The quiet world of woods and cold air was growing to be hard for John to focus on. Every step was heavy. Every breath long and drawn out. Ninovan had not let them stop since they buried Tusk. For two nights and a day they walked while Crane/Swan checked back in with her hourly report of "no trouble". Through the migraines and soreness in his legs and calves, John wondered where she was even finding the energy.

It was only when his brother insisted on checking on her every time she returned that the newest familiar saw just how tired and strung out Swan was. Though Jack insisted Gus wipe away the new dirt and grime she would accumulate from each trip, most of it appeared caked onto her flesh and hair. Like it was a part of her. She was very angry the last time they attempted to clean her and ran off after a few choice words and growls. Words mostly thrown Jack's way in her insistence that he leave her alone.

Between the arm breaking and Swan's growing distance, John could see his brother was nearing his limit. He had seen that limit reached many times when they were children, and once after they both had discovered their Knowledge. In all those instances Jack had use of both his arms and was not traveling with an almost literal werewolf, so it made sense that it was taking as long as it had. But John had a very good idea what his brother was capable of when he was pushed too far. What lows he could sink to in his rage. And in every instance of Jack reaching his limit of patience, it was John who was hurt either directly or indirectly.

And he could feel his brother glaring at him. The silence between them was almost tangible. Like a beast lying in wait for its prey to make one slip up. John could almost hear the words he knew his brother wanted to say to him.

"It's your fault. You let this happen. Even worse than that, you joined them."

And John wanted to snap right back at him that it wasn't his fault. That Jack forced him to come and that he nearly died defending his stupid girlfriend. He wanted to tell him he would have been more than happy to die if it meant being free of his brother and father.

But that wasn't what happened. John did join them and he knew that his brother was afraid of him. It was not just his shadow that his dear older brother had to fear any longer. His little brother could be just as strong, if not stronger. He might have missed his chance to take vengeance on their father, but he did not forget what his dear older brother did to his friends. No matter how much time had passed, no matter what Jack tried to tell him, John would not forget.

"That's why you want to blame me," he wanted to say to his brother. "Because you can't own up to your own mistakes. You're afraid to face the reality of what you have done, and the punishment that you have coming."

"...John?"

John slowed his walking, headaches and sores momentarily forgotten. His breathing grew much quicker as he turned his head and found himself locking eyes with his brother. Both of them shared looks of equal astonishment. But it was Jack whose face slowly regained control as a playful smile creeped out instead.

"Hey, you can hear me, can't you?"

The young familiar closed his eyes and turned away. The pains were returning and he had to shut his lids tight to block out all semblance of light. It was becoming blinding. It only made his head pound that much harder.

"Ninovan."

It was a rare occasion that his shadow's wispy voice was something that brought comfort to John, but in this instance his eyes snapped open and searched for his companion immediately. It was not hard to find. His shadow had made itself into nearly John's exact likeness and was kneeling before Ninovan, head lowered as though it was her faithful servant.

"You've been gone awhile, Shadow," Ninovan commented. Her voice betrayed no real sense of tiredness besides a slight, raspier quality. "Have you found my Kat and the others?"

"Yes. They reside on the shore of a beach many miles to the east. It would take us several more days to reach them at our current pace and that is only if they remain where they are in that time."

A low growl rumbled out of Ninovan and made John perfectly content with the distance he had placed between her and him. He tried to ignore the sounds of his brother and Gus coming to a stop close behind him.

"Can you stall them?" Ninovan asked John's shadow.

"There is no need. The young girl's power is keeping them from leaving the relative safety of the shore. They are taking the time to rest while Kat is attempting to help control the children's powers. I have elected to reveal myself and act as their ally in hopes of delaying their progress further."

"Do they suspect you?"

"They do not."

"Should I?"

Ninovan's voice had grown much colder and John was not surprised when his shadow hesitated. Only he knew when the featureless face moved slightly enough to look at him.

"My only concern is for the safety of the boy. If you feel he is best protected under you, you should not hold my intentions under suspicion."

"As long as Wildwood lives, I am his only protection." Ninovan turned her head to the east. Her long, clawed fingers flexed outwards. "Two days you said?"

"At our current pace, yes. I suspect it would take less than a day at your full speed, if you can maintain it."

"I can." The witch turned back to face the others, and John couldn't help but lower his eyes. "But I will not leave my children and allies alone again. Crow, how are you feeling?"

It took John a moment before he realized she was referring to him. "I'm fine."

"You are not."

The boy could not help but tense and let out a soft gasp when the great beast was suddenly kneeling before him. Despite her size, she moved almost as silently as his shadow and had crossed the distance in seconds. He was forced to bite the inside of his cheek to suppress another cry when a long, hairy finger moved under his chin and forced his face upwards.

