"You guys are all idiots!" Violet's voice rang through the forest as she watched Em dangle helplessly from the high branches of a tree. His ankle was tangled in a thick vine, a scowl drawn across his face as he hung inches above the ground. His blonde hair grazed the dirt, all while Bishop stood to the side, laughing so hard, Violet was scared he would blow their cover.

"Like I've never heard that one before." Em rolled his eyes, crossing his arms with a sarcastic glare. "So, are you gonna help me down or not?"

'you got yourself into it, you can get yourself out." she snapped, feeling flustered at his stupidity. "How the hell did you even manage that? I mean, I turned my back for five seconds!"

"I dared him to try and catch a stray fledgling." Bishop piped up,stray giggles cutting into his words. "that little guy almost tore him apart!"

"And he's hanging from the tree upside down because..." violet inquired as she pulled her dagger off her belt.

"Cause I'm clumsy and that little jerk ran me through a couple tangled vines." Em snapped as he tugged at his ankle. The vines held strong and he groaned. "all the blood is starting to rush to my head and I'm feeling nauseous! Someone better cut me down or I'm gonna scream!"

"Stop whining you big idiot!" Violet groaned as she threw the dagger as hard as she could. Just as she predicted, it slashed through the vine with ease and sank deep into the tree like a knife into warm butter. Em yelped as he collapsed into the ground with a thud, met only by Bishop's laughter.

"I hate you." He threatened with a death glare at Bishop, which only sent him into another fit of laughter.

"Well, just in case you children forgot what we were here for, we still have a job to do." Violet wrenched the knife from the tree with a yank,waving it slightly as she spoke, but it did little to stop their quarreling.

"Aww, c'mon Vi."Em grinned mischievously and Violet felt her heart begin to melt all over again before she tightened the grip on her dagger. She wouldn't let herself be fooled into childish feelings. Not while she had work to do. "The sun just barely went down! The spy's probably not even asleep yet!"

"Then we should start making our way to the Alfheim." She announced. "By the time we get there, everyone will be sleeping, and we'll be able to talk to the kid without interruption."

"Since when were you so concerned about this?" Em shot back, more annoyed than mad.

"Well, geez, Em." she shot back, carelessly waving the dagger as she spoke. "I don't know. Maybe since we figured out someone stole your identity, and if we don't catch him, you'll get kicked out of the guard. or maybe Fae is cracking down on my behavior and I'm one slip up away from laundry duty for the rest of the year! Maybe we're already doing something were not supposed to do by chasing after this guy without Fae knowing! We're not even supposed to be outside tonight! If anyone slips up and she figures out what's going on, we're dead meat!"

"So we don't let her find out." Em grinned again and Violet sighed, feeling more like a babysitter than a soldier. "But hey, if it makes you feel better, we'll start heading over." Violet sighed.

"Well, it kinda does." She squeaked like a mouse, her eyes hung to the ground.

"Then it's settled." Em jumped to his feet with a clap of his hands. "We're heading out!"

Feeling her cheeks grow red, she pulled the hood back over her face, the familiar armor protecting her heart as much as it protected her skin.

"We shouldn't let our faces be seen either." Violet bit back the words as she said them, knowing each syllable was going against her own wishes. "Just cause we're going against Fae doesn't mean we should lose our identities. We lose those and we'll be in as much hot water as Em right now."

The two boys groaned, but lifted their hoods anyway, pulling the masks out of their pockets and putting them on. Violet followed, resting the mask on her face.

"So, we finally ready to go?" Bishop whined and Violet nodded her head.

"If you really hate this that much, just go home and I'll save Em from identity theft myself!" She snapped, immediately turning down the path. "You guys are children."

"And up until a few days ago, you were too!" Bishop shot back. "what happened to smashing pies in my face for revenge? Or filling Em's shoes with dragon manure when we cleaned their cages?"

"Oh, I still do those things." She responded, the harshness beginning to fade from her tone. "I just need to wait for Fae to calm down a bit. Like I said, I'm only one mistake away from a boatload of chores."

"So, this whole 'responsible Vi' thing is just a phase?" Em added and Violet grinned. "Cause I'd rather you didn't fill my boots with dragon manure again."

"Hey, I'll relax once I know you're safe."

"And I am." He cut in again, a not of tension rising in his voice. "in case you don't remember, I'm a member of the Guard. I'm specially designed to be successful in combat. I'm faster, stronger, smarter..."

"And so am I." violet stopped Em's rant with a harsh glare. " Everyone in the guard is faster and stronger than everyone else, but we don't know anything about this copycat. For all we know, if they have your identity, they could have the Guard's enhancements too. He might be more powerful than us, so stop going into every fight expecting an easy win."

"Just for the record, I like non-responsible Vi better." Bishop piped up with a hint of bitterness.

"I'm sure you do, but..." Violet's voice fizzled out as the forest was filled with the sound of a howl, smooth and gorgeous, but an ear splitting scream for help.

Without any words, the three locked eyes, everything gone more silent than the rays of the moon. Even their breath was less than the flutter of a butterfly, their footsteps silent as ghosts. Violet watched carefully with adrenaline pumping through her veins as Bishop raised his hand in a swooping motion, signaling attack.

Violet poised, ready to sprint at a moment's notice. Bishop raised his hand again, gesturing to the path. You and I go right. Em goes left. Violet nodded subtly, signaling she understood, and inside, her heart pounded with the excitement and fear of a fight.

