Chapter 3: Figures in the Dark

(earlier that night before Bloss saw the shadowy figures lurking around)

Three figures urged their chestnut, midnight, and tortilla colored mares from a gallop to a sprint. All three people had the build of a young man around 18. Guards with the symbol of a nearby town known as Bronton was marked on their armor were in pursuit of the three.

Riding in a triangle shape, the rider in the middle rode about half a foot farther then his companions showing his authority and leadership. He was wearing a white cotton t shirt that appeared a little baggy, a red sleeveless vest, brown pants, and brown boots. His hair was long, orange and shaggy that was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail that was flapping in the wind violently with a red faded baseball cap on backwards. He rode the chestnut mare with a sack of gold coins slung over the horn of the saddle that had Marlin written in bold black letters. The rider's face was obscured by unnerving shadows casted by gloomy trees.

The rider on the left was the owner of the tan colored horse which had Zilla in bold black letters written on the saddle. She too had a small back of coins securely tightened onto her saddle. The rider had golden blonde hair that reflected the moonlight in a mesmerizing way, which was styled in a winged look, spiking out on either side of his head. His hair was also messy and not brushed. He wore a pale blue t shirt that was loose around his waist with a dark blue sleeveless vest just like his friend. He also had on brownish colored pants and brown boots. His face was also not visible.

The final rider was the young man on the right. He was the one riding the midnight black mare that had Shredder printed on the saddle. Like the previous riders, he also had a small bag of loot attatched to his horse's saddle. He had hair black like night, styled into a spiky volcano. He had on a loose white t shirt that had a forest green sleeveless vest, only he had a black jacket on with a hood covering his facial features. He also had on brown pants and brown boots.

The guards began firing arrows at the 3 criminals. The three maneauvered around a stump which caught all six arrows that were originally targeting the young mens' hearts. The young man with black hair laughed heartily. "Bronton really does have the lamest archers. Bet none of them could hit the bulls eye even if they were 2 feet away from the target."

The blonde boy laughed along with his orange haired companion. "Or even hit the target in general." They rode harder and the guards lagged a bit but kept on their tails. Realizing that shooting their firearms at the 3 wanted thieves wasn't working, they decided to save their amo and try to wear them out instead. Only, the guards didn't know that the horses that the 3 young men were riding were also stolen from one of the best stables on the continent from the city Grod and could run for days on end without resting.

The Red Leader swung his head in the direction of the persuers and noticed that they were were out of breath. "Alright guys. It looks like their about to crash hard from exhaustion. Its a good thing we swiped these beautiful animals back in Grod awhile back." he was interrupted by his green friend.

"Bro, these guys have saved us several times. They really are a stroke of good luck."

The blonde panted a little. "Actually, Butch, your horse is the only male. Mine and Brick's are females."

Butch opened and closed his hand, mocking his blue brother. "That's Boomer getting all technical on us." Butch started panting himself, then glanced back behind them. The guards had seemed to have picked up their pace and were gaining speed relatively quick. "Guys, they're catching up." he said with a little panick in his tone.

Brick smirked to himself, keeping his eyes locked on the dirt path ahead of him, steering his horse out of precarious directions. "Whats the matter, Butch? You sound a little scared back there."

Butch growled. "Im not scared so shut your friggin mouth!"

"Uh guys, they are gaining!" Boomer interjected, bringing the matter of the now back into play.

A fallen tree caused Brick to jump his horse over the rotting log with Butch and Boomer following his example with the guards following shortly after. "Boomer! Did Bubbles give you an idea where a good hiding spot is? We'll probably hide in the woods tonight and continue to the place in Monshea tomarrow."

Boomer thought for a second. He remembered Bubbles telling him that a deer fawn told her that there was a cave behind a water fall about north east from Monshea near some small rolling hills that had a tree with a deformed trunk on the perimeter of the field. Boomer smiled thinking of Bubbles and the fawn. Knowing that his life and his brothers' lives could be on the line, Boomer shook the daydream from his mind. He relayed the directions to his brothers who nodded.

