Chapter 24: Morning at the Tribe

Misty woke up the next morning to see the sun shining brightly in the bright blue sky. She could hear the waves lapping at the nearby shore. Misty blinked several times to wake herself up and glanced out at the distance. It was a beautiful view; mountains in the distance and the river running in between them as far as the eye could see.

She turned and looked at the boys’ side of the camp. Most of the boys were knocked out, seeming exhausted, all sprawled across the ground. Misty could only see a few were actually in the dens that were up in the trees. Even the boys from her own group were on the ground spread apart, looking deep in sleep. They must’ve stayed up all night, she realized.

“Mornin’,” said a voice. Misty turned to see Campbell with a rabbit in front of her that was half-eaten. She tossed a fox to Misty. “There ya go. Eat up.”

“Thanks,” Misty returned, taking a bite of fox. “Where’s Lilypaka?”

“By the lake,” Campbell said, pointing with a tail to the meerkat. She had a stick with woven vines attached to the end. “She calls it a ‘net’,” explained Campbell, as if noticing Misty was looking at the object. “She’s trying to catch little fish gathered at the shore.”
“Smart,” Misty remarked. She gave a sideways glance at her sister, who was fast asleep. “The boys seem exhausted,” she said to Campbell.

“Tell me about it. For once Ophir’s actually quiet,” Campbell muttered.

“He seems beat-up after that fight,” Misty said, looking at Ophir, who had several cuts on his body from being scratched at by other boys’ claws.

“Mm,” nodded Campbell, taking a bite of rabbit before adding, “well, that’s his own fault. I don’t think messing with Tribe boys is smart.”
Misty didn’t respond, but she couldn’t help to agree. The Tribe boys had fights like these every night. Ophir was new to it, so taking them on the first night they were there probably wasn’t the best idea the gray wolf possibly ever had.

Lilypaka came back just then, and Misty could see tiny fish in her net. “I caught some!” she exclaimed. She then noticed Misty awake. “Oh. Good morning, Misty.”
Misty nodded back in greeting. “So what’re you gonna do with those?”
“It’s my breakfast,” Lilypaka said. “When I was little mom would get me fish every now and then as a treat. For old times’ sake I decided to have some.”

Misty felt a pang of homesickness as she thought about her own mother. “I wonder what my mom is doing right now,” she murmured.

Lilypaka gave Misty a sympathetic look. “I’ll bet she misses you a lot.”
“I hope she does,” Misty nodded.

“I don’t think a whole lot of animals miss me,” Campbell muttered. “But if there’s one who definitely doesn’t, it’s Liberty.”
“Oh, hush,” Misty insisted.

“Don’t act like you don’t believe me. Liberty never liked me,” Campbell retorted.

“Yeah, well maybe she didn’t like the fact that you were always so rude towards her,” Misty shot back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Lilypaka spoke up. “Who’s Liberty?”
“My sister,” Campbell said. “White fur, blue eyes…everyone loved her because she was such a good fighter,” she growled in a sarcastic-sounding tone. “And guess who everyone ignored? Me.”
“I’m sure not everyone…” Lilypaka said hesitantly.

“My parents wouldn’t. But that was it,” Campbell grumbled.

“I didn’t!” Misty protested.

“Fine. And Misty.”

“What’s your home called?” Lilypaka asked.

“The Bending Tower,” answered Campbell.

“Ah. What’s it like there?”

“Lot of forest,” Misty said, feeling more homesick as she recalled the place where her family and friends all lived. “We live in a big Tower, and next to it is a stone yard where we mostly hang out. There’s also tree-fall place, where a bunch of fallen trees are, and Ice River, which separates us from other territories…”
Lilypaka nodded. “Can’t wait to see it someday,” she said with a smile.

“We might not,” Campbell sighed. “It feels like we’re never going home…”

“You will,” Lilypaka insisted.

“What makes you so sure?” Misty asked.

“Well,” Lilypaka began, “if you train your mind to believe you’ll never return home, you’ll start to truly think it. And how will that help you with this whole ‘stopping-Yin-and-Yang-thing’?”

“True,” Misty said.

They finished up their breakfasts, talking occasionally but not as much as they had been when discussing their homes. Misty glanced at Adele, who was still asleep, but as she looked at her winged sister, her eyes fluttered open. Misty smiled as if to say “good morning”. Adele flicked her ear in return.

Campbell also took notice and nudged the last piece of prey – a beaver – in Adele’s direction. Adele took it and began to eat.

“Mornin’,” said a voice. Misty turned to see Koro standing at the barrier, and she smiled upon seeing him.

“Hi,” she returned. “How’s it been going with the Tribe boys?”
Koro turned to Misty and she found it difficult to hold his gaze without looking away. “Well…it’s been going,” he said in response. He then glanced down at Adele. “How’s she been going?”
A bit of confusion flashed in Misty, but it left just as quickly. “As good as she’s ever been…why?”

“I like to make sure she’s doing well,” Koro insisted. “Y’know, since she’s…” he didn’t finish his sentence, as if hesitant to say the word “deaf”.

At this Misty felt a pang of jealousy, and annoyance at her sister being treated differently. “I’m watching after her, Koro,” she said, attempting to keep any anger out of her voice. “She’s fine with me; always has been.”

Koro hesitated, before nodding. “Alright then.” He then headed back to the boys’ side of camp, over to Rhett, who looked as though he’d just woken up.

Misty growled as soon as her mentor was out of earshot. “He’s being awfully inconsiderate.”
“Why? Because he was concerned for your sister? And not you?” Campbell chuckled.

“Well, he acts as though I can’t take care of my own sister, and all he did was ask about her then leave,” Misty muttered.

“I honestly think you’re overreacting. Your judgment’s clouded,” Campbell insisted.

“Don’t talk to me about overreacting or clouded judgment,” Misty retorted. “You’re the one who always rants about your sister.”
“Fine,” growled Campbell. “Sorr-ee.”

“D’you think we’re staying on this side of camp all day?” Lilypaka asked. “Or can we see what the guys are up to at all?”
“Probably not the Tribe boys,” Misty sighed. “They want nothing to do with us.”
“Yeah. They’re annoying,” Campbell agreed. 

“Well let’s go over and at least look. Besides, what can they do to us?” Lilypaka said.

Misty and Campbell murmured in agreement and the three of them stood up, and Adele did as well. They walked through the barrier between the camps and they walked through the boys’ camp. It almost seemed like they all were dead, as they were all asleep and scattered everywhere, like someone had raided the place and left behind the bodies. The thought made Misty shiver.

