Kasai's eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up with a gasp, immediately flinching and holding her now throbbing head.

What had happened? How much of it was a dream?

She felt her neck and traced the two scars from Cory's fangs. They stung the moment her fingers touched them, making her flinch and yank her hand away. Cory drinking her blood wasn't a dream. It was real. That much was true.

How long was she asleep? She felt like it had been ages. The sounds of the night echoed through the area. She shakily got up, stumbling forward and falling. She hit the ground with a small grunt before getting back up into a sitting position. The fact she still couldn't walk on her own frustrated her.

She slowly got up again, breathing slowly and trying to keep her balance. She slowly walked towards the entrance of the tent and peeked out.

It was still dark. The almost full moon was directly overhead. She hadn't been asleep for long at all.

She groaned in annoyance.  She knew it'd be impossible for her to go back to sleep now, despite how late it was.  She closed her eyes as her head started spinning again, forcing her to sit back down.  She felt like her temperature was higher than normal, but that was impossible unless she was sick or...

She shoved the second option out of her head.  She didn't want to think about it.  She had already had annightmare about it, and she refused to believe that the nightmare was real.  She refused to believe she'd hurt her friends on purpose, just for the fun of it.

She sighed as she looked back up at the moon.  The fact that it wasn't far from being full reminded her that it would be full tomorrow night.  She flinched as she thought about Doug.  He was still out there somewhere.  Who knows what will happen to him?

She forced herself not to think about that either.  She didn't have time to worry.  Her head hurt too much to think, anyway.  She wanted to go back to sleep, but she couldn't.  She wasn't tired anymore, and even if she was, she was too afraid to dare even think about sleep.

She decided to get up and go check on Cory.  Maybe if he was awake, she could talk to him.  She slowly got up to prevent getting dizzy again and started walking towards his tent.

She paused when she heard a twig snap.  She slowly looked over, scared.  She jumped back when she saw a figure blur past.  She stumbled, but caught her balance and quietly went over.

The figure was hiding.  Cautious, she took a deep breath.

"...h-hello?"

The figure yelped and dashed away a few meters before stopping and turning back towards her, frozen.  She took a step away from it.

"I...I won't hurt you...as long as you don't hurt me either."

The figure relaxed slightly and stepped close enough for Kasai to see.

It was a small, skinny husky.  He went into his human form.

"I-I'm sorry, am I tresspassing?  I didn't mean to..."

"No, it's fine.  Who are you?"

"I'm Breeze... and you are?"

"Kasai."

Breeze relaxed more.  She wasn't a gang member.

"It's...nice to meet you." he said.

"You too."

Breeze looked away again, his tail drooping. "I should really get going..."

Kasai tilted her head. "Where are you off to?"

"...wherever." He shrugged. "I'm not sure myself."

"What do you mean?"

"..well..er.."

Breeze debated whether or not to tell the truth. After a few moments of thinking, he decided he would.

"...I'm a runaway. From a gang."

"A gang?" Kasai repeated, scrunching up her face. "I didn't know there were any gangs around here."

"Yeah, Líder Fosc and his gang have been around for years. As long as I've been alive, anyway."

"Well, how old are you?"

"Eight."

"... where's your family?"

Breeze immediately whined.

"...d...dead."

Kasai's eyes widened. "Were they killed?"

Breeze nodded sadly. "...Fosc's gang killed them while they were chasing me down...I witnessed it myself. It was h-horrible..."

He shivered at the memories. Kasai put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry...you don't deserve that."

Breeze just whined again, looking away.  "...I wish I could see them again."

Kasai sighed, then thought of something.  "If you don't mind, could you tell me more about this gang?  My friends and I are searching for someone.  Well, more than one someone."

Breeze hesitated, but nodded.

"The whole gang, Fosc especially, is feared by everyone who knows them.  Fosc himself is pretty scary.  He shows no mercy when he's mad, unless of course he likes you, which he only likes one person that I know of.  Her name's Rosa.  She's his second in command. She carries two pistols that she attacks with. She's a pretty good shot. I barely managed to dodge her bullets when the gang was chasing me.  I'm pretty sure she's Fosc's girlfriend, if not his spouse.  She's merciless too, so it's kind of a perfect fit.  Neither of them would hesitate to injure or kill anyone in their way.

"I recently saw them in Lightning Valley. There was more lightning than usual that day, too. I think they might've done something bad."

Kasai's eyes widened.  "Lightning Valley?"

"Yeah...why?" Breeze asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"One of the people we're looking for is Lightning.  He's been missing for a while, and my friends and I were sent to find him."

Breeze's eyes widened. "I bet Fosc's gang has him. That'd explain a lot actually...but I wouldn't go into the camp willy-nilly. That gang is FIERCE. I've heard they can even pernamently kill phoenixes."

"Don't worry, I'm a well-trained fighter, and my friends are really strong, too." Kasai said. "I'm sure we'll be fine...if we find them first."

"...I-I could help you!"

"...you?"

"Yeah! I'd be glad to help! I'm an expert at finding them. I can find lots of things."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

"Well...okay then. Let me know if there's anything I can do in return, 'kay?"

"No, it's fine. I'm happy to help!"

Kasai smiled at Breeze's enthusiasm. "Okay then. Well, c'mon."

The two of them walked back towards the camp, but Kasai stumbled on the way there. Breeze quickly caught her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah...I'm fine. Just...recovering."

"...from what?"

"Well..."

Kasai bit her lip, unsure whether or not to tell him.

"...it's hard to explain. I'll tell you later."

"Well, okay then..."

Breeze carefully helped Kasai back to her tent.  She sat down on the ground, still not tired.  Breeze went back into his husky form and carefully laid down on the ground.  It didn't take him long to drift to sleep.

Kasai watched him for a moment.  His chest visibly rose and fell with his breathing.  His bones looked like they would rip his skin open at any time.  His skin even was starting to rip at the joints.

She sighed quietly.  He must be miserable.  She found a blanket and gently put it over him to keep him warm before closing her eyes and letting her mind drift once again.