AN: Hey everyone! Mossman is back from laziness. I'm sorry with the inconsistent uploading. I'm also sorry that these chapters are short and don't come very often. All the writing I have done in the past has been short, usually excerpts, pieces. This is mainly due to horrible concentration; when a chapter takes this long to upload, it's probably because it took me too long to write and I lost focus and had to come back. The other reason for limited uploading is also due to my recent situation. It's not anything dramatic but I recently came back from a rare surgery which was followed by another operation on my appendix; this means that I have been busy as heck lately. While writing is one of the most important things to me, I have to deal with a lot of stuff in the real world (it's bright out there!). I'm expecting that, especially since it's coming up on Christmas holidays, I will be able to sort most of this stuff out and have much more regular uploading (and probably longer chapters too!).

I could feel the sand rub against my hands. I could feel it sift through my hair. The waves calmly washed onto shore, creating that familiar sound, comforting my ears. The loud and constant thump of footsteps above competed with the waves, to no avail. Even with them competing, I could hear the on and off of Morgan's breath. Morgan had gone right back to meditation, once Coal and Schorl left.

I heard the gulls, circling over the boardwalk, searching for a chance to eat and many annoyed humans. The wind blew had come to rest now and blew peacefully over the beach, shifting the sand. The odd person had decided to take a stroll along the shore.

I noticed something or, rather, the lack of something. Morgan's breaths had stopped, suddenly I heard her start talking, "How much did you hear?" She asked, her voice was soft and quiet, like a whisper, but was also distinct.

My body froze up, surprised by the sudden question. "All of it," I answered, meekly, "it was kind of hard not to hear." My eyes were still closed.

I could feel Morgan start running her hands through my hair. Her hands were elegant, breezing through each strand. She sighed, "I wish you hadn't." I almost purred; her hands felt amazing.

"Thank you Mo mo." As I opened my eyes, I looked up to her, really appreciating what she had said; that she would protect me. She returned the gesture, looking at me questioningly.

She hesitantly started, "No problem?" She looked around, checking if there was something that she had done. She didn't find anything satisfactory and her gaze made its way back to my eyes. "What did I do?"

I couldn't help laughing a little, "You said that you would keep me safe. Thanks." I slowly wrapped my arms around her, gently rubbing my head against her side.

She was a little taken aback at first but slowly went back to stroking my hair. She laughed now, as well. "Well, friends always protect friends, no matter what!" I couldn't see her but I imagine she was smiling.

"What about Schorl, would you protect him too?" I don't know where the question came from, I just kind of asked. I was actually curious about how Morgan was getting along with her newest companion.

I released her and started stretching. I could feel her looking at me; when I looked back, she was quite deep in thought. "While I respect Schorl, as a strong and agile warrior, acquaintance is more appropriate."

Acquaintance is better than nothing. I could feel a tickling on my hand but I ignored it, "What about Coal?" Coal and Morgan knew each other but I didn't know how well.

"Me and Coal-" She was cut off as I felt a sting in my left hand and I let out a small squeak. I looked to the pain and saw a black thing crawling on my hand. It had eight legs and a disgusting amount of eyes I had no time to count. It's legs and body were twisted, bending in every direction. Its body was crystalline and its surfaces were smooth. I shook my hand, in an attempt to get it off. After a few seconds, it lost its footing and was launched into the ocean. "Spiders." Is all I heard Morgan say before she stood up.

"That's not a spider." I said calmly.

"Not a human one." Morgan replied.

"But it had no gem." I was worried now, if it wasn't an Earth spider and it had no gem, what was it?

"Which means that the mother is around here somewhere." It dawned on me now.

As much as I should have been concerned, I had to ask, "Where have I heard that line before?"

Morgan looked to me, surprised, "There's no time! We need to find it!"

AN: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed! Like always, leave a review if you want to say anything; whether it be compliments or critiques, anything is welcome. Except flames, forest fires are a serious problem in Australia, don't do it.

Until next time, this is Mossman, have a beautiful day!