[Fallen_Snow]

Snowy shook her head around, trying to loose the blindfold that was tightly tied around the circumfrence of her skull. "Where am I?" she said loudly. They had stopped moving hours ago, and the only sound she heard was fire crackling and feet moving. She assumed they were either Harkelt's or Nyt's. "Why, my dear, you are where you wish to be, are you not? You are with your beloved Nyt." The sound of a knife sliding out of it's scabbard alerted Snowy to movement at her right. She tensed herself, bending her head low to her chest. "Nyten, please... demonstrate for this woman what powers you have now that you are the soul I control. Do it!" he shouted. The whistling of a blade, the sudden rip of fabric- and Snowy's sight was brought back to her. The bandana fell into her lap, the knot severed by a keen-edged blade. Harkelt stood very close in front of her- invading her personal space, might I add- and Snowy tried not to breath in his putrid breath.

[Fallen_Snow]

"Good. Very... very good. Nyten, stand guard over the prisoner. I will send a soldier for you when we are ready. If she proves troublesome, you may do with her what you will." The anthro Lecchi said to the darkened Nyt. He snapped his fingers, and turning back into a Lecchi, was lifted away by the two soldiers from earlier. And then the large room was quiet. The man who used to be Nyt sat down next to Snowy, sighing heavily and chucking his sword across the room. "Snowy... I'm so sorry you're involved in this. I never should've brought you here." The voice had a small accent to it. Could Snowy trust him? But he knew her name, surely she could trust him. "I know Nyt." she said finally, turning to him and smiling. He was now in his Leawolf form, and he reached out with his neck and licked her cheek. "I know, I know, I forgive you." Snowy admitted. "But couldn't you've untied me before you decided to become a Leawolf?" she asked. He barked happily, and leaned down, ripping at the bonds with his teeth. Snowy was free in just a few seconds, and she hastily untied her feet. "Alright, now we need to get out of here and-"

"Wait, Snowy... I can't do that." His figure was now human again. It was like he couldn't make up his mind. His voice was now gaining a heavier accent. "Harkelt has my beloved, Dae under some sort of enchantment. I cannot let her be tricked." Snowy's eyes widened, and with her feet free, she stood up shakily. "You... your beloved?" she asked. Nyt looked at her with wide, smarting eyes. "No, Snowy, I-"

"Save it." she said, turning her back to Nyt and began walking to the door. "But Snowy-!"

"No, Nyt." she said. She didn't look back as she closed the door behind her.

[Fallen_Snow]

Nyt watched the only girl he'd ever really gotten to know enough that he was to the point of truly wanting her to be with him every minute of everyday...

but now she was gone. This would take a toll on their friendship- no, their RELATIONSHIP- that Nyt would not be able to handle.

They might not even be friends anymore.

Nyt quickly got up, grabbing the sword he had thrown away from him in disgust with a new gusto. He strode to the end of the room, where a shiny mirror stood. The room wasn't as dank and disturbing as you'd think. It was actually a very large closet, more along the lines of storing away old children's clothes to be used again. Before the city went underground, it would've been the perfect place to just pile the clothes up. But the room stank of worms and dirt and rot, and years of cold must've attrached parasites to come eat the moldy clothing. But the mirrors were still there, and Nyt confronted his image.

"You think this is funny? Dae is gone. You've ruined my relationship... I hate this!" Nyt shouted at the mirror.

