Young Writers Society

"Then we had better be prepared!" Denebola said, throwing her other arm up as she swiveled back to Dresden. "How well do you think you people can fight? Even with Taber, who just so happens to be big enough to fall over really easily and have a really hard time getting up, I'd rather have at least some of us be able to fight."




Setting his boxes down, Zech gasped on seeing Odris. "Oh no!" he said. "You're stuck here too?"

"Not a big surprise," said Lunis, still holding his boxes. "Good to see you again, though."

"Yeah!" Zech said, extending a paw. He paused. "How long has it been this time?" he said tentatively.



Lasan nodded. "If you say so," he said. "I was walking through here on my own earlier, but I guess it'd be different if I'm walking with the king."

"I, uh, fight for a living," Adrian hesitantly spoke up from nearby. It wasn't the entire truth - and he didn't get paid for it - but he did have years of self-defense classes under his belt, as well as a few years of that as well. "I can fight like this, especially since I still have my super-"

He clamped over his mouth, realizing that he had almost revealed the truth that he definitely couldn't afford to share. They only knew him as Adrian Black; he couldn't let them know that shapeshifting was actually something he did away from this campaign.

The others gave him confused and suspicious looks, but none commented on his sudden silence.

"Same here," Shadow said. "My body's off, and I don't think I have the same range of abilities as usual. But I am skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and I'm fairly decent with a bow."

Lorcan gave a nod. "I can't do what I usually do, either, but I can fight with a sword."

"I'm technically a cleric, I think," Nen hesitantly added. He gave a small, sheepish smile. "But I'm also a gigantic dragon man, so I think I can pack a punch when I need to."

Adrian glanced over at Dresden, waiting for their necromancer to say something. Something about him really didn't seem right. Not in a bad way, but the type of way that suggested he was very well-versed with fighting and dangerous situations. Adrian didn't think he was looking at someone like him, but what was there to say that Dresden didn't do the same type of community service?

"I'm a necromancer, for starters," Dresden casually said. He patted Ru on the shoulder. "And I have my own pet zombie, so there's that, too. I wouldn't say that I excel in hand-to-hand combat like the rest of you strangely seem to, but I'm good with more...nontraditional ways of fighting."

Shadow gave him a dead-eyed look. "You sneak around and be a conniving little ba-"

"That's rude!" Dresden interrupted. "I wasn't attacking your fighting style."

"There's nothing to attack," she replied, exasperated.

"It's stupid, that's what it is," he said. "Archery and hand-to-hand combat? Please. Taking care of an archer is a piece of cake. I've taken out whole lines of them before, and that was after I had been pulled this way and that."


Oliver smiled and shook the extended hand.

"It's only been a few months," he said. "And those few months haven't been half as chaotic as the time between our last two meetings - though the wedding was certainly a hassle. I made the mistake of volunteering to plan it."


Second started to nod, only to pause when the words registered.

"K-King?" he managed to get out. He wildly looked around to find the person that Lasan was referring to, but then he came to the startling conclusion that he was the person in question. He glanced down at himself and stared at the clothing he was wearing. It did seem like the type of thing royalty might wear, though he couldn't figure out what royalty would be doing in a cave.

Denebola stifled a laugh. She was starting to like Shadow. Anyone who hated Dresden already had her favor, but Shadow was more and more seeming like Denebola's kind of person.

"That's sweet," Denebola said to Dresden, setting her bow on her shoulder while she continued to hold Taber up. "But I've learned a bit about archery from Jo- my brother, so you might just have to eat your words. It's good to see that I underestimated most of you, though. Now, who's going to help me throw these boxes up onto Taber's back? I think he's going to be as good of a wagon as we could get."

The wolf stared over the pile, making something like a confused growl.

"We just need enough rope," Denebola said, rolling her eyes.



Before he could think, Zech immediately picked Odris up off his feet and wrapped him in a hug.

"That's amazing!" Zech said. "I'm so happy for them!"



"I mean," Lasan said, shuffling his feet. "You look like a king, I guess? And it looks like you're kinda in charge of things, because you're in the back of the cave and you're better-dressed than everyone else and you said it'd be safer for you walk in front of me, so I'm guessing you're a king? Is that rude of me?"

