Dylas groaned as he stretched awake, he smiled at Amber who was still out cold some drool dripping from her gaping mouth. 'She's safe.'

"Damnit!" Nixxe's voice could be heard but as Dylas looked from side to side he was hide nor hair of the girl.

"Nixxie?" Not wanting to let Amber out of his sight he only walked a few steps towards the noise. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" She yelled back.

"Where are you?"

"None of your business! Stop being so nosey." Nixxe replied nonchalantly. She had nicked herself while using her sword as a knife, it was not meant for such delicate tasks. she stuck her bleeding finger in her mouth as she continued to work. Dylas soured by the statement sat down, he was trying to imagine a map of their landscape, so maybe he could figure out his way back. 'Trees, trees Boulders and more god damn trees. How the hell am I supposed to know where we are?!' He got lost in thought his chin imbedded into his palm but the quietness he needed to think was shattered. "Ow, Damn!" Nixxie cursed as she cut herself again.

"That's it." Dylas rolled his eyes, scooped up the still sleeping Amber "Where the hell are you?" he could vaguely see her boot prints where the dirt turned to mud.

"What'd I say about being nosey leave me the hell alone!"

"You shouldn't travel far idiot. I nearly fried your brain yesterday." He could see her hunched over a lake bed. He squinted, straining his brain trying to bring anything back. 'Is she my sister? We don't look all that alike.' But he couldn't be sure unless he asked. But the question could be taken as insulting. 'She's already so damn mad I don't remember her. It's not my fault! I-'

"Stop staring at me!" Nixxie turned back to look at him, she had felt his gaze on the back of her neck. Dylas' stomach dropped. He saw how her face had puffed up, her pale skin was marred with heavy blue bruises. 'I did that to her I . . .' He tried not to look but it made the moment even more awkward. "I SAID STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THAT!' Nixxe stood up in a huff. Her exclamation woke Amber.

"Nixxie what is going on?" The young girl wiped her eyes, but once she opened them fully she let out a shriek. "AHHHHHH! Nixxie you look terrible!"

"I look worse than I am, in every sense of the word." Nixxie gave a cheeky grin.

"Look I'm sorry i-"

"Sorry for trying to save your friend? Sure you are." Nixxie laughed.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I never hit girls, never but I mean you had a sword and . . . I warned you! So . . .Does it hurt?" He still felt guilty.

"Yeah I guess." Nixxie shrugged a poke a bruised softly, causing her to wince. 'You didn't get weak Dylas I'll give you that.'. "Since you couldn't wait . . . here!" She lifted her handiwork. On a bamboo shoot sat some crudely scaled and cut skipjack.

"Sahimi?" he took the platter from her. Amber jumped from Dylas' hold and greedily took a handful of food and stuffed it in her face.

"Not a smashing success but not a failed dish. I know you still enjoy fishing I'm assuming you still like eating fish as well?" Nixxie wiped some sweat from her brow, marking it with mud. 'Not everything has changed but I'm still curious how much of the Dylas I know is left?' She waited patiently for his response.

"I love fish." He took a piece and began to chew. He wet his thumb and cleaned the mark from her forehead. His hand lingered on her temple. They both blushed then looked away.

"It's going to rain soon." Nixxe broke the awkward silence.

"Oh I hate the rain! It gets my wings wet." Amber cried.

"So Stallion, where are we headed?" Nixxed laughed as Dylas' face contorted into a grimace. 'Still can't take a joke.'

"Who are you Doug?" Dylas snapped.

"Who?"

"Dylas' friend." Amber answers.

"He's not my friend." Dylas growled emphatically.

"Sounds familiar." Nixxie laughed yet again. 'We weren't friends for quite some time'

"Huh?" You could see the question marks appear above Dylas' head. But his confused face melted when he really watched the girl smile. 'She has dimples.' Even under the bruises he could see her cute waifiish face.

"You still lamenting on the bruises?" Nixxe noted his fixed stare.

"Lamenting? No I . . . I just. Do you know where Selphia is?" Dylas now was the one who changed the subject rubbing the back of his head nervously as he spoke.

"Why the hell would you want to go there?" Nixxie was mortified at the prospect of stepping foot anywhere near that town.

"That's where we live silly." Amber pointed out the obvious.

"You . . . Both of you?" She stared blankly at Dylas.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"You have no idea." Nixxie replied bluntly. "But if you insist on going I'll take you halfway." She took off Dylas' jacket and threw it back at him. Lifting her sword from the ground she began to walk west.

"Wait." Dylas grabbed Nixxie's wrist. "You can't just say that and not explain yourself."

"I just did. We'll get there in a day and a half's time if we don't dally." Nixxie pulled her arm back and continued to walk. "Come on, it's going to rain." She restated, looking up at the sky which were clouding over.

"You won't stay with us?" Amber questioned following behind.

"With that selfish dragon? No thanks." Nixxie shrugged feeling she had already said too much.

"Selfish dragon?" Dylas questioned. 'There's not a selfish person in Selphia.' "You've got it wrong. Selphia is-"

"More walking less talking." Nixxie was getting annoyed. Dylas also annoyed begrudgingly followed, stamping his boots with each defiant step. The air grew muggy and the sky grew grey as the silent day rolled on.

