[SpringsSong]

Ah, Nu'san Temple.  This was the perfect place to strike out at anyone unsuspecting of an attack.  There was a single clap of thunder so closely preceded by a flash of lightning that the two might as well have happened simultaneously that illuminated two figurines in anthro forms; both female Lucain.

Click for human/anthro forms

"Remember, Ghia," A voice said, looking upon her daughter with solid black eyes, "They are not expecting us to do something like this here.  We must be on the lookout for monks and other people that would reveal our position to them."

"Yes, Mother.  So it must be." The one called Ghia replied, her reddish hair whipping in the wind while her mother's own hair, streaked red and purple, was tied back securely.

"It is a shame that Kerath and Katran could not come.  I'm sure they'd enjoy the show." The first one to speak, Kria, said.  Ghia shook her head; "I don't mean to argue, Mother, but they would not take your standpoint on this."

~*~*~*~


Click for human/anthro forms

Elsewhere in the temple, two figures stood in a sheltered area, staring out over the cemetery that they had been in before the storm kicked in.  They, too, appeared as Lucain in anthro forms; one a male, dressed in a blue shirt with a few gold and emerald decorations with blue jeans, and the other a female in a purple dress with red glitter.  The male had sun tattoos on his face, while the other had a purple Shadebane mask over her eyes.

"I cannot believe... that she's been gone this long, Chloris... It feels like yesterday..." The female said, shaking her head and wiping a few stray tears away.  Chloris, her companion, wrapped his arms around her and said, "Now, now, Chanda... It's all right.  We know you didn't mean to kill her..."

"Whether or not I meant to is not my issue.  I still took an innocent Kuhna's life without thinking on it until after the act!" Chandani said, her body trembling as she stared at the graveyard.

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[SpringsSong]

Kria nodded, a smirk on her face.  "You are right, Ghia.  Your brother and half-sister think nothing of the power that they can have.  They think only of this D'ni that they were torn from and are now called back to.  They, and their friends, are foolish for thinking that they can return." She said.

"Indeed, Mother.  They think that this D'ni and honing their magic abilities are more important than settling this feud." Ghia said, smiling as she made her silent advance in front of her mother, although to accomplish such a thing in her boots was difficult.

"You have remembered your teachings well, Ghia." Kria said, grinning insanely.

~*~*~*~

"Chanda... don't think I'm trying to force this out of you, because I would never want to force you to tell me something against your will..." Chloris said, looking his mate in the eyes and cupping his hands around her face so that she had to look at him.  "But... I must know.  Why... why did you kill Lian?¶?"

"Why...?  Why did I do it...?" Chandani asked herself, thinking.  Her red eyes glistened with tears unshed as she took in a deep breath.  She knew, now, she had to tell Chloris.  She had to, otherwise there would always be that dark area in their relationship, haunting her.  She sighed as she gently took Chloris' hands and said a single sentence; one she knew would prompt questions.

"I was jealous..."

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[SpringsSong]

"I have indeed, Mother.  After all, it was from fire and ice I was born, and now, I shall aid you in capturing the ones that caused you pain by those elements.  I will not fail you." Ghia said.  She then pulled her haid back and pulled her hood up over her head; this made her only visible feature her piercing blue eyes and the black heart over one of them.

"You have made me proud, Ghia.  Now, come.  Let us search out our enemies and take back what was once mine!" Kria said, leaping up from the ground to a higher level of the temple, landing silently as Ghia followed her suit.

~*~*~*~

"You were jealous?  Of what?" Chloris asked, tilting his head in shock.  Chandani sighed, a sure sign to Chloris that this was a very fragile area in her still all-too-recent past.  She seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, and then at last, she rose her head and began to speak.

"When we first met... you remember that time, yes?  You remember when you barreled into me most carelessly and I was about to attack you.  It was in that collision that I began falling for you.  But... there was a time, Chloris, that I felt uncertain.  That one time... when I saw you nuzzling Kria..."

"Don't speak that name around me, please!" Chloris thundered, a snarl coming to his face.  When he realized that he had interrupted Chanda, he said, "Oh... I'm sorry.  Please continue."

