I stumble clumsily, moving backwards a few paces before regaining my footing. Dove's right in front of me with his arm drawn back for a punch. My arm moves before I can react, and I hit his wrist away before he can land his attack. It's as if I'm watching myself fight. My body is always several steps ahead of my mind. I dodge out of the way of Dove's next attack, and move to make one of my own. But we're so evenly matched that neither of us can really land any hits.

After just a few short minutes, I'm panting. I drop to my knees, holding up a hand. "Stop, stop, stop. This is exhausting. Let me sleep for a week." I look up, and Dove is smiling.

"See, I told you that you know how to fight."

"Yeah. It felt like my mind was always a few steps behind, though. Like my body knew what to do, but I didn't."

"You'll get it with a bit more practice." Dove sits down beside me. I lean back against a tree, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths to slow my racing heart. My stomach growls, and I drink from my water bottle.

"Where are Ky and Phoenix? I'm starving."

"I don't know, but if they're not back in about ten minutes, we can go hunting. Also if they're not back soon, I'm going to start thinking about leaving them."

Phoenix is the first to return, and he holds a rabbit in his mouth by it's head. The fur around its neck is blackened. Ky is dragging a baby deer by a hind leg. I follow Dove in jumping off the tree and making our way over to the brothers. "Sorry. It took us a while to find something to eat. There were lots and lots of berries." Ky drops the fawn to the ground.

"I told you we should've gotten some! We wouldn't have eaten them, but they would've!"

"Phoenix, those were nightshade! They would've killed Wolf and Dove! That's the opposite of what we need to bring down KG14!" Ky looks to his brother with disbelief.

"We can do it on our own. I don't know why we're working with Wolf and Dove." Phoenix glares at Ky.

"Phoenix, as much as I want to say we can, we can't do it without Wolf and Dove. They're the ones who will defeat KG14. We're going to help them."

"No, I'm going to kill KG14. I'm going to-."

"I'm going to stop you right there," Dove says, holding up a hand. "I don't want to hear about how you're going to kill King Garonda XIV. But could we eat? I'm starving."

"Fine. But I call dibs on killing KG14."

"Sure."

"Phoenix, ya wanna cook these?" Ky pushes the rabbit and fawn towards the black cat with a smile.

"Fine." Phoenix rolls his eyes, and the rabbit and fawn's flesh darken, fur singeing as it chars.

We sit at the base of the tree in a loose circle. Dove and Phoenix inhale their meals. Ky methodically eats the chunk of meat he tore off the side of the fawn. But I pick at the rabbit leg I'm eating. "Are you not hungry?" Dove asks, taking notice.

"No, I am. It's just... I don't know. So much has happened."

"I get that. It's alright, though. I'm here, Wolf. I'm here." Dove pulls me into a side hug.

"It's so crazy to think that just a few short days ago, no more than two I think, we were just two of the people living in the White Tent Sea. Now we're, like, prophesied to defeat King Garonda XIV."

"Yeah, it's so crazy," Phoenix mutters before getting to his paws and padding off into the forest.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Dove asks Ky, but the tan cat shakes his head.

"Phoenix will be back."

"How do you know Arcane is alive?" I look up from the rabbit leg and towards the tan cat.

"I know he is. Arcane wouldn't've died. I know Arcane's alive."

"How?"

"No one has found his body. Also, someone else would've become the Midnight Wolf had he died."

"I thought there was only one Midnight Wolf?" I frown.

"There is. When the current one dies, a new one is born."

"From the body of the old one?" I'm getting so confused.

"No. The body of the old Midnight Wolf remains, but the powers transfer to whoever is deemed fit to be the new one. They forget their past life, and start a new life."

"You sure know a lot about Arcane and being a Midnight Wolf," Dove murmurs.

"Yeah." Ky nods.

"So where is Phoenix going?" I scan the trees but find no sign of the black cat.

"I'm not sure, but he'll stay fairly close by. I wouldn't be too worried about him. Phoenix can take care of himself with his fire."

"What's going to happen if we find Arcane?" Dove finishes off his meal.

"When we find Arcane, we're going to... We need to figure out how to defeat KG14. He'll know. He's been around for years. Probably decade-. Wait. No. It has been decades. He's got seven earrings, so either sixty or seventy years. I can't remember if all seven are for each ten years being the Midnight Wolf. There might be the, like, sort of original earring. The one when you first become the Midnight Wolf. But I'm not entirely sure on that one, so don't quote me on that. But I-."

"It's ok. Hopefully Arcane will know how we can defeat King Garonda XIV, but Wolf and I are supposed to defeat him. We're going to. We're the ones who will bring about his fall."

We settle down a while later. Dove pulls some blankets out of the backpack, and he hands one to me. "Where's Phoenix?" I ask as I lay down on the ground, shifting to find a comfortable position. The black cat still hasn't returned.

"Like I said before, don't worry about it. Phoenix will be back soon. He can handle himself."

"Dove, what if the Guard and Soldiers find us?" My fingers tremble slightly as I jump to a seated position. Dove sits up, but Ky beats him to the response.

"They won't find us. I promise. I put an illusion over us. We'll just look like a patch of leaves and dirt and stuff. They won't see us 'cus we'll look like the ground beneath us."

"What about when you fall asleep?"

"I've created so many illusions that they won't fall when I sleep. Nothing will change with it when I fall asleep. You've nothing to worry about, Wolf."

"You'll be fine, Wolf. I promise. I'll take first watch." Dove adjusts the blanket around his shoulders. I lay back down, Ky following suit after a few minutes.

Phoenix returns half an hour later. He doesn't say anything, and instead pads over to Ky and plops down, exhaling loudly and closing his eyes. Ky raises his head an inch or two off the ground to look at his brother, and he smiles ever so slightly before drifting back off to sleep.

"Go to sleep, Wolf," Dove says in a singsong voice.

"I can't. I'm not tired." I frown, moving my arm so it's a pillow beneath my head.

"I'm right here. You are perfectly safe," he replies, and brings his hands up, curled into fists, like he's preparing for a fight. "See? I'm right here in case any bad guys come. I'll fight them off. You have nothing to worry about, Wolf, so please get some rest." Dove punches the air a few times. When his grey eyes flicker over to mine, I can see the glint of humor in them, and I laugh.

"Come on. Go to sleep; you're tired."

"Ok. I'll-." I'm interrupted by a yawn. Dove raises an eyebrow.

"What was that about not being tired?" I don't respond, and instead, I roll over onto my side. Dove reaches out a hand to rub my back comfortingly until I drift off.

xxxx

I awake sometime around midnight. An owl is hooting off in the distance, and there's the faint background noise of crickets chirping. I sit up to stretch. The forest is silent and still; so peaceful. "You woke up." Phoenix's voice startles me.

Thank you for reading! Please comment and vote if you enjoyed this chapter! 

How does Ky know so much about Arcane and the Midnight Wolves?

Why is Phoenix acting so cold towards Wolf and Dove?

Do you have any predictions as to how the story will go?

-Werewolf14-