//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: A light in the darkness // Story: Unearthed: Curse Of The Undying // by Talion The DARKandBRIGHT //------------------------------// Details *Thoughts* ~Mental speaking~ "Normal speaking" ~"Mental and normal speaking"~ Songs ... (Radio static)... "One last time." I said to myself. I let out a long sigh before ascending the steps of the Memorial Amphitheater. My pace slowed with each step I took, but I eventually made it to the top where I stopped and stood still before the marble sarcophagus. After a few minutes of standing in front of the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, I walked around it and watched the Tomb Guard march twenty one steps across a long black mat before stopping at the end. He turned to face the Tomb, clicking his heels together and waited for twenty one seconds before turning to face the way he came. After clicking his heels together again and placing his rifle on his other shoulder, he marched forward twenty one steps across the mat again. I watched him repeat this process a few more times until he stopped in front of me and the Tomb. He then turned to face me and the Tomb, clicking his heels together. We both saluted each other and held it for twenty one seconds. As we both stared at each other, I felt the sense that the guard was giving me a wordless thank you. The Tomb Guard then turned back around, clicking his heels together again and preceded to continue his march across the black mat. After watching him return to his duty, I turned around to face the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier again. I gave a salute and held it for twenty one seconds before I approached the Tomb and placed a single hand against it's smooth surface. "Hey dad... Its been awhile. Long time." I took a seat on a step next to the Tomb and set my briefcase down at my side. "How have you been?" I waited in silence for a response until I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Its good to see you again Talion. I'm glad you made it... I've missed you." I turned my head to the side to see my father, Aravel, standing next to me in his ceremonial uniform, smiling at me. "I've missed you too dad." I said as I placed a hand over my father's. Aravel took a seat next me. "I'm glad you're here Talion. How have you've been?" I looked down at my hands before answering. "It's hard, dad. Every day is a constant struggle... It never ends." I told him and felt my dad place a hand over my sholder again as I continued. "Sometimes I try to forget everything and leave it all behind me... The war, the pain and suffering... The death... All I want is a day without death. I'm fighting a losing battle here and I'm struggling to keep going." "I know it's not easy to keep fighting,Talion. I know it's hard going through all of this, over and over again. But I also know that you are strong enough to see this mission through." My dad told me. "I can't dad. I just can't keep fighting. I'm not as strong as you... I never was." I told him. My dad lightly chuckled before speaking again. "You are strong, Talion. Weather you know it or not, you're stronger than I ever was. You've always have been." I let out another sigh as I looked back up. "You guys are the lucky ones. The war ended for you and everyone here a long time ago. But not for me... I looked away from death and suffered for it. Now I look for him, but he never looks back... I am unknown to death, nor known to life." We were both silent for a bit until he spoke again. "Life and death walk side by side. They are partners in the cycle of existence. Two sides of the same coin, that in this life cannot exist without each other. There will always be death until the Lord returns. But there will always be life, now and forever. Just wait on the Lord, Talion. He is coming for us... Soon." I smiled as a single tear fell from my eye. "Soon." I breathed in and looked to my dad. "How's mom, dad?" He smiled at me before answering. "Good. She visits often. But it is a long way from here to Idaho, so she only comes here about every other week." "Is the traffic still that bad?" I asked my dad. "Well this is our nation's capital and it is tourist season, with summer vacation and all. Heck, we were lucky to even schedule this meeting here at this time." He answered. We laughed a little before he spoke again. "Maybe settling down on the east coast wasn't such a good retirement plan. I mean granted, it's an incredible neighborhood and I have amazing neighbors, but I do miss our old home town." "Well, it wasn't mine or Aden's idea to have you retire here. You'll have to talk to Edward Younger about that. But at least you're among good company." I said. We sat in silence for a bit as we watched the Sun close in on the horizon. "Why does time fly so fast, when you're not paying attention to it?" I asked standing up. "You know, your mother has been asking about you recently." Aravel told me. I looked down at the ground and sighed. "I know." My father stood up to speak. "Talion, what's done is done. You can't keep holding onto the past. Your