After Midnight

by Nebula Star

Chapter 7: Dancing and Magic

After Midnight
By Nebula Star

Kira sighed heavily. The party had been going for a while and at first it had been a welcome change of pace. The cheerful music, bright decorations, and an amazing variety of foods, considering the town's half finished state, had been quite enjoyable at first. But it didn't take long for Kira to notice the ponies and even most of the changelings were keeping their distance from her and many were eying her with barely disguised fear. She knew it was to be expected; most of these ponies had lived in fear of monsters for their entire lives and to them a dragon was just another monster. But when Destiny had convinced Atlas to dance with her, leaving Kira alone...

It didn't take long for everypony else nearby to drift away.

Kira watched as Destiny and Atlas danced, trying to ignore the fact that she was standing by herself in the only part of the square that wasn't packed with ponies. It was obvious that her two friends weren't the best dance partners. The difference in their skill was just too great. Atlas wasn't bad as far as Kira could tell, but next to Destiny he looked like a foal barely able to walk.

“Hey!”

Kira jumped back with a startled yelp as the white party pegasus suddenly appeared right in front of her.

“What you doin' over here all by yourself?” She asked sounding concerned.

Kira snorted. “I didn't start out alone; but when Destiny and Atlas went to dance, everypony else decided they wanted to be somewhere else as well...”

Surprise frowned. “Well that's not nice.”

She just shrugged. “I'm used to it.”

“It's still not nice though.” Surprise sighed looking back over the rest of the square. It was painfully obvious that the empty space around Kira was no accident. “Well come with me, I'll introduce you to my family.”

“You have a family?” Kira asked mildly surprised. By the way she'd said it, Kira didn't think she meant siblings and parents, and Surprise really hadn't struck her as a maternal type.

“Well, we're not related by blood or anything... but... well, you'll see.” She led Kira across the square to where there were tables and benches set up for ponies to rest and enjoy the music and refreshments of the party. Ponies hastily stepped aside when they saw Kira with Surprise, but didn't vacate the area at least.

The table Surprise led her to was occupied by two nearly identical fillies, an earth pony mare with a rather distinguished look, and to Kira's surprise, Queen Chrysalis. She hesitated only slightly seeing this, but knew it was too late to turn away now.

“Kira, I'd like you to meet my family!” Surprise said happily. “These are the twins, Raindrop and Dewdrop.” She pointed to each in turn, though Kira knew it would take her some time before she could tell the two fillies apart. She was glad to see neither of them appeared afraid of her. “And this is Sonata,” Surprise went on gesturing to the earth pony mare.

“I'm pleased to meet you,” Sonata said offering her hoof in polite greeting. Kira gladly shook it smiling.

“And you've, of course, already met Chrissy,”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Surprise, I wish you wouldn't use that nickname for me in public,” she said, though she was smiling as she did.

Surprise paid her no mind. “Everypony, this is Kira,” she introduced.

Despite her nervousness around the changeling queen, Kira couldn't help her curiosity. “So you're part of Surprise's family, Queen Chrysalis?”

“Yes, I suppose I am. And I'm glad to have them as a part of my family as well,” she said looking over at Sonata and the twins with a fond smile.

Kira raised her brows a little in surprise at Chrysalis's response. This was not anything like the changeling queen she had known in the past. She didn't have time to dwell on it however as one of the fillies was practically jumping up and down in excitement. “Hey! Hey! You're a dragon right?!”

With a smile Kira nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Does that mean you can breath fire?!”

She grinned then turned her head up to the side away from everypony and let out a little burst of flame.

The filly – Raindrop if Kira remembered correctly – squealed with delight while her sister's eyes widened, though a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Again! Again!” Raindrop cheered.

Kira decided to indulge her once more, this time letting out a far larger burst of flame that managed to startle many ponies nearby. They calmed however when they heard Raindrop's happy cheering.

“Again! Again!”

Kira just laughed while Surprise stepped in. “No, that's enough for now,” she said smiling, happy to see Raindrop so excited.

“Awww,” She protested and made a pouty face but Surprise just laughed and tussled her mane making her laugh again and try to pull away.

“So, Kira, you wan't anything to eat? Drink?” Surprise asked.

She smiled. “I've already had plenty to eat, but I could use a drink.”

Surprise nodded then looked to the rest of the table. “Anypony else?”

