A/N: I am sorry this too me so long... but, I didn't have any real inspiration for this chapter until very recently. I hope you like it...

By the way, the scene-change lines aren't working right now, so there will be "(scene change)" instead until I can go back and fix them. Sorry about that...

Chapter 7

The group of Absol and their single Vulpix companion arrived back in Mountain Clan's cave to find it eerily silent. Ember looked around, spotting some of the white-furred forms against the cave stone—they were there, just… quiet. She sighed, thinking that the Absol were fearful of the flame sickness after all; the Elemental Elders had assured her and Kashen that they would keep the others it a state of calm, but perhaps they were unable to do that.

"Ember! Ember!" Two voices chanted, breaking the silence, as their owners jumped off the first tier and raced towards her. The Vulpix seemed to smile at the sight of Flash and Gata, her two Absol-kit friends. With a chuckle, Din flipped her off his shoulder and nudged her forward.

"I'll see you soon," Din said. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that the rest of her escort was already gone and he followed them, heading up the outside slope and out of sight. She shook her head and padded forward to meet her friends.

"Hey, you're looking better," Flash mewed. She and Gata tackled the Vulpix playfully and pinned her under them.

Ember nodded, rolling to try and dislodge the two. They weren't shaken so easily, "Yeah, we found some of those berries. So I'm back to normal," and she was jinxed when a small cough left her muzzle. "Well, sorta."

She looked up at a small noise above her and saw that there were several fully-grown Absol staring down at her; swallowing, she adverted her gaze back to the floor. There was something wrong, her two friends had gotten off of her back and were looking at her oddly. The words had left her mouth before she was aware of it: "Flash, Gata, w-what happened w-while I was gone?"

The two exchanged glances and their content expressions vanished, "It's Blair," Gata whispered. "Blair's dead…"

Now, neither would meet her gaze. Ember was stunned to silence. All thoughts in her mind vanished as she stared at the young Absol, all but one. Oh no. Her gaze slipped upward, where the others had begun to glare. Oh no. Their eyes were piercing, accusing her of taking the Elder away. An overwhelming guilt fell upon her paws as they found the will to move, to carry her away from their stares. She was saved when Mordecai raised his voice at the mouth of the cave before she had gone too far, "Ember, c'mon! We need you!"

She cast one last glance behind her, muzzle opening to say something but her voice refused to make any sound. Mordecai led her up the slope of the mountain, which hugged close to the rocky wall. It was easy to look down, but she recognized the slope as the one that led to the 'Secondary Cave of the Elders,' where she and Kashen had fought together. The wet cave was unchanged; she still shook out her paws with every step, as if trying to keep them dry.

There were seven Absol in this cave now; it was beginning to feel cramped. Along with her escort of six, there was another Elemental Elder she had yet to learn the name of. He was speaking to Tarrim when she arrived and nodded to him. "I'll make sure the berries you've already retrieved are distributed," he said briskly. "And I give my go-ahead to go to the Ceremonial Valley. Just make sure she—" and he gestured at Ember, "—picks the first berry."

"Yes sir," Maggie nodded, shooting the Vulpix a venomous glance. "We'll go right away."

(scene change)

"Why is it so important that I pick the first berry?" Ember asked Din, glancing over his shoulder as he jumped over the stones of the mountainside smoothly; she wasn't jostled when the Absol smoothly landed on a smooth stretch of stony ground that stretched out a couple Ninetales-lengths before it ended sharply. The Ceremonial Valley laid beyond the cliff, Ember was sure, a place she knew was sacred to the Absol. A sheer gust of wind ruffled her fur as she slipped off of Din's shoulder, causing her to stumble to the ground and land awkwardly on her side.

Din nuzzled her back to her paws, "It's just superstition. Don't worry about it," he said.

Ember's side throbbed while she stalked in the direction of the only vegetation she could see—a couple spindly bushes; their broad leaves getting battered by the wind. "Pick one," Maggie ordered, shoving the fox forward with a paw on her leg.

The Vulpix craned her neck upward at the berries that swung at the topmost branches; the ones she would have to jump at to even have a chance at picking. Of the bushes, she chose the one that was lowest to the ground and jumped at it. She quickly got her paws around the thin branch that lurched and creaked at the addition of her weight. The large berry was just a tantalizing couple of inches out of reach, she snapped at it but couldn't manage to grab it. Her paws were slipping back down the branch, and she whimpered when the whole bush swung lower to the ground with an angry creak.

Her companions hadn't lifted a paw to help the Vulpix. Ember clenched her jaw and shimmied back up the branch, wincing as it bent even more to her weight. She had the berry in her jaws now, and with just a little pull—it was free. Looking over to the Absol, Ember noticed that Din looked less tense, and she tossed the berry to the rocky ground with a flick of her head.

Without even time to whimper, the branch suddenly straightened, flinging in the opposite direction in a catapult motion. It shook Ember loose, sending her plummeting into the dark abyss of the Ceremonial Valley…

(scene change)

Tetzleflame raised his head to look into the Absol's eyes—red eyes meeting equally red ones. "I wish to speak to your leaders," he said curtly.

Surprisingly enough, the Absol stepped aside, sweeping her paws around in a motion that the old fox should proceed. "We've been expecting you," she answered simply.

