"Wha..." I look up without moving my head and blink at my brother.

"Behind you."

"Huh?" I lift my head and look over my shoulder, ignoring my spinning mind. Arrow's form is disappearing in shimmering lights. His paws go transparent, followed by the rest of his legs and his tail. The shimmering glitter takes his head. All that's left is- wait. What? Who would've guessed. In his place, is a human girl. She's laying on her back, with her arms splayed out to the side, and her head leaning to one side. Scrapes and bruises are scattered across her body. Her blonde hair is twisted into knots. "Arrow's a Blender, and a girl." I whisper the words under my breath, as if I'm testing them out. Hawk lets out an impressive string of curses.

"Please tell me that I'm seeing something. Arrow's a boy."

"Only in her Blended form. Without her Blend, she's a girl."

"Why on earth would she do that? You and I both look similar to our human forms. She looks so different." Hawk narrows his eyes at Arrow.

"Green eyes and light hair on both."

"A different shade. Her's is lighter."

"I've got the strip of gray over my eyes." I counter, frowning.

"You're not getting this. Why is Arrow's Blended form a boy, and why does she look so different as a wolf? There's got to be a reason. What if bringing her to T-LOOT-D and Adrien is a mistake?"

"Adrien wants us to bring her, so we will. Currently she's unconscious. An unconscious person isn't much of a threat. There's two of us, and only her, if it makes you feel any better. Arrow's not going to hurt us, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Did you not see Arrow when we were in the Wasteland? She changed a little. When we told her we were getting her out of that place, I could see it in her eyes. Before, she was losing hope, then it was there again."

"Fine. Here's this. Need help?" Hawk tosses me Karly's backpack. I lift a hand to catch it, but my coordination's more off than usual, and it sails right past me, at least a few inches from my fingertips. My brother snickers before taking a few steps to pick it up.

"Help would be greatly appreciated. I wouldn't be able to see what I'm doing." My brother nods, and kneels beside me.

He makes quick work of opening the backpack, finding what he needs, and beginning to clean the wound on my neck. I grimace and flinch at the sting, but force myself to stay still. Who knows what sort of bacteria's gotten in there. "I'm no doctor, Jay, but this doesn't look the best. You'd better get it checked out once we reach T-LOOT-D."

"I know. Being reopened several times certainly did not help."

"Indeed. Alright, let me just finish this up, then we can get moving."

"Sounds good." I murmur. Hawk's hands fit a bandage over the wound, and he attaches it with a bit of tape.

He adjusts a few more things, then leans back and examines his work. "Aaaand, done!"

"Thanks, Hawk." I reach up a hand, and gently touch the bandage. I grimaces a sharp pain sparks where my fingertips rest. Hawk packs up the backpack. After making sure to leave no trace, he slings it over his shoulders, and stands. Arrow still hasn't moved. "You get her, I'll get the backpack?" I tug on the handle of the backpack.

"Why don't you carry Arrow?" Hawk asks.

"I can barely walk in a straight line."

"Fine." He shrugs off the backpack and hands it to me, then scoops up Arrow into his arms. I follow him as he begins to walk.

We trek across the Wasteland. As we make our way across the sandy terrain, I switch the backpack around so it hangs across my chest, and paw through the contents. I keep my eyes looking out before me as my hands wander across the items. There's two blankets, cans of food, water, the first aid kit, a flashlight. "Hey! Look at this, Hawk. A pocket knife." I flip open the blades, and run my finger across the blades.

"Wow, fascinating." I can almost hear Hawk rolling his eyes.

"I know, right!"

"Sure. I'm just here carrying Arrow."

"Thank you."

"Yep. Just being a packhorse." I ignore his response and flip through the smaller pockets. It's mostly just the same stuff. Granola bars, more water. There's also some rope. Something crinkles under my hand, and I pull out a sheet of paper. I stop and read the letter.

Hey, Jay and Hawk!

Good luck with bringing Arrow to Adrien and T-LOOT-D. I'll come back when I can,

but for now I'm here. Stay safe. I saw what happened with Sage at the Wasteland battle.

She's now got a collar that delivers a fatal shock if she gets out of line. Your armor stays 

with you, so whenever you Blend yourself, it'll be there. Any scratches stay there, so be careful!

Best of wishes,

Karly

P.S. Be careful, the Wasteland guards will come after you- you've got their best

Gladiator, so keep moving.

The words seem to swim across the page as I scan Karly's note several times. "Hawk, listen to this," I slowly read her letter out loud, stumbling across a few of the words.

"Fatal shock, eh?" He speaks after a moment.

"Yeah. Adrien'll be furious if he loses her. She's one of our best."

"No kidding. But what was that about our armour? That thing's got so many scores across it. And one of the spike's bent." Hawk's face falls in a pout.

"Same here. We could see if we could get it fixed?"

"Sure."

We walk for several more hours. The sun is falling beneath the horizon when we stop. Sweat has drenched my hair and shirt, and my legs ache. I lie back on the sand. Hawk sets down Arrow, then sits down beside me. "Lemme see that backpack, I'm ravenous."

"Nice, a long word." I smirk as I sit up, blocking out the pounding in my head.

"Excuse me, Jay? What did you just say?"

"Sorry, I don't think I've ever heard you say such a long word."

"How could you? I thought you liked me!" Hawk shoves my shoulder, and takes the backpack. He pulls out a can, then begins wolfing it down. I follow suit. 

"You're staring." Hawk jabs me with the back of his spoon.

"Huh?" I turn around.

"Arrow. You're staring at her."

"Oh, I was?"

"Yeah, you were."

"Sorry. It's just... I-I should've been faster. Then Arrow would be here, but not just laying there unconscious."

"Hate to break it to ya, bro, but there's no way you could've covered that ground in time to stop Tremor."

"I could've. Speed is what I've got, just like strength is what you have. I could've done it, Hawk. You don't understand."

"Jay, the distance was too great. The space between you and Arrow was so big."

"I got to Arrow shortly a-aft... I was so close..." My voice cracks.

"I know." He pats my shoulder with a tight smile.

"But Arrow's human form is fine. She's breathing. Her shirt isn't stained with blood where Tremor wounded her Blended form. How's that possible? I thought if you died in either form, you were dead."

"Me too. We'll ask Adrien when we get back. He might know. Or he can point us in the direction of someone who does."

I nod. Hawk starts laughing. "What?"

"Ha. Two blankets and three of us."

"We're sharing." He's barely responded before I've spoken.

"That's what I thought as well." Hawk throws me one of the blankets, and I arrange it over Arrow's still form. My brother's already on the ground, the backpack under his head and acting like a pillow. The sand shifts beneath me as I lay down and adjust the blanket over my side. I close my eyes, and drift off into a deep slumber.

Thank you for reading this! As usual, please feel free to comment, and consider a vote if you think this chapter deserves it! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual; I've been busy, and I wanted to get one out. Also, this is a nice stopping point. 

So, Jay and Hawk are Blenders. 

Are there any guesses on who Adrien is?

 What about what T-LOOT-D is? 

What happened with Arrow? 

Thanks again, and have a great day!

-Werewolf14-