The image contorted in the mirror, now it was still Nyt's face, but slightly different. It was darker, and an odd eye makeup circled Nyten's eyes. "Dae... she's not gone." he said stonily. "But she is, and just because of that witch you ruined anything I might've had with Snowy!"
"Might have?" Nyten asked quietly.
Nyt shook his head. "I mean, would've! Could've...?" he was questioning his own thoughts now.
"You're unsure."
"No... just confused. You're confusing me. It's all your fault!" Nyt shouted, his eyes smoldering with a new rage. Nyten looked Nyt over carefully.
"So you're saying that because I'm here... I confuse you? Would you like me to leave? Even though I can't, you can ignore me. I don't have to be a presence in your life." His tone became more acidic with every word. Nyt looked away, his eyes clouded over with pain. "No." he whispered. He turned back to the mirror and was half surprised to see that Nyten's face was still there. "No." he answered again, but with more force. "You will stay with me, Nyten, to my dying breath. I may not be you, but that doesn't mean I'm a coward."
"I never called you a coward."
"It sounded like you were."

~~~

Snowy ran as fast as her legs would let her, tears streaming helplessly down her face. "Helpless..." she spat sadly. That's all she would ever be. Helpless! She was helpless to Nyt and his... feelings... and to how she was captured, she couldnt' defend herself long enough. She was helpless.

And it wasn't fair.

None of it.

She glared down the hall she ran, wishing Harkelt-that evil little Lecchi- was down there, so she could show him how helpless she really was. She'd freeze him and unfreeze him until he was dead as a doornail. She'd throw him across the room. She'd show him. Oh, she would SHOW him!

But still a hole gnawed at her edges, threatening to make her cave in. Nyt, of all people to betray... Nyt! Her love... but how much did she love him? Could she really love someone like him? He was so easy to love, but still so much easier to fight with... and then there's the 'let's still be friends' middle. Such an ugly middle, seeing as it's always awkward and not as much fun anymore.

Maybe she didn't love Nyt. Maybe... maybe this was his way of telling her that he didn't really love her either. If that was true...

it'd be so much more easy for the both of them. Being friends wasn't bad... just so hard to get back to the RIGHT friendliness without looking stupid. It was all so awkward. Why she got involved with him in the first place was beyond her.

[Fallen_Snow]

"Are you accusing me of your unhappiness?" Nyten asked, a guarded snarl rising to his lips.
"Maybe, I guess." Nyt said, a hard look in his eyes. He stepped back and swung the sword up to the flat mirror. "What in all of Evelon are you going to do with THAT?" Nyten asked, utterly out of sorts. Could Nyt actually hurt him in this state?

"Shattering your existence."

Nyt said the sentence simply, and brought the sword down on the mirror. There was a crack as metal met glass, and the glass was obviously the weaker opponent. It shattered into many dangerous fragments, bouncing around Nyt as he stepped away, his hands streaked with small trickles of blood. He got lucky; the damage to his hands was minimal. But so was the mirror. A large spot was gone save a few fairly jagged edges, but the rest of the mirror was almost completely intact.

Nyten's face invaded the mirror, although it was harder to see it now. "I still exist, Nyt. You can't get rid of me, no matter how much either of us wants it. You think I want to be trapped in your body? You might as well try to kill Harkelt, as if that would do anything." Nyten's voice boomed through the corridor. He was angry, but not with Nyt. No, Nyt was still at least half sane. No, he was okay. It was the thought of spending another lifetime in Evelon that made him furious. He'd rather be dead. Being here brought back too many memories.

[Fallen_Snow]

Snowy had been running for ages, and had finally found that she arrived where she had began- the entrance to the large palace, where she was first mesmerized by the building. She scowled at the arch now. It brought back the painful reminder of being duped by Harkelt and...

Snowy faltered. She refused to even think that evil little-

A sudden "Ahem." made Snowy spin around, a malicious look on her face. "Harkelt, I've had enough of your-"

She stopped midsentence. It was not Harkelt, or Nyt. It was Siiva.

"Siiva! Thank the gods." she said, and leaned down to throw her arms around the bear's neck. Siiva's throat rumbled with a light and happy growl. "Hello, dear friend. I wish I was coming to you with better news." Well, go and ruin that moment. Snowy slid back onto the balls of her heels, giving Siiva a wary look. "Where's-"

