[SpringsSong]

Asu looked from Justine to Fallen a couple times before Justine actually responded.  "Now why would you say that?  I merely came here because I could sense that the love of my life was here..."

"I'm not the love of your life anymore, Justine."

Asu blinked as he heard himself say this; he didn't blink in shock at hearing himself say words he never thought he would say, he blinked because he was trying to hold back a few tears.  "I'm not.  You had died... but now, now I realize that the carnage in that place... was not from the bounty hunters themselves, but from one of their captured prizes."

Justine snarled as she readied to pounce.  "Wanna run that by me again?"

Asu sighed as he turned to Fallen, whispering, "If anything happens to me, I'm glad that I met you." Then, he looked back at Justine.  "I'm saying, I think it was you that caused all the carnage in that bounty hunter's lair that I tracked you to.  You were so ashamed of being caught and convicted of murder that you ran away."

At this, Justine leapt, her claws extended to tear into Asu.

[8.4][2.2]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen watched the scene unfold in front of her. She gasped quietly as Asu spoke. And then, that one sentence made her quake- not with fear, or anger, or sadness. But with something else. She couldn't totally tell what, but she figured she really liked Asuchiwan. And now was her chance to prove it. She had only seconds as Asu finished his thoughts to Justine. She watched as the angry Purine Lucain jumped at Asu.

And as she flew at Asuchiwan, Fallen stepped in front of him.

[SpringsSong]

"NO!"

Asu cried out as Justine rammed into Fallen, her claws piercing into the other Purine Lucain's flesh in a fury of blue and white fur.  He wasn't sure if Justine noticed yet, but that would soon change as Justine noticed who she was clawing into.

"Oh, I see how it works.  You two met here, swapped stories about your lives in the war, and then, you two started to fall in love.  Classic.  I expected better from you, Asuchiwan, but I suppose that, since you thought I was dead..." Justine started to say, looking up at Asu.

"To me, you are still dead.  You are not the Justine I knew." He said quietly.

Justine snarled as she returned her rage to Fallen.  "Let's see how well this Purine assassin fights!" she challenged.

[9.0][2.3]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen let out no sound as Justine hit her. She was stronger than she looked, and wasn't knocked down, just off balance. She quickly regained it, feeling a small trickle of blood on her neck. She snarled as Justine rambled, getting annoyed. She didn't like Justine any more Justine liked her, but Fallen refused to fight against another Purine Lucain.

"No." she said simply, coming up beside Asuchiwan again. She didn't have to win this fight. Justine just had to lose.

[SpringsSong]

When Fallen refused to fight, Asu breathed a sigh of relief while Justine snarled, her eyes seeming to turn a demonic red.  "No?" Justine challenged again, staring the other two down heavily.  When she could tell that this was Fallen's answer, she inclined her head.

"I see.  Trying to end your killing days, right?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.  Asuchiwan seemed to know what needed to happen, but was less certain of how it would happen.  He knew now that Justine was fairly angry with him, and that there was no way he could change that now.  Finally, he stepped forward.

"Justine, this fight cannot be won with brute force.  The only way it can be won is if you can accept that things change.  After all, I seem to recall you breaking it off with me first."

[9.1][2.4]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen held back a snarl. "I am not giving up my killing days, although maybe I should. No, I'm not stupid. If I had to for self-denfense, I would. But I would never go so low as to hurt a sister Purine Lucain." she said, trying not to add malice to her already heavy tone. She was disliking Justine more and more, but it also upset her. Could Justine love Asu this much, or did she just love the thought of him? Fallen wasn't quite sure, but she figured the second option. Asu was... a safe haven, maybe. The thing that kept her from Imperial wrath.

And suddenly Asu spoke, and said something about accepting change. Fallen nodded. "Justine... I know this is hard. But... the harder part is fighting when you know that you'll lose. And I know you know this."

[SpringsSong]

Asu blinked as he looked back at Justine.  He could tell that these words were cutting deep, but now, he had to say something else.  "Justine..."

"What, Asu?"

The tone that the Purine said this in was hard, bitter.  Finally, Asu said quietly, mumbling it lowly, "I never would have taken you as my mate.  We were too different then, and it's evident now." There, he'd said it.  He knew that he needed to come to terms with those painful days, but in those last few, he had realized that, maybe, he never actually had been in love with Justine.

