In the Margins

     Tavasz was inside, reading one of Kahlfu's spellbooks to see if there were any new tricks she could pick up from it, but Cleo was madly curious about this old friend of her companion's and had followed her outside.

     "So… you grew up with Tavasz, right?" the Draik asked cautiously. One of Kahlfu's ears flicked, and she chuckled.

     "I did. We both came from a little village called Pender's Dell, close to the southern tip of the Haunted Woods. Mostly it was a candy colony, but there were some other pets there too, like my family."

     "Ah," Cleo nodded vigorously. "Tavasz mentioned that there are a lot of candy colonies in the Woods."

     "There are," Kahlfu confirmed. "Most outlanders just don't get far enough into the Woods to see them. They're only here to visit the Deserted Fairgrounds or pick up old Edna's groceries for her."

     The Draik nodded slowly. "I'm beginning to realize there's a lot more going on in the Haunted Woods than I thought."

     The Bori guffawed. "Don't get the wrong idea, most of this place is still inhospitable tracts of untamed forest infested with monsters. But the woods are big. Stretch all the way from Neopia Central in the north to the border of the Lost Desert in the south. Plenty of space for a lot of small villages and hamlets. And if you've never heard of them, that's because they try to stay as under the radar as possible. Fewer monster attacks if nobody knows how to find you, after all."

     Cleo nodded. There was sense in that.

     "Now, I'd like to ask a question, if I may be so bold," Kahlfu said, placing the last of her candles. She turned to Cleo, and tilted her head. "Last I saw, Tav was back home training to take up as the village mage protector, like her mum and gran do. But we're awfully far from Pender's Dell here. Why'd she set to wandering?"

     "I ah… I don't actually know," Cleo admitted. "She called herself a vagabond witch, and the people in Neovia and the Deserted Fairground both knew her, so I imagine she probably has been wandering for at least a few years by now. But I only met her a little over a day ago."

     The Bori looked around at Cleo sharply, and Cleo instantly dropped her eyes from that look. "Really? She's burning the tar out of her paw for someone she just met a few days ago?"

     "I didn't ask her to do that," Cleo said, her shoulders hunching defensively. Kahlfu shook her paw as if waving the explanation away.

     "Nah, nah, not trying to say you did, dearie. Just that I'm surprised, is all. She's many things, a lot of them lovable, but I never would've figured her as the sort to act impulsively and get herself hurt for the sake of a stranger."

     Cleo didn't know how to answer that, and drew her knees into her chest as she thought. It had been exceptionally silly of Tavasz to do that. No, Cleo hadn't liked the shrill sound of the teapot, and yes she'd been too embarrassed about making demands on someone else's hospitality to say so before it was too late. But it was Cleo's problem and her hangups with asking for what she needed of people. She hadn't asked for Tavasz to butt in.

     She hadn't asked, but the Lutari had done it anyway. And not as an empty gesture either, her burned paw was proof of that. It had been instinct. An instinct of selfless kindness.

     Cleo buried her face in her knees. "My life would be so much simpler if you people would just act like you're supposed to."

     That startled one of Kahlfu's enthusiastic peals of laughter out of her, and Cleo heard a creak on the wood as the Bori turned around to face her fully. "And what, pray, do you mean by that?"

     "I… I don't even know," Cleo admitted. "All my life there were rules. Things you didn't question. And one of those things was that the Haunted Woods was dangerous, and the people there were not to be trusted. But there are so many people here who are good."

     She lifted her eyes, letting Kahlfu's face come back into focus as she admitted, "I don't understand why so many people who's judgement I trust implicitly are so wrong about this."

     "I mean, the aesthetics aren't in our favor," Kahlfu admitted, prodding her skull helmet with a claw and smiling crookedly. "And there are some pretty nasty folks here, no doubt about that. But you don't hear about the good ones because bad things make for better stories."

     Cleo couldn't help but snort softly at that. "Point."

     And if she was being honest, most people don't think very highly of her either. She was seen more as someone to be pitied than feared, but… well, she knew firsthand that people could be very, very wrong.

     She just wasn't used to thinking of her mentors and protectors in that context.

     "Maybe I can change their minds," she said suddenly, earning a head tilt from Kahlfu.

     "Faerieland's?"

     "Everyone's," Cleo said, squaring her chin in spite of the quaver of terror that hit her at the thought. "It isn't fair how you're all treated. I'm sure they'll see that, if someone just opens their eyes."