There was a strange mixture of surprise and panic when John's eyes fell on the concerned, wrinkled face of Ninovan. It was her human face, connected to the muscled neck of her wolf body and surrounded by a mane of white hair. The boy felt light headed trying to take it all in so he opted instead to focus on her more normal, black eyes as they studied his face.

"You are pale and very warm. Does anything hurt?"

John tried to look away but found that, this time, he could not. "I said I'm fine-"

"Do not lie to me. Please."

Though her voice was still raspy, there was a different inflection to it that confused John. There was a look in her eye and a gentleness to her touch that was hard for him to grasp. He had been sick and in pain many times before, but there had never been someone who asked him about it and really cared to hear his response. There was only ever his brother and father and the short lived friends they destroyed.

"You are in pain," Ninovan observed when a sudden, traitorous tear escaped John's eyes. When he tried to pull away, she let him but remained kneeling before the familiar. "What is hurting you?"

"The boy still suffers from the effects of his recent change," John's traitorous shadow answered for him. It was still in his likeness, and had moved to stand just behind Ninovan. "Kat had told us she would speak with you about gathering certain ingredients to aid the boy, but it appears her words were little more than soothing platitudes to keep us at bay."

"I am sure my Kat initially wanted to help her brother, but the life of a familiar is rife with mistrust and anxiety under those witches. Do not take what she has done personally. As their family, it is our job to show our dear Kat and Stallion that they are safest with us."

Ninovan stood up to her full height so that she towered over John, his brother, and Gus. And while the latter two averted their eyes, John did not look away. He saw her gentle smile and warm eyes as a strange feeling tightened within his chest.

"You have been very brave, my little Crow, but please do not hide your ailments from me. Though we are what we are, I am still part human. I cannot see everything. When our sister returns, and if she has no dire news to report, I will keep the promise our Kat has made to you. I am so very sorry I did not see you suffering before."

"It's-" John started to say, but he could not find the words. His chest was still hurting and he wasn't sure at all what he was supposed to feel, let alone say.

"Don't be rude, squirt," Jack's voice suddenly chastised him, squirming into and invading his head, "say 'Thank you'."

"Thank you."

John believed Ninovan was right when she told him she was still part human. Despite the very cold wave now washing over his body, despite how he trembled from head to foot, she smiled in gratitude to his words that were not his words. And when more tears escaped his eyes, all she did was wipe them away and tell him that it was going to be okay.

But she was wrong. John wanted to scream it at her. She was dead, dead wrong.

...

"Does she talk to you?"

Lilly shook her head before going back to staring at the twisting, reaching plant life. "But it feels like her. It looks like her. It gets mad like her when I don't listen."

Kat watched the young girl. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. Out of all the children, Lilly had always been the trickiest for her to read. She had teased and played mean tricks with Gust and Leaf, but more than once Kat had caught her tending to the many scrapes they would accumulate or coddling Trout when Meadow or Maple were not around. Gust had made it very clear to Kat how much he had changed since those more innocent days, but what of her?

Beyond the Knowledge. Beyond her mother. Who was Lilly now? Kat turned for a moment to glance at Gust who remained a short distance away, arm and tree-arm folded as he watched the two of them closely, before focusing back on the young girl.

"So you, Gust, and Leaf had been traveling with the bug lady for awhile until recently, right?"

Lilly winced, but nodded.

"What about Trout? Do you know what they are doing with him?"

Lilly's eyes lowered to the ground. For the briefest of moments, all the violent movements of the trees and grasses stopped.

"I...I don't know," she said as the rustling and creaking returned. "He was just a baby when...when mother died. He doesn't talk at all, but he clings to and treats everyone there like his parents. He hasn't shown any Knowledge, so they just feed him and treat him like their kid." Lilly's hands tightened at her sides as her glaring into the foliage became much more distant. "Gust says it's obvious what they are doing. That they are using Trout to make us do what they want. But if that's true what's going to happen when they find out what we're doing? The bug lady and that burned man are dead, but they are going to find out."

"We are going to hit them before that happens," Kat swore. "With that shadow and his Master's help, we can hit them before they even know we are there."

"They have Leaf too, Kat," Lilly said, and Kat froze when she turned to her, the girl's dark eyes now studying hers. "He's not as strong as me or Gust, but he can hear and smell and see things better than us. They'll use him to hit us first."

Kat thought about grabbing the young girl's arm in some way to be comforting, but then thought better of it. It wasn't what Lilly wanted, nor what she needed.