mother forgave you a long time ago." "I know she did, dad. I know both of you have forgiven me for the things I have done... But no matter how much I try, I can never forgive myself. I abandoned her when we needed each other the most. I failed her... I failed you both and I failed God. I didn't know what I had, until I gave it all away." I told him. My father let out a sigh before replying. "Talion, the day you fail, is the day you give up. You haven't failed us, Talion. As long as you have the power to stop evil and continue to save lives, you will never fail. As long as you fight for peace, you will always achieve victory. Remember that, son." I then felt my dad put his hands on my sholders as he moved to stand in front of me. "Know this, Talion, even when we're gone and you can no longer see or hear us, we will always be with you... Always." Aravel pulled me into a hug as I let loose a few tears. "Thank you dad." I said as we both pulled away. I then reached down and picked up my briefcase and opened it. "I brought this to play for you, dad... One last time." I told him as I put together my bagpipes. "One last time." My dad said with a smile as he walked over to stand in front of the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. I slowly brought the pipe to my lips and begun playing to him one last song. Tears had started flowing freely as I played for my father. The sun had finally set beyond the horizon as my song came to an end. I lowered my bagpipes and closed my eyes as I heard my father speak to me again. "Goodbye Talion. Until we meet again, in God's kingdom." I opened my tear filled eyes and he was gone. "Goodbye... Father." I leaned down to take apart my bagpipes and put it back into my briefcase. I then stood at attention and saluted my father's Tomb and held it for twenty one seconds. After which, I turned around and faced the Tomb Guard as he also turned to face me, clicking his heels together. We both saluted each other and held it for twenty one seconds. We then both turned, clicking our heels together and marched foward. But I kept going as the Tomb Guard turned to continue guarding the Tomb of my father. When I reached the edge of the courtyard, I turned back around to look at my father's grave one last time, until I heard someone walk up from behind me as I stood there. But I didn't need to look to know who it was. "Thank you, sir. For giving me the chance to come here." I said him. "You're welcome Talion. But I didn't do it for you. I made a promise son. I promised to one day reunite you two. He saved my life and many others during the Great War. Bringing you here was the least I could've done. I let out a sigh and turned around to face him. "I know, Patton. But because of you, I finally had the chance to bid my father farewell... One last time. Without you, I would have never known what happened to him... Thank you." I said and saluted him. "No Talion. Thank you." He said and returned the salute. I breathed in and yawned as I awoke from my dream. It was the first fond memory I had since my time with the Hoof's. It was a nice change of resurfacing memories. I slowly opened my eyes to find Anya staring down at me with a smile. "Good morning Talion. Sleep well?" "Are you seriously not going to tell me what you dreamed about?" Anya asked me from behind as we walked. "Not especially." I told her. She let out a sigh of annoyance. "Was it even a good dream?" I let out a sigh of my own before answering. "Yes... It was one of the few good dreams I've had in awhile." She smiled and walked up to my side. "I knew you would have a good dream in my presence, Talion." "Yes well, it wasn't needed... But thank you." I said to her. "You're welcome Talion. I'm sure you will continue to have plesent dreams when you sleep with me from now on." She said. I paused and raised an eyebrow as I registered what Anya just said to me. "Sleep with you?" She instantly stopped and her eyes widened when she realized what she had just said. "I mean sleep und- next to me!" She almost shouted as she looked down at me in embarrassment while blushing. I laughed at her response, which caused her to frown and growl at me. "Stop that. Its not funny." I calmed myself down and turned to continue walking through the forest. "Kinda tense aren't you? What's wrong?" "Nothing is wrong and I'm not tense." She answered. "Really? Cause you're acting like a nervous young girl standing in front of her crush." I told her. "No I'm not! I just haven't spent a night with a male like you before. And I'm not talking about the way you're thinking!" She told me. "You seemed to have been fine with it last night." I said. "That was to comfort you, Talion. Nothing more and nothing less." She said. I smiled and looked up at her. "Well if you don't want to spend any more nights with me, then you won't have to." "No, that's not it Talion. I just-" She paused for a second. "I liked spending the night with you, Talion. And I would like to spend more nights with you... If you want to." She finished with a light blush. I stared up at her for a bit before turning my head back. "I dreamt