     Kahlfu sighed, one of her long ears swiveling sideways. "Don't get your hopes too high, dear. People in power don't tend to change their minds unless you force them."

     "Aethia's good," Cleo insisted. "She's understanding, she's kind. She protects people, if anybody would understand the need to take any measure to keep yourself and your community safe, she would. And she can help me convince Fyora."

     Kahlfu was quiet at first, then she spread her arms out over the magic circle. "I hope you're right. But for now, we have to save the Woods first."

     Cleo watched curiously as the candles, previously unlit, suddenly sprang to life with pale blue fire. Kahlfu chanted softly under her breath, bringing her taloned paws together in a gesture that was akin to prayer. Streamers of blue energy flowed out of the tiny fires, coming together in the center of the circle and weaving into a solid shape.

     After several silent heartbeats, Kahlfu made a sharp gesture with her right hand, and the fires extinguished. Sitting in the center, head cocked curiously, was the spectral form of a Doglefox. It was missing its left eye, but seemed none the worse for that, jumping to its feet and barking happily at the sight of Kahlfu.

     "Hey buddy," she cooed, kneeling down to pet the small canine. "You up for helping Mummy out? Yes you are! You're such a good boy!"

     Cleo stood, fluttering her wings uncertainly. "He's going to help us?"

     "Mm-hm," Kahlfu agreed, rubbing the Doglefox's belly as he rolled over. "You've seen those spikes around, right? The ones that trigger the snares? If you let little Biscuit here get a good whiff of one, he can follow the scent right back to the person who set the trap."

     "Oh!" Cleo nodded eagerly. "I see, I see! That's a good idea!"

     The Bori smiled, straightening. "Thank you. Just see to it that Biscuit makes it back safely, that's all I ask- when it seems like you're getting close to where your enemy is, you tell him to trot straight home."

     Cleo nodded eagerly, relief welling up in her now that a real solution to their problem was in sight. She jumped to her feet as well, excited to get back underway quickly, to find their adversary before the dark faeries gave up on their deal.

     To her surprise, however, Kahlfu moved closer, leaning down to murmur in the Draik's ear.

     "One more thing, by the way- look after Tavasz. She's stubborn, and makes bad decisions sometimes. She needs someone around with a clear head and the ability to tell her straight up when she's acting the fool. We survive these Woods by taking care of each other, and that isn't just a physical thing."

     Cleo blinked, opening her mouth to ask for clarification, but the Bori strode right on by as if she hadn't said anything, vanishing into the cabin before the Draik could even begin to figure out how to word her question.

     *

     Part of Tavasz was a bit reluctant to leave her old friend behind, but she knew there really wasn't the time or leisure to play catch-up. Maybe another time, now that she knew where Kahlfu was; hopefully future visits would involve less menacing by spectral crocalus.

     Speaking of specters though, the Doglefox that was trailing Cleo and Tavasz through the woods was… sweet, honestly. Running around them, sniffing eagerly at bushes and trees, occasionally taking interest in a passing bird or rodent. Tavasz was more of a cat person- hence her Petpet of choice being a Slorgclops- but she could appreciate Kahlfu's decision to invest in pets she didn't have to feed or take to the vet.

     "Really acts exactly like a living Doglefox, doesn't he?" Cleo mused, in an eerie echo of Tavasz' thoughts. The Lutari chuckled.

     "Undead aren't all bad- their nature tends to reflect the nature of the person who called them up. The skeletons and zombies you're probably used to were called to life by people who were looking for mindless warriors. Kahlfu summoned these ghosts for company, and she protects them."

     Cleo glanced sideways at Tavasz briefly before looking down at her nails. "I can see why you like her."

     "Ha. Don't get it twisted, we ended that seven years ago. Still- yes, she's always been a big ol' softy with the raw power and skill to kick my tail." Ruefully scratching the back of her head, Tavasz added quietly, "Seems to be my type."

     Cleo squinted. "Can't tell if you're making fun of me or not."

     "I'm not," Tavasz replied honestly, in spite of the fact that every instinct was screaming to her that this was a mistake. Holding up her bandaged paw, she added, "Against my own better judgement."

     Cleo's frill fanned out and she flicked her fingers anxiously. "This is definitely not the time or the place for this conversation." Then, quietly, "Though for what it's worth, when you aren't being snippy I do enjoy your company too."

