Clawmark. -FINISHED-

She got up on her hands and feet, and she stretched. Seir stood up, and stretched his arms and back. I also stood up, along with Nayru.
“Well,” Dippy announced, “first, we have to look through everything in here. After we do that, you'll have the permission to try and look for secret passages in the walls, or maybe fake books, or something. Look at every page on the ground and on the desk, then look at all the pages of the books, to see if he wrote something on that. Let's go, move it!”
Dippy grabbed a pile of paper on the desk, and I grabbed another. Seir, Jamina and Nayru instantly went onto the books, lighting up more candles for more light. Soon enough, there was enough light in the room to see almost perfectly. I also noticed that it was going to be very hot in the room, soon enough. I took a sheet of paper , and I started reading. Reading isn't the right word, because it was impossible to understand what was written. There wasn't a symbol that I recognized. I put the sheet away, and I took another one.
It took hours for me to go through the pile of paper I had. Jamina had finished two books, Dippy had finished his pile of paper, Seir was still reading his first book, and Nayru was trying to find something in her second book. Dippy sighed quickly, putting his hands on his lap.
“Maybe we aren't doing the right thing,” he muttered.
“Seems like it,” I replied.
“Check for secret places now, just to make sure, Leorn,” Dippy suggested. I nodded quickly, and I started by looking at the walls. I tried searching for a crack in the wall, or something like that. There were a few, but I didn't find anything inside them.
“Hey, Gray, Ghost, Galop,” I asked, “you found anything?”
“Not yet,” Jamina replied quickly.
“Ditto,” Nayru and Seir answered in unison.
I continued looking at the walls. I had to push multiple objects out of the way so that I could inspect closely. I then shrugged, and looked at Dippy. He shook his head, and lowered it.
“Nothing,” I said, stating the obvious.
“I don't get it...” Dippy murmured, “Where could he have put it?”
“Hey, wait a second!” I exclaimed. Nayru, Seir, Dippy and Jamina looked up at me. I fell silent, looking for my words. I had just thought of something. “Um...” I began, “Who says that something is not a someone?”
“You mean, kinda like the Indians?” Dippy asked, “Where knowledge was transmitted through speaking?”
“Yeah.”
Dippy thought a bit, lifting his and to his chin. He scratched the back of his head, ruffling his spiked black hair. He tilted his head to the side, whispering incomprehensible words to himself. He suddenly looked up at me.
“No,” he replied, “it would be too risky. What if that someone died, like what happened to the Indians? Where would go the knowledge?”
“Why would that someone die?” Nayru asked.
“Of a genetic mortal disease, just like Tlynen, I don't know!” Dippy snapped, “No, I think that Tlynen isn't stupid enough to trust someone with this sort of thing. Anyways, who could he trust on this kind of thing?”
“I guess Dippy's right,” Jamina answered, “let's keep looking.”
I sighed, and continued looking.
After a few hours, we had looked through everything, and we had learned nothing. Nayru was tired and hungry, and so was Jamina and Seir. Dippy and I were just tired. Dippy brought some food to the hideout, and we ate silently, not saying anything. After we had ate, Dippy sighed heavily.
“Damn it,” he cursed, “how the hell can we do this thing?!”
“Maybe he didn't want anybody to know, except him,” Jamina answered.
“There must be at least one single thing that could help us!” Dippy snapped, “There's always one thing.”
“Maybe not here,” Nayru replied.
“Stop being so pessimistic,” Dippy replied, rolling his eyes, “there must be something we missed in here.” Dippy glanced at Seir, and he sighed again. He leaned towards Seir. “Hey, Ghost,” he began, “do you know anything about your brother that might be of any use to us?”
Seir quickly shook his head.
“Think harder,” Dippy insisted.
Seir sat for a while, keeping silent. He then shook his head again.
“You sure?”
Seir nodded. Dippy sighed again, showing disappointment. He leaned on his hammock, pulling his arms to the back of his head. He looked around on the ceiling, trying to think. I stood up, and I began walking up the stairs. I put my ear against the marble door that led to the entrance of the hideout, and I heard nothing. I pushed the door, and it slammed back down onto the ground. I noticed that it was night. The moon was rising in the dark sky, and I took it as if it were ten in the night. I saw nobody around, unlike last time. I turned my head around, to the dark stairs.

“Let's look on the outer part of te grave,” I suggested.
“You're right,” Dippy called out from below, appearing at the bottom of the stairs, “Let's.” He quickly stepped up the stairs, and jumped out into the open. Nayru and Jamina followed him with candles. Seir anxiously walked up the slippery stairs, trying not to fall down. Nayru flashed her candle on the stone grave. It was immobile, and scary. As Jamina lifted her candle, it blew shadows against the gargoyles and winged skulls, making eeire darkness around us. I gulped, and I started padding around with me hands.
I touched the rough, cold stone, searching for something that might be of some use to me, or to Dippy. Dippy did the same as me, but Seir preferred to stay away from the grave, scared by its ominous feeling it gave at night. The moon shined through the dense leafing of the trees, glowing on the tall grave. It showed the letters of Alexander's name.
Being in a cemetery at night was always slightly scary, if your mind wasn't freaking out. Not that you thought of ghosts and skeletons and zombies, but it was just like that. All these dead people, under your feet.
Nayru passed her candle near the walls of the grave, flaring the marble with light. The gargoyles and skulls seemed alive, but we couldn't see them moving. But you could sense them, almost hear them breathing. A cold howl escaped from within the trees around. The flame from Nayru's candle flashed onto a stone gargoyle.
“Jesus Christ!” she exclaimed.
I immediately ran up to her, and Dippy did the same. She was on the ground, panting. Her candle had dropped onto the ground, and it had been blown out. I put my hand on her shoulder. She seemed terrorized.
“What is it, Nayru?!” Dippy asked. Nayru lifted a shaking hand up at a gargoyle. I turned my head to the statue. Or what I thought was a statue.
It was moving. It was moving like I've never seen a gargoyle move before. It was alive. It was standing on its two feet , arms flexed, its glistening yellow eyes piercing the night. I was thinking that it was some sort of nightmare. I could hear the rough, slow breathing of the creature, as its huge leathery wings expanded. The moon shone on the stone creature, showing even the smallest eerie details. It had fangs as big as mine when I was in my Soul animal form. Its bat ears twitched, as it glared at us. The claws on the extremities of its hands were long and jagged. Its stony surface moved as it turned around, like if it was skin. Carved fur was present on the chest, and beginning from the waist, until the knees. The things legs were human-like. Dippy gaped, and he also fell on his back, on the ground. I took a few deep breaths, and slowly slipped my hand behind my back, grabbing the colt I had put in the back of my trousers. I took it out, and I loaded it. I pointed it up to the being, and it glared at me. A faint growl escaped from its mouth, and it snarled at me. I was doing my best to keep calm.
It shrieked at me. It was high-pitched, and it nearly busted my ears. I put my hands up to my ears, dropping my gun. I crumpled to a tight ball on the ground, squirming because of the pain that the hiss gave me as it passed my tensed hands over my ears. I couldn't stop the sound from entering my head, and I tightened my eyes. I heard Nayru scream out of pain, quickly followed by Dippy's yell. It stopped, but I kept my hands on my buzzing ears. I shakily stood up, slowly taking my hands off my ears, as I gently opened my eyes. The creature was still there, and it was breathing quickly. I could see the faint cold smoke that escaped its mouth as it breathed. The gargoyles eyes darted from side to side, glancing at each of us. I was also breathing heavily, and my ears were thumping inside my mind. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I saw the glint of my gun, and I quickly leaned over to grab it, but the stone being warned me by letting out a high-pitched screech. It snarled at me again, bearing its fangs and sharpened teeth. I gulped silently, and I saw Dippy and Nayru slowly stand up next to me. Dippy was as calm as I was, or trying as hard as I was to not show his fear. Nayru was breathing heavily, her breath coiling in the air, and fading away almost instantly.
She clung to my arm, by tightly hugging it. I turned my head to her, and I shakily pushed her away from me, next to Seir. Jamina joined Nayru quickly, stepping in front of them, outstretching her arms to block the passage between them and the demon.
“What the hell is this thing?!” I whispered loudly to Dippy.
“What did you say?” Dippy replied, “My ears are still roaring.”
Damn it, I thought, if we can't even talk to each other, we're in some really deep ahem....
The gargoyle turned its head to us, then back to the other group. Its bald head reflected the moonlight slightly, but only making the bat ears seem bigger than they really were. My body was shaking uncontrollably. The gargoyle shrieked again, and I cupped my hands over my ears. Nayru and Dippy fell to the ground, agonizing. I clenched my teeth and tightened my eyes in pain. The screech stopped, and I slowly opened my eyes, just to see that the stone creature was dashing at me. I didn't have the reflex to do anything, and I was paralyzed. It shoved its fist in my stomach. I could feel my insides being squashed into pulp as the attack went further, but not piercing my skin. Then, I saw the whole scene very slowly. I lifted from my feet, being propelled by the blow. It hurt like hell, and the gargoyle was extremely strong. Plus, with the speed it had gained before punching me in the stomach, it had gotten even more power into the fatal blow. The creature stopped its momentum, and I was sent flying for two meters at least. I then smashed myself against the ground, and I skidded furthermore, then slamming into another grave. I laid limp, the pain surging everywhere in my body. I jerked my head forwards, coughing. Blood splattered all over my hands and clothing. I wanted to move, but I couldn't. The demon slowly walked over to me.

t loomed upon me, and I slowly lifted my head to glare at it. Blood was trickling through a small opening in between my lips. The creatures golden stare met my piercing emerald scowl.
With lots of effort, I was able to give the stone being the finger. It growled at me, and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. I needed to struggle, but my limbs wouldn't respond to my minds orders. I hacked, spraying blood over the stone creatures hand. It growled at me, and suddenly grabbed at my neck with the hand which had previously clenched onto my shirt collar. It tightened the squeeze on my throat, almost shredding my skin with the claws. I barely could breathe anymore. Its yellow eyes looked right through me, but I could see the air of ferocity that spread upon its face. I grabbed at the demons wrist with my two hands, trying to pull the grip off my neck, but it only angered the beast, and made it squeeze harder. I let out a yelp of pain, and I noticed that I couldn't breathe anymore.
I decided that I had to do it or lose it. My hands tightened around the gargoyle's wrist, and I heaved myself backwards, sending my feet behind me. It frowned at me, and I smirked slightly. I then rushed myself forwards, sending a joined kick at the demon's stomach. It let me go, and I fell heavily on the ground, on my shoulder. The gargoyle doubled over on itself, glaring at me, as I slowly stood up, taking gasps for oxygen, trying not to lose by balance.
Dippy and Nayru came running. Nayru was breathing heavily, trying to put up with her endurance. She dashed over to me, and helped me keep myself up on my feet. A small trickle of blood escaped from behind my lips, slowly sliding down to my chin. I glared at the creature who had put me in this state, and Nayru put her hand on my chest to push me down on the ground. I hacked as I hit the earth, and I cursed myself within my mind. Nayru gently put her hand on my head to prevent me from moving, and I coughed again, sending drops of blood on Nayru's fragile skin. She turned my head to the side quickly.
“He's coughing up blood,” Nayru called out to Dippy.
“I think that means there's an internal hemorrhage,” Dippy replied. I gulped. I didn't want to die of such a way.
Dippy put himself between Nayru and I, and the gargoyle. It snarled at Dippy, and Dippy bore his pointed teeth. They both stood there, both trying to intimidate each other, while Nayru pushed my head back down on the side again, as I tried to look at the scene.
“If it's an internal hemorrhage as Gin says, you better put your head on the side so that you don't cough up blood,” Nayru explained.
“Where did you learn that?” I muttered.
“Let's just say I listened and watched what Pandora did when she tried healing someone,” Nayru replied quickly, “now, stop talking, you're wasting your energy and saliva.”
I shut up as ordered.
“Who are you?” I heard Dippy exclaim. The creature just barked at him in return, and then I heard a faint flapping of wings. Wind started to blow in my direction, and I purposely turned my head to look at what was happening. I saw the creature starting to rise in the air, flapping with its gigantic stone wings. It suddenly crouched into a ball, and shot away, disappearing in the darkness. I perceived a last glint of yellow light as it looked back once. Nayru pushed my head on the side, and Dippy joined Nayru, standing rght next to me.
“It's gone,” Dippy muttered. I saw his hands clench, and he threw his fist in exasperation. “Damn it!”
I then noticed that Jamina and Seir ran over to us, looking at how I was.
“Is he going to live?” Seir asked quietly.
“Of course I ain't, you dolt,” I replied darkly, “I've got a freaking internal hemorrhage, and we have no way to cure that.”
“He'll live,” Nayru gently replied to Seir.
“Huh?” I uttered.
“You just bit your cheek really, really hard,” Nayru answered calmly. I frowned, and I turned my tongue around in my mouth. I felt a lump, right where my teeth should have bitten. I rolled my eyes.
“Ah,” I muttered. “I thought that thing had smashed my guts.”
“A little more, and that would've been the case,” Nayru replied. She lifted my shirt, and put her hand on my stomach. She prodded my stomach near my ribs. “Do you feel sharp pain when I do that?”
“No,” I answered, squinting, “I have a sort of... Weird, constant pain all around my body.”
“Then you're damn lucky everything is normal,” Dippy interrupted, crouching near me, “that punch could've broke your spine in half.”
“Huh,” I huffed, rolling my eyes under my eyelids. I frowned at Dippy. “I didn't think a stone statue would have that much strength...”
“I wouldn't of known neither,” Dippy answered quickly, “but I certainly wouldn't of tried being a hero like you did.”
“I save your flea-ridden life, and that's how you thank me?!” I snapped.
“If we had lost you, we would all be in the deepest of ahem... right now,” Dippy retorted coldly, “you're one of the highest priorities around here, Leorn.”
“ You're saying I should have left you to be smashed by that thing?” I hissed.