Chrysalis laughed and gestured to the four cups already on the table. “We're set for now.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Surprise said cheerfully as she hurried off to get herself and Kira some refreshment. Realizing it would be awkward for her to leave now that Surprise had gone to get her a drink, and that it would seem odd to keep standing, Kira decided it would be in her best interests to sit down at the table. Though she really didn't want to spend more time around Chrysalis than she had to, she knew it would be best to try and seem at ease around the changeling queen so as not to arouse suspicion.

Easier said than done, almost immediately she realized she was under the queen's scrutiny.

“I swear there is something familiar about you; but I know I've never met a dragon with feathered wings before. How did you come to have feathered wings anyway? Is it natural?”

Kira nodded perhaps a little too quickly. “It's just not very common.” Her nervousness making her speak quickly as well.

Chrysalis frowned for a moment then shrugged. “Well I've never heard of such a thing before, but I can't say I've really spent all that much time among dragons. Of course, it is also rare to come across a young dragon that hasn't given in to their natural tendency toward greed.”

Kira smiled taking it as a compliment. “The only thing I've ever cared to horde was knowledge,” she said then immediately regretted it.

Luckily Chrysalis's didn't seem to make the connection. “Certainly an honorable pursuit.”

Finally Surprise returned with their drinks. “Here you go!” She said, somehow managing to slide the cup down her wing into Kira's waiting claws without spilling a single drop.

Glad for the break in conversation, Kira took a sip of the pink colored juice. It was a delightfully tasty fruit punch, though she couldn't quite tell what types of fruit it was. “This is very good, thank you,” she said gratefully to Surprise.

“You're welcome.”

“So how did you all become a family?” Kira asked after taking another sip of her drink.

Surprise stepped around to the other side of the table behind the twins. “Well the girls I've been taking care of for a few years now,” she said putting a hoof around each of them and gently hugging them. “Nata...”

“Sonata,” the earth pony corrected almost automatically.

“She moved in with us about a year and a half ago and just never left.”

“You make it sound like you don't want me around...” Sonata said with a slight pout.

Surprise laughed and gave Sonata a hug, “Nah, we love you, Nata!”

“Sonata,” she corrected again, smiling.

Chrysalis smiled. “As for me, Surprise has been working with me to help with pony-changeling relations ever since we came to the colony. But a few weeks ago Surprise was injured in an accident and... one of my daughter's gave her life to save Surprise's,” She smiled sadly. “Since then, we've been much closer.”

Surprise smiled sadly as well.

Kira looked at Surprise a moment, she'd noticed that Surprise wasn't flying at all, which was unusual for a pegasus, and she seemed to be favoring one of her forelegs. Otherwise though she seemed to be in good health.

“So you were almost fatally injured just a few weeks ago? But you seem almost completely healed!”

Surprise grinned. “Yep, I heal really fast now; fast as a changeling, Chryssy says.”

“There you are!”

Kira looked up to see Atlas and Destiny trotting over from where they'd been dancing. Both seemed tired but in very high spirits. “We were wondering where you disappeared to, Kira,” Atlas said then bowed to Chrysalis. “Queen Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis gestured for him to rise. “No need to bow, you're not one of my changelings, and frankly I don't care if they bow or not either,” she said then smiled turning to Destiny. “You're quite the dancer my young nocturne. I was watching and I have to say I'm impressed; even some of my changelings who like to dance and have had centuries to practice could not match your skill.”

Destiny blushed. “Thanks. I haven't had many chances to dance at a party like this. It's really nice.”

“Well we always have dancing at our parties!” Surprise told her grinning. “Oh hey guys, meet my family!”

Surprise quickly made introductions around the table. Destiny seemed especially happy to meet the two fillies and gladly explained her 'funny wings, strange eyes' and 'scary fangs.' They didn't seem to have much interest in Atlas however. After all, he was just another unicorn and the fillies knew plenty of those.

“So Kira, would you like to dance?” Atlas asked after resting for a few minutes.

Kira's eyes widened. “Oh no! I... I don't dance,” she said quickly.

“Oh come on, it's a party!” He said taking one of her fore-claws as he stood and pulling her with him.

“I don't even know how!” Kira protested as the surprisingly strong unicorn stallion pulled her toward the rest of the dancers.

