[Past].

After Adolpha's encounter with Yakob's anger, she was quick to leave River's Bed alongside her friends, Ajax and Quince, neither of whom knew about her prior interaction with Yakob. It hadn't been the first time he had left a dark mark on her skin. Ever since she had met Yakob, he had been adamant about his not wanting her to leave, for fear that she would loose her life. Twenty years ago, it seemed charming and protective. Now, it seemed controlling. Adolpha was happy to finally be rid of Yakob, but she knew that the relief was temporary. If nothing else, Yakob was a man of his word, and so she looked over her shoulder every step of the way. She knew that he would be after her; she just did not know when, and that made his looming presence all the scarier.

She had dreamt the night before their leaving, just as did Ajax and Quince. The mystical dreams had grown ever more frequent the past few weeks, and ominous, too. Adolpha remembered her most recent one vividly.

She had been standing in Virulent's Forest, floating, facing the lizard beast. He kept a devilish grin spread across his face, and his tail whipped back and forth like a cat's.

At first, Adolpha had been confused, and asked him, "Why are you here?"

"The real question you should be asking," Virulent had cooed, "Is why is she here?" His reptilian eyes flicked to the side, and Adolpha's gaze followed, seeing none other than Danica. Even now, even years after their departure, Adolpha recognised her in an instant. And yet, she was different. She was pale in skin tone, with straight, silvery blonde hair and brown eyes; but instead of brown, her eyes were solid black, and from the top of her head sprouted curled horns.

"Danica!" Adolpha cried out for her, pained to see her so.

She spoke, beady eyes narrowed, "Time is running out to save us."

Adolpha had woken with a shrieking start that morning, to which May had come from her room to comfort her.

"Ma, are you alright?" She'd asked.

Breathing heavily, Adolpha had lied, unable to bear the worried look on her sweet daughter's face, "Just a nightmare, but it's gone now. Why don't you go back to bed, and sleep the morning away?"

The blonde girl yawned, "Can I sleep in here with you?"

"Of course." And May had crawled into bed with her, snuggling against her warmth beneath fresh sheets. Adolpha held her close in her arms, listening to the softness of her breathing, knowing very well what her dream meant. Adolpha held May tightly, allowing her to fall asleep beside her, for she knew it would likely be the last time she ever saw her daughter. The thought alone brought her to quiet tears, but May did not notice.

That night, after May had fallen asleep in her room, Adolpha, Ajax, and Quince had found one another outside, gathered their supplies, took their mules from the public stables, and then left. Adolpha was hesitant to step out of River's Bed for the very first time, but with encouragement from her friends, she did so, all too aware that every step brought her farther away from May, farther away from Aunt Ware, and farther away from Mayor Kelo. But Adolpha was confident that they would be alright, and that they would be able to take care of one another. In fact, it was almost a relief to know that Yakob would follow her out of River's Bed, as it meant that he would not be able to hurt May or Ware, and that thought gave her immense comfort.

"I think we should try to get to Jasper tonight," Ajax said. The three of them rode along on trotting mules beneath a clouded night sky, their bags shuffling, strapped to the mules' rears, and silver chainmail armour clinking. The breeze was gentle, but not warm nor friendly, and the air felt heavy with tension. Blood was on its way.

"That would be about halfway to Virulent's Forest," Adolpha said. She sat slouched comfortably on the back of her mule, feeling his every rhythmic, thudding footstep beneath her. His tack shuffled and clinked, removing any silence of the winter's night. As he moved beneath, so did she above. A long time of riding would make her thighs greatly sore and stiff, but so far, that was not a worry. She wore a long red cloak, white at the rims, and beneath it chainmail just as the rest of the small crew. They had left prepared.

"I think we could make the ride to Virulent's Forest in one night," Quince said. Their voices were lowered, quiet, and damp with heavy.

Ajax countered, "But then what? We fight on empty stomachs and without any sleep? If we stop by Jasper, then we will be able to charge completely before meeting Virulent and his army."

His army. That phrase echoed in Adolpha's mind. Were they, three young adults, truly going to face an entire army all by themselves? The nauseating fear continued to creep inside.

Quince sighed, "I will not argue with you, Ajax, especially whenever you talk sense for the first time in your life."

