Young Writers Society

Bush sniffed her hand cautiously, her already bushy tail fluffed up enough to nearly double her size, and drew back, returning to Rose's side.

Rose scratched Bush behind the ears as she gave Killa an apologetic look, "She doesn't like the scent of fae much." Suddenly, Rose's own pointed ears perked up and she squinted into the dark. Bush was doing the same.

Suddenly, Bush darted deeper into the cave. Rose hardly hesitated to follow, shouting something about an apology behind her.

Killa shot a glance at Kirux, and started running after Rose and Bush. She paused to see if Kirux was following.
"We should go after her. Splitting up will not be a good idea."

Kirux nodded, even though he felt really scared at the thought of heading deeper into the cave. Taking a deep breath, he went running after the others - ready to make his keyblade appear if things got really dangerous.

And scary.

And dark.

...He was going to need his keyblade.

Killa brought up the rear, not having a problem seeing or hearing in the dark. Her feet made no sound and barely touched the ground as she paced herself to not outrun everyone else.

Rose and Bush were staring at an arrangement of stones, Bush sniffing around them, Rose just squinting at them in confusion as she tried to decipher their meaning.

She looked back at the others, "I can't read human languages," she admitted.

Killa tilted her head slightly and her hair turned blond. "I hope these are not burial markers." She said, streaks of blue and red appearing in her hair.

Kirux's eyes widened in horror when he saw the message, his skin immediately becoming a shade paler. He spun around to face the two, clearly frantic when he signed and mouthed, "It says leave or die!"

He glanced back at the stones.

Then he looked back at them.

"I don't want to die," he informed them. His lips quivered, and his eyes started to well up with tears - he hadn't even found Riku yet!

"Leave or die." Killa repeated quietly, her hair turning black. "We're not going to die." Killa said, frowning a little. "The boy back at the entrance. He's been here for quite a while and he isn't dead."

Rose was considering turning back into her more bush-like form. Not Bush the...whatever Bush was, but bush the plant. Bush the Rose. Rosebush.

Bush pawed at one of the rocks and Rose gulped, "Okay. Okay, yeah, okay. But he's, uh, he's not me, and I don't wanna be dead so..."

Kirux's body shook with a silent sob.

"I have to stay here!" he protested, his hands and lips shaking as he mouthed and signed his response. "Riku might be here, and I have to find my heart. But I...I don't want to die!"

"You aren't going to die." Killa said quietly. "And we will help you find Riku." Her hand had disappeared into her cloak and it stayed there. The cold sword hilt was reassuring to her. She blinked her slanted green eyes. "Where do you thing he would have gone?"

Kirux faltered.

"I don't really know," he admitted, shoulders slumping. "I've never met him. I've just been searching all of the worlds for him. And Riku likes strange, scary places, so I thought he might be here..."

Rose and Bush wandered forward. They couldn't understand the boy, so they decided to try to explore further.

"So the scariest looking branch here in the cave...?" Killa said half musingly.

Kirux tilted his head in confusion, momentarily forgetting his fear.