Here, he moved slightly closer to Fallen.  "Things change, Justine.  And you can't stop it."

[9.2][3.0]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen felt him come closer to her. To HER. Now.

She suppressed a smile, but stepped close to him too. Didn't want him to think she didn't like him, but she didn't want to hurt Justine by rubbing it in with a smile. She felt bad, and hoped that Justine would find the right mate someday- but for tonight, her battle was lost.

"Justine. I think this was over before it started." Fallen said calmly.

[SpringsSong]

"Yes.  Yes, I see that now."

Justine said this with malice as she glared at the two.  Oh, this made her very, very angry, yes; however, she wasn't going to fight back--yet.  Whether or not she would fight back was another manner.  However, as she turned to leap off of the ledge, she paused, reached up to her neck, and pulled something off.  It came off with a clean and tiny snap, and then, it fell to the ground.  Asu gasped as he realized what it was.

"That necklace..." he whispered, looking at its tiny sapphire gem glimmering in the firelight as the Purine Lucain that snapped its gold chain left.

[9.3][3.1]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen stared at the sparkling little jewel on the dull rock ledge. "Did you- did you give that to her?" she asked quietly. It was beautiful- the gold sparkled as if Justine had polished it more than once, and the sapphire made her eyes water, it was so bright and clear. Fallen was amazed Justine still had it in such good condition. "Why...?" she asked quietly.

[[Eh. Muse is now dead. XD]]

[SpringsSong]

"Yes... it had been a gift for her not that long after we'd gotten together; in fact, it was a birthday present." Asuchiwan said, moving slowly to pick it up.  He held the crystal gently in his hand as he said, "I never thought that I'd be glad to get it back from her now... I had hoped to keep in, you know, in memory of her when I thought she had died, but..."

He stopped there.  He couldn't say anything else without crying.

[9.4]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen ran towards him, her human form, although bedraggled and very dirty, still very excited to know that Asu had said that he was happy to get the necklace back. She quickly grabbed hold of him and squeezed him gently, as good a hug as you'd ever get from Fallen. She surprised herself, even. But hey, she knew two things now:

1) Asuchiwan was not in love with Justine.

2) She was in love with Asuchiwan.

She smiled up at him, and she wanted to say so much. But it wouldn't come out. She opened her mouth, then closed it, and opened it again, but the words would not form, sayings would not roll off her tongue, no syllables would pass her chapped lips. So, instead of saying something, she did something. She kissed him on the cheek, softly.

[SpringsSong]

Asu was surprised for but a moment as he dimly realized something as he held the tiny sapphire necklace and Fallen hugged him.  He was in love with her as well; and for him to be able to fall in love again was a miracle in and of itself.  It had been so long since he had felt this way before; and he doubted that anyone else could make him feel like this now.

He felt himself blush as Fallen kissed him on the cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.  The world suddenly seemed right now... except for the recent encounter with Justine, of course... but nonetheless, Asu could only smile as he shifted to his human form--not exactly in top condition, but he really didn't care.

[10.0]

[Fallen_Snow]

Fallen hugged him back, her mouth now arranged into a huge smile. "I'm guessing this means you feel the same?" she asked, though she was a bit timid. She wasn't sure if she could handle rejection. But she also doubted herself. Was she good enough for Asuchiwan? Could she ever match up to him?

She supposed only time could tell, but it still made her uneasy. But there was always the risk factor in an relationship. It's hard to believe that she and Asu had survived this long in the caves.

For some reason, she was truly comprehending where they were. "Should we be leaving any time soon?" Fallen asked, looking around the cave warily. She didn't know if Justine still lurked, and she was wary of the angry female. "Or would you like to continue our feast?" she looked back at the now dead fire and her half full canteen.

[SpringsSong]

Asu smiled as he nodded.  He did feel the same for Fallen; it had been how he'd felt for Justine at first, before the incidents that led to the destruction of their relationship.  He looked around the caverns, equally wary, as he assessed where they were.  If they stayed here--whether in the caverns or in this particular spot--they ran the risk of Justine finding them; at least, if they were not careful enough.

"I think," he said, "that we should backtrack to where the tunnels split and we picked this one and take the other path.  But, if you'd rather leave the caverns," he said, thinking for a moment.  "Well... I've heard that Nabias has a few little cafes that we could go to."

[10.1]