Character List

Due to the amount of characters in this book, I have devised a list of the members of each tribe.


Tribe of the Falling Stars:

Leader: Eski ~ Dark skinned girl with long black hair, olive green eyes and long legs. She is 16 years old and was sent down by The Light. Her little sister is Sasha.
Companion ~ Rush ~ Male lion

Healers:
Jade ~ Pale white girl with short blonde hair and hazel eyes. She is 12 years old and lost her aging ablities.
Companion ~ Sage ~ Female lemur
Night ~ Tall white boy with black hair, piercing blue eyes and small hands. He is 15 years old and lost his aging ablities. He is deaf in his left ear.
Companion ~ Casualty ~ Male snow leopard
Bunny ~ Small black girl with dark hair and pale blue eyes. She is 9 years old and was sent down by The Light. She has a permermant limp.
Companion ~ Tiny ~ Female hare

Captains:
Harry ~ Tall pale white boy with brown hair, hazel eyes and large hands. He is 13 years old and lost his aging ablities.
Compainion ~ Coconut ~ Female beagle
Winter ~ Pale white girl with long blonde hair, icy blue eyes and a long scar on her arm. She is 13 years old and was sent down by The Light.
Companion ~ Silver ~ Male wolf
Hope ~ White girl with long chestnut brown hair, blue eyes with flecks of hazel and strong legs. She is 14 years old and lost her aging ablities. Her little sister is Glory.
Companion ~ Dew ~ Female dove
Raven ~ Small dark skinned boy with short black hair and leaf-green eyes. He is 14 years old and lost his aging ablitites. He is the only one to have a sixth sense.
Companion ~ Life ~ Female snowy owl

Citizens:
Glory ~ Small white girl with strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes. She is 10 years old and lost her aging ablitites. Her older sister is Hope.
Companion ~ Wish ~ Female lemur
Heather ~ Tall dark skinned girl with ginger hair and milky blue eyes. She is 15 years old and was sent down by The Light.
Companion ~ Rio ~ Male grey parrot
Russel ~ White boy with black hair, hazel eyes and a scar behind his ear. He is 11 years old and lost his aging ablities. His older siblings are Galaxy and Leon. He has failing eyesight.
Companion ~ Sun ~ Male golden retriver
Sasha ~ Small dark skinned girl with light brown hair and pale blue eyes. She is 8 years old and was sent down by The Light. Her older sister is Eski.
Companion ~ Breeze ~ Female wolf
Leon ~ Tall black boy with dark hair, dark brown eyes and large hands. He is 16 years old and lost his aging ablities. He was born without a companion, making him weaker than most others. His little sister is Galaxy and his little brother is Russel.
Rogue ~ Tall pale white boy with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He is 15 years old and was sent by The Light.
Companion ~ Flint ~ Male leopard
Galaxy ~ Tall white girl with wavy black hair, milky blue eyes and soft hands. She is 13 years old and lost her aging ablities. Her little brother is Russel and her older brother is Leon.
Companion ~ Birch ~ Female tiger
Finch ~ Dark skinned boy with brown hair, hazel eyes and strong hands. He is 13 years old and was sent down by The Light. His little sister is Jen.
Companion ~ Billy ~ Male cat
Jen ~ Small dark skinned girl with long black hair, leaf-green eyes and strong legs. She is 12 years old and was sent down by The Light. Her older brother is Finch and she is the only one who can look into the memories of others.
Companion ~ Sky ~ Female amur leopard
Griffin ~ Tall dark skinned boy with blonde hair and brown eyes. He is 15 years old and was sent down by The Light.
Companion ~ Zen ~ Female golden eagle
Cloud ~ Pale white girl with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She is 8 years old and lost her aging ablities. Though she is the youngest in the Tribe, rumor says she could be the one of the most powerful to walk the world.
Companion ~ Jewel ~ Female lion


Tribe of the Swooping Eagle:

