The underworld shook, causing large chunks of the castle to fall from the sky.

"What do you mean you lost her again!" The rage was directed at a green spirit with the armor of a forgotten time.

"I'm sorry sire. We were close, but she slipped away with their help. However, a body was found ended by her hand in a human cemetery topside."

"Topside? She made it to the human world! You imbecile is that supposed to be a good thing!"

A skeletal hand reached out, and with a flick of bone the spirit was shredded back into oblivion. Within seconds, another rose up from through the floor to replace it. Spirits nothing but a cheap and replaceable commodity within the realm. The replacement shone red and was clothed in a military uniform that harked to a more recent history.

"Find my daughter or follow your predecessors to hell."

A salute shot up. "As you wish."

The leaves made a beautiful carpet over the forest floor. Shades of red, yellow, and orange painted the sky and ground like a sunset. A beautiful end of the plants until next spring. If only real death was as pretty and surreal. The louds cracks and crinkles with each step brought a symphony of what once lived through the air, almost celebrating it one last time. Nothing like the still and sadness of death that was more like the brown and black of decay before the snow came and covered everything once more pristine and new.

Leaves whirled through the air with a swift kick of frustration. Cy sighed, and turned to look at the cause. Sin shuffled and kicked, kicked and shuffled. He was worse than a little child.

"Knock it off."

"What this?" He shouted and flung all his effort into a large swing of his foot, making more dirt fly than leaves.

"Yes." Cy rubbed at his temples in frustration. Couldn't his brother just behave?

"Leave him alone Cy. He's just having a little fun." The white haired girl strolling beside him laughed, she grinned at him. Her toothy truth hidden by the glaring sun of the day.

He couldn't argue with her, so instead he turned back to the path they were following. His sharp tail twitched behind him, upset. He knew they could all see it, but it was something he couldn't control despite all his meditating. It still irked him how little they appreciated the fact they were topside and more importantly how they didn't take the situation seriously.

He tried to distract himself. "You sure you're not getting tired Lily?"

Lily shook her head. "Nah I could go all day." She flexed her bicep with a wink. "Strong and rearing to go after last night."

"I know what you mean, that chase last night got my blood pumping." Sin bounced around shadowing boxing nothing. "I could take on the whole underworld and heroes of old."

"I don't think that's what she meant." Bryn yawned, a bit behind the group as he followed. His ears and nose twitching for signs of anyone approaching. He may be blind, but he was without a doubt their best first line of defense for his surveillance capabilities.

A leaf fluttered in Lily's fingers where she had caught it mid-flight. "I meant the fact we got topside and don't have to be constantly looking over our shoulder. We also didn't pop out the ground causing mass chaos. Not that cemeteries are usually the it place with the kids, I mean I assume. Humans kids don't like death do they?"

"I think that's just a human thing in general." Bryn replied.

Sin pivoted to walk backwards. Bored with his disturbance of leaves, he started pulling his face into demented cartoonish expressions. Bryn didn't miss a step as he punched him in the gut, sending the other brother howling onto the forest ground.

Lily winced at the scene. "You shouldn't tease him so Sin."

"Well blind people shouldn't care cause they can't see."

Footsteps stopped, before taking slow measured steps the opposite direction. Idiot.

Sin's head jerked back as Bryn lifted him by his mass of black hair. "I believe a comment like that is what humans call bigotry."

"Yeah, well we aren't human and normal humans couldn't do what you do."

"You're right, I'm not human." He slammed his head into the dirt, the sound of cracking bones echoing in the woods. "But that doesn't make them wrong either for calling out that its shit. Now, next time you want to make a jackass comment like that, kindly fuck off. Just cause I can't see it, doesn't mean you shouldn't treat me with respect as though I could. Blindness does not make me any less than you. If you can't remember that, I'll teach you it by ripping your eyeballs out and watching you fumble around while they grow back."

Lily looked at Cy with a helpless shrug. "I'm not sure who I should yell at, at this point. Sin for being a jerk or Bryn for resorting to violence."

"Ignore the idiots, you may catch it." Cy turned her shoulder with a gentle touch to edge her back long the path. "This is just what brothers do."

"Not any brothers I know."

A disgusting wet mass smacked against the ground as Sin spat out dislodged teeth and blood from the altercation. The two needed to learn some manners, especially in the presence of Lily. This wasn't the underworld and they were no longer just dogs to mindlessly obey, acting on nothing but beast instinct. He had hoped while they were in the human world and being confined to these humanoid bodies they might grow up a bit. He had hoped it would prove that they could be more. He glanced at Lily, he needed to know they could be more.

The sound of the other two getting back into formation followed soon after. Bryn took up the rear, once more guarding them as though nothing had happened. Sin was sulking though, his shoulders pulled up to his ears and feet dragging. He couldn't look more like a wounded dog. Idiot should learn his place then. It was always like this. Sin to eager to put up a front and remind them all of how strong he was that he didn't realize what true power was and how little he actually had. Power wasn't just brute force, even within a pack of monsters.

Lily let go of the leaf she had been spinning between her fingers, causing the leaf to twirl in the wind before landing among the others only to be trampled by Sin. Cy worried it was a bad omen. Perhaps he was too superstitious but given their luck and life, he couldn't help it. Cy curled and whipped his tail about, lost in thought.

"We shouldn't get too comfortable."

"I know," Lily sighed, acknowledging the re-kindling of their previous conversation with the simmering caused by the fight now alleviated. "Still it's a good start yeah? We made it through the gates and haven't seen any of my father's soldiers yet. And only, yeah know, one person had to die. Which isn't great obviously, but better than the thousands I was semi-afraid would."

"Still early." Sin licked his lips at the thought.

Behind them Bryn snorted. "Besides, yet is the keyword there I believe."

"You make it sound like we'll never be free."

"I believe there is a saying by humans. You can't outrun death." He said.

A silence fell on the group as once more the gravity of their situation wrapped around them. No one cared to admitted how hopeless it really was, but it was always there hovering at the edges of their mind. Much like death, it was patient waiting to spring upon them in their darkest hour.

"Stop it." Cy growled, shaking his head to fling the thoughts out. "We just need to make it to the Tower. Then we'll be fine. We have to be...they have to...."

"They'll help. I know they will." Lily smiled a strained thing, half hidden in the shadow of her hood making it half human and half skull.

Cy nodded, taking a deep breath. "Let's keep moving."

The four glided through the woods. All moved with the same unnatural quiet of death. When Bryn stopped, so abrupt and soft it took the others a moment to realize he had.

"What is it?" Cy took a step toward Lily, arm out.

Bryn licked his lips. "I don't know, but it's coming and fast."