Author's Note: Hito, Quito, Yaiger, Zar, and Issen are all OC's drawn by omegapainter on DeviantArt! Feel free to check them out! ;)

. . .

Four Elders sat in a semicircle within a calm grove of old trees and white flowers. This was their meeting area, situated not far from the spirit tree.

"How was their sparring session, Hito?" asked the one with a leaf as an eye-patch once Htio, their fifth, sat down amongst them.

"The usual, Zar," Hito replied. "The best paw-to-paw you'd have ever seen! You always miss out."

"Oh, I've seen the best already, friend: when you and I used to go at it, remember?"

"Not sure if I do. You did hit me in the head a few too many times!"

As the two of them shared a laugh, a guardian wearing an orange necklace chimed in.

"You two can compare sizes later," she said good-naturedly. "What was it that they wanted to speak with us about?"

"Just some fangs they collected, Quito," said Hito.

"Fangs? From what creature?" asked a spirit wearing a sleeveless vest, made of a faded-blue fabric.

"A howler, I think. They wouldn't say why they were out fighting howlers, but they got it from a howler. Sorry Yaiger, that's all I know."

"Howlers have never appeared in Niwen ever since father revitalized the land," said Quito. "That would mean they were out by the dark woods."

"What in the world would draw them over there?" asked Zar.

"How about we let them speak for themselves?" said the fifth Elder, their leader. "Instead of having pre-drawn conclusions before they can arrive?"

She sat with a wooden staff in her lap, calmly looking over to where Keo, Fir, Mint were coming from.

"Yes, Issen," said Zar. "My apologies."

. . .

"You've still got the fangs?" asked Keo.

"Right here," said Fir as he pulled out the glossy, white teeth.

"Geeze, did you really have to cut out all six?!"

"You said, 'collect their fangs'. I was just being thorough."

"Here, let's...each hold two…and just let me do the talking, ok? Unless, you know, they ask one of you to say something."

The three guardian spirits, now each holding two fangs in their arms, approached the five Elders and lay the trophies down before them.

The three then sat down on their legs while facing them.

"I didn't know howlers had six fangs," said Issen.

"There were three, ma'am," said Keo. "They were about to kill a shard merchant, one of the forest's own."

"Three?!" exclaimed Yaiger. "I don't recall ever seeing more than one at any given time."

"Their pack is growing, sir, and they get closer to our forest with each passing day."

"Well if it's a war they want," started Zar. "Then it's a war they'll get!"

He slammed a fist on his knee.

"Zar? Isn't that a bit of a hasty conclusion?" asked Yaiger.

"Let me rephrase: we should be ready to defend ourselves, all of us. I don't need to remind you that a howler was the reason I lost an eye!"

Mint nonchalantly scratched at her own right eye, inwardly anxious of how the same could have happened to her not too long ago.

"I'm with Zar on this one," said Hito. "Of course attacking them out in the dark forest beyond would be suicide, but as long as we're prepared, they won't stand a chance if they even try to enter Niwen!"

"Well, good," said Yaiger. "As long as we don't go to where they are, it's not a bad idea."

"Speaking of the dark forest," Quito chimed in. "If you fought howlers today, that would mean you were out near it. Why were you over there?"

"A shard merchant had ventured in, ma'am," Keo repeated. "She was retrieving an herb for her sick children...said it only grows in the dark forest."

"Interesting...I didn't know anything could grow out there."

"Huh...you know, now that you mention it, that is quite strange. Perhaps our light reaches out far enough to help smaller plants grow out there? Unfortunately, I didn't ask her about it."

"And you just let her go?" asked Zar.

"No sir. I had Mint escort her home."

Mint tensed up slightly. She was afraid the conversation would come to her.

"Well, why don't we hear from her?" said Zar. "Tell us young one, what did you two...discuss...along the way?"

"Were these herbs even real?" asked Quito.

Mint could remember, at least, the dull-green plants sticking out of the shard merchant's backpack.

"They were real," she responded.

That much was true, so it was rather easy to say. The next part was going to be difficult.

Should she tell them the whole truth? How she ventured out on her own and found a possibly forbidden land? Or lie to their faces?

It's possible that those herbs were grown because of the spirit tree's faint influence, but the discovery that it led Mint to was undeniably not the doing of any spirit light at all!

And what of the fear in the shard merchant's eyes? What if Mint was being kept from such a damning truth on purpose? Perhaps by the very spirits before her?

The merchant was about to open up to her too, but was snatched away before she could say anything.

What would she have told me? she wondered.

Everyone continued to look at her, even Keo and Fir from the side as they all expected her to continue speaking.

"And most of our trip was just me and her discussing where to go," she went on, keeping an outward calmness. "Her clan was a lot further away than I thought it'd be, and like Keo said: I think the herbs grew because of minor influence from the spirit tree."

