Kat was mad. She had slept through the entire encounter with Fawn, and she did all but leap upon me when I found her and Stallion waiting in a small cluster of drooping trees.

"You could have died," she said, her voice hoarse.

"I'm fine." I tried a smile, despite how her green eye burned inside me. I tried to keep my voice light—joking. "Even if you had been there, it wouldn't have made much—"

Kat gripped my arm—hard, her nails digging into muscle. "I need to be there," she said under her breath. Then, louder, "With you. Always. Do not leave me behind again."

"O-Okay." I stammered. I didn't want to avoid her face, but I did. The way she held my arm hurt, but it didn't much compare to the twisting guilt in my stomach. I should not have been so selfish.

I didn't wake Kat because I wanted her to sleep. I wanted to be alone when I faced Fawn. In case she wasn't all there, in case she was the psychopath I had first met again. If Mary hadn't of shown up, it could have been so easy for her to—

"Mouse not with you?" Stallion asked. Kat released me and spun to face him. "She met up with us while you were asleep."

Our eyes met and I knew then why he lied. Your thoughts are not completely your own. Be careful what you think if theres someone nearby you don't want listening in.

Kat wasn't as experienced due to her Master being unaware of it, but Stallion could read me easily. It was only by his good graces that he didn't spill every dark thought that danced in my head.

"She only stuck around as back up," I said, letting those thoughts fall away as memory of just a few minutes ago came flooding back.

Mary had used the front door as her gateway, effectively trapping us inside the little house with no direct way out besides through one of the tiny windows. Once Fawn had divulged the location of the witch, she was already making her way out with a promise that she will meet with us again at an arranged spot. She had opened the door just enough to slip through, flashing me a small smile and a quick wave as she did. As soon as the door closed behind her, Mr. Copper's glowing symbol faded away.

I wasn't stupid. I knew the implications of Mary being able to use her Master's Knowledge at will. But whatever concerns I had were concerns of someone who was not as smart as Mary. She knew what she was doing. Whatever it really was, she wouldn't do it unless it was to keep us all safe.

"Fawn told us where the witch lives," I went on before the silence stretched for too long. "Mary gave me a spot for us all to meet before we confront her."

"That's the plan, then?" Stallion turned his big head, looking around the small space we all shared. "She didn't come either?"

I shook my head, feeling my throat tighten as I did. "No. She's still with Wildwood. The only reason she is keeping Mary's involvement and where we are a secret is because the witch is commanding her to."

I let the silence drag on then. Let the terrible reality sink in for them and, again, for me. Out of all the people stacked up against us, Fawn was the clearest, biggest threat. She had the strength and speed we all possessed, as well as the years of experience we lacked. It was laid out clearly in the two years of sparring fights. One-on-one, none of us could beat Fawn. As a group, we only came close when it was all of us against her. And now, we were one person weaker.

The only thing that kept Fawn from wiping the floor with us was the witch's command, and she was even fighting that, to an extent. Without it, we would have been a pile of bruises and broken bones at Wildwood's doorstep within the first few days of us escaping. I was almost sure of it.

And yet, Mary wants to—

"So, we confront this witch, and then what?" Stallion asked, his dark eyes back on me. "Are you guys planning on trying to off her like Minerva?"

"If Fawn is being commanded..." Kat muttered, almost to herself, but I nodded.

"Then if the witch is dead, our Master's ability to command dies with her," I finished grimly. "Mary pieced it together too, and it looks like that's what she wants to do."

"What about you, man?" Stallion pressed. "I don't need to tell you this, but if this witch is gone then Fawn is free to do what she wants again. And you've made it pretty obvious what the first thing she's gonna try to do is."

"We can take her," Kat said, continuing when Stallion gave her his best open-mouthed stare. "I always held back in our sparring. I know you and Mary did too, Stallion. If we can surprise her, if we go for the kill, she will die."

The black horse shook its mane from side to side. "If, and that's a very, very big if, we can take her, that is not the right move. You know that, right, Foxy? She's one of us. You said it yourself."

I opened my mouth, but I didn't know what to say. Kat spoke for me.

"She made her choice, Georgie. It's either her or us."

I had heard her say something similar before. When we were fighting for our lives against Mutt. The memory was like a punch to the gut, and I was still recovering when Stallion stepped up to Kat, towering over her and forcing her to look up into his black eyes.

"You all can play dumb, but I won't. We haven't always been this way, and neither has Fawn. She was taken from her life, like we were, and tried to escape, like we did. She probably thinks she is doing what she believes is best for us, but we can't give up on her. Foxy." I froze when Stallion shifted his focus from Kat and back to me. "You didn't give up on us, even when I told you it was for the best. I still don't know what the right move was, but we're here now. We can't afford to half-ass things. I think wiping out everything that gets in our way is a bad move, but our only alternative should be to get whoever it is on our side."