"I don't think so," Second said, still trying to wrap his head around the idea of being a king. It just seemed weird. He wasn't royalty. He was just an average person. Hero was someone who should have been given a role like this - he was a leader. He wasn't. And being a king just didn't feel right. He knew that Kartiel was a good person, but most kings weren't as good as his friend was. It gave him an icky feeling he just couldn't shake.

He shook the sensation away.

"Let's go down this way!" he abruptly said, going to grab onto Lasan's wrist and thinking better of it. He hurried down the corridor, slime dripping from his hair and bare skin.


After rope was found and they had tied the boxes to Taber's back, the group embarked for the Slime King's lair. Dresden - and Ru - cheerfully led the way. Few monsters decided to wander into their path when they saw the dire wolf accompanying the group, and the ones that they did were quickly disposed of.

Dresden knew campaigns. He knew that it was unwise to split up, and that everyone's strengths needed to be utilized in order to make it through without anyone dying. But when they finally did arrive at the place that just had to be the lair, he rushed inside. He couldn't sit still anymore. He was tired of arguing over what they were going to do, and tired of not following what he actually felt like doing.

He had to be so meticulous and careful now. Just once, he wanted to be impulsive. He could hear Shadow groaning from the entrance to the cave, and could hear someone hurrying after him into the darkness. He knew it wasn't Ru - he hadn't even thought of trying to control the zombie, and the movements were too fluid.

And it was as he went to turn down one of many corners - narrowly escaping a surprisingly large slime or two in the process - that the ground suddenly gave out from underneath him. A better way to put it would have been that the ground simply didn't exist when it should have.

He let out a very, very loud swear.

And then he let out another one as he hit ground and was promptly slammed into by his follower. He caught glimpses of familiar clothing and black hair as he wiggled out from underneath them, but it was too dark to make out anything else. He stumbled to his feet, a low moan leaving his lips as he searched for some light source. The only one appeared to be a mirror that was gently glowing a few feet away.

He walked over, intending to peer in it and see what the room looked like in its seemingly brighter reflection.

But then he saw what stared back at him.

The man in his reflection was far younger than he appeared to be - maybe only in his early twenties at most, and mid if really stretching it. His eyes were a bright blue; it was a nice contrast to the almost golden hair thrown back in a ponytail. He was an elf, if the pointed ears were anything to go off of.

He raised a hand up and touched his chin.

His reflection was cleanshaven, but he could still feel the stubble there.

Someone moved in the back of the room. He could make out the movement in the reflection. It had to be whoever had followed him, but he didn't want to look away from what the mirror showed. He just kept his gaze on them as they moved closer, the man's blue eyes narrowing in confusion when he saw that the person approaching from behind was an unfamiliar girl wearing very familiar clothes.

She stared out from the mirror.

He finally tore his gaze away from the mirror.

Adrian had followed him.

"I-I don't understand," Adrian said, frantically touching his face and his hair. "I-I'm not like that right now. How...?"

Dresden glanced back at the mirror and immediately knew the answer. "Is that you?"

Adrian faltered.

He let out a sigh. "That's me," he said. "With a little change here or there, but that's definitely me. And if it's showing what I'm really like, I guess it's showing you. Am I wrong?"

The druid took a deep, deep breath, and suddenly the girl in the mirror was standing in Adrian's place.

"...Yes," she quietly confirmed.

Denebola buried her face in her paws when she arrived at the entrance of the cave in time to see Dresden run in, Adrian in tow. Everything had been going so well up to that point - Taber had scared most of the creatures in the woods away, and the few stupid enough to pick a fight with the group had died easily enough. But, because she was trying to keep an eye on children, it was only a matter of time before one of them did something extremely stupid.

Taber whimpered as Denebola glared at the cave entrance. As the other cats began to walk over, Denebola looked up at Taber and scratched him on his massive chin. "Keep the others out," she said. "I don't want anyone else to go near that cave until I come back. Do you understand?"

Giving what sounded like a moan in response, Taber nodded his head. Satisfied, Denebola turned to Thytes, who had just walked up beside her. "Ready to go explore a cave?" she said.

The lion beamed, pulling out a club. "It would be an honor to go adventuring with my favorite aunt," he said.

Denebola tried not to wince at the 'aunt' part - she didn't like thinking about how old she was. But, drawing her bow, she made her way into the cave, Thytes following right behind her.

Eugh, it was damp and musty. Not unlike the other caves she'd gone exploring, but, with whatever had happened to make her smaller and a little weaker, combined with an outfit that clearly wasn't designed for warmth, she could feel the cold seeping into her bones. Taber slumping in front of the entrance and plunging the cave into darkness didn't help.