He laughed. “Well this is the perfect time to learn,” he said then turned back toward her, smiling once they were in the middle of the dance area of the square.

“But, I...”

“Come on, Kira, if I can dance, then so can you.”

The song playing was a slower number while still having a strong rhythm and so Atlas went up onto his hind legs and held out his fore-hooves. “Uh...” Kira hesitated.

“Come on, Kira, don't keep me waiting,” Atlas said with a grin at her nervousness.

Reluctantly Kira went up on her hind legs as well, putting one of her fore-claws on his shoulder, while the other he took with one of his hooves. Then she felt him put his other fore-hoof around her back and gently pulling her closer. The upright position was made a little more awkward for her due to her longer neck and it didn't help that she was just a little larger than Atlas anyway.

“I... I don't know about this,” she said anxiously. “I don't even know what to do! I've never danced before...!” She fell silent as Atlas did something she wasn't expecting and leaned in close, touching his nose to hers.

“Kira, relax,” he said grinning as she stared at him stunned. “Just follow my steps.”

Still in too much of a state of shock to do anything else, Kira just nodded nervously.

He started with a short step to the side. Kira followed awkwardly, and he smiled reassuringly then stepped again, using his fore-hooves to guide her. Kira followed his steps as he led her through the dance, moving in time with the music. As strong as the beat was, they were soon sweeping around the 'dance floor,' Kira doing her best to keep up while also being careful of her blade tipped tail.

Despite having to focus, Kira found herself enjoying the dance and soon began moving with more confidence, still letting Atlas lead, but not struggling to keep up any longer. All too soon though, the song came to an end.

Atlas gave her a smile as they released each other and both went down to all fours. “See, you can dance.”

She blushed slightly, glad it didn't show too much through her scales. “Well, maybe. I bet I look pretty foolish...”

He laughed. “Don't worry about it, what matters is if you're having fun.”

“I guess... one more song?” She asked, feeling slightly timid. She really had enjoyed dancing with him.

“Sure.”

Kira smiled then looked toward the stand where the musicians while they waited for the next song to begin. The musicians however seemed to be trading off, the group that had played the previous song leaving while four new musicians took their place. This group was led by a familiar mare, Sonata. Kira had assumed she was a musician by her name when Surprise had introduced her, now it seemed she'd get to hear the mare preform.

Sonata took center stage, the rest of the four accompanying her taking up their instruments behind her, while she took up a cello herself. They all took a moment to check the tuning of their instruments, then when they were satisfied, Sonata stepped forward.

“Good evening, everypony, and a very special welcome to our guests of honor tonight: Kira, Destiny, and Origin Atlas,” she called smiling as she found each of them among the rest of the crowd. “I have something special planned for all of you tonight. As all but our guests tonight are aware, our colony was visited by tragedy one last time in recent weeks; a tragedy that may have been far worse if it weren't for the actions of two very brave individuals: My dear friend, Surprise, and my love, Sallis, who gave her life to save Surprise. The song I wish to play for you now, is one that I wrote for Sallis in the weeks following the tragedy. I dedicate this to her. It is titled: Love, Honor, Loyalty.”

The crowd was silent as Sonata lifted her bow and began to play. It was a slow song, full of love and grief. It was a song from the heart that brought the party to a halt as everypony stopped to listen. At first the theme of grief was strong, speaking of untold sadness, but then the tune turned happier in remembrance.

Kira looked at Atlas with a tearful smile. She'd known Sallis once; and though learning of her death was painful, to hear her remembered in such a beautiful way...

Atlas smiled back and offered a hoof. “Shall we?”

She nodded and took his hoof as they both went onto their hind legs, dancing once more. This time however, the dance was slower and under the influence of the music, they held each other closer.

They moved together, both following the music as it guided them through the steps, and as themes of love became apparent in Sonata's song, Kira rested her chin on Atlas's shoulder. Atlas held her close as they continued to dance, not seeming to mind. Kira didn't really realize what she was doing. She was lost in the music; consumed by the emotions that Sonata was masterfully conveying through her cello. Having lived much of her life in isolation, she'd never heard such beautiful music before.

Finally the last notes faded into the night as the song came to an end. Kira stepped back from Atlas then, blushing slightly while he just smiled. Silence fell over the square, then somepony began to applaud. Kira looked toward the sound to see it was Chrysalis, tears streaming from her eyes. Moved, Kira joined in as many others did as well. Soon thunderous applause filled the air as everypony, changeling, and even dragon present showed their approval of Sonata's song.