"Gyte? He's... dead. Along with Dae." She said solemnly, her eyes darkening. Snowy looked down at Siiva in horror, jumping up. "Are- are you... serious?" Snowy hissed. Siiva just nodded. Snowy could tell that talking about it pained her. "My darned old bones, Snowy... they aren't what they used to be. I'm surprised I was the one that made it out, and not Gyte. I guess curled up in that cell for so much longer than I probably got to his muscles. Worn him down, I suspect." Tears beaded in the corners of her eyes, she quickly scraped them away with a paw. "Anyways, Dae is out of your hair now. Nyt-"

"Nyt's not the problem now. Right now, Harkelt is our objective."

Siiva eyed the bitter girl suspciously. "Conflicting interests." Snowy said promptly. She was used to Siiva now, and she understood that she was giving more the look was the gentle prying she did. Siiva just grunted at Snowy's response. It was all she needed to know; Snowy would share more later on.

That is, if there was a later on to look forward to.

[Fallen_Snow]

Nyt glowered into the mirror, his face contorted with anger and frustration and upset and because the shattered remains of the reflective surface split his face into shards. "I hate what I have become."

"But I cannot be rid of you." he frowned at himself, his shattered face copying him, although chopped up. Nyten's voice touched his mind. And neither can I. I shouldn't even exist right now! I should be only a dull, almost forgotten memory! My time away from Evelon has brought me to a different mindset. I'm not the same warrior I was.

"That's what they all say." Nyt said angrily. Nyten was not making things easier for anyone, Nyt and Snowy especially.

Snowy.

Nyt looked at the door, his face solemn and his body stiff. For some reason, this moment made him recall the story Snowy had told him as they'd made their way to his new home, since he'd only known the Trading Post he lived at with a Murky Kuhna named Xidel. Well, Xidel didn't live there, at least from what Nyt recalled he hadn't slept there. But back to his memory, he remembered the story Snowy had told him about Rayn. She had had a one of a kind colored Leawolf named Rayn, who was her best friend. He had helped her through her transition to Evelon. But then he'd been killed on a trip through Tengel during a freak lightning storm. A branch was struck by lightning and fell on top of Rayn. Snowy had caught only a small piece of the blow, the twiggy arms of the branch scraping her up badly.

He remembered seeing the long, thin white scar along the back of her arm, the scar that traveled over her elbow, the scar that would always remind her of the night her best friend died. She'd had her little sister Kairi with her, and Kairi had been sheilded by Snowy before being hit. She was lucky, her little survivor, Snowy called her, because she'd been riding on Rayn's back earlier that day. Only an hour before the storm arrived did Snowy tell Kairi to get off of the Leawolf.

Nyten, being a part of him, saw and heard the story for the first time. Saw the pale skin of Snowy, and the even paler scar that started at the middle of her bicep on the inside of her arm, and slowly traced around her arm until it got to her elbow, and then went almost straight down. He saw her old blue glasses, framing her fierce but knowing blue eyes.

"You know... she's not right for us. Too good, or maybe too powerful." Nyten said to Nyt, making him stare at the mirror. Nyt fought against his other self, but Nyten was a lot stronger. "Try as you will, you cannot challenge fact, no matter how much you've convinced yourself otherwise: Nyt, she's not coming back."

"I don't believe you. Fact can be overruled." Nyt said sternly, but just started to falter. Nyten gave his face a stern glare, and Nyt could not help but watch his glare steadily become more challenging. Finally, he broke.

"She is not coming back." his whispered, and broke down to the floor. Sobs racked his body, and a quiet, muffled breath shook his lungs and his voice. "She will never be a possibility."

[Fallen_Snow]

"... and he tried to call me back to apologize! Yeah, fat chance." Snowy snorted to Siiva, her mood getting more sour with each sentence. "He probably is waiting for me to bump into him and he'll be all charming and I'll fall for him again... and..." she faltered, tears stinging her dry eyes. Siiva nudged the girl from behind, growling, "None of those tears, miss. You need to get your act together and get rid o' Harkelt, tha's what you need to do. No tears." Siiva scolded. Snowy sniffed and nodded, her tears being held back by angry blinks.

Siiva walked beside Snowy through a dimly lit corridor, knowing that they were heading toward the city with each step. "You know, I went through something like this with an old mate back when I still found pleasure in the Vast Plains." Siiva said, eyeing Snowy. The beginning of the story had caught Snowy's attention. "Go on." she urged quietly, wanting something to distract her from her rage and confusion with her own problems.

