"Of course," I reply, still not knowing what he means or how.

I want to understand, but what the hell does he mean? I don't understand.

"Alright." Ice's shoulders are slumped, as if he's just given up.

"Do you not believe me? I really do want to help." I stop so I can turn around and look at Ice.

"I know," he says. "I just don't think you'll be able to help."

How can someone look so defeated? What does he mean he doesn't think I'll be able to help?

"Let me know what you want me to do, and I'll do it in a heartbeat. I truly do want to help, Ice."

"It's just stupid. Forget it. It's dumb. I never should've asked you in the first place. Forget I even said anything." Ice tries to walk past me, but I reach out an arm to gently bring him to a stop.

"It's not stupid."

"Let me go." Ice begins to tremble, and his eyes flicker out to the sides. The corner of his lip curls. His teeth chatter, sides shaking as his gaze turns distant. No! I watch as his legs give out and he collapses, a paw rising to claw at the wound just below the base of his skull.

"Let me go," Ice whimpers.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Ice doesn't reply.

"Whoah there. What's going on?" Ky skids to a halt right beside me. Ice doesn't appear to notice.

"I don't know. I was talking with him and the-."

"No!" Ice whines. "Please, just let me go." A ring of frost spreads out as a puddle of frozen tears forms beneath his head.

"He's having a flashback," I say, the realization washing over me as I turn and face Ky.

"Didn't he lost all his memories except for Clap?" Phoenix grumbles.

"He remembers the snake. But it's not something you'd just... forget," Ky replies.

"He didn't know what happened to him when he woke up!"

"Memories sometimes take time, Phoenix."

"Whatever," Phoenix growls.

Ice squirms, writhing on the ground as he cries out. I whirl back around His claws tear at the snake bite, and scarlet spills across his fur. I curse.

"No! Ice! Stop!" I scramble over to his side.

Despite my words, Ice doesn't react and remains trapped in the flashback. He twists and rolls to his back, lashing out at an unseen enemy. But I can only guess who, or what, he's trying to fight back against. When Ice claws at the back of his neck again and gouges a slice on the tip of his ear, I look back at Ky and Phoenix helplessly.

"What do we do?" I ask until I look back. "No! Ice! Stop!"

Acting on instincts, I pin him to the ground, grip firm enough that he can't escape but loose enough that he hopefully doesn't feel like he's trapped. "Let me go..." Ice whimpers.

"You're safe, Ice. You're safe," I say.

"Come on, Ice. It's ok. You're not there anymore." Ky walks up to stand beside me.

Ice finally relaxes a little while later, and I cautiously let him go. "Hey, Ice," I say softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he replies a minute or two later. "We need to keep moving."

"Hey, you just were doing who knows what and are bleeding. And this is how you react?" Phoenix growls.

"We need to keep moving," Ice repeats.

"We're being followed," Phoenix snarls.

"How do you know?" I look around, but I don't see anyone.

Phoenix's flames change color, burning yellow. Smoke fills the air. The black cat's lazy smirk grows as his eyes follow a retreating form, outlined against the grey. I just barely catch sight of the creature before they disappear behind a tree.

"How did you know?"

"Easy. There weren't any birds chirping or anything. It was too quiet. And since I couldn't see anything, there was only that blindfolded creature left. The one who can turn invisible."

"Cotton Candy."

"That's their name?"

"Yes." I nod.

Phoenix snorts. "They're quite the scaredy cat. Won't even show their face. Coward," he spits.

"Shut it, Phoenix," Ky growls.

"Stay here with Ice. I'm going to try to find Cotton Candy. See what King Garonda XIV wants. Maybe I'll get something on what happened when Arcane died. His death has something to do with Wolf's disappearance. The whole thing was so weird. I don't know what happened."

"You're making me babysit? Seriously?"

"Not babysit. It's making sure no Guard or Soldiers find us."

"That's boring. They're so easy to kill. Not even a challenge at all!" Phoenix scowls at me.

"I'll be quick."

"You'd better be."

Cotton Candy proves to be more difficult to find than I thought. Curse the smoky form. Disappearing. Wolf could see them though, see them disappearing. So is it not magic? Or not the right type? She could -no, can- see the rainbow portal. The kaleidoscope one that Phoenix fell into.

"Hi."

"Hey, Cotton Candy."

"Hi."

"Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

"You're capable of asking questions." Cotton Candy's head remains turned toward me despite the blindfold. Perhaps it's not as much of a blindfold as I thought.

"May I as you some questions?"

"Ok."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was told to."

"Who told you to?"

"The King."

"The King of Ragdon?"

"He goes by many names."

"Is the person who told you to come here the King of Ragdon? Or King Garonda XIV?"

"He goes by many names." That feeling where you just really, really want to strangle someone washes over me.

"Yes or no: Did King Garonda XIV tell you to come here?"

"He-."

"Yes or no?"

"Yes," Cotton Candy finally says.

"Are you here to follow us?" Cotton Candy doesn't reply for a few minutes, and I stand in front of them, arms crossed.

"That's what he told me to do."

"What are you following us for?"

"To see where you're going."

"Hmm. How's that going for you?" As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize I should've made the question clearer- who knows how Cotton Candy's going to take the question.