of my father last night." She tilted her head in curiosity. "Your father?" "Yes... It was the first time in years and it was a good memory of him. I do believe it was because of you." I explained. "Does that mean you would like to sleep with me again?" She asked still blushing. "Maybe." I said looking at her again. "Are you okay Anya?" I asked, noticing her nervousness. "Y-Yes. It's just like I said before. I have never spent a night sleeping with a male." She answered. "Have you never had a mate before? I thought for sure you would have drawn the attention of another dragon with your beauty." I said. Anya looked away as she started to blush madly at my compliment. "N-No I have never had a mate. We dragons don't ever just mate with anyone. We are patient and will wait to find the perfect one who we will spend our whole lives together with. Some dragons will even wait for many, many years just to find the perfect life mate. If they even find each other at all." She explained. "Interesting. I didn't think dragons married in that way." I said. "Of course we do! Despite what other race's may think they know about us, we are not animals who mate with as many others as they want. Mating is the ultimate act of love and dedication that dragons express to each others life mate. And no one else. We are nothing like the worms who call themselves dragons in the Badlands to the southeast of Equestria." She explained to me. "I didn't mean anything by it, Anya. I was just surprised dragon marriage is similar to ours, because we have a similar way of marriage too. For us, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always preserves, always hopes." Anya looked surprised. "That's... a beautiful way to describe love... Do you have a mate, Talion?" She said before asking. I chuckled a bit. "No, I have never married or had any love interests. When I was young, I dedicated my whole life to fighting for my country. So I never really had time for women." I explained. "Interesting." Anya whispered to herself with a smile. "What about you, Anya?" I asked looking back up to her. "What about me?" She asked back. "Why have you never had a mate?" I asked her. She blushed again. "There have been suitors in the past, but nothing ever came out of those relationships. So for now, I have desided to wait." "Wait for what?" I asked her. She looked down to me. "The right partner." I smiled at her again. "Well don't worry, Anya. I'm sure that you will find the right man eventually." I told her and turned back towards the forest. "I'm sure I will find him too, Talion." She said while looking at me with a smile I didn't notice. After waking up early this morning, we continued following the river west towards White Pine lake. But apparently during my rest, Anya had desided to watch me while I slept for about a half hour before I woke up. It was a strange sight to wake up to. But Anya had provided me with a good night's rest, so I didn't mind to much. I won't lie. It was easier and much more pleasant for me to sleep in the company of friends than by myself. And Anya seems to have no problem with sharing her company with me. But it was a little strange the way she acted about it. Either way, I just hope to not receive any nightmares or terrible memories during these next few nights with her. "Talion?" Anya called me. "Yes Anya?" I said. "When we first met, why were you not afraid of me?" She asked. "I have been wondering about that all morning." "Because there was no reason for me to fear you." I answered. "No reason? Have you met another dragon before?" She asked. "No. Up until the time you caught me, I have never seen a dragon either." I explained to her. "What? If you have never met a dragon before and know what we are capable of, why are you without fear of us?" She asked me in confusion. "Because." I paused as I climbed over a fallen tree. "I have seen and experienced many things that are far more terrible and frightening, than standing in the presence of a dragon. Don't get me wrong, Anya. The intimidation factor of size or power of a creature I am seeing for the first time is still very shocking for me. But I've been through so much, that fear no longer really effects me." I explained. "You mean, you're fearless?" Anya asked in amazement. I lightly chuckled before answering. "No. Fearless is not living without fear. Fearless is living despite the things that you fear. There are many things that I fear in the world. I just chose not to give them power over me." I told her. "Wow. I never thought about fear like that." She responded. "That's probably because you have very little to fear, Anya. You are a dragon after all. One of the apex predators of this world." I said. "Well... That's not entirely true, Talion." She said looking down at her claws. I looked up at her a little in surprise. "What could you possibly be afraid of, Anya? Other than an ursa, but they haven't been seen around here for decades. You said it yourself." "Yes Talion. All dragons fear ursas. But what I fear comes not from an enemy. But from allies." She said. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Anya. What do you mean allies?" I asked. She turned her head away from me. "It's complicated... I don't want to talk about it." She said in a lower voice. "Very well. But if it's any comfort, know that I am here for you, Anya. As a friend." I said to her with a smile before returning my gaze foward. "Thank you Talion." I heard her say softly from behind me, before she walked up to my side and speaking again. "Know that I am here for you as well, Talion. As a friend." We walked for a few hours until we started to climb a little in elevation again. From what Anya has told me about this valley, Silver Pine lake should be just over this small slope. "Tell me Anya, if dragons have a strict rule of law about marriage or finding a mate, are there any other laws that your race strongly follow?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Yes there are. But not all dragons choose to follow them anymore." Anya began to explainin. "You see, we dragons were once a more civilized race centuries ago, before Bahamut's rule. But when he came to power, he abolished the rule of law and order among our race. He drove our kind back to it's old ways of being uncivilized and acting more like wild animals. He killed anyone who upheld dragon law and also attempted to destroy our history while hoarding all of our race's knowledge, wisdom and power to himself... He wanted it all." Anya told me. "He needed it all." I finshed. Anya lowered her head and noded before continuing. "Even though Bahamut's terrible rule came to an end over five hundred years ago, our race has never truly recovered from our kingdom's downfall. I don't think it ever will." "Does your kind not have a king anymore?" I asked her. She was silent for a moment before answering. "No, we have a king, but he doesn't really hold much power among other dragons. Only in matters of our law. There are a few who follow him though. Unlike the dragons in the Badlands, who continually choose to remain leaderless. But we haven't heard much from them for a few years now. I don't suspect much of anything has changed among them though." Anya explained. "Who is this dragon who calls himself your king?" I asked her. She closed her eyes and sighed before answering. "His name is Dolganath. His queen is Crystalia and their son is Velirin." "Do you know them personally?" I asked, noticing her expression. "Yes." She answered in a low voice. I remained silent for a bit, knowing not to press the matter any further. After a few more minutes of walking, we finally came over the small slope to see a large shining blue lake. From where we were at we could see the entire lake. From where another river fed water into it, coming down from the mountains via a waterfall. To its end, flowing down the river we had been following. The entire lake was surrounded by pine trees covered in snow and a little of the lake was frozen. I was suprised to see that the whole lake had not completely frozen over. But I suspect the entire lake will freeze over soon from the coming further temperature drops and snow storms. Suddenly Anya and I both heard thunder boom in the distance. Speaking of snow storms, I looked up to see a large one coming down from the north. Judging by its size, when it reaches us it will probably take a few days, maybe a week to pass over. The wind was starting to pick up slowly, so the storm might reach the valley by the end of the day. "It looks like where going to need to find some shelter from the storm and wait until it passes." I said turning to look at Anya, who was staring at the coming storm with a look of worry. "Anya?" I called her. "Yes... There's a cave not far from hear near the lake." She said looking back to me before continuing. "It's close by the water fall on the west side. I used to stay there during my travels through these mountains." "Are you okay Anya? You look a little worried." I asked. "Yes, I'm okay. Its just I'm not to fond of this kind of weather. But I will be fine, Talion." She answered. I nodded. "Well, we should hurry before the storm passes over the Sun. It doesn't look like we have long until then." I said before moving down towards the lake. As we both made our way towards the lake, I noticed Anya kept nervously looking up at the approaching storm, every so often. When the wind started to pickup and the clouds finally blocked out the setting sun, Anya looked more and more frightened. "Anya, are you alright?" I asked, but before she could answer, there was a sudden bright flash quickly followed by the loud sound of rolling thunder. The sudden flash and sound startled Anya, causing her to jump before she suddenly grabbed me with her claws and leaped into the air. With her size and weight, I was caught off guard by how fast she moved. "Anya! What are you doing!?" I shouted but she didn't answer. We both flew over the lake towards the waterfall. After quickly passing over it, we approached the entrance to a large cave with an overhang. Anya quickly slowed down and landed on three claws before gently setting me down. "What was that about, Anya?" I asked standing up as she entered