Ellie *looking around carefully*: The author only owns-

Brooke: THE AUTHOR ONLY OWNS US OCS IN ALL THEIR STORIES!

"When you're ready come and get it!" -Selena Gomez

"What did you call the things we're hunting again?" Brooke asked.

"Ra'zac." Murtagh growled for the hundredth time. It seemed to Meg as though the insufferable man had patience for everything...except her.

"How dangerous are they?" She had asked when he sheathed his hand and a half sword.

He snorted, as though it was self explanatory. "Pretty dangerous. I agreed to take you with me, but when the time comes, I will not be able to keep an eye on you while I'm fighting for my own life."

"Fine." She said stubbornly as she walked behind him. "We'll remember that when it's your arse that needs to be saved."

"Right, can you two even fight?" He let out a laugh when they went silent. "You two won't last a week. Can't even handle the simplest weapon."

"Then show me." He stopped walking, which made Meg run into him and they glared at each other for it.

"You want me to teach you how to fight?"

"Well, it's clearly not going to be Brooke, so you might as well teach me."

"Offended!"

Murtagh scoffed and pulled a dagger from his belt and handed it to her. "Alright, you're extremely confident. Show me what you know."

She growled in frustration, took the dagger by its blade and threw it. It lodged into the knot of a tree with a deadly accuracy.

Meg smirked happily when she noticed his jaw fall ever so slightly at her feat. "Silence does not always mean 'no.'" She retrieved the dagger and returned it to him. He said nothing, but stormed forward, following the tracks that had been erased from the dirt, but lingered in the surroundings.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Brooke whispered.

Meg smiled, "My step-grandfather taught me. When he was a boy, he was apart of the circus and learned things from all the acts."

"That's so cool!" Brooke exclaimed. "Now, what's bugging you? You're usually always so...anything other than how you're treating Murtagh."

"I don't trust him, that's all." She replied with a halfhearted smile.

"I've seen turtles faster than you." He called, crouching behind a bush a few yards ahead of them.

"You can go step on a lego!"

"Meg!"

"He deserved it!"

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"That's rich coming from you, Brooke."

"Will you two be quiet? Do you want to be ambushed by Urgals?" Murtagh waved them over and held a finger to his lips until they were right beside them as if to reassure himself that they'd be quiet.

They peered over the bush and found that a group of travelers were being harassed by strange men—men Brooke and Meg assumed were Urgals.

"We need to go." He murmured, moving without sound.

"Uh, no." Meg reached out and pulled both Murtagh and Brooke.

"Meg, what are you doing?" Brooke whispered.

"We're saving those people."

"No, we're not." Murtagh said, pulling her to her feet. "And don't even think about talking back to me."

"I hate to break it to you, pal, but that's how communication works."

"Meg, now's not the time to pick a fight-"

"You're right, it's the time to be fighting for the innocent."

"Those people are not innocent." Murtagh informed her, clearly frustrated as a vein pulsed in his temple. "They're con men."

"They're still people." Meg insisted. "People make mistakes, but they deserve second chances. If you won't help them, I will."

In all honesty, Meg did not want to end a life. She was not willing to end one life in exchange for another yet, so the only plan that fit her wants was a distraction.

"Hey, Ugly!" She had to resist laughter when the Urgals and men looked at her. She faltered, then tauntingly sang, "When you're ready come and get it!"

Apparently that outraged them. The Urgals forgot the men and began to run after the trio. "Meg, if we live through this," Murtagh shouted as they trampled through the forest. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Meg, don't your parents have State Farm?" Brooke panted.

"DOES THAT REALLY MATTER?"

"Do the God darn jingle!"

"Are you insane?!"

"JUST DO IT!"

"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there—with an escape route!"

"Quick, under here!" Murtagh shoved them into an extremely overgrown bush while he climbed into a tree.

They watched silently as the Urgal pack rushed past them, trampling the earth beneath their feet. Brooke and Meg remained hidden until Murtagh climbed down and helped them out.

Twigs and leaves stuck out of their hair and sticky sap made dirt cling to them, but they had wide grins plastered across their faces and their lips were quivering in an effort to not laugh.

"What?"

They burst out laughing, holding each other and saying between gasps, "I can't believe that worked!"

After they seemed calm enough, they retrieved Tornac, Murtagh's horse, from where they had left him and continued their hunt; only to run into the very men they had saved.

"I thought I would never see my family again!" One man said to them. "Thanks to you, I can."

"I am happy for you, then." Meg replied, a lump forming in her throat at the mention of family. Brooke locked eyes with her and the same sad feeling took hold of them.

"How can we repay you?" Another questioned.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Brooke insisted.

"Please, I would not feel right knowing that an opportunity for gratitude was cast aside." the man replied. "I see that there are three travelers, and only one horse. Accept Mistwell as your own and I shall be satisfied."

"I suppose we are in need of a horse, thank you." Brooke replied and climbed onto the beautiful black mare.