“I was surrounded,” said a familiar voice. Misty turned to see Tiggerpaka with Ronais, Dozzi and Mudaz. The three Tribe boys looked very interested in what the meerkat was saying. “Nowhere to run. My nemesis Tiredblade had cornered me, and I thought it was surely the end! He let out a menacing laugh and pulled his claws back, prepared to strike me. But that was when I called upon the hornets to help me!”
“Whoa!” exclaimed Ronais. “You can talk to hornets?”
“I can talk to all sorts of creatures,” smirked Tiggerpaka.

“Oh brother,” Campbell grumbled.

“Do it now! Do it now!” said Mudaz excitedly, jumping up and down.

“No, I must finish my story!” declared Tiggerpaka. “Anyways, so the hornets swooped in and confused poor Tiredblade and stung him in the eyes, blinding him! He howled out in pain! That was when I jumped at him with my stick weapon and stabbed him, and he ran off crying for his mommy!” Tiggerpaka then leaned back with a smirk on his face again. “And that is how I defended the Meerkat Clan.”
“Whoa,” murmured the three boys, intrigued by the meerkat’s words.

“That is so cool!” Dozzi exclaimed. He then turned to the two others. “Guys, we should play ‘Defend the Clan’!”
“I call being Tiggerpaka!” Mudaz  shouted.

“No fair! You always take the best role!” whined Ronais.

“Now, now,” Tiggerpaka said. “I know how much you three want to be me, but there’s only enough for one of me to go around!”
“He’s right,” commented Dozzi. “Maybe you could play with us!” he insisted, beaming at Tiggerpaka.

A flash of uncertainty came upon the meerkat’s face, but it left just as quickly, being replaced with his usual arrogant look. “I’m very sorry, boys, but I’ve done enough fighting for this land. I shall instead give you tips while you play your game.”

“Yeah!” the boys all agreed simultaneously.

“I get to be Tiggerpaka then!” Mudaz said.

“I wanna be him!” Dozzi protested.

“I’ll fight you for it!” Mudaz exclaimed.

“Whenever you lose a fight you get mad and leave,” Ronais retorted. He then turned to Dozzi. “Look, this time he can be Tiggerpaka.”
“Yeah!” Mudaz grinned.

“I’m gonna be Tiredblade then,” Dozzi insisted.

“I’m the hornets!” Ronais declared.

“We should get moving,” spoke up Lilypaka to the girls. “I don’t wanna be around when this fight happens between those three…”

Author’s Note:
Kinda pointless chapter. ^^; And yeah, I know I say it a lot, but again I’m sorry for not posting. The usual excuse (school). I may not get to post chapters as much anymore, anyway. High school is right around the corner for me, so during that time I won’t get to be on a whole lot. :/