"Second time, actually," he said with a chuckle, and Quince smiled back at him, her dark form outlined by the moon's rays. Her black, feathered wings were beautiful and large, smooth and soft both, and Adolpha could only feel sorry for the extra weight they put on the donkey beneath her. Even now, being raised from the ground and on the back of a mule, Quince's wings' tips nearly drug on the ground. Her feathers seemed to shimmer with dew in the blue light.

"What was the first time?" Quince asked him with an eyebrow raised.

Ajax's tail swished over the back of his mule, "Well, I can't exactly remember, but I'm sure it's there." Ajax was a huge, muscular creature. He was larger than a Lycanthrope, and much larger than a Saurion. His pelt only made him appear bigger. The moon outlined the strength of his broad shoulders and deep chest, the soft hair from his Feline face. Adolpha could not help but find the resemblance that he had to a cougar. In fact, his face was nearly identical; his fur was a rich tan, his muzzle with a strong chin lined with black, and two black freckles beneath each slitted, hazel eye. In the night, his eyes looked nearly amber, but under the light of the sun, they seemed more green. Really, they were a unique shade of hazel, as many Feline's eyes were. Ajax had a tall, strong build, just as most Felines did, and a long, flowing tail that almost touched the ground as he walked. Matching the few dark markings on his face, his tail had black tipping on the end of it in two round stripes. Then, the fur along the inside of his rounded ears, his whiskered cheeks, his chest, and his stomach, was white. Unlike Quince and Adolpha, he had no extra hair on the top of his head, which was flat with tan fur the same as the rest of his body, with the exception of a bit of fluffy fringe on his cheeks. Ajax's fur and coat gently reminded Adolpha of her own wolf.

The most impressive thing about Ajax was not his muscles nor coat, however, but was rather his strong jaws and large fangs, which poked out from his upper lip in long, slender bone, much like a smilodon, even as his mouth was closed. The sabre-teeth were ever more prominent as he smiled, snarled, or spoke, and certainly were useful for intimidation. Adolpha knew Ajax too well to be intimidated by him, though. To her, he was a big softie. It was hard to imagine him fighting in war. But here, under the moonlight with a stoic expression, she knew without a doubt that he would fight for all that he had lost. Like Adolpha, he too was an orphan. And for this, Adolpha felt for him greatly.

The group trotted along, mostly in a tired silence, but with a bit of chatter here and there. As the night grew long, so did their eyelids, and the weight of sleep began to overwhelm. They would make it to Jasper, and then they would find an abode to rest in.

Sure enough, after a bit of walking, the group found Jasper. It was a sleeping town with nobody awake to welcome them so late at night. The streets were caked with mud, and cicadas stirred somewhere in the surrounding forests. They found a public stable and hitched their mules, pulling their fabric bags from the mules' backs and carrying them along. From there, they wandered the dampened streets beneath the cool shade of dark until they found an inn with vacancy.

The inn was small and charming, with a tall, brown shingled roof and yellow brick walls. Smoke piped from a stone chimney overhead, hardly visible against the navy sky, which was just as dark as the smoke. Quince, Adolpha, and Ajax walked into the cottage-styled inn, slowly creaking open the plank door, and then silently closing it behind them. The check-in room was pitch dark with the exception of a single flickering candle sitting on a welcome desk, illuminating dim, yellow light. Behind the welcome desk sat a young lass, her head on the table, asleep.

Ajax gently prodded her shoulder, "Excuse me, Miss?" The young girl woke up, blinking, and then, embarrassed, standing up and brushing herself off.

Her voice was high-pitched with youth, "What may I help you three with?"

"Do you work here?" Ajax asked, his voice gruff and tired.

"I do," she said, beaming with pride, "It's my school job! Night shifts on weekends."

"We'd like a room, then," He said.

"One room!" She squealed a bit, as if delighted to have company in the darkest hours of the night. From behind the counter, she picked a single key and handed it to Ajax, to which he returned with coin. The three then made their way down the short hallway, finding their room and entering. The entire, little lodge was quite quaint and cosy. It smelled of firewood, and the room was small, the bed fluffed and clean and colourful. Everything in the room was colourful; the carpet, the chair in the corner, the bed. Every fabric and wool piece was dyed a deep red, blue, or vibrant yellow. Not bothering to change their clothes, the small lot collapsed into the bed with a grateful and exhausted sigh, and soon, sleep took them all.

