Flame of the Fateless

by Cryptic Keyboard

Chapter 18

Chapter 18
A Change of Plans

-Day 25, Week 4, Year 1-
[Gabriel]

I had led Winslow and Saffron back to town with hardly a peep from either of them. As soon as we arrived they were both detained by the local guards and taken away for their punishment to be decided. I took the time after that to go and check on Shimmer only to be shooed away by several nurses. Until midnight I had hunted properly for the first time in days before sleeping in the town square. Once the morning sun started to peek over the horizon I awoke to the sound of children playing in the streets, mothers laughing with each other and stall owners noisily bartering their wares to whoever would take them. It was almost strangely intoxicating to tell myself that I was the reason everything could continue as normal; big hero Gabriel had performed his first good deed.

I rose from my resting point and made it a mission to be able to go and see Shimmer, the poor girl was technically my responsibility after all. So I began to wander through the streets with my head held high, already builders had been dispatched to repair the damage that had been caused. They worked doubly quickly with the knowledge that their work wouldn’t be undone any time soon. My fur started to vibrate as I approached the hospital and Aisling arose from her nest with a flourish, cheeping triumphantly. The baby phoenix had been well behaved so far and never dared wander far from me; it clearly thought I was its mother. The mystery that was its birth could probably be explained by a creature with far more insight on the matter, I could only assume that the flames of the fire-pit combined with my use of pyromancy had prompted the phoenix to hatch. Either that or it was just ready to hatch at a very convenient moment in time. I couldn’t care less either way, because I’d gotten a sweet pet out of the deal.

When I reached the hospital doors a cheerful mare with a small cap opened the door with a smile, welcoming me to the premises. I was quickly shown to Shimmer’s bed and told that if I needed anything I need only call. The entire operation had gone from near vacant to bustling with life in less than twenty-four hours. It was quite impressive to behold as the nurses filed in and out of rooms, doctors ran back and forth tending to their patients and the patients were smiling and chatting amongst one another. This was what the town should have been like the days prior were it not for Winslow and his gang. My next goal would be to find Mayor Briar and ask her what was to become of Winslow and Saffron.

I approached Shimmer’s bed and noticed that she was engrossed in a book of some kind. So I stood at the foot of her bed and waited for her to notice the beast lurking beside her. Ten minutes passed and she didn’t even glance up in the slightest. Eventually it was Aisling that became fed-up with the situation and she twittered angrily in Shimmer’s general direction. The reading mare snapped her head up at the new noisy development and shrieked in fright at the sight of me, her cheeks slowly turned flush when she realised who it was.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that you big meanie,” Shimmer muttered coyly, her cheeks now the same colour as ripe red apples.

“Would it shock you to learn that me an’ Aisling have been standing here for about ten minutes now, Shim’?” I asked the now embarrassed Shimmer.

“What? Y-You have?”

“Yeah, clearly whatever you happen to be readin’ is a real page turner cause you didn’t even notice us come in.”
Shimmer muttered something I couldn’t hear before saying. “Well at least I know you’re here now, so I hear that ‘the big red wolf’ is the hero around these parts. Come on Gabriel, tell your buddy Shimmer the news.”

I rolled my eyes slightly as I sat at the foot of Shimmer’s bed so I could recount the tale of the previous night. She was hooked on every word of my story, her brow raised when I mentioned jumping in the fire-pit. Despite her brain clearly begging to ask questions, she waited until I was done recounting the events that she had missed out on. The story ended and Shimmer gave me a loud round of applause; a broad grin on her face.

“So that’s how Gabriel the wolf saved the day,” I said. “Now then, I’m reckoning that y’all have got some questions.”

“Indeed I do!” Shimmer proclaimed, punching the air with a hoof. “First thing first, how am I supposed to believe that you jumped into a fire-pit and didn’t become a giant walking fireball?”
I chuckled to myself. “There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, Shim’. Quite simply put, I didn’t become a giant walking fireball because I was already a giant walking fireball.” Shimmer cocked her head to the side, looking somewhat confused. I sighed a little bit and lifted my paw up and turned it around so the pad was facing upwards; I was hoping that my trick would work. I focused on my paw, willing the flames to come to life. After a few seconds of silence, a small bulb of flame came to life on my paw. Shimmer gave an audible gasp of surprise.

“There you have it lass, walking fireball.”

