"Felicity! Wake up! Come on, the day's disappearing!"

Gradually, Felicity dragged her eyes open, blinking slowly in the harsh light of the lamps. "But it's so early," she croaked. For once, she'd managed to sleep without any dreams of darkness and blood, and she was eager to return to the calm void.

"No, it's really late!" the voice protested, shattering her wishes. "Besides, any time the sun is in the sky is precious. I want to have fun with my new best friend!" The last few words came out as an impatient whine, but the sweet, gentle undertone was what pulled at Felicity's heartstrings. With a heavy sigh, she lifted her head fully and pushed upwards. The soft warmth of her borrowed rug fell away.

"Alright, Kyra. But I'm only getting up for you." Shaking out her fur, Felicity squinted, the sunshine-filled room still coming into focus. The bright pink wolf in the middle didn't exactly help matters.

"Hooray!" Prancing in a circle, Kyra performed what seemed like a victory dance. "Mak wants to meet up with us again today. I think he liked you yesterday." The glimmer in her eye suggested that she was very, very happy that they got along. Felicity nodded, her own eyes sparkling. She did like the kind Earthwylf. He was a perfect choice for her friend.

However, she didn't appreciate how fast Kyra was moving. The pink blur was already outside, her tail endlessly twirling, before Felicity had exhausted the dark spots that flashed across her vision. "Ok, slow down," she said with a laugh. "Give me a minute."

She got nearly ten seconds. Then she was being shoved out of the house and into the full glare of the sun's rays. "I don't want Mak to wait too long," Kyra protested in reasoning. Felicity responded with a short statement emphasising the value of patience. Her fellow Glitterwylf chose not to hear it.

Being out in the fresh air quickly woke Felicity up however, and soon she was skipping alongside her friend. If she could ignore the fact that every glint of bright sunshine seemed to morph itself into the shape of a large diamond, then she could forget all about the previous night's events.

No thievery happened last night. No deafening alarm. No party.

She just went to sleep, then woke up to go out with her friend. Nothing more, nothing less. It was all completely normal.

Maybe if she told herself with confidence, she'd be able to tell anyone who came looking, too.

"Why are you so tired, anyway?" Kyra asked. Felicity forced her expression to stay neutral. "You went to bed before it was even dark last night."

Maybe I didn't stay there long. But she shook away the persistent truth, and instead replied with, "Ever have those nights where you're just so excited about everything that you can't sleep?" It felt like a Kyra-approved answer.

Her friend twirled in mid-air. "All the time." And the lie was successfully finished.

They spoke of other things. How beautiful the market had been, what Felicity thought of Mak - which she answered honestly, delighting Kyra - and even a little about where she was from. She didn't go into too much detail. Though talking with her new neighbour was so easy; Kyra showed little interest in the war, or why she moved, or any of the painful subjects. Instead, they discussed architecture, and climate, and wildlife. Easy things. Enjoyable things.

They were just turning a corner into the Leaf District, with Kyra excitedly questioning her about the huge forests of the north, when the words suddenly cut off. Her gaze snapped to somewhere over Felicity's shoulder, her paws freezing in place. The spark faded from her eyes.

"What is it?" Felicity asked, subconsciously dropping to a whisper. When her friend didn't answer, she slowly turned around, searching for something unusual.

Yet all she saw was a pair of older wolves, of Sea and Thunder, walking in a perfectly ordinary way across the street. They weren't anyone Felicity recognised. Frowning, she glanced backwards, and flinched at the terror etched out on Kyra's face. Her eyes were wide and staring. It was the same expression she'd worn the day before, during the fight with Rowtag.

Uncertain, Felicity flicked her gaze from Kyra to the couple, and back again. "Do you know them?" Her tone was hushed, barely loud enough for them both to hear. Slowly, without even twitching her tail, Kyra nodded. Yet still she spoke no words.

For the whole minute it took the pair to cross the path and disappear down a side street, she remained stiff and unmoving. Felicity couldn't bring herself to say anything else. It was only when they had completely vanished did she finally pluck up the courage.

"Kyra, are you ok?"

Her neighbour blinked, as if surfacing from a trance. A tremble passed from her snout right down to the tip of her tail. The colour flooded back into her eyes. Yet still she seemed shaken.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, in a tone Felicity related so much to that it was almost like hearing her own voice.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." It was the firmest Kyra's voice had ever sounded. Felicity flinched again, surprised by the strange abruptness. But she knew better than to push her further. "Let's go meet Mak."

Throughout the rest of their journey, they walked in silence. Several times, Felicity thought of something to say, but each time she decided against it. Yes, she had questions. But also knew what it was like to have answers you didn't want to give.

It was a massive relief when a familiar group of Earthwylves came into view, once again huddled at the side of the path, and the glitter finally returned to Kyra's eyes. She raised her head, lifted her ears, and ran towards them. Felicity followed, trying to clear her mind.

"Hey, Mak," she greeted the closest Earthwylf, just as Kyra thudded into his side and folded into his embrace. He inclined his snout towards her.

"Hello, Felicity." He chuckled, shifting himself to allow Kyra to settle against his flank. "And hello to you, my princess."

"Hi," Kyra said, her voice muffled by his thick fur. After a moment, she pulled away again, springing on her paws as her eyes lit up. "It's so good to see you!"