They awoke with a stretch and a yawn as soon as the sun's light peaked in from the single window in the little room, shining in a square on the floor. By the time Adolpha had woken, Ajax was already standing, pulling a slice of bread and sharp cheddar from his pack for breakfast. Adolpha followed his lead, standing, stretching, and then getting a bit to eat for the morning; soon after, Quince was awoken, and followed suit, as well, tenderly fixing her messy hair in the reflection of the window as she put a slice of bread into her mouth. The room was cheap, and had no bathroom and therefore no mirror. Adolpha helped her upon request, using her fingers to pick a few tangled coils.

Quince groaned, "My hair is unruly."

"It takes after you," Adolpha said with a smile.

The small group travelled with haste, and thus, they did not stay at the cute inn for long. Soon, they'd walked down the carpeted hall, returned their key, and left Jasper behind on mule, just as quickly as they had arrived. But Ajax's words rang true, and the three of them left well-rested and with full stomachs. They did not leave Jasper without thought and feeling; in fact, Adolpha felt quite queasy walking away from the town which welcomed them as allies. The village that they were on their way to greet would not be so kind. Adolpha silently wished the town of Jasper a good farewell, wishing she had been able to stay for longer and admire its beauty. Jasper was different from River's Bed, as it was much more condensed, the buildings taller and closer together, and even closer to a river. Although it was the same river that ran through River's Bed, the area of it in Jasper was smaller and shallower. The river's rushing could be heard from most parts of town. Although Adolpha knew that she travelled purely for the sake of her mission, she did take a wistful moment to admire the new sight of the kind town.

As the group walked on towards Virulent's Forest, so did Yakob. He was some distance behind them, unsure of exactly where they were going, but doing his best to track their mules as a grey wolf. He used his snout's nose to capture scents he otherwise wouldn't have been able to; he used his large paws to carry him farther than a mule's legs could. Even farther behind him, in River's Bed, was Ware, alone at her home in the community building, confused. She wondered where her son could have possibly gone, fearing that he had been injured, and upon hearing that he had been seen leaving River's Bed the night before, she took it upon herself to prepare to leave, as well. For Ware could not bear the thought of loosing both her only son and Adolpha, whom she thought of as dearly as a daughter.

As Adolpha, Quince, and Ajax walked in the direction of Virulent's Forest, something not quite so right stirred in the air. At first, it was just a general bad feeling, but it quickly turned into a low humming vibration and a strong sense of fear.

"Someone in these parts holds more power than any one of us," Ajax whispered, his rounded ears back flat against the top of his head, his slitted eyes wide.

"But all of us together," Adolpha comforted him, riding alongside him on her brown, trotting mule, "Cannot be beaten."

"We'll see about that." It was a new voice from ahead, and yet one that sounded oddly familiar to Adolpha. The three stopped their mules, who whinnied and huffed with a deep, sensory fear, and glanced around themselves in circles. The feminine voice had come from ahead of them. Adolpha dismounted her mule, giving the reigns to Ajax, and then cautiously stepped forward, one foot after the other on soft moss. The sky was open overhead, but not far in front of them was a tall, old-growth pine forest, dark and looming.

"Who goes there?" Ajax called out, always the one to talk first, always the one to face the danger first. Adolpha appreciated his bravery, and suddenly wondered why it was her who was slowly walking towards the dark forest on foot, her pounding heart in her throat. The silence was deafening, and all Adolpha could hear was the howl of the wind and her panicked heart thumping.

Quince must have wondered the same as Adolpha, for she dismounted her horse, as well, calling, "Adolpha, wait. I can fly overhead and see what I can."

"Oh, thank goodness," Adolpha sighed with relief. "Truth be told, I did not want to venture any farther on foot."

Quince chuckled, "I know. Don't worry; I will fly fast." Adolpha gave her a nod, returning to her mule and watching in awe as Quince's mighty black wings opened, shining beneath the morning sun. Using her wings, she thrusted upwards from the ground and soared overhead with a mighty roar of the wind surrounding her. She left behind only a string ripple of the air, moving the grass. Overhead, Quince's body became a small silhouette, soaring above with mighty wings like a hawk. She looked down at the forest, scanning the scenery. To her frustration, she couldn't see much through the limbs and needles of the pines, looking down as she flew.

As Adolpha watched the forest closely, her vision blurred, and the only shape in sight that remained sharp was a tall tree on the far right of her view. She motioned to Ajax, pointing, "There. That's where she's hiding." A nervous excitement built within her, and she fought to keep her breathing steady.