"It had been mostly physical, seeing as I knew I only loved his strong muscles and that he was able to take care of me. I thought that his touch sent shivers up my spine because I loved him. But one day, he told me that he may have found a lifemate. Thinking he meant me, I looked to him, smiling my biggest smile, every hair on my pelt charged with his words. My body and mind thought he was trying to tell me he loved me.

"But my body was mistaken. 'Well, you know that new Wombear, up near the end of the Plains?' he'd asked me. I had nodded, suddenly wary. He went on to tell me that he had been seeing her behind my back..." she ground her teeth. "Well, she was pregnant. And I couldn't handle it." she said.

"What did you do?" Snowy asked, her stabbing curiosity making her sound overly excited. "I ran. And in the process, I ran into the bear that my Erik had fallen in love with, that my Erik had declared his love for. I killed her, just like I killed him." she said finally. "And because I mauled fellow Wombears, I was banished. It was here that I found happiness and heartache. Real happiness and real heartache." she said. Snowy frowned. "That wasn't a pleasant story." she said, but smiled grimly. "But I needed it."

[Fallen_Snow]

Nyt, head in hands, consulted his only friend at the moment. "So." he said through his hands, although he didn't have to actually talk. "What is there left to do?" he asked Nyten. Silence followed for a moment, and for a second Nyt almost thought he had left his body somehow. But that was impossible.

"Harkelt." Nyten's voice left Nyt's mouth, giving him the answer that he knew was coming anyways. "Harkelt, huh? Well, if you insist." Nyt picked up his sword again and walked to the door. "Wait." said Nyten, and something tugged at Nyt's head. "You must blend in. Drop the sword. It will be of no use, with who we're up against." Nyt did so, kicking it across the room. He was tempted to kill himself with it.

"Now, become what you are. A Leawolf." said Nyten. Nyt rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. "You know, there's no need to be so dramatic about this. You could just say, 'Get into your Leawolf form, darn you!' you know." said Nyt, smirking to himself. Nyten sighed. "Can we just go now, please?" asked the old soul, sounding agitated. "I'm telling you, 50 or so more years with you and I don't know how I'm going to survive. You'll drive me crazy before I do the same to you, I can tell you that right now. Just what I needed, just when I was getting into my real relaxation: adolescent years, relived." Nyten dragged on and on for about 15 minutes in a rant that Nyt could not quail anyways. He did his best to ignore the angry spirit, acheiving just to aggravate Mr. High-And-Mighty further. "Are you listening, boy?" he had roared in his head to Nyt, waking him from the odd doze. How much longer until they reached the exit out of these chambers?

***

Snowy stomped up to the door of the exit out of the caverns they had been walking for almost three hours now, Siiva suspected. "Finally." she sighed, throwing her weight into it. It squeaked open, and Snowy pushed through, Siiva following close behind. "Now... up this hallway should be the castle. You'll have to be especially quiet, the place has to be teeming with guards, as Harkelt will be preparing his 'inauguration' into kingdom." Siiva whispered to Snowy. The girl, now teeming with anger and focus, was glowing faintly and was gaining a slight sheen. She was icing over.

"Interesting power you have there." Siiva said, looking at Snowy's calf in interest. "It's nothing; inherited from my grandparents or something." Snowy stated, saying it as if she didn't want to chat. Siiva continued though; she was determined to calm Snowy down before she lost her only rational thoughts. "Does anyone else in you family have the same sort of power?" Siiva asked, slowing her pace so Snowy would slow too. "Just my two cousins and my little sister, but their powers work differently. Look, I don't really feel like-"

"What do their powers do?"

"Rena is sort of like a heater- not fire though, more thermal energy. Kairi has storm bringing powers, and Marie is good with memorization and is really smart and-"
"That's not a power."
"She can teleport -sort of- and has a small range for telekinesis."
"Ah."