"You know I won't remember you if you don't tell me anything from my past!" He finally shouted after hours of quiet.

"I know that." Nixxie replied sadly. Her fists were clenched. 'If you knew how hard this is for me Dylas you would give me a break.' I'm doing this for you. It seems that you have friends now, that you're as happy as a grouch like you can get. I don't want to ruin this for you. But I also want you to be safe. Maybe I will visit that tainted town, see if I can bear leaving you there.'

"So tell me something!" He refused to take another step.

"I doubt that dragon would appreciate that." Nixxie sighed. The image of that dragon put a bad taste in her mouth. As much as she wanted to stay tightlipped her loathing of that dragon outweighed most else.

"Damnit just anything!" Dylas demanded.

"What do you remember of your life before moving to Selphia?"

"I. . ." Dylas took a minute to think about it. 'Nothing, the first thing I remember is waking up in the doctor's office.'

"Exactly what I thought. Selphia isn't the sanctuary you think it is. But a home is a home I guess. You're originally from Selphia Dylas. And it didn't work out so well for you last time. That's all you need to know. Take everything with a grain of salt out there ok?" Nixxie sighed heavily. "Can we keep moving?" The sky began to spit.

"Were you from Selphia too?"

"No. I wasn't welcome there." Nixxie remembered how she was not allowed past the gates, that they could not help he how she was turned away. 'You suggested I try.' She thought of Dylas when they were younger. 'But it was false hope for me wasn't it? You knew that they wouldn't accept me. You knew no one but you would care and not not fear me. But it taught me trying was better than guessing. Knowing was better than ignorance. It taught me that you were different from the rest. We hated the rest. But now you live among them.' The old hate, the old depression, old sadness was on the brink of reemerging but she surprised it deep down as she had for the last seven years. She let a line of deep breaths to calm herself.

"Why?"

"I wasn't welcome much of anywhere Dylas, too much trouble, too much of things I couldn't control. That's why we were friends. We had something different about us that eventually ostracized us, and consequently people who were supposed to be our family and our friends let us down. Now I'd rather not talk about it anymore!"

"Can I ask you one more question?" Dylas spoke tentatively.

"What?"

"I was your friend or your family or something . . ." he put his hand on her shoulder. "Did I let you down?"

"It's hard to say. I don't hold all the pieces to your past Dylas. But I do know you were there for me more than anyone else. You would have done anything for me, I was the same way." She turned around a sad look to her face. "I tried, I tried to be there for you but in the end we . . ." She began to sniffle, holding back tears again trying to reestablish her strong face.

"We don't have to talk about it anymore" He nodded. 'We were friends. Best friends.' he seemed confident. "So young lady, lead the way. What?" He saw Nixxie still with tears held in the corners of her eyes smile from ear to ear. She just shook her head.

"Lets go." She began to walk. "Young lady." She smiled greater with each step.

"I . . . I don't know where that came from." Dylas blushed again.

"You used to call me that . . . every once in a while."

"Yeah?"

"What did you call him?" Amber questioned in a giggle.

"Dally." Nixxie's smile was unwavering. Even as thunder crashed and the sky opened up, the sound was southing and the water seemingly washed away Nixxie's bitter memories.

"AHHHHHHH!" Amber ran wildly trying to weave between the rain drops.

"Knuckle head." Dylas and Nixxie said in unison. "Nixxie?"

"Yeah?"

"You can . . . call me that if you like." He shrugged.

"I'd like that." She nodded, she took Dylas' hand, which caused him to grow wide eyed with concern. "Chill out." Nixxie laughed. "We gotta go!" Nixxie ran with the same vigor as Amber, dragging Dylas behind her. "AHHHHH!" She shouted like the small child as well.

"What are you doing?" Dylas looked at her awkwardly.

"Having fun! Come on try it, doesn't hurt I promise."

"Little girls and grown men don't have the same idea of fun." Dylas scoffed.

"What's fun to grumpy old me?" Nixxie stopped running and let go of Dylas' hand.

"Grumpy?!" Dylas scowled.

"Grumpy!" Nixxied nodded. Without another word Dylas reached down, took a fistful of mud and threw it at Nixxie like a snowball. He couldn't help but crack up at her shocked reaction.

"I will demolish you!" Nixxie stated with a somber seriousness. Then followed suit winging mud at Dylas. It didn't take long for a full out war to erupt. The two old friends finally had a new moment to hold onto, they were friends once more no longer just in times past. "Ahh!" Nixxie slipped and fell on the slick forest floor. Hands on his knees Dylas pointed and laughed. Nixxe reached out and pulled Dylas' feet from under him causing him to fall as well. Amber jumped and belly flopped between the two of them splashing mud up into their faces. They all just sat awhile and laughed. Nixxie looked up into the rain. 'It's nice to be happy again.' She smiled contently. Dylas looked over at Nixxie as she stared off into space getting soaked to the bone. 'It's nice to see you again.' He didn't remember her, but he was beginning to remember how he felt when around her.