Tears filling her own eyes now Sonata bowed, joined by the other musicians that had played backup for her. “Thank you all!” She said simply with a smile, then stepped down from the stage while the other three musicians got set to start the next song.

“That was beautiful...” Kira said softly.

“It was.” Atlas agreed without hesitation, then looked back at her. “You want to keep dancing?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“I think I want to let Sonata know how much I enjoyed her song...” Kira told him. “I wouldn't mind dancing some more later though.” She added when she saw his disappointment. She really had enjoyed dancing with him.

With a yawn Kira stretched out, luxuriating in the feel of the thick grass of the hilltop where she'd chosen to rest. It had been five days already since they'd arrived. Five days since their welcome party and already there was another party planned that night. Kira smiled; it had been a good few days.

True to their word, all of them were helping out in whatever ways they could; which for her and Atlas was helping with a lot of the heavy lifting moving building supplies around with their magic and in her case, her natural strength as well. Destiny however couldn't help much in that way and had found she wasn't very talented when it came to the building itself and so was trying to find other ways to help such as bringing drinks and other refreshments to the workers.

As for the elements and their bearers; they hadn't made any progress on that front. Kira didn't know why the elements hadn't bonded with their chosen bearers when they'd all been together. They hadn't told Surprise and Chrysalis either, by Kira's request. She wasn't sure how Chrysalis would react to finding out Kira had the Elements of Harmony, so she wanted to wait until they had to in order to tell her. Which of course meant that they couldn't tell Surprise either since they were very close. Just as they had said, they were like family.

Keeping the secret was harder for Destiny, since she had quickly become good friends with the hyper pegasus. The two of them had spent a good deal of time together especially once Surprise had been given the go ahead to fly again from the local doctor. But Destiny had agreed to keep the elements a secret for now since they hadn't bonded with their bearers yet anyway. A fact that was beginning to annoy Kira.

She didn't understand why the elements remained inactive. The resonance was clear; Destiny, Atlas, Surprise and Chrysalis were definitely the bearers. But for some reason they weren't bonding. She knew that when the five were present with their bearers the sixth element was supposed to appear. For a time she wondered if it was because Surprise was apparently the bearer of two elements; that perhaps the elements couldn't bond to the same pony. But she dismissed the idea remembering that the princesses had each been bonded to three.

Then a terrible thought had occurred to her; perhaps the bearer of the sixth element had to be present as well. She hoped that that wasn't the case because she didn't have a clue how to find the bearer of magic without the resonance between the element and its bearer.

The question of the elements plagued Kira whenever she took time to rest. Even now, as she laid upon the hilltop just outside of the town, she had her bags with her, the elements inside. She studied the magic she could feel within them, searching for some clue to their lack of activity while she rested from the day's labors.

She never worried about being disturbed, most the ponies from the settlement still avoided her. They tried not to show it, but she could tell they were still afraid of her. Even when she was helping with the work, she could always feel eyes watching her every move, and would often catch ponies staring if she looked over her shoulder. Surprise and even Chrysalis were doing their best to help the local ponies get use to her, but it was going to take some time before she was truly accepted.

That is, if they never found out what she had to eat sometimes. Kira was under no delusions that these ponies would ever truly accept a hunter living among them, but perhaps if she could keep it a secret...

With a start she realized what she was thinking and pushed the thought away. There was no way she could stay here; even if she was enjoying herself so far.

Trying not to think about it, she returned her focus to the elements and the magic she could sense within them, seeking answers. She hadn't been at it long though when she was surprised to hear soft wing beats approaching.

Looking up she quickly located the source of the sound and smiled as Destiny landed nearby wearing her saddle bags.

“You mind if I join you? I just want to practice a little where I won't be in anypony's way.”

Kira raised a brow. “I don't mind. What are you practicing?”

She grinned and pulled the ancient text they'd found in Saddle Arabia out of her bags. “I've been trying to learn one of the dances in this book!” She said sounding excited. “I was able to translate a bit of it and it's definitely a book of old ritual dances. This one says it's a rejuvenation ritual, but it looked like the easiest one. The instructions for most of them seem very precise. I think these rituals were very important to my people...”