Chapter 23: Herb Hunting

The next morning Liberty didn't quite make it to the yard before she was stopped by her father, Dust.
"Look, Nightgale still has herbs to find," he explained. "Your mother thinks you should go look for them."
Liberty growled. "I'm telling you, I didn't do it."
Dust shrugged. "I don't blame you for denying it. Herb hunting sucks," he chuckled.
"That's what it's called?" Liberty said, giving him a look.
"Well...that's what Rusty and I call it anyway. But look, if you don't go Charlotte's gonna be mad. At both of us," Dust said nervously. "So I'd hop to it if I were you."
Liberty sighed, cursing under her breath as she left The Bending Tower, growling to herself when she was far away enough that her father couldn't hear. This is unfair, she kept repeating to herself. I didn't do anything, and I have to go herb hunting. I have to become the most hated animal in this place. Stupid opposite...
She went out into the yard, ignoring other animals' glares and whispering as she walked past. As she walked, she noticed the snow had melted a bit and it wasn't so deep now. Currently, the sky was bright blue and the sun was up in the sky, and there were only a few clouds here and there. It was still pretty cold out, however.
Liberty almost got to the exit before she felt some latch onto her back right leg.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, whipping around, only to find it was Lucky. "Oh." She relaxed. "It's you."
"Hi!" Lucky greeted her before batting at her tail with his claws extended. Liberty turned around to stop him from doing so. "Whatcha doing?" he asked.
"I'm about to head out," Liberty said.
"Out? Outside?" Lucky said, head tilted.
Liberty nodded.
"Can I come? Please?" Lucky asked eagerly.
"You don't like snow," Liberty pointed out.
"There's not as much now! And I like exploring! Pleeeeaaaasssee?" he begged.
Liberty gave an irritated sigh. "Fine."
"Yay!" Lucky exclaimed eagerly.
"But you're walking this time. You need to learn to walk in the snow," Liberty insisted.
"Okay," Lucky nodded.
Lucky followed her out of the yard and to the forest. Liberty looked around, wondering where she might find herbs. Maybe just anywhere in the forest, Liberty suggested to herself. But how do you tell an herb from a regular plant...?
"What're we doing out here?" Lucky asked, snapping Liberty back to reality.
"Herb hunting," she replied.
"What's that?"
"It's when you look for plants that can help cure sickness and injuries."
Lucky frowned. "Huh?"
"It's medicine," Liberty translated, "that helps you when you get sick or heals places that hurt. Okay?"
"Ohhhh," murmured Lucky in understanding.
Liberty stopped as she realized they were by the tree-fall place. There were surprisingly no animals there; normally apprentices always came here for training. "Maybe there are herbs around here," suggested Liberty, mainly to herself.
"I'll look for some!" exclaimed Lucky, beaming.
"No, I don't think you'd recognize one," Liberty insisted with a dismissive wave of her tail.
"Then what do I do?" Lucky asked, batting playfully at Liberty's tail.
Liberty snatched her tail away. "Don't do that."
"Sorry," Lucky apologized.
"Anyways, I want you to practice tree climbing. That almost got you in trouble yesterday in tag. If you practice more, you won't end up like that again," Liberty said.
"Why do I have to?" Lucky asked. His tail-tip twitched and as he spotted it he began to bat at it.
"Not only it will help you in tag, it also will in a real fight one day. So think of this as battle training," Liberty suggested.
Lucky nodded eagerly. "I'll do it!" He ran over to the nearest tree.
Liberty sighed. "That should keep him occupied," she muttered to herself before examining some of the bushes.
She examined the bushes, looking first for any type of herb she'd recognize. There were several dead flowers but nothing that seemed like would help. Liberty growled in annoyance. Yeah, send me to find some stupid herbs. Because I know all about healing, right?
"Liberty! Look at me!" exclaimed Lucky's voice.
Liberty turned to see Lucky was in the first branch of the tree. "Good!" she shouted over to him. "Keep practicing!"
"Okay!" he said back.
Liberty turned to keep looking for herbs and then she noticed some other Benders not too far away, ones she recognized; Leafy, Malroy, Twig, Ryker, Nyla, Sparky, Max, Spot, Crash, Audrey, Stone and Ekaj. Immediately she was confused. What's with the big patrol? she asked. Normally they were never this big.
Stone stepped forward. "Liberty, I'm gonna have to ask you and that kit to leave," she growled. "We're doing assessments."
"I have to look for herbs," Liberty insisted, glaring at the raccoon.
"Oh yeah. You destroyed a bunch of them," Leafy remarked. "Why?"
"'Cause she's a jerk, that's why," Ryker growled, taking a few steps forward.
Anger rushed through Liberty. "I di--" she began, but stopped herself. It's pointless to keep saying you didn't do it, she realized. No one believes you. 
"You didn't do it?" Ryker sneered. "Is that the lie you're trying to convince us of? You're innocent of all the things you did?"
There was more meaning to the words, and Liberty realized Ryker was talking about how her opposite had tried to kill Sirius, supposedly on Fake-Ash's orders. Dread filled Liberty; if Ryker told others about it, there was no way they'd keep her in The Bending Tower. And they definitely wouldn't believe the whole "Fake-Ash's-orders-thing". The whole Tower thought he was a hero, still the same Ash who'd been there before Yin and Yang started their fight.
Liberty gritted her teeth but didn't reply.
"Ryker, hush," Nyla scolded her son. She then looked at Liberty. "You're going to have to leave though."
Despite the fact that Liberty had been framed of all these things, she knew she could trust Nyla to be kind. "Can you tell me where I can find some herbs?"
"Why should we--" Ryker began, but Crash cut him off.
"By Ice River. Herbs tend to grow there," Crash said.
"Thank you," Liberty mumbled.
"And take your cat with you," Stone said through narrowed eyes. "He'll just get in the way."
Liberty sighed and turned to look at Lucky, who was still climbing, ignoring the situation. "C'mon, Lucky," Liberty called. "We have to go."
"Aww!" Lucky protested. "I was doing good!"
"Let's go," Liberty insisted.
She began to walk off for Ice River, knowing Lucky would catch up, but before she got past the patrol she was stopped by Sparky. He had anger in his eyes as he looked at her, but - despite him being taller and bigger than Liberty - it didn't intimidate her, and she looked back at him. "I don't want you going near my sister again," he hissed.
"What do you mean?" Liberty retorted calmly.
"I mean...don't go near her!" he roared before slashing his claws across Liberty's shoulder, much stronger than Liberty would've anticipated. This made her yelp out and she fell to the ground, and only just had time to see Sparky jump for her again, but Max and Nyla pulled him back. Liberty scrambled back to her paws, blood running down her shoulder as Sparky screamed out. "She's the reason my sister's gonna die! She's responsible for it! Let me kill her! Let me kill her!"
"Sparky!" Nyla snarled, and Liberty briefly saw the look she'd have when Lephos and Sidew did something bad - but the look was much stronger. The Border Collie threw Sparky onto the ground and put her paws down on him to keep him there. "Don't hurt Liberty for this! Stop!"
"Get off me!" Sparky barked, struggling under Nyla's grasp.
"Go!" exclaimed a voice, and Liberty realized it was Spot. "Get out of here! Run!"
Liberty nodded and darted off, not bothering to wait for Lucky as Sparky's screams filled the air; the black kitten would be okay. She kept running further and further into Bending Tower territory until Sparky's yells became nothing more than a faint echo.
She stopped in a clearing, panting, and looked back at where she had come from. That was his opposite, she realized. It had to be. Liberty doubted the real Sparky would be that violent or crazy-sounding. But what did this mean for the orange wolf? Would he be shunned by The Bending Tower because of this?
And why was Spot all of the sudden concerned? Liberty decided to brush that thought off; it didn't seem like anything to be suspicious about.
After she caught her breath Liberty kept running, this time in the direction of Ice River. Whether Sparky threatened her or not, she still was on an herb hunt. She ran through the territory, trying to focus on the sounds of the birds singing rather than the thought of Sparky screaming at the top his lungs. Liberty closed her eyes in attempts to calm herself down, then slowly opened them.
And that's when Liberty ran into herself.

Author's Note:
Sorry for the late chapter. School. ^^; That's been getting in the way a lot lately, huh?
But anyway, have you guys listened to Imagine Dragons's new album? It is SO good. Check it out, especially the songs "Gold", "Friction" and "Shots". :D