     "Such compliments," Tavasz mused with a laugh. Cleo shook her head.

     "Emotional vulnerability is hard. Flowery compliments are harder."

     "That's fair," the Lutari acknowledged. "And certainly most Woodlanders are hardly going to be reciting poems for me. And given how crass I've been, I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."

     "Against my own better judgement," Cleo echoed with heavy irony, "I don't. You annoy the living daylights out of me sometimes, but you're also funny, and personable. Maybe when we have more time and less imminent danger of monsters in the trees, we can… talk about that. But, I stand by what I said earlier."

     "Not the time," Tavasz agreed tiredly. And, if she was being honest, guiltily, though probably Cleo wouldn't pick up on that subtlety. She swallowed hard. "Cleo, listen, I…"

     The Draik looked up curiously, and for a perilous heartbeat Tavasz seriously considered coming clean. Telling her companion the real reason she needed to stop whoever was setting the bands. The real reason she'd asked Cleo to come along on the quest.

     But then she huffed, shaking her head. Smiled, an expression that almost hurt to make. "Nah, nevermind. Like you said, we can talk about this later."

     Cleo rolled her eyes. "All right, dramatic one. If we're agreed, let's focus on the task at hand."

     "Right," Tavasz murmured, letting Cleo get a bit ahead.

     "How is it not altruistic to want to prove Woodlanders can be heroes? That benefits all of us."

     "I think you'd find your little friend up there disagrees."

     Tavasz hated when the Sorceress was right.

     The duo travelled in silence for a time. Twice they had to swiftly duck behind a shrub or tree when Cleo spotted something large and unfriendly sniffing through the trees. Thankfully Biscuit was as obedient as they could have hoped, following the gestured directions to stay hidden whenever a threat rumbled by.

     Finally, just as the sun was starting to sink in the sky with the approaching nightfall, Tavasz spotted a familiar golden glow through the trees.

     "Cleo," she hissed softly. The Draik paused, glancing over her shoulder. Tavasz pointed, and after a moment of squinting Cleo nodded.

     "Moment of truth," she said in an undertone. She clicked softly to Biscuit, who perked up and wagged his tail excitedly. Then, moving slowly so as not to get too close and trigger the snare, she headed in the direction of the glow. Tavasz uneasily hung back, wary that her dark nature might somehow trigger the trap even from a distance. Hopefully it either didn't work on ghosts, or Cleo could get Biscuit close enough to smell it without accidentally catching him up in one of the bands.

     He's our last hope of getting this done before the time runs out- this has to work.

     She frowned a bit. She shouldn't really care if or not they got this done in time to protect Faerieland. After all, what had Faerieland ever done for her or the Woods? Nothing, that's what.

     Maybe she cared because she knew Cleo did. Certainly the Draik had to be feeling the pressure. Tavasz didn't think she would abandon the mission if they went over time, but she'd certainly become frantic with worry and blame herself for abandoning her post.

     As if it's her fault Aethia set her an impossible task and she couldn't live up to it. No single warrior can protect the whole of the Woodland border, or even the entirety of the Haunted Woods and Faerieland border. She was wearing herself ragged trying.

     But even if she was willing to admit it was unfair- which she didn't seem to be- she'd still blame herself for letting people down. She was very black and white that way.

     Tavasz shook herself thoroughly, yanking her mind back into the present. There wasn't much to be done about the time limit, except hope that wherever their culprit was, they were within a few hours run for Biscuit. Cleo seemed to have gotten close to the snare without setting it off, and was now waving the Doglefox forwards. The Draik pointed to the spike, and the ghost set about sniffing it with every evidence of enthusiasm.

     Then, yipping softly, he turned and ran off into the forest. Spreading her wings and leaping into the air, Cleo followed. Resigning herself to an exhausting time, Tavasz jogged after them.

     Ghosts were no longer alive to need to breathe, and as such when running they were utterly tireless. On the one paw, this was good in that it meant Biscuit could continue to follow the scent trail of their adversaries nearly endlessly without having to stop for water or rest. On the other, the Draik and Lutari were both very much alive. Cleo at least had spent years training her endurance and physical fitness. Tavasz could walk for long periods without needing to sit and rest, but she had no such advantages when it came to running. Within five minutes she was huffing and puffing, and after ten she was struggling to keep pace.

