I'm back! If anyone read my author's note on Survival At Seas… I got to see the joey! I didn't get to interact with her or anything, as it's her mother's first joey and she was already kind of skittish around strangers… I got to see part of her tail and her head for about three seconds, but then mummy noticed and pushed her back inside, like "Oh no you don't! You stay in there!"

ANYWAY! On with the chapter! Hope you enjoy! I should have the next one up soon!

The next day was a blur. Raz and Lela had breakfast with Alleigh and Katrina, and Lela couldn't have been happier. Raz let her sit on her lap and nibble at her honeycomb, and they shared a glass of orange juice. She'd taken off most of her cute princess outfit, but insisted on keeping the pretty lotus crown, even if it was wilting a little.

After breakfast, Lela begged Raz to let them go out and play in the garden. Of course, she obliged. Alleigh joined them in the garden for a game of tag. They played the whole day through, doing nothing but goofing around and having fun, tumbling through the air effortlessly, snacking on nectar from the flowers.

The little mouse pup had never been happier! Raz made her feel like she was floating on a cloud, full of joy and without a care in the world. Usually she was timid and scared of everyone, but now…

That night, Lela sighed happily as she lay on a leaf of a tall tree, Raz sitting beside her. The stars twinkles above them, the full moon oval shaped as it began to lose it's fullness. The mouse snuggled into her side affectionately, Raz's arm around her, feeling warm and safe. "Raz?"

"Aye Sheila?"

The mouse giggled. She still didn't understand why she called her that. "My name's Lela silly! An' I was just wondrin… are you ever gonna go back ta bein one'a the Big Ones?"

"Um-" Raz couldn't help blinking a little in surprise. What, did Lela expect her to stay an inch tall for the rest of her life? No, of course not! She couldn't! She still had to get out of here, and get home to her family! Her brothers must be worried sick… literally, Silas had once worried himself sick over her and got a bad fever for three days… they were all so protective, it made her nervous. Were they handling her absency alright? Had Squint reverted from just slightly insane to completely and totally crazy? Had Gupta and Squint been at it enough to tear out each others throats? "Lela, look, I… I um.. I can'…-"

She looked up at her curiously as she clambered into her lap, big aqua eyes blinking innocently and her nose twitched a little. "Can't what?"

"Lil' Bit…" she heaved a heavy sigh. "Ah can' stay like this… I- ah've go' a fam'ly, an siblin's, that need me a' home. I… Ah couldn'-"

She didn't get to finish. Suddenly, a loud sound pulsed in her ears, and she sat up, looking around. She scrambled to the edge, looking down. Not far below, looking troubled, was Zalim. He was muttering to himself, looking quite agitated as he paced back and forth. "I'll kill that rabbit for this… hang her bones on the chandelier. Nobody lies to me and gets away with it. That brat specifically said she'd be out here…"

Raz's eyes widened. He was going to hurt Opal! Without thinking, she leapt over the side and soon found herself hovering in front of him. However, he simply frowned and swatted at the pest, not bothering o investigate further.

"Go, leave me!" he ordered, waving a hand at the sprite as it flitted back and forth, dodging him. It was speaking in it's high pitched voice, but he paid no mind to the squeaky words. He would have simply killed it, but sprites were immortal like himself. Only a few extremely potent poisons could kill an immortal, or a very powerful spell could sap said immortality, but he was still feeling very drained from the past night's extensive use of magic. He needed time to recharge. He didn't have the energy to be rid of the little pest.

As Raz dodged another absent minded swat, her temper flared. Well! If he was going to ignore her, she'd just have to get his attention another way! Zalim paid no attention as the sprite flitted out of sight, apparently having given up on annoying him.

Raz hovered behind his head, studying the surface. Different places, sometimes a bit differently placed depending on the species, were very sensitive to touch. Certain blood vessels and nerve endings, and if she remembered right… kangaroos had a particularly sensitive one right at the base of their ears. Flitting closer, she made a soft landing so as not to be detected, and took out one of her sawfish skull swords. All of her weapons had shrunk with her. Feeling around, she found the slight pulse, raised the blade high, aimed… and stabbed downward.

A satisfying yowl of pain made her chuckle to herself. "Mission accomplished." However, her victory was short-lived. A large hand, quicker than should have been possible, was suddenly there and wrapping around her quite tightly, stealing her breath. "You rotten no good pest! I'll killa you for that!" He was in a sour enough mood as it was, and this tiny creature had made it a thousand times worse. He'd rip of it's wings and make them into a potion, grind it's bones into a potent powder!

Raz was dragged through the air and down in front of Zalim, his red eyes bright with anger. For a moment her apparent fiancé glared, opposite hand lighting itself ablaze with cobalt flames… before he recognized the displeased sneer, the sharp golden eyes, the violet fur. "Raz?"

"Uh, duh!" she wriggled free. "You bettah have somethin ta turn m' back…"

"Um… of- of course! Yes my dear, of course. I'll show you straight to the study."

"I'm no' yer 'dear'!"

But Zalim wasn't listening, already hurrying back to the palace, and Raz was forced to follow.

A pair of aqua eyes watched her go sadly, big and full of tears. "R-R-Raz…?" Lela whimpered. Her new friend was gone… the young mouse began to weep softly, her heart bleeding.

…

"Oh, where is it?!" a thousand scrolls floated around in the air, Zalim's will keeping them afloat. "No, no… no! Where is it?!"

"I though ya said ya 'ad a cure!"

"I do, be patient!" he snapped. "However I need a certain scroll for the potion recipe… wrong measurements would result in your death!"

She rolled her eyes. What a hypocrite. He told her to be patient, and yet if anything was delayed a second later than he desired, he brutally murdered whoever he believed responsible? She looked at another one, and though she couldn't read the fancy ancient script, she recognized the simple drawings of vague shapes with wings, some crossed out. Could this be… "Is i' this one?" He glanced over and appeared beside her in a fraction of a second.

He skimmed it briefly. "Ah, yes! Well done darling."

"I'm not yer darlin!" she protested.

He didn't listen and instead made his way to his stone table, reading over the scroll carefully. He summoned a bowl and a mass of ingredients, tossing many inside and heating them with a fire. "Three poppy seed… a drop of liquid gold…" Raz could only stare in horror and disgust as to what went into that bowl. Suddenly staying an inch tall sounded much more appealing. "Ah…" he squinted at the paper. "10 drops of chipmunk oil… and a drop of your blood."

"Wait, wha-!" before she could stop him, he'd reached out with a pine needle and pricked her arm. "Ow!"

"Sorry love."

"I'm not-"

"There. It is finished." Raz rubbed her arm. At this size, the wound was about the size of a sword stabbed. "Alright." He willed a few drops into a sprite-sized cup, filling it. "Drink up."

She gulped, held her breath, and drank.

I'm back! Hope ya'll liked it, please review! Not to worry, we'll see little Opal again soon, and Lela… I have plans for her! ;)