Credit for the first line of this chapter goes to my friend Laura (GraphicsGirl), she also has a fanfic floating around on here, go check it out!
Chapter 5
Running, running, wind cutting into his face.
Thorne could hear Crystal calling from behind him- "Slow down!"
He didn't waste his breath by replying.
He was no telepathic ninja, but he could definitely sense his sister.
She was close.
She was close, and she was...
Oh, what's the word?, he thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shout, not from Crystal, who seemed too tired to say anything, but from-
"Shaiden!" Thorne said gleefully, running towards her and hugging her. "You're... alive!"
That was the word he'd been searching for.
"Yes, of course I'm ali-"
She cut off before finishing her sentence, leaning to the left. "Who's that?" she asked, looking over at Crystal.
Oh, that's..." Thorne began. But Crystal butted in:
"Hi, I'm Crystal! You must be Shaiden, right?"
Shaiden nodded slowly, trying to take this new creature in.
"Thorne's told me all about you!" she continued.
Shaiden's eyes went wide with anger. What the hell did you tell her? she signalled to Thorne.
Nothing much. He signalled back. Just a few things about how we got here, and a little bit about what we do at the castle.
Shaiden was now really angry, even she was surprised. She'd always been sworn to secrecy; both about her past, and her job at Castle Splat, but now one error from her brother had seen the whole thing blown out of the water.
Shaiden was brought out of her anger by Crystal, who now had a huge grin on her face.
She pulled both the siblings into a tight hug. "We're going to be BFF's!" said Crystal, who was still beaming.
"Best Friends Forever!" Thorne and Shaiden said in dull unison.
Crystal squealed, and started skipping. It was quite weird, as she was on four legs, not two. She was singing:
All the daisies,
All the roses,
All the fragrant purple posies,
All the sunflow'rs towering high,
They could touch the sky.
If only they would try...
Both found it hard not to smile. "I guess she's not that bad." Shaiden mused.
"That's what I've been thinking since the first moment we met." Thorne replied dreamily.
There was a happy silence, when suddenly Shaiden jumped high into the air, and yelped.
Crystal stopped singing, and ran over to her quickly. Thorne stood speechless.
"What happened?" asked Crystal.
Thorne shrugged.
Shaiden's brows were fixed into an angry expression, and she seemed to be omitting some sort of low, fearsome growl.
"Who's there?" she called out. "I know what you're trying to do!"
She started kicking and punching wildly, landing perfectly into a handstand.
"Thorne, is your sister a…" Crystal began.
"Yes, I'm a ninja." Shaiden interrupted, flipping upright with a hint of a smile. "And, if you're wondering how I can answer your thoughts, it's because all ninjas are telepathic."
Crystal nodded, her sapphire blue eyes wide.
"What happened?" she asked for the second time.
"Well, I felt something brush across the fur on my back. It was soft, brief- but it chilled me to the bone."
The three looked at each other, waiting for at least one of them to come up with an explanation.
All of a sudden, there was a crack of thunder, and a loud, sinister voice filled the air.
"So, it looks like you've finally found me. Or, have I finally found you…?"