"At any rate, when I saw you nuzzling her, I was heartbroken.  I thought for sure that you didn't care for me in the least.  That's when I ran to this school for assassins and met Verano.  He asked me why a female would come to his institution, and so late at night, and then questioned if I would let feelings get in my way.  After proving myself... he gave me my assignment, conveniently leaving off Lian?¶'s name."

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[SpringsSong]

Like shadows, the two Dwellers made their way through the temple, easily avoiding most of the monks.  However, Kria knew better than to think that they'd drop in on their targets this easily without being spotted.  It was almost as though she foresaw a mishap with the monks, but she wasn't about to tell her daughter that.  They'd just have to wait and see if their suspicion was right or not.

Somewhere in the shadows of that upper level, though, there was a monk sitting there, on her bed, quietly thinking.  There were people there, she could tell... and she could feel the intentions of two of them--coincidentally, the two heading straight for where she was.

Alisha sighed as she wrapped her large brown and pink wings around her.  This day just seemed to be getting longer and longer for her... and now, there were assassins in this place of peace...

~*~*~*~

"So... was that a test, then?" Chloris asked Chandani.  "But not long after you left, I felt that take a toll on me, and I had to most vehemently tell her that we weren't right for one another.  I'm lucky to still be alive.  She turned on me so fast..."

"Yes... it was a test, Chloris.  And for our good... I failed." Chandani said, almost laughing now.  It seemed ironic, that something she had set out to do ended in failure--when she had yet to fail at anything before.  Chloris smiled as he gently kissed Chandani, holding her close as they stared out over the cemetery again, both seemingly blind to the danger that was coming...

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[SpringsSong]

"Mother, wait... Something's not right here." Ghia said suddenly, stopping in her tracks.  She looked around urgently, keeping her hood above her head and motioning for her mother to don her guise as well.  Kria smiled as she lowered her head and put on the hood to cover her face; so her daughter had caught onto the monk's presence as well.  However, there was something strangely odd about the presence.

"Why must there be people who wish to cause death in my sanctuary...?" Alisha asked herself, sighing as she wrapped her huge wings closer around her.  Indeed, she was a Magistrey; a Blossom one at that.  This Magistrey, however, was blind.  She could, however, still sense the Lucain females all the same--and she wasn't going to let them think that being blind would mean they had the advantage.

~*~*~*~

Chandani could tell Chloris was both curious yet relieved.  "I'm sure you'd rather have a loving, caring wife and mother for our darling son and daughter rather than an assassin with a price on her head." She purred, chuckling.  "It is a pity, though, that Kira had to be off exploring and Onyl is nowhere to be found.  It is an even greater pity, though, that they seem not to care about our friend of the past."

Chloris nodded, lowering his head.  "I'm not sure what's worse, though; knowing we're grandparents with both grandchildren at home and our little girl has a mate, or knowing that our boy took keystones from Fire to get a potion to enable him to get as he wills from males instead of facing females honorably." Chloris said, sighing.  One of his two sons--his youngest son--refused to even so much as look at a girl because of how over-populated with the feminine kind Fire's home was...

...I wonder if Kria had anything to do with it...

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[SpringsSong]

"That presence feels odd, wouldn't you say, Ghia?" Kria said, looking around with her black eyes as she looked around the temple and tried to detect the exact spirit around the group.  However, Ghia was the next one to speak out as she, too, surveyed the area.

"Mother... there is a monk here, I can tell... but she, I'm afraid, is rather onto our presence here." The younger girl said, her eyes holding some worry in them as she waited for her mother's response.  Doubtless, she would be angry...

...but the older female chuckled.  "Perfect.  This may work to our advantage if she is expecting us." She said, removing her hood and cloak so that the monk would be able to look upon her and know that she was an assassin.

Alisha, however, had a different plan.  The blind Magistrey slowly made her way to a little spot in her room that had a panel that only she could access, but within it was something that only she knew about there.  "We will see who has the upper hand over who." She whispered to herself as she pressed one of the buttons.  Then, she made her way back over to the bed in the corner of the room, smiling to herself as she wrapped her wings around her.

~*~*~*~

Chanda turned her head to Chloris and blinked.  "What is it, Chloris?  What's on your mind?" She asked.  She could tell when something was on his mind, and she could tell when it pertained to their children.  With the way his face looked, she could tell that something was up.

