The second time she moves, I know she did for certain. Her head moves from where it's leaning against the pillow. I step a little closer. She groans, and her eyebrows furrow as she lifts her hand to her face. In a fluid motion, she's risen to a seated position, and blinking against the lights. "Hey, hey. Why don't you lay back down." I reach out a hand to her shoulder. She ignores me, but slaps away my hand. Her eyes travel across the whole room before they fall shut and her breaths speed up. Shadows seem to swirl around her knees. What's that? How's she doing that? Her eyes fly open after another minute, and she leaps to the other side of the room. I take a step towards her, but she tries to back further into the wall. "Arrow, I won't hurt you. I promise." Arrow doesn't seem to listen, and she sinks deeper into panic.

Karla bursts into the room, Hawk and Adrien right behind her. The door handle slams into the wall, and Arrow jumps. "I'm here. What's u-. Oh, you're awake, Arrow. I can see that you're up and moving about. How are you feeling?" Karla asks. Arrow swallows, then ducks her head. She rocks from foot to foot, shaking her head as her fingers claw at her arms. "Calm down, it's alright. None of us will hurt you, Arrow," Karla says softly.

Arrow continues to rock. When she looks up from where her eyes were fixed on the ground, anger and fear burn bright in the green depths. I stand back with Adrien and Hawk. "Jay, you look almost as terrified as she does. What's going on?" Hawk whispers, leaning over my shoulder.

"I don't know... I can kinda understand why she'd be so afraid, but I just wish she'd calm down." I take a small step away from my brother.

"Eh, she will."

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"Why are you acting so weird?" Hawk scoffs, imitating my voice.

"Jay, Hawk, cut it," Adrien says in a low voice. We fall silent.

None of us move or speak, though Karla continues to try to calm Arrow. The girl's gaze is fixed on the ground, though she seems to be looking at something else. There it is again. Shadows swirl around her feet, tendrils of darkness lapping at her ankles. "Do you see that, Adrien? The shadows?"
"Wha-. Yeah. I've never seen that. Remind me to ask her later."

"I think you should let her adjust and get used to everything first before you interrogate her about the Wasteland, Guthrie Harper, and everything."

"I'm not going to interrogate her, I'm simply going to ask her some questions," he replies.

Arrow bolts, pivoting around Karla before sprinting for the door. She turns the corner and disappears. Hawk reaches out an arm, but he's just a split second too late. "I'll follow her," I find myself saying before I've fully processed what just happened. I follow where she went to the right.

"Hawk, you go to the left. Adrien, search the third floor. I'll take the first floor." Karla says. She says something else to Hawk and Adrien, but I can't make out what it is.

Jeez. This is harder than I thought. I've scoured the second floor of our base at least four or five times, with no word from Hawk, Karla, or Adrien. Vladimir helped me search for a little while until he got called away for some assignment. I Blend myself, hoping to find something. Once I'm fully in my dog form, I shake and start searching again. "Find anything?" Karla asks. Startled, I whirl around.

"No, I've searched, like, every single room at least four times. I'll try again. There must be some room I haven't checked, or she's moving around."

"Alright. Adrien's got people locking down the windows and doors, and some more searching. We can't let her get out."

"Sounds good," I murmur, then nod my head.

"Good luck.

"You too." I pad off with my nose to the floor.

Fifteen minutes later, I haven't caught anything. Well, I have, but none of them match Arrow's scent. Something falls in a room down the hallway, landing with a soft whisper of noise. The door is ever so slightly cracked. I nudge my way into the room with my nose. Someone gasps on the other side of the room. It takes my a second, but I quickly recognize them as Arrow. "Hey, how are you, Arrow? Remember me?" I cross to the wall opposite the door, and sit down. She rises to a crouch.

"I'm Jay, see? You met me at the Wasteland. I'm a Blender, just like you," I say as I remove my Blend, and morph back into my human form. Arrow's eyes widen, and she shakes her head with a frown. "Please, don't run. You don't have to say anything. You could stay here if you want." I lean back against the wall, stretching my legs out in front of me.

She watches me like a hawk. Every time I move, she shifts in jerking movements. What will it take for her to realise I'm not going to hurt her, along with everyone here? I can see where she could be coming from- it's a new place. She woke up here with everything being unfamiliar, and new people greatly outnumbering her. She's just so afraid though. She could just be a pretty cautious person. I don't know. Something just seems a bit off, not how Hawk was perceiving it though. I know she doesn't have any evil intents.

We sit there in silence for a while. Arrow eventually calms down ever so slightly, though her whole body remains tense. She jumps at every sound. Is this how she lived at the Wasteland? So afraid? I can't imagine how miserable she must've been. An hour or so passes by. The low hum of some machine nearby drones on and on, the constant sound drawing me away from the world.