Fortunately, it wasn't too hard to follow the two. Strands of hair, large creatures made out of slime that seemed very agitated about something, and hints of scents in the air led Denebola and Thytes to a hole in the ground. Noises filtered up to their ears.

"Are you okay?" Denebola called out, getting onto her knees and staring down into the darkness.



Sighing, Lasan turned down the hallway and headed after Second. He didn't have the energy to run, but of course Second was speeding along. So Lasan had no choice but to follow, if only because he really didn't want to be caught alone again.

The lizard avoided pools of slime and tried to keep his mouth shut. Second didn't like being called a king, if his confused expression and hesitant tone of voice had been anything to go by. Better to just call him 'Second' from this point on.

However, a question clung to the edge of his mind, slowly fighting its way through his thoughts, and he eventually realized it was something worth asking. "Second?" Lasan said. "Even if we do find a fire, how are we going to keep it burning?"

"We're fine!" Dresden shouted back up, glancing between the girl their druid apparently was and his own reflection. He finally focused on her and not the mirror after several more moments passed; he didn't have time to mourn what he had lost, or find a little bit of irony in those elf ears.

"So," he said, his voice much quieter, "we're at an interesting crossroads here."

The girl gave a small nod.

Dresden folded his arms and looked her over. He couldn't really feel his arms now, either - it was incredible how fast it was moving, and frustrating how sporadically the sudden losses of feeling occurred. It had just been his hands when they had fallen into the hole, but now everything below the elbows was impossible to feel.

"We can both snitch the moment we return to the group, or we can both keep quiet," he said. The girl gave another small nod. She looked so small and nervous and, God, he just wanted to give her a hug. Pres would have been laughing if he could see the internal conflict; he had always gotten a kick out of how quick he was to take someone under his wing. "But you don't strike me as the type to do the first one."

"...You said true names were important earlier," the girl said. "I-I think you're right. There's some people who can get away with sharing who they really are, but it's not safe for others."

"Like you, I'm assuming?"

She nodded.

He studied her for another moment. It wasn't his true name, but it was better than Dresden of all things - and something made him want to trust her. He never could control that little impulse of his. He gave her a big grin (the type that Pres had always loved) and gestured at himself. "I'm Puck. Short for, well, Puck."

She stared at him. "I thought you didn't want to share your real name?"

"Technically, it's a nickname," he clarified. "So it doesn't hold much power. Even if it did, you don't know the full version - so I think we're good."

The girl shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting with her glasses and the hem of her shirt. "...I'm Wren."

"Wren," he repeated. He gave her another grin. "I like that name."

She gave him a shy smile. "I like yours, too."

He glanced back in the direction of the hole. "Well, Wren, it looks like we're going to have to go back to being Dresden and Adrian for a bit," he said, nodding over at it. "Got any way to get back up?"

It happened in the blink of an eye - Wren was replaced with the familiar form of Adrian Black, though this time Adrian curiously had a pair of white angelic wings attached. "I do," Wren said, giving him another shy smile.

"Nice," he said, grinning. "I've always appreciated a good pair of wings."


The question made Second pause. He didn't know if he was still on Charlotte's world or back on Minecraftia. If it was the first one, then they would have to find fuel somewhere. But if it was the second one, then the flame would last for longer if they managed to find a torch - that was the convenient source of light and warmth left by players in caves.

...Oh no.

He started to slow down. "We might have a problem," he quietly said, his voice little more than a whisper. He started to turn the corner. "If where I think we are, then we might not be alone-"

He let out a startled and surprised cry as he tripped over his own two feet and went tumbling into the arms of the blond haired man standing right around the corner.


Though Taber may have been ordered to prevent other people from entering the cave, Lorcan still managed to slip inside when Denebola and Thytes entered - he couldn't risk them attacking his boyfriend, if Second really was there as one of the slimes. He made sure to stay near them, but not too close. Something told him that Denebola would argue about him following the growing group, and he didn't want to have to leave.

Even if they did say they weren't going to harm any slimes they came across, part of him just wanted to see Second again. It didn't matter that he knew some of the people in their group - he needed his boyfriend there with him.

But the slimes weren't right. They weren't the right colors, weren't the right shape and didn't look like they were actual people. It scared him to think that Second was somewhere among them, and made him feel even more terrified when he realized Second would see him and immediately think he was a threat because of how different he looked.