"Before he was taken, Foxy told me what Leaf did. He's the reason why you and Gust are here instead of with him right now, right?"

Lilly glanced to the side-to Gust-before locking eyes with her again. "Yes."

"Then I think he is stronger than you give him credit for. He lied to Wildwood to protect you two before, and I think he will do it again."

Lilly shook her head again. "They have ways to make us do what they want. Just like Maple does for you."

"Do you want to save your brothers?"

The question made Lilly pause, like Kat had assumed it would. But it did not take the young girl long to find her resolve and level the familiar with a hard, even stare that would have made Foxy proud.

"I do."

"And I want to save Maple and Foxy," Kat returned with as soft a smile as she could muster. It was still hard to do, but easier when she was around the Quincy's. "So we will figure this out. Our desire to succeed is stronger than theirs."

"How do you know?"

Lilly's eyes had softened. Kat was able to pick up a hint of worry there. Maybe even doubt.

So, whether Lilly wanted it or not, Kat reached out and firmly grabbed her shoulder.

"Because we are going to make it stronger."

...

In the end, there was little that could be done in regards to Lilly controlling her Knowledge. Too much had been allowed to go free and she was too weak from hunger to reign it all back in. Kat could see that Gust too was having his own quiet struggle as his flesh hand found its way, more often than not, gripping the shoulder that was attached to the ever wilder thrashing of the tree-arm. Kat didn't have the speed or power to break through Lilly's barrier, and Stallion simply lacked the hands to carry whatever food he could find beyond the overgrowth. And the ocean was beyond either of their abilities or remaining energy to try catching fish from.

It was as clear to her now as it had been when she and Foxy nearly starved to death a little over a week ago. They were trapped, and the only way out was literally through the shadow of a kid she hardly knew or trusted.

It had been a few hours since said shadow had left to supposedly clue John in on the plan. They had maybe a days left of freshwater with nary a method to collect more unless they risked sending Lilly into the wildlife that appeared to reach for her more than any of them. And, at the end of the day, Kat was far more willing to risk her own life than any of the others.

But it was Stallion who would be taking the risk. Kat had been so absorbed in looking after the children she hardly had time to speak with her friend besides the short, emotional conversation they had upon reaching the shore. Like Gust, Stallion had made it clear to her where they stood, and yet he remained here. A few times in the past she believed her friend had run away for good, and yet he kept coming back.

Was it for her? Kat couldn't comprehend that. Their relationship before their change was foggy at best, but she knew there had been one to some extent. Were they just friends? Lovers? Did it even matter? Did it matter to him?

Kat couldn't comprehend that. But every time she would look to the dark horse, she would find him already watching her. He knew her name used to be Elizabeth. She knew his name used to be Georgie. But those were two different people. People she could not remember. There was a longing attached to Stallion's old name. An ache she could not soothe. But for what reason she could never determine. Foxy had replaced those old wounds. He loved Kat and never known Elizabeth.

Did Stallion know? If he did, why did he never tell her? Kat grew suddenly angry at the thought, at his selfishness, but that quickly turned against herself. This was all under the assumption that her friend really was here for her. There could be another reason.

But Stallion had told her he regretted coming. He regretted leaving his Master. If that was true, then why was he here? Why was he willing to go along with this shadow and risk his life for her and the Quincy's?

As soon as Lilly told Kat to wait while she spoke with her brother, all these questions swirled within the familiar. And when she looked to Stallion, and saw that he was already looking right back at her, she knew she needed answers before whatever came next.

Stallion didn't move when Kat approached him. He must have been waiting for this, Kat assumed. He had to know his words and actions didn't line up, and that he would have to answer for them.

But Stallion couldn't have expected Kat suddenly falling face first into the sand. Kat could hear the rapid, almost frantic footfalls of his hooves before the sound of his collapse into the earth filled her ears. And then she heard nothing. She saw nothing.

It was a swirl of darkness. Like smoke choking out everything around it. Kat struggled to breathe, until she realized she did not have to. This was not the sort of place that followed those rules.

"I am sorry to do this," Ash's voice called from somewhere within the smoke.

It was a voice Kat wanted to believe she had not heard in almost a month, but knew, deep down, she had not heard it all that long ago.

"There is something very urgent that I must discuss with the both of you."

...

*Author's Note*

The dynamics of Ninovan and her followers grow ever the more complicated as Kat struggles to come to grips with the reality of her own crew. And, in the middle of all this, Ash may be threatening to throw a wrench into everything.

What news does she bring? Is it the dire kind we are all expecting, or something, somehow, even fouler?

Whatever your thoughts, I'd love to hear em.