Chapter 22: The Two Camps

When nighttime approached Misty learned that the sticks in the center of camp was for lighting fires. Around dinnertime the sticks were lit up by the Tribe boys and they all cheered as it was. Music was also started up by a simple kind of object made of tree wood that was assembled together to hit a "drum" as Lilypaka called it, on its own, and other music-playing things were nearby it like "pipes", "bells", and others (Lilypaka had told them all about the different instruments). Overall it produced a rather fun melody that seemed appropriate for any celebration.
The girls had given up trying to stay by the boys and had retreated to a small camp by the lake. Lilypaka and Misty had gathered sticks and Lilypaka managed to make their own fire, and not much long after that Campbell and Misty had gone hunting and brought back several rabbits so the four of them - Adele, Lilypaka, Campbell and Misty - could eat.
The boys in the group - Sidew, Lephos, Rhett, Ophir, Koro, Moonshadow, Tiggerpaka and Bracken - had all joined the Tribe boys in their party, whatever the occasion was for (Misty suspected there was none). Not much long after the fire had been lighted the boys all began running around and laughing, playing chasing and fighting games and overall just goofing off.
"Boys are stupid," remarked Campbell as she took a bite of rabbit, eyeing the boys.
"That's why they make for good entertainment," laughed Lilypaka.
"I heard once back at The Bending Tower that girls tend to live longer than boys," Misty said, watching as two Tribe boys - Destin and Zela, Misty had learned - rolled around and bit and clawed at each other, while everyone else was chanting them on, "I'm starting to believe it's true."
"No duh," Campbell snorted.
They watched in silence as Destin clawed at Zela's face and Zela shrieked, "surrender! Surrender!" and the boys all cheered and started laughing. Zela retreated into the crowd.
"Who's gonna take me on next?!" Destin yelled.
"I will," Ophir spoke up, stepping forward.
There were "ooooh"s and laughter from the boys as Ophir came into the makeshift ring that was made for the event.
"Y'know the rules, twiggie," Destin said. Misty figured he was referring to Ophir's skinny physique. "First to surrender's out."
"So I gathered," Ophir smirked.
"Oh, brother," Campbell muttered. "I don't think this'll end well."
"Alright, twiggie! Let's start then!" Destin laughed, and the rest of the boys did as well.
Everyone watched as Destin was the first to attack. He lunged forward at Ophir and dove towards the ground, quickly going under Ophir and kicking at his belly, easily unbalancing him. All of this was done before Ophir even had time to react, and Ophir fell towards the crowd, which pushed him back into the fight. Ophir attempted to get to his paws but Destin was already there, and he bit down on Ophir's ear and Misty gasped in alarm as he pulled part of it off.
Ophir yelped in pain and blood began pouring down the side of his head. Misty expected everyone to be shocked, but the boys merely cheered and laughed and Ophir angrily got to his paws, growling at Destin, who just smirked at him.
"Aren't you like, not allowed to do that?" Misty heard Bracken say over the laughter.
"Of course you are!" insisted a gray wolf who Misty recognized as Razern. "We're the Tribe of Awesomeness. We can do anything we want."
Misty was unable to look away as Ophir charged Destin and clawed at his shoulders and attempted to bite at Destin's neck. Destin snarled back and sliced his claws at Ophir's chest and his eyes, effectively blinding him, and then slamming into Ophir to knock him off balance, before hitting his side to make him fall to the ground.
Destin now had Ophir pinned and began clawing at Ophir's face, and Ophir yelped at each strike, obviously weakening. The boys were all shouting and cheering at this, some chanting "Destin! Destin! Destin!"
"Get 'im, Ophir!" Campbell hollered, but the Tribe boys acted as though they hadn't heard this. In fact, only Ophir seemed to as he turned and looked at Campbell, before gritting his teeth and striking Destin's chest with his claws, and then biting into Destin's leg, sinking his teeth in.
Destin howled with pain as Ophir then kicked at his stomach and bashed into his chest, clawing at his muzzle. "Oh boy," Lilypaka was saying as the fight carried on. "Ophir and Destin both seem exceedingly arrogant. One of them will pretty much have to almost die before they surrender."
As Misty watched while Ophir bit on Destin's tail and Destin kicked at Ophir, she realized the meerkat was right.
With a great amount of force Ophir yanked Destin's tail and forced the boy to fall to the ground. Before Destin could get up Ophir had his jaws clamped around Destin's neck, but didn't bite down. Misty knew what Ophir was doing: threatening to kill him if he didn't surrender.
"I surrender!" Destin shrieked. "I surrender!"
Ophir let go of Destin, who scampered away from him as the boys all cheered and laughed, chanting, "Ophir! Ophir! Ophir!"
Destin growled at Ophir but retreated into the crowd. Misty looked at Ophir: he had claw marks on him and was bleeding from several places - especially his ear - but he seemed fine.
"That was intense," laughed Ricochet, who was in the middle of the crowd. "Who's up next?"
Misty didn't see who else was going because she turned back to the girls. "How long are we staying here?"
Lilypaka shrugged. "Who knows?" she said, eating a pill bug.
"Hopefully not longer," Campbell sighed. "Already this place is getting on my nerves..."
"Everything gets on your nerves," Misty pointed out.
"Not everything..." Campbell insisted.
Misty glanced at Adele. She was watching the boys, laying down by the fire next to Misty. She had finished eating her rabbit. Adele glanced at Misty and looked at the boys then brushed her left paw on her right one. Misty somehow got what she was saying: they're stupid. Misty nodded back in agreement, chuckling.
Suddenly Tornado came crashing towards the girls' camp, hitting Campbell, who immediately shoved Tornado away. He stumbled to his paws, blood spilling from his shoulder, and Misty could hear the boys laugh and howl as Tornado darted back to the ring and jumped at Ophir.
"You know what we need?" Lilypaka said.
"To kill a boy?" Campbell growled, glaring at Tornado despite his being occupied with fighting Ophir.
"A barrier. To separate us from them," Lilypaka insisted.
Misty nodded. "That's actually a good idea."


They came back from the woods to see the fighting was over and the boys were back to hanging out around he campfire, all talking and laughing and some howling to the music. Misty carried several sticks and some vines in her mouth, and so did Campbell and Adele. Lilypaka also had some sticks and vines with her. They threw them all to the ground. "I say we get to building," Lilypaka insisted. "We'll dig the sticks into the ground and encircle a little wall around us, putting several sticks in a same place to make it sturdy, and we can use those vines to tie them together. We'll leave a space for us to go out of. If we need more sticks we can head back into the woods."
The girls nodded in agreement and set to work.


Much later into the night - when the moon was almost in the middle of the dark sky - the barrier was completed. It was short enough they could see what the boys were up to, and it'd keep any of them from going to their camp again like Tornado had.
"There we go," said Lilypaka, looking impressed. "Let's seem 'em try and get through that."
"I don't know what'd we do without you, Lily," Misty chuckled.
"We should try and get some sleep," Campbell remarked. "And thankfully, we won't need to take turns watching. If there's trouble, I have a feeling the boys'll be loud enough."
Misty and Lilypaka laughed in agreement and not long after they all settled in to sleep.

Author's Note:
The Lost Boys from Peter Pan and Once Upon a Time inspire me for what to write about the Tribe of Awesomeness. :3 I loved Peter Pan in OUAT, he was amazing. :D
I got school tomorrow, ugh. We also have standardized testing this week, which is gonna take two whole days to do. :/ On the bright side, we're allowed to read when we're done our tests, so I might get Allegiant finished. 

Chapter 21: Cleaning the Prison

Not much later Liberty heading into The Bending Tower looking for a room she didn’t know existed: the prison room. Do we have a prison room, she wondered, or is Fake-Ash pulling my leg? She pushed the thought away; what would Fake-Ash gain out of her looking for a room that didn’t exist?

He had said the room could be found hidden by the elders’ room. Liberty figured it was hidden so when enemies invaded, they couldn’t get their prisoners. If it’s there, she added to herself. She didn’t know if the room existed or not yet. Something told her it did, but Liberty wasn’t sure why it was never mentioned before.

She was now outside the elders’ den. She could hear conversation happening in there, but Liberty didn’t care enough to try and listen to what it was about. The hallway was at a dead end, so Liberty looked around for any signs of a prison room.

Liberty noticed a slight shift in the wall, as if a patch of it was broken. Instinct told her that might’ve been the hidden entrance. She pushed it with her muzzle, and sure enough, the shift moved backwards, enabling her to push through. Dust fell around as she did, as if the entrance hadn’t been used in a while, and she made her way in.

As she entered she took in the room. There was dust everywhere, and the cells that were there were all rusty and looked very old. Next to the cells was a water tank, which must’ve been for animals who lived in the water, although Liberty wasn’t sure what’d they’d be doing out of the water in the first place. The walls of the room were gray, and Liberty could see cobwebs here and there. She wrinkled her nose. This place is disgusting.