"They may have been." Kira smiled. “Even if things change, it's always good to remember the past and where we came from. Maybe it's time these rituals were remembered.”

Destiny smiled and nodded. “I'll just be practicing over here,” she said going over to a flat area that was mostly clear of grass and fairly level. She set the book down against a nearby rock, open to the first page of the ritual dance she was trying to learn and soon was going through the steps, occasionally looking at the book to see if she was doing it right.

Kira watched her for a few moments smiling, then turned her attention back to the elements. Unfortunately the ungrateful gems didn't feel like giving up their secrets and she was soon becoming frustrated as she had every evening she'd spent on the matter.

Destiny didn't seem to notice Kira's deteriorating mood as she continued to practice her dancing. In fact she was hardly aware of Kira at all, she was so focused. So it wasn't until Kira leaped to her feet, ran to the nearest tree, spun, and bucked it in frustration that Destiny looked up from what she was doing with a wry smile. “Feeling better?” She asked as Kira walked back over to where she'd been laying before.

Kira took a deep breath to give her anger time to cool before answering. “I just don't get why the elements won't bond to their bearers; the resonance is so clear!”

Destiny shrugged. “Well I wouldn't know,” she said and went back to what she'd been doing.

It was then that Kira realized that she wasn't dancing anymore. In fact it looked like she was drawing something in the dirt where she'd been practicing. As she watched, Destiny consulted the book again before continuing to scratch lines in the dirt with her hoof.

“What are you doing?” Kira asked curiously as she went over to see.

“Well, according the to the book, that ritual dance is supposed to be done in a special circle drawn on the ground and a lot of the instructions reference parts of the circle for hoof placement,” destiny explained as she continued drawing.

Kira looked at what she had drawn so far and her eyes widened in recognition. “The book has a drawing of this circle?” She asked, wanting to see the completed version.

Destiny nodded. “Yep, there's several of them in the back of the book, it sounded like each one is used for multiple dances,” she said retrieving the book and showing her. Kira took it in her magic and looked at the page Destiny indicated. Then she turned the pages and looked at some of the other circle designs shown. It was just as she'd thought.

“Destiny, these are arrays,” she said, letting some of her surprise show in her voice.

“Arrays?”

Kira nodded. “Yes, arrays are used in magic, usually with more complex and powerful spells. They require time to prepare, but an array can help to shape magic into a spell that may be far too difficult and complex for anyone to cast on their own.” She then gestured to the book. “I don't recognize these arrays, so I don't know what they're meant for, but they're definitely arrays.”

“But why would they be in this book?” Destiny asked, confused. “It's written in ancient nocturne and all the instructions are for nocturne to perform the dances. They even have instructions for wing positions for a lot of the steps of the dances. Why would they use magic arrays? We don't have horns, we can't use magic.”

Kira shook her head. “You don't need a horn to use magic. I use magic all the time.”

Destiny's eyes narrowed. “You have two horns...”

She laughed. “Yes, but my horns don't have anything to do with magic. I know ponies without horns don't have a natural way to sense and manipulate magic, but you are still connected to it. The Zebra don't have horns, but that doesn't stop them from using magic. Although most of their magic is based on potions and rituals, often involving magically active crystals and other artifacts. They use arrays as well in their rituals...” Kira trailed off, there really was no reason to use an array if magic was not involved, and if the book really was an instruction manual for ancient nocturne rituals then there was a good chance that they were in fact magical in nature.

“I wonder... Destiny, do you think you could perform this dance yet if we finished drawing out the array?”

She nodded. “That's why I was drawing it, I wanted to try out the dance how the book says it's supposed to be performed.”

“Well let's go ahead and try it. With me here, I'll be able to sense if magic starts to react to it and warn you. Does the book mention any other preparations besides the array?”

“No, not for this one.”

“Do some of the others?” Kira asked out of curiosity.

“Well, one I think mentioned candles... I haven't been able to translate all that much,” she explained.

“Hmm. This could be interesting. Just an array and a pony dancing... could the nocturne really have had a way to manipulate magic through motion alone?” She wondered out loud. “Let's try it.”

It didn't take them long to finish the array as it was shown in the book and satisfied, Kira stepped back to watch as Destiny moved into position in the circle, gracefully taking the first pose of the ritual dance. Opening herself completely to her senses so she could feel the magic of the world around her, Kira nodded for Destiny to begin.

