The song for today is "New Horizons" by Flyleaf. I have survived a horrid week; let's see how this one goes. *pops knuckles* I have a 2 part final in my remaining class and 6 math assignments due by Friday night. Also, my aunt went into the hospital over the weekend, and my family's not sure if she's going to make it. :( If y'all could pray for her, I'd really appreciate it. Her name is Lynn. If things look bad, I may be skipping town again to see her this week. So this will probably be the only chapter for a little bit. I hope y'all have a less stressful week than I am. :)

*Waglington's POV*

Ow... Everything hurt. Why does everything hurt, and why am I so cold? No sooner had I formed the thoughts then the soft material beneath me vanished and reappeared to cover me instead. That was a little better. I became aware of something warm beside me shifting under the covers. I slowly pried my eyes open a crack as whatever it was moved towards my face. I was in a quaint bedroom that was unmistakably my brothers' work.

Good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty, an unfamiliar voice purred in my mind as a furry red and grey face with bright orange eyes emerged from under the blue and white pinwheel quilt covering us. I stared at the face inches from mine, momentarily wondering if I was looking in a mirror. Then I realized I could see the color red.

"Don't try to talk just yet," I heard a voice to my right say as I started to open my mouth. I stopped and painfully turned my head a fraction of an inch to see Donella sitting in a chair next to my bed, watching me carefully. This was the first time I'd ever seen her without her beloved coat on. Now I knew why. "We're both connected to your mind at the moment; so think to us." Don't worry; I'm only staying connected until I know you're stable, She added when my eyes widened. "And quit staring at my scars." I quickly moved my eyes back to her face. She looked worn out.

I decided to start with the obvious question. What happened?

"Well, we almost lost both of you when Jordan removed his witchery curse before we were ready. Martha, your brothers, and I were able to save you," Donella relayed. She gave me an odd look before continuing, "The funny thing is, you shouldn't have been alive by the time Echo and Kay arrived here with you."

What? I mentally asked as the cat who had been staring at my face up to this point lay back down, snuggling against my side with his head next to my shoulder. I think he was trying to help me warm up, and being a 25 pound cat, he was doing a decent job.

"Echo possesses a form of spirit magic. When you got here, she told me that your spirit was weaker than the ghosts she talks to. You shouldn't have still been in the land of the living. I don't know who would have the power to keep you together," Donella conceded. "But it seems someone very much wanted you alive."

Donella leaned forward in her chair, and her voice softened to a tone I'd never heard from her before as she asked, "James, I know someone hurt you, enough that you almost gave up on us while we were working on you. Who? Don't lie; I recognize the pain and jealousy of losing someone you love to another."

Instantly, the memory of Martha and Steve holding hands and looking at each other lovingly in their meeting came to mind; due to the mental link, Donella saw it too. My heart dropped as I remembered the heartache I had avoided for the few minutes after I woke up. I turned my head away from Donella to keep her from seeing the pain in my eyes. On the up side, it didn't hurt quite so much to turn my head now.

Why did you have to bring her up? He was resting comfortably! The feline next to me growled as he lifted his head to glare murderously at Donella.

I needed to know if I should worry about him trying to leave again, Donella replied. "I am sorry, James. Heartbreak is a worse hell than war in my opinion." I caught a brief flash of a wizard in golden robes smiling brightly from Donella's mind. That was Emrys, if I wasn't mistaken. I don't think I was supposed to see that. "She doesn't even know, does she?"

I thought she knew how much she meant to me, I thought more to myself than Donella. My hands started trembling as a few tears rolled down my face. I guess I was fool enough to think she felt the same way. Flashes of time spent with Martha talking, working on spells, or doing nothing at all passed through my mind. One image stuck when I thought of it. My mind does play cruel tricks on me, it seems. I was looking at the scene of my proposal to Martha.

"When did this happen?" Donella asked, shocked.

"It didn't," I managed to croak. "I saw it while I was unconscious." Ugh. My voice sounds dreadful.

Sorry, that would be my fault. Human vocal cords aren't made to meow and purr apparently, The cat interjected, seeming slightly embarrassed.

A few silent moments stretched between us before Donella asked another question, much more serious this time. "What else did you see, James?"

I didn't see why she'd need to know, but I knew in my current state I couldn't very well keep her from the memories if she wanted to see. So I volunteered them, replaying the scenes in my mind, including the robed figure who nearly killed me. As the proposal scene repeated, the loss started eating at me again. A small sob escaped my lips. What is wrong with me? I was never this emotional, even after losing my powers.

Well, you've never been heartbroken before, my feline friend countered, rubbing his head against my shoulder. It looks like a pretty sucky emotion, and you're getting it from two fronts: Latreia and Martha, He added nonchalantly as he inspected his left front paw.

"...How do you know about Latreia?"

I went through your memories while you were still out, The cat replied while picking at a toenail with his teeth. When he sensed me becoming angry, I could have sworn he smirked. It looks like we've got a live one, Donella. If the athar starts stealing memories from your head like it did the first time, I've got a copy of them now. You won't forget so easily this go around. Plus, I was bored.

That actually sounded brilliant, but I was still mad. "Why exactly is this cat in my head?" I asked Donella between sniffs. If the cat was trying to distract me from my heartache, it wasn't working.

I turned—this time with no pain—to find Donella had been deep in thought, but she still answered. "I tried, but I couldn't completely separate you two without killing one of you. I'd compare your bond to the one I have with Akatena, but yours seems a bit stronger. You'll have to figure out the details once you recover." I nodded and pushed myself up into a sitting position against the head board of the bed. The position let me look around a bit more; plus, it forced the cat to move.