"Failing that, we kill them?" Kat asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"My only exceptions are Fawn and my Master." Stallion didn't even glance back at Kat. "I won't help you try to kill our teacher and if it ever comes to Sonsetta, I might just try and stop you."

A sort of anger I had not seen in years flashed across Kat's face. Coupled with the burns that ravaged her skin, it was a frightening thing to see and I imagined Stallion would have been grateful that he chose that moment to avoid eye contact with her.

"You're soft and weak," Kat spat in a voice a few tones lower than I was used to hearing. "Maybe Foxy and I are better off without you if you're just going to—"

"Kat," I said, grabbing her arm this time. I had found my voice, but it was frail, no more than a whisper. Thankfully, the contact alone seemed to make Kat pause as she turned to face me. Whatever I had to say next caught in my throat when I saw the tears welling up in her one good eye.

"Maybe I would have been better off," Stallion said, his voice like a building storm as it echoed in my head, "but you two wouldn't have made it half this far without me. Maybe you, Mouse, and Foxy have completely forgotten what it means to be decent people, but I'll keep trying until I think it's hopeless for you all." The dark horse turned completely away from Kat and I and made to leave our little hideout. "Now I'm going on ahead. I'd like it if you two waited a few hours before following."

Stallion quickly vanished into the inky black night. For a moment, I wondered how he knew where to go, but soon figured he had pulled it out of my brain. That, or he was so mad he wasn't thinking clearly. I definitely could never remember him sounding that angry before, even back when he chewed me out over losing faith in Kat.

The latter did not say anything for a little while. Even when I let go of her arm, all she did was wipe away at her face before the tears could escape. After that, she stood stock still, staring at the ground, her whole body trembling.

I could only feel useless for so long as I stood there, not knowing what to do or say. Despite our newfound closeness, there was so much of Kat that was still a mystery to me. A lot that was still a mystery to herself. I seriously doubted any familiars before us tried to be anything more than friends. Being unable to remember so much about myself, and being so unsure what I really wanted, only made it that much more difficult to know what Kat wanted. What someone like me could possibly give her.

Finally, I asked, "Are you going to be alright?"

A stupid question, and I wasn't at all surprised when she didn't answer right away. What a thing to ask when I didn't even really know what was wrong.

"Kat?" I tried again, forcing my voice louder than a whimper. "What's wrong?"

"'You're soft and weak'," Kat said. "I told him that. I don't even know where that came from."

"We all say things we regret when we're mad." I raised my hand, but was unsure where to place it as the words that came out of my mouth felt hollow and useless. I used the hand to scratch the back of my head. "I know I've probably said enough to fill a book."

I meant it as a joke to clear the air, but instead only felt more oppressed by how true those words rang in my head. Thankfully, Kat was quick to speak up again before I could flounder too long in those heavy waters.

"I didn't even think about it," Kat said with a shake of her head. "It just came out. But it made me sick in my stomach when I said it. I know I've said those words to him before, but I can't remember when, Foxy."

At my name, Kat looked up at me. I found I was looking at some more stubborn wetness seeping into the corners of her emerald eye. I reached out my hand again, only to find it stop in the air near her face. Was this the right thing to do? Was this what she wanted from me?

My friend answered my unspoken questions by grabbing my hovering hand and pressing it against the side of her face. I held my breath as her soft cheek rubbed against my palm. Her tears trickled down the length of my fingers as they brushed her eye.

I wanted to kiss her, but held back my carnal desires to tell her, "It will be okay. We can sort things out once you guys take some time to cool off. That was always his solution when the rest of us got into fights with each other, right?"

"Mostly you and Mutt," Kat said with a playful smile.

I smiled back, despite the sudden stab in my chest. "Right."

"Sorry." She dropped her eye and pulled my hand from her face, but left it clasped between her hands. I flinched when her grip on it tightened. "I just don't see any other way but to kill the witch. I don't see how he does, do you?"

I looked away when I saw her eye move up to glance at me. All I could see were the thick leaves that dripped over us, practically peeling away from the tree limbs that hung like arches to a roof.

"I guess I can see where he's coming from. Stallion's always tried to see the good in people. Even with Mallard."

"That's why we shouldn't trust in his judgement." Kat loosened her grip and switched to stroking the top of my hand with her fingers. I shivered at the sudden chills of pleasure that rolled down my spine. "He thought Mallard deserved a chance to live despite all the horrible things he had done to us. To you."

"Do you think he knows the truth now?" I asked, partly to redirect the subject and partly because I was genuinely curious. "Most of the recent memories they've tried to take away are back. So shouldn't he remember what happened?"

"If he did, I don't think he would be here with us now." Kat's voice was serious, and I glanced down to see her looking up at the same drooping leaves that I was. "He would already know we are 'hopeless'."