Since she was a little girl, she had loved horses and had been riding them since she could handle the reigns. Being upon them again was like heaven and soothed the soul within her that had been petrified with fear since they arrived in Alagaesia.

Meg smiled as she watched Brooke climb upon the mare. However, she lost sight of her friend when Murtagh turned Tornac in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, silently questioning him and he hesitated in his reply, "If we are going to travel together, we might as well start trying to get along."

She smiled and accepted his hand; he pulled her onto Tornac and gripped him tightly around his waist. "I need to breathe, Meg." He grunted.

She loosened her grip, "Sorry, I've never ridden a horse."

"Do my ears deceive me?" He asked with a laugh. "Did you just apologize?"

"Shut up."

He laughed again and Meg had to admit, it did have a cute ring to it.

They followed the Ra'zac's trail for several days with no trouble and no luck. Days were long and weather was quite horrid. Nights were freezing and the ground they slept upon wasn't exactly a temperpedic.

"Meg?"

"Yes, Brooke?"

"There's a rock in my pillow."

"Is it green?"

"No..."

"Then it's not kryptonite and you can handle it yourself."

"Jerk."

Brooke thought she heard Murtagh snort, but ignored it. She pulled out the rock and tossed it in Meg's general direction before settling down.

She did not fall asleep instantly, and resolved to watching their guide. It was his turn to keep watch while they slept and she knew he didn't just sit there, staring into the woods.

Through her lashes, she watched him. He looked around, as if to make sure they were asleep before he stood and pulled off his cloak. She could barely keep the smile off her face as he crept over to Meg and draped it over her shaking form. She ceased shivering and buried her face into the cloak, embracing the warmth.

"If you tell her anything," His voice startled her and she quickly realized that he had known she was awake. "I will carve out your tongue."

She sat up and nodded, wishing desperately that she had a camera. He resumed sitting and pulled a hunk of wood and knife from a bag, beginning to whittle the wood.

"What are you going to make?" She asked.

"Don't know, yet. I'll let you know when it's done." He replied quietly. They did not speak again that night.

Meg had to shake Brooke awake the following morning. She noticed strips of curled wood on the ground where Murtagh had sat the previous night, but did not question him about it. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

Brooke climbed onto Mistwell and began riding to get a slight lead, since Murtagh had always surpassed her upon Tornac.

Murtagh walked to Meg, the reigns of Tornac in his hands. "You're going to steer today." He informed her.

"You have a death wish?" His eyes narrowed and he looked away, suddenly interested int the ground. "Oh, I-I'm sorry."

He looked back to her, though remained silent, watching as she stroked Tornac's neck. He gave the faintest of smiles, lifted her and helped her into the saddle. He climbed up and held to her tightly, unsure if this was such a good idea. "He knows you," He told her coolly. "He'll obey you if you know how to talk to him."

They rode the next mile as a practice and Meg found that it was not as difficult (or as terrifying) as she had thought; or was that just because Murtagh was behind her, telling her everything she needed to do?

Her laughter rang out through the forest like a bell, but it was quickly forgotten with Brooke's scream.

Without a second though, Meg urged Tornac faster until they found her at the mercy of five Urgals.

They slid off and pushed into the fray. Murtagh used his sword to fend off the creatures, but not without a few cuts and bruises.

Three Urgals found it beneficial to take on Murtagh, while the other two decided to try Meg as she defended Brooke with a dagger from Mistwell's saddlebag while the other girl kept an eye on Murtagh so Meg did not have to. Though, it was no easy task.

From what Brooke could see, he had killed one, mortally wounded another, and was unaware of a fourth that had abandoned Meg with a broken arm to try and aid his companion while he fought the third.

"Meg!"

"I see him." She muttered, pushing aside her current foe, she turned to their guide and cried, "Murtagh, look out!" And she threw the dagger, implanting it in his neck. The Urgal gave a howl and Murtagh finished him before any further damage could be done.

Unfortunately, Meg's original foe did not take kindly to her killing his partner and she could not move away fast enough.

The Urgal pulled a knife from his boot and slashed a deep gash into her arm. She cried in surprise at how it burned and ached and gritted her teeth as the fire seemed to spread through her veins, slowly and painfully.

Brooke grabbed a hold of her to keep her steady, knowing little about wounds but enough to know that a small gash like that should not be taking her friend from consciousness.

Having decided that the trio was wounded enough, the remaining Urgals fled, taking their dead with them.

Meg hissed through her teeth as the pain spread and a headache took her mind; she clutched the wound, wondering why dark spots danced across her vision. Everything seemed so loud, all of her body so sensitive. Despite, the noises, there was one voice that struck out the most to her. The voice of a boy, or perhaps a man, whose name she struggled to remember. "She's been poisoned." The voice said, though to who it was speaking to, she knew not. "Meg? Meg, stay with me."

Murtagh? Yes, that was his name; but she only managed to remember that much before everything faded into oblivion.