Leader: Oscar ~ Tall pale white boy with black hair, piercing blue eyes and strong hands. He is 14 years old and lost his aging ablities. His twin sister is Jess.
Companion ~ Flight ~ Male golden eagle

Healers:
Marci ~ Dark skinned girl with brown hair and hazel eyes. She is 13 years old and was sent down by The Light. She is blind in one eye.
Companion ~ Nesa ~ Female greyhound
Sam ~ Black boy with dark hair, green eyes and small hands. He is 13 years old and was sent down by The Light.
Companion ~ Jam ~ Male pigeon
Ross ~ Small white boy with blonde hair and bright green eyes. He is 14 years old and lost his aging ablities.
Companion ~ Frost ~ Male snowy owl

Captains:
Sting ~ Tall black boy with short dark hair, brown eyes and a nicked ear. He is 13 years old and lost his aging ablities.
Companion ~ Nipper ~ Male bulldog
Rosa ~ Tall white girl with long ginger hair and pale green eyes. She is 14 years old and was sent down by The Light. She was born without a companion, but she was not weakened as a result of this.

Citizens:
Jess ~ Tall pale white girl with long black hair and icy blue eyes. She is 14 years old and lost her aging ablities. Oddly, her twin brother Oscar was born with a companion, but Jess herself was not. She is slightly weakened by this.
Callum ~ Short white boy with brown hair and hazel eyes. He is 12 years old and was sent down by The Light. He is smaller than most boys his age.
Companion ~ Moe ~ Male arabian horse
Copper ~ Tall dark skinned boy with light brown hair, almost amber eyes and strong legs. He is 15 years old and was sent down by The Light.
Companion ~ Buddy ~ Male beagle
Jock ~ Dark skinned boy with blonde hair and green eyes. He is 16 years old and lost his aging ablities. Like Rosa and Jess, he too was born without a companion, but is not weakened by this.
Spirit ~ Small pale white girl with strawberry blonde hair, bright green eyes and soft hands. She is 13 years old and was sent down by The Light. She disagrees with the rivalry between the two Tribes and usually mooches around by the lake.
Companion ~ Dawn ~ Female snow leopard
Jerry ~ Tall white boy with short ginger hair and bright blue eyes. He is 15 years old and lost his aging ablities.
Companion ~ Lone ~ Male wolf
Kiwi ~ Black girl with long black hair, bright green eyes and strong legs. She is 11 years old and lost her aging ablities. She has bad memory due to a brain tumor when she was 4, but she is a deep thinker.
Companion ~ Bug ~ Male panda

Chapter 1

"Wake up! Wake up!"
Hope let out a huge yawn and opened her eyes sleepily, wondering what all of the fuss was about. She insantly spotted a pure white dove perched on her chest, peaking at her head. "Wake up!" It squawked again.
"I'm awake." Hope grumbled, sitting up in her bed. "What's so important, Dew? Has someone fallen out of their tree again?"
"No!" The dove chirped. "There's an intruder in our camp!"
Hope was up and getting changed right away, putting a clean t-shirt over her vest and changing her jeans to shorts. She poked her head out of the window, letting the cool air wash over her.
"Hurry up!" Dew scolded her, perching on the wooden roof. "Follow me!"
Swiftly, Hope leapt onto a branch beside her snug treehouse and started climbing. This had been one of the few advantages of loosing time, that Hope's Tribe were able to climb trees and live in them.
As she finally reached the top, Hope spotted Dew perched on a small branch, a brown net beside her. In the net laid a large woodpigeon tangled up in the thread.
"It's just a Healer's companion!" Hope snapped at Dew. "You dragged me out of bed early to alert me about a completely harmless Healer?"