Chloris chuckled nervously at first, as if thinking to dismiss it as merely being contemplative.  Instead, he finally let his head droop as he said, "I think Kria might have had something to do with how Onyl turned out." He shook his head as he looked around, his eyes suddenly alert.  Something was wrong...

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[SpringsSong]

Kria and Ghia moved slowly through the upper level of the temple, moving slowly closer to where Alisha was.  Kria chuckled to herself as she said, "Oh, come out, little monk friend~" She moved gracefully around the floor...

...but was granted with a nasty surprise as the floor opened up underneath her.  The floor opened up underneath Ghia as well, causing the girl to scream.  She knew that, once they got back onto ground, her mother would scold her for screaming, but that was not the point at this time.  Right now, the point for them seemed to be to land safely.

The Magistrey chuckled as she sat perfectly still, her wings slowly uncurling from around her form as she stood after a minute.  There was another presence nearby... she could feel it.  There were two Lucain outside, she knew; but there was another presence that was strangely uncanny to her.

"What on earth...?" She asked, walking out to the open window and looking down at Chandani and Chloris.

~*~*~*~

"Something's wrong, Chanda.  Something... doesn't feel right." Chloris said before Chanda could respond to his previous comment, looking around.  He shifted into his Lucain form and carefully stalked out from under the gazebo that he and Chanda had been sitting in.  In almost the blink of an eye, a blur of brown, pink, and purple pounced upon Chloris, squealing, "I've found you both at last!"

Chandani stepped forward and shifted into her Lucain form as well.  "What do you mean, 'found us both at last'? We don't know any Shielupe..." She said, but then, she stopped as the Shielupe got off of Chloris and whispered a single sentence.

"Don't you remember me, Chanda?"

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[SpringsSong]

When the two women finally landed at last, Kria growled angrily.  "This place can't possibly have trapdoors like that!" She said, her fur standing up on end as she shifted forms.  "I swear, once I get my paws on that monk, I'll...!"

Ghia sighed as she, too, took her Lucain form and lay on the ground, ice slowly curling around her body.  "We made our approach too obvious to her... but how?  We had to be far from where she was..." She said.  Shaking her head, she growled, "We ought to get moving again, though.  I doubt Chandani and Chloris will stay here the whole day."

~*~*~*~

Alisha looked down at the group before flying down from her perch, landing in front of the blind--indeed, the Sheilupe was blind--and turning to face the Lucain.  She smiled as she said, "Peace be with you, friends.  You need not fear me; I am the protector of this temple, Alisha."

Chloris looked from Alisha to the Sheilupe and then to Chandani.  "Why do I feel like we should know the Shielupe, Chanda?  Her voice... it sounds deathly familiar to me.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, except for the form she's in, she reminds me of..."

However, Chanda had already started to pad up to the Shielupe as she whispered, "That voice... I know I know that voice..." She stared into the Shielupe's blind, steely eyes before she gasped.

"Lian?¶..."

"Yes, Chanda, it really is me.  I'm sorry I waited so long to reveal myself, but I had to be certain that you were really Chandani and Chloris before revealing myself." She said, smiling.  Chanda stared, her ears perked forward and her jaw hanging open and her breathing rapid.

"But... oh, Lian?¶, please forgive me!"

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[SpringsSong]

Kria nodded as she looked around.  "It would help if we had a reinforcement right about now, wouldn't you say, Ghia?  Yes... a reinforcement... now where did I leave that number...?" She said, rummaging around her cloak for her phone.  "Hm... ah, yes; here we are..."

Ghia tilted her head slightly and inquired, "Who are you calling, Mother?" She'd never seen this particular gleam in her mother's eyes, but she knew that if it ever appeared, generally, she had a scheme in mind.

"Hello?  Ah, yes, Alyan... listen, I need ya to come out to Nu'san.  Ghia and I need a reinforcement out here." Kria said, ignoring her daughter's question for the time being.  Ghia leaned in closer and caught the voice on the other end.  "Ah, ran into some trouble and need your old friend from assassin school to get ya out?  I'm on my way."

~*~*~*~

Chanda's legs buckled as Chloris moved over so that he could steady her as Chanda said, "Please, Lian?¶, forgive me... I did not mean to do what I did to you; nor did I ever suspect that...!  Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Lian?¶ chuckled as she placed a paw on top of Chandani's head.  "I see that, since we last met, you have regained emotions.  It is very good to have you back, Chanda." She said, smiling as she turned to Alisha.  "However, those women are still within the temple, Alisha.  Isn't there somewhere...?"