Fake-Ash had ordered her to clean the place, but Liberty wasn’t sure why. The thought actually scared her; if she was to clean the room, that meant it might be being used soon. And there wasn’t anything she could do about it; one, who could she tell – that’d believe her – about “Ash” using the prison room again? And two, if she did, Fake-Ash would consider her a traitor, and her plan to spy on the opposite would fail, or she’d get killed. Maybe even become the first prisoner in the room.

Liberty sighed, deciding maybe she’d start tearing cobwebs down.  She approached one in the corner, when suddenly she heard pawsteps coming towards her.

She whipped around, only to see who was coming in: Nzuri, a light brown tabby she-cat Liberty had seen around The Bending Tower, and Sparky, an orange wolf who was Starlight’s sister.

“What’re you guys doing here?” Liberty demanded.

Nzuri blinked. “Same as you. Cleaning the prison.”

A feeling of dread washed over Liberty. “Did…Ash tell you to?”
“Yeah,” Sparky nodded.

Liberty glanced at him. “I thought you’d be with Starlight.”
“I was. But Ash said I should clean this room to keep my mind off it,” Sparky sighed. He then looked at her. “What even bit her…? That black gunk on her shoulder is spreading around her body…”

Sparky was getting choked up thinking about it – Liberty could tell – and she didn’t want to get sad about it either, so she spoke up. “Let’s not think about that. She’ll get better.”

“What even got her?” Sparky asked, looking Liberty in the eyes.

Liberty held his gaze for a few heartbeats but looked away and sighed, trying to decide whether to tell him the truth. Malroy and Ekaj saw it, she told herself. And I’d get mad if someone didn’t tell me what got her. “This shadow-like creature,” Liberty said, looking back at Sparky, who immediately looked confused. “It had a long purple tongue, bright white eyes and horn-like ears, with fire coming off its back, and black drool. That’s what got her shoulder when it bit her.”

Sparky and Nzuri both looked confused, and Liberty gritted her teeth, realizing how absurd her description of the Shadow Tracker sounded. “If you didn’t want to tell me the truth, you could’ve just said so,” Sparky growled.

“I am,” said Liberty evenly.

“I got a feeling the rumors going around about you are true, then,” Nzuri said coldly.

Liberty could feel the hair on her neck rising and she fought back the urge to snarl. “They are rumors. And that is what I saw. Ask Ekaj. Ask Malroy. Ask Starlight when she gets better.”
“What if she doesn’t?!” Sparky demanded.

“She will!” Liberty yelled. “I helped find the cure for her. Now let’s get started. Ash may not appreciate it if we’re just socializing.”

“He’s not that strict,” Nzuri frowned. “He’d understand our reason for talking.”

Not this version of Ash, Liberty told herself. “Let’s get started, anyway.”

On some kind of unspoken command they split up to get to different parts of the prison.

A while later the prison looked a lot better than it was when they started. Most of the time they had been silent – Liberty suspected Nzuri and Sparky thought she was still acting as her opposite had – and the few conversations they did have tended to be awkward, and with Sparky it was filled with tension, as he probably was still mad about Liberty supposedly not telling the truth.

“I think we’re done,” remarked Nzuri. “Good thing, too. I’m exhausted.”

Liberty nodded in agreement. “I just hope Ash approves it.”
“You act like he’s some kind of dictator. Ash won’t be harsh about our job,” Nzuri insisted. “I’ve known him since before he was leader. Deputy, even.”

Good for you, thought Liberty sarcastically. “Let’s just go find him. He—”

The wall creaked and Fake-Ash stepped in. He glanced around. “Good job, you three,” he said.

“See?” Nzuri whispered to Liberty.

“Thought this place was looking a bit bad. It’s good to keep things looking nice,” he said with such a nice, genuine smile Liberty actually was having a hard time remembering Fake-Ash was an evil opposite.

“What now?” Sparky asked.

“Well, it’s evening now, sun’ll be setting soon. Guess you guys can grab dinner,” he suggested.

“Good, I’m starving,” Nzuri remarked, leaving the prison. Liberty followed, heading out of the room, but stopped as she heard Fake-Ash speaking.

“I’m sorry about your sister,” Fake-Ash was saying.

There was hesitation before someone replied – Sparky. “I-It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not,” Fake-Ash insisted. “Your sister may very well be near death.” He sighed before saying, “but look, anything you need me to do to help you get through it, let me know.”

“Thanks…but I think I’ll be fine. Starlight’ll wake up,” Sparky insisted.

There was silence for not too long before Fake-Ash spoke up. “I don’t mean to drain you of any hope, but I just want to say that you shouldn’t keep them up. It’ll only make the grief worse if she dies.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Liberty herself began to feel sad, as if she really was not going to wake up.

“I…I got to tell myself she will. If I start thinking she will die…then I’ll get sad,” Sparky replied.

“Well…good job today, anyway. I hope the best for your sister.”

Not much longer Sparky left the room and glanced at Liberty. “Were you listening in?” he demanded.

Immediately Liberty shook her head. “No. I was just lost in thought.”

Luckily Sparky wasn’t always the greenest blade of grass, and he just nodded before padding off.

Liberty was about to get up when Fake-Ash came out of the room. “Hello Liberty,” he said.

“Hello,” Liberty returned.

“I have a feeling you were the leader in that operation, huh?” Fake-Ash said. Before Liberty could answer he continued. “You have good leader qualities, Liberty. Qualities this Tower needs.”

“Thank you,” Liberty nodded. “May I go now?”
“Of course.”