"He still trespassed!" Dew protested, her feathers ruffled in fury.
"Shut up for once, okay? You'll be doing everyone a favour." Hope mumbled, untangling the young woodpigeon. He stared at her with terrified eyes, so she gently hushed him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Jam." The pigeon stammered. "Sam's companion. I'm from over the river."
Hope pictured Sam in her mind. He was smaller than most in his Tribe, but he was sent down by The Light, the place sheltering the deceased ones. The Light had been kind recently, as they had sent Hope's Tribe two potential members; Griffin and Rogue. She wasn't sure how the other Tribe were doing, but she now knew they were sending spies.
"Fly away home." Dew spat. "Fly away and never return, Jam."
Flicking his gaze cautiously across the trees, the pigeon lifted his wings and took off into the sky, not looking back.
"Well, that went well." Hope sighed, begining to climb down the tree. Suddenly, Dew let out a shrill cry of alarm. "Watch out!"
Shocked, Hope let go of the branch and let out a scream as she plummeted to the ground.
Nearby, a boy about Hope's age had spotted the young girl falling. He instantly darted over, just in time to catch the pretty girl in his arms.
"Thank God you showed up, Raven." Hope sighed. "That would have been embarassing if everyone had seen that, seeing as I'm supposed to be a Captain."
"Lucky I'm the only one who saw you fall then." Raven said, grinning in amusement. He let the 14 year old rise to her feet, who then thanked him with a quick hug.
"Hey there, Hope!" A cheerful voice cried out from the treetops. Hope stepped away from Raven and stared up, only to see her sister Glory. She was wearing a muddy pair of jeans and a bright yellow t-shirt with a white star on the front. She wore no shoes either, which was perfectly normal.
"Good sleep?" Hope asked, which in response her sister nodded as she leapt from the branch she was sitting on. Hope had always felt a slight jealousy towards her sister, as Glory was the pretty one who everyone loved. On the other hand, Hope was stronger and faster, but she knew that she would never get the same vibes that Glory got.
"Wait up!" Hope spun round and saw Wish, Glory's companion. She was a rather nosy creature, always eavesdropping on any random person's conversation. And she wonders why no one likes her! Hope thought to herself with a smirk.
Leaving the group, Hope strolled away towards a small wooden cabin at the heart of the Tribe's camp. A sweet smell hit her nostrils instantly, pressuming that Eski had already made her breakfast.
"Eski?" Hope called, lightly knocking on the door. "Do you want me to wake the others for breakfast?"
"Yes." A soft voice murmured. "Find Winter and tell her that she needs to take out some people to look for food. We've got no meat left and the younger ones need it to rebuild their strength, just in case the Swooping Eagles raid us again."
"Winter fell in the river yesterday, remember?" Hope corrected her. "What about Raven? He's got nothing to do and he's a reasonable hunter."
"Send Harry." Eski snapped. "You know very well that I don't even trust Raven! He's just a good for nothing attention seeker who tries to act the hero!"
Hope had a strong urge to argue in her friend's defence, but she bit her tongue and nodded. "Okay." She said through gritted teeth, leaving the cabin. She then called Dew over, who seemed concerned after the tree falling incident.
"Do me a favour and tell Harry to gather up some people to go forging." Hope told her companion. "I'm not prepared to go and tell him myself. Not after yesterday."
Harry was a well-respected member of the Falling Stars, but he was very impaitent and short-tempered. Hope had learnt yesterday when she'd been late back collecting firewood because Cloud had falled down a ditch and broke her wrist. Harry had scolded Hope, and when she protested, he punched her in the face. This had ignited a fight, leaving Harry with a nosebleed and a black eye, while Hope had a few bruises on her arm. Both could had sustained serious injuries if Sasha, Eski's little sister, hadn't broken them up.
"You were lucky that Harry went easy on you." Dew sighed. "I can still remember when he lashed out on Jen because she went looking into his memories. She took a huge risk with that."
"Jen's such a lovely girl, even Harry knew that when he beat her up." Hope agreed. "Anyway, why are you sitting round gossiping? Off you go!"
While Dew flew off to find the other Captain, Hope decided to check up on the Healers, who had been delighted recently due to the successful raid on the Swooping Eagle's medicine supply.
As she entered the cave, she noticed Bunny, the youngest healer, curled up on her blanket, with her companion Tiny watching over her. Night and Jade were tending to Winter's injuries from her fall. Their companions, Casualty and Sage, were eating insects for their breakfast.
"What can we do for you, Hope?" Jade greeted her with a smile. Hope smiled back. "I'm just checking on you all."
"Oh, we're pretty much fine." Night assured her. "Winter's healing up nicely, but I think Bunny's coming down with a fever. I fear that she won't make it through, especially with the recent chills. The nights are getting colder than I remember, even though it's nearly spring."
"Exactly." Hope pointed out. "But anyway, how's Cloud?"
"We made her a cast for her wrist out of the banadages Finch found the other day. She's still asleep here and I guess she'll be right as rain within a few days." Jade explained, turning her gaze towards the young girl, who was curled up beside her companion, Jewel. The lioness returned the gaze fiercely, very protective over the little girl.
"Oh my God, Hope!" A voice screamed. "Come out here now!"
Saying a quick goodbye to the Healers, Hope darted out of the cave and spotted members of the Tribe huddled together, looking fearful. "What happened?" The Captain demanded.
"Intruders!" Sasha piped up.
"Then why are you all standing around like a bunch of lemons?" Hope snapped. "Find the rest of the Captains and join invasion groups!"