Even when Adrian popped out of the hole with Dresden in tow, white wings disappearing the moment his boots touched the ground, Lorcan still couldn't get his mind off of his worry.

And that was when the man stumbled into him with a startled noise. Lorcan barely managed to catch him, hands grabbing onto unfamiliar fabric as he tried to steady him. Heads turned further down the hallway; apparently the noise had been enough for them to realize they weren't the only ones who had slipped inside the cave.

"I-I'm sorry," the stranger said, his deep voice both unfamiliar and familiar. His face was dripping - all of him was dripping with slime. "I didn't-"

He paused, staring at him with wide green eyes.

"Lorcan," Dresden slowly said from nearby, "are you trying to seduce the Slime King?"

Lorcan widely glanced between Dresden and the stranger, realizing with increasing horror and embarrassment that he had managed to catch the person they were supposed to fight.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Adrian helpfully added.

Lorcan's face turned bright red.

"I-I have a boyfriend-" he stammered, but was cut short by the sound of the Slime King sniffling. He looked down at their supposed enemy - an enemy who should have definitely left his arms by now, but was instead putting his arms around his neck and pressing his dripping face into Lorcan's shoulder.

He knew exactly who the Slime King was.

"It's okay," Lorcan reassured him. He rubbed his back, just like he always did when he needed to cry. "No one's going to hurt you."

"It's m-me," he muttered into his shoulder. "I-I promise it's me. I'm not-I'm not trying to trick you..."

"I know you're not," Lorcan whispered back, pulling him tight. "I know it's really you, Second."

Good news is that, after some kind of conversation, Adrian and Dresden were able to fly their way out of the hole. And then they started heading in the opposite direction. Joined by somebody who Denebola was definitely sure should've stayed outside. Who then ran into a man made out of slime.

Denebola stared at the scene for a few seconds, hearing Dresden mention Lorcan seducing the Slime King, then screamed into her paws.

Thytes tapped her back a few seconds later, when she had screamed enough for her voice to start to get hoarse. "Is that Lasan?" he said.

Taking a deep breath, Denebola pulled her head out of her paws and looked in front of her. Sure enough, behind the Slime King, was none other than the only lizard she knew.

She had no idea where he came from, but hopefully he'd be able to defuse the situation.



Lasan stood there, watching Second embrace some kind of...human? With long ears?

Exhausted from his run, Lasan crouched down and rested his hands on his knees. "Who is this?" Lasan said to Second. "A friend?"

Second managed to shake his head. He wasn't going to let go of Lorcan for a very, very long time - he was afraid that they would be separated again, and afraid that something would happen so they didn't recognize each other for a second time. He could barely see Lorcan as Lorcan right now. His eyes were still the same blue, his face was still the same shape, and his fangs were still there, but his ears were pointed and his now blond hair wasn't even in the same style his hair would be if it was down.

"He's my boyfriend," Second said. He pulled his face away from Lorcan's shoulder, feeling a pang of guilt when he saw how it was covered in slime now. Lorcan thankfully didn't seem to mind. He didn't even try to wipe the slime away.

Second hesitantly looked at Lorcan when he finally convinced himself to pull out of the embrace. Not up, for once in his life; he and Lorcan were now roughly the same heights. "...It's probably not a good idea to try kissing each other," Second guessed.

Lorcan nodded. "...Probably not," he awkwardly agreed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I like your outfit, by the way. It fits you."

"Thanks," Second said, giving him a little smile. He looked Lorcan over and tried to find something about it that he could compliment him on, but it really didn't fit him. The only reason it worked was because of his current hairstyle. If it wasn't for that, it wouldn't have matched Lorcan in the slightest.

Lorcan glanced down at his outfit.

"It doesn't really match me," Lorcan said.

"Yeah," Second agreed. "It doesn't."


Wren wished she had more time to digest the conversation that she had shared with Puck; it was strange to think that he had chosen to trust her out of all people, when she had been lying about her identity just as much as he apparently had been. But now that Lorcan had apparently been reunited with his boyfriend, who was apparently the Slime King, Wren finally had a time to think through what she had seen down in the hole.

But when she went to glance at Puck, she realized he was surprisingly quiet for someone who should have definitely been making a quip by now.

