Azure's POV

I stared at the ceiling eyes; anger bubbled inside me. I did not want to speak to Noah, or Petra. Not only did my brother decide to get married and not tell me until about a day after I found out form Petra, and completely forgot about my birthday in the first place. Second, he neglected to tell me that he was leaving. They were really leaving. I had told Petra that It was her life, and I meant that, but I was starting to feel like their life would not include me or Faust. I sat up from my bed, and looked over at Petra, she was sleeping now, and was deep into it.

I looked out the window, thinking of the peace I would feel when I was alone. It was nearly dawn and I would not have much time. I stood up, pulling on a proper pair of pants, camo print jeans, and walked out the door, glancing back at Petra, scanning her face. Even in sleep she looked guilty. I pulled my hood up over my messy bun and walked off, shutting the door quietly behind me.

I kept up the pace, passing no one I knew in the hall. Luck finally seemed to be on my side. I felt suffocated by the home air, breathed by so many people before. I stepped outside, seeking comfort in the foggy dawn. I let it seep into my lungs, feeling the moisture on my face and in my lungs. I tried to breath evenly, picking up the pace a bit.

"Azure!"  I jumped, spinning around, claws extending out as Glimmer appeared in my peripheral, Adora at her side.  "Have you seen Bow?" She asked. Her heart was racing, and her eyes were wide.

Something was obviously wrong.  "No. Why? Did he say something?" I asked worriedly.  Glimmer handed me the note, and I looked it over.

I'm fine. Don't follow me.

This was weird, even for Bow.  "Can you track his sent or something?" Adora asked, and I nodded, closing my eyes.  Petra did not need to know where I was, after all, she was not going to know that when She moved away with Noah.

Breathing in, my black vision rippled, and I say everything as a sent. There had been a few guards out here, having a smoke on the far side of the clearing, they left one of their pipes in a rush to get back to their jobs. There were squirrels that had crossed the yard, and a stray dog too. Then there was that earthy, campfire, Sun-kissed, just-had-cereal-with-extra-marshmallows kind of sent.

"Got him." I mumbled, opening my eyes to see Glimmer in my face.

"Where did he go?" She asked worriedly. I whirled in the direction of the whispering woods and jutted out my chin in a gesture.

"Into the woods to grandma's house."

...I carefully picked my way through the woods, keeping close with his boot prints. In the whispering woods, sent trails were unpredictable; faint where it is fresh, strong where they have never been. So, I trusted tracking instead of sent.

"Bow's Tracker Pad and arrows are gone. He must have left after he shot that note through my window." Glimmer informed us worriedly.

Adora looked at the note hanging from the arrow.  "The note that says, 'I'm fine. Don't follow me.'?" Adora asked, unconvinced.

"He's not fine. We have to follow him!" Glimmer replied a little loudly.  "If he was fine, he would've told us he was leaving. And after finding out that signal was about Mara-" Glimmer ranted, growing more anxious by the second.  What just a second... They deciphered the message without me?!

"Okay, okay, Glimmer, just calm down. I agree, okay?" Glimmer looked at me and I nodded.  "It does seem off. Where does Bow go when he's not in Bright Moon?" I asked, and Glimmer flushed pink.

"Uh..." She trailed off and Adora arched a brow.

"Seriously? How long have you two been friends again?" Adora asked sarcastically.

"Look, Bow really values his privacy. He's never talked about his past or where he came from. Never. And you know how talkative an open Bow usually is." Glimmer stressed, and I nodded slowly.  "Something's wrong. What if he's in trouble?" Glimmer groaned, grabbing Adora by the arm and dragging her off.

I sighed and followed.  "You know, no one bothered to mention the whole 'We figured out Mara's message' to me yet." I called, catching up to them and steering them slightly to the right, judging by a boot print.

"Oh right..." Glimmer chuckled, embarrassed...

Serenia. Portal. Mara... I wondered as Adora took a finger sampling of some sap from a tree.  "Bow definitely came this way, judging by the broken twigs, the sap and his incredibly distinct footprints." Adora said, and I smirked down at the footprints with a little heart stamped into it.

"He is adorable." I admitted aloud, then flushed when Adora turned to me with a smirk.  Glimmer gasped and I turned to see her picking up an awfully familiar quiver of arrows and a golden bow.

"There is no way Bow would ever leave his trick arrows behind. I told you he's in trouble." Glimmer said worriedly, but even as awful as that was, the sent and tracks cut off ahead.

"What is that place?" I asked, finding myself staring at a large building.

It was carved from pearl pink marble with fuchsia panels and dark oak framing. A twisting tree grew onto the roof, branches, and roots twisting over the details.  Glimmer and Adora exchanged a look before Glimmer held her hand out towards me. I took it with a nod, ready to teleport. With a whirl of my surroundings and a flicker of pinkish light we were in a dark room.

"We have to find Bow, and get him out of this, uh..." I looked around, taking in the dark room.  Bookshelves were packed with ancient, leather bound books, a few pots were set up, a few behind glass cases.

"Library?" I finished for Glimmer.

"Have you ever heard of a library in the Whispering Woods?" Adora asked, and I shook my head.

"I am always a little busy hunting or sneaking past Bright Moon defenses." I mumbled, looking over a scroll.  I felt heartbeats nearby, subtle and calm even.  "There are people here, so keep it down." I whispered, just as a far door started to open.

Glimmer and Adora gasped, drawing her sword. I got into a position that could either aid be in a dash out the door or a combat position. I watched as Bow slid into the room a stack of books and scrolls in his hands. He sighed, sounding tired, and looked up spotting us. He yelped, and his voice lid into a higher pitch.

"Bow, I am so glad we found you." Glimmer breathed with a grin.

"We're here to break you out." Adora said as Bow rushed to us, setting down the stack and hushing us. "-or fight your kidnappers. We're not sure What we're—uh..." Adora kept talking before her eyes looked down.  Out of curiosity I looked down his shirt, and my eyes widened a bit. His shirt was a full shirt, pale blue with buttons up the front and a darker blue collar and cuffs.

"What have they done to you!?" Glimmer gasped, hands flying to her head, bow and quiver forgotten. Glimmer groaned and Adora bent down. I remained stone stiff.  My eyes still wide. What was happening?

"We got your arrows. Who are we fighting?" Adora asked, bending down, and picking up his weapons.

"No one. You shouldn't be here." Bow said in a hushed voice, worry evident. I could feel more people approaching, and I moved forward to intercept. "You need to leave now, before-"

There were footsteps in the hall. Bow frantically grabbed the quiver and bow, before throwing them across the ground to a safe place under a Desk, and Nervously whimpered before he stuck Adora's sword into a large vase, just as the door flew open. Light flooded the room and two men stepped in.

"Who's there? Who are these people?" One of the two asked.His hair was short, graying a bit, and he had a mustache. It was not as impressive as Sea Hawk's mind you.

Bow turned to us for a split second.

"Play along." He whispered, then looked to the two men.  "This is Adora, Azure and Glimmer, my friends from the academy." I exchanged a confused glance with Glimmer.  "Adora, Azure, Glimmer... Meet my dads." Oh gosh. As a wolf I did not know any same sex married couples of my race, I doubted there were any because of our animal sides. The two men looked at us and smiled.

"Adora, Glimmer... and Azure?" The one with the mustache echoed.  The man next to him was taller, dreadlocks, and rectangular glasses on his nose.

"Oh, we're so happy to final meet Bow's school friends." He grinned, his voice in a softer tone than I had expected.  They walked towards us and wrapped their arms around the four of us. I was completely rigid.  I looked sideways, giving him a look that conveyed more words than I could express orally...