The gravel crunched under Tetzleflame's paws as he passed by her. Expecting me? He thought, but didn't let that worry him too much. Mountain Clan's cave was just ahead of him, right were it'd been the last time he'd visited, so long ago…

No other Absol stepped into his path. It was as if, as the Defender was speaking the truth, they were expecting him. Tetzleflame felt a chill pass over his fur. "Stupid Absol and their visions…" he growled under his breath.

At the mouth of the cave was a figure that was familiar to him, achingly so. The old Absol watched him come closer. "Tetzleflame," Dewfire said, ice laced in his voice. "It's been a while. What do you want?"

"I've come to ask for your assistance against… an old enemy," the Ninetales replied. "One Shelgon survived. It's terrorizing the forest."

Dewfire let off a small bark of amusement, "You think I'll actually help you."

"Please."

"Hmm… no," he said. "You backed out on our last deal."

"That was different—" Tetzleflame cut himself off at the look he saw in Dewfire's eyes. "Fine. If I recall, you're not the only one with power enough to help me." He swept past Dewfire and into the cave, where several of the occupants looked up at him curiously.

"I wish to speak to an Elemental Elder!" The fox called to the group. He heard murmurs of uncertainty, before a single white shape jumped down from the first tier and walked to him. She was a young Absol—too young, Tetzleflame thought. But when she spoke she had all the authority of a leader in her voice.

"You've already spoken to one," she said, motioning with her head at Dewfire. "But, I suppose another audience wouldn't hurt… you cannot expect much of me, coming to me as an outsider. What is it?"

Tetzleflame explained what was happening in the forest to the Absol, who said nothing during his narration, just nodded occasionally. She didn't know him, so she was giving his request some thought, which was a relief to the Ninetales, who figured his reception with the Elemental Elders would be much of the same as with Dewfire. When he was done, the Absol said, "…Hmm. I don't know," she shook her head. "You haven't proven yourself as the other two have—but that was different. I give you authority to stay here until we've come to a decision."

"Thank you," Tetzleflame said, relief apparent in his voice. "May I ask for your name?"

"Lightwind," she replied, "Yours?"

"Tetzleflame," he thought he saw a flash in her eyes, but it was gone after a moment.

Lightwind began to pace away from him, "Well, Tetzleflame, we'll consider your request," she said. But her voice had a note of uncertainty that hadn't been there before. She raised her head and cried out shrilly to the other Absol, a few responded to the call and jumped down to join them. They were older; some of them were even familiar to Tetzleflame, who avoided their gazes.

"Arra deia, and thank you," he said to the group of Elemental Elders, bowing his head and retreating from the small group and jumping onto the first tier.

A few of the Absol there were staring at him, especially the young kits. He curled up in an empty spot and tilted his ears back to hear the conversation going on the second tier. "…Said that Blair died in her sleep. Peacefully."

"Oh really?" The other Absol sounded skeptical; "I heard she was wide awake when it happened."

"Hmph. Well, it was Dewfire that said she was asleep, so I believe him. He said she just stopped breathing, and that was it."

A third Absol joined the conversation, "No, I'm sure she wasn't asleep with it happened. I saw her nest, it's a mess. It looks like Blair didn't die without a struggle."

Tetzleflame sighed. He remembered Blair; she'd been fairly old when he'd first met her. But… "What did she die from?" He asked them, lifting his head. The three Absol looked down at him, but didn't look startled that he'd joined in as well.

"Flame sickness. The one that the little Vulpix brought," one of them answered. She shuddered, "I'm glad I haven't caught it."

A shadow passed over Tetzleflame's eyes, "Flame sickness? Are you sure?"

"Yeah…" her tone turned defensive.

The old Ninetales held up a paw, "I only ask because… well, flame sickness doesn't kill its victim by respiratory failure…"

He was ignored as the three Absol jumped into a different topic of conversation. Shaking his head, Tetzleflame sighed and curled up into an even tighter ball.

(scene change)

Ember was aware of a deep Absol voice calling out to her. Her paws sprawled and batted at the air for purchase, but they grabbed at empty air. In the dark valley, she couldn't see how much farther she would have to fall, and she was caught unaware when her shoulder smacked directly into an outcropping of rock. She was sent into a spin as her body found the side of the valley, rolling down it with a flurry of small rocks following her in a mini landslide.

The Vulpix regained control of her fall and scrabbled at the rocks, trying to find one that was stable. Her paws scraped across several sharp ones, leaving lines of pain across her pads. No rock was stable enough to stop her fall, and she lost the surface for a few feet before tumbling into icy cold water.

The current was strong enough to push her around like a rag doll and she wasn't strong enough to keep her head over the surface. As the river traveled over a series of rapids, her head only broke the surface for a second to take a gasping breath before being sucked under again. Her left shoulder burned, the only heat she felt around her when her fur was completely soaked through. Her left leg refused to move, and it hurt badly when the water forced it in odd angles.

It seemed like an eternity before the river finally slowed and Ember was heaved onto dry land. She lay on her side and coughed up several mouthfuls of water and sooty mucus that came from her internal fire sac. Without the energy to drag herself forward, the tips of her tails were still waving in the water.

Ember was aware of an orange light from above. The one eye that was facing upward saw that the rock walls were higher here than from where she fell, and the light was too close to come from the sun. Perhaps it was from an Absol, sent down there to go retrieve her body. He would be surprised that she was still breathing…