the cave. "I'm sorry for not giving you a warning, Talion, but we had to get here before it started to get worse out there." She said looking back to me. "Are you scared of the storm, Anya?" I asked. She turned her head to the side and looked away before answering. "N-No. Not the storm in particular. But the thunder, yes. Most all dragons are afraid of those chaotic bursts of magic. Many have perished attempting to fly through them or getting caught out their without shelter." I raised an eyebrow and turned my head to look outside at the storm. "Magic? There is nothing magical about lightning, Anya." I said turning back to her and entering the cave. "What are you talking about Talion? Of course there is! Especially this one. The storms here are more chaotic because the pegasi are not here to tame the wild magic. All lands outside of Equestria suffer from unstable magic like this." She told me. I laughed a little at Anya's explanation. "Anya, there is nothing strange or unnatural about this storm or any other storms. Weather like this is natural to the world." "I don't know where you're from Talion, but there is nothing natural about these storms." She said, moving towards the back of the cave and laying down. I simply shook my head before leaning against a wall with my arms crossed as I watched the lightning danced across the clouds. I smiled at the amazing sight. "How can you just stand there watching the storm and those wild flashes of magic?" Anya asked me. I turned my head to look over to her and answered. "Because I have nothing to fear from the weather of the world. Honestly Anya, you flew through a light snow storm days ago to catch me. I would have thought that you were not afraid of a little thunderstorm like this." Just as I finished, the flashes of light and roaring thunder became more frequent and started to sound like explosions. The sound was so similar to that of artillery fire during the battle of- I quickly grabbed onto the wall I was leaning on for support to keep myself from falling. I held my head and started breathing heavily as my heart rate went up. "Talion? Whats wrong?" Anya almost got up as she asked in concern. I steadied my breathing and pushed the memories out of my head before speaking. "I'm ok... I'm alright." I told her. "I thought that you weren't afraid of thunder, Talion." She said. "Its not that Anya... Just a bad memory is all." I said. She continued to look at me with concern, but didn't say anything else about it. When I was able to relax again I turned to watch the storm again. The thunder kept growing louder as the storm finally passed overhead. But I was able to use the view as a distraction from my memories. I looked over to Anya to see she had curled herself into a ball and tucked her head underneath one of her wings. Every time thunder boomed overhead she would shake and quietly whimper. I walked over to her and placed a hand on her neck. She pulled her head out to look at me as I gently rubbed her neck. Without speaking, Anya lifted up her wing and made a space for me to sit next to her. "I know that the flashes of light and booming thunder might look and sound very frightening, but you really have nothing to fear from this storm, Anya." I told her as I sat down and leaned against her side. "I don't know how you can believe that, Talion. Any dragon wandering around outside during a storm like this can die from just a single strike of that magic." She said after wrapping herself around me. "Lightning has nothing to do with magic, Anya. It's just physics. Science." I told her. "Science? How does that work?" She asked me in curiosity. "Yes, science. It might be a little confusing for you, but..." I begun explaining. "You see, lightning begins as static charges in a rain cloud and winds inside the cloud are very turbulent. Water droplets in the bottom part of the cloud are caught in the updrafts and lifted to great heights where the much colder atmosphere freezes them. Meanwhile, downdrafts in the cloud push ice and hail down from the top of the cloud, where the ice going down meets the water coming up and the electrons are stripped off." "What is an electron?" Anya asked me. "An electron is a stable subatomic particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all atoms and acting as the primary carrier of electricity in solids." I explained, but she just gave me a confused look. "What is an atom?" She asked me. "An atom is a fundamental piece of matter. Everything in the universe, except energy, is made of matter. And so everything in the universe is made of atoms. An atom itself is made up of three tiny kinds of particles called subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons." I explained. "Anyway, before I get sidetracked." I continued my explanation about lightning. "Often lightning occurs between clouds or inside a cloud. But the lightning we usually care about most is the lightning that goes from clouds to ground. As the storm moves over the ground, the strong negative charge in the clouds attract positive charges in the ground. These positive charges move up into the tallest