     Cleo noticed, and called to Biscuit to wait before landing next to the Lutari. "I… could carry you again?" she offered with a somewhat uncomfortable expression. "If you made yourself lighter."

     "Are… you sure?" Tavasz panted. "Last time was… an emergency, but I… know you don't like… touching people or, or being touched."

     Cleo shuddered. "No, I don't. But either way one of us is going to be uncomfortable, right? And at least this way, we're making progress. You're going to fall over if you keep up like this."

     "Preemptively sweeping me off my feet- my hero," Tavasz joked, earning a hard punch on the shoulder. She inhaled long and slow, then exhaled explosively. "All right, if you're sure. Just a minute, I'll do the weight reduction spell."

     She held up both paws, letting amethyst fire spill from between her talons. It enveloped her body, sinking under her skin, and a moment later the aching muscles in her legs felt much less strained, as if she'd sat down and taken the weight off of them. The Lutari nodded to Cleo, who obligingly hooked her under the armpits and, despite tensing at the contact, jumped into the sky again.

     It wasn't the most comfortable way to travel, dangling from her shoulders like a bright pink potato sack. Nor was it the most dignified. But it worked- Cleo had the stamina, and her wings the speed, to keep up with Biscuit almost indefinitely, and their pace devoured the distance between the snare and wherever they were going.

     Tavasz wasn't sure how much time passed. An hour at least, possibly two. Long enough for the sun to finish setting. Long enough for dark clouds to begin gathering in the distance, rumbling ominously as they bore down on the woods. But not quite long enough for proper moonrise. Not long enough to be unreasonable for an average Neopian to travel in one trip to set the snare.

     But at length, Biscuit's destination came into view, and he slowed in his ground devouring lope. Cleo slowed down too, coming in to set Tavasz down before shaking her arms and head furiously as if to shake off the sensation of the Lutari's fur. Tavasz released the magic that was suppressing her weight, resisting the urge to give a full-body shake of her own as the odd sensation of sliding back into her own skin overtook her. Then, they turned to see where the Doglefox had led them.

     The land ahead dropped off sharply in a deep, wide gully. There were no mature trees inside of it, only a few short, scraggly bushes and some too-optimistic saplings. It extended as far as the eye could see in either direction, vanishing into the shadows of the twisted oaks on either side of the drop. Going by the direction of the thing, it was probably a spring flood plain for the snowmelt from the mountains. In another month or two this whole area would be underwater. Possibly earlier, if late winter was unseasonably warm. Knowing this, the local creatures would probably avoid this area from late winter until early summer, when the flash flooding would have had time to drain off.

     In other words, it was the perfect place to hide, if you wanted to steer clear from at least the more intelligent creatures of the deep woods.

     "Well, well, well," Tavasz murmured grimly. "I think we've found our culprit's home base. Biscuit, which way."

     The Doglefox looked northwest, upstream of the eventual floodwaters. Cleo sighed, pulling her bow from the quiver at her back and setting the string.

     "All right then," she said with grim determination. "Go on home, boy. We'll take things from here. Home!"

     Biscuit yipped very softly, wagging his tail. Tavasz wished she could have pet him, but the seasoned Woodlander knew her paw would just pass through his head. Instead she simply added, "And good boy! Thank you for the help, and you tell Kahlfu I said thank her too!"

     The Doglefox's tail wagged harder, and he turned to flee back in the direction they'd come. Cleo looked flatly at Tavasz. "'Tell Kahlfu I said thank you?'"

     "What?" Tavasz asked innocently. "You don't know, maybe she can talk to him!"

     Cleo squinted. "You're making fun of me."

     "Would I do that?" Tavasz asked earnestly. Cleo groaned.

     "Come on, we're nearly there. Let's find out who's doing this and put a stop to it. We're on borrowed time."

     Tavasz sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Just… getting some nerves out, you know? Lightening the mood. We don't know who or what we're about to see."

     "No," Cleo agreed grimly. After a moment's hesitation, she rustled her wings and admitted, "I'm anxious. I don't like confronting whatever was strong enough to send werelupes, the spider grundo, and the black pteri fleeing. We need to be careful about this."

     Tavasz nodded. "Right- Slow and clever, that's how you survive in the Haunted Woods. I'd never suggest otherwise." She grinned crookedly. "Let's go save the Woods. And Faerieland."