Shimmer sat up further to get a better look at the fire crackling away on my paw. I waved my paw about and the fire died out. My injured friend clacked her hooves together and giggled.

“Again! Again! Do it again!” she squealed happily.

“Sorry lass, that’s the one show you’re getting today. But it served its purpose didn’t it? Now you know the reason why I didn’t burn to death when I forgot my better judgement and leaped into a fire-pit without thinking.”

Shimmer mulled this over; she gave herself some time to think about her next question.

“So, where’d you get the phoenix from? That’s a rare bird”
Aisling gave a slight twittering sound from her perch on my head, I smiled at my new companion and started to explain. I told Shimmer the story of how I was tasked with finding a phoenix egg, leaving out some of the more sensitive details, and how in the end I was allowed to keep the egg for myself. She listened intently, giving appropriate ‘oooo’s and ‘aaaaah’s at key moments.

“So what, you can use magic?” Shim’ asked with a frown. “Is that why you have that horn?”

“I’m guessing so, and it’s actually two horns that form to look like one. That’s why its looks like a spiral,” I stopped my speech to ponder on this. “Though recently it’s been kinda hard to use regular magic, hell I couldn’t even pick you up back in the library when you got hurt. I tried practising some magic yesterday too and nothin’ worked proper. It either failed, or got turned into flames…”
Shimmer cocked her head. “So… You suck at magic?”

“Maybe I do lass, or maybe the first magical signs were just a gateway until I get better with my fire. Either way, I gotta practise if I ever wanna be useful in a fight. These paws won’t always work.”
My companion scuffed her bedpost a little, and shrugged. “Whatever Gabe, it’s not like you aren’t capable enough to keep going.”

“Yeah, for now at least.”

I suddenly felt all the more uncomfortable. My mind went back to the camp from the night before, how useless I had felt against even a lone foe. For some reason a fight felt different to a hunt. When I was hunting there was nothing to fear, my prey ran until I caught it; never fighting back against its attacker. A fight felt twisted. It felt like I was both the hunter and the prey. You would always be moving forwards to press on my prey; constantly leaping back to avoid the jaws of the hunter. I thought back to the few fights that I had been in, how I’d felt invincible, like not a thing in the world could stop me. Then Yiang beat be silly. Being on the receiving end of a true arse-kicking seemed to have disabled the devil may care attitude inside me. Arrogance and courage had been warped into weakness and fear.

I could no longer stand to be in the same room as Shimmer, so I gave a weak excuse and left, her pitying gaze drilling a hole into my back. Aisling pecked softly at my head, preening my fur affectionately. This gave me some comfort. Once we left the hospital my avian companion fell silent again. She was a sweet little chick, and I cared for her despite the short time we’d been together. I had little else to do that day. My time became consumed by thought and idle behaviour.

*

The sun was starting to set. I was standing on top of the largest building in town, a five floor housing block. Aisling had started to flutter her wings about so I had distracted my plagued thoughts by helping her learn to fly. It was relatively simple; I stayed close to her and made sure she didn’t get hurt. So far she’d managed to maintain flight for a good three seconds, much to her enjoyment. Now the tiny chick was tired out and had nestled down in my fur to sleep. I had taken her onto the building so she could watch the sunset, as silly as that sounds. But after a minute of gazing at the flaming ball dipping below the horizon, Aisling fell deeply asleep. I had remained up there afterwards so I could continue my thinking in peace. The thoughts about fighting still clung to my brain like a disease. In my current state I probably couldn’t wrestle the lollipop away from a kid, let alone take down a fully grown monster without losing my eye or something else equally important. Hiding was the best option for me, so I could avoid other ponies like Saffron and Winslow.

Saffron and Winslow.

My brain leapt upwards and shook off all the cobwebs from its grey matter, shouting commands to the rest of my body. I was sailing across town by that point, my eyes locked firmly on the building they were keeping the two captive tricksters in. I dropped to the ground with a loud thump, causing the nearby ponies to jump out of their skin in fright. Aisling crooned unhappily as she was woken up, pecking my back disapprovingly. I promised my pet that I would make it up to her later, and marched into the holding-cells. The guards didn’t argue against my presence because as far as they knew I was under special orders from the mayor. I could probably sleep in their beds and they wouldn’t stop me. I asked that they take me to the bandit leaders, without delay I was directed down the longest, dingiest corridor in the building. There was a single large door at the end sealed by three padlocks. The guard with me took out a large set of keys and opened the locks one by one, pushing the eventually unlocked door aside. The room stank of salt, blood and sweat. Winslow was slouched underneath the window; his partner Saffron had been tied to a metal post by a short chain. The two of them looked at me silently as I walked in and the guard locked me inside. None of us spoke for a good minute; I was too busy soaking in the details.