Liberty headed out to the yard to get dinner, but in the back of her mind she kept thinking about Fake-Ash’s words to Sparky. He’s trying to convince Sparky he’s a good guy, to win him over for his side, she realized. He must be doing that to the whole Bending Tower…

Author’s Note:
Hehe, sorry that I haven’t posted. School. :/

Chapter 20: Tribe of Awesomeness

The Tribe of Awesomeness must not have gotten prisoners often, because they'd keep debating about how to chain the group up. In the end though, Misty found herself linked to Ophir with the ivy from the nets that'd been used to capture her and her friends. They were arranged in a line, so Misty's tied paws were linked to Lephos's tail in front of her, and Ophir's were linked to Rhett's. Behind Misty and Ophir was Moonshadow and Tiggerpaka.
They didn't bother trying to fight because the Tribe of Awesomeness outnumbered them, and Koro had also said that maybe they could try to reason with the leader for trespassing. But if their leader - Ricochet, Misty heard him being called - was anything like the wolves he lead, they probably would be stuck with this Tribe for a while.
The boys had all gathered around on each side of the group to act as guards and started to escort them back. Misty found herself silently praying to the Peacebenders that no one would fall, because if one animal did they'd all be going down.
"Unhand us, fiends!" Tiggerpaka shouted. Misty looked back to see him struggling to get the ivy off. "I am the great Emperor of the Land! A--"
"Shut up!" hissed Lilypaka from behind Moonshadow.
"Don't tell me what to do, sister! I am a warrior!"
Misty looked at the Tribe boys. They all seemed in conversation among themselves, all wearing excited expressions, and weren't paying much attention to the group. They don't really have to, realized Misty. If we try to get away, we can't; we're tired up. And if we did try, they could easily stop us...
They kept moving through the forest, the Tribe boys still talking to each other, and Misty noticed the animals in her own group murmuring to each other, but also casting wary glances around the area. They all seemed a bit nervous, and Misty was herself, wondering what this Tribe wanted with them.
Misty glanced up at Ophir, who had his eyes fixed on the horizon. She decided to ask the questions that had been prying at her earlier. "Why are you even with us?"
Ophir seemed startled, as if he hadn't been expecting Misty to talk to him. But his startled expression went away almost as fast as it had shown up, and he merely glanced at her before focusing back on whatever he had been looking at before. "I told you, I came from Yin and Yang. And what with the borders having had faded, I ran away. Ended up around that Meerkat Clan, and that's when your friend Campbell found me."
"Why did you run?" Misty asked.
"I lived in Yin," Ophir said. "Me and my whole family. Yin was terrible. Why wouldn't I want to run?"
Misty wasn't convinced. "You had to have had more reason than that."
"Do I?"
Misty sighed but said nothing more. Ophir obviously wasn't going to crack.
"We're here," Misty heard one of the Tribe boys say.
Misty leaned her head to the side to see what was in front of her.
They were out of the forest and were now on the top of a hill. Down below Misty could see two mountains that stretched into the distance, with a large lake running in between them for as far as the eye could see. Down below was a long stretch of grass with a pile of stick in the middle - Misty wasn't sure what it was for - and there were trees on either side of the stretch of grass with wooden steps leading up to dens that were built on the trees under the shelter of the thick leaves. There were more Tribe boys here and there at the camp. It looked like any little boy's dream home.
"Wow," Lephos said.
"Yeah, it's awesome!" exclaimed one of the Tribe boys, the dusty brown wolf Misty had seen earlier. "Best place to live."
"C'mon!" exclaimed the small black wolf boy next to the brown one. "Ricochet's down there somewhere. Maybe in his down den."
They lead the group down the hill, which thankfully wasn't too steep - Misty didn't want to be a part of some kind of falling accident. She looked at the Tribe boys surrounding them, and it appeared as though they were trying not to eagerly rush down the hill to the camp.
The group made it to the bottom of the hill, and the Tribe boys around them all stared in wonder at the prisoners, then murmuring and talking to each other.
"Awesomeness members!" exclaimed the light brown wolf who had been one of the escorts, "we have prisoners!"
They all cheered and Misty heard Campbell grumble, "oh boy", from somewhere nearby.
"We're taking them to Ricochet," the dusty brown explained.
"All of you are going?" frowned a dark brown wolf.
"Only a few of us will escort these guys, Echo," the dusty brown replied. "And I say Ethan and I go." He glanced at the light brown wolf, signifying that had to be Ethan.
There were a lot of protests among the boys.
"You guys do everything!"
"Of course he'd go with Ethan."
"I wanna go!"
"Quiet."
The new voice made everyone fall silent and look to a black wolf, who was obviously older than the other Tribe boys. This wolf had yellow eyes with a silver chest and tail-tip, and he studied the scene in silence. Misty glanced around, and noticed everyone seemed to have a respectful gleam in their eyes upon seeing the wolf. That must be Ricochet, she realized.
Ricochet walked forward and examined the prisoners more closely. "Colton. What's this?"
"Prisoners, Ricochet!" responded the dusty brown wolf eagerly. "We caught 'em in our nets!"
"Well, that's better than the usual squirrel or fox," Ricochet commented. "Who are they?"
"We didn't ask," replied Ethan.
"Hmm." Ricochet examined them, his yellow eyes sweeping across as if trying to get in every detail of the group.
"Hello," spoke up Koro. "You're Ricochet, right?"
Ricochet looked at Koro and took a few steps forward so they were eye-to-eye. Despite Koro was a fairly big wolf, Ricochet was a lot bigger, and Misty couldn't help but respect how Koro managed to look back at Ricochet without seeming intimidated. "Yes," Ricochet said.
"I'm Koro," Koro nodded. "Leader of this group."
"I see," Ricochet responded. He turned his back to the group, taking a few steps away from them, then glanced back at them. "What is your group's name?" He fully turned to face them again.
"Name?" echoed Rhett.
"Duh. The name of your group," scoffed Ethan.
"We don't have a group name," said Misty. "We...never decided on one."
Ricochet seemed to ignore Misty, and so did the other Tribe boys, as if she hadn't spoken at all. Misty scowled in annoyance as Ricochet looked to Koro. "Do you have a group name?"
"Like Misty said. We don't," Koro said.
"I see," Ricochet gave a small nod.
"I'll come up with a name!" declared Tiggerpaka. "I say you guys are the Minions of Tiggerpaka!"
"Tiggerpaka, shush," Lilypaka scolded.
"'Minions of Tiggerpaka', huh?" Ricochet said, a small smile appearing on his face.
"No," Lephos insisted. "That's just Tiggerpaka. He's the not-so-sane member of the group."
Tiggerpaka scoffed. "'Not-so-sane'? I am very sane, I assure you! Ever since I defeated that--"
"Quiet," Lilypaka insisted.
Ricochet looked at Koro. "I notice you have some...girls in your group."
At this the Tribe boys gasped and started whispering to each other, and Misty began to feel annoyed at this. What do they have against girls? Misty wondered. Other than the fact that we can kick boys' tails, of course.
"Of course," Koro responded evenly.
"Why is that?" Ricochet asked him.
"They're equals. Without them, this group wouldn't be much," Koro insisted.
"Ah. But as you can see, Koro, our Tribe here doesn't have any girl members, much less do we tolerate them," Ricochet said, scanning the prisoners. "So what shall you do with yours?"
"Yours?" growled Campbell. "What, like we're owned?"
Ricochet glanced at Campbell but said nothing more in response. Whether the Tribe leader had intended it like that or not, Misty wasn't sure.
"Well, we're your prisoners," Koro pointed out. "What's the plan for us?"
Ricochet's eyes narrowed in thought, then he raised his muzzle as if to address everyone in the camp. "Although I am proud of my boys for catching so many of you in those ivy nets of theirs, I don't find any of you rather intimidating or that you may hurt us."
"Hey!" protested Lephos, Tiggerpaka, Campbell and Rhett, and at the same time the Tribe boys shouted "what?!"
"But we went to all that work to haul them here!" protested the small black wolf boy. "Now you're just letting them go?"
"Calm down, Tornado," Ricochet insisted. "I can sense these animals are rather weary. Perhaps they can stay here a while."
"Stay here?" echoed Lephos. "We just got away from the last place..."
"What was the 'last place'?" asked Moonshadow confusedly.
"We're not as strong as we have been," said Koro, addressing the group instead of Ricochet. "After being put in that jail, our strength went down and we got hungrier. If we stay with this Tribe for a while - gain our strength - then we can carry on."
They seemed to consider Koro's words. Personally Misty thought it was a good idea, and she wasn't just going with his words because she liked him.
"That's not too bad an idea," Sidew remarked.
"We'll stay with you guys," Koro nodded at Ricochet. "For a few days."
Ricochet nodded back. "Then my Tribe welcomes you."