objects like trees, houses and towers. Sometimes people, if you're standing in an empty field or if you're in a body of water. A "stepped leader" of negative charge descends from the cloud seeking out a path toward the ground. As the negative charge gets close to the ground, a positive charge called a streamer, reaches up to meet the negative charge. The channels connect and we see the lightning stroke. We may see several strokes using the same path, giving the lightning bolt a flickering appearance before the electrical discharge is complete. In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to incredible temperatures, as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C). Which is about five times hotter than the surface of the Sun." "That's incredible! I didn't even think anything that hot could exist!" Anya said in amazement. "Yes. So now you can see why a lightning strike is truly dangerous to people. Not because of magic, but because the amount of energy given off in a single lightning strike is to much for any living being to safely conduct." I said before finishing my explanation. "The heated air expands explosively, creating a shockwave as the surrounding air is rapidly compressed. The air then contracts rapidly as it cools. This creates an initial CRACK sound, followed by rumbles as the column of air continues to vibrate. Thunder, basically. If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. But we can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately five seconds for the sound to travel one mile. If the thunder follows the lightning almost instantly, you'll know the lightning is too close for comfort. So as you can now see, there is no magic involved. Just Physics." I finshed. Anya was staring at me in amazement as she took a few moments to think about what I had taught her. "Then if what you say is true, how am I supposed to not fear lightning even more, now that I know how much destructive power is behind a single lightning strike?" "Because now that you know what causes lightning, you'll know how to avoid any danger it could pose to you." I begun explaining. "If you can't find the shelter of a cave, do not take shelter under trees. Trees attract lightning. Put your feet as close together as possible and crouch down with your head as low as possible without touching the ground, you only want one contact point with the ground. Never lay down on the ground for the same reason; you never want the current to have the ability to pass through your body. And lastly, never swim in any bodies of water, because water is highly conductive to electricity." She seemed to have been paying attention very intensely. As if her life depended on this information. Which it could, should she find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time during a thunderstorm. "How... How do you know all of this?" She asked me. "It was something my people's ancestors discovered through experimentation. A man named Benjamin Franklin experimented with electricity and was greatly interested in lightning. He discovered many things about lightning. Many years ago, he was the first to show that a thunderstorm lets out electricity." I answered. "But why? Why did he do that?" She asked me. I chuckled a little before answering. "To learn. To discover the unknown. My kind lives to learn and discover. We need to know things just for the sake of knowing and to insure our own survival as a species." Anya stared at me for a few moments in silence before speaking. "What is your race, Talion? Please tell me." She asked. I let out a sigh and stayed silent for a bit before speaking again. "We are many things, Anya. Humankind is capable of many things. Both great... and terrible." I told her. She leaned her head closer to me. "Then just tell me about the great." I smiled and gazed over towards the cave entrance and watched the snow fall for a bit before I finally answered her. "We are the explorers... The inventors. The architects of change. The buiders of a better tomorrow. We strive. We dream. We aspire, always towards something greater. All the odds we defy, the risks we take, the challenges we endure only make us stronger. There's no end to our imagination. And no limit to our potential. Because it is the nature of mankind to push itself towards the horizon. We test our limits, we face our fears, we rise to the challenge and become something greater in ourselves. Progression, innovation, inspiration and exploration. It is these things that make us who we are. But we do not push ourselves to discover just to discover, alone. We also do it for survival. As a species, adapting through time is what secures our place in the world. That is what makes us human." I finshed and looked back to her. Anya was staring at me with wonder in her eyes and we both continued to stare at each other for a bit before I finally realized how close we were to each other. I moved to stand and Anya allowed me to get up. I walked towards the cave entrance and learned against a wall. "While there are many similarities from humans to other species, there is no other race like