It was clear that both of them had been treated roughly by the guards. Saffron’s confinement was bolstered by several lash marks across her back. Winslow has a large gash under his right eye, nearly close enough to have blinded him, as well as lashes and pockmarks all over his body. A few looked too fresh to be old battle wounds. I wandered over to him, the waning sunlight barely making it through the window high above us. Winslow gave me a mock salute and a crooked smile; he didn’t appear to hold me in contempt for what had happened to him.

“Would you two prefer if I jus’ cut to the chase and tell you why I’m here?” I asked the two quiet captives.

“That would be most kind,” responded Winslow, Saffron grunted a little bit.

“Very well then, here’s the deal. I’ve got a plan to get you two out of here and off the wanted list.”
Saffron stomped a little. “Does it involve knocking in the domes of those bastards who hurt my baby?”

“If we get the time we can settle your grude, Saffron, but for now I want you to hear me out,” Saffron quietened down. “Good, now here’s the skinny. There is a town just a few days away…” I explained to them the situation of Shim’s home, what had happened, what I’d experienced personally and finally, what I wanted of them.

“… So in the end its rather simple, you two help me make her home safe again, and you can go free provided you promise to stop attacking villages.”
Winslow pondered my offer. “Very interesting, I’ll give you that. But banditry is currently our only source of income, so how else could we get by day to day?”
I flicked my tail indifferently. “Y’all could always come with me; I could use some travelling companions.”

Winslow looks to Saffron, Saffron remained as stoic as ever.

“Kay, let me talk it over with the missus and we’ll get back to you.”

“Very well Winslow, I’ll make sure no one disturbs you and I’ll be back in an hour. That should be plenty of time to talk,” I said while turning to leave. I pressed my paw to the door, it did not move. I frowned slightly and pushed harder, still the door would not swing open. I pressed the entire weight of my body against the door; it was not showing any other sign of being opened.

“Ayo! What’s happenin’ with this door? I can’t get it back open!” I called out to the guards.

“Exactly,” replied a gruff voice. “Orders from Lady Holten, no one leaves this cell until she arrives.”
I snarled slightly, banging my paw against the door. “Like fuck no one leaves! Open this door before I burn it down!”

“Go ahead; you’ll just walk straight into our spears.”
I continued to snarl, slamming my paw repeatedly against the door to make my displeasure very clear. The guard had called my bluff with perfect professionalism. All I could do was wait for the bitch in charge to show her face, so my claw could give it a makeover.

*

Then sun had long disappeared by the time the mayor showed. I hadn’t moved from my place directly in front of the door, Winslow has started pacing with eyes full of cold calculations. Saffron had started stomping her hooves in anticipation of a fight. During the wait I had confessed to the two that my powers over fire were so far quite limited, and they had a good laugh at my bluffing skills. Winslow was impressed that I had thought of the idea to trick them on the fly, he was less happy that he’d fallen for it. Saffron was just as jovial about it, though said that once we were clear of the town we would have to have a proper fight to determine who was better. That was when I told them the second part of my plan; them teaching me the basics of combat. While they were surprised, they were also surprisingly okay with the idea of helping me to defend myself. Our shared confinement, and now hatred of Mayor Briar, had caused the three of us to bond quite effectively.

Despite the limited range of my powers I had taken it upon myself to melt away part of the chain that had been holding Saffron prisoner. She could move around freely, but still had a rather snazzy chain as an accessory due to it being locked around her neck; none of us trusting me enough to get fire that close to her face. I heard the sound of approaching equines, and stood at the ready. One lock, two locks, three locks rendered useless. The door swung open and without delay I launched myself through the frame, teeth bared and received a spear to the shoulder. My yelping filled the halls as I was shunted backwards, blood streaming from the hole in my flesh. The arrogant impatience had nearly cost me my life. I quickly stumbled away from the door, whimpering a little bit as the guards flanking Mayor Holten shuffled inside, one was cleaning my blood from his spear. Mayor Holten gave a cold stare, her entire manner has shifted from the last time I had seen her. Another masquerade, another liar withholding their true intents; Winslow wasn’t the only one who could put on a good show. She looked around at us with distaste in her expression; nothing about her intention gave a hint of compassion.