Chapter 2

Holding a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, Hope made her way through the dense woodland towards the river, the border seperating the two Tribes. Finch, Galaxy and Rogue followed just behind her, along with their companions.
"This is going to be exciting." Dew murmured into Hope's ear, settling down on her shoulder. "I wonder what Oscar is planning on?"
"I bet you he's after those supplies we nicked." Rogue grumbled, overhearing the dove.
"Or he wants more hunting grounds." Finch suggested. "We are all starving and Oscar obviously wants to show that his Tribe isn't weakened by it."
"Well, neither are we!" Galaxy protested, tapping the arrows tucked into her belt. "If anyone comes within a few meters of our territory, I'll shoot them dead with my bow!"
Hope decided to let them argue among themseleves and continued leading them towards the river.
A rustle startled them. Hope hushed her Tribemates in alarm. "Quick! Up a tree, and keep quiet!" She demanded, starting to scramble up a tree. None of them needed telling twice as they leapt up onto the lowest branch and continued climbing.
"What was that?" A voice hissed from a little way away. Hope reconised Jerry, a member of the Swooping Eagles. Three others, Sting, Kiwi and Copper, followed behind him.
"Keep it down!" Sting snapped. "What if someone hears us?"
Sting is by far the most short-tempered person I know. Hope thought to herself. I'd really hate it if he was in the Falling Stars. He's worse than Harry!

