Chapter 2: Favors

Shine stared into the eyes of her older brother. The one that she looked up to when they were kits. Unseen by her family for a good few years, and now here he was, standing in front of her before her very eyes.

"Shine… I know you said that you didn't want me back here on your territory, but I didn't know who else to see..." The male Luxray said hesitantly.

His words reminded Shine of what she said the first time around - which was true. She told him to not come back - especially after what he tried to do. Shine seemed to be frozen in silence, unmoving as she delved into her thoughts.

After a few moments, Malum waved a hand in front of the Luxray. "Shine? You here?" Malum asked as she looked over to the frozen feline. Shine shook her head and snorted, her ears flattening as she came back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm here," Shine said with a nod. The moment she turned her attention to Henry, Shine snarled at the older Luxray. "You already know what I'm going to say, and your friend over here isn't going to help you any. He attacked me in my own territory!" Shine hissed with bared teeth. Henry lowered his ears a little and looked over to the other Luxray. He was still struggling but wasn't doing as much as he expected. Tail must be around his neck pretty tight.

"Shine I know you're angry, but you can't let your anger control your actions," Malum reminded. Shine's ear flicked - a sign that she heard Malum - but she didn't want to take it to heart. Eyes began to glow red as she glared at her brother. Henry backed away even more, concerned for his own safety as he made sure to be out of attacking range.

Knowing what would happen if Shine attacked at this point, Malum tapped Shine's shoulder with the staff part of her scythe. "If you won't calm yourself down, I'll have to put you in a simulation. Do you really want that?" Malum asked in a tone of voice that was nearly mother-like. Henry and his comrade were confused at the supposed threat, but Shine was quick to stand down, with reluctance of course. She growled as she proceeded to calm herself down, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see anyone around her. Her ears flattened against her head as she settled down.

Malum was the first to speak up. "So. You two are here in Shine's territory. Surely you must have a reason."

Henry nodded his head. "Yes we do. But… Is it possible for… You know?" Henry said as he slowly pointed a paw at his bound partner.

Malum looked back to see the struggling Luxray and nodded her head. "Shine? If you can unwrap your tail please?" Malum politely asked. Shine nodded her head and unraveled her tail from around the other male's neck, finally allowing him to breathe properly as he stood up. Shine snorted and opened her eyes, which were now their normal color, as he padded past her without so much as a look.

"Now what do you want?" Shine harshly asked.

Henry took a pause to breathe before speaking. "We came here because… We need your help." Henry stated.

"My help? You? Whatever do you need my help for?" Shine asked incredulously.

Henry glanced at Jax before looking to Malum and Shine.

"To rescue our sisters and mother. They've been captured."

Shine blinked in disbelief. Did she hear that right?

"What do you mean by that? Captured? By humans?" Shine asked. Henry nodded. "Impossible. From what I remember the Luxray territories were hidden from the main human paths."

"Yes they still are, but our visually-sensitive sisters strayed too far from our territories and disappeared. When they didn't come back, Mom and I went out to track them down, and found them to be captured by bad humans. We tried to fight the humans and free them, but we ended up nearly being caught ourselves." Henry lowered his head a little after a small pause. "Well, I almost got caught while Mom did. I couldn't get them myself, and the leader of the clan said that he would try to figure out a way to free them. But I couldn't wait that long. So I convinced Jax to come with me and we came here."

Henry took a small breath after saying what was needed, and he looked up to Shine to see what her response was. Shine's physical reaction seemed indifferent, but in reality Shine's mind was reeling - he asked for her help. Really? When had he ever done that? It was almost like a dream. She never thought that he would bother to ever ask for her help. She had always seen him as one who figured out his own problems in one way or another. And besides, he rarely asked his sisters for help when they were younger. Then another thought came up: she remembered the way she left her family. Could she face them again? Would they want to even see her?

"I'm… Not sure about it. I don't like humans very much. I have had too many run-ins with the hunters and poachers, and I don't like rushing into danger," Shine said with a small shake of her head. Malum looked to Shine with a quizzical look, who caught the look and turned her head away.

'What are you doing? Shine, for as long as I've met you, you have had little hesitation in running into danger,' Malum telepathically stated.

'That is not true. There are times I've been hesitant in rushing into things. When Ashtad was captured, I didn't straight up attack the humans. I tried to free her silently before they caught me,' Shine argued.

Jax interrupted the silent argument with a growl. "Are we really going to ask her when she clearly is afraid of going?" While he was partly right, Shine never liked to be called out on the account of fear. She turned her attention towards Jax and snarled at him. "You be quiet! I am not afraid of going anywhere! I don't need you assuming what my thoughts are!" Shine shouted. Jax growled back and flicked his tail with growing annoyance, as did Shine. But before the two could get into it, Henry jumped in and intervened.

"Okay you two! That's enough. Shine seriously, I need to know if you're going to help. The longer we talk, the less time they have to be saved."

Shine hesitated and looked to her paws. She couldn't let herself fail to save her family, could she? If she did, she'd never forgive herself. Of course, they were family, there shouldn't be a choice. Even with all her nervousness, Shine sighed and looked up to the two males before her.

"Fine. We'll help you. But first, we have to get our other friend."