"I know what you speak of, Lian?¶, but I know not how to get there.  However, we must at least try, so that we can escape the assassins." The Magistrey said, turning to Chloris and Chanda.  "You must follow us.  We must get to safety."

"Assassins?" Chloris said.  "You don't suppose...?" He ventured to ask, and the silence that answered him seemed to be enough.

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[SpringsSong]

"Who's Alyan, Mother?" Ghia finally asked, remaining firmly planted in her spot on the floor--she'd frozen herself there for the time being--and looking at her mother.  The older Lucain smiled as she said, "All in good time, Ghia.  You shall soon be acquainted with all of my... friends... from the past."

"Why don't you just tell her now, Kria?"

Kria chuckled.  "As always, your timing is quite impeccable, Alyan.  Now, you know who it is we are looking for, yes?" She asked, her black eyes gleaming as she searched Alyan's white ones.

They, too, gleamed as he said, "But of course, Kria.  I know exactly who you seek, but be aware: they are regaining some power that we cannot beat."

"How?!"

~*~*~*~

The group slowly made their way forward; Alisha led the way, Lian?¶ brought up the rear, and Chandani and Chloris remained in the middle of the group.  "I've got a bad feeling about this, guys... I definitely know that Kria is here, and I can sense one of my fellow assassin trainees up there, too, but... the last presence..."

"It feels just like Kria, only worse.  I suspect that it might just be her daughter, Ghia Fuoca.  I heard about her in passing when talking with Kira, but I didn't really make a connection..." Chloris said, shaking his head.  "I just wish that... that I could discover why she's so angry."

"Do not lie, Chloris.  You know full well why she hates you and why she is angry.  You should wish that we could find a way to soften her again." Lian?¶ said.  "Like maybe that teacher from the assassin school..."

"Oh, for the love of Zu'hai, Lian?¶, the last thing we need is more assassins in this world." Alisha said as she felt the wall for guidance.  "Ah... yes... ten paces north from here, then fifteen to the right." She said, smiling.  "We're almost there."

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[SpringsSong]

The Shielupe shook his head in dismay as he closed his eyes.  "That's right, you didn't come until after Chandani had left the assassin school.  I had forgotten."

"Chandani went to that school?!" Kria screamed, flames forming around her paws.  Ghia growled as she stood and moved slightly further away from her mother, letting ice tendrils curl around her again as she listened.

"Yes, she did.  She left the day before you arrived--coincidentally enough, also the day after an important Kuhna speaker was assassinated.  Chandani never returned back from her assignment, thus proving to Verano that Chandani was never worthy to be an assassin." Alyan said, smirking as he watched the reaction on Kria's face.

~*~*~*~

Seven, eight, nine, ten... thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.  "We're here." Alisha said plainly, tapping the stone in front of her in a few different places.  "Lian?¶, are you sure this is the right place?" The Magistrey asked, her wings drooping to the ground.

"Of course I'm sure, Alisha.  But if you would please, step aside..." Lian?¶ said, smiling as she gingerly stepped forward.  "But you see this inscription here?  That's the key to opening the door." She said, drawing Alisha's hand over it.  The Magistrey's face twisted in frustration, and Lian?¶ smiled.

"Open the doors to the haven,
We beg for shelter; the temple is in danger
Let us in, let us come inward
Let no blood be spilled on this sacred ground."

Chandani and Chloris listened carefully as Lian?¶ spoke, their ears perked up attentively, as if listening for something above them.  Finally, Chandani cursed as they walked into the haven within the temple.

"What's wrong, Chandani?" Chloris asked.  Chanda looked up, her red eyes gleaming as she hissed a single sentence.

"He's here."

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[SpringsSong]

"But... I thought that Verano had said that she hadn't gone there... I demanded him to tell me if he had taught one known as Chandani, and he denied it!" Kria roared, sending a ball of white flame hurtling towards a pillar.

The fireball never reached its target.  It was doused by a stream of water that came from the Shielupe's paws as he said, "He didn't lie to you.  Chandani didn't attend the school; Krishna did.  Krishna was Chandani's last name; and, coincidentally enough, a perfect assassin name for her."