I stared down at my hand, still cocooned in her warm and comforting grip. Was that true? Were the same hands that cared for me so gently be just as quick to wring the neck of just about anyone, as long as they were in the way? I tried not to think about what those hands have already done to get here--what mine has. The hands that held Mutt as he died were the same ones that nearly beat him to death.

"I want to give the witch a chance," I said.

Kat looked down at me, and I didn't look away. Her hands stopped petting mine, and I knew she thought about whether to pull them away completely or not. The green eye did not waver, and I was reminded of a similar stare down all those years ago. Back when neither of us were sure what to make of the other.

"If that's what you want," she said at last, dropping my hand and letting hers fall to the side.

"It is," I said. I tried not to let the disappointment show on my face. It was a childish thing, to be sad over a lack of physical contact.

I was completely caught off-guard when Kat grabbed the scruff of my sweater and shoved me into one of the sad-looking trees.

"One chance, but, no matter what happens, I won't let anything happen to you," Kat swore, her green eye no less fierce as it stared into mine. "I will kill her if she tries to hurt you in any way."

I nodded vigorously as Kat loosened her grip on the sweater. I grabbed her arm before she could pull it back. "I'll protect you, too."

Then, I kissed her. I couldn't help myself, but I half expected her to pull away in shock or even disgust.

She didn't. She also didn't seem satisfied with stopping it at kissing. I tried to tell myself I was mostly going along with it because it was what she wanted, if only to relieve my guilt.

But Stallion did say a few hours.

...

"Foxy?"

I woke up to the smell of the woods, as well as hair tickling my nose. My head was resting on Kat's shoulder while she carried me on her back. My arms tensed reflexively around her neck upon the realization, but relaxed when her lips brushed against a forearm.

"Sorry to wake you," she said in a quiet voice. "You were crying."

I could still feel the dampness on my cheeks but had ignored it, hoping Kat hadn't noticed. I rubbed my face against my shoulders, only to regret it when the scratchy sweater scored across my smooth face with a rough sort of aggression.

"Guess I had a bad dream," I said, trying to keep my voice casual. Of course, it chose that moment to crack. Pathetic.

"You don't remember?" Kat asked. When I shook my head, she nodded. "I can't remember mine either."

"You think Ash is doing something to us? Also, uh, you don't need to carry me anymore."

Kat smiled. "I don't mind. I'd like to keep carrying you, if you'd let me."

For some reason, her words made my face grow hot. Before she could notice, I buried the shame in her messy blonde hair, letting the sharp smell of tree sap and pine needles wash over me.

"Okay."

We both fell silent then. I didn't want to start suspecting one of the few people I felt I could trust, but one of the last things we did before running away was dig up the bottle of pills I had stashed months ago. Kat, Stallion, Mary, and I each took one. Mary had said it was the best way to keep in contact with each other. So, unless they somehow went bad, we should be sharing dreams with Ash now, but I haven't seen her since my run in with the Hunter.

But didn't—

"Stallion still remembers his dreams," Kat spoke up just as the thought came to me. "Ash is usually there with him, too."

I knew that. I knew that, but then why weren't we there, too? Why am I screaming or crying from my dreams only to wake up not remembering? Is it something Ash is doing to protect me...or is it something I'm doing to myself?

Before I could think of what to say to Kat, she froze in place. Her arms tightened around my body, hands clenching my backside and making me flinch.

"K-Kat? What's—"

I was thrown backwards. Kat threw me. She threw me right before a massive tree limb came crashing into her side. It shot out from the thicket of woods to our right, propelling her into the river at our left.

The sun was out, but we had been walking for a long time. I hadn't seen any houses for a long time. So no one should have seen—

No, Kat! Kat! She was in the river. The limb was still in the river. It was keeping her in there. It was drowning her.

Kill the witch. If the witch dies, so does their Knowledge.

I turned and ran into the dense foliage. I didn't think as I tore aside the ferns and grasses that reached out to stop me. I didn't stop until I followed the abnormally thick tree branch to its source. Then, I had to stop.

Because it wasn't a tree branch.

A boy stood waiting for me. A boy with tan skin, black hair, and black eyes. In those eyes I did not see the contempt I had grown so accustomed to from him. Instead, I saw naked fear and intense, gut-wrenching remorse.

But that was gone in an instant, replaced with a smirk and a short laugh. "Hey, fox."

It wasn't a tree branch. It was an arm.

...

*Author's Note*

The day is finally upon Foxy and his friends. It has been a long time, and Minerva's children have spent the majority of it under Wildwood's thumb. Are they truly here to reign in or wipe out the familiar's? And, if so, do the familiars have the strength or spirit to stop them?

Whatever you all think, I'd love to hear your thoughts! One thing is for sure, this is definitely going to be one awkward family reunion...