[Jaden Wolf]

Aeria

Shatter

"No."
"Please?"
"No."
Hmpf...
"YES."
"No."
"YOU...oh why do I bother?"
A Saffron yonyuu was desperately trying to get a Purine Penticorn to enter the busy citadel/city streets.
"Yes. Why do you?" The penticorn showed no signs of giving in. She hated being amongst so many people...especially so many HAPPY people. She couldn't stand it.
But the yonyuu was persistent.
"My own CHILDREN are more obedient than you, and that's saying alot!"
The penticorn scoffed.
"Only one is disobedient, and another is reluctant but listens, while the last is a goody-two-shoes."
The yonyuu gasped. "Shatter! Hope is NOT a goody-two shoes! Anyway, the point is, you are acting like a CHILD...foal, whatever."
The penticorn, Shatter, glared at the yonyuu. That was a blow to the little pride she had left. She reluctantly stood and stepped forward. "Fine Aeria, but let's hurry through that...irritating crowd." she snapped. The yonyuu called Aeria smiled triumphantly and followed.

[Jaden Wolf]

"Shatter! Wait for me!"
"I said we should hurry, and that's what I'm doing."
"Shatter!!"
Aeria called out, weaving through the crowd. She bumped into some people, and left more than one calling out in anger for having knocked over their goods. She sighed.
"Oh yeah Jaden, this is a great trip. I can barely see Shatter." Aeria muttered, knowing Jaden could hear her. She had no idea how, but she wasn't complaining. She saw a flicker of movement in the shadow out of the corner of her eye, and knew it was Jaden. Up ahead, she saw Shatter stop suddenly, causing some angry pedestrians to drop their stuff. With a wince she hurried forward, getting some rude remarks from some of the people as she jumped over them and their fallen stuff. Eventually, she caught up to Shatter. After a glance to see if she was there, Shatter moved again. Aeria jogged to keep up and smiled. She looked at the shadows and whispered.
"Thank you Jaden, but let's hope I can last the rest of the trip."

[Jaden Wolf]

...I don't like it here. How is it that people can be so happy? I know I'm not a void penticorn, but happiness is dangerous and...strange...how do they do it?
The thoughts would not leave Shatter's mind. She was curious as to how others managed to be so happy. She looked at Aeria, who was skipping happily beside her, humming. It was hard to believe she was a mother...except when she's with her children. It's almost as if she has two personalities.
"HEY!"
A shout broke through Shatter's thoughts, and she looked around. Beside her, a man had fallen, probably knocked over by her tail. He didn't look happy. He whipped around and yelled at her. "It's not my fault you got too close to my tail. I don't notice if it hits something...so keep away from it." All she got in response was some curse words, and she turned. She couldn't care less. After all, the man was fine.
Aeria looked between them, and then groaned as Shatter walked off. "Terribly sorry sir, she didn't mean it." Aeria said to the man, then ran after Shatter. Oh why must she act this way?

[Jaden Wolf]

Shatter turned her head as she saw an alleyway that was devoid of people. She turned towards it, pleased to get out of the crowd. Behind her, Aeria ducked to avoid the penticorn's tail. She groaned and ran after Shatter. Once they got into the alley, Aeria shuddered. "I don't like it here." she said. Shatter stopped and looked back at the yonyuu over her shoulder. "Scared?" she asked. Aeria sighed. There was no changing Shatter's mind now.

Then something caught her eye and she walked over to it. It was a grate, on an angle, though the opening went straight down. She looked closely at it and realized that something was holding it open. Suddenly, something shot out of the opening and grabbed her. She screamed.

Shatter heard Aeria scream and spun around. She saw Aeria being dragged into an opening. The yonyuu's back leg was already in the opening, so Shatter couldn't see what was pulling her. She ran towards Aeria and kicked the grate, hoping that the motion of light reflected onto whatever had the yonyuu's leg. The grate did reflect the light. But the darkness absorbed it. With a jolt, Shatter's thoughts flicked to something that Jaden had said once. Shadows will not harm you, and I've taught you how to see things hidden by shadows, but there is one kind of Shadow that you mustn't trust. It is as dark as a starless night, and cannot be lit by the brightest light. Horrible beings live there. They despise the creatures of light, and have devoted their souls to the darkness. They do not even like the masters of shadows, who are at peace with those of the light, like me. Or you. Should they get you, you might never see the light again...
Shatter's eyes went wide with fear. In her panic, she couldn't remember what Jaden said to do if the DarkSouls grab you.

[Kestrel]

Neong?°z looked around. Well... she thought. This is no place for a Rexxel like me.
She huffed. Why was she here again? Turning the corner, she noticed she was in a dark alley.
Why are there filthy places like this in such a bright city? she wondered, then noticed a figure.
A Penticorn, she noted. A Purine Penticorn.
For some reason, she seemed upset. Why was that? Perhaps she didn't like the alley, either.
"Hello," she said calmly. "Is something wrong?"
Something seemed wrong, at least. She was staring at a grate as if a ghost had popped up out of it and grabbed her best friend. A grate, of all things! A filthy grate, even more filthy then the alley, surprisingly. After being in the alley for 1 minute, she was surprised that anything was more filthy than it.

{1}

[Jaden Wolf]

Shatter's ear twitched as she heard someone come up. Then she turned her head slowly. The voice of Aeria still rang in her head...Shatter! What is this?! Help me! She could still hear Aeria's scream echoing though it had long since stopped. She looked at the newcommer, a biolune rexxel. She jerked her head in a sort of greeting and considered the question; putting her words together. How was she going to explain this? "I came here with someone else...Aeria, a saffron yonyuu. We...we came down this alley, and a...a shadow-being grabbed her..." she trailed off, staring at the grate.

