I can't do this.

Not even pacing could calm Toivo's nerves as he weaved between the trees, trying his best to keep his breathing level. Through the leaves above, he could see the dark sky paling far quicker than he wanted it to.

Light meant day. Day meant his mission. And his mission meant extreme panic.

It was strange how talking through everything with Konrad the previous evening and staring at the map had felt so calm compared to this. While Lexi had slept, he'd been planning his every move - where the prisons would roughly be, how to act around other Shadewylves, what his cover story was if anyone asked - and he'd almost felt excited at the prospect. It was like a hero's tale, the sort he'd read about, where the hero bravely rescues everyone.

Now it seemed less like a noble quest and more like a waking nightmare.

What didn't help was how he'd still managed to sink into an actual nightmare, the same one that had plagued him the two nights previous, even in the brief snatch of sleep he'd allowed himself. Though they'd spent the other half of the night walking here with an army of Icewylves in tow, the trails of pure darkness that lurked in his dreams still hadn't fully left him.

The soft sound of paws padding nearer tugged at his ears. Glancing back, he saw Konrad, eyes as hard as ever. Toivo still found it strange how he, as well as all the other Icewylves hiding in the woods behind, moved so lightly in contrast to their bulky size. On the way here, Lexi had mentioned that it was something to do with pressure and area, but her exact words had already escaped him.

"Stop working yourself into a panic." The chief's voice was commanding, far from the soft comfort Lexi's tone might have provided, but it snapped his attention all the same.

"I don't think I can choose not to panic," he replied shakily, ducking his head under Konrad's huge shadow. A white nose wedged under his head, levering his snout upwards before he could bow it to point at the earth.

"Of course you can. Panic is always a choice." Releasing his snout, Konrad stared at him fiercly. Meeting his gaze, Toivo forced his head to stay raised and his shoulders to remain tensed. "By pacing here, thinking in circles about how nervous you are and how everything will go terribly in there, you create your own panic. All that rely on thoughts too much do the same. You probably got it from spending too much time with your Thunderwylf friend." He jerked his snout over to where Lexi stood.

Toivo couldn't help but follow the gaze to her. She was crouched partially behind a huge pine tree, pinned there by Miyuki. The Icewylf's pale eyes were much less fierce as she muttered to Lexi, her tone too quiet to make out but friendly enough. As his eyes settled on Lexi's golden coat, she looked up from her conversation and shot him a smile. He grinned back, making to mouthe something, but Konrad yanked his attention back.

"Focus, young Toivo. She doesn't matter at the moment." He gestured in the opposite direction. "What matters is you getting in there, and us getting the Twilytra out. You can let her dote on you later."

"She doesn't dote on me," Toivo protested. They were friends. She just helped him out sometimes. He did the same for her - she just seemed to need less help than he did.

Konrad sighed. "Call it whatever you want. You miss the point. But you're not panicking now, so I'll take it." Raising his gaze to the canopy, he began to retreat towards the others. "Our sunlight is in position. It's your time to shine. Good luck."

With that, the Wylfrost chief joined the rest of the white fur, and Toivo was on his own.

He took a deep breath, doing his best to focus on Konrad's advice. I can do this. Maybe. I'll have a go. He released a sigh of his own. That'll do.

With a final glance back at Lexi's determined hazel eyes, he nodded to himself and began to pace again. Except this time, his steps had a purpose.

Winding around a few more narrow trunks, he dodged the sharp needles that jutted from the spindly branches, wishing he were back in the more welcome forests of his own town. He was beginning to long for the softer brush of leaves through his fur. Soon however, the trees thinned, and he suddenly realised how he would have prefered any plant compared to what he now faced.

A mountain rose from the earth, a mass of dirt and stone that reached high above the treetops. Perhaps it was less of a mountain and more of a hill - he'd only ever seen inked pictures of mountains like the ones that bordered Moongarde, Sylvera's capital - but its classification didn't make it any less intimidating. Right in front of him, its snarling mouth was wide open, stone teeth bared, daring him to venture into the dark abyss inside.

No amount of drawings or stories could prepare him for the true fear Nefaris instilled.

A flash of black fur outside caught his eye, and he quickly shook himself, attempting to remove any scrap of uncertainty his posture held. As the Shadewylf drew closer, he did just as Konrad had instructed the previous day. Shoulders back, head up, forepaws and claws tensed as if he were ready to spring into a fight at any moment. It was how the Wylfrost had seen patrolling Shadewylves act around each other, and he saw that mirrored in the wolf that now approached him.

"I don't recall giving you clearance to leave," she hissed. Her eyes lit up with her fury, he noticed - a violet so pale it was almost pink.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, twitching his ears downwards but forcing himself not to make himself smaller. He reminded himself of what Konrad had told him about how Shadewylf hunting patrols worked, and placed the words in his mouth that he'd been told to say. "I... I snuck out. I wanted to see the forest."