You need to be more careful if you're going to figure out what Cotton Candy was told to do. Find that out, and then you can go back to tracking down Wolf. You are going to find her, no matter where she is. For now, though, just focus on getting the information from Cotton Candy. It seems like they cannot lie, but they just need the questions asked as clearly as possible.

"It's going good. You're headed to the other side of Ragdon. You're not going to find anything. It's a mirror image, just without the life."

"I'm sorry, what?" I blurt the question before I can think twice.

"The island is split into two halves, and they're identical. But this side has life and the other is completely devoid of it. It's a wasteland." Cotton Candy's body disappears. It's like a light pink and blue cloud.

Huh, I think. Who knows if they're right though.

"Any more questions?" Phoenix asks.

"No-."

"I'm done babysitting, Dove. That was stupid. Don't expect me to watch someone else ever again, got it? I don't intend to be looking over someone when I can be taking down KG14."

"I'm a little busy, Phoenix," I say. The black cat glowers at me before turning his attention to Cotton Candy, who's floating quietly a few feet above the ground, bits of their body still disappearing and reappearing.

"And who are you?"

"Cotton Candy."

"Do you work for KG14?"

"I only answer to the King."

"He's not the King, and don't call him that!"

"He is the King. He sits upon the Amethyst Throne. Only he has the sole power over the fate of Ragdon." Cotton Candy tilts their head to the side.

How does everyone BUT me and the rest of the group seem to know so much more about this island than I do? Is it something with the Throne? I feel like every time we run into someone, I learn something new.

I look up, and Phoenix is chasing after Cotton Candy, snarling about how he is going to tear KG14 apart and make his reign crumble to the ground. I sigh.

Is it worth it? If I leave now, I can find Wolf faster... Wait. What? Why am I thinking this? This isn't me. I want to find Wolf more than anything, but I couldn't handle the guilt if it came at the cost of someone else's life. That's not right.

I look longingly toward the peak of Ragdon, where I know the mountain begins to slope down. Soon, Wolf. Soon I'll find you. But not quite yet. I follow the trail Phoenix and Cotton Candy took, moving quickly.

After a break in the trees, I see Phoenix cornering Cotton Candy.

"- information do you have? Huh? Were you gonna go rat us out to the so-called King of Ragdon? Too bad he's not a King. That title doesn't even exist." Phoenix's hackles rise. His anger is simmering, just below the surface and oh, so very, very close to exploding.

"I can't. My leader made me swear on my life that I won't say anything about why. And I cannot lie."

"Look at it this way. You die if you do talk, and you die if you don't. Believe me when I say that your death at my paws will be far worse. And I'm getting you to talk regardless. So start talking." Phoenix advances on Cotton Candy with each word, paws creating little fires and a low growl rumbling deep in his chest. Cotton Candy lifts their head, baring their throat as their sides tremble with uneven breaths. I can see them thinking about what to do.

"Just talk, Cotton Candy. Tell us what the King wants, and you'll get out unharmed."

"The King-."

"Is not the King."

"But he is. He sits on the Amethy-."

"He. Is. Not. The. King!" Phoenix's body is shaking as his flames roar in a blazing display of yellows and whites, not the normal range of reds and oranges.

"Phoenix," I say, stepping between him and Cotton Candy. "You kill him now, we're never gonna learn about what KG14 wants."

"They think that despicable person is the King!" An inferno burns with rage and hatred in Phoenix's eyes.

"I know. But we'll never learn anything if Cotton Candy is dead."

"They said he's the King."

"I know. But please don't kill them."

"How about they talk and then I kill them?" I sigh.

"Let's start with them talking."

Phoenix thinks for a minute or two before finally spitting a curt 'fine'.

"Talk," Phoenix snarls, lips curling.

"He ma-."

"Don't care. Talk."

"I can't," Cotton Candy says.

"Yes, you can. Talk. Tell us what KG14 sent you, the Guard, the Soldiers, his whole army after us. What was just oh, so very important. So much so that he'd be willing to order his army to their deaths. Enlighten me. What was it?"

"Do you really think you can win?"

"Yes. KG14 deserves to suffer, watching his reign come crumbling to the ground like a house of cards, a palace built on pillars of salt. Just wait for the storm to reach the palace. The cards will burn and the salt will melt. Why don't you go tell your so-called leader that. Tell him the clock is ticking on his reign. The spark has been smoldering for years, and now it's a firestorm. He's not getting away with anything any more."

Couldn't've said it better myself, Phoenix. But he's got more than just one of your infernos coming his way. If he hadn't forced Arcane into shedding the Midnight Tear and sacrificing his life, then Wolf would still be here.

"He wants to know why you're heading to the other side of Ragdon Volcano. And he wants to know who the new Midnight Wolf is."

"Yeah, we're not telling you anything."

"Hm." Cotton Candy disappears."

"Cotton Candy!" I say. "Come back, please."

"Cotton Candy doesn't deserve mercy. They die now."

xxxx

"Phoenix," Ky whimpers. "Come here."

Thanks so much for reading! Please comment what you thought and leave a vote if you enjoyed it!

Uh, oh. Why's Ky asking for Phoenix?

What do you think of Cotton Candy?

What about Phoenix's little speech for Cotton Candy to deliver?

-Werewolf14-