Anxiously, she waited for Bishop's hand to come down, each muscle tensed in suspense, each breath hung silently in the air, each moment tensed in excitement...the hand fell, and she bolted.

Violet hardly saw the trees fly by her, or the way that the ground disappeared without a trace of footsteps. Every ounce of her was poised for attack, each enhanced muscle straining for a fight. Her eyes shot about her rapidly, catching every blur of forest in perfect detail, every sound captured expertly by her enhanced ears. Not a single moment went by without her recording every detail of the run, or every moment of sensory detail.

Suddenly, Violet drove her feet into the ground, a soft stir of leaves the only sound lingering in the forest. Her breath gently filled in in the stale air, creating a soft pulse she could listen to as she scanned her surroundings. Her fingers twitched with adrenaline coursing under her skin.

Something was coming, although it was hard to tell what. Listening to her breath, she stared at the path, her feet positioned to bolt at a moment's notice. Trees stirred gently with the wind, and the soft dance of leaves as they fell excited her vision.

Then, gently, she heard the rush of footsteps, heavy breathing, and the linger of a soft cry. Her heart jumped with excitement and she tightened her stance, exhaling as she calculated the time before impact.

Three...two...one...

Violet reached out, swinging her arms around the target so quickly, she hardly knew what happened until the teenager was struggling in her arms, tears streaking her face as she screamed.

Quickly, Violet soaked in the girl's appearance, searching for any signs of danger. She noted her braided hair and flawlessly clear dark skin, her strange combination of pajama pants and running shoes, and the bundle of chains in her arms.

With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Violet wrenched the package from her arms, shoving the girls to the ground in the process.

"Hey!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face in great heaves. The girl looked about ready to collapse, leaning against a tree as exhaustion kept her from running away. Violet watched as the girl scrambled to her feet, finally resting her eyes on Violet in her perfect guard-like stance. Even her eyes held the threat of fear as she watched the girl's dazed expression transform into one of shock.

Violet narrowed her gaze as she held up the bundle of metal she had taken away, already beginning to put the howl and the restraints together.

"Where is he?" She demanded, her voice shifting just as she had been taught when talking to potential threats.the low, gravelly tone felt as familiar as it had during her first day as a member of the Guard,which was as still as strange and uncomfortable as having a frog buried in her throat. Still, she felt a strange sense of victory as the girl's eyes widened in fear at the unexpected voice.

"You're...one of them." She breathed the words as the horror spread across her face. With a slight gasp, she fell against the tree, slowly sinking to her knees as she realized the truth and terror set in. "You're shouldn't be here."

"This threat shouln't be herel." she bit, her voice scraping against gravel. "we're trying to help you. Now Tell me where he is."

Her eyes widened as she shook her head, too terrified to even speak. Curled up against the tree, the girl looked like a statue, so frozen in fear that Violet wasn't even sure that she was still breathing.

"This isn't a joke!" Violet spat, the metal clenched tightly in her fist. "Your life's on the line and you won't even speak!"

"Please don't hurt me." The girl squeaked so quietly, Violet doubted she would have heard her if it weren't for her enhanced hearing. Violet groaned, letting the frustration show through despite her better wishes.

Violet opened her mouth in another command, but the words were quickly torn away as her ears filled with the sound of pounding feet. Violet sucked in a deep breath, each moment tensed with adrenaline and anticipation as she spun around. Bracing for impact, she felt the sound of each footstep pulsing through the ground until she stood still, the crescendo of noise crashing through the wall of trees.

Breathe she reminded herself as the footsteps came closer as she stared into the woods, waiting hesitantly for the raging beast...

White fur flashed by her in a snarl of teeth and her muscles tensed in a fight. As Violet jumped towards the creature, she began to feel her survival instincts kick in, everything moving too fast for her to compute. Fur became tangled in her gloved hands, teeth scraping against her arm, all while her muscles strained to stop it's tireless reign of the night. Violet screamed as teeth became buried in her leg, her fist flying with a silver blade. Again, she lost sense of the fight, each moment blurred into the next until she only knew the slash of claws, pounding of her heart, and the shine of her dagger as it flew towards the mass of fur and teeth.

Suddenly, the wolf went limp in her arms, collapsing as she jumped to her feet, poised to finish it off with a slash of her dagger. Her heart pounded as the blade flew down, every muscle prepared to end it's life when anhand flew out, her arm paused mid-thrust.

Violet slashed her head around,staring into the eyes of her attacker, or rather their mask.

"What the hell!" She screamed, wrenching her wrist from Bishop's grasp. Her voice squeaked high in embarrassment, erasing the demanding one she had created before. "This thing almost killed her!" She screamed, gesturing to the sobbing girl on the ground. Realizing she was mentioned, the girl glanced up, tears streaked on her face and her knees pulled up to her chin.

"That's not a thing." Bishop's voice was tight in command, and through the mask, Violet could tell he was glaring at her. Feeling her pride falter, she planted her feet and stood firmly, arms crossed in hopes that Bishop would realize she was serious.

"Really, because it just tried to rip out my throat." She noted, pushing the lump of fur with her foot. It moaned gently, but otherwise stayed still. "Not to mention the sizable bite mark on my shin."

"Well, it's knocked out now,so don't kill it!" He snapped, his hand gently held over the wolf as if it would protect it. Carefully, he raised his hand, pointing to the girl curled on the ground. "That thing is her brother."