As soon as the young nocturne began to move, Kira was entranced. Though she had watched her friend countless times before, she never tired of seeing her grace and agility as she seemed to flow through the steps of the dance. This particular dance was a slower calmer dance that seemed to inspire a sense of serenity as Destiny moved about the array, smoothly flowing to various points in the design while never once stepping on the lines. Slowly the pace of the dance increased, though it was still relatively calm.

It was then that Kira began to notice magic beginning to shift and flow around Destiny, seemingly guided by her wings and her hooves as she moved from point to point in the array. It was small, hardly noticeable at first, but quickly grew stronger. So entranced by what she was seeing, however, Kira didn't even think to warn Destiny, or stop her.

Then Destiny reached the climax of the dance, stepping gracefully into the center of the array and flowing effortlessly into a spin, rotating one full rotation before throwing her wings out, stopping herself in the final pose of the dance. And as she did the magic energies that had been gathering around her coalesced into a cocoon around her then burst outward in a wave. Kira didn't have time to react as the wave washed over her. She gasped as she felt the magic flow through her.

Destiny heard her and ran over to her. “What happened!?” She asked sounding worried as she saw Kira was wide eyed with shock.

“Oh wow!” Kira breathed as she registered the changes the magic had wrought in her. The fatigue of the long day's work was almost completely gone. She began to grin. She couldn't help it, she felt so good.

“What?” Destiny asked again, more curious than worried now.

“It's incredible!” Kira said grinning widely. “Throughout the dance magic was slowly gathering around you, slowly flowing along with your movements. More and more gathered throughout the dance, then when you reached the end, all that magic was released in a wave that when it hit me... I can hardly describe it!” She said gesturing excitedly. “I've never felt anything like it! I feel like I just woke up from a really good night's sleep. I feel... well, rejuvenated!”

“Really!?” Destiny asked sounding excited herself now.

She nodded levitating the book over and looking over the pages. “I've never seen anything like this before. How your ancestors figured this out...” She shook her head. “Destiny, this book; these rituals; they're value is immeasurable.” She smiled and levitated the book over to her. “And I think it's about time your people's legacy was revived.”

“You think I should try to learn them? The rituals?” She asked taking the book in her fore-hooves.

“Yes, It should be safe enough. The spell didn't really take form until the very last parts of the dance. If my guess is correct, then even if you perform a dance incorrectly, the worst that would happen is the spell just wouldn't cast and the magic would dissipate,” Kira told her. “I don't just mean you should learn them though. But also make use of them.”

Destiny's eyes shone with excitement as she realized what Kira was saying. “Oh my gosh! I could... I could do the rejuvenation ritual for the builders! Everyday! And I could...” She trailed off tears coming to her eyes. “I can really help out now! Not just bring ponies food and water.”

Kira smiled in understanding. She and Atlas had been able to help out quite a bit with their strength and magic; and though Destiny was fairly strong for her small size, she still hadn't been able to do much to help with the construction directly. She'd felt bad that all she'd really been able to do was bring ponies refreshment. “Even if all you did was perform that rejuvenation ritual once a day for the workers, I guarantee it will be a huge help,” Kira told her.

Destiny grinned and nodded. “I can't wait to tell everypony! I wonder what other rituals I could use to help...” She said looking at the book, then shook her head. “It can wait! I have to show everypony before the party tonight!” And with that she took off heading back toward the town as fast as her wings could carry her.

Kira just grinned and shook her head at Destiny's departure. In her haste, she'd left her saddlebags behind. Retrieving her own as well, Kira put both sets of bags on her back and started back into the half built town herself. It was good to see Destiny so happy. She'd wanted so badly to be able to help out more and to find a way to do so by making use of her talent. It was the happiest she'd ever seen the young nocturne.

Kira's heart almost froze as that thought crossed her mind and she stopped dead in her tracks. Being here and helping the ponies here was making Destiny the happiest Kira had ever seen her; and while she hadn't known Atlas very long, she could tell that he was very happy here as well. When the elements finally bound to their bearers and they completed the task that needed to be done, in all likelihood they'd want to stay here.

But Kira couldn't stay.

She was going to lose them.

Taking a deep breath, Kira started down the hill again. It was the way things were, she told herself, there was no sense crying about it. Even so, a few tears managed to find their way to the ground.