Author's Note:
Guess whose birthday it is...?
ITS MINE
IM 14 TODAY
YEEEEEEEEE
and i got the day off school bc it's snowing here :D

Chapter 19: Tag in the Snow

When Liberty woke up the next day she could feel something nestled into her. She opened her eyes to see that a black kitten had his eyes shut and was pressed against her, fast asleep. After looking at the kitten for a bit she realized it was Lucky.
She pushed the kitten away, causing him to wake up. "Why are you here?" she asked, attempting to make her tone sound as nice as possible.
"I had a nightmare," he murmured.
Liberty sighed. "About what?"
"My mom," Lucky said. "She tried to take me away from here."
"Well, she won't," Liberty said. "Don't come in here again, I don't want you waking me up."
"Okay," nodded Lucky, with such a sadness in his voice Liberty almost regretted scolding him.
"Go back to the young, then," she said.
"I want you to take me out into the snow," Lucky insisted.
"Snow?" echoed Liberty.
"Yeah, it snowed last night!" Lucky said eagerly, seeming to have forgotten his bad dream. "Cloudie was telling me about it. They all went out and I wanted you to come with me."
"Why?" Liberty asked.
"So we can play!" Lucky exclaimed, beaming at her.
Liberty hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
Lucky bounced out of the den excitedly, and Liberty picked her way through the sleeping Waterbenders, following. "Slow down!" she snapped as she headed into the hallway. Lucky stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to catch up, and once she did he trotted along her side.
They walked out into the yard to see everything was covered in snow. The sky was gray, covered in clouds, but it had stopped snowing. As Liberty stepped out, half her front leg sunk into it. She turned to Lucky. "You're gonna have to get on my back, kid. It's way too deep for you."
Lucky nodded and bunched his legs together, before jumping onto Liberty's back. "Don't dig your claws in," insisted Liberty.
"I won't!" Lucky exclaimed.
There were several animals out in the yard, but not many. Liberty figured most were either training inside, or out in the territory, as finding prey would be essential on these conditions. Also, snow training was something apprentices needed, so the current weather would be good for that.
As Liberty looked at the few animals in the yard, they'd look back at her, but not for long before looking away, sometimes glaring at her first. Annoyance pricked at Liberty's pelt. Why are they so mad at me? she demanded to herself.
Overnight Liberty realized it was her opposite who had caused all of this trouble. It had to be; it definitely wasn't a big prank of some sort, and Liberty knew she never said she wanted Starlight to die, or destroyed the herb supplies. She hoped that was the only thing her opposite had done, or else she was in more trouble.
"Liberty," said a voice. Liberty turned and realized it was her mother, Charlotte; and she didn't look happy.
Hesitantly, Liberty approached her mother. "What?"
"Liberty, you were being very rude yesterday," said Charlotte.
"What did I do?" Liberty demanded.
"I think you know," Charlotte retorted.
"Well, I don't," Liberty shot back through gritted teeth.
"I don't have time for lies," growled Charlotte, making Liberty shift her jaw in annoyance. "I want to know why you did what you did."
"How am I supposed to give a reason to something I don't even know about?" Liberty snapped.
"You do know about it!" Charlotte yelled, making Liberty flinch. "Stop trying to pretend like you don't!"
"Well I--"
"Quit talking back to me. Now, for the rest of the moon I don't want you leaving the yard or The Bending Tower unless told otherwise by a senior Bender or Ash himself. Got it?"
"Bu--!"
"Got it?"
"Got it," growled Liberty. "I've got to go take Lucky out now." She then trudged through the snow, frustration raging through her at her mother. Liberty wanted to yell at her, scream at her that it wasn't her fault and she didn't understand any of this, but there was no way Charlotte would believe her.
"What's wrong?" Lucky asked, and for a while Liberty had forgotten the kit was on her back.
"Nothing, I'm fine," Liberty muttered.
"Oh. Okay."
They arrived in the forest. "Cloudie and the others should be around here," Lucky commented.
Liberty smelled the air. "I can scent them nearby," she said.
"I wish I knew how to scent," Lucky murmured.
"It'll develop as you grow older. Your mentor will probably teach you," Liberty added.
"What's a ment...or?" Lucky asked.
"An animal who teaches you."
"Who'll teach me?"
"I don't know."
They made it to the hole in the ground, with the log serving as a bridge in front of them. "Now you're allowed to dig your claws in," Liberty said.
She could feel Lucky do so, but it didn't hurt. Liberty slowly crossed the log, digging her claws in as a precaution, and made it across, then kept going through the forest, Lucky now loosening his grip on her as they continued on through the territory.
Finally they made it to tree-fall place, where the young were chasing each other around, playing a game. Airia was there also, much to Liberty's annoyance. She didn't feel like talking to the winged wolf after being accused of messing up the herbs.
"There. Go play," Liberty said, lowering down.
Lucky set a paw into the snow, but yelped and drew back. "It's cold!"
"Yep. Snow's cold," Liberty said.
"And it feels weird," Lucky said, and Liberty could picture the kitten wrinkling his small nose in disgust. "How can they be playing in it?"
"Snow can be fun when you get used to it," Liberty replied.
"But I don't like it," Lucky insisted.
"You barely set your paw in the snow. Try it."
The black kitten then reluctantly got off Liberty's back. Luckily the snow here didn't sink as much, so Lucky's paws didn't go too far under the blanket of snow. A gust of wind blew through the area, making some of the snow flow against their pelts. Lucky shivered. "It's cold."
"You said that before," Liberty said.
Lucky picked his way over to the young. "Can I play?" he asked.
They stopped to look at him. "Of course!" Cloudie insisted.
"But he can't play!" Alista protested. "He always trips over his own paws."
"That's mean, Alista," Rhonda insisted.
"It's true though," Alista remarked.
Lucky's ears drooped. "Sorry," he murmured.
Somehow Liberty felt a protective instinct towards the kitten and she stepped forward. "Hey," she growled, and the rest of the young flinched. "You tripped over your own paws too Alista. You have no room to talk."