Mak laughed again. "It's always good to see you."

Behind her, one of the Earthwylves muttered something. He snapped his snout shut at a glare from Mak, and instead rose to his paws, his gaze resting on Felicity. She couldn't tell whether he was glaring or not.

"Oh, Felicity," Mak said, gesturing to the standing Earthwylf. "If we're going to be seeing more of you, it's only right I introduce you to the rest of the gang." He turned to face the other Earthwylves, without leaving Kyra's side. "This here is Jael. The others are Keanu, Damek, and Ishi." He pointed a claw at each brown wolf in turn. "And over there is Sana, my little sister."

The smallest wolf pricked her ears up at the sound of her name.. The curve of her snout and friendly way she flicked her tail in greeting was very similar to her brother. Hurriedly, Felicity tugged her eyes away from Sana, cutting off the dangerous train of thought before it could begin.

"We all grew up together, on these streets," Jael added. He glanced meaningfully at Kyra. "Most of us still live here."

The words puzzled Felicity. It seemed as if he was including Kyra in that statement. But this was the Leaf District. Was it normal for wolves to move between districts as they grew?

Maybe it wasn't. Maybe it had something to do with the couple that had stopped her friend in her tracks earlier. But Felicity had secrets of her own, and saw no reason to pry into anyone else's. Not actively, anyway. Her snout remained firmly shut.

Before she could ponder any more, Mak loudly asked Ishi about how her healer training was going. The others listened intently as she answered, occasionally adding comments and questioning further. The conversation had been swiftly moved away from Jael's statement - which Felicity suspected had been the intention.

As they talked, she began to feel more like a spectator. The subject was interesting - Ishi seemed like a very talented healer - yet it was so far detached from Felicity that she didn't have the courage to say anything. Gradually, her thoughts began to drift. And drifting was always a precarious task for her mind to undertake.

Thankfully, Mak interrupted before she could think for more than a few minutes. "Felicity, could you talk with me alone for a second?"

"Sure." She followed him across the street, away from the gang, just as Jael finished telling a joke. They all burst into raucous laughter, including Kyra. Though it was a lovely image, Felicity was glad to be pulled away from it.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Mak turned to her. Strangely, his dark eyes sparked with concern. "You've got to tell me what's up."

She met his gaze evenly. "What do you mean?"

Tilting his head, he sighed. "You know full well what I mean." He stepped closer, and it briefly crossed Felicity's mind that he must be an amazing big brother. Yet those brotherly instincts didn't seem to be benefitting her currently, if she knew what he was about to say. Which she did.

"The drooping tail," he began, confirming her suspicions. "The short answers. Making Kyra call you by your full name?" He laughed in his usual warm way. "She has a nickname for everyone. Most wolves call me Mak now, but it was her that initiated it."

"I know I'm not as energetic as other Glitterwylves," Felicity answered, her voice unwavering. "It's just how I am. And I just don't like nicknames. That's all." She was used to telling these lies. Pity just made things worse.

But, unlike most, Mak didn't just shrug his shoulders and tell her to speak up if anything was wrong, and then leave her alone. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. "Ok then. Explain the fight yesterday."

For a second, she hesitated. That was a little more difficult to cover. But then it came to her.

The truth doesn't have to include everything.

"It... it's just this city." She swept her tail at the street - nicer than her own, but not a touch on Rowtag's golden mansion. "The differences. The same sort of thing happened in my old town, but Moongarde is just so extreme."

It was true. Her dark fire flared up at the thought of it. She just wasn't going to expand on her reply to explain the darkness itself.

Mak's analytical expression changed to one of frustration. It grew as he spoke. "I know. I hate it. I hate it more and more with each passing day. You've only seen a glimpse of it." He stared at the ground for a moment, then looked back up at her. "Look, I know what it's like to feel that anger build up. It happens to me every time I see that Rowtag jerk, or any of the other self-righteous... wolves that live over there. But you can't let it get to you. It only makes things worse."

His words meant more to Felicity than he realised. "I know," she said quietly. I've been trying that since my twin died. I don't think it works for me.

"Just..." Shaking his head, Mak sighed. "If you ever need to talk, you can come to me, alright?"

She nodded her gratitude. "Thanks."

They were silent for a moment. Mak's eyes wandered back to the group. He chuckled as his gaze rested on Sana, who seemed to be trying to copy dance moves from Kyra.

"She seems like a good sister." The words escaped before Felicity could stop them. Her tail stiffened.

He glanced at her, thankfully not noticing her tension. "She's the best." Contented sparks danced in his eyes. "I can't decide whether I like seeing her grow up or not. Part of me wishes she were still a tiny pup."

"They do grow up fast," Felicity said, unable to prevent the saddened sigh. Turning fully, Mak looked at her.

"Did you have a little sister, up north?" he asked. Her stomach twisted.

"A brother," she replied, forcing the tightness from her tone. Younger by three minutes. That was always what she used to excitedly tell everyone, whether they asked or not.

Nodding, Mak looked back at his sister. "I bet he's great fun to hang out with."

"Yeah," Felicity answered, watching as Sana lost her balance and toppled over, giggling. "Yeah, he was."