"Hmm!" Tyrell said, cracking his knuckles and stretching, "what a perfect evening. The sun is setting, owls are hooting, dried leaves are falling...damn, freakin' war is in the air. "

At his insistence, we roamed around the territory to start to build a plan and talk about strategy. Celina had the upper hand as always. It was absolutely necessary to have an edge over the entire clan from the outset. Tyrell practiced his Formations with the four of us to get the hang of it in a jiffy. He needed to get back on track and work in a five-way partnership, the updated Combined Formation now that it was going to be. Later, unable to bear the looming blizzard, Pruthvi sealed us up within four walls and I spiraled up the flames around us.

We took a break from practicing. Celina and Leena quickly got immersed in their conversation. They were giggling and laughing at some unknown joke. Eventually, Pruthvi joined them and conversed. Hardik, carrying the casket, was slowly gliding above our heads. Everyone seemed to be in a jubilant state of mind, seemingly confident that it was indeed going to be today, August the fifth. They have taken my word for it, but the horrid wait was grating terribly on my nerves.

"Hayden," Tyrell said, seeking my attention. He pulled up the hood of his jacket and adjusted his long hair. "Did you happen to have my caps safely stashed with you?"

Aah, that's right. Tyrell and his beloved colorful caps. That rekindled a lot of memories.

I was shuddering inwardly, for the time was quickly slipping away and none of the beasts showed up. So instead of blurting the awkward truth, I took a moment to choose a few wise words to be as polite as I could. "No. Everything's burnt when you despicably blasted the academy." Yeah, wise words.

He gazed at me sympathetically, as if mourning for his caps. "Not even a single one's alive?"

I shook my head, pulling up a puppy dog expression.

"How could you?"

I raised my brows. "Well, if it isn't against my better judgment Tyrell, I thought your soul was more important than your caps."

He put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Hayden, buddy, I'll always be very thankful to you for giving me my life back, but have you ever realized that my soul is like my appendix, I don't use it as much as my caps?"

I burst out laughing. Pruthvi broke his conservation with the girls and walked towards us. It was a great opportunity, I thought, to be a cunning monkey between two foolish cats. "You should ask Pruthvi," I said, "He was the last person to rummage around your bedroom."

"Say what?" Pruthvi gasped.

"Where are my caps, you son of a bitch!" Tyrell attacked him at once, bright silvery sparks flying off his fingers.

Pruthvi gaped at me for help, but I innocently shrugged and stepped back. "You should have asked your sleeping soul to protect them, moron!" He retorted, and walls around us vibrated.

"How can I ask anything to do when it was sleeping, jerk face!"

"You know what your problem is, you got your head up your unmentionables."

I was standing behind them, laughing at their banter turning my head to and fro like a tennis ball. The girls were hearing the conversation too and they did feel the need to comment which I couldn't ignore.

Celina said, shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm back to live with these idiots."

Leena twisted her face and added, "They became idiots-er since Hayden joined them."

I gasped dramatically turning my focus towards them. Her allegation was definitely out of nowhere. "Excuse me!"

"Don't you 'excuse me' me," she snarled stepping upfront. For a moment she looked scarier than Almourah. "I thought you were a decent guy, Hayden Mackay, but you have a complete ruined dirty brain of a perv."

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you say some nasty things about my curling iron? And you and Pruthvi had a good laugh about it?"

I bit my tongue, feeling my face flushed. "How did you come to know about that?"

"Nazira was sitting with you and Pruthvi that day in the dining room if you remember. She read your lips, but the poor girl didn't understand the pun. She came running to me and...god, it was so embarrassing when she asked me to explain."

"Man! Nazira and her big mouth. Wait, what do you mean she asked you to explain? Wha...don't go by her face, she's not that innocent."

"Of course, you two know too well about each other. I can go on and on about things she told me about you." She faltered as if something struck her on her face. She slowly turned towards Celina and whispered with ardent enthusiasm, "There's a lot, I gotta tell you."

My heart dropped to my knee. "No, you don't gotta!"

"Nazira!" Celina exclaimed, "I'm so looking forward to meeting her. Tell me more. Is she nice?"

"Well, she talks a lot about nature, animals, nutrition and how great our country is. Sometimes she's annoying. Yeah, kinda like you."