"Interesting indeed," said Yaiger. "I suppose the location of these herbs is just one for the record-books then."

"And back to the main issue of the howlers," said Issen, acting as moderator. "Your escapade to rescue an inhabitant of Niwen has gifted us with valuable information."

"We can start assigning patrol rotations in the meantime," said Hito.

"Ugh, administrative work," Zar lamented. "The negatives of being an Elder!"

"It's part of the job, Zar," said Issen. "But I'm sure Hito can find you a more exciting spot."

"He'd better!"

Issen then stood up with her wooden staff.

"In the meantime, Fir, Keo, Mint," she said as the other four Elders stood. "You three are dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Keo before the three of them stood up and began turning away.

But before Mint could turn away, a paw came to rest on her shoulder from behind.

"Mint? A word, please?"

She turned around to see it was Zar who was addressing her, his singular eye cold and unwavering.

"How was your first mission?" he asked. "I ask because you just seem a little...shook."

Mint took a deep breath.

Don't deny it!

"It's just nerves, I guess," she replied, placing a paw behind her head. "The...responsibility of it all."

"Well then, it's a good thing you understand," said Zar. "We all certainly have a duty to protect the forest."

He then pointed up at the spirit tree in the distance.

"And to protect his legacy!" he continued. "Remember: nowhere in the world can life persist without a spirit tree, without light, without-"

"-Us," Mint finished.

"Exactly! You get it!"

It was the motto she was taught since the day she was born. Of course she "got it".

"How do we know that?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Excuse me?"

What did I just do?! she thought as she inwardly began to panic yet again.

Another deep breath.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing to ask…

"I mean, you've been alive far longer than I have," she started. "Has a spirit ever seen a place where...things grew just fine without spirit light?"

"Huh...well, not that I know of," Zar replied. "All I know is that if a spirit ventures too far away from the influence of spirit light, he or she likely won't survive!"

But I did.

"We only know of one guardian spirit who managed to do it," he went on. "And that was our father."

They both looked back at the distant tree.

And he did.

"We work, train, and pray that no guardian has to endure what he endured ever again!"

Zar then turned Mint back around and made eye-contact.

"He did that for us, Mint," he said. "He did that for us. Never forget!"

This was getting weird, but she played along to avoid suspicion.

"Right!" she responded, nodding her head. "I won't!"

"Good," said Zar, releasing her. "You'll be one of our best, Mint. I know it!"

She saluted this time, and he finally walked off.

Once he was far enough away, she donned a demeanor that better reflected how anxious she was inside, bringing her paw down to her mouth in a fist and backing away slowly.

The Elders really don't know. she thought as her eyes widened. I know something they don't!

She started nervously pacing back and forth. Would that exchange have been so weird if she didn't know either?

"It doesn't add up," she said to herself. "We aren't protecting anyone but ourselves...we're perpetuating a cycle!"

She looked back at the large perennial plant.

"A cycle of codependency...I can't tell anyone, not even Fir or Keo; they'd sooner call me a heretic than believe me!"

She focused-in on the glowing, orange orb high atop it.

"I have to take matters into my own two paws!"

. . .

"Where is Mint?" asked Fir.

"Zar wanted to speak to her in private, remember?" Keo replied.

The two of them were lounging under a peach tree, having harvested some of the fruit for themselves. Keo was sitting back on it while Fir sat crouched, rolling a peach seed across his fingers.

"I know, but that's one long conversation they're having."

"She doesn't have to hang out with us all the time, Fir. Is that a soft-spot that I'm sensing?"

"No, that's disgusting. You're disgusting!"

"We're all siblings, Fir. At some point you've gotta let your romantic side out!"

Fir said nothing, he just threw the seed at Keo, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Hey! Relax, brother!" Keo laughed. "You're making me nervous."

He took a cursory glance down at the seed before doing a double-take.

The flowers by his legs were wilting. He broke his relaxed pose in surprise.

"Hey, you seeing this?" asked Keo.

"Yeah, and I don't like it!" Fir replied.

Suddenly, a female spirit shrieked in horror not too far away.

"Look!" said another, pointing behind them.

As shouts and screams of pandemonium overtook the field of guardian spirits, Fir and Keo rushed to look behind the peach tree.

What suddenly caused a panic? A large creature? An approaching storm?

"Oh no," said Keo.

The spirit light was gone from the tree. Its leaves were rapidly falling off and the lush undergrowth around it was beginning to dull.

"What happened?" said Fir. "How?!"

"Don't you go panicking on me too, bud," said Keo. "Spirit light doesn't just instantly disappear. Let's see if we can find traces of the thief!"