“Ah, Mayor Holten, what a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Winslow purred gently. “What do we owe this gracious visit to our cosy little hovel?”
She near literally spat her words. “So not talk like that to me you cretin, I will not hesitate to have my men beat you again.”

“You wound me my lady! I am far more advanced than a... Cretin, as you say.”
She made a visible sound of disgust. “Say no more to me, I have my plans for you.”

“Hey lady, what the hell is the deal?” I growled to her, my wound pulsing. “Not to sound overdramatic, but why the heck did you lock me up like this?”

“You are a wolf, a threat no matter how one cuts the situation. Therefore I planned for your ejection from my town, however I never expected you to simply walk directly into my prison. I have, of course, rewarded the quick thinking of the stallion who thought to lock you in once you arrived.”
My growling ceased, it hurt to think that I’d been outsmarted so cleanly. I was totally out of my depth in this situation. I wasn’t prepared to defend myself; Aisling had long hidden away in my fur out of fear. Mayor Holten had full control of this situation.

“So here is my offer to you, Wolf,” Mayor Holten began. “I will allow you to leave, no one else. Shimmer will remain in our care, and these two will hang tomorrow. If you ever decide to return, you will hang. Do we have an agreement?”

“I... I want Shim’,” I said. “Shim’ had better come with me or else...”
Holten stomped her foot. “No deal, take the terms or hang. The choice is yours.”
I bit my tongue slightly. “I...”

Saffron made her move. She launched herself at the nearest guard and slammed into him. He yelped as what plating he wore buckled completely under Saffron’s sudden strike. He was thrown into Mayor Holten and she screeched in shock. The other stallion flanking her stumbled away, prepping his spear to attack. Not a second later he was swatted away by a sudden rush of orange energy, followed by a laugh from Winslow.

“Internal magical wards, they stop you breaking the room but not the shit inside!” he roared with sharp joy. “Well then, shall we make our daring escape?”

“Of course we shall love,” Saffron replied in almost theatrical timing. She delivered a kick to the downed stallion she had flattened. Holten groaned from underneath the stallion pinning her down, and then issued a shout as Winslow gave a flippant hoof to her cheek. The two left the room, the both of them turned to face me.

“Well? Are you coming with Wolfy?” Winslow asked.

“Wait, you’re asking me to come with you. Despite me being the one who got you into this situation in the first place?”

“Sure we are, I mean, we had a deal right? Besides,” he flashed a cheeky grin. “I was looking for a new pet.”
I blinked as Saffron gave an oddly warm smile when opposed to her violent display. Then I got to my feet and smiled back. “Alright then, y’all got yourselves a pet,” I said, the pain from the spear wound was starting to die down. I cantered over the defeated guards to join my newest companions. Our antics had stirred up trouble; guards were starting to make their way towards us. Saffron and Winslow began to do what I could only describe as their job. They worked perfectly in sync, Saffron would strike down an attacker and Winslow would pummel the next one to get close to her with magic. I was by far the most terrifying creature there, yet I could do nothing to assist.

Saffron stomped down another guard before facing me; she looked both graceful and crazed.

“Wolf! Get your ass outside and get that girl of yours, we’ll meet you at our old camp. Go!”
I nodded. “G-Got it Saffron,” I murmured to her before bolting past the chaos and out of the door. There was a slight shriek from a few pedestrians that had come to investigate the noise coming from inside the prison when I burst from the premises. I didn’t delay, launching myself into the air and dancing across the sky towards the hospital. My hopes were riding on the news having not travelled across the town yet; through I could see the ripples of information crossing across the town. I pushed myself even harder, the wound started to flare up again. The hospital was close enough for me to land and start to run. Almost as soon as my paws touched the ground I could see a few guards in the distance, they had probably tracked me across the sky. I didn’t take a moment to think ahead, barrelling into the hospital and heading directly to Shimmer’s room. The mare looked up from her book, smiling gently.

“Oh hello there Gabriel, why do you look so tired?” she made a slight gasp. “Are you bleeding?”

“No time Shim’, get on my back right now,” I snapped a little too harshly as I knelt beside her bed. Shimmer quickly gathered her things and begun to crawl onto my back without question, though she did look a little taken aback.