"I know that place. Follow me." Butch noted, after hearing the description of the rolling hills and deformed tree trunk. He assumed the riding position of center forward and led his companions to safety. Butch rode around several trees and stumps making it difficult for Boomer and Brick to follow precisly but being experienced horseman since age 6, they were able to keep up with no trouble. The guards however, were starting to lag behind again, and were getting snagged in dead ends or by branches that refrained them from going farther.

Butch led them farther until only a select few of the guards were still on their tail. Butch recognized the tree trunk from a distance off and rode harder. He could then sense that there was a series of unstable rocks on a cliff over head a little ways in front of them. If they somehow triggered the rockslide, it would be enough to slow the guards down enough for them to get to the cave safely and secretly, but it wouldn't hold them off long enough where to they could skip the cave and go straight to the place in Monshea. No matter how much trouble they were in, Butch, Brick, and Boomer would never go to the girls' home if it meant bringing them into potential harm.

Brick noticed Butch trying to formulate a plan using the rockslide. "Butch!" Butch looked back towards his brother, responding to his name. " Ride harder ahead. Boom, get behind me, and when i say now, concentrate your Gift on that pile of rocks" Brick explained which his brothers understood perfectly.

Boomer lagged behind his brothers a little waiting for Brick's cue to trigger the landslide. Boomer saw Brick yell something at him which he couldn't hear but Brick appeared to have been mouthing 'Now!' Boomer concentrated on the pile of boulders and a string of purplish blue and white colored light zapped the boulders to cause the slight avalanche. (Over on the other side of the mountain a certain someone just woke up.)

Butch led his brothers to the small water fall where they quickly entered the cave unnoticed, each of them leading his own horse. It was dark, damp, cold and musty with a skin gnawing chill. They came out to a small opening in the cave that showed off the same scenery that Blossom was introduced to 16 years prior. Boomer blinked in awe. "Sweet place."

Brick directed his attention toward the little cabin. It didn't appear that anyone was home, but he felt an urge to climb the tower.

Blossom crawled out of bed and squirmed over to the window as quietly as she could. She was still half asleep, therefore she was stumbling around clumsily. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes so she could get a clear view of what she was up against. Blossom peaked out of the window. She saw 3 shadowy figures standing at the edge of the cave entrance. Quietly she waited for the first mystery person to step into the moonlight...

Right before the first person stepped into sight, 3 beautiful horses ran ahead of them and began grazing in the field beside the tower. She found all 3 horses an incredible sight, but the chestnut mare appealed Blossom the most.

She suddenly remembered that she wasn't alone and returned her undivided attention onto the strangers. The first figure stepped into the light and he was wearing a red cap that blocked his face from her view. The second figure stepped out of the darkness but his face was hid by a black hood, but he appeared to be wearing green. A third and final person stepped into the silver light but his face was also obscured by a black hood, but was wearing blue.

Blossom gasped silently realizing that they all appeared to be male. This might be my only chance to get out of here! But...how can i trust them? Well, they're bound to find me up here before the Wicked Witch gets back. Might as well change out of this somewhat see through nightgown. Blossom got up from the window careful not to make a sound. She didn't want to draw attention to herself to these men while she was changing. She stripped out of the nightgown and quickly dressed into an old pale pink dress that had a brown sash wrapped around the waist, making her resemble a maid, only in pink. She pulled her pink ballet shoes on and they squeezed her feet tightly and uncomfortably. Her sensative fingers that were still sleep numb, fumbled with a comb. Taking a moment to adjust to the pressure, Blossom began combing her hair before dividing the long mane into 3 strands and braiding it down her back. Finally, to keep the extremely long rope out of her face, she pinned it to her scalp the same way it had been styled earlier. Blossom jerked her head toward the window. She could hear the young men speaking.

Blossom peaked over the window to see the blue man speaking. "So are we going to climb the tower or not?"

"Yes Boomer, we are! Start paying attention. Lets start climbing" the green claded man responded with a paranoid edge to his voice.

