Webber's POV

Our camp was flooded. The rain was pounding against the branches above, roaring somehow even louder than the thunder. It had been going on for several days now, driving us uphill from our home.

WX was very frustrated with it. Well, 'frustrated' was sort of an understatement. In fact, he was quite angry with it. Given his weakness to it, he was rendered practically useless by it.

We had spent a great deal of time with the puppy, Popsicle. He didn't get along at all with Chester. In fact, they seemed to hate each other. Every time the ice hound neared Chester, Chester's fur would rise, and he would, surprisingly, start to snarl. Popsicle had simply stared at him and tipped his head in confusion but had eventually slunk back to us.

We loved having Popsicle around. Once he had broken out of his shell, he became a very good companion. He was playful and sweet and absolutely adored having his belly rubbed, all the things that Chester typically hated. And most of all, he was ours.

We had had pets before. Mainly, we remembered our mother having a pet catcoon, but he hated us. Plus, we never were a fan of catcoons.

No, Popsicle... this was the pet we always wanted. The ice hound puppy lazily cleaned his paw, his blue fur sparkling with water droplets. He loved playing in the water, and he already proved to be a good hunter. He left came early one morning and returned with a rabbit. It was a bit of a messy kill, but we couldn't blame him. We were surprised that he left and came back. That's when we realized that he really was ours. Due to the intensity of the rain, we had enough time to tie together enough flowers to make him his own personal collar.

Today, however, there was something else on our mind.

"I highly doubt this is the first flood those cave spiders have ever seen," Wilson pointed out, his arms crossed. His hair was wet, but surprisingly, it was still standing in his signature style, albeit a bit messier. "They'll be perfectly fine."

"We don't know that," I grumbled, picking at the ground. We were desperately worried about the group of spiders, even though it occurred to us that we really shouldn't be. They had practically kept us as a prisoner for two days for little reason, but we still couldn't get feeling out of our head. That feeling of recognizing the dangling depth dweller, Erika. We shook our head, sighing. We wouldn't get any answers sitting in the rain. Besides, it was probably more important to worry about the state of our camp. "We do have everything we need from camp, right?"

"I made sure to get the egg shard," he responded distractedly as if not realizing that this was the third time we had asked this question. "And the book." He retrieved it from his bag, easily the only dry thing we had. "I found my new favorite line in it. On the page about hounds, it says 'Beware at all costs'. Strange to think that this is talking about the same thing as Popsicle."

The hound's ears perked up as he heard his name, and he looked up from his paw grooming. It was sometimes hard to realize that the puppy would soon grow to be one of the most feared creatures in the world.

"WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY IT SHOULD NOT BE HERE," WX spoke up. "WE SHOULD HAVE KILLED IT WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE."

"You probably shouldn't be threatening our pet when you can't even move three inches without turning into a Winter's Feast tree."

A moment passed before WX let out a burst of garbled static. Laughter, we supposed. "YOU CANNOT EVEN PROCESS THE CORRECT NAME FOR A HOLIDAY."

We puffed out our cheeks but chose not to correct him. If he was too stupid to know that that was the correct name, then he would always be too stupid. We were jarred from our thoughts by the cold muzzle of Popsicle nuzzling our arm for affection. We felt a small smile grow on our face as we scratched behind the hound's ears.

We felt a twinge in the back of our head, causing us to wince. Popsicle let out a slight whine as if concerned. That familiar voice in the back of our head whispered:

"Flowers will grow and rain will fall

So raise your head and stand up tall

As spring is here and winter's gone

So let the flowers flower on"

We recognized the tune. It was a simple nursery rhyme- one that we remembered well. In fact... It was the nursery rhyme that mum used to sing to me when it was raining.

How do you know that?

"Obvious reasons."

Why did you just sing it?

"Because I'm getting awfully tired of hearing your brain work in circles. I figured a familiar tune would kick-start your old memories. I see it partially worked. Think harder, please. For my benefit."

Why can't you just tell me what this is about?

"It is much more fun this way. And more satisfying in the long run."

I remember... there was someone else, wasn't there? There was... there was that girl that I keep having flashes of memories of. Who was she? Is that why the name 'Erika' is so familiar to me? Did I use to know an 'Erika'?

"Keep going."

She... she was my friend, wasn't she? I remember... we racked our memory for any further images of that amber-eyed girl. She was with me in a lot of my memories, but they're so fuzzy now... everything is so fuzzy after...