"I'm sorry!" Alista squeaked. "Just don't be mean, like you were yesterday."
This made Liberty madder. Now even the young were thinking she behaved just as her opposite apparently had. "I won't," she replied. "Now be nice to Lucky."
"We are!" Rhonda protested. "Except Alista isn't."
"I said I was sorry!" Alista yelped.
"Sorry you ever got so close to me. You're 'it'!" Cloudie exclaimed, tapping Alista with her paw before taking off.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Alista shouted. She chased after Cloudie, but the amount of snow slowed both her and Cloudie down.
Liberty sat down in the snow to watch the young, making sure to keep a safe distance from Airia. Alista seemed to have her mind set on chasing Cloudie, who kept running from Alista. At first Liberty wondered if this was unfair due to Cloudie's blindness, but surprisingly the wolf pup seemed to be a good navigator despite this. The silver pup managed to jump over tree logs in her way and avoid rocks in the ground. Liberty was impressed by it.
Lucky was standing by Okerro, who were both keeping at a safe distance. "One of those two always end up arguing or trying to chase each other," Okerro was explaining. "You just need to avoid 'em."
"You need to pay attention, too!" Rhonda exclaimed, tackling Okerro and pinning him to the ground. "I got tagged, and guess what? You're it!" she laughed and got off him before taking off, surprisingly fast for having her paws sinking into the snow with every step.
Okerro got to his paws and gave a hungry look at Lucky, who took off as soon as the winged pup had gotten up. Okerro gave chase, using his wings to help him speed up. Lucky ran though - about as fast as Rhonda, which was impressive given Lucky's size - and he ran right up a tree, getting pretty far up but then stopping in the middle. He gave a wary glance at the ground. "Help!" he yelped, dangling.
"Just climb up the rest of the way!" Liberty insisted.
"I can't!" Lucky cried.
"Okerro, maybe I should teach you how to fly soon," Airia chuckled. "It'd help you in situations like this."
"Yeah!" Okerro said, beaming at his mother.
"That won't be fair!" Alista protested.
"Stupid wolf gets born with wings and all the sudden he'll be able to win every game of tag!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"Rhonda, don't call others 'stupid'," Airia insisted.
Meanwhile Liberty headed over to the tree and helped Lucky down. "You would've been fine if you just fell," she insisted.
"The ground was far away," Lucky whimpered.
"'Ey guys!"
Liberty turned around to see Ryker, Sirius, Ekaj and Spot all there.
"Hi!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"Why're you guys out here?" Liberty asked.
She couldn't help but notice Ryker, Sirius and Ekaj - especially Ekaj - giving her uneasy glances. But Spot spoke up. "Our mentors told us to take the morning off, use the opportunity to get some exercise. We could smell you all out here. Decided to join you."
"Yeah," Sirius echoed, eyeing Liberty.
A feeling of dread washed over Liberty. Great, she thought. What'd my opposite do to them?
"Wanna play tag?" Okerro asked. "It'd be cool to have more players."
"Sure," Spot shrugged. "But I'm warning you, I'm pretty fast."
"Not as fast as me!" insisted Rhonda, puffing out her chest.
Liberty looked at Lucky. "Are you okay playing with big animals?"
Lucky gave a shy nod.
"They'll go easy on you," Liberty added. "Go play."
Liberty turned to watch from a distance - determined not to join in on the game - but when she turned around she was face-to-face with Sirius and Ryker.
"Out of the way," Sirius growled, gritting her teeth, shouldering past Liberty.
Liberty pushed down on Sirius's tail, forcing her to stop. "I want to know why you're mad at me," she said calmly.
A flash of fear sparked in Sirius's eyes - Liberty wondered if she was recalling her fight with Sirius's brother Wyki - but it left not soon after being there. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sirius, I don't know what 'I' did to you, but that was my opposite. I have no memory of it," Liberty insisted.
Sirius rolled her eyes. "Right. And I suppose Ryker over here has two heads." She gave a sideways nod to the Border Collie.
"It had to have been! You saw--" Liberty lowered her voice before continuing, "--you saw Bracken and Ash in that cave. Remember?"
Sirius seemed to consider Liberty's words, but just growled. "I don't believe you."
"Why don't you?" Liberty demanded, anger bubbling up inside her chest.
"The memory is still fresh in my mind. You took part of my ear," Sirius growled.
Liberty only just now noticed the nick in Sirius's left ear. The silver wolf continued. "You took in while you were attempting to kill me!"
"Wha--?" Liberty began.
"Don't play dumb," Sirius snarled, lips curled. "You said Fake-Ash gave you orders to kill me. And you obeyed him," she whispered. "How could your loyalties lie with him?"
"But I didn't--!"
"Save it, traitor. I don't want you to talk me to ever again."
Sirius then yanked her tail from Liberty's paw and walked over to join in on tag. Ryker gave Liberty a look. "You try to come close to Sirius again, I'll tear you apart."
Liberty was coming closer and closer to snapping, to screaming in anger and confusion. "Let you try to do that," she hissed to the dog. It made it sound like she was guilty of trying to kill Sirius, but at that point Liberty didn't care; and she knew that if Ryker did try to come after her, he'd lose the fight.
At that point, Liberty's anger was beginning to take over her. She turned to leave, deciding Airia could bring Lucky back, but once she turned around again this time she was looking at Ekaj.
He flinched as he looked at her. "Liberty..." he began.
She was too angered to let him speak. "Save it. I don't want anymore accusations thrown at me." She then walked past Ekaj, heading back towards The Bending Tower without looking back.
Liberty kept trudging through the snow, wallowing in her own anger. She knew she wasn't too far from The Bending Tower, but then Fake-Ash came into the clearing.
"Hello Liberty," he said calmly.
Liberty gritted her teeth. Just what she needed. "Hello," she returned.
"I have something I'd like you to do for me," Fake-Ash insisted, his dark blue eyes looking at her and a cold smile forming onto his face, as if he had a horrible plan in his mind.

Author's Note:
What do you think it is? o: