Cotton Candy floats out from behind a tree.

"Who are you?" Dove demands, reaching out a hand to push me partway behind him.

"Cotton Candy." They're looking directly at my brother despite the purple bandana covering their eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I was sent to track you down."

"By who?"

"He said that he wants both you."

"Who is 'he'?"

"He?"

"Who is the 'he' you keep referring to."

"Oh."

"Who is he?" Dove snarls.

"He's very powerful."

"Is he King Garonda XIV?"

"Huh?" Cotton Candy's legs go invisible for a few moments as parts of their body disappear before reappearing, sort of like a cloud. No. That wasn't a very good metaphor. Whatever. "Is the person who who wants both of us King Garonda XIV?"

"He holds a lot of power."

"Oh, my god." Dove exhales loudly, his fingers curling into fists.

"Who's your god?" Cotton Candy tilts their head.

"I was expressing my frustration with you," Dove growls.

"Why are you frustrated with me?"

"Because you're not answering my questions!"

"Yes, I am answering them."

"No, you're not really. You never answered who the 'he' was that you kept referring to."

"I answered that one. I said he was very powerful."

"What's his name?"

"His name is the King of Ragdon." It's a different voice.

"Is this one of your friends? Answer my question clearly." Dove glares at Cotton Candy.

"No."

"Now, now, Cotton Candy. That wasn't very nice, now was it?" The voice purrs.

"He said to answer his question clearly, so I did. The clearest answer is either yes or no, with no extra words."

"You said I wasn't your friend, and I thought we were."

"I didn't realize we were." Cotton Candy shrugs their shoulders.

"But we've known each other for a very long time. I could've sworn we were friends."

"That doesn't mean we're friends, Elastica. For the last time, knowing someone for a long time doesn't automatically make them friends!"

"Now, now. Why'd you tell them our names?"

"What's the harm in them knowing your name?" Cotton Candy appears to furrow their eyebrows. The so-called Elastica makes her way from behind a tree, and she is about the weirdest creature I have ever seen.

Her eyes are like pieces of the brightest emerald. She seems to be a cross between a worm and a cat. Elastica has the head of a cat that attaches to a long neck and then to her body, but she only has two forelegs, if that's what you'd call them since there aren't any paws. Her body is devoid of fur, and is instead covered in smooth skin that's mottled with browns, tans, and slight hints of pink. Broken shackles are fastened tightly on the ends of her... Tentacles, I guess, and the chains dangle towards the ground. A mane of brown hair waves behind her, blown by invisible wind. Just like Cotton Candy, she's floating a few feet off of the ground.

"The harm, Cotton Candy, is that names hold power." Her voice is soft and slightly unnerving. Elastica's tail sways back and forth, twisting.

"What are you doing here?" Dove demands, placing a gentle hand on my arm as I open my mouth to speak.

"Well, Dove, yo-."

"I'm going to cut you off right there," Dove starts. "I'm not Dove, so you've got the wrong guy. I'm Grey, and this is my sister, Alex."

"That's odd. You look exactly like Dove." Elastica tilts her head to the side with a small frown. She flutters her eyelashes.

"Well, I'm not. You're wrong on that. Now, Alex and I will be going. Ready?" Dove looks down to me, waiting for a reply.

"Indeed I am, Grey. I'm getting a bit tired. Could we please go?" I turn my attention to Elastica, who spends a moment studying me. I can almost see the wheels spinning in her mind.

"Sure. If you're not Wolf and Dove, I don't see why not."

"Thank you. We'll be on our way. Have a wonderful rest of your day." Dove flashes Elastica and Cotton Candy a quick smile before following me.

"I'll see you around," Elastica purrs with a smile that sends shivers down my spine. She's so unsettling.

We make our way through the forest. Dove stops me after a few minutes. "What is it?" I look around.

"She's following us."

"She is? There isn't anything around."

"The forest is too quiet. There were birds chirping and animals scuttling around in the brush. Listen. There's nothing around." He's right. The forest is too quiet. There aren't any sounds.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you clever. But don't think I believed you for one moment that you two weren't Wolf and Dove. You never had me fooled," Elastica snarls, her forelegs twisting as she moves forwards. "Your little charade didn't work. Your names were never Grey and Alex; they've always been Wolf and Dove. Liars. That's what you two are-."

"Are you done? I was hoping to get to bed before midnight." Dove looks up at the sky, where the moon is slowly crawling upwards. Stars twinkle against an inky background.

"You're both liars. And you know what King Garonda XIV does to liars? He kills them, and the King of Ragdon has bestowed upon me the honor of killing you both. Imagine the headlines the next day. Everyone will be talking about how Elastica, the She-Wyrm, defeated Wolf and Dove, two notorious villains." A sick grin oozes across Elastica's face as her eyes light up with feral excitement. Dove pushes up his sleeves to his elbows as he takes on a defensive stance.

"What do I do?" I hiss.

"Stay back. Let me know if anyone else comes to attack. I've got this."

"Oh, I'm sure you think you do." Elastica's eyes twinkle.

The slightest frown crosses Dove's face. What's going on? Dove shifts into his bird form, and he takes to the air. He dives towards the She-Wyrm with a screech, but his attack is cut short as he suddenly changes directions and crumples to the ground as his back slams into a tree.

What happened? My eyes find Elastica, and the She-Wyrm has a sly smirk creeping across her face. Dove shakes his head, rising to his feet and glowering at his enemy. My brother's next attack ends up the same as his previous one; he's slammed against the tree.

The fight moves pretty quickly. Dove opens several wounds on Elastica's skin, and she sends him crashing into trees. What did Elastica do? No. It's magic. She's using magic, which I can't see. And if I can't see it... Dove's going to hate me, but he looks like he could use some help. He asked me to stay back, but I don't know if he'll be able to win this one. I don't know what Elastica's doing, or even what magic she uses.

The back of my mind keeps telling me that this is a stupid idea. That I should stay back. That Dove is never going to forgive me. But the other part of my mind says that Dove needs help. That Elastica's going to tear my brother to pieces. That I need to fight here.

I take a slow step forwards, as if testing the result, though neither Dove nor Elastica seem to notice me. Alrighty, Wolf. Let's try to help out Dove. So, I think we're going to climb up into a tree, and then we're going to jump out of the tree, hopefully onto Elastica's back. Ready? Let's go.

I clamber up a few of the branches before glancing back to Dove and Elastica. They don't appear to have noticed me. Yet, that is. The bark of the tree bites at my fingertips and palms as I work my way onto a branch that hangs out over my brother and the She-Wyrm. Dove quickly jumps up into the air, drawing his legs close to his body as he beats his wings to move backwards. He glances upwards, and there's a twinkle in his eye as he finds me. Aww, man! He found me! We gotta keep going. He's gonna hate me. He's gonna hate me. He's gonna hate me!

I inch my way further outwards. Elastica is almost directly beneath me. Her body keeps shifting and twisting, as if being blown by an invisible breeze. Dove's beak snaps shut on what looks like empty air, but Elastica cries out and blood splatters on the ground, colored green rather than red.

I let myself fall.

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

How mad is Dove going to be?

Will Wolf's idea work, or will she just get in the way?

What do you think of Elastica?

-Werewolf14-