We fell silent for the next few minutes in the fading sunlight. Steel grey clouds began to roll over. There was a muffled clap of thunder and lightning, wind blowing, the fire around us crackling and melting the snow beneath our feet, the watery surface made the walls unsteady.

My insides jittered with anxiety. My friends began to give me doubtful looks, but noticing me doing a poor job in masking my uneasiness they did not once raise questions but waited with me. For the past two days, the disappearance of Pruthvi and Leena might have given King Aghasthya a big jolt. The thought bothered me more. Haven't I tortured the poor old man, already? Hardik slowly floated down to the ground covered with snow mounds. I gazed blankly at the casket for a few minutes, now beginning to realize if the date she had given me was accurate. Trust your instincts, she had once advised, and my instincts told me to trust her. And I waited, patiently, looking at her in my mind who never once uttered a word.

The least my friends could do to keep me sane was to make me laugh.

"I'd been wondering," Tyrell said, who was sitting on his knees and making structures with the snow as though with beach sand. "All these beasts look alike. How do you think they know who the female is?"

"They don't need a partner, everything's inbuilt," Pruthvi replied quickly, words seemed to be lingering on the tip of his lips. Tyrell shot him with an awkward glance and Pruthvi continued, "Yeah, that's right. They probably diddle with themselves."

I roared with laughter, while Celina folded her hands pursing her lips.

"Hayden...!" Leena called, her voice shaky, but I ignored her. I also ignored the slight creepy-crawly sensation in my feet that the ground began to give.

Tyrell said, cracking up in between his words, "Beastly desires must have reached soaring levels. They can't leave themselves alone?'

Celina facepalmed, but her expression did reveal that she was in stitches.

"Hayden, you need to look here," Leena insisted, taking small fearful steps back.

Pruthvi and Tyrell went on making joke after joke, jive after jive, everything with filthy double entendre, only with an intention to elicit laughter while we waited. Except Leena though. The ground beneath my feet began to shake. There was a slight shift in the air, its purity changing to the pungent odor of body waste.

Flames around us had vanished as I held my stomach unable to keep up with laughter, and opened my mouth to add something to this untimely conversation. Little did I know that it was Leena's turn to set me straight in her own way. She dangerously stood in front of me, held me by my collar and swished me back and forth.

"You laughing piece of a jerk, there will be time for you to laugh even from your own grave. But not today. Pay attention! Pay attention!"

"Ow, Leena! Stop! What happened?"

"They are here. Look!"

The five heads turned all at once with great suddenness. Tyrell stood up straight as we peeked through the gaps between the walls. The plethora of snow was rising in the mid-air. In the darkening atmosphere, I could see only that much. Although it sounded like a stampede, the snow mounds and trees of Vrindahina were getting trampled in the great rush. They were getting closer and closer, the eager snorting sounds of the beasts echoed throughout the territory and the full enormity of the earthquake sunk in.

The sky above brought us to complete attention with an almighty crash of thunder. Hardik rose up in the air once again. The casket was the most precious item and Pruthvi had ordered it to safeguard it no matter what happened today.

"This is it," Celina said, with a stricter voice. "Positions."

The four of them divided themselves into groups of two, Leena and Tyrell faced their backs against Celina and Pruthvi, having their minds focused on the unity and sense of collective purpose. Doctor's teaching was what I thought at the moment, to work individually but maintaining the team spirit and Celina had been hell-bent to pull up a strategy based on it.

"Hayden, we are ready," Pruthvi said, pulling the sleeve of his jacket up, "Its time for your signal."

I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on my stone. Flames shot out of my palms and contorted into the shapes of four fiery strings of blazing fire. They spilled and coiled around my friends, shielding them thoroughly. They were meant to assist them to remain undistracted by the inclement weather. Nazira's beautiful face appeared back in my mind, and this time she spoke the words I had heard before. "Think twice before you wish for it." 

I gathered my wits and bestowed a smile upon her. It was a smile signifying the joy and gratitude, the thought behind it was in contrast to her words that were admonitory. I sensed the dangerous charge of the incoming foes. My friends were ready and so was I. King Harsh might have put a better thought process and voiced a few insightful words to protect my friends and the country. But I proudly enunciated unleashing full contempt. "Kill them all."