignitus shook his head, "Spyro you can't get there fast enough, he's at least a few hours away."

My mind racing I huddled into the little log and began trying to slow my breathing, the familiar sound of hundreds of paws stampeding through the forest. I silently waited, curling around myself as I held my paw over my head wound, hoping to suppress the smell of blood. Just like last night my heart raced as the sound approached closer.

After an eternity the sound began to pass by on both sides of the log, I tried to cover my ears and cried. But my luck had run out, I was so caught up with it that I felt something touch my back and I instantly let out a scream. Realizing it was a bug my heart stopped, the footprints trailed off into the distance but, I heard quite a few of them approaching the log now.

'Stay in here! Stay still! You're a statue!' I told myself.

Though my fears were recognized when a pair of bright yellow eyes met mine at one side of the log, and a deep growl began to escape it's maw. My head turned to the other side and was met with a similar sight. Statue wouldn't work anymore, I was screwed.

They began to bark viciously and snap and claw at the entrances to both sides, I panicked, this was the end. There was no escape, and the log on one side started to split open making a wider entrance. I backed up as best I could from the split entrance when I made a grave mistake. It felt like my tail had gotten in a bear trap, the wolf at the other end got a hold of me and I screamed, more in fear than pain, though it hurt immensely.

It began to tug my tail as I dug my claws into the bark in a futile attempt to save myself, which only made the wound on my tail worse. Soon enough my claws gave out and at once I had been ripped out of the log and right into the center of a large group of them. The one who clamped my tail finally released but before I could even think to escape it had its jaw around my neck. I tried to push and claw it with all my might, but it was very clear the beast was toying with me. Giving out my thoughts were on my niece, and sister. 'I'm so sorry.' After a moment my mind flashed with visions, of a light blue flash in the dark, and a muffled voice in my head, my body felt light, and my vision went completely dark.

In the library, Fate struggled to give an accurate depiction as her maw was thoroughly planted into the trashcan in front of her, and tears streamed out of her eyes. The reaction not giving much hope for the rest of them as they solemnly hoped for a turn of events. Suddenly she slumped in her spot and opened her eyes, "It was cut out, he's…" She stopped.

The despair in the room heightened, and she finished. "I can't see his consciousness anymore. He's… dead."