Once she was safely on my back I could hear the guards starting to kick open doors, they hadn’t taken the time to ask what room Shimmer was in. My jaws parted a little to issue a gruff chuckle at their impatience to find me. I steeled my nerves, and bolted from the room. They were obviously blocking the main way out so I began to sprint towards the only other viable exit, a window.

“Cover your eyes Shim’, this might hurt a little bit,” I said to her, and she hunkered down in my fur. Aisling made the first sound she had made in a while, a strangely encouraging twitter. My pursuers started to shout things at me, all too late as my feet had already left the ground. It was nothing like it is seen in movies or action literature. The window did shatter but the glass started to cut my flesh long before half my body had left the building. By the time I had touched down on the outside, which in turn caused the glass on the ground to cut into my paws, I was bleeding even more. Shimmer whimpered slightly and Aisling was simply shivering. Despite this my brain screamed at me to keep going. To survive, to get the hell out of there so I could link back up with Saffron and Winslow. I started to sky-dance, my legs wobbling a little bit before I was even a metre off of the ground. Climbing higher and higher I left the village behind, heading towards the trees I knew hid the location of the camp. Shimmer had never been this high before. She knew of my sky-dance but had yet to travel on my back when I was using it properly. She clung to my fur and whined in discomfort, this was more than enough of a motive to kick myself into overdrive.

The trees edged closer but I wasn’t going to make it. My already weary body was growingly all the more weaker and the added intensity of sky-dancing was doing nothing more than depleting my energy reserves. I quickly made my way back to the dirt; my steps had become slightly uncoordinated so it took me a few moments to gather enough speed to run. The town behind me was buzzing with suppressed fury; the guardsmen were likely scouring the entire place for signs of me or my other companions. Hopefully they wouldn’t think to look at the old campsite, at least not before we were long gone. At that point I focused solely on getting my broken arse to the campsite, then I would make my way north. If I ever actually worked out what direction north was.

*

Shimmer was asleep by the time I managed to trudge into the old camp, the fire-pit had died out long before my arrival and several of the tents had been taken apart by what I could only assume were scavengers or wild animals. There was no visible sign of Saffron or Winslow. Aisling made a few soft chirruping sounds, hopping her way onto the top of my head. She scanned the area, deciding it was safe enough for her to leap down from me and totter about on the ground. I stayed close to the little thing, making it so that in a weird way she was leading. Her exploration brought us to the biggest and most colourful tent of all. Upon her hopping past the covering cloth she issued several happy tweets, bouncing back outside and trying to jump back up onto my head. I had to crouch down so the small bird could make it up, I then poked my head into the tent. The inside was strangely under furnished; two beds and a bookshelf seemed to be the only things there. However Aisling’s excited attitude had been sparked by a clear reason. Saffron and Winslow were inside.

The two looked like they hadn’t been around much longer than I had, they also only looked slightly better for wear. Saffron was in the middle of swabbing her wounds and Winslow was dragging a large trunk out from underneath one of the beds. I wandered a little closer to the pair; Saffron gave only a slight nod as a welcoming, Winslow was far too concerned with the trunk to pay attention to me arriving.

“Good to see that y’all made it out without serious injury,” I said while making my way to Saffron. “I was worried that I would be continuing my travels alone.”

“We’ve been in more than one dance darling,” Saffron said. “They were woefully underprepared for an event like a prison break; half of them didn’t know how to use their spears.”
I took a moment to ponder this comment, how does a pony use a spear exactly? I vocalised this question and Saffron gave a slight tilt of her head.

“Weren’t you paying attention when you got stabbed?” she asked, making me scuff the ground with my paw. “Regardless, you raise a valid point. Well most guards are trained to use a basic battle harness, a type of armour that basically has a pointy stick glued to it. These kinds of fodder usually rush the enemy to try and impale them.

“A slightly more advanced version allows for the spear attachment to be adjusted so the user could sidestep or even back-dash into their foe to cause damage. The harnesses are the most basic versions however. Many guards carry gauntlets, bands that go around the leg that either have blades or points so swinging the leg or kicking can be even more deadly. Unicorns have magic, so they kinda get a free-pass when it comes to using weapons.”

“So then, equines have strange weapons?” I asked.