He might have imagined the impressed glimmer in her eyes. "Ah. New Pelt?"

"Yeah." The curve of his tail might have betrayed his fear. If it did, she didn't pick up on it.

"That'll be why I haven't seen you around then." The bright of her eyes faded, and he withheld his sigh of relief. "I'm Harisah, by the way."

"I'm Toivo," he said before he could stop himself, his own manners getting the better of him. Thankfully, Harisah showed no sign of recognition.

"Nice sneaking, Toivo. Between you and me," she added in a whisper, "I did that a couple of times when I was your age. But as your superior, I'm required to tell you not to do it again." She gave him a subtle wink. "Go on in."

"Thanks," he said to her as he hurried past, glancing back to catch a glimpse of her pinkish eyes again. Her brief smile felt so... normal. Somehow, that thought sent his heart racing faster than her initial anger had.

He gave his head another shake. Listen to Konrad. No thinking like that allowed. He didn't even let himself slow down as he slid through the cave's mouth and felt the darkness close over him.

Not allowing his shoulders to drop, he followed the slight downward slope. The stone was cold under his pads, but not the same way Vendett had been cold. This was a numb cold, as if the cave had no need for light or warmth. It was empty of feeling, he realised. Lifeless. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the wolves who had to live here all the time, then immediately retracted it, reminding himself that staying here was a choice.

He couldn't help but look back as the morning light faded, leaving him with only shadows. The lit exit looked so inviting. But he shook his head, pushing the imprisoned Twilytra to the forefront of his mind, and tugged himself into the dark.

Sure enough, it took seconds for his eyes to adjust. The cave coloured itself in shades of grey. He couldn't be sure whether his night vision brought upon the monochrome appearance or whether this was the true dullness of Nefaris Cave.

After a few minutes of careful walking, avoiding the eyes of any wolf that passed him, the cave began to open up, and Toivo saw the tunnel branch out into several others. This had to be the central area Konrad had mentioned. Everything came and went from here.

Pausing, he scanned each option. Though he knew the way to the prison was probably somewhere to the right, it was difficult to tell which one to take. Every grey tunnel looked the same, give or take a few curves and bends. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his panic, imagining Konrad's stern eyes gazing after him. Just pick one. Don't linger.

By the time he'd worked up the courage to make his choice, he could feel eyes locking onto his Pelt. A wolf almost as small as he was, a torn piece of paper lying beside her paws. As he dodged her gaze and started towards the passage third from the right, the sound of her approaching pawsteps sped up his own.

Something about her eyes, colourless in the darkness but still bright and piercing, felt as if she were seeing right through his act and examining the truth beneath. As she bounded past him, he prayed that she'd keep going, but instead she whipped around and fixed those eyes to his.

"Are you alright? You look lost."

Though her tone was casual, maybe with a hint of concern, the twitch in her ears and tail suggested otherwise. Did she suspect him? Was she scared of him? But neither of those things quite fitted as she leaned closer. If anything, intrigue danced in her expression.

"I'm fine," he muttered, making to swerve around her. But she smoothly stepped to the side, blocking the tunnel.

"It's okay to be lost, you know," she said, her voice still strangely kind. "Loads of wolves with new Pelts get lost at first. I did," she added with a smile.

He squirmed. Though it went against his orders, accepting help might raise less suspicion. Nodding hesitantly, he recited the cover story Konrad had told him to use. "I've got guard duty at the prison next. It's my first time."

"Ah." The wolf nodded slowly. "You don't want to go down this way. This leads to the generals' quarters." Sliding around him, she led him back into the open space, and he followed, his steps hurried. "You want that way," she added, flicking her tail towards the tunnel to the left of the one they'd just emerged from.

He let himself smile, relief settling in his stomach. "Thank you," he told her with a bow of his head, before turning to follow the path she'd shown him.

"Wait," she called, making him stop. Glancing back, he felt her penetrating gaze dig inside him again. "What's your name?" Her eyes burned bright with curiosity, hungry for his answer.

"Toivo," he said, his voice quiet enough so that he hoped no other wolf would hear. Two Shadewylves was more than enough for him to have given his name to. Konrad would not be happy. But they'd both shown him kindness, and it felt rude not to, whatever they were.

"Mine's Evania," she said with another flick of her ears. She moved a lot, he noticed - subtle movements, as if something inside of her were stretching out.

He inclined his head again. "Uh, hi Evania," he said. "Thanks. I'll go now."

Tugging his gaze away, he darted for the prison tunnel, having to force himself not to look back and catch her eyes again. He could feel them still staring, still wondering. It was odd how she managed to both unnerve him and make him want to stay behind with her.