He was just...standing there, watching the exchange with a blank look to his face. Wren couldn't help but stare at him. Something seemed wrong, but she didn't know enough about him to understand why the reunion would make him so out of it.

And then she saw the tear roll down his cheek.

He furiously wiped it away, but more soon followed. He pulled up his hood and tried to hide his face in its shadows, but anyone who was paying attention to him would see that he was upset from the way his body was shaking with its tears.

But that was Puck's trick, she realized - the Puck down there hadn't been entirely the same as Dresden. Dresden was meant to annoy and irritate. No one wanted to see how he was doing, because doing so would be inviting another one of his antics. When he did have moments where he wanted to be left alone, no one paid attention to the now quiet necromancer.

Wren casually slipped a little closer to Puck, her fingers brushing up against his hand as she turned her gaze to the two a short distance down the hallway.

"Thanks," Puck whispered, his voice so quiet that she had to strain her ears to pick it up.

"You're welcome," she whispered back.

Before he had the chance to even think about it, Lasan reached down and wrapped up Second and Lorcan in a hug. They were too adorable together - honest and considerate and affectionate. It reminded Lasan of how he wanted his own relationship to be.

A few seconds later, Lasan let go. "Aheh, sorry," he said, reaching out a hand to Lorcan while he used the other to wipe some of the slime off of his chest. "It's nice to meet you! You two look like a very cute couple."

"Can we get on with it?" he heard someone call. Looking past the two strangers who were holding hands, Lasan saw Denebola and Thytes standing on the other side of a hole. It was Denebola who had cupped her paws over her mouth and spoke. "We've got places to be."

"Well," Dresden suddenly said from nearby, "I'd say this development throws a wrench in our whole plan."

Lorcan tore his gaze away from Second and Lasan, the comment he was about to make dying on his lips when he realized Dresden fully intended to change the topic of conversation. The necromancer strode forward. Lorcan could feel Second tense beside him, and suddenly a slimy, shaking hand was grasping his shoulder as hard as it possibly could.

He glanced over at his boyfriend for the briefest of seconds. Why was he getting so afraid of Dresden of all people?

"If Lorcan's boyfriend is the Slime King, we can't exactly kill him," Dresden said.

"...We just lost our quest," Adrian concluded.

"Q-Quest?" Second whispered.

"...It's a long story," Lorcan replied. "I promise I'll explain it later."

Dresden started to pace up and down the hallway. "The only important thing here was supposed to be the Slime King, and that was our only option for what we should do next. Now we're with a valuable source of information, and with any sort of clue of where we're supposed to go." The necromancer frowned and let out a heavy sigh. "We're back at square one."

"...We could try finding a tavern," Adrian quietly pointed out. "We're all tired, and there might be more information there."

Dresden immediately perked up. "Adrian, you're a genius!"

His face flushed. "Oh. Um...thanks..."

Lorcan stared.

Since when had Dresden and Adrian been so close?

Lasan blinked at the two strangers. "Where are we going to find a tavern?" he said. "I haven't really been outside the cave, but it's kind of a weird place to look if we're going to find information. Wouldn't we be better off heading to some town and asking around, or find the mayor and-"

He heard a muffled thump! in front of him. Looking past the strangers, he saw Denebola scrabble her way from the edge of the hole, sprawling out in front of them. Thytes made the jump right after her, taking a few steps back and doing a running leap. He hauled himself onto his feet at about the same time that Denebola stood up.

"Is that the plan?" Denebola said, looking over at Dresden.

"I'd say it's as close to one as we're going to get," Dresden said.

Second was cowering behind Lorcan's arm now, even though he almost certainly was trying to look braver than he felt. An uneasy feeling settled in his chest. Second was never this scared; the only time that compared was when they first met Charlotte, and she spoke instead of having the little white text appear over her head.

So why was Dresden frightening him?

"Well," Dresden said, "I say we get the rest of the group, do an informal raid, and then head on over to the nearest tavern we can find. If the convenience of plot is anything to go off of, it shouldn't be that long of a trek."

The necromancer started to head back in the direction of the entrance, cheerfully humming a song as he strode through the cave's passageway. Adrian hurried on after him, even though Lorcan still couldn't understand when they had gotten so close.