     "The Woods and Faerieland," Cleo agreed. Then, both of them fell silent, and started moving slowly forwards into the darkness.

     *

     Overhead, the rumbling clouds cracked with light, and a drizzle started. Small blessings- the noise of it would mostly muffle their footsteps. Cleo didn't mind the sound of the rain- it was honestly rather nice, a white noise that was steady and rhythmic and drowned out other more irregular environmental sounds. She didn't so much care for the sensation of it, a cold wet that slithered down her scales and made her clothes cling. Usually in weather like this she'd have found a shelter- few creatures wanted to be out and about in the rain, so she could safely let off her vigilance when storms were brewing.

     Not now, though. Now, there was little time to lose, and an enemy that would probably find them before they found it if they tried to wait out the weather.

     At length, Tavasz stopped moving, and Cleo paused as well. The Lutari was squinting into the gloom, and Cleo followed her gaze. There, at the base of the gully, was the entrance to a cave. It was oddly smooth and regular, as if it had been tunnelled artificially, and barely visible through the gloom was a faint glow from within.

     Cleo swallowed hard, and nodded. Every instinct in her went against going in there. Aethia had warned her that you didn't challenge monsters in their own lair. That was home ground, where they knew all the secrets and had all of the advantages. But they couldn't just turn back now. There was too much at stake.

     Cleo fluttered down on her own two wings into the ravine, and Tavasz again cast the purple cloud spell to let her slowly float down from the ledge. Once Tavasz had set down, Cleo pulled an arrow from her quiver and put it to the string of her bow. She nodded towards the cave, and Tavasz smiled.

     Then, they dove into the stone tunnel, and found themselves standing in a cathedral sized space full of light.

     Tavasz squawked in surprise, putting a hand up to her eyes to shield them. Cleo only squinted, putting a wing up as a sun shade so that she could see past the blinding glow. The light was coming from some sort of crystal in the center of the room, a massive yellow jewel that was anchored to the stone by a black metal baseplate. Smaller crystals floated in the air, orbiting the larger one

     And standing around the jewel, turned towards Cleo and Tavasz with pinched expressions, were a trio of light faeries.

     "Who-" one of the faeries blurted, fluttering into the air. She had pale skin, her blonde hair tied back in a long ponytail. The second, her skin bronze and her black hair flowing down to her mid-back, hissed softly.

     "It was only a matter of time before someone found us and we knew it, Lustri," she said to the first, who scowled.

     "I know, but these don't look like Woodlanders! What are they doing out here?"

     Tavasz, her fur bristling, gritted her teeth as she lowered her paw from her face. "What am- I live here! I was born in these woods to a proud family of witches! What about you, light faeries, what are you doing here?"

     The third faerie who had not yet spoken stepped forwards. She was the darkest of the three, her tight brown curls shot through with streaks of her elemental gold. "I am Raydeen. These with me are Lustri and Spectra. And you need not fear us, witch of the Woods. Nor you, whomever you are," she added to Cleo, who felt as though her brain was seized with molasses.

     "You.." the Draik stammered, "You… did the Queen send you? Did Fyora sanction this? She can't have!"

     Raydeen looked surprised. "You're from Faerieland?"

     "Aethia sent me," Cleo confirmed. "Set me to guard the border and keep monsters from crossing out of the Woods."

     "And you didn't answer her," Tavasz growled, her talons clenched into fists at her side.

     "Calm yourself," Spectra snapped. "No, we are not here on orders. We should be, frankly, after everything that happened. But the queen learned nothing from Xandra, to let these lands fester as they do, and it shouldn't be on Aethia's pupils to keep our kingdom safe!"

     "Safe?" Tavasz echoed. "How are you keeping anything safe? It's been you setting the snares in the woods and putting bands on the Woodlanders, right? Because all that's accomplished has been chasing them out of the Woods altogether, right towards Faerieland!"

     Lustri jerked back, turning in the air towards Cleo. "Aethia's disciple- is that true?"

     "Y-yes," Cleo croaked, having to clamp her arms and wings tight to her body to restrain the urge to fidget. "Please, please, I don't know what you think you're doing, but you must stop! I've fought more monsters at the border in the last few weeks than in all the previous months put together! And besides that, you're hurting them! Hurting innocents, who are guilty of nothing but wandering into the snares!"