There was another image in our head, but this one was clearer than those washed-out memories. An image of... an image of us. Blood dripping from our whiskers, wires scattered at our feet. Satisfaction. Satisfaction glowing in our eyes.

Why are you showing me this?

"I find it rather important. Almost as important as all of those memories you keep failing to dig up."

What is it?

"A future. Would you like a better look?"

Wait- no no no!

Too late. We could see ourself brandishing our claws in the glowing full moon, darkness weaving around us. We could see our chest heaving with laughter, our eyes closed in bliss.

We could see WX lying on the ground, motionless.

We were happy.

We were happy.

"He's gone! He's finally gone!"

This isn't what we want!

"I'm untouchable!"

We whispered, softly. "That isn't what we want..."

"You're so sure? I can see it in your mind, human. How angry you get at them. They look at you like you're weak. Like you're just a little kid without his mommy.

"They look at you like you're a freak.

"They look at you like you're a monster.

"They look at you like you are pathetic, useless, helpless.

"Why wouldn't you want to prove that they are wrong? Why would you not take any chance you can to prove that you are the strongest?"

Because... "Because that's not who we are!"

We drew the looks of Wilson and WX. One looked startled and confused, the other... concerned? "What are you talking about?" Wilson asked tipping his head slightly. WX said nothing, missing the perfect opportunity to make some snide comment. We raised a hand to our head, grimacing painfully.

"Nothing! Leave us alone!" I shouted, turning on our heel and fleeing into the rain.

"Wait! Webber!" We heard Wilson calling from behind, but we ignored him.

Lightning flash from above us, skipping across the cloud-heavy sky. Mud clung to our fur and slowed us down, but we kept going until we reached camp. Then, we fell into the neck-deep water, letting it cover our head. We couldn't stand being near someone our other half was so sure we would want to kill some day. We didn't... we couldn't...

But something about the image nagged at our mind. Some part of us wouldn't be devastated if he died, but at our hands? We couldn't. We couldn't kill either of them. Did that make us weak? A coward? We looked up at the sky, shimmering strangely through the water above.

What if we died?

Would they care?

Would they mourn us?

Would they miss us?

We looked gazed into the water around us, wondering what would happen if we lay down and closed our eyes and slept in it. How different the world would be. We turned, slowly wading towards higher ground when a bolt charged from the ground. Our vision blackened as we fell, water rushing quickly over our face once more. Our body refused to cooperate. We could do nothing more than simply stare at the sky, separated from us by the sheet of water.

What if we washed up on shore the next morning?

What if they found us and realized what had happened?

What if...

…

We heard barking. Our eyes shot open, bubbles flying from our mouth and nose as teeth grabbed our scruff. Startled out of our stupor, we found our legs flying out and kicking to a standing position. Our head broke the surface, coming face-to-face with Popsicle. The little ice hound was paddling furiously to stay afloat, his eyes dull with exhaustion but his tongue lolling out of his mouth happily. We felt air rushing into our lungs, and our arms wrapped around the hound in the tightest hug we could manage without hurting him.

What were we thinking?

We held Popsicle, the water causing him to be much lighter and easy enough for even our wasted muscles to carry. He seemed more than happy with himself, his little tail wagging and smacking the water behind us.

"Webber!" We heard Wilson exclaim. He was up ahead, still on high enough ground for the water to only be to his knees. Upon seeing us and the hound pup, he waded into the deeper water, meeting us halfway. Without hesitation, he pulled us close in a suffocating hug. Popsicle shook free to stand on dry land, shaking his blue fur out. "What were you doing?" He shouted as he released us. His eyes flared with anger, but we could tell it was only because he was fiercely stressed, "You could've drowned out there!"

"YOU FOUND HIM?"

WX was still on dry land, but 'dry' was used lightly. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but he wasn't any less waterlogged for it. He barely seemed to notice the sparks flying off of him, though. He stopped at the edge of the water, looking out over us. "Popsicle found him."
"GOOD. IT IS DANGEROUS FOR ANY OF US TO BE OUT."

We looked at WX, shock washing over our system. "You... you both came to make sure we were okay?"

Wilson blinked. "Of course. We're a team."

"A team..." I echoed.

"THE HOUND WOULD NOT STOP BARKING."

We smiled, a small laugh bubbling from our chest. "He's a good boy..."

"Let's get back to our makeshift camp and get dried off, okay? And don't do that again."

"We won't," I promised softly, nearly dizzy in relief that Wilson was carrying us as we left the water behind. "We... I promise."