Ghia leapt up, a trail of fire following after her as she said, "Mother, I think I remember hearing that sap of a son of theirs mention that to me!  Krishna... Krishna means dark, and Chandani means star.  So Chanda is the Dark Star... I had read about her!"

~*~*~*~

"Who, Chandani?  Who's here?  Verano?  Or... someone... else?" Chloris asked, his yellow eyes gleaming as he looked around the haven.  There really wasn't much to see; just a few little bushes here and there that had been rooted there for longer than even the oldest monk could remember.

"No, Verano would be a welcome presence right now.  This presence... this presence knew right from the start that the name I gave Verano--Krishna--was not my real name.  His name... Alyan.  He approached me on the first day of my classes and said, Listen, Chandani, I don't know why you're here, but you aren't meant to be here. I left him with a couple of scars for that, but he was right." Chandani said, kicking a tiny pebble.

"You mean that one Chaos Shielupe?  He saw it fit to come to my funeral and mock you, Chanda!  He waltzed right up to the microphone and said, to everyone, It is a shame that this honored speaker died, but what is an even worse shame is that her assassin did such a horrible job.  Assassins are supposed to strike without any hesitance, and they are to be merciless.  Chandani Krishna was neither! My spirit was appalled that you were indeed my killer, but it was even more horrified at what he had said." Lian?¶ said, growling as her steely purple eyes seemed to glow with a fire.

"Now, both of you, just stay calm.  We have to get as far in as we can... and hope that, if this Kria does find the entrance, she can't read those runes." Alisha said, shifting into her Magistrey form and flying ahead of the group.

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[SpringsSong]

Kria chuckled.  "There's no need to fear Chandani.  She is as weak and feeble as a newborn pup.  The Book of Assassins over glorifies her.  She is not nearly as terrible as she is portrayed."

"In fact, she's quite the opposite, little Ghia.  I could tell from examining Lian?¶'s body--she died slowly, with two separate sets of bite marks on her neck.  Chanda hesitated in killing her, I'm guessing, once she caught wind of the Kuhna's scent.  In fact..." Alyan chuckled darkly as he looked up at the ceiling, and then back to Kria and Ghia.

"...the reality is Chandani never finished her mission--but she doesn't remember it as such."

"What?" Ghia asked in shock.

~*~*~*~

Chandani and Chloris slowly followed after Alisha as she spoke.  "You see, your friend here was highly favored by Zu'hai.  She was sent back, but in a different body, and blind to boot.  I was rendered blind after my first vision--Yepha and Zu'hai said that it would be best for me if I were blind." She said before she landed, shifting into her human form.  "Some see me as an angel on earth.  Others... well, they are scared by me."

Lian?¶ chuckled as she said, "Oh, come on, Alisha.  You know that everyone who comes here who is pure of heart loves you." the Shielupe playfully nudged the Magistrey.  Alisha blushed, but did not say anything as Lian?¶ turned to face Chanda.  "So I hear you two have pups?"

Chloris nodded as he gave his mate a perplexed stare.  "Yes, we have three pups and two grandchildren.  However, only two of our pups live with us." He said.  Finally, he turned back to Chanda and waved a paw in front of her face.  "Hello?"

Chanda, however, didn't hear him.  Instead, she was stuck in a reverie that she wished she could escape from.  She saw the bed where the Kuhna Lian?¶ lay sleeping, and she saw herself walking slowly towards the bed, her fangs barred and her claws drawn.  First, she struck the eyes with her claws so that the Kuhna would have only her ears to rely on to detect her killer.  However, once she had the Kuhna's neck in her mouth, she dropped her.

"Lian?¶...? Oh, what have I done?" She'd wailed.

"You've proved exactly what I've been telling the boss:        you ain't cut out to be an assassin, Krishna.  Or should I call you... Chandani?" The Shielupe said, grinning evilly as he wrapped himself around her mind, twisting it so that what she saw was done by her.  In truth, the Shielupe was doing the final act as the Kuhna hissed in pain.

"No!"

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[SpringsSong]

"But... if Chandani didn't kill Lian?¶... who did?" Ghia asked, a thin layer of ice coating her fur as she watched the Shielupe carefully.  Kria's own eyes were blacker than black as she said, "So it is as I suspected from the start.  I knew Chanda would never kill someone... but then that would mean..."