Looks like we're stuck together, The grey and red cat grumbled as he slid out from under the covers. He plopped down across my lap before I could protest and started grooming himself. And I do have a name. Call me Memento.

Donella brought us back on topic, "James, did you notice that most of those images were paired: one without you and one with you?" I gave her a quizzical look. "These images almost feel like a vision, but I've never heard of a vision having multiple futures in it. Perhaps whether or not you would live was in doubt." She paused for a moment, seemingly disturbed by something. She was staring off into space, thinking. "Then there's the robed man... I don't like that he was able to get to you while we were all here, and none of us sensed him."

What she didn't say was that she was worried about him convincing me to give up so easily, but I could feel it coming across our mental link. "Don't worry about me. I've been reminded I have a promise to keep. So I'll be sticking around for a while. Why are you so concerned about me wanting to die again?"

Donella looked back to me with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Because I know just how tempting an option death appears just after you've lost someone you love." She cleared her throat and refused to elaborate.

A few minutes passed in silence as we thought about the implications of those scenes being potential futures. Half of them would have been terrifying if I'd known at the time that they actually might happen. Hopefully my living had ruled those scenarios out, but I still felt uneasy thinking about them. I mentally reviewed the protocol a wizard was supposed to follow if they ever had a vision. Seeing the future was tricky business. The further in the future a vision was set the greater the risk of damage to space/time if I tried too hard to interfere or prevent it. It made my head hurt afresh just thinking about it.

Donella smiled a crooked grin and started talking again in a forced cheery tone, "On the up side, the one you love is immortal, and so are you. Give it a few centuries; things may change." She mentally added, At least your competition will be gone then. I think she forgot we could still hear her because of the mind link.

Did she really just try to cheer me up like that? Memento had stopped grooming and was staring at Donella along with me. Madam wizard, I'm a cat, and I don't understand the overcomplicated emotions you humans have. But even I know that's just wrong, regardless of its truth.

"Okay, first, the whole point of my promise is to find Steve and keep him from dying. Second, I would still know I'm only a second choice," A few more tears fell at the thought. Being immortal is lonely. I released a shuddering sigh and sniffed.

Donella looked apologetic. "Yeah, I think I'll leave the bedside manor to your friends. Speaking of which, they'll want to see you soon. You need to dry those tears, unless you want them to see."

Oh my goodness, my friends! I needed to let them know I was in one piece (mostly); so they wouldn't keep worrying. I thought back to how broken up everyone had looked in my vision of my funeral. I started wiping tears from my face with my hand, hoping they wouldn't be able to see any puffiness around my eyes. Since I kept my hood up most of the time, they didn't have a good idea of what I looked like normally. I paused when my hand found a thin scar across my left cheek. Memento looked up at me and sent me a mental image of Martha healing the wound on my face and what the scar looked like now—from his colorblind point of view. Well, I suppose it could have been worse, I thought cynically.

Donella ignored our exchange and continued briefing me, "I also need to inform you that you very likely will experience side effects from the magic I used on you. What those side effects may be, I truthfully don't know. That's part of why I'm keeping such a close eye on you. Also, under no circumstances try to use astral projection magic or long distance mind magic. The spells I used got the job done, but I don't trust them to be foolproof. Don't do anything that may separate you from your body. I may not be around to piece you back together next time."

Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him, Memento told Donella as she stood from her chair.

Donella nodded at him and picked her coat off the floor where Akatena had been sleeping on it. Donella's familiar was already standing in the doorway waiting for her. "I'll go tell your friends that you're awake and want to see them."

"So, you know what happened while I was you. Did anything interesting happen while you were me?" I asked Memento.

He stopped grooming mid lick and looked up at me. I didn't realize that cats could have such an evil grin. Oh, nothing interesting. Your magic was trying to draw me here the whole time, like it knew your brothers could help. On the way I did the usual survival stuff: hunting, running, etc.

"Hunting?" Before I could really think about it, Memento sent me a few snippets of his trip. I saw him as me running around on all fours and catching a fish with his/my teeth and eating it raw. Then he showed himself stalking a large cricket through the grass. Oh gods, no. He actually ate it! I felt like I was going to throw up. He made me eat a cricket.

Memento sat up and faced me. When he sat up, his face was at the same level as mine. He really was a big cat. Hey, uh. I think you've got a cricket leg stuck in your teeth, He said, smirking at me.

I gagged at the thought of having a bug leg... No, don't think about it! Glaring at Memento, I warned, I swear if you make me vomit, I'm aiming straight for you.

My feline friend—do I call him a familiar now?—laughed mentally before licking my face with his rough tongue. He lay back down next to me with his head facing the door before saying, I was messing with you. I only caught one cricket on the way, and your brothers fed me some cooked chicken once they found me. You humans don't even have claws to work with. How are you supposed to hunt without carrying swords and bows everywhere?

I chuckled at his comment. Hey, Wag?

"Yes?"

Would you be opposed to some revenge on a certain canine? Memento asked as he twitched the end of his tail. Ah, he had an idea.

"I'm all ears. Doughnut needs to learn some respect. Just don't kill him," I requested.

Nah, I wouldn't kill him. Judging by your memory, that's Tom's job anyways.

Now that really got me laughing. Tom had accidentally killed the first Doughnut while trying out something from witchery. (In the streams he did it on purpose trying to get tongue of dog. :/ ) Maybe having Memento in my head won't be so bad after all, I thought as I rubbed a tear that wasn't from sadness away from my eye. I leaned forward to scratch behind Memento's ear, remembering how good that felt when I was him. "What did you have in mind?"

You're not that bad yourself, wizard, Memento purred as he leaned into my hand. Here's the plan...