     The faeries exchanged looks that Cleo couldn't read, but when Raydeen turned to Cleo and spoke, the saccharine tones of condescension were painfully familiar.

     "Little one, there are no innocents in the Haunted Woods. Everyone knows this. But what we're doing will fix all of that. The bands we've set are feeding on the dark energy of the monsters in the Woods and converting it into light magic. Soon, very soon now, we will have enough power stored in this crystal to finish the spell."

     "What spell?" Cleo demanded, before Tavasz could make a hot retort at the assertion that there were no innocents in the Woods. Spectra smiled, putting out a hand to touch the massive crystal.

     "Simple dear- a purification spell. It will purge all of the dark magic from this land, turning the Haunted Woods into just another normal wood. A safe wood for your little friend there, one where she won't even miss her witch magic."

     "Say WHAT?" Tavasz shrieked, and Cleo flinched hard at the shrill noise. "What force under Kreludor's light gives you the notion that you have any place doing something like that? Imposing your way on us?"

     "These woods are an aberration," Lustri said with a dismissive flap of her hand. "Dangerous to everyone both outside of them and inside. Frankly this is long overdue, and all of Neopia will be better off for it. And you will be much better off without the dark magic poisoning your mind and heart."

     "S-she's not…" Cleo sputtered, but her voice failed as bile rose in the back of her throat. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening, this couldn't be real! Everything Tavasz had said, all of her scornful comments about the faeries, they couldn't be right!

     "Cleo!" Tavasz hissed, the fur on her hackles standing straight on end. "They're not going to listen. You know about these faerie weapons- how do we destroy the crystal?"

     The Draik shook her head, unable to catch her breath long enough to answer. She looked up at the faeries pleadingly. "Nnn… n-no… please- you c-can't do this!"

     "Surely Aethia has told you not to ever trust a dark faerie?" Spectra demanded. "In these very Woods she was nearly struck down by one! The witches and monsters here are no better. We will revert the werelupes into normal lupes, give the witches a second chance at a normal life, make the Deserted Fairgrounds into a carnival to rival any other!"

     "Cleo!" Tavasz snapped, and the Draik flinched. No! Faeries from Faerieland were good, they were good!

     "The witch is trying to corrupt Aethia's disciple," Lustri said, fluttering closer and summoning balls of golden light into her hands. "And she's not listening to reason. We've talked enough."

     "I'm not listening to-" Tavasz bleated, but whatever else she'd been about to say was cut off. She had to summon a wall of violet flame to shield herself from the bolts of light magic the faerie hurled at her.

     "No! Stop!" Cleo cried, swinging up her bow on pure instinct. The arrow was still grasped in her other hand, and in a fluid, practiced motion she let it fly. It missed, sailing well shy of Lustri's head, but it surprised the faerie enough that Cleo was able to grab Tavasz' arms and kick off the ground into the air. Turning sharply, she flew towards the entrance of the cave, and out into the rain.

     "Cleo!" Tavasz cried, but the Draik wasn't listening. Tavasz was talking, but her words were a meaningless jumble of sounds that clattered against Cleo's ears like a toddler banging pots and pans. The Lutari's fur tickled, her body heat pressed uncomfortably, and the more she shouted the more an irrational anger pricked at Cleo's mind like a thousand jabbing needles.

     Just shut up, just shut up, just shut up-

     "For Fyora's sake, Tavasz, just shut up!"

     Cleo didn't realize she'd said the words out loud until a blessed beat of silence gave her space to fumble for the tattered remnants of her composure. The faeries would be following them. The Draik and the Lutari seen too much. They had to get away.

     She was fleeing from faeries. Light faeries, good faeries. It went against everything she'd ever been taught to believe. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. Betrayal and disbelief were a jumbled tangle in her mind, and more than anything she wanted to find a dark, quite corner and rock back and forth until she could calm down.

     But the strain of carrying Tavasz at full weight was more than Cleo could manage for long. Spotting a particularly thick knot of bushes, she brought them back down, dropping Tavasz as soon as she safely could and collapsing ragdoll under the largest of the bushes. Her whole body was shaking, and the pressure of the solid earth under her belly was grounding.

     But thrice-cursed Tavasz just couldn't keep her mouth shut.

     "What was that?" she demanded, stamping over to Cleo like a child. "Why did you run away? We're supposed to be stopping them, and now we've lost the element of surprise! They can plan for us!"