She growled as she looked at the Shielupe.  "Alyan, how could you?  I remember now--you came to the funeral and slammed Chanda for her mission as though you loathed her for it--but I remember the scent of Kuhna-blood on you." She said.

The Shielupe smiled as he said, "Bingo.  I finished Chandani's mission for her.  I have to tell you, it was a pleasure to drink in that Kuhna's blood after watching how Chanda hesitated after learning who she was to kill."

~*~*~*~

"Chanda!  Wake up, would you?  This... please!  You're freaking me out!" Chloris said, raising a paw to strike Chanda out of her living nightmare as she continued to wail inconsolably.

"No, no, no... Lian?¶... I wasn't your killer... I know at last the truth.  My mind... it had been wiped clean of memories in the time before your death-blow was dealt, but know I know the truth!  Alyan... he is your murderer, not me!"

The Shielupe's eyes widened as this was said.  "What...?  Alyan was the one that killed me?  Chandani... are you sure?" She asked, her head tilting.

The Lucain nodded.  "Yes, Lian?¶, I am certain that it was Alyan that killed you now.  He is the only Chaos Shielupe I know, and he was always telling me that I'd never make a decent assassin--not even a half-assassin.  He always told me I was too soft-hearted and that I should go back to my boyfriend and try to get everything sorted out.  But he always said this with such malice... I still cannot believe this..."

Alisha smiled.  "At last, the truth is revealed.  Lian?¶ had said long ago that she would never accept that you had killed her, Chanda.  She refused it to no end, saying that she remembered, however she did I will never know, Shielupe fangs digging into her neck most mercilessly--even more merciless than the Lucain's.  How she was able to tell, I will not know.  But I guess now... she was right. But now that you know... if this Alyan is here, then he will doubtless soon discover that Lian?¶ is no longer dead, and that you have a certain fire within you that no one should argue with.  And if anyone dares argue with that fire, then... well, he'll just have to learn for himself."

"A fire?"Chandani asked, looking at the Magistrey.  Chloris and Lian?¶ nodded as Chloris explained, "Yes... the fire within you, Chanda... I know that fire well."

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[SpringsSong]

"But... then that would mean that the price on Chandani's head... should be on yours!" Kria said, enraged.  "Good lord, if you weren't as close to me as you are, I would have half of a mind to..."

"Half of a mind to what?  Hire a bounty hunter to come and whack me?  Dear sweet Kria... I would hope you wouldn't do something that horrid to me, your dear old friend from assassin's academy." Alyan said sweetly, walking around Kria and making a quiet murr-like sound in his chest.

"Well, why wouldn't she?  I mean, she's been under the impression for four years apparently that her friend killed a Kuhna mercilessly and was given every reason to believe it from everyone that she ever trusted--even from a fellow assassin.  Now I understand..." The younger Lucain's eyes brightened as she said, "Mother, don't you see?  That, you told me once, was the only reason you hated Chanda!  The only reason you wanted to soak your claws with her blood!"

~*~*~*~

Chloris' eyes widened as he thought for a moment.  "But Chanda!  This means, then... that the bounty out for you..."

"There's a price on my head?!  Oh good gracious, I never realized that!" Chanda said, nearly wailing as she fell to the ground, shifting into her human form.  Tears streamed down her face as she said, "What have I done?!"

Lian?¶ and Alisha both ran to comfort Chanda, but it was Lian?¶ that spoke.  "Yes, there is a price on your head, but it is a price that should be on Alyan's head and not yours.  He should be the one fleeing for his life..."

"...but it is because he had the assassin mastery that Chanda did not have that he has been able to keep quiet for this long.  I wonder what Kria will say when she realizes that it wasn't you that killed Lian?¶..." Chloris mused, smiling.

Lian?¶ gasped.  "Kria?  You mean she actually... missed me when I was killed?  I always thought she hated me, just as she hated Chanda..." She said, thinking to herself for a moment.  "Hm... Alisha, this... changes things now." She said.

"It does indeed, Lian?¶; however, it is up to Chloris and Chanda whether or not  we engage in a battle with this Shielupe and present ourselves to Kria and her daughter.  It might be beneficial, but then again, it could be dangerous."

"Danger is what I live for." Chanda said, smiling.

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