Blossom pulled back from the window. Boomer? Interesting name. Thats a cool name. Blossom grabbed her quiver of arrows and bow off of her vanity dresser and pulled an arrow into the notch. Then she retreated back into the shadows so her visitors wouldn't notice her when they entered through the window. This is a pretty high tower. It should - Her thought was cut off when she heard grunts close to the window and saw a leg swing over the window sill. Then and arm. Then the red haired man crashed through the window. Blossom giggled a little finding the current display amusing but kept quiet. Next came the green dressed one and then the blonde haired one, Boomer.

They stood up and started glancing around the room, not noticing Blossom lurking in the shadows. She still couldn't see their faces. Better do it now. Come on Blossom. If they don't prove themselves, i guess i could always kill them and escape on one of their horses. Blossom inhaled and exhaled deeply before calling out to them. "What are you doing here? How were you able to find me?" she questioned from the shadows causing them to look muddled and to glance around.

Boomer was the first to respond. "Who's there? Show yourself."

Blossom hesitated to answer. "How do I know that if i do show myself that my safety is guarenteed? I know you not, nor you me. How can I trust you?"she retorted back.

The red capped man was the next to speak. "We swear that we will not harm you. Step forward." he tried coaxing as politly and inviting as possible. The voice sounded feminine and a little shaky. He wouldn't be surprised if the speaker turned out to be a girl around 12 or 13 although the voice sounded more mature.

Blossom hesitated again."First, tell me the names of who I am speaking too." She already knew the blonde was Boomer but made no indication of knowing.

The red haired one replied," My name is Brick. This is my brother Butch" he indicated to the man in green. "And Boomer." He indicated to Boomer.

"Care to tell us your name now?" Butch questioned, looking around the dark room, still trying to pinpoint the location of the speaker.

"Not until Im sure that i am safe to entrust you with that. I'll come forward but remove your hoods so I can see your faces." Butch opened his mouth in protest but was silenced by Brick before any words were said.

"Alright. But lower your bow. We are not here to harm you." Brick tried soothing her.

Now Blossom became baffled but remained calm with the bow ready to fire if provoked. How the hell did he know that i had a bow? Should i just kill them? No, i cant kill a person! Besides, for some reason, i feel almost drawn to them. The 3 men removed their masks revealing their faces at last. Blossom gasped in shocked amazement. Now that she could make out their features clearly she could discern that they were all about 18, which made them triplets if they were brothers which had been mentioned. They all were very handsome but what stuck out the most to Blossom was their bazar eye coloration. The man in red whose named Brick had deep red eyes, that showed fire flickering in them. The green clothed man, Butch, had an unnatural shade of green eyes-much to dark and deep of a green to be natural and a hard pain was present in them. The blue clothed man, Boomer, had eyes that were also much too deep of a blue to be natural, with sorrow striking through them.

Butch grinned. "You gasped. Are you bewildered by what you see?"

"No," Blossom replied fearlessly for the first time. Her sudden answer with pure truth backing up her answer caused Boomer and Butch to blink in confusion. Brick appeared as if he expected that answer. "Because," Blossom continued striding forward into the moonlight that was washing in through the window with her eyes lowered. She stopped in front of them then looked up at them, allowing the 3 strangers who she doesn't know at all yet trusts them genuinely, to gaze into her own pained, and unnaturally bubblegum pink colored eyes. Brick, Boomer, and Butch gasped themselves. "Im just like you."

Chapter 2 is done...! i love this chapter actually, but its not about me its about YOU! review and tell me what you think.

sorry that i left you on a cliff hangar but...now you have the joy of being able to guess what happens next :)

thank you Flutjrp, cococandy21, Kyogen-saori, and for reviewing on the last chapter! i appreciate it and this chapter is dedicated to you guys!

BTW can anyone guess what elements and a second power each Ruff has? I gave hints on what their elemental powers are but you are free to guess what the other power the have though. They only have one other power besides their element though (except Bubbles who has 3)

until next time...read and find out!

-P.F.G