     Cleo flinched, digging her claws into the dirt. "N-no. I can… I can get them to stop. They'll listen, I just, I need space to think, that's all."

     "Get them to- are you hearing yourself, Cleo?" Tavasz demanded. "Did you hear them? They're not interested in changing their minds, and when you tried they cooed at you like you were a naive child! You aren't going to make people who are so radicalized against the Haunted Woods that they'll concoct a plot to purge it with light magic behind their queen's back see reason!"

     Cleo fanned her wings rapidly, trying to calm herself down. She could feel the knot of fury, betrayal and overwhelm radiating out of her skin, and like a flash fire all it would take was a single spark to set her ablaze. She couldn't think properly to argue with Tavasz, and she wished the Lutari would just walk away for a bit so she could get herself back from the brink of disaster.

     When the Draik didn't respond, Tavasz sighed and her footsteps moved closer to Cleo's head. "Look. I know you didn't want to accept that the faeries aren't perfect. Still don't, I guess."

     Just stop talking, just stop talking-

      "But shutting your eyes and ears to the truth doesn't make it go away. You're just doing exactly what they're doing, convincing yourself that you're the good guy when the world is not remotely that simple."

     I am going to bite you if you don't shut up...

     "We have to stop them, or we- the Woodlanders- will lose everything. Our culture, our identity, our freedom. We'll be shoved into their nice neat little box of acceptability until we either conform or suffocate. I'm sorry you had to find this out about your heroes, I really am-"

     Cleo felt Tavasz's tail drape over her shoulders. It was probably supposed to be a comforting gesture, but that weight and the prickle of her fur on Cleo's already raw, frazzled nerves was just too much.

     "Don't touch me!" she snarled, whipping to her feet and shoving Tavasz against the shoulders. The Lutari cried out sharply, falling on her back and gaping up at Cleo. "Go away, go away, leave me alone! I don't want your pity, I want to fix this!"

     Tavasz swiveled her ears backwards. "Those three have decided they know better than the entire population of the Haunted Woods! What makes you think they'll listen to you?"

     "I'm not from the Woods!" Cleo shot back, squeezing both hands around her upper arms so hard that it hurt and lashing her tail. "They don't trust the Woodlanders, but they might trust me!"

     "Oh, there it is again!" Tavasz snarled, shoving herself into a standing position. "Woodlanders can't be trusted with their own fates, they don't deserve their own autonomy, but when a Faerielander decides to play hero, suddenly things are different!"

     "You know that isn't what I mean!"

     "No, but it's all of a piece isn't it?" Tavasz demanded. "Nothing good comes out of the Haunted Woods. We have no heroes, never, not even when we try our hardest. We're either stupid and naive and mislead, or we're malevolent. The Woods can only be saved if it's by a hero who adheres to the acceptable status quo."

     Cleo opened her mouth to snarl back, but Tavasz was still talking. Pointing a talon at Cleo, she spat, "This was finally going to be my chance to prove them wrong! To be a hero, not in the dark and the quiet where no one with power had to acknowledge it, but before the eyes of a student of the Battle Faerie, who could carry the story out of the Woods to where no one could pretend it never happened. But to think I was starting to believe you would listen to my side, that I didn't have to be a 'hero' by your standards, that you might like me for me-"

     She broke off, her hackles going flat, as Cleo's jaw dropped. The Draik stared at her, shaking so hard she felt like she might vibrate out of her skin. "You… you lied to me? You were using me, to be the witness of you acting out some, some hero fantasy?"

     Tavasz was shaking her head, both paws held up. "I… Shoot, Cleo, at first yes, but I swear-"

     Cleo did not wait for Tavasz to finish speaking. The maelstrom of barely repressed emotions exploded inside of her, and with a shriek of fury and despair, Cleo started snatching up rocks, sticks, pinecones, anything she could get her hands on, and throwing them at Tavasz.

     "I thought you were different!" she sobbed. "I thought you were different! But you're just like everyone else, you lied to me, you used me, you took advantage of me! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

     Tavasz didn't fight back, only holding up her arms to shield her head from the onslaught of missiles. It wasn't long before Cleo ran out of things worth throwing, but her anger was not spent, even a little. With a scream that echoed through the forest, she jumped into the air and flew off into the stormy sky as fast as she could, Tavasz' frantic cries falling unheeded in her ears.

To be continued…