[Kestrel]

"Oh sure," Neong?°z replied, snorting. "Next thing you're going to tell is that shadows can be trusted."
She wondered why she was still in the alley. Usually she'd be gone the first time she saw it. This was a rarity.
The Purine Penticorn better use it well. she thought.
"What's your name?"
She usually didn't bother with names, either, but she had a feeling that she'd be around this Penticorn and the Yonyuu. If the Penticorn could rescue her companion. Because there was no way that she Neong?°z the Second, (her mother's name had been Neong?°z too, and she was sure that she was of royal blood. On her mother's side, at least) Soon-to-be Heir to the Throne of Biolunes, (this is where her father came in. He was a Biolune Albie) and Soon-to-be Heir to the Throne of Rexxels (her mother, of course. She was a Purine Rexxel) was going down there.

{2}

[Jaden Wolf]

Shatter wheeled around as the rexxel snorted. Her normal self was comming back to her, and she was...unsafe, so to speak. She glared at the biolune standing there, and raised her head, a thick air of pride surrounding her. She was very confident, and to anyone else, she would seem to be of very high status. She kept her eyes fixed on the fellox, and scoffed as the rexxel spoke. She hated it when people acted spoiled, or anything along those lines. "My name? You want my name? Fine. It's Shatter. My mistress is the Master of Shadows. So watch yourself." she snapped coldly.
Odd...she never liked to admit that Jaden was her mistress. Normally, she was her own master.

[Kestrel]

"Mistress of the Shadows. Of course," she repeated scornfully.
Neong?°z had a half-mind to turn around right then. But she was still curious. Another rarity. What she was curious about... that, she was still uncertain. The talk of shadows? No, that probably was just some mindless boasting. The fact that she had never met anyone who actually snapped at her? Perhaps. Or maybe it was the fact that Shatter was the only person around. The only one she could prove to the she was more supreme.
Neong?°z examinded the Penticorn. She had been shocked. Either that, or she had been scared. Now she was back to normal, obviously.
Pity. the Rexxel thought. I liked her better before.

{3}

[Jaden Wolf]

Shatter glared at the rexxel, then looked back at the grate. She knew that Aeria din't have much time...if they dragged her too deep...she may never be able to come up again. Her mind flicked to Aeria's children...her two daughters and her son. She sighed, losing some of her edge. Then she went over to the grate, and tapped a hoof on it. She purposly ignored the rexxel, though she knew she was there. Then she sensed motion underneath the grate and scowled. They were taunting her! She flipped the grate away and was met with a small hiss from something inside. How she wished she had one of the shadow-pets with her. She looked back. "You never told me your name." she said cooly.

[Kestrel]

"My name? Neong?°z."
Neong?°z never liked to mess with names. They were too, too unimportant. Titles, on the other hand, were important. Hopefully, the Penticorn wouldn't be able to pronounce it. Curious, she moved over to the grate. Was the shadow-being story real? She shook that thought from her head. Of course they weren't real. A bunch of sewer rats probably just dragged her friend off.
But still... how could some sewer rats drag a full-grown Yonyuu? And so quickly, too, one part of her asked.
It was probably a big pack. And they probably caught her off-guard, the other part replied.

{4}

[Katia]

Tara had been walking along alone. No one had really paid any attention to the Fenling and she could care less. She had came here because she had wanted to see the stone guadrians and having seen them had left her wandering the city exploring. She heard something going on in the ally, but was unable to make out what it was. "This might be worth looking into." Tara thought to herself and ran into the ally. "What going on here?" She asked the Rexxl and penticorn and the fenling had no way of knowing what was going on.

[Jaden Wolf]

Shatter gave one glance at the newcomer before glaring at the rexxel. Then she picked up a metal object nearby. She used it to reflect light into the hole. But it went no farther than the opening...it was just sucked up. It did not fade, but simply ended. She looked up at the rexxel. "Still doubt me?" she asked. Then she turned to the newcommer. A fenling by the looks of it. Her mind flicked back to the story Blessi kept going on about...it was about her meeting a land creature, a fenling just like this one. Maybe it was the same one? She did not smile; no one could remember the last time she did. She simply inclined her head respectively. "My friend was grabbed by shadow-beings called DarkSouls. She was dragged down this opening...Neongaz here doesn't seem to believe me." she said, giving the rexxel a withering look. Then she looked at the fenling. "Do you?"

[Kestrel]

"Why should I?" Neong?°z replied smoothly. "Have you shown me any proof except for the fact that the light doesn't go farther than the opening?"
The Rexxel paid no attention to the newcomer. That wasn't her way. She was used to people paying attention to her. But out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that it was a Fenling. A Cursed Fenling. She'd stay away from her. She didn't need any Cursed creature anywhere near her. Instead, she moved to the other side of the grate, the side farthest from the alley's opening. Staring inside, she could see somethings moving, but she couldn't tell what. It was too dark. The half of her that believed Shatter's story starting corrupting the half that didn't. Could the Penticorn's crazed story be true after all?

{5}

[Katia]

Tara blinked and said, "It's sounds crazy, but it's also the most interesting thing I've heard in a while. I kinda hope it's true so I won't be so bored." She walked a few steps closer and added, "Maybe we should go look for your friend because I don't think staying here arguing is going to help her." She doubted that they would listen to her, but she might as well give it a try. She started towards the hole intending to look for the penticorn's friend wether they intened to help her or not.