Lorcan and Second lingered behind for a moment - he needed to figure out why Second was so frightened of Dresden, and they couldn't talk about that until Dresden was out of earshot. When Dresden finally had disappeared into another corridor, Lorcan looked over at his boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Second slowly met his gaze, green eyes wide as he continued to cling to him. He was still trembling, slimy fingers digging into Lorcan's shirt. "You-you don't feel it?" he whispered. He glanced nervously in the direction that Dresden and Adrian had disappeared down.

Lorcan shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about.

"That-that man," Second managed to get out. "He doesn't...He doesn't feel right. Something's really wrong with him - what is he?"

Lorcan stared down the corridor. "He's just a human, and a necromancer, according to the rules of what we're in right now-"

Second frantically shook his head. "That's wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know why," Second whispered, "but that's really, really wrong. I think...I think he's tricking you, Lorcan. He's not...He's not human. He can't be."


Shadow was getting impatient.

She had already tried entering the cave three times already, but was thwarted in all three attempts by Nendros reminding her that Denebola didn't want anyone to enter. Lorcan, of course, had managed to slip in. Adrian had gone chasing after Dresden - who was the whole reason for this mess, she reminded herself. That left just her and Nen, as long as that stupid zombie Dresden was far too attached. She didn't like how it was just standing there. It wasn't to say she was afraid of zombies. She wasn't. But there was definitely something unnerving about a dead person standing in close quarters, and Shadow - not for the first time - really wished she had a different occupation.

There was nothing to say that Sam, Loki or Perseus in general was at fault, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they were. Though she had to admit - if they really were - this would have been one of their most advanced schemes yet. She couldn't see the purpose, but she was sure she would soon.

Lasan watched Denebola and Thytes run off after the others. He sighed - he'd have to catch up with them.

In the meantime, though, he focused on Second and Lorcan. It was strange seeing Second so scared, but Lasan suspected there was a lot more to it than he thought. Second knew that Lasan wasn't, nor had ever been human, but was perfectly fine with that. Why was Dresden so different?

"He did smell a little strange?" Lasan said, looking over at Lorcan. "I didn't think much of it, but it wasn't exactly human."

He hadn't doubted Second, but the additional confirmation made an uneasy feeling settle in Lorcan's chest. There was the chance that Dresden didn't know - it could have just been something that he hadn't discovered about his D&D self. But he doubted that. Dresden was far too comfortable with himself to be uncertain about his identity here; he had to know that he wasn't as normal as he had led them all to believe.

"Maybe he's like us," Lorcan suggested to Second.

His boyfriend shook his head. "I don't think so," he whispered. "I wouldn't feel this way about another mob...He...He..." Second took a shaky breath. "I felt like I was looking at Hero for the first time again, only even worse than that. I could barely breath - it was suffocating to be near him. And I could barely move, too. I've never...I've never felt so terrified..."

Lorcan remembered the feeling, though it certainly hadn't been as severe as Second was describing. He gave his boyfriend a worried look, only for the light bulb to go off a moment later when he figured out why Second had noticed something that the others hadn't.

"We're in a game called Dungeons and Dragons right now," Lorcan said.

Second stared at him.

"The group I was with - including Adrian - are supposed to be the protagonists," he continued. "You and Lasan aren't. I think Lasan might have been one of the enemies like Taber is, but you're one of the strongest enemies - at least, I think that's what Dresden and Adrian meant when talking about the character you're supposed to be."

Second thought over this for a moment. "So you think that I'm feeling this way because I'm a major enemy?" Lorcan nodded. Second didn't look half as terrified now that he was thinking - a calm and collected expression had appeared on his face in lieu of the fear. "..Which would mean that if I feel like I can't do anything around him, it's because he's stronger than I am."

"...And more dangerous," Lorcan concluded, slowly glancing back in the direction that the group had gone down.

"Oh dear," Lasan whispered. He stood up and straightened himself out. "Should we go after them?" he said. "Denebola and Thytes are here, and they're both pretty strong, so they could probably handle Dresden if he does anything. And I'm not much of a fighter, but I could pin him on the ground or something."



How fast could some bratty kid and a kid with wings be? At least they all made it to the entrance of the cave soon enough. If the smell of fur was anything to go by, Taber hadn't moved at all, which made Denebola more than a little curious as to how those two had slipped inside. But she was a little more interested in getting out of the cave.

"Taber!" she called, cupping her paws over her mouth. "We're here!"

As the wolf lifted himself up, Denebola glanced back. "Where are the others?" she hissed, looking past Thytes. "Weren't they following us?"