Hey, again! I hope you guys like this chapter! I know that the last one was kind of heavy, but this one'll be a lot more fun. I'm proud of this chapter, because it is the first time I've written a truth or dare scene, and I think that it came out well! I also gave myself a headache because one of the dares was to rhyme everything... that was a mistake, lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!

Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a really quick cameo of an OC that has a big role in my other Spirit Animals story, 'Bonding Sickness Who?' She's only in this for like two lines, though.

-owl

"Our favorite when we were growing up, of course!" Conor answered, a smile on his face as he remembered the many many nights that the three of them had stayed up and spent time together, playing dumb games.

Wallace's sneaky grin turned into a proper smirk as he answered Conor's statement with a question. "Truth or dare, then?"

Garrin slapped his hand to his forehead. "I'm not dealing with the chaos that comes from you two playing truth or dare tonight."

The other three stayed silent, watching as Garrin began to stand up. He didn't get far, though, because Conor practically tackled him back to the ground.

"No!" he exclaimed. "You don't get to get out of this. I, as both your younger brother and one of the Heroes of Erdas, say that you must stay and play the game."

And, though it looked like Garrin would really rather not play, he nevertheless sat back where he had been sitting, and turned to Conor. "Alright, Conor, you go first."

"Hold up," Rollan said, jutting into the conversation. "While my friends and I played a game we called 'dare,' I'm not quite sure I know who to play."

Conor shrugged. "It's really easy. One person goes at a time and they ask another person 'truth or dare?' then that person has to choose. If they choose truth they have to answer a question, and I'm sure dare would be the same as your game. Then it is that person's turn."

Rollan nodded and made a motion with his hand to prompt Conor to go ahead and start the game.

Conor looked around the group before his gaze settled on Rollan. "Rollan, truth or dare?"

Rollan answered without hesitation. "Dare."

"I dare you to sit on the window sill until Meilin has done two dares."

Though Rollan gave Conor a look that nearly made him burst into laughter, the Amayan boy did as he was dared and settled on the window sill. As he had been moving, Essix had abandoned her perch on his shoulder and was now clinging to the top of Jhi's head.

"Wallace, truth or dare?" Rollan asked, looking at the oldest of Conor's brothers.

Wallace grinned. "I can't let you think I'm a wimp, dare."

Rollan was silent for a minute, contemplating something before he finally spoke. "Until I get off the window sill, every time someone choses truth, you need to run halfway down the stairs and back."

Wallace shrugged. "It could be worse. Abeke, truth or dare?"

Abeke gulped before answering. "Truth."

"What is your worst fear?"

Abeke didn't have to think long before she answered. "Losing Uraza. I've seen only a few people lose their spirit animals throughout our journey, and I shudder to think that it could happen to me and Uraza."

Hearing her name, Uraza moved her paw and batted the top of Abeke's head, making the girl laugh, and the suddenly somber mood in the room dissipated.

Abeke's gaze passed over the group a few times before she stared Conor straight in his eyes and asked, "truth or dare?"

Before Conor got a chance to respond to the question, Rollan interrupted with a yelp. "Wallace needs to run the stairs! Abeke chose truth!"

Without any complaint, Wallace got up and did as he had been bid, three minutes later he returned to his seat on the floor, only slightly out of breath. "Happy now?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Rollan nodded. "Yes, yes I am. Go ahead, Conor, you need to choose now."

"Truth."

Rollan looked at Wallace, and the boy left to run the stairs again.

"What was your favorite talisman to wear?" Abeke asked.

Conor thought about that for a while, and Wallace had returned before he finally spoke. "I think the Coral Octopus was cool, because I could breathe underwater, but it was also really creepy for my body to suddenly be as though without bones. Overall, I think my favorite would have been the Slate Elephant, because Briggian looked so cool when he was huge!"

Conor was about to ask someone else when Garrin raised his hands in a 'hold up' gesture.

"What do you mean, 'your body was suddenly as though without bones?'" the middle brother asked, a mix of confusion and a little bit of horror in his voice.

Conor shrugged. "The talisman that Mulop gave us, the Coral Octopus, gave us the ability to move through tight spaces the same way that octopi can. And, yes, it was creepy, but it was also the only reason I was able to get away when the Conquerors attacked."

Garrin sighed heavily, but let himself settle back into his spot.

"Meilin," Conor asked, looking away from his brother, "truth or dare?"

She shrugged. "On the one hand, I feel bad that if I choose truth, Wallace will need to run the stairs again, but if I choose dare, Rollan is one step closer to being able to get out of the window."

"I can see how much you care for me, Meilin," Rollan said in a dry tone.

She laughed at that, a twinkle in her eye. "Fine. I choose dare."

Conor grinned as though he had been given a grand present. "For the rest of the night, you have to speak in rhymes."

Meilin looked appalled. "That's a low blow!" she exclaimed.

"You gotta rhyme!" Wallace piped up.

With one of her most ruthless glares, she added to her statement. "That's a low blow. I'll get you back, you know." Then she turned to Garrin. "Truth or dare. Answer or this game'll go nowhere."

"Truth."

While Meilin was silent, probably trying to figure out a rhyme to be able to ask her question, Wallace sighed and left the room to run the stairs.

"What taste did the Nectar contain? I hope it was not one of pain."

Though Garrin gave her an odd look for her rhyme, he said nothing. "For me, it tasted like apple cider."

Meilin nodded, then the group waited for Wallace to return before continuing with their game.

"Conor, truth or dare?" Garrin asked.

"Dare."

"Go down to the kitchens and bring us back some snacks."