us." I explained to her as I walked over towards the cave entrance. "We do not have claws or fangs, so we forged them out of wood, stone and steel. We do on not possess magic of our own to aid us, so we used science and technology. We do not have great strength or speed, so we built machines of greater power. For everything we lack in, we find a solution. A better way to move pass the obstacles in our path forward. For all our short comings and failures, humanity always finds a way to overcome and rebuild. Because even when we hit rock bottom, we use it as foundation of which to build upon and achieve greatness again. For united, humanity is capable of many things. Both great and terrible." I finshed. Anya waited for a few minutes before speaking again. "And what about the terrible, Talion?" Anya asked me. I lowered my head and let out a long sigh before answering. "War... We bring war. There is no other race who knows it better than us. We have fought each other for so long and always found new ways to kill each other. Yet it was always war that pushed our race to advance more. And it is because of war that I am who you see me as now. A tired weapon without a purpose in a world without war as I run from peace and my bloodied past." We both were silent for awhile as we watched the snow and flashes of thunder. As I watched the storm outside, I heard Anya get up and slowly walked over to stand next to me. She sat down on her hind legs and wrapped her tail against her as she watched the storm as well. But even though Anya tried to watch the storm with me, it was clear on her face that she was still very scared of it. I looked up at her for a moment and saw her fear, so I turned and sat on a stone before pulling out Iron Hoof's guitar again. "Anya, listen and watch. Just relax." I told her and started lightly playing while lifting my voice in song. "I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen, Of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been; Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were, With morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair." "I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be, When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see. For still there are so many things that I have never seen: In every wood in every spring there is a different green." "I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago, And people who will see a world that I shall never know. But all the while I sit and think of times there were before, I listen for returning feet and voices at the door." As I sung, Anya started to calm down and the storm outside seemed to do so as well. Eventually, Anya smiled and looked completely relaxed as she watched lightning dance across the sky. As if to my music. As my song came to an end, the thunder and harsh winds outside calmed down until it was just a gentle breeze blowing the snow across the lands. Anya turned her head and smiled widely at me. "That was beautiful, Talion. I didn't know that you could sing." I returned the smile and slung the guitar over to my back as I stood up. "I'm glad that you liked it Anya." "I loved it Talion." She told me. I chuckled and turned to watch the storm again. "So how did it feel to watch the storm in a different light, Anya?" "It was still slightly scarry at first, even though I knew that it couldn't hurt me." She began. "But when you started to play and sing, it... I don't know. It felt different. Almost calming to watch as I listened to you play and sing. And then suddenly, the storm wasn't scary anymore. But instead, it was almost beautiful. Like a haunting beauty in the sky." She finished. I smiled as we both continued to watch the snow gently fall in silence. Eventually, Anya grew tired and moved back to her spot to lay back down. But she didn't try to sleep just yet. She just held her head down and had a nervous look on her face. "It's okay Anya. You can sleep. I will watch over you tonight." I told her. "It's not that, Talion... I was just wondering if..." Her voice trailed off. "Yes Anya?" I asked for her to continue. She looked over to me and had a light blush on her face. "I was wondering... if you would like to sleep with me again... For tonight." "Are you sure, Anya?" I asked her. "Yes Talion. I find comfort in your company and I would like to rest with your presence near me." She answered while blushing a little more. I smiled and walked over to her. "Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't find your presence comforting too, Anya. I would be happy to rest with you again." I told her as I set my sword and guitar down against the cave wall. Anya looked greatly happy at my answer and made a space for me to lie down next to her. As soon as I sat down against her side, she wrapped her whole body around me and pulled me against her chest and stomach. I let out another sigh as Anya draped a wing over me. "Good night Anya." "Good night Talion. And thank you." She told me. "You're welcome, Anya." I replied. And with that, we both drifted off to sleep as the snow continued to fall across the valley.