“That we do Wolfy, that we do,” Saffron said as she returned to tending to her wounding. I walked closer to the pair so that I could see what Winslow was doing, and Saffron gasped in shock. Before I could so much as flick my tail in response Saffron had descended upon me with disinfectant, swabs and combs. She picked all the glass from my fur, washed my wounds with stinging disinfectant and gave me a small peck on the cheek to top it all off. I gained a small blush and murmured a few words of thanks; Saffron giggled and took Shimmer from my back so that she could care her fellow mare. I finally managed to get close enough to Winslow so that I could see what he was doing. The unicorn had pulled out and then opened the large trunk from under the bed. Many of the things inside were simple; clothing, bottles and jewellery. Winslow had pulled out the most interesting things that the trunk contained.

The first was a two foot long staff; the second was a pair of bladed discs. The staff was enveloped by a cloud of orange energy and lifted from the ground; Winslow smiled gently at the length of wood.

“This is my pride and joy,” he whispered merrily. “Had it since I was a little kiddie, couldn’t leave it behind now could I?”

“I’m guessing those little things are Saffron’s show?”
Winslow made an ‘mmnm’ sound and nudged the disc with his hoof. “We call ‘em Shoes, you clip them on your legs and it adds some extra punch to a kick… That makes total sense by the way.” I smiled at his strange wording and told them I was going to stand guard outside, Aisling chittered softly and stood to attention on my head. The two of us stood proudly outside the tent for what seemed like a good while; the trees were silent sentinels. One of these sentinels gave a tell-tale whispering of leaves, my ears pricked upwards and Aisling made a slight growling sound. Seeing beyond the inky darkness I made out the shapes of about ten Equines, the town guards had come looking for us.

I trotted back inside the tent and warned my companions of the impending danger; they quickly set about gathering everything else they valued enough to bring with them. Once Winslow and Saffron were loaded down by saddlebags I helped Shimmer onto my back, Aisling was still looking towards the tent-flap so she could warn us in advance. With the entire party set, I led the way out of the tent. The guards were poking through every single nook and cranny in an attempt to find us. If a stone had been turned over it had been turned over a second time to check for certain that nothing was hiding under it. We quickly made our way past the tree line and delved ever deeper into the forest, despite the intensity of my muscle cramps I still ordered my body to move. A decision I was certain I would regret in the future. Despite not knowing where we were exactly, Winslow was certain that we weren’t in a dangerous part of the forest. The occasional baying of other carnivores made me less sure. Eventually, despite trying my damnedest not to, I collapsed from fatigue. I briefly head Saffron mutter something about settling down for the night before my vision was claimed by the darkness.

*

-Day 30, Week 5, Year 1-
[Gabriel]

It turned out that I had caused far greater damage to my body than I thought. When I had woken up in the morning my muscles had felt like sandpaper, my bones little more than thing sticks supporting an underfed shell. So for the next few days I had been out of the action, we travelled very little and simply assumed that the guards had given up their pursuit. By the time I was up and moving, so was Shimmer. Shimmer was extremely happy to be back on her feet, going as far as galloping around the forest while giggling. Saffron was quite the healer it seemed as she nursed both me and Shimmer back to full health with very little effort. When I was out Winslow took command, making it very obvious why he had been able to gather a large following of bandits. Winslow was smart, he knew what needed to be done to ensure that his group excelled. He wasn’t afraid of braining a bunny if it meant that I was getting fed, just as he didn’t mind skipping meals if it meant that Saffron got enough. He was the main reason we all survived those days where I was incapable of moving, and I thanked him greatly for it.

Once I was up and moving, I asked the question that had been burning away at my mind for a great many days now.

“So Winslow,” I asked. “Might you be able to direct me north? That’s where I’ve been trying to go for the last month.”
He tapped the ground for a second, and then took a compass and a map from his bags. “North… North… Ah! North is that way,” he said while pointing a hoof to the trees and smiling.

“Oh! That’s the direction my town is in!” Shimmer piped up.

“Wait… What?” I murmured, the news slowly sinking in. Whatever they said in response was lost to white noise. I had spent a solid month going in the wrong direction; I had spent a solid month making negative progress. I raised my head, and issued a single statement.

“Fucking dammit!”

Comments

[Cryptic Keyboard]

3319695
I forgot it was part of that!!
Okay, I'll be frank about it. The early chapters suck arse and I hate them, but I refuse to change them because they're part of the story.
As for the chessgame label? I forgot about that, but in my eyes I'm going out to make it something separate from the chessgame. Sure I borrowed the starting point from the group concept, but as far as I'm concerned now Flame is its own universe.

[camooni]

3319704 but the question is will he find another male wolf to help the nights go by?