I know they saw the scars, yet they've said nothing. I'm grateful, but at the same time slightly confused. I'm practically a death note with these scars, so why hasn't she ditched me? They could just throw me in the water, and being a Burn Canira, I would probably die.

They probably just want a guide to the city. When they're done seeing the sights, she can turn me in and I would go to a mental asylum or something. They could even sell it as the 'right' thing to do. I even doubt my own sanity sometimes at this point. The burning-feather dreams are beginning to have an effect on me even when I wake up.

"We're almost there, right?" Avery asks me. "I think there might be a clinic somewhere in the city. I really don't want to get this wing infected."

"Mine's just as bad!" Shine protests.

"Okay, we both need medical treatment. Good for us."

We keep walking when I hear rustling coming from the trees. "What's going on?" I ask, pricking my sensitive ears to the noise. It's mixed with faint giggling.

We keep walking when I hear more rustling. "Anyone else slightly creeped out here?" I ask, worried.

Finally, I hear more rustling and I blast the tree with fire. A small brown Canira falls out.

"It was just a Twig Canira." Avery says, annoyed. "Aww look, you hurt it! You monster."

"I... I..."

She knows now I have a reason to be flighty, so instead of rubbing salt in the wound, she simply coddles the tiny Canira, who sneaks out of her arms and scampers back up the tree. "See?!" I say, "He was totally fine."

Avery rolls her eyes at me, obviously not amused. "You don't need to be so flighty. Just smudge the fur over the wound, you'll be fine."

I try my best to cover the wound, and to my relief, the fur stays firmly over the wound- a perfect combover. I sigh in relief.

"You're going to need it, because we're there." Avery points to lights not to far in the distance.

"Oh gosh, there it is!" I say, and break out into a dead sprint.

"Wait up, Torch!" Shine says, flying after me.

"Last one into the city is a Unicorn Canira!" I say, using the taunt Shine taught me.

Shine, shakes her head, a smug smile on her face, and zips past me. Determined not to lose the race, I dash faster and faster, letting sparks fly out behind me in excitement. I see Avery putting out the sparks one by one, meandering behind me. Soon, she's out of sight as I race through the trees.

I feel woozy and start walking, my tongue out and paws dragging, when I see Shine waiting in a tree in front of a nice, one floor den. It has plenty of windows and a huge yard, so it's just the type of place I would want to live in if I ever settled down. Not like I want to, of course. The landscaping would have to go, though- I might set it on fire. "What took you so long?" Shine says dully, distracting me from my fantasy.

"Ohhh, you think you've won, don't you?"

"I kinda got here first, so..."

"This isn't the city!"

Shine stares at me. "There are houses and stuff, so of course it's the city."

"We're in the suburbs. Luckily they're short, but to get to the real city we've gotta go a bit farther."

"We've been walking for days already! Why is the city so darn far away?" She throws her paws up in disgust and falls smack out of the tree. She ruffles her wings (which are healing nicely) and makes a pouting face at me like it's all my fault.

We wait until the sun is at it's highest point, talking and taking in the view, when Avery finally shows up. "Guess I'm the Unicorn Canira." She says, folding her wings to her sides and looking down at the ground.

"Well, on that cheery note, if you guys want to get to the city by night time we should probably head to a Dragonride Stop."

"You ride on dragons? They could kill you! How many city Canira get killed by these things?" Avery says, her knees shaking.

I roll my eyes. "They're employed, Avery. They get paid in gold. I guess they like it because it's shiny, so they give them a whole bunch of gold and the dragons are okay with that. Plus, they get free sheep too."

"What if they run out of sheep? Do they eat Canira?!"

"No, they just get extra sheep when they finally have more. Plus, you could always get a talented Wizard Canira or something along the line of that to do a cloning spell. Even if clones only last a few hours, that's enough time for you to eat it, right?"

Avery seems like she lost me at 'extra'. "Okay." she says softly.

We meander through the streets, while I'm acting like I own them all, when we get to a Dragonride Stop. After a few minutes of friendly conversation with the locals, a huge purple dragon descends from the sky and takes us to the middle of the city, in a large, cleared area where it can rest it's wings. "Thank you," I say on my way out.

The dragon nods, and gives me a toothy grin. A bit of wool is stuck in the teeth, but besides that, his teeth are actually quite white. Maybe it's a job requirement.

"Do you know where a hospital is?" Shine says finally, after I walk around for a bit, breathing in the city air.

"There's a good one close to my old home."

"You had a home?"

"Not exactly. Gash and I just hung around there so much it began to feel like home, I guess." It hits me like a lightning bolt- I'm going to see Gash again.

More confidently then before, I walk on with a smile on my face. Shine and Avery look happy at my sudden mood swing.

I turn the corner and my heart skips a beat. I know these streets like the fluff around my own neck. I skip to the corner, passing the Oddball and Ivy's Sweetbone Station. Shine runs behind me, screaming "WAIIIIT UP!"

It only makes me run faster, to her dismay. I finally make it to the place where the Obsidians took me. My fur stands on end as I see it at the end of that alleyway, three circling scars that glow red in the light of the sunlight.

"What are you staring at, Torch?" Avery asks, but I say nothing and carry on.

Walking to the hospital, I hear a Canira talking to a much older Canis.

"You sure you've got all the groceries down?" says the older Canira.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back before sundown." says the Canira.

A brown Canira leaves the house, a red bandana tied around his neck. His purple eyes, still puplike, turn to face me. I have a hard time remembering that for him, it's only been a year, but for me, it seems more like a lifetime. One ear sticks up like a Canira's, and the other has a flap at the top, hanging down. He notices me, and his eyes grow wide.

Dropping his list, he runs to me, a big, goofy smile on his face. "Torch?"