Conor nodded and left the tower. Briggan followed him, keeping him company as he snuck through the castle. The halls were dark, candles few and far between. The sound of snoring came from all around him, which made sense, seeing as it was nearly the middle of the night.

When he entered the kitchen, none of the cooks were there, it was entirely empty. Conor quickly got into the pantry and grabbed a few handfuls of leftover pastries from earlier that day. With his job done he ran back through the castle, Briggian running in step with him.

They burst into the tower just as Wallace was finishing telling about Conor's most embarrassing moment to Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan.

Rollan was laughing, tears streaming down his face. When he regained the ability to speak, he did, much to Conor's horror. "I have one to one-up that!" he cackled evilly. "We had been looking for Rumfuss the boar, and we were in Eura, at some Lord's house."

"Rollan, don't!" Conor said, pleadingly, gaining the attention of the room. They must not have noticed his return.

Rollan did not, in fact, stop telling the story, but instead grinned wider and continued. "He wore a kilt to a party, saying 'it was the polite thing to do.' He looked ridiculous!"

Conor could feel his face burning up as both his brothers laughed at him. "Whatever. I got the snacks."

That made everybody stop laughing as the pastries were passed around. Conor then turned to Abeke. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What was your favorite 'mission' that we went on? And, Wallace, you better get running."

They all watched as the older boy got up once again and left the room.

"I think it would have to be when we went to get the Coral Octopus. It was the closest to home I'd been since Zerif had taken me with him."

Conor nodded, that one had been slightly terrifying, but still interesting.

Then it was Abeke's turn. "Meilin, truth or dare?"

"Last time I chose dare I got a curse. I'll choose it again, and hope I don't get worse."

"I dare you to do one of the dances you learned when you were little."

Meilin, though grumbling, did get up and demonstrate a dance for the group. When she was done, Rollan slipped down from the window sill and reclaimed his place next to Meilin, Essix taking her own place back on his shoulder.

"Thanks for choosing dare," he muttered to the girl.

Rather than giving him a verbal answer, she smiled and nodded. "Truth or dare, Conor? Answer and show your honor."

"Truth."

Meilin grinned. "Playing it safe, I see. What was your least favorite of our 'missions,' tell me."

"I'm not sure," Conor said, dragging his fingers gently through Briggian's fur. "I didn't like the mission to get the Crystal Polar Bear, because we nearly froze to death, but I also didn't like getting thrown in the Howling House."

Though it looked like either Wallace or Garrin were going to say something, their game was interrupted by a Greencloak who Conor assumed to be in her very early twenties.

She smiled at the group. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I saw you sneaking down to the kitchen and was curious what you were up to."

"Hey, Lucette," Rollan greeted, waving at her.

The Greencloak, Lucette, waved back.

Conor, meanwhile, was looking at Briggian. "I would have thought you'd have noticed her."

Briggian huffed, almost rolling his eyes, then stood up and nudged Lucette's hip. She laughed and nodded. With a flash, a large dog was in the room, and Briggian and the dog were playing together.

"So," Lucette started. "What are you guys doing so late at night?"

Rollan was the one to answer her. "Conor had the bright idea to play truth or dare."

The older girl laughed. "And how has that been going? Anything embarrassing revealed yet? Any good dares?"

Meilin gave Conor a glare. "Anything I say must rhyme. All the time. Rollan had to sit on the window sill. It's a good thing he didn't take a spill."

"Are you going to join us, Lucette?" Rollan asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'll leave that to you guys, I just wanted to see why Conor was sneaking around the kitchen. Bryer!" and with that, the dog followed her from the tower.

Conor turned to Rollan. "How do you know her?"

"When I first arrived, I was wandering the castle quite a bit. We crossed paths quite often."

Then Conor continued the game. "Rollan, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What was going through your head when you summoned Essix?"

Rollan grimaced slightly. "I was in a jail cell. I had been accused of stealing while I was begging a shopkeeper for medicine to help one of my friends. The only animal around was a rat, I think. Maybe a spider to two. The men in the cells around me were betting on if I'd get anything. I honestly didn't think that I had any chance of summoning anything. Then Essix was there, in the jail." He was then silent for a minute before turning to Garrin. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who is your favorite Great Beast?"

"I have to say Briggian, because he is so important to those of us in Eura, and also because he is Conor's spirit animal. Wallace, truth or dare?"

Wallace sighed. "Truth."

"Who is your favorite dog?"

"It was Briggian."

Rollan looked confused. "Briggian?" he asked.

Wallace nodded. "We named a puppy Briggian because he looked like a wolf, and his eyes were blue. Meilin, truth or dare?"

"Truth. Dares can be humiliating, last time was enough proof."

"What is your favorite weapon?"

Meilin was quiet for a minute. "The quarterstaff. I trained with it for my life, at least half. Abeke, truth or dare? Give me an answer and don't stare."

Abeke's eyes narrowed. "I'm not staring but, alright. I chose dare."

"To braid Briggian's hair, is your dare."

"Is his hair even long enough for that?" Abeke mused to herself as she moved towards the huge wolf.

Briggian bopped her hand with his nose, but let her try to braid the longest hair around his neck. When she was done, it wasn't pretty, but it was functional. Essix flew over from where she had been perched on Rollan's shoulder and landed in front of Briggian.

She let out a few screeches, as though laughing at the wolf. Taking that as some sort of challenge, Briggian got up, making Conor fall backwards, and growled lightly at the bird. Essix took off, down the stairs, and Briggian was hot in pursuit. Uraza yawned and stretched before also giving chase. Who's side she was on, none of them knew.