Ajax slid off of his engraved leather saddle, his feet landing firm on the ground. He gently patted the neck of his mule, and then cautiously stepped forward towards the tall, dark pine tree. His feet made muffled noise against the moss beneath them. The tree sat along the edge of the tall forest alongside several others. Adolpha was terribly nervous, hands shaking, wondering, is it Virulent? Her gut twisting, she feared as though for her life. Is it Yakob? She took a shaky inhale, not daring to breathe, hardly daring to move. The pit of her stomach had tied itself into a heavy knot, and she suddenly felt queasy, beads of sweat forming above her lip and along the rim of her forehead.

With Quince still soaring overhead, gliding along the wind on massive wings, casting a flying shadow below, Adolpha and Ajax cautiously made their way to the focused tree. They treaded low, softly, and cautiously, afraid of what was to certainly come. Ajax treaded on one side, and Adolpha treaded on the other, padding her feet so tenderly, so softly, that she seemed not to move at all. Her hand found the sheathed hilt of her sword, and she gripped it tightly with a tense arm, preparing for the worst. Her heart seemed to burst from her chest with its mighty, rythmic pounding. Time seemed to stand still.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

The noiseless step of a delicate foot, and the sound of shy, uneven breathing. Adolpha glanced warily and sidways at Ajax, who flicked an ear, slanted eyes in her direction. In sync, as if on a signal, the two leapt from where they were to the backside of the tree, drawing t heir swords with a shink as they swiftly moved. There, in all of her glory, hiding behind the trunk of this massive tree, was Adolpha's sister. She looked exactly how Adolpha's dream had portrayed her to look, her skin worn and pale, her hair straight and a dusky blonde colour. Most of all, most strikingly, were her beady, ebony eyes, glaring under hooded lids at Adolpha with a sly smirk. She had intended to be found.

"Danica?" Adolpha gasped. The shock numbed her body, her breath caught in her throat like a toad, and her pointed sword wavered in the air, loosely in Danica's direction.

Danica glared at Adolpha, that smirk still on her face, her voice lined with amusement, "So you found me." Ajax did not waver, holding the blade of his long sword against Danica's throat.

His voice was gruff and without patience, though not without fear, "Why were you hiding? What is it you want?" Her eyes were matte black and beady, giving Adolpha an uneasy sense of uncanny valley.

"I'm here for my sister, of course," Danica purred, her back still against the rough bark of the tree, casting a shadow upon her. She relaxed against the textured wood of the trunk as if she were relaxing flat in a bed, her chin lifted and her shoulders loose.

Ajax bristled, fur on end, "What of her?! It is no secret that you work at the claw of Virulent!"

"And yet, here you are, standing at his doorstep like a fool," Danica laughed, giving him a lazy side-eye, a half upturned smile on her face. She held her body comfortably slouched, her smile lopsided, as if she had been held at sword point a thousand times before. She behaved so casually, so annoyingly normal, and it only angered Ajax further.

"You've been missing for thirty years," He growled, muzzle wrinkled, showing teeth, "We can guess what kind of woman you've become." The Feline glanced at Adolpha with narrowed eyes for approval, but was a bit stunned to see her utterly silent, eyes wide in a tumble of emotions, each filled with numbing shock. "Adolpha," Ajax said, mouth ajar.

The sight before Adolpha flooded her, and she could not keep herself from tenderly softening, eyes growing glassy with tears. Danica was Adolpha's sister, having been missing for years. And suddenly, now, here she was, right in front of her, alive. She stood unharmed, wearing an elegant grey cloth lined with authentic silver chainmail, tall boots and shimmering jewelry. She looked like a God. Oh, Adolpha tempted to weep with joy, and then she tempted to weep with rage against the monster who had taken her from him; and then, she took one slow step forward, absent minded, as if she could not control her own body, which became numb from the shock. "My sister," she breathed, reaching out for Danica, who still wore a dark smirk. Adolpha loved her so, and the tightening of her throat, the strong grip of her tense shoulders, biting jaw, and twisting gut did not let up. With her head pounding, she choked back a dreadful sob.

"Don't, Adolpha," Ajax said, his voice deep with warning, glancing at her, and then back at Danica. He was tense and frustrated, tail whipping behind him with it, for he did not know how to read either of their expressions. One, creepy and amused; the other, overtaken with distant grief. Adolpha was mesmerised by the power of her emotional ride, and with blurry eyes, unthinkingly collapsed into the arms of her sister.

Adolpha dropped the sword behind her with a dull thud, holding her sister tightly and burying her head in her chest, gripping her chains, "Danica, how I've missed you so!" Her voice was wrecked with shattering grief.

Something in Danica's dark eyes flickered, and she hesitated for only a second before shoving Adolpha with strong hands to the forest floor. Looking up, then, Adolpha had never recognised just how tall Danica was, looming over her with a rumbling power, casting shadow. She had certainly grown a lot since Adolpha had last seen her.

"But-" Adolpha started, deep in agony, her voice and chest breaking.

Danica instead turned her attention and her scowl to Ajax, who still held an unwavering sword in her direction; he, like Adolpha, was pumped full of intense fear, forcing his muscles to restrict and his jaw to lock. But Danica, as her relaxed body language would suggest, had been in this position many times before. With a long, swift movement, the girl lowered her head, her hair flowing behind her like water, curled grey horns crashing down on Ajax's sword, to which he dropped it with a wavering clatter and stumbled backwards in shock. Then, Danica took off in a powerful sprint from the forest and into the grassy, open area once again, beneath the morning's bright yellow sun. Ajax growled, picking up his sword from the ground and then chasing after her, tail right behind him. Adolpha took longer to catch her bearing, breathing deeply, exhaling shakily. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with a clenched fist, her skin hot with anger and frustration and embarrassment from her poor judgement.

"Danica!" Ajax called after her with a lion's roar, sword clenched in both hands, gleaming white as it reflected the sun. His chainmail chinked with light noise as he ran.

Seeing the scene from above, Quince folded her wings and dived to the ground, only widening them again at the last possible second. The air pulled with her in a howling fury, and her arms outreached, aimed for Danica's pale form. With a swishing swoop, Quince gripped Danica's shoulders and hoisted her into the air, her wings flapping with a thunderous might to raise her higher. Ajax's run slowed to a jog as he looked up, the sun casting a glare in his slotted retinas. He lowered his sword and raised a hand to shade his face, and suddenly he could see Quince and Danica flying high overhead. Adolpha took a steady breath, and finally, she stood from the forest's ground and raced towards Ajax, heart pounding, the rush of blood loud in her ears. She followed his gaze, looking upwards into the bright blue sky. Clouds dotted it. Among them flew two black silhouettes with wings. Quince flew higher and higher, and then released Danica from her grip with a mighty heave. Danica was full of surprises.

Falling several feet, she let out a surprised shout, the wind cold on her back, her chainmail whipping with noise. With suddenness, her fall came to a stop many metres above the ground; for suddenly, Danica had sprouted translucent, nearly iridescent wings, just as large as Quince's. They wavered in the wind like the air above a fire on a hot day, barely visible and shimmering.

Quince gasped with shock, "How?"

"You're not the only blessed one around here," Danica hissed, wings flapping.

"I thought you were a healer," Quince protested, her own wings making tremendous, booming sound as they swished back and forth.

"Nautis offers me other gifts," she said with a wicked smile. Then, refusing to waste any more of her time, she charged Quince's dark form in the air, bowling into her, and the two flew far through the sky overhead.

"Quince!" Adolpha shouted, helpless and afraid from below.

"How could she do that?" Ajax asked, a frustrated growl to his tone, "How could Danica produce wings like that?

Adolpha shook her head, shakily, "She works alongside Nautis. She has whatever powers he wishes to grant her."

"But she's a blessed one. How can that be?"

She sighed, "It only makes her more powerful."

"Why would Mother Nature choose someone so wicked to give her gift?"

Adolpha turned to him, the anger rising then, "She was not born evil. Virulent did this. Nautis did this! It's our job to bring her back."

Ajax shook his head, running a hand over his ears in nervousness, "I'm sorry, Adolpha. We have to do something."

"I know."

As they fell, Danica and Quince fought ferociously in battle, grappling hands and claws and shouting. As they landed, more shouting and a crash was heard from above the treetops. A tree groaned, creaking, and then collapsing with a mighty thud. Adolpha and Ajax did not hesitate, taking off after them and into the shade of the woods.

The two had landed with a crash deeper into the forest: Virulent's Forest.