"I'm not Arrow." The words bring me back to reality like a bucket of ice water. I frown, and look at Arrow. Did she just speak? She's glaring at me like she's been doing for the past however long. The voice sounds so similar to Arrow's voice, the wolf Arrow. "How are you not Arrow?" I frown. She's a Blender, so of course she would be Arrow. Wouldn't she?

"I'm not Arrow," she repeats. Her voice cracks, and tears start to well in the corners of her eyes.

"Very well. If you're not Arrow, then what's your name?" She thinks for a while as she fights back tears.

"L... L-Lily," she chokes out.

"Lily?"

"Yes. If you don't like it, t-then..." Her words are cut off by a sob. I watch her, confused, as she buries her face in her arms. I don't know what to do.

The door creaks open, and Karla walks in. She sees me, and whispers, "I heard someone crying."

"It's Arrow- er, Lily."

"Her name is Lily?"

"Yeah," I murmur.

"She spoke? You've made some progress."

"Can you please figure out why she's crying? I don't know what to do, and I want to so badly."

"You go find Adrien, and tell him that you found Lily. Do not bring him back here though. The fewer people, the better I think at this point." Karla shoos me out of the room.

As I walk down the hall, I can hear Karla saying something to Lily, but I can't quite make out what it is. There are a few people making their way through the hallway. Most must be doing something. There's always so much to do here, whether it's planning to pull some Gladiator from the Wasteland, or keeping us under Guthrie Harper's radar, there's always something we're working on. I get a few questions on how Arrow's doing, and I answer in as few words as possible. It's Lily... Adrien wants to give an announcement in a day or two where everything will be revealed.

Adrien's far easier to find. A golden plaque reads Adrien Sauyer. We almost unanimously decided that there should be some sort of sign on the doors of rooms, whether it be a person's name, or what the room's for. Adrien decided he was going to carve his name into the plaque, and that we should all do that. "It'll make this place feel more home-y," he'd said. I knock on the doorframe, since the door's already open.

"'Sup, Jay," He says without taking his eyes off his computer screen. His feet are up on the desk, and his laptop is resting on his lap. I pad through the doorway and stop a few feet from his desk.

"I found Arrow, well, Lily."

"Lily's her name?" Something changes in his voice.

"Yeah, she said her name is Lily, and that she's not Arrow."

 "Go on," Adrien murmurs. His eyes hold this distant look.

"She's hiding in a closet on the second floor. I sat there for over an hour, and she suddenly said 'I'm not Arrow' and then a minute or two later she said that her name is Lily. As she spoke, her words turned to sobs. Karla's in there with her."

"Well, show me the way. Let's see if we can figure out why she's in tears." Adrien places his laptop on the desk, swinging his legs to the floor and standing.

"Uh, Karla said for you not to come. 'The fewer the people, the better' is what she said exactly."

"She did?" He sighs, his shoulders sagging.

"Sorry. I can come back here later with an update if you'd like."

"Please do. Don't forget, Jay." Adrien narrows his eyes with a smile.

"I know, I know."

I nod and walk from Adrien's office. I hear him sigh and sit back down in his chair. A few minutes later I'm slowly opening the door to the closet. Karla's sitting next to Lily. She still has her head buried in her arms, but her shoulders aren't shaking with sobs. "Hey," I murmur as I draw to a stop beside them.

"Jay, you're back." Karla looks up.

"Yeah, Adrien was a bit bummed that he couldn't come, but he didn't push. I'm headed back to his office later with an update. How are you, Lily?"
She doesn't respond. Her arm twitches, then she gives the slightest shake of her head with a sharp exhale. One hand moves to the side of her face, then the other. As she presses her back to the wall, she runs her hands through her hair. Karla looks back at me. Her expression is clearly asking a question. Do you know why she's panicking? She silently asks, but I don't. I wish I did, but I don't. When I shrug, she turns back, eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Lily, can you please tell us what's wrong? We can't help you if we don't know," Karla says softly. Lily looks up. Her eyes are hard as she glares at the doctor. She waits a few moments, as if she's debating what to say. 

"I'm not Arrow. He's gone," Lily says eventually.

Thank you for reading this chapter, as well as Blend the Light! I hope you're enjoying my story! Please consider a vote, and feel free to comment!

So, Lily's up. What do you think?

She says that she's not Arrow multiple times, and then that he's gone. Where do you think Arrow is?

Why are Jay and Adrien so confused by the shadows swirling around Lily's feet?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these questions, and anything else! They'll help me with ideas for where the story will go in the future. Thank you for reading!

-Werewolf14-