Harisah and Evania. He stored the two names in a pocket in his mind. Even if they were enemies who might try to kill him the next time they saw him, he wanted to remember the way they'd helped him all the same.

Though the idea that Shadewylves like them existed sparked a new battle in his heart.

Gritting his teeth, he banished that pocket to the edges of his mind and focused hard on his immediate mission. The prison was mere pawsteps away. The passage towards it curved downwards steeply, so much so that he had to catch his claws on ridges in the stone to stop himself from stumbling.

Fortunately, it soon flattened out and widened a little, and Toivo found himself in the middle of Konrad's sketched map.

Just as the drawing had shown, cells lined the wall to his right, leaving the rock opposite bare. It loomed over the central corridor, filled with jagged spikes and minature caves, all sparkling with the fresh lamplight that spilled from the cells. Toivo blinked a few times, feeling his vision click back to normal. Not that it made any difference to the colour around him. Everything was still etched in grey stone and dark shadow.

Exiting the sloping passage, he bent his head sideways, reaching for the precious tool strapped to his side. Konrad had pinned it tightly in place with a strip of dark fabric, in the hopes that no-one would pay too much attention to it in the dark.

Once his teeth were clasped around its sharp point, he slowly tugged it away, sliding it so that it sat comfortably in his jaw. Then, with a glance to confirm that the guard wasn't looking his way, he began to slink along the wall of cells, careful to keep his paws soft and soundless.

The first few cells were empty, but in the fourth an Icewylf was slumped, creating frosty patterns on the stone just as the wolf in the plaza had been doing. Except this wolf's picture was even more incredible - it clearly showed a row of rooftops, with the rise of a hill forming the backdrop. It looked like how Vendett might look in the winter: cloaked in snow and ice.

A pang of sympathy rippled through him, but he pulled himself away, Konrad's demand not to linger echoing in his head again. No distractions. Soon enough, he could break this wolf out of here. He could save them all.

Thea was curled in the next cell. He hurried past her before she could notice him.

Her neighbouring cell made his heart skip a beat. Katana lay there, eyes scrunched shut, tail pressed up against her bloodied flank. She had been his wolf of choice to dig, but he saw that was impossible now. Not even the fiercest Earthwylf could handle injuries as numerous as her.

His eyes darted to the guard. They were nearly at the end of their pass, about to turn and pace back any moment. Leaping forward, Toivo shoved the metal claw through the bars of the immediate cell before he'd even checked to see who was in there.

A pale blue snout snapped up to catch the tool before it hit the ground. Her eyes widened as they met his, but with her jaw clasped around metal the words of her exclamation were muffled.

"Angel," he whispered frantically, "that's enchanted to cut through rock. And it's soundless too. You need to dig a tunnel at the back of your cell. I brought the Wylfrost, don't worry, we'll-"

"Excuse me?"

Snatching his head back, Toivo whipped around to see the guard marching back towards him. A huge Shadewylf, built with hefty muscle. He felt himself fold under her shadow and knew there was no way he could stand up to her. Meek would have to do.

"What are you doing here?" she growled, her voice raspy. It reminded Toivo, strangely, of his aunt's tone when her fiery fury emerged.

She was scary then. This wolf was terrifying.

"I'm sorry. New Pelt. I don't know my way around very well," he said, trying to keep his voice as controlled as possible. The words still stumbled over each other regardless of his efforts. "Then I ended up here and I guess I wanted to see the prisons and the prisoners-"

"They aren't for looking at," she hissed. "You'll get to see them when they're executed. Go." Shoving past him, she stomped towards Katana's cell.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving," he said, though the words emerged so quiet he could barely hear them himself. As he scurried after the Shadewylf, ducking under her glare, he shot Angel one final glance. She still had the enchanted tool pinned between her teeth, her eyes wide as she processed the events.

But she could do it. He'd seen the determination she'd held on the battlefield, even in the brief glimpse he caught of her. She didn't give up. And neither would he.

As Toivo slipped back up the passage and into the central cave, his steps quickened now as he eagerly dashed back towards the sunlight, he held that at the forefront of his mind. This mission would succeed. It had to. They'd all keep fighting.

Yet still he felt Evania's sharp gaze pierce his Pelt as he hurried past her spot on her floor. Those bright eyes followed him all the way to the entrance tunnel, not accusing, just sparked with wonder.

Something about her made his heart twist. As if she were unreachable, yet someone that shouldn't be that way. Like she was touching his soul with those eyes.

Shaking himself, he sped up even more, striding towards the light. He was beginning to sound like a philosophical Mystwylf. Evania was just another Shadewylf - just another wolf hiding in a cave, preparing for an unnecessary war that could easily destroy any scrap of peace Sylvera held onto. He had to remember that.

It was time to conduct a prison break. Fight now, worry later.

Even if he wasn't entirely sure what he was fighting against.