Snowy's pace had stopped abruptly, and her blue eyes were chips of eyes as she stared Siiva down. "I know what you're doing, but you're not going to do it easily. Once Harkelt is dead, it'd be nice to have you around at home though. You'd be good with our... less focused kids." she said. She then hurried down the rest of the hall and was suddenly in the castle. A guard was crumpled over at the end of it, in so deep a sleep if Harkelt blew up the building around him he wouldn't stir. Snowy grabbed his helmet and shoved it onto her own head, then took his sword. "Don't mess with me, Siiva." Snowy growled, and sped off towards Harkelt's whereabouts, leaving Siiva behind. "Fare well, young traveler. Fare well."

[Fallen_Snow]

If you had been looking for Snowy Blizzword, you would not know where to look. You would be passed by an odd looking soldier(who shimmered oddly and only wore a helmet) and a few normal looking ones, but the Snowy you know and love would not be there. At first you would be puzzled, especially if you didn't know her.

But let's just say you do. And you figure it out pretty quickly.

She's not here. No, she's been pushed out by a very angry, tempered soul. And it really sucks for both you and her, because there's nothing you can do until the feelings pass and whatever she's after is gone. Must be hard to deal with.

Snowy gripped her sword with an iron fist, and her lips were set in a firm line. The icy layer on top of her skin crackled with movement, but still kept thickening until it was about a quarter of an inch thick. Her whole body was going through a cool-down stage, trying to prepare her, to protect her- or maybe to supress her? Who knew, she had odd control over ice. Snow and ice, cold things. She'd never been able to unfreeze things, only freeze, and she could bring about a snowstorm. She could ice over her whole body- only to have to sit out and thaw afterwards, as she could not melt it by herself. Yes, she was a regular freezer without a thawing technique.
She threw herself against a wall as a group of five guards were beginning to pass. She wasn't that crazy, but was beginning to be.

[Fallen_Snow]

A sharp light stung his pupils, and they contracted violently, throwing himself and and Nyten for a loop. He watched carefully, the odd spots from blinding light slightly impairing his vision. He listened carefully; the soft clank of lightweight and well-oiled armor on the guards alerting him of the law-enforcing persons. He scrunched his body up into the shadows, hoping that he'd gone unnoticed. He apparently had, as they had continued on. But there was another odd noise up ahead that he could not identify, and it scared him: a sharp but watery crackle, like ice...

But ice didn't just show up in the desert. Sure, on rare occasions it snowed, but ice? Impossible.

Unless...

As soon as he thought it, Nyten was screaming in his head. NO NO NO! YOU'RE NOT RUINING THIS NOW. SHE'S GOING THE WRONG WAY. FOLLOW THE GUARDS. Unlike you, I was actually paying attention to their gossip while you were trying to figure out what the heck noise Snowy was making. And they were talking about how Harkelt told them to wait for him in the center of town. The same place where I was killed! You need to get there. NOW. The voice in his head was furious.

[Fallen_Snow]

For about the millionth time today, Nyt listened to Nyten. But he did a key thing that is so awesome I must put it into it's own little paragraph.

He followed Snowy.

Instead of going with the old Wilt'no inhabitant, he followed the half crazed and very hateful towards him right now girl. He resisted the urge to call out to her; it was better for both of them if she knew he wasn't there. But he knew with that ice covering her body she was tensed at the first swish of a sliding foot. He waited for her to turn the corner, and then followed slowly after her, placing his feet down at gently and lightly as possible.

***

It was not hard for Snowy to figure out that she was being followed. Actually, it was pretty obvious. As soon as she had turned the corner, he had shown up in the corner of her vision, but she didn't stop. If he was coming to help her, awesome. If he wasn't, it was his funeral. She continued on, her heart pounding mutely in her ears and her mouth still shut tight. She switched the sword between hands ash she decided on where to go next.

[Fallen_Snow]

Nyt watched her intensely, trying to figure out what she could be seeking. He would think it'd be Harkelt, but then why was she traveling to the top of the building? They had just gone up two flights of stairs.

By the fifth flight he knew what she was going to do. He stopped himself, waited for her to reach the top, then ran back down. He needed to kill Harkelt before Snowy killed herself over him.

***

Snowy paid no attention as Nyt's presence left. She was hurt that he'd even tried to follow her, like he didn't trust her. He didn't want her, he'd made that obvious. Her grip tightened, but she forced it to relax. Straining herself now would do her no good. She kept running up and up. Where the hell is the roof?