“Better me than you,” Dippy replied, standing up, and looking in the same direction as where the thing had left.
“Can you both shut up?” Nayru interrupted. “C'mon, Gin, help me carry Leorn down to the hideout.”
Dippy mumbled something incomprehensible, and he took me by my arms, while Nayru took me by my legs. Jamina grabbed my back, and they all walked in synchronization so that I would stay straight. Nayru began descending the stairs carefully to not slip, and Jamina and Dippy followed her.
“Seir, go get the candles left outside, will ya?” Dippy asked, as we entered the hideout. Seir nodded, and instantly left the grave, beginning to search outside.
“Aren't you worried that the thing might attack again?” Jamina asked.
“It's gone, it won't come back soon,” Dippy reasoned. Jamina took that as a good answer, and she continued, along with the others. Nayru brought me to my mattress, and slowly put me down. Jamina and Dippy followed this action, and I opened my eyes to look at Nayru, who was lighting a candle. She put it right next to my head, as she inspected it. As the flame flickered, I could see the blood that had splattered on her face. I heard Seir run back down the stairs, and Dippy struggle with the rope to close the entrance. A loud slam was heard, and the flame moved suddenly.
“You've got blood everywhere near your mouth,” Nayru said quietly, sitting down on the mattress.
“And you've got my blood on your face,” I managed to mutter. Nayru smirked, shaking her head slightly. She licked her fingers, and turned off the lit candle. She pulled a cover over my body, and another one over hers. She curled into a tight ball next to me. I stared at the dull ceiling for a long time, thinking about the creature. What was it, really? I've never been punched like that... I thought, my body aching. I glanced at Nayu, and I sighed gently.
“Thanks,” I murmured. She looked up at me with her green eyes.
“Welcome,” she whispered back. She cuddled closer to me, curling into an even tighter ball next to my stomach. I turned my head to the ceiling, and I closed my eyes, despite the pain surging in my body.

I opened my eyes with a jolt. I quickly sat up, pushing off the mattress with my arm. I was breathing quickly. I just had a nightmare. The most realistic one next to the James nightmares. I had felt the fist enter my stomach again, but the pain was ten times worse. I lifted my ands to touch my temples, and my fingers went humid. I let out a heavy sigh, and I buried my face in my hands. I hadn't noticed that I woke up Nayru as I budged her violently when I sat up.
She put a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. I turned my head to her, and her gentle green gaze soothed me. I took a deep breath, and let it out, trying to relax.
“Nightmare?” she asked.
“You guessed it,” I replied quickly. “It was that punch again.”
“I'm not a psychologist, but I can say that it must of disturbed you mentally,” Nayru concluded.
“You kidding?!” I cut, “I could've been bashed to red pulp if it had continued!” I kneaded the skin of my forehead with my hand, trying to calm down. “Dippy was right, I was lucky.”
“Shh,” Nayru hushed, “you might wake up everybody.”
“Already done,” Dippy muttered coldly on the hammock. I turned my head around to him, and then at Jamina and Seir. They were both sleeping.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
“Oh, I'm used to it by now,” Dippy replied, shifting on the hammock, to sit up on the cloth, “before, it was Isen and Cruor doing nightmares and yelling out loud in the middle of the night.” I didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, but I took it as a compliment anyways, to think that I was in a good mood. “You ok?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I answered silently, putting one hand on my stomach, “it doesn't hurt now.”
“You regenerate pretty quickly,” Nayru noticed.
“Let's just say that's my body,” I answered, closing my eyes and lying down on the mattress heavily. I didn't mention it, but my neck still ached from the squeeze the thing had given me last night. “What time is it?”
“We really need to buy a watch for one of us,” Dippy muttered. “The only way for now is to open the door.”
“Then, what time do you think it is?” I corrected.
“Near two in the morning,” Dippy replied.
“Was that sarcastic?” I asked.
“That's for me to know, and for you to find out,” Dippy teased, lying down on the hammock again. I grumbled in my throat, mentally cursing at our leader. I rolled my eyes, and Nayru put herself down on the mattress next to me again. She put her hand on my chest, and expanded it on my shirt. I turned my head to her, lifting one eyebrow, blushing slihty. She smiled sweetly at me.
“You need to calm down,” she suggested, “your heartbeat is way too high.”
How can I know if it's either me being tensed that my heartbeat is so high, or that it's because of Nayru's hand on my chest?! I mentally yelled at myself.
“I guess,” I replied, hiding the thoughts of my mind. “But how?”

“Well, you could walk around the graveyard a bit,” Nayru answered quietly.
“With the th...” I began. I stopped in mid-sentence, and I sat up. “Fine.” I stood up, and I readjusted my shirt on my body. I noticed tat Seir had also brought back my gun, and had put it on the desk. I reached out for the colt, and I grabbed it. I shoved it in the back of my trousers, and I pulled my dirty marine blue shirt over it. I silently and carefully walked over Seir's body and Jamina's head, and I went up the stairs. I nearly fell over, but I caught myself just in time. When I arrived at the door, I kicked it open. It creaked, and slammed onto the ground. I stepped out, and turned around, asking myself how I was going to put the door back into place. I turned around, looking at the heavy marble plate, scratching the back of my head. ahem..., I thought. I noticed Nayru running up the stairs, and she jumped out after me, smiling at me.
“I also need to get some fresh air,” she explained. I lifted one eyebrow, and nodded hesitantly. I put my hands to the rim of the marble door, and I shoved my fingers under, in the humid soil. Nayru did the same, and my muscles tensed, as I tried pulling the door back up. I saw Dippy at the bottom of the stairs, pulling the rope to help us. I smirked, and the door shut loudly back into place. I cramped my knuckles, and I turned to Nayru, who was looking back at me. She tilted her head sideways, pointing at a path. I shrugged.
“You choose,” I replied. Not like I care, I thought. She grabbed my hand, and playfully pulled me onto the path. I took my hand away from her, glaring playfully back at her. She smirked, tilting her head on her shoulder, putting her arms behind her back. Her tight pitch black shirt flexed as she moved her arms behind her. I turned around, and began following the path.
Trees were planted by the humans all along the path, made of earth, and then went onto flat stones of different colors of yellow, gray and blue. There was one stone that had a very odd color, a mixture of... Orange-blue hot pink. Don't ask me how that is possible, it just looked like it. Without paying further attention to the bizarre stone, Nayru and I continued walking down the long path, eventually stopping by to look at the names on some graves. One of the graves interested me, because it was the only one with a half-empty (or half-full, whatever you want to call it) beer bottle on it. The name on the grave had been rewritten over in black spray paint.
I also noticed that there was only us two in the whole graveyard. I looked up at the cloudy sky, noticing that it was near 5:00 AM, looking at the position of the sun. My look grazed over the tombs, until came a large tomb, with a wined skull on top of the cross. It reminded me of Alexander's gravestone, and a shiver crawled up my spine as I thought of the gargoyle. Nayru joined me, to look at the names on the gravestone.
I frowned, and I sniffed the air, that was coming from behind me. I stood paralyzed, and I shoved Nayru sideways. She fell on the ground, and I went the opposite way, grabbing the gun right behind my trousers, aiming it at the gargoyle which had crept up behind us. I aimed for its head, but I didn't shoot. I growled at me, as I slowly stood up.
“Don't even think of shrieking,” I warned, “or you'll have to join the others six feet underground.”
The gargoyle barked at me, showing its teeth. They were abnormally white. The creatures wings expanded, making it look huge. I started breathing quickly, but I told my mind not to freak out. It won't have time to punch me again, I thought. The gargoyles yellow eyes glistened, glaring at me. My finger tensed on the colts trigger.
“Wait!” Nayru exclaimed.
The gargoyle turned its head around to look at Nayru. I positioned myself to shoot the being if it tried to get near Nayru. The kuijin stood up, patting her clothing to take off the small rocks and sand. She looked up at the thing we had previously known as a statue.
“Can you understand me?” Nayru asked gently, as if not to anger the creature. The demon frowned at Nayru, and it snarled at her, letting a low growl escaping from the depths of its throat.
“Why wouldn't I, puny girl?!” it hissed.
“What's your name?” Nayru asked, before I could demand why it attacked us.
“Do you need to know, girl?” the creature replied darkly, creeping towards her. My hands tensed on my gun, but Nayru gave me a discreet sign of her hand to warn me not to shoot. I huffed, and I lowered my weapon.
“The girl has a name,” Nayru snapped, stepping towards the beast defiantly, “so must you.”
“Adeth Etatus,” the gargoyle replied calmly, taking another step towards Nayru, who didn't budge. She looked up determinedly at the stone creature, who seemed at least twice her height with the wings. But Nayru kept her calm, or at least showed that she did.
“Name's Nayru Vennin,” she replied calmly. “Adet Etatus seems to be an awkward name. From what origin are you?”
“I was born here,” Adeth murmured.
“Okay, let's pass the introductions, all right?” I interrupted, “Why did you attack us?!”
“And he's Leorn Taltesier,” Nayru continued. The stone being turned around completely to me, and I lifted my gun again at it. It sniffed the air near me, and pulled its head away. I only noticed then that the creature had no nose, only two sharp holes, like a snake's.
“I recognize the smell of this blood,” Adeth remarked silently.
“I'll refresh your memory a bit,” I snapped, “I'm the one you nearly killed last night.”
“Ah, you,” Adeth muttered darkly, leaning over to me. “Nearly killed you? You should be dead, normally.”

“You still didn't answer my question!” I uttered abruptly.
“Oh, because I need to answer it?” Adeth replied, sneering.
Arrogant creep, I thought darkly.
“What are you?!” I asked, “I never saw a being able to move when it's made of stone!”
“Seems that my small camouflage is working perfectly then,” Adeth mentioned.
“Eh?”
“I'm covered in the same substance as you are,” Adeth explained, “it just looks so much like stone.”
“And what race are you?!” I demanded, my index tensing on the trigger.
“By the smell of your blood,” Adeth answered, “the same as you.”
“You're a kuijin?” I asked.
“In other words, yes,” Adeth murmured.
“Wat kind of Soul animal do you have?” I asked, “I don't know any animal that resembles a human and a bat.”
Adeth's right ear twitched at my words. “Except maybe a mix of those two, perhaps?”
“You're a hybrid?” I answered. Adeth nodded slowly, as if he was looking at an idiot. Nayru barged in, standing in between me and Adeth. I lowered my weapon to take out any risk of shooting Nayru by reflex.
“Why did you attack us last night?” Nayru asked.
“You put damn fire right in front of my face,” Adeth replied coldly, “I only defended myself. Explaining why I didn't kill every one of you on the spot.”
“But what were you doing there?” Nayru asked. Adeth turned his head away, scowling at something at his side, but there was only thin air. He glared at Nayru.
“I was sleeping,” Adeth replied. I sensed that there was another answer behind that, but he didn't want to talk about it.
“I know that, but-” Nayru began. She was interrupted by Adeth, who stepped away, and then flew away, further into the cemetery. I tried to follow him, but nothing moved. Everything was silent, all of a sudden. I scowled, and I threw my fist at the air.
“Damn it,” I muttered darkly, “he hid himself. Probably as another gargoyle, or something.”
“It's not a total loss,” Nayru replied. “First, we're not dead, and, second, we learned some new things. Some, maybe important, things.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I mumbled. I looked at the direction where Adeth had disappeared. I wondered who that kuijin really was. I frowned. “Anyways, I ain't calmer than before.”
Nayru stepped up to me and she flattened her hand out on my chest. I lifted one eyebrow, and she smiled at me.
“Yes, you are,” Nayru replied, turning around, taking the same path the opposite way to get back to the hideout. I huffed, and I followed her, putting the gun in the back of my trousers, and pulling my shirt over it to hide it.
We arrived at the closed entrance of the hideout a while after, and I dug out the metal poll that Dippy normally used to open the door. I wedged it inside the small slit, and I pulled. The door creaked open, and it slammed onto the ground. Nayru jumped backwards instinctively from the area of impact. I buried the metal poll again, and I stepped into the stairs. In the darkness, I grabbed the rope, and strained with it to pull the door up. I clenched my teeth, and pulled once with great strength, and I managed to close it. I looked down the stairs, and I noticed that the candles were lit. I jumped the rest of the staircase, and I entered the room, where Dippy, Jamina and Seir were awake, but bored, like if they were waiting for something.
“So?” Dippy asked.
“We got some good stuff,” I replied.
“Hm?” Dippy answered, sitting up on the hammock. “Like what, Gun?”
“Well,” Nayru began, “we 'met' that thing again.”
“Ah?”
“Yeah, and we learned that it wasn't a thing, but a twat,” I answered darkly.
“Leorn!” Nayru exclaimed.
“Still pissed off at it?” Dippy asked, smirking.
“Not an 'it', a 'he',” I replied.
“How do you know?” Nayru asked.
“If that... Thing was a girl, she would be flatter than my singing voice.”
Dippy rolled his eyes, and put his hands on his knees. “Okay, anything else?”
“Yes,” Nayru replied, “he's a kuijin.”
“Eh?” Dippy, Seir and Jamina uttered in unison.
“That's impossible,” Dippy answered, “there's no animal like that.”
“That's what I said,” I replied, lifting one eyebrow, “he says he's a hybrid.”
Dippy stood silent for a moment, then raised his hand to his chin. “Hm... Interesting.”

“Yes, very,” I replied sarcastically.
“But he's made of stone!” Jamina exclaimed.
“Not really,” I answered, “the color of his skin resembles greatly the surface of stone, and that's why Nayru mistook Adeth for a statue, last night.”
“Adeth?” Dippy repeated, “This guys name's Adeth?”
“Adeth Etatus, to be exact,” I replied, getting back to serious. “Honestly, I don't know where that name comes from. He said he was born here, but I know that nobody else in Lyon is named Adeth.”
“If you had let me continue,” Nayru grumbled, “I would've found out.”
“Uh huh,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Sorry, I was pissed at the guy for yesterday. Couldn't help myself. Male thing, take no notice.”
“I know that,” Nayru replied sarcastically, “I saw that your finger was about to press the trigger on that gun.”
“Colt, to be exact,” I replied, “took it from the old Its hideout.”
“Talking about the old Its hideout,” Dippy interrupted, hopping off of the dirty white-colored hammock, making it swing gently behind him, “we need to go back there.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Not permanently, though,” Dippy corrected, “just to get some stuff. Might help us with this. Books, maybe.”
More books? I mumbled to myself darkly, turning away. “Don't count on me to get them,” I replied, “I don't want to meet Adeth again for today.”
“Honestly, I wasn't going to ask you anyways, no offense,” Dippy answered, turning his head to Jamina, “Galop, let's go.”
“Fine,” Jamina mumbled, standing up. Dippy nodded, and he started stepping up the stairs. He opened the door, and it slammed onto the ground heavily. Jamina followed him out into the sunlight.
“Wait for me!” Seir exclaimed, “I need to note the hours when the people are able to come!”
Seir ran up the stairs, and I heard his grunt as he fell down to the bottom again. He quickly got back up, ad ran upwards again. He hopped out into the open, and the marble door was slammed back in place. I sighed, and I rested on the mattress. Nayru sat right next to me, watching my every movement. I looked up at her, and she smiled back at me. I sniffed the air, and I sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
“Isn't there any way to take a shower here?” I asked, “Because I smell bull.”
Nayru laughed, arching her head backwards. “Yes, I guess it is pretty hard to wash yourself in the Its,” she replied, “I can't see any way.”
“Christ,” I muttered. I thought a while, and then turned my head to look at her. “Wait a sec...” I stood up, and I walked to the other side of the room, grabbing various things and tossing them away. Nayru crawled over to me.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Searching for a small metal basket,” I replied, throwing a wooden stick behind me, “that I saw when we searched the room.” I saw a hole in the mass of objects, and I put my hand in it. I searched with my fingers for something cold and hard, and I caught it. I started to pull it out, and the pile followed. I was buried under a mix of wooden objects, dirty clothing and metal. I stood up, pushing away the things, carrying the small metal basket I had found. I threw it to the other side of the room, and I stacked the fallen things into a pile again, as messily as before. I looked around.
“Water,” I whispered. Nayru nodded, and headed over to a bag. She rummaged through it, taking away multiple diverse objects. She grabbed six bottles of water, and threw them to me. I caught one, and caught the second, but I crumbled under the others. I popped my head up, beside a plastic Evian bottle.
“Do you think we'll have enough?” I asked.
“There are ten more,” Nayru answered.
“I was kidding,” I muttered quietly. Nayru rolled her eyes, and I turned the metal basket over. I checked for occasional holes inside the basket, and saw none. I turned it over again, to put it on its foot, and I opened the six bottles.
“Pour them in,” I demanded, and Nayru crawled over to me, grabbing a bottle, and versing the liquid into the large container. I stood up, and I looked through the bag that Jamina had on her back before we departed from the previous hideout. I quickly opened it, noticing even more things. I picked out tree long lengths of cloth. I flattened them on the floor, and I folded each one of them three times, to have a convenient width to dry. I took one, and I put it next to the basket. I then helped Nayru with the bottles.
Once the metal basket was full, I waited a small while to see if water spread on the floor. There was no sign of water, and I sighed. I looked around, and then at Nayru, who tilted her head at me.
“Gah, heck with it,” I murmured. I grabbed the rim of my shirt, and I pulled it off. I threw the dirty shirt behind me, on my mattress. I leaned over the metal basket, crouched near it. I squinted. “Cold water. Eek.”
Nayru rolled her eyes, and she dunked me inside the water, head first. I pulled myself out, throwing water everywhere around me. I blinked multiple times at Nayru, the coldness of the water freezing me.
“You're d-d-amn luck-cky I didn't get hypo-pothermi-mi-mia,” I stuttered.

She sneered at me, and pushed my head into the water, up to my neck. I was lucky that she didn't throw my whole body in, and that only my torso got wet. I prodded her hand, and she slid it off my hair, and I pulled my head out of the water, gasping for air.
“Jesus Christ. Cold.” I said, very silently.
“I guess we could've heated the water first, with the candles...” Nayru remarked.
“So you knew that all along?” I asked.
“Stop talking and wash yourself!” Nayru exclaimed, plunging my head into the water. Instead of instantly pulling it out again, since I was used to the cold, I let my hair float at the surface of the water, and I held my breath. I opened my eyes underwater, and it felt slightly awkward. My vision was blurry. I smirked to myself, trying to last as long as possible without breathing.
After about one minute, I pulled my head out of the water, taking a quick gasp for air. I let the water flow from my hair into the metal container. It clicked gently as the drops hit the surface of the water, disturbing it. I turned my head to Nayru, closing my mouth. I lifted one eyebrow at her, and I sat away from the basket, lending one hand, in the direction of the water.
“Well?” I asked, teasingly, “aren't you going to go?”
“I don't want to have to wear a soaked shirt,” she muttered, glaring playfully at me.
“You can always take it off,” I replied.
“In the Its, we buy the minimum for clothing, if you hadn't noticed yet,” Nayru warned.
“Ah, I get it,” I replied, sneering. “well, don't feel timid. I already learned this stuff in school.”
“Uh huh,” Nayru answered sarcastically, “because you think that's going to change my mind?”
“I know you want to wash yourself,” I snickered, “you don't want to keep my blood all over your face all day long.”
“Keep trying,” Nayru answered, lifting one eyebrow.
“Like if anyone is going to know,” I replied. She smirked at me, and forcefully dunked my head into the water again. I rolled my eyes behind my eyelids, and I held my breath underwater. I put one hand in the water, to massage my face, taking off the blood from my mouth and from my face. I then slowly took my head out, letting the water drip from my soaked hair and face. I stared at the liquid for a while, the droplets falling from my hair and face making a faint dropping sound. I turned my head to Nayru, and I lifted one eyebrow as I noticed that she also had taken her shirt off.
She glared playfully at me, and I smirked back. She had her arms curled up around her chest to hide her nudity. I shook my head, forcing the last drops to let go of my head, and I sat up on my mattress, looking at Nayru.
“So, changed your mind?” I asked.
“Shut up, I haven't washed my hair in months, maybe years,” she replied playfully.
“Well, water's waiting,” I answered, pointing to the liquid.
“You know very well that I'll have to take my arms off of their current place when I'll have to put my head in there,” she snapped coldly.
“Why do you need to?” I asked, sneering.
“To prevent you from dunking my head in,” she said, reading my thoughts.
“Aw, c'mon, I ain't that evil,” I mentioned.
“Coming from a killer, that's hard to believe,” Nayru muttered.
I let a small sigh get out of my nearly closed lips, showing an almost exaggerated sense of 'you know what? You're acting pretty dumb at the moment'. But, maybe luckily for me, Nayru didn't understand what I meant. An idea crossed my mind, and I turned my head to the side, outstretching my arm to grab a towel. My fingers felt the gentle fabric, even though I could sense it wasn't really a towel, because I had just quickly folded long strips of approximately same-colored cloths. I handed one over to Nayru, but she didn't grab it. I only understood why a second later, as she shifted the position of one arm on her body, and moved her finger in a circle at me, asking me to turn around. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering why I was doing this in the first place, and I flattened out my hand on my forehead irritatedly, feeling the rest of the water clinging to my face and hair. I then lowered my head, sliding my humid hand onto my knee, and I noticed that Nayru had wound up the towel around her chest, and her hands were curled up on her knees.
“Not a bad idea, hmm?” I asked, lifting one eyebrow mockingly at the kuijin. She glared playfully back at me, and she slowly turned to the metal basket. The glint that reflected from the metal surface was seen in her eyes, but I couldn't distinguish if it was unintentional, or if it was some sort of sly expression towards me. Nayru shoved her head in the water, making water splash all around her, including me. I sighed, and I grabbed another towel, drying my face and hair from the rest of the water. In the middle of drying my hair by scrubbing it frenetically, I turned my head to look at Nayru. She was trying to take off my blood from her face, using her hands. I looked away, and I slowly continued taking the water off my skin.
She pulled her head out of the liquid, spraying it again on me. I frowned dramatically, as I felt the water drip down my previously dried hair. She turned to look at me, and she laughed happily.
“Whatcha laughing at?” I hissed coldly.

“Nah, I was just laughing at your face,” Nayru answered, tilting her head sideways. I went silent for a moment, and I began drying my hair again with the towel.
“At least that answers my question,” I replied silently. Even though I tried to force my hair to dry, it seemed that it had a consciousness of its own, and that it wouldn't let the water go onto the towel. I grumbled angrily at myself, and I laid the towel on my lap, formed by my crossed legs. I looked up at Nayru, and she gazed back at me with her green eyes. I looked down, and quickly looked back up, clearing my throat loudly. She didn't move, and she kept staring at me. I cleared my throat again, trying to give her a message. She tilted her head to the side, lifting one eyebrow at me, letting her brown hair fall on her shoulder. I rolled me eyes deceivingly, and I slapped my palm against my forehead. I shook my head, as if I was addressing myself to an idiot. I lifted my face from my palm, and I leaned my chin on my fist, putting my elbow on my right knee.
“I think I should be laughing at your face right now,” I remarked.
“Eh?” she replied questioningly. I grabbed my towel, and I threw it against her chest.
“Towel,” I muttered, “you didn't notice it slipped off?”
Nayru's face flushed to a bright red, as she flattened out the towel on her chest, lowering her head. Her hair fell in front of her embarrassed face, as she tightened her grip around the towel with her arms. I kept silent, looking away, near one of the higher corners of the room.
“Sorry...” she whispered, as low as she could.
“Why do you need to be?” I asked, turning my eyes over to her again, “I mean, there's nothing there that I didn't know about.”
Nayru suddenly lifted her head, and she glared at me, she positioned her arm on the towel to keep it up with only that arm, and she slapped me upside the head with her other hand. I fell sideways on the mattress, but I pushed myself back up into my sitting position, lifting both eyebrows.
“Getting your energy back, aren't you?” I asked teasingly, as I reached out to her head, and I dunked her face in the water. She squirmed to get out of my grip, but I kept it firm and stable. I shook my head joyfully, thinking that this was the weirdest situation I was in up until then.
She forcedly pulled her head out of the water, taking my hand off the back of her head. She took one gasp for air, and she glared playfully at me through her dripping hair. I smirked arrogantly back at her, trying to show that she wasn't the boss around here. She didn't get the message, and she pushed my head into the water again. I grabbed her hand, and tightened it around hers, pulling it off instantly, as I rose my head from the liquid. She laughed at me, taking her hand away from mine. I smirked, sitting back up. I took the towel, and I began shaking it fiercely, freeing the water from their grasp on my hair. When I had dried it out, I looked up at Nayru who had tightened the towel I had given her around her chest, and that she was also drying her head with the third towel I had folded with the long strip of pale yellow cloth. She glanced at me, and turned her finger at me. I rolled my eyes back, turning around on myself. I felt the mattress with my hand, and I grabbed my shirt, pulling it on my body. After waiting for about half a minute, I turned around, thinking that it would be her problem whether she finished or not. She tilted her head at me with a questioning look, having put back her shirt again. I lifted my eyebrows, and I sighed.
“Well, at least I'm clean now,” I silently murmured.
“The others are going to come back anytime soon,” Nayru remarked, crossing her arms, and standing up. I also stood up, putting my hands into my pockets. As Nayru had mentioned, a loud slamming noise resonated around the room as someone opened the door. Two pairs of footsteps padded downstairs, and Jamina appeared, closely followed by Dippy. They were both holding books of different colors and sizes. Dippy dropped them on the floor near the desk, and Jamina did the same, in a second pile. I read the titles on the covers of the first books on the piles Dippy and Jamina had just organized. There was a book on medicine, and another on the Its history. That one was smaller than the tome on medicine, ironically. Dippy turned to us, and glanced at the water-filled metal basket. He turned his gaze to me, lifting one intrigued eyebrow.
“We needed a wash, ok?” I uttered. “We just found this metal basket here, along with six one-liter bottles of Evian, and I folded up three long pieces of cloth. Nothing too bad.”
“Never said it was,” Dippy replied quickly, heading over to the metal container, “actually, quite good idea you have there. I need a wash too.” Dippy pulled off his large wool sweater, and I noticed what made him look like a porcupine. His back was full of small, black points. They looked rigid enough to pierce someone's skin, maybe even flesh. The hand he had used to pull off the sweater also had long resistant nails. Dippy crouched next to the water, and he dunked his head inside, splashing water all around. He lifted his head from the water, teeth chattering.
“Cold?!” he blurted out, turning to Nayru and me.
“Yeah, we forgot to heat it with candles,” I replied, “just continue, and you'll get used to it.”
Dippy mumbled something, and shoved his head into the liquid again. I took a step back, dodging the splash of water. His spike hair floated in the water, and I only saw then how long it was. He slowly pulled his head out of the liquid, water dripping on the surface, creating small waves.

He grabbed a towel behind him, and he had to do the very exhausting task of drying one spike of hair one after the other, so that he wouldn't pierce the towel. Jamina stepped over, leaning slightly above the water.
“But then how do we do it, eh?” she asked, turning to me. I gulped.
“Um,” I muttered, “you're talking about the clothes problem, right?”
“Exactly,” Jamina replied. She turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow, noticing that Nayru still had humid hair. Nayru blushed, turning her head away timidly, letting her hair hide her face. “Nayru, you...” Jamina gaped.
“Aw, c'mon, it ain't so bad,” Dippy interrupted, “I mean, just by looking in the medicine book, we learn all about this. Ain't I right, Ghost?”
“Yeah!” Seir exclaimed from the stairs, pulling the rope as hard as he could to try and close the door. A half smile crept along my lips. I didn't know that stuff when I was his age, but, then again, I wasn't interested in it. And I didn't live in the Its. Dippy pulled his sweater back on over his head, and helped Seir with the rope, both of them pulling it to close it. A loud slam echoed, then faded away, as Seir and Dippy appeared in the room again. Dippy sneered, and he stepped over to me, approaching his face dangerously close to mine, with a hand over his mouth, as he whispered something to me.
“Did you see...” he murmured quietly, “anything else?”
Luckily for me and unluckily for him, Nayru heard that question, and slapped him violently. He fell on one of the mattresses, one hand on his right, red cheek. He glared up at Nayru, who loomed over him, hands on hips.
“We don't even have the right to grab a laugh, now?!” he exclaimed. I snickered quietly to myself, as Nayru huffed.
“Don't even think about that,” Nayru replied coldly, “even though you're our leader, I still think it should be an example to us all.”
“Bah, you girls ain't any fun,” Dippy mumbled, as he shakily stood up, pushing off the mattress to do so. I stepped over to him.
“Oh, by the way, I didn't,” I mentioned. I turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow mockingly, as she glared back at me. She stomped over to me, and shoved one finger just under my chin. She opened her mouth to say something, but she sighed, and eased her body. I grabbed her wrist, and I pushed it down. “Exactly,” I replied, “nothing.”
“Anyways,” Jamina continued, “I find that this way is kind of sexist.”
“Sexist?!” Dippy exclaimed, “I bite my thumb at that. Nayru did it well!” Dippy jerked his head to the pigeon kuijin, lifting one eyebrow. “By the way, how did you manage?”
“I gave her a towel to wrap around her chest,” I explained, “nothing too hard, even though...” Nayru glared at me, almost daring me to continue burying my grave. I gulped nervously, lifting my hands. “Nothing.”
“Even though what?” Dippy asked, suddenly interested.
“Even though...” I continued, “it ain't that... Comfortable, but at least it prevents indiscreet eyes?”
“Hm, yeah,” Dippy replied, turning around, “that's logical.”
We all stood quite as Dippy and Nayru casted venomous glances at each other, even though I stood in the middle of their path. I sat down on the mattress, putting my face into my hand, sighing heavily.
“Hey, what time is it outside?” I asked.
“About 6:00 AM,” Dippy replied quickly. He turned to Seir. “You did your job?”
“Uh huh,” Seir answered, “everything was written down on a small sheet of paper near the entrance. I got it all in my head. Open hours are 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM each day, and 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Saturday.”
“Great,” Dippy answered. Jamina was still muttering incomprehensible curse words, possibly in another language. I hoped that they weren't dedicated to me. I yawned, and I slowly stood up, putting my hands in my pockets, and beginning to step up the stairs. Dippy leaned on the mattress, wondering where I was going.
“Hey, Leorn,” Seir called out.
“Hmm?”
“Whatcha doin'?”
“Going back out, to look at the graves. Isn't it obvious?”
I kicked the marble door, and it slammed down onto the ground. I wandered in my mind, searching for the answer why people hadn't found out about the big, obvious noise they heard everyday. Bah, humans, I thought. I was tackled from behind, and I fell on the ground. By reflex, I had put my hands in front of my face to slow down the impact. I turned my head around, to see that Nayru was standing over me, lending out her hand. I lifted one eyebrow, grabbing it, trying to pull myself up. She fell on me, accidentally. I rolled my eyes.
“What do you think you're doing?” I asked.
“Going with you,” Nayru answered, “isn't it obvious?”
“Not with you,” I replied, standing up, and pulling Nayru up onto her feet. By grabbing her arm, I pulled up the sleeve of her shirt. I didn't do it on purpose, but I saw small feathers stick out of her forearms. She noticed, and she quickly stepped away, pulling her sleeve down to her hand, lowering her head. I tilted my head, wondering what made her so tensed.
“What's wrong?” I asked.

“I don't like people looking at my feathers,” she replied quietly.
“But you're a kuijin,” I answered, “I mean, you have to live with it. It was only recently that I lost my tail, you know.”
“I don't know,” Nayru murmured, “I just like being as human as possible.”
“Don't,” I snapped. She lifted her head questioningly at me.
“That was... brutal,” she remarked.
I grabbed her wrist, and I tightened my hand. She tried taking one step back, but I pulled her closer. “Don't try being too human, Nayru,” I continued, “it only leads to bad things, for the kuijin race. Be as you are. There's nothing wrong with your feathers, as there was nothing wrong with Cruor's lack of hair, okay?”
“I... guess so...” she muttered.
“Don't guess, know,” I replied, letting go of her hand, “mark my words.” I crouched to the marble door, and I put my hands under it, trying to push it up back into place. After hesitation, Nayru joined me, and we both slammed the door back shut. I turned around, fitting my hands into my pockets, and walking away on the path. I felt the colt bump on my spine as I moved, and I took out one hand to position it so that it wouldn't do so. Nayru followed me by my side.
“Why don't you like humans?” she asked.
“Not that I don't like them,” I replied coldly, “just that it's wrong for a kuijin to be too much like a human. I would really like to get my tail back, to know that I'm still a kuijin. I fear that I might forget if I get too good in morphing.”
“But isn't that the goal?” Nayru asked, “A kuijin is supposed to hide in society. Isn't it better for the kuijin to look exactly like a human?”
“I thought you would know better, Nayru,” I answered, “if a kuijin develops its morphing power too much, it risks not being able to morph back into a human. Pretty horrible fate, if you ask me, being something else than you really are, and forced to live a life of one of your most dangerous predators, even though you ave kuijin blood still running through your veins.”
“I didn't know that,” Nayru replied quietly.
“I expected you to, but I guess I was wrong,” I mumbled, “it's one of the most important kuijin rules, to my mind, that is, though.”
We both stood silent, walking along the path, along the gravestones of many, many people. I wondered what it was like, after death. I wondered what James felt after the darkness enveloped him when I shot him in the head. A dark shiver crawled up my spine.
“Nayru, why did you join the Its?” I asked, trying to change the subject from my mind. Her face darkened, as a cold murmur escaped from her mouth.
“I was able to escape ALSAN with Owen, in 2006. We didn't know each other before we escaped. We just found each other in one of the ALSAN halls, and we decided to help one another to get out of there. The day we escaped, when we were roaming inside Lyon's alleys, Cruor found us and picked us up. I only joined the Its, because I knew that my father, mother and little brother were dead in the ALSAN building, because of James' experiments. I'm glad that you killed him.”
More or less, the words repeated in my mind, thinking about James' ghost.
“Mh,” I replied, “I'm sorry that we had to inform you of Owen's death back on Alsan, when we had to recuperate Cruor...”
“Don't worry, it's passed now,” she answered, “I need to go on with life, as long as I have a reason.”
“A reason?” I asked.
“Survival.”
“Even though you may find out that that is completely irrelevant?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” I explained, “if somehow the Its came to a complete end, and that you were the only sole survivor, what would you do?”
“Be just like you,” she replied.
“You mean, roaming for no reason around the city, always moving from spot to spot like a lost nomad, trying to find shelter and a way to live, killing people who go in your way, trying to find some people who are probably dead, or searching for you on the other side of the planet?”
“If I had no other choice, I would have to adapt myself to live with it.”
“I'm telling you, it's a shitty way to live, but I guess I won't try to change your mind, as it is your decision after all,” I replied. We stopped the conversation there, and we started stopping in front of graves to look at their names.
The wind was calm, but the temperature was pretty low. The eaves rattled gently with the small breeze, making them twirl in a morbid dance around my feet. My hair flowed along with the wing, being blown in my face. My footsteps echoed dimly on the rocky ground, as the stifling odor that mixed the gentle smell of plants and the bitter stench of pollution painfully entered my nose when I breathed through it. The sun was hidden by the gray clouds hanging over stickily in the sky, like if someone had glued a picture on it. A newspaper was blown sideways by the wind across the path, crumpling silently on itself as it slid roughly on the ground. Everything was silent, though, as if no sense actually managed to be transferred to my mind. I could feel a lone buzzing in the back of my head.

“Hey, Leorn,” Nayru called out quietly, standing in front of a grave in the middle of many others, pulling me out of my trance.”
“Yes?”
“The hybrid's name was... Adeth, right?” she asked.
“If I remember correctly, yes,” I answered, beginning to move over to her, passing multiple small and medium-sized graves. “Why?”
“You better come here,” she suggested, staring blankly at a black marble grave standing in front of her. I stepped over to it, and I read in my mind what was written in golden letters on the gravestone. I frowned.
“'To the memory of the Ormenes family',” I read out loud, “what's wrong with that?”
“Look at the names of the parents and children,” Nayru replied. I lifted one eyebrow, and I leaned closer to the grave. I felt as if a dark aura emanated from the grave, as a leaf passed on it.
“Adrin Ormenes, Daell Ormenes, Ericka Ormenes, Tosrin Ormenes, Hudis Ormenes,” I answered.
“Don't you notice anything strange?” Nayru asked.
“Yes, yes I do,” I replied, “they're all dead at the same time, in 1978.”
“Not that.”
“Then what?” I asked, wanting to know. “Please explain,” I added, with an almost shaking voice.
“Adeth is written with the beginning letters of these people's names,” Nayru answered quietly. I stood silent, and I reread the names. She was right. Adeth used the beginning letters. There was something there, and it wasn't good.
“Leorn,” Nayru squeaked, “it's just a coincidence, right?”
I quickly morphed into my coyote form. Fur shot out of my skin, at the same time as my tail sprouted. My nails grew into claws, and my eyes went black. My muzzle elongated, and my teeth grew. After my transformation had finished, I sniffed the earth around the grave. I smelled many different odors. It was confusing me. I looked at the earth. I went to one side of the grave, and I started pushing the black marble plate that covered it. Nayru helped me. The heavy plate budged, grinding against the marble. As a small hole appeared, letting me look at the ground under, I lifted a canine eyebrow. I stuck my nose in the small slit, and I sniffed. I pulled it out quickly.
“The soil has been moved,” I growled. My voice barked. “Like if it had been turned over.”
“What do you mean?” Nayru asked.
“I mean that there's something very wrong here,” I answered quietly, morphing back into a human. I stood up, looking at Nayru with my green eyes, lifting one eyebrow. “We need to talk about this. This isn't coincidence.”
“You sure?” Nayru asked, looking up at me worriedly.
“Sadly,” I muttered, turning to the grave, “I'm going to have to say that I'm positive.” We both looked at each other for a long while, our hearts starting to beat faster out of adrenalin and confusion. We both needed to know what was happening.

“Dippy!” I yelled out, trying to wake him up. I shook his shoulder violently, as Nayru slammed the door back into place behind me, and quickly descended the stairs. “Dippy, damn it, wake up!” I grabbed his face, and I gave him an outright slap on his cheek. His eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up.
“Huh? What? Where? We're being attacked?” Dippy looked up at me, confused, as he felt his cheek. “Leorn, what the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Maybe my mind is getting dumped, but Nayru found something,” I explained.
“Something?” Dippy murmured, leaning back on the hammock, shaking it gently. “That isn't something to wake me up so brutally for.” I grabbed Dippy's shirt collar, and pulled his face to him. I had an aggressive air on my face.
“Dippy,” I muttered darkly, “that something may be the most important something in your freaking life.”
“Woah, okay, Gun,” Dippy stuttered, “put me down, please.”
I let him go, and he toppled over the side of the hammock onto te mattress below. He quickly sat up, and looked up at us. Seir and Jamina joined Dippy, sitting next to him. Nayru sat down, as if to follow the rest of the group, but I kept standing, crossing my arms.
“It's a grave,” I explained. Dippy didn't understand, and I didn't blame him. “You know, that gargoyle's name is... Adeth, right?”
“Uh huh...” Dippy answered slowly, still trying to comprehend.
“Nayru found a gravestone, where the beginning letters of the names of the buried people matched exactly Adeth,” I continued.
“And?” Dippy replied, lifting one eyebrow, “That's just coincidence, guys.”
“It isn't,” I snapped, “I sniffed out many different smells emanating from the ground, and I noticed that the earth had been moved, turned around, kinda. Like if we dug a hole, and then filled it again.”
“That's the case when we bury coffins,” Dippy answered, “we dig, we fill. End of story.”
“You don't understand!” I outraged. “Someone has been playing with that grave, and we don't know who!”

“There are a lot of goth kids and junkies who go over here, y'know,” Dippy answered coldly, “and they dig up stuff for the fun.”
“I'm still convinced that there's something wrong,” I answered.
“Fine!” Dippy exclaimed, suddenly standing up, “this night, we will dig up some of that grave's crap! And I'll prove that there's nothing but coincidence in there!”
He huffed, and lied down on the hammock again. Nayru, Jamina and Seir stood silent, trying to work out what the heck this was. I sat down on my mattress, glaring at Dippy. Doesn't he understand?! I yelled within my mind, I know that there's one damn thing in that grave. Tonight, I'll prove that I'm right. Nayru sat next to me, looking at me. She hesitated, lowering her head slightly and looking away, but then turned her head to me.
“You sure about this, Leorn?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” I answered, “anyways, there was something else that I didn't mention.”
“And what is that?”
“Behind all those smells, I recognized one. I'm still not sure about it, because sometimes my nose gets confuses with all the odors,” I replied. “One of the smells were the same as Adeth's.”
“It might be a mistake,” Nayru replied quietly. “I'm beginning to have doubts about this.”
“Not me, Nayru,” I hissed, “not me.”
Time passed quickly. I don't know why, but I thought that it must be my determination to prove Dippy wrong that made me be so patient. Dippy brought back some food, but I only ate half of my ration. He looked at me angrily throughout the whole day, and I casted glares back at him. When night had come, Seir checked that everyone was gone. Without him, everything was silent in the hideout. A loud slam announced his return.
“Nobody's out!” he called, “Let's go!”
I shot up onto my feet, and I stepped up the steps quickly, followed by Dippy. Jamina and Nayru were behind him. They both had candles for light. I hopped out of the entrance of the grave, and Seir stepped away. I began walking down the path, remembering exactly where we needed to go, to get to the grave. An eerie sensation coiled around each of our bodies, fear constricting us in its tormenting claws. Dippy, Seir, Jamina and Nayru followed us. The stars twinkled above our heads, as the flames flickered gently in Nayru's and Jamina's hands. They cupped their hand over the flame as wind blew, to protect it. I took a sharp turn to the right, going inside a small terrain full of graves. Nayru dashed up to my side, and lightened the graves with the candle. We passed many, before arriving to the black-marbeled gravestone, with the golden letters that shined as the light hit them. Dippy stepped up to me, and looked down. He read the names, and nodded once, going to the other side of the gravestone, putting his hands under the stone plate. I put myself on the opposite side, and Seir grabbed the last side.
“At three,” Dippy warned, “one, two, three!”
We each pulled with our arms, and we lifted the very heavy plate. Seir pulled it towards him, and we followed his direction slowly. The stone covering slid roughly on the tombstone, a small crack being heard now and then as we pulled. Seir let it go, stepping backwards when the cover had been completely, or nearly removed. Dippy grabbed his wool sweater, and threw it away. I caught it, and the putrid odor emanated from it. I stuck out my tongue disgustingly. Jamina and Nayru covered their lights, leaving Dippy in the darkness. He also threw his pants onto me. I dropped all of his clothes on another gravestone. Dippy morphed into his porcupine form. His hair lengthened, as he slowly went on his four paws. His nails grew black and long, and hardened. The spikes shot out of his back, and his muzzle tightened. His nose grew black and small. A huge porcupine stood, on the ground of the grave.
“Okay, let's do this,” Dippy squeak, his voice changed. He put his claws on the ground, and started burrowing. I knew that porcupines dug up earth to go in the hole afterwards, for protection or something. But a huge porcupine did the work twice as fast, throwing unbelievable mounts of earth on its sides. The mounds of dirt grew higher and higher as Dippy dug further and further. Nayru and Jamina were peering over the edge, with their candles in their hands. The light flickered gently, as a cold breeze passed us. A thud was heard, and I looked over the edge of the grave. I saw that Dippy had stopped digging. He slowly morphed back into his human state. Nayru and Jamina covered their flames again, and I grabbed his pair of pants. He heaved himself up from the hole, being helped by Seir. I threw his pants on him, and he hastily put them back on. Jamina put her candle over the hole, and Nayru did the same. We all looked over the edge. What was under us was scary, and at first I didn't know what the heck was going on.
“Leorn was right,” Dippy muttered, “I noticed that the ground was way too fragile. If this was dug soon after their death, in 1978, the ground would be more compact. Here, it felt like it was dug up... At most five or six years ago.”
“And there's not only that,” Nayru continued.
“I know,” Dippy answered, “but I don't get it.
“Do you think anyone here does?” I snapped. At least I'm right, I thought, there was something weird. We continued staring into the dark hole, illuminated by the small flames of the candles. Five coffins were seen, four surrounding one, which was in the middle. Bits of wood were scattered in the mounds of ground that Dippy had just dug up.

At the bottom, in the middle, a black coffin, with 'Tosrin Ormenes' marked on top. The wood that made the coffin had been shattered, crunched and broken. A really heavy work. The most surprising thing was the most obvious thing.
There was no body.
I gulped, as Dippy grabbed his sweater, and pulled it over his head. He looked into the grave, and started throwing the dirt back inside. We all helped him.

Back at the hideout, we all sat in a circle, on the mattresses. Everyone was silent, even Dippy. And I didn't know whether I should feel happy or bad that I was right.
“Leorn was right,” Dippy began, “there is something abnormally weird going on around here.”
“It certainly is weird,” Jamina concurred, “I mean, no body in the coffin, and it was beaten up. What happened?”
“I don't know, but, looking at how the wood was cracked and broken, it was done from the inside,” Dippy explained.
“Eh?” we all replied in unison.
“I would say 'eh' as well if I had the chance,” Dippy muttered, “but I am formal: the body that was in there went out of it, by some way or the other.”
“Thing is,” I replied, “that's almost impossible to break it like that. I mean...”
“It would need incredible strength to do so, yes,” Dippy answered, “but, theoretically, it is possible to break in from inside a badly made coffin, and then dig yourself up to the top, and push the plate from below.” We all stood silent, looking at each other. “One thing,” Dippy continued. Confidentially, the flames of the lit candles flickered around us, foreseeing something. “Can we associate this to Adeth?”
“Well,” I replied, “in my coyote form, I was able to detect multiple smells, and I recognized Adeth's.”
“Okay, fine,” Dippy replied, “let's say this has something to do with Adeth, okay? That means that Adeth would've dug up from the coffin..”
“Yeah, that's possible,” I added, “he nearly killed me with one punch.”
“Yes, and so that would mean that Adeth is some sort of undead guy, and that is completely illogical, hmm?” Dippy answered. We all stood silent. Tat was true. The dead don't come back, even though we hope for some to come back, and we pray for some to not come back. James came back in my head, but I remembered that James was only a ghost, and that Adeth was real.
“Hey, wait a second...” I muttered, looking up at Dippy, “would it be possible that Adeth is related to Tlynen, in one way or the other?”
“There's a very small chance, but it is possible, if you really want to know,” Dippy answered.
“We need to find Adeth, and talk to him a bit,” I replied.
“I thought you hated that guy,” Dippy murmured.
“Hate doesn't matter at the moment!” I snapped, “This might be the explanation of Tlynen's works. Anyways, for now, we don't have any other choice.”
“I guess you're right,” Dippy muttered, “tomorrow, Gun and Gray, find Adeth, and try to get some information out of him.”
“Why do I need to be accompanied by Nayru?” I asked angrily.
“Because I know you'll bring that colt with you, Leorn,” Dippy explained, “and that you will be most tempted to use it.”
“Hmph.”
I went to my mattress, and I lied down, pulling my arms behind my head. As Dippy and Jamina put off their candles, Nayru crept over to me, coiling herself in the covers. She curled into a ball near me, closing her eyes. I licked my fingers, and I put off the candle standing right next to the mattress. I looked at Nayru, who was in a really tight ball, and I pulled another cover over her body. She opened her eyes, and looked up at me, smiling.
“You sure?” she whispered.
“I don't think I need it,” I replied, morphing into my coyote form. Fur sprouted from my skin, enabling me with another dose of heat. My muzzle lengthened, and my smirk became unrecognizable. My teeth grew, and my gums went black, just as my eyes did. My ears pricked, and a tail slid out of my spine. I laid myself on my side on the mattress, closing my eyes. I felt a heavy weight lie on my stomach, and just by opening my eyes ever so slightly, I noticed that Nayru had taken advantage of my morph to shove her head in my warm canine stomach. I sneered, and I laid my head on my paws, yawning, and I closed my eyes.

I was the first to open my eyes again early the next morning. I yawned, and I stood up to sake my fur. I hadn't noticed tat Nayru's head was still on my stomach, and it bumped against the mattress. She woke up, stunned, wondering what was happening.
“Sorry,” I growled quietly. “I... didn't notice...”
“It's okay,” Nayru replied, lifting her head. She stretched her arms and legs, smacked her lips and sat up on the mattress, putting her hands down on the fabric. “Had a good night, despite the weight of my head?” she asked, turning her eyes to me.

“Perfect,” I barked, “I'm used to it.”
“You should go back to your human form,” Nayru suggested.
“Eh, nah, I prefer my Soul animal shape, thank you,” I yapped.
Nayru shrugged halfheartedly, and she pulled her hand over to the match box, opening it, and grabbing one of the few matches inside. She scratched it against the side of the box, and it flared up. Nayru tilted the flame on one of the candles, and it lit, with a docile flame. She shook the match, turning it off, and threw it away. She put her finger through the golden hole of the metal plate, and lifted the candle above her eyes, shining light on my brownish-black fur. I panted gleefully, looking up at the dancing flame at the tip of the wax candle. Nayru put it back down on the ground, and she leaned on the mattress, piling the covers under her chin with her arms to use them as a pillow, as she gazed dreamingly at me. I blinked multiple times, lifting my eyebrow at her. She tilted her head at me, and I tilted it in the opposite direction. She giggled sweetly at me, before laughing loudly. I laid a paw on her mouth, to stop her from laughing too loud and waking up everyone around. She huffed, and put her head gently back on the cover-cushion.
“I would really like to have a canine for a Soul animal...” she admitted.
“I wonder why,” I growled gently, “I don't have as much of a 'free' feeling as you do.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. I rolled my eyes.
“Wings,” I replied, “fly, duh. Dogs can't do that, except if they're hybrids...”
'Hmmm' was her brief answer. “I wonder if you can change your Soul animal after the choice,” she asked herself.
“I don't know where you're getting to,” I answered slowly.
“Like, for example, could we put hybrid blood in our body, and change ourself?”
“Don't even think of that, Nayru,” I snapped, “Tlynen probably has the answer in those books, but we don't know if it's bad or good.”
“I wonder how it could be bad,” she replied.
“I wonder how it could be good,” I returned. “I don't think someone like you should mess with kuijin life.”
“Oh, because you think you could?” Nayru hissed.
“I never said that,” I answered coldly, “but I think that you may be too mentally fragile to suffer the consequences for now.”
“Me, mentally fragile?” Nayru cut, sitting up, putting her hand to her chest.
“I might be not the one to talk, but please don't do it.”
“Why shouldn't I? It's my life, after all!” she huffed.
“Because I care about you, maybe?” I barked, also standing up, “Because I don't want to lose someone like you?! Didn't that ever cross your mind?!”
“Leorn...” Nayru murmured softly.
“What now?!” I barked.
“Dippy's listening,” she warned me. I lifted one eyebrow, and I turned my head to the hammock, where Dippy was lying, peering with one eye, from the side of the hammock, looking at us. I quickly morphed back into my human form. Instantly, my fur and tail slunk back into my spine, and my eyes got their normal green color. My claws and teeth shortened, and I sat up, looking at our leader.
“Good morning, Gin,” I murmured.
“Yeah, good mornin',” he answered sleepily, “what were you talkin' about?”
“Eh, nothing,” I replied quickly.
“Really?” Dippy asked, “Then I was hearing things, huh?”
“Surely,” I answered sarcastically, “anyways, that's not the problem. What do we need to do today?”
“You don't remember?” Dippy asked, “You and Nayru need to go meet Adeth again to get some information.”
“Oh, yeah, that's right,” I replied, “well, better get moving, then. Nayru, follow me.” I stood up, and I grabbed the colt on the mattress, putting it in the back of my trousers, and pulling my shirt over it. Can't be too cautious, I thought. Nayru clung to my shirt, and pulled herself up. I began heading for the marble door, and I kicked it down heavily, making the normal noise even louder than before, even though it was unnoticeable. I hopped out of the grave, followed by Nayru. We both pulled the door back up against the grave, another slamming signifying the complete closure. I looked around for Adeth, and he wasn't to be seen anywhere around. I frowned.
“Adeth!” I called.
As I thought would happen, a loud thud was heard behind me. I turned myself, and I saw the gargoyle standing on one of the winged skulls of Alexander's gravestone. Nayru went next to me, almost gluing herself against me. I pushed her gently away.
“You called, Leorn?” it hissed.
“Get down from there, and I'll explain why I'm not filling you with holes right now,” I replied. Adeth grunted, and jumped from the top of Alexander's tomb, landing heavily on the ground, which shook under my feet slightly. I kept my stability, even though Adeth's imposing figure stretched out further as he straightened.
“Speak,” he ordered.

“I'll get to the point,” I warned, “yesterday, Nayru found a gravestone, that seemed normal, before we looked with a little more attention at it.”
“And?” Adeth asked.
“I'm getting to it,” I answered, “on this grave, was marked that a whole family died, exactly at the same time. The beginning letters of the family members' names were, coincidentally, able to constitute your name. At first, we thought of coincidence, until another one of us, Dippy Marron, came to the grave, and dug up the earth of that grave. And guess what we saw. A black coffin, with 'Tosrin' marked on it, and it was shredded. From the inside. We think that you have something to do with this.”
“And you're right,” Adeth answered, “I came from there.”
“Explain 'came',” I snapped.
“I was born,” Adeth replied calmly.
“Eh, what?” I uttered, “Born?!”
“The words speaks for itself,” Adeth replied, “long ago, many, many moons ago, I was born in darkness. I crawled my way through the earth, until I reached the light.”
“That's impossible!” I hissed, “You came out of Tosrin's coffin, meaning that-” Hold it! Screamed my mind. I thought a bit. Something had just flashed into my mind.
“Do you know who Tosrin is?” I asked.
“I don't remember anyone of that name,” Adeth answered.
“How about...” I began, “a certain Tlynen Igris?”
Adeth took a step back, blinking, his yellow eyes flashing. His wings folded tightly against his back. He frowned at me.
“He's with you,” Adeth murmured darkly.
“I thought so,” I answered.
“Leorn, tell me what is going on!” Nayru demanded.
“Adeth, Tlynen is dead since 2007,” I explained, “the kid that you see with us, is his little brother, Seir Igris. You're mistaking Tlynen with Seir.”
“Tlynen is not dead...” Adeth muttered coldly.
“Death of a mortal genetic disease,” I replied.
“He. Is. Not. Dead!” Adeth stormed. Swiftly, I grabbed the colt behind my trousers, and I aimed it at Adeth. “I know that he was hurt in his soul moons ago, but he is not dead!”
“You have to accept it, Adeth,” I answered calmly, “Tlynen Igris is dead. Why don't you accept it?!”
“Tlynen was like a father to me! He was immortal! He gave me my name, gave me my reason to stay!” Adeth howled.
“Huh?” I uttered, lifting one eyebrow. Gave him the name? Adeth didn't give himself that name? I thought.
“We're terribly sorry,” Nayru replied, “if we had to inform the death of one of your friends, if not your only one.”
“You can't understand, girl!” Adeth hissed.
“Look, Adeth, we're Tlynen's friends!” I snapped, “If you help us with something, it will be exactly like if you help the long gone Tlynen!”
“Nobody will replace Tlynen!” Adth exclaimed.
“I never said replace, Adeth,” I hissed, “I meant that it would be what Tlynen would want best!” I lied. “Do you want to refuse the desire, maybe the last, of who you call your father?!”
“No...” Adeth whispered, calming down. He lowered his arms, and hands. His face darkened of the thoughts.
“Exactly,” I replied, putting the gun back in the behind of my trousers. I pulled my marine blue shirt over it, as I walked over to the dark Adeth. I tapped him on his high shoulder as I passed him. “Look, all you got to do is read some books, okay?”
“Books?” Adeth repeated.
“Yes,” I answered, “books that Tlynen wrote, giving some precious information to us.”
“I may not read the books,” Adeth replied, “but I may give you the code of the language Tlynen used to write them, if it is his last favor.”
“Give it to us,” I demanded.
“Tomorrow,” Adeth answered.
“Why not now?” I asked.
“Now is not the time,” Adeth hissed abruptly. He unfolded his wings, and began flapping. Nayru and I both lifted our arms to our face to protect ourselves from the gusts of wind that were blown by Adeth's tremendous pushes. He liftes off the ground, and darted away, disappearing in the graves behind the trees. We both stood silent for a moment, looking at the direction where Adeth had left off. I turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow, and she walked over to me.
“Well, we learned some new things,” she remarked.
“Yes, we did. Let's go inform the others,” I suggested. She nodded, and I went over to the marble door. I pulled the metal poll out of the ground, and I wedged it inside the hole.

I pushed on it violently, and the door slid out of its hole, slamming onto the ground. I beckoned Nayru inside, and she did so. I buried the metal poll, and I followed her inside the grave. I tugged the rope, and I pulled fiercely at it. The door slowly lifted, and then Nayru helped me pull up the door. It slammed back into place, and we both hopped down to the hideout room. Dippy looked at me from the hammock. Jamina and Seir, who had awoken while we were talking to Adeth, also turned their heads to us.
“So?” Dippy asked.
“Well, we got more good stuff,” I answered, sitting down on my brown mattress. Nayru crouched next to me, and then sat up.
“Okay, tell me the goodies,” he asked.
“First, I want to say that we haven't got anything more on the 'Adeth equals Undead' part. Second, I learned that Adeth knew Tlynen, as a father. Seems that Tlynen was the only person he really knew. Third, he accepted to give us the code for the alphabet Tlynen used in his books. Fourth, he's less of a twat than last time we met him,” I explained.
“That,” Dippy uttered, jumping off the hammock and landing on the mattress below, throwing his arms in the air. He then threw his arms back down, grinning like mad. “is freaking awesome!”
“Well, yeah, I guess,” I muttered.
“You guess?!” Dippy outraged, “This is a istorical event! Quick, write this whole thing, beginning from, well, the beginning, into the Its history book!”
“Uh huh,” I replied, nodding slowly. “He's giving us the code tomorrow.”
“That's less time than we need, thankfully,” Dippy replied, “Seir, Jamina, come with me, we'll start looking for other stuff, that may be interesting. We can't let Leorn and Nayru ave all the good findings.”
He dashed out of the room, hesitantly followed by Jamina and Seir. The door opened (slam), letting Dippy, Seir and Jamina hop out of the grave. They then closed the heavy marble door back into place (Urg, huf, slam). Then, Nayru and I were alone again. I sighed, shaking my head.
“He's hyperactive, isn't he?” I asked.
“Sometimes, yeah,” Nayru replied.
I looked around, and I leaned over to the side, to grab a blue bag that on of us had carried up to here. I pulled it over to me, and I grabbed at bottle of water. I opened it, pushing the bag away, and I pulled a candle next to the mattress. I gulped down some of the water. It was refreshing, at least. I tilted it to Nayru, and she took it from my hand, and drank some of it. I lifted an eyebrow again, and I took the plastic Evian bottle back once she had finished drinking.
I took another gulp from the bottle of water, sloshing it around in my mouth expertly, then gulping it down. I put my hand up to my face, cleaning off the sweat from my forehead. I kept the bottle in my hand, as I noticed that Nayru was staring at me. I lifted one eyebrow.
“What?” I asked.
“Leorn,” Nayru began, “about this morning...”
“Hmm?” I asked, tilting the bottle to my lips, taking in a few more gulps. The heat was abnormally high in the room. But, then again, with lit candles all day, it didn't really have time to cool down.
“I think...” Nayru hesitated, “I think I love you too.”
I hacked while drinking the water, and the liquid spewed from my mouth onto the floor. It hit a candle, and it turned it off, blowing it cleanly off from the metal plate. I quickly took another candle and I put it to my side, on the puddle of water that had formed. I then put the bottle next to the candle, water dripping from my gaping mouth. Not only did her sentence shock me, there was another thing that had made me as uneasy as I was right then. I put my hand to my forehead, cleaning off the drops of water that had sprayed everywhere, even on my hair.
“Define 'too',” I demanded.
“Uhhh...” Nayru answered silently. I rolled my eyes.
“Why do you think you love me?” I asked.
“Well,” Nayru began, “it's my stomach...” This is beginning good, I thought darkly. “I always had a knot in it,” Nayru continued, “until I met Cruor... When he died, it tightened, and turned itself into a knot again... Since some time, I don't feel the knot anymore, when I'm with you...”
“I'm happy I cured your stomachache,” I replied coldly.
God, please, wherever you are, now that I'm really believing in you, make it so that this won't end terribly, I thought, as hard as I could. I closed my eyes tightly, and I felt Nayru's arms curl around my body, which tensed almost immediately. Nayru put her head on my shoulder, and I slowly opened my eyes, waiting for something to happen. Nayru tightened her embrace. That was all. God had helped me.
“Leorn...” she whispered in my ear, “I love you...”
I took back what I had thought earlier. God hadn't helped me at all. But, then again, why would God help someone who doesn't believe in him? I thought. I silently gulped, waiting for something else to happen. My arms wouldn't obey my brain's commands.

Nayru pushed me down backwards on the mattress. I small sweat drop appeared on my temple, sliding down my cheek. Nayru lifted her head from my shoulder, and gazed at me, like I've never seen her eyes do before. My eyes widened as she approached her face slowly to mine.
“All I want you to do,” she murmured very quietly, “is love me back...”
Love you back?! My mind yelled, because you honestly think I know how to love, eh?! Even though my brain was shouting, my limbs wouldn't move from where they were. Nayru reminded me way too much of Haylyn, that I almost thought that it was her on me at that moment. I was completely paralyzed, for the one time in my life. And not in the situation I had hoped in, I had to admit subconsciously. Nayru closed her eyes, and gently kissed me on the lips. A shiver rolled up my spine. My hair stood up on my arms and legs, and Nayru let a small smile through her kiss. She put her legs to the sides of my stomach, tightening them delicately. Oh God, this is going way too fast! My brain screamed, way, way too fast! Wait, it's not even supposed to go slowly! It's not supposed to go at any speed at all! It's not supposed to go anywhere! Move, Jesus Christ! Move your damn body! But my body stayed tensed, and stuck. Nayru kissed me again, hugging me tightly in her arms. I could feel the warmth radiate from her body, as her heart fastened in beat. I thought that a heart beating so quickly would normally stop dead, but it seemed I was wrong. Bad situation, my mind shouted, Bad situation! Get the hell out of there, Leorn! Why aren't you moving, damn it?! Do something! Nayru began kissing me with more passion, sliding her hands from my back to my neck. I gulped nervously, trying to find a way out. But nothing throughout the whole hunk of flesh and bone that my brain resided in answered.
Nayru's hands caressed my neck slowly. The flame that flickered behind Nayru danced extravagantly, just like my mind was running. My heart thudded against my chest, and my hands tightened against the fabric of the mattress. It was a whole panic on board the ship of my body, as Nayru's hand slithered down my throat to my body. She caressed my chest, still kissing me back tenderly. I wanted to do something -Gah?! What is she doing now?!- but I was confused, dazzled, and, most of all, scared. What worried me the most is that I feared this thirteen year old girl, and that James' men would be something I ate at breakfast everyday if I needed to. But then I thought that I didn't fear her, really, but what she was doing. I was a killer, not a lover! Exactly! Concurred my mind, killing her would go a bit too far, but you need to protect yourself! It's your body! But, the way Nayru caressed 'my' body, I couldn't really convince myself if it was mine or if she took it as part of her property. I was lucky that she hadn't gone very far up until now, but I feared that it might happen.
Nayru kissed me fiercely, and I only noticed then that my breathing had become much more unstable and deep. Move your ass! My brain ordered, or else, you'll be in some really deep ahem...! What? Yes, deeper than the ahem... you are in right now! Jesus Christ, why aren't you moving?! You're stuck in there, like an idiot who doesn't know what to do? Huh? What do you mean, it's the case?! My body wasn't stressed physically anymore, it was even eased, but, even then, my body seemed like it wasn't mine. Nayru slowly began kissing down my chin, down my neck. It was hard to breathe when she did so, but not because she was squeezing my neck. She reached down to my jugular, stalling near my collarbone. I had the cold sensation that her lips, as they went nearer to my chest, became more feeling, more caring. She then kissed back up my throat, to my lips again. She kissed me back, throwing the flames of passion in my body. Why didn't you move?! My consciousness outraged, you had the chance of a lifetime!Yes, maybe the only one in your life, before I order a heart attack! I gulped furtively again. I didn't want this to happen. I had never wanted it to. It had never came into my mind that something like this would happen to me. Especially from Nayru. I breathed heavily, looking everywhere, for an idea to get out of this place, however the manner.
“I love you, Leorn...” she whispered through her kiss. You think I didn't notice?! My thoughts screamed, thanks for stating the obvious, lady! Move that freaking body of yours, Leorn! Just show here that you're actually alive here! You're in danger!
Danger?
Danger!
My hands unstuck themselves from the mattress, gripping onto Nayru's arms. I pushed her away from me, and turned around on myself. I put Nayru under me, pinning her arms down on the mattress violently. I breathed heavily, and Nayru stared at me with a fearing look. I noticed that my body had actually moved. I panted, sweat sliding from my forehead down my cheeks, as I glared at Nayru. She tried squirming away from my grasp, but I kept a firm grip on her arms. I then recognized where I was. I looked all around. The room. The hideout. Alexander's grave. Everything went back into my mind. I pushed myself off Nayru, sitting on another mattress. I was still breathing heavily, but I could think straight, at least. Nayru quickly sat up, a scared air spreading over her face. My hand slid to my back, and I flicked out the colt from behind my trousers, aiming it at Nayru. Her frightened face turned terrorized, and she lifted one arm to her face.
“Please...” she whimpered, “Don't hurt me....”
My hand wasn't shaking on the gun. I knew that my hand never shook when I was determined to do something. My glare became even more fierce, turning into a scowl.
“Leorn...” she begged, nearly crying, “please don't shoot...” She curled up on herself, lowering her head to the mattress. “Please...” she whimpered, “I'm sorry...”
My index tightened on the trigger. With my thumb, I flicked the security off the gun.

“Leorn...”
I lowered the gun, my face darkening. What had I been thinking? Nothing had happened. I should understand this sort of pulse, even though I'm not used to it, I thought.. I stood up, keeping a tight grip on my gun. I walked over to Nayru, who's face was still buried in her hands. She sobbed quietly, and I crouched near her, putting my armed hand on my knee. I put my other hand on her shoulder, and she lifted her head slowly. I pulled her up, and I coiled my arms around her body, leaning my head on her shoulder. My gun bumped her back, but she didn't pay any attention, and she hugged me back tightly. Her arms tightened against my body, and her hands laid themselves on my shoulder blades. I closed my eyes.
“I'm sorry too,” I replied silently.
We both stood there, hugging each other tenderly, for a long time. I could tell that Nayru didn't want to move from the position of her arms and hands around my back. Her heart was beating slower than it was before, and my mind was put into place again. I gently pulled away from her, and I looked at her straight in the eyes. With my hand, I flicked away a last tear on her cheek. I sighed, letting my hands slip off from her body, onto my knees.
“Just...” I began, “bear in mind that I may present friendship for you, but not what you would call love. My body and mind, are to me incapable of having such emotions.”
“I understand,” Nayru replied, “but please don't go away too far...”
“That might happen, Nayru,” I replied, standing up. She looked up at me. “And you know that well.” I lent out my hand, and she caught it, pulling herself up. I was pulled slightly, but I managed to keep stable, and to help Nayru up. A loud slam coming from the entrance made me jerk my head to the side. I eased as I saw Dippy, Jamina and Seir hop down the stairs, entering the room. Dippy looked at me, walking over to me.
“Eh, we didn't find anything,” he mumbled.
“Good luck next time,” I replied. Dippy lifted one eyebrow at me, then at Nayru. He squinted in a suspecting manner, and he sniffed around the room. I gulped silently, and I saw that Nayru wasn't all that comfortable too.
“Jesus Christ!” Dippy exclaimed, “It's hot in this room!”
“It surprises you?” I asked, “With all those damn candles...”
“Eh, I guess,” Dippy replied calmly. He glanced at the turned out candle. He crouched near it, and prodded it. He put his fingers in front of his face, wiping his fingers against each other. “Why is this candle wet?” he asked.
“I accidentally tipped some water,” Nayru replied, “why? Are you suspicious about something?”
“I don't know,” he answered, “I just sense that you two are... Different.”
“You're being paranoid again,” I cut.
“Yeah, I guess I am, ain't I?” Dippy answered, smiling embarrassingly, scratching the back of his head with his hand. I let out a sigh of relief.
“So,” Dippy continued, putting his hands on his hips, “what do you guys wanna eat this morning?”
“Ooh, that's a new question,” Jamina remarked.
“Well, why I was away, back at the graves,” Dippy explained, shoving his hand into his pocket, “I just... Borrowed some money from a tip box.”
“A har har har,” I laughed sarcastically.
“Can't hurt anybody,” Dippy commented, taking out slips of money and pieces from his pocket, lying them down on the desk. “In all, it does near fifty euros,” Dippy mentioned, “enough to have a good meal for the five of us.”
“I wonder, how did you survive with the money you had, back at the Its, before I came?” I asked.
“Isen was used to keep the money members of the Its had brought, and then, I took some money from the oblivious people in the street,” Dippy explained, “ah, I remember those times...”
“You don't do it anymore?” I asked.
“Less. I need to learn how to get money by myself,” Dippy explained.
“Says the guy who just took out the money from a donation box,” Jamina commented.
“It was bound to happen one moment or the other,” Dippy answered, “so, anyways, what do you guys wanna eat? We have enough money to buy something good.”
We ended up eating by picking from a packet of normal, bland, tasteless biscuits, ironically.
We stood inside, all day. We longed for tomorrow, when Adeth would give us the meaning of the bizarre alphabet Tlynen used. Dippy supposed that the weird zero with a line across it was an 'E', but he wasn't sure. We kept reading the books, or at least, trying. The symbols still had no apparent meaning to us. Only the images we looked at could give us an -unfortunately, very vague- idea of what Tlynen was talking about on hybrids.
I thought about the scene Nayru and I had just been. If I hadn't reacted, something bad would of happened. Maybe something very, very bad. And then, I would've killed her for sure. The wandering thoughts within my mind didn't enable me to concentrate enough on the books we had to read. Now that I looked at her, she seemed, well, like somebody else, and I couldn't justify whether it was in the good or bad way. The words she had whispered, 'love me back', echoed through my mind, like if she had said in in a never ending hallway.

The flame on the candle next to me flicked at the air, swaying away with my breath. I sighed, and turned my head to the bizarre letters written on the pages.
At night, after eating, when we were sure that no one was outside, Nayru and I went walking in the graveyard. Nayru brought a small candle with her for light, and I didn't refuse. I could see well in the darkness, at least, better than the most of normal people, and I wasn't sure if pigeon eyes were that good.
We silently passed the many graves of various people of different exploits and lives. We recognized none of them, but we didn't really care. We just went up to the tombstone, and read the names written on them. As we were passing a tight gray stone-floored path, with defying trees looming over the passage, Nayru spoke.
“Leorn...” she murmured.
“Hm?” I asked, briefly, not turning my head from the gray marble stone, where a whole family was buried under.
“I want to say sorry for...” she began, “well, you know.”
“Yes, I do,” I answered, “and you already said sorry.”
“But-”
“No buts,” I insisted, “it's done and gone, all right?” I turned to her, laying my green gaze on hers, “I'm not angered at you, even though you seem like a different person to me now.”
“Different... as in?” she asked quietly.
“Well, different, as in,” I explained, sighing, searching my words, “let's just say that you aren't the same Nayru as I knew before.”
“Is that good or bad?” she questioned.
“I don't know, honestly,” I muttered darkly, “let me think of it for some more time, and maybe I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow.”
Nayru quietly put the candle down on the ground, and rushed over to me to hug me from behind. I stopped my pace, looking down at her over my shoulder. She buried her head in between my shoulder blades. She tightened her squeeze around my chest. I wasn't surprised by her reaction, and I even felt calm, for some odd reason. I had always thought that I didn't like different genders approaching me too much.
“Forgive me, Leorn...” she whispered. I stood silent for a while, sighing silently.
“It's okay, Nayru,” I replied calmly, lifting my hand to drop it on hers delicately, “It's okay...” I turned around, pulling her arms off my body. I only saw then how small she really was. Sitting around in the room, with everybody at your height all day could confuse someone. “Don't worry about it...”
“You sure?” she murmured, looking up at me Her fingers entwined with mine, and I let her do so. She needed to feel comforted, anyways. I pulled my hands gently out of her grasp, and I put them on her shoulders. I stared at her for a long time. I lifted my head, and I kissed her on her forehead. My lips were dry, but I took no notice. I looked back down at her. She looked slightly shocked, which I didn't blame.
“Is that enough for a yes?” I asked. She slowly nodded. “Good,” I answered, “but don't think that I'm in love with you. As I said earlier, I'm incapable of sensing such things.”
“Okay...” Nayru replied silently, as if she didn't have any other words to use. I smirked, and I turned around, putting my hands in my pockets, starting to walk away.
“Well, now that that's done,” I continued, suddenly changing the subject, embarrassed, “let's finish our small tour, and go back to the hideout.”
Nayru grabbed the metal plate under the candle with her hand, and she walked beside me, looking around. The moon's light pierced the thin clouds of the night, but was still hidden by the dense leafing of the trees. The flame flickered gently as we both walked, sending shadows on the looming trees and leaves above our heads, making dark shadows dance on the ground.
We soon appeared in front of Alexander's grave. I bent down, and I took the metal poll. I shoved it inside the small opening, and I quickly opened the door. Nayru caught it before it slammed the ground. She strained to keep it up, but eventually, she let it go, and it fell onto the earth, but with less noise. I beckoned her inside as I buried the metal poll again. She hopped into the stairs, nearly slipping on the first stair, and I followed her, following the rope with my hand. We both turned around, and we pulled the cord, lifting the door back into place. After it had been closed, we descended into the dark room, where everyone was sleeping. No candles were lit, except the one that Nayru had in her hands. We stepped over Jamina's and Seir's bodies, up to our mattress, where I took the candle, and gently dropped it down aside the mattress. Nayru took a cover, and pulled it over her body. I took mine, and I gently laid it down on Nayru's cover, giving er some extra warmth. She smiled, closing her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Welcome,” I answered quietly.
“G'night,” Dippy muttered.
“Still awake, Gin?” I asked.
“Duh,” he answered, “or else we would let anybody inside this thing. Now shut up, and sleep.”

I rolled my eyes, lying down on the mattress. I morphed into my coyote form. It was easier than before. Fur sprouted slowly from my limbs as my whole skeleton changed shape and size. My tail stuck out from my back, bushing up stiffly. I curled around into a ball, and Nayru lied her head on my stomach. I sighed, and I put my muzzle in my paws, slowly closing my eyes.

I slowly opened my eyes early the next morning. I yawned, my head still on my paws. My black eyes darted left and right, looking at the other members of the Its. They were all sleeping. I looked at Nayru, who was sleeping soundly on my warm stomach. I delicately pushed her off my body with one paw, trying not to wake her up. I then scooted away, turning back into my human form. My fur disappeared beneath my skin, and my canine face merged into a human one. My ears slid to the sides of my head, and my skeleton changed shape as my tail slunk back into my spine. I remembered that today was the day that Adeth gave us the deciphered alphabet that Tlynen used.
I stood up, and I felt a hand on my leg. I slowly turned my head around, and I noticed that I woke up Nayru anyways. Her hand gripped on my leg tightly. I saw that she was breathing heavily, and that she was sweating. I crouched near her, and I put my hand on her forehead, pushing it down delicately.
“Please don't go...” Nayru murmured.
“Nightmare?” I asked.
“Stay, please...” she begged.
“I'm not moving from here,” I comforted her. She sighed, letting her hand fall from my leg. She instead put it on my hand, pushing down to keep it under hers. “What was it about?” I asked.
“You...” Nayru began, “You were there... You turned around, and you said you were leaving... It isn't true, right?”
“No,” I answered calmly, “it isn't. Calm down.”
“Please don't leave without me...” Nayru whimpered, her hand tensing on mine. I slipped mine from under hers, and I put it softly on hers, caressing it with my index.
“Shh,” I soothed, “it's all right...”
“I don't want you to go...” she whispered, “Not like Cruor.”
“I'm not going to die here,” I answered calmly. “Calm down, it's all right.” I smiled weakly, taking my hand off hers. I grabbed my gun, and I stood up, looming over her. She was breathing calmly, looking up at the ceiling. I gazed down at her, trying to calm myself down. I knew that I wasn't going to stay in the Its forever. I need to finish what I had wanted to do. Total destruction of the ALSAN building. And I couldn't let anyone get in my way.
I put the colt in the back of my trousers, and I turned around, heading for the heavy marble door. My footsteps echoed in the room, and I kicked the door down. A heavy noise was heard, and I stepped up into the open, being warmly welcomed by a cold wind. I shivered slightly, lowering my head in my shirt. I knew that the cold seasons were soon to come. I looked around, and there was no sign of Adeth. I guess I'll have to wait for him, I thought. I went over to another gravestone, and I sat on it, putting my hands in my pockets. My gun clanked silently against the stone. A small breeze shook my hair, and I sensed that there was something weird. I sensed a presence, but not Adeth's. I tilted my head upwards, and I saw James, calmly positioned in front of me, with his arms turned behind his back. He smiled at me, and I looked back at him blankly.
“Well, Leorn,” James began, “we meet again.”
“I still didn't find what I needed?” I snapped.
“Proof that you haven't; I'm in front of you right now,” James replied.
“I'm beginning to doubt that I really need something,” I muttered darkly.
“Ah, that might of been the answer, that you might of already had everything you needed,” James replied, “but, unfortunately for you, it isn't what I'm waiting for.”
“What are you waiting for?” I asked.
“A good answer,” James replied calmly.
“Uh huh,” I murmured coldly, “and once I find that good answer, you'll go away, right?”
“I already answered that,” James mentioned.
“Finding that answer is damn impossible,” I whispered to myself coldly.
“Exactly,” James cut.
“Eh?” I murmured, “You mean you ain't ever going away?”
“I didn't say that,” James replied, “I said the contrary, in fact. I will go away. Once you find the answer.”
“But if it's impossible, how can I find it?” I asked.
“Just think that I'm seeping inside you little by little,” James answered quietly, starting to fade away.
“Hey!” I snapped, jumping off the gravestone, “Stop talking in freaking riddles!”
“Think enough, and it shall be clear to you,” James answered, completely disappearing. My outstretched hand grasped nothingness. I growled to myself, throwing my fist at the air.
“God damn it!” I cursed, “What does he mean, 'impossible'?! And what does he mean by 'seeping inside me little by little'?! If everything is so damn incomprehensible, no wonder why I can't find the answer!”

A loud, recognizable grunt followed my sentence, and I lifted my head ever so slightly to perceive Adeth in front of me. I groaned incomprehensible words, glaring at the ground.
“I guess I shouldn't ask,” Adeth muttered.
“Exactly,” I snapped, “anyways, let's get to business. You have the code?”
Adeth nodded weakly, and pulled his right hand behind his back. He lent it out to me again, holding a sheet of browning paper. I took it from his outstretched hand, and I unfolded it, squinting at it. I read the symbols I recognized from Tlynen's books, and the letters of the Latin alphabet just under. I noticed that there were letters from Tlynen's alphabet that actually represented different sounds, such as 'th' and 'sh'. I folded the paper again, and nodded once to the tall gargoyle.
Adeth looked back at me, tilting his head questioningly.
“Thanks,” I replied, coiling my fingers around the folded sheet of paper. I casted one last glance at Adeth as I headed to the grave's entry. I disappeared in the darkness of the entrance, only to have a faint light dancing on me as I reached the room. I saw that Nayru, Dippy and Jamina were awake, and that they had lit multiple candles. I waved the paper at Dippy, who looked back at me. I passed the code over to him, and he unfolded it, is eyes widening.
“Better get to work right now,” I remarked. Dippy nodded, jumping off from the hammock, going to shake Seir's head with his hand. Seir groaned tiredly, pushing away Dippy's hand.
“C'mon guys,” Dippy began, “grab a book, start decoding.”
Dippy laid the sheet down in the middle of the room, and went over to the piles of books. He grabbed one, passing it to me. He threw some others to the other members. One hit Seir on his shoulder, and he woke up completely. He yawned once, and Dippy went over to him.
“C'mon, Ghost, we need to decipher your bro's language,” Dippy said quietly.
Seir nodded, and grabbed the book, scooting over next to the paper. I opened my book, and prepared for the long hours of wait just to decipher a few words. I then frowned, closing the book again. Dippy lifted one intrigued eyebrow at me.
“Do you know how much time this is going to take?” I asked.
“Lots,” Dippy uttered, “that's why it's best to start now.”
“Well, while you decipher that, I need to check something, with Nayru,” I replied. Dippy rolled his eyes, and concentrated on his book. I stood up, going over to the entrance to the room. I turned around, and I beckoned Nayru to follow me. She put her book down, and stood up, pushing off the mattress with her hand. She walked over to me, raising her eyebrow. I gesticulated my hand towards the stairs, and she went up. I followed her closely, stepping out into the sunlight. Dippy and Jamina, below, closed the door behind us. It slammed back into place, and I looked around.
“What do you want?” Nayru asked gently.
“Look,” I muttered, “what if all this is wrong? What if we find out that Tlynen was actually some mad person? What will happen to Seir?”
“Tlynen wasn't mad!” Nayru exclaimed.
“That's what you think about him,” I cut, “but, really, once you search through your brain, all this we could be doing could be very, very bad for Seir's future.”
“You're just being paranoid,” Nayru murmured.
“No, I'm just being cautious,” I snapped, “if Tlynen wrote that thing in another language, it was so that no one could look at it!”
“But why would he have done that in the first place?” Nayru asked.
“I don't know,” I answered quietly.
“Well then you have no reason to be afraid of anything,” Nayru whispered, lifting her hand to my chest, expanding it on my heart. I gulped nervously. “There's nothing to worry about,” Nayru continued, “isn't that what you said?”
“Yes, but,” I began.
“Look, if you really want to calm down, we can walk around for a bit,” Nayru suggested.
“Um, yeah,” I muttered, “yeah, we should do that.”
Nayru smiled, taking her hand off from my body, beginning to walk away. I followed her, looking around. The sky was still cloudy and gray. It stuck to the atmosphere and horizon. I sighed quietly, trying to calm down. I really thought that there was a problem. If Tlynen researched a little bit too much about the hybrids, he might have learned some things that his soul couldn't understand. That's what was freaking me out. If we also tried to read what Tlynen had written, and that we found out these... things, Seir might freak.
“Ouch!” Nayru uttered, taking me out of my thoughts.
“Eh? What?” I asked, turning my head to her. She was looking at her hand hand, holding her wrist with her other hand.
“Damn...” she muttered, turning to me, “I accidentally cut myself.” I let out a sigh of relief.
“You scared me there,” I murmured, walking over to her. I grabbed her wrist, and inspected her hand. It was bleeding. She had been cut at her index, near the middle. “How?” I asked.

“Broken gravestone,” she explained, “I just passed my hand on it. I didn't know it could cut that easily...”
“Eh, it's nothing,” I answered, “maybe just some water once we come back, and everything will be fine. Let's continue to Adeth's grave.”
Nayru nodded, rubbing her index with her thumb. She followed me into the small area of gravestones, where I remembered where Adeth's gravestone was. I stopped at the black marble tombstone, looking down at it. I reread the names, trying to find some sort of code, or a word that I could use. I crouched, looking at the gravestone harder. There was nothing after all. I sighed, standing up again.
“There's nothing,” I muttered.
“Of course there isn't,” Nayru replied, putting her wounded hand on my shoulder, “we already checked this place.”
“Mmh,” I hummed quietly, pushing her hand off. Her hand immediately put itself on my chest, expanding. My hands straightened.
“You're way too tensed,” Nayru remarked, “what happened?”
“Nothing,” I replied, “just what I talked about earlier.”
“Is that what's making you like this?” she asked. I nodded calmly. With her hand, she pushed me down to sitting on the grave. My eyes widened, and she sat next to me. She looked inside my eyes with her green gaze, smiling slightly. She then leaned towards me, and hugged me tightly, wrapping her arms around my body. I tensed again, not knowing how to answer. “You shouldn't freak out for things like that,” she murmured.
“But, I mean, Seir, and everything...” I replied quietly.
“Why are you so suddenly protective over Seir?” Nayru asked.
“Because I know that something bad will happen to all of the Its if something bad happens to him,” I answered quickly.
“Don't worry...” she murmured, tightening her embrace around my body. Let out a heavy sigh, and I curled my right arm around her body. It reminded me of Haylyn, back in the cells. I tried not to think about the ALSAN association, but of Haylyn only. It comforted me. It calmed me down. I closed my eyes, feeling tired. Nayru was right. I shouldn't of had tensed about that. There was nothing to worry about. We both stood like that, warming up each other.
“How do you feel?” she asked, looking up at me. I looked back down at her, and she smiled.
“Better,” I replied.
“Great,” she murmured, leaning her head over to mine, and kissing me on the cheek. I blushed, and turned away. Gah, why do I always redden like that? I thought, I'm really crap with females... Nayru laughed, and stood up from the grave. She gave me her hand, and I pulled myself up using it. I let go of her hand afterwards, shoving mine in my pockets, starting to walk away. Nayru followed me. I took out my hand from my pocket, and I saw that there was Nayru's blood on it. I frowned, and put it back into the pocket.
A loud thud behind me made me react instantly by turning around, pushing Nayru behind me. Adeth was standing where Nayru and I had been walking a few second ago. He tilted his head at me, his yellow eyes glinting in the shadows of his face.
“What are you doing out here?” Adeth asked, frowning.
“Just walking,” I replied quickly.
Adeth sniffed the air, and squinted at me, leaning forwards. I stood straight, as his face came dangerously close to me. He sniffed the air around me. He walked closer, and sniffed at Nayru.
“I smell blood,” he continued, frowning.
“Nayru just cut herself,” I answered. Adeth frowned again, sniffing. His face darkened, and he backed away. He pushed off the ground, his wings outstretching and beginning to flap. Waved of wind blew my hair, as he floated in the air, and he darted away behind the trees. We both stood silent for a while, letting the wind calm down.
“Well, that was quick,” Nayru remarked.
“Too quick,” I replied, “he must have noticed something weird. Let's get back to the hideout.”
We turned around, and started walking quickly in the same direction as Alexander's grave. We quickly appeared in front of the entrance, and I took the metal poll from under the ground. I wedged it into the small hole, and I pushed. The door began creaking, and it soon popped out, slamming onto the ground. Nayru hopped inside down the stairs, and I followed her inside. I grabbed the rope, and I pulled on it, trying to close the door. It was heavy, but, slowly, it lifted, creaking. I slammed back into place, and I went into the lit room, where Dippy, Jamina and Seir were reading the books, around the coded sheet of paper.
“Back from your small stroll?” Dippy asked.
“Yeah,” I grunted, “do you have anything?”
“Well,” Dippy replied, “for right now, I'm trying to learn the letters by heart and their corresponding letter. It's going quite well, actually. This alphabet is easy to remember.”
“You're already able to read the books?” I asked.
“More or less, if you want me to answer honestly,” Dippy mentioned. “If you really want me to prove it, I got this section on this certain 'Rivalry Blood' that Tlynen discovered.”

“Go ahead and share the info,” I replied, sitting down on the mattress. Dippy flipped through the pages of the dusty book, and Nayru sat next to me, looking at Dippy. He stopped at one page, pointing at it.
“Here,” he said, “Rivalry blood.”
“Explain everything,” Jamina suggested.
“All right,” Dippy answered calmly, “here goes. With recent research, I was able to discover a new ingredient in kuijin blood. I had never seen it before. With some more information, I found out that this new thing inside the kuijin blood is actually a sort of protection against certain types of diseases. Very useful, if you ask me. Except I only found it on one kuijin blood sample. Is this kuijin unique? I don't know yet.
Did more researches. Still no sign of multiple kuijin having this sort of blood.” Dippy lifted one eyebrow after he said that, and he frowned. Nayru and I looked at each other, and then I set my gaze back to Dippy.
“What?” I asked.
“Uh, nothing,” Dippy replied, “I just couldn't read his handwriting for a while. Anyways, dadada sort of blood... I call this blood 'Rivalry Blood'. That's all there is.”
“That's a short information paragraph,” I remarked.
“Oh, yes, Leorn!” Dippy exclaimed, “I need to talk to you! In person, though.”
“Ummm... Okay?” I replied, standing up. Dippy also stood up, and headed up the stairs quickly. He kicked the door down, and I dashed up the stairs also. He grabbed my arm, and pulled me behind Alexander's grave. I frowned at him, wondering what he was doing. He turned around to me, sweating. I lifted one eyebrow.
“Leorn!” he murmured abruptly, “I just found out some really, really creepy ahem...!”
“Woah, calm down, Gin,” I replied, putting my hand up to his face, “just explain me everything.”
“It wasn't for nothing that I stopped reading,” Dippy answered.
“You skipped a part.”
“You understand fairly rapidly,” Dippy whispered.
“Tell me what was written, word for word,” I demanded, feeling myself a bit worried.
“You have to understand me, Gun,” Dippy continued, “I couldn't say it in front of...”
“Of who?” I asked.
“Seir,” Dippy replied quickly.
“Eh?”
“Okay, I tell you everything,” Dippy answered, “here's what was written inside Tlynen's book. Still no sigh of multiple kind of kuijin having this sort of blood. I decided to inject this blood into my body to get its benefits.
I've made an error. I went too fast. The day after I injected the blood into my body, I felt pains throughout my limbs and mind. I don't understand. I checked everything in the blood, for diseases and such that might be inside the blood. I can't think straight. I call this blood 'Rivalry Blood', because I suppose that this kuijin had a sort of immune system different than the others, and able to contain this sort of blood. I didn't tell anyone about my experiment.
With further research, I was able to put up a theory that by gathering as many cells of this ingredient, that it would be able to cure someone completely of a fatal disease, such as tuberculosis. And maybe actually more. But I don't expect it healing me from the pain I have in my body as I am writing this.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, “Tlynen actually took that blood and injected it into his own body?!”
“Yes, I know!” Dippy replied loudly, “And I also suggest that the fatal genetic disease was no other than a lie! All this time, I had been worrying for Seir, because that means he would ave the same fatal genetic disease, but now every thing's confused inside my mind! I think that the reason of Tlynen's death is this blood!”
“Okay, shut up!” I snapped, “People might hear you.” I looked around, and I put my two ands on Dippy's shoulders, looking at him straight in the eyes. He was uneasy, and nervous. “Look,” I continued, “we don' talk about it. I knew that something bad would happen, damn it! Now, Dippy, before anyone else discovers another thing that might be very bad, we need to stop trying to decipher the god damn books!”
“You're right, Leorn,” Dippy muttered quickly, “we need to stop them. Now!” Dippy dashed to the entrance, and jumped down the stairs. I followed him quickly and he were both panting. Nayru, Jamina and Seir all lifted their eyebrow at us, and we looked at each other.
“Um,” Dippy began, “we need to stop trying to decipher the books.”
“Why?” Jamina asked.
“Uh, because... It takes too much time,” Dippy answered.
“Woah there, Gin,” Jamina snapped, standing up, “you said yourself that we need to find out everything in these books. Now, you just talk to Gun for five seconds, and you change your mind oh-so-suddenly?I think there's something wrong in there.”
“Look, just stop trying to read the books, okay?” Dippy asked.
“No,” Jamina cut, “we want to know exactly what happened up there.”

“God damn it, Dippy, you ain't very intelligent,” I snapped, “okay, fine I'll tell you all what happened.” I turned to Seir, eying him nervously. “Seir, are you ready to hear what your brother may have done to others and to himself?” I asked.
“Uh, I-I don't know,” Seir murmured.
“Just say yes or no,” I answered calmly, “without your answer, we can't give out this information.”
“Fine, then, uh, yes,” Dippy replied quickly.
“Fine,” I answered, walking over to the hammock, and sitting on it. I turned my thumbs around each other, hesitating. I lowered my head, and I looked up through my hair to see the members of the Its. I sighed. “That Rivalry blood Dippy was talking about earlier,” I began, “after Tlynen found out that it had a protective property, he... Injected it inside is body. He had gone too quickly, and din't research enough on the subject. The day following this experiment, Tlynen was hurting. He didn't tell the other members of the Its about this. He called it a fatal genetic disease. He supposed that only certain bodies can contain this kind of blood. He... Died of this experiment.” I looked up at Seir, who was staring at me wide-eyed. I felt anxious about his reaction. He lowered his head, his face darkening with his hair.
“So that's how he really died...” Seir murmured. I knew that it was a bad idea to say it, but I thought that it was the only way to get it off my back. “He died, trying to find a way to make kuijin stronger...” Seir looked up at me, his black eyes gleaming. “And I thought that I would die at his age...”
“Look on the bright side, Seir,” I muttered, “you ain't going to die by a fatal genetic disease.”
“And it actually doesn't change anything,” Seir remarked, lightening up, “Tlynen is dead, no matter what. He was risking his life with all these experiments, and he risked a bit too much that day.”
“I have to admit,” I replied, lifting my face, “that wasn't the answer that I was hoping for.”
“So,” Dippy interrupted, “now you know why I'm telling you this. Stop reading all the books. Put them away. Don't destroy them, just put them away in a corner of this room. Nayru, burn the sheet of code.”
Nayru nodded, and grabbed the paper carefully in between her thumb and index. She place it over the flame of a candle, and she let it disintegrate slowly on the rock ground. The flames sparked up into the air, leaving only black crisp and ash. We all looked at the paper getting consumed by the heat, and then watch the fire burn away. Dippy had a sad expression on his face, but he wiped it away.
Throughout the rest of the day, we didn't do anything. We just lied down on our mattresses, thinking, wondering. Dippy brought us to eat for noon and for dinner. I didn't know whether to expect this being good or bad. But I just hoped I had made the right decision, whatever it was, with Dippy. Nayru curled up tightly against me as it was time to sleep, and I looked up to the ceiling dreamingly. I put the covers on Nayru's body, and I put out the last light on the candle slowly. Once I turned back, I saw that Nayru was looking at me. I gazed back at her, wondering what to think of her now. She slowly shook the covers off her body, and leaned her head over to mine, kissing me tenderly on the lips. My whole body tensed, and she pulled away from the gentle contact.
“Don't worry about that, Leorn,” she whispered, “I think that you prevented the worst from happening.”
“You think?” I murmured back, “I don't really know. And honestly, I don't want to.” I sat up, and I started morphing into my coyote form. Fur sprouted from my bare skin, and a tail shoved its way through my spine. My nails hardened into claws, and my eyes shined from the depths of darkness. Mu muzzle lengthened, and my teeth grew. I curled up around Nayru, who put her head on my stomach, pulling the covers over her whole body. I laid my hands on my paws, and I closed my eyes, waiting.

My eyes shot open. I sat up, panting. I whined quietly in the darkness. Nightmare again. I put my head in my paws again, looking around. I only saw the darkness around me. It had been another one of my nightmares, probably the same one I had a few days ago. I couldn't remember it, but I somehow felt as if I recognized it. I tried to breathe calmly, but my uneasiness made me do the contrary. I looked at my stomach, where Nayru's head lied. Or where her head was supposed to lie. She wasn't there. I felt around with my paws, and I only touched the covers Nayru was supposed to be in. I quickly morphed back into my human form. My tail slunk back into my spine, as my eyes got their green hue back. My canine skeleton shifted to an anthropomorphic position, and my clothes flattened on my skin as my fur disappeared. My claws and fangs shortened.
I sat up, and I looked around, grabbing the gun on the mattress. I put it behind my trousers, and I pulled my shirt over it. My heart sped up behind my chest. Nayru wasn't there, and I couldn't find the reason. I looked up to the entrance, and I perceived a faint light. I stood up, and I walked over to the entrance. It was the moonlight. The door had been opened. I gulped, and I silently stepped up the stairs.
I hopped out of Alexander's grave, looking around. My eyes were used to the darkness, but I didn't see Nayru. Nayru would have a candle in her and if she was outside. I couldn't see any light, nor any flame, nor any Nayru. I frowned, starting to worry. Where is that girl? I thought.
I shaped back into my coyote form. I went on my four paws as my body changed, and as fur sprouted from my bare skin. My muzzle lengthened, and I snarled as my fangs and claws grew. My tail popped up from behind my shirt. I looked around, trying to see something which could tell me what happened.