"They'll be too busy hiding in trees like monkeys to care." Copper retorted with a smirk.
"Monkeys." Kiwi repeated, staring wide-eyed into the trees. Her companion, Bug, nudged her with one of his large black paws. "We've got to keep moving. We haven't got time to be monkey-hunting."
"By the end of the morning, we'll be star-hunting." String sniggered coldly. "By the end of the afternoon, we'll be food-hunting."
Hope felt Dew stiffen beside her, and to be honest she wasn't surprised. Star-hunting was a cruel term used by the Swooping Eagles, which meant that they were 'hunting down' the Falling Stars in their own territory, thus mocking their name and declaring them as weak. Now Hope felt fire boiling her blood, the only thing being able to extinguish it was seeing the Swooping Eagles suffer.
"Now!" She hissed to Finch. He signalled Rogue and Galaxy before jumping from the tree, landing directly on top of Copper. Hope landed just behind Sting, startling him. He spun round instantly, only to recieve a harsh punch in the face. Hope landed several more blows to his shoulder, while he made a weak attempt to shove her over. To make matters worse, Dew was pecked at his head, poking her strong beack into his skin.
"Nipper!" He cried out. "Help!"
Hope gulped as she remembered Sting's fierce companion. The bulldog had nearly killed several members of the Falling Stars in previous battles, but so far Hope hadn't faced him yet.
The Captain watched as the large bulldog charged at her, in response she threw a rock at him. Nipper snarled at her viciously and pounced onto her bare foot, sinking his deadly teeth into her wrist. Hope let out a shrill scream of horror, trying to shake the bulldog off her with little success.
Suddenly, a massive snow leopard flung himself at Nipper, roaring a warning. "Stay away from her!" In surprise, Hope reconised Flint, Rogue's companion. Rogue had been wary of Hope since joining the Falling Stars, but was he now trying to save her?
Upon hearing a gurgling sound, Hope spun round and saw Finch being strangled by Jerry, while their companions circled eachother. She instantly rushed over to help Finch, but she stopped when a gun was pressed to her head.
"That's it, good girl." Sting mocked cruelly. "Stay where you are, or your little friend here gets it."
Hope's blood was pounding in her ears as she felt the cold gun against her head. She prayed that someone would find them and help, but so far nothing was working.
"What do you want with us?" Galaxy demanded, her eyes blazing in fury.
"Oh, you should know very well what we want." Jerry retorted. "We want fishing rights to the river. Too many of our Tribe are dying, even our healers are starving. We need the fish, or we'll die."
"You should know only too well that no one owns the river." Finch gasped with the last of his breath, Jerry's arm still firmly around his neck.
"Finch is right." Rogue agreed, wiping some blood from his nose. "The Light punished us when we fought over the river. We cannot afford any more punishments, especially since both Tribes have lost so much."
"We will loose everything if we can't get meat!" Sting snapped. "Without it, we will all die!"
Before anyone else could reply, a arrow flew past Hope's head and into Sting's arm. In horror, he dropped the gun and let out a loud cry of pain. Hope turned her head in surprise and saw another group of Falling Stars members, led by Raven. In surprise, Hope remembered that Raven's weapon was a bow and arrow, so he must have been the one who shot Sting.
"Get out of here!" Raven threatened. "Unless you want me to shoot someone else!"
"Let go of my brother!" Jen cried, setting her companion, Sky, onto Jerry, who instantly let Finch go. Finch ran over to his little sister and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you." He murmured.
Sting was bawling his eyes out while Copper attempted to pry the arrow from the Captain's arm, much to Hope's amusement. She didn't know that Sting could overreact to a little arrow.
"Retreat!" Sting yelled between sobs.
As the Swooping Eagles left, Hope gazed around at her Tribemates, who were looking at eachother's injuries. Finch had a red mark on his neck from where he'd been strangled and a cut on his hand. Rogue had a long scratch going down his cheek, while Galaxy had a black eye from where she'd been punched. Hope herself had a bite on her wrist from Nipper, which was bleeding pretty badly.
"How many times do I need to save you today?" Raven joked, his eyes glittering in amusement. "Aren't you just that lucky that I have a sixth sense?"
"Maybe, there again, maybe not." Hope replied with a laugh. "And don't worry, there'll be plenty more saving for you to do!"
"We'd better get back and get one of the Healers to look at your wrist." Raven told her, wiping some of her blood with a tissue. "What happened to it?"
"Sting set Nipper on me." Hope sighed. "Luckily for me, Rogue sent Flint to deal with Nipper. He won't be attacking me again."
"Let's go." Raven said, gathering the others with a whistle. With the tissue wrapped round her wrist, Hope followed the other Captain back to the camp.

In the Healer's cave, Hope sat down on a blanket, a bandage wrapped around her wrist and hand. Jade had noticed that some of the teeth had reached Hope's hand, so she decided to bandage that up too.
"I'll be like one of those Egyptian mummies with all the bandages wrapped round me." Hope joked.
"I don't think you're that bad." Jade told her with a smile. "Just be careful!"
Rising up to her feet, Hope bidded farewell to Jade and left the cave. The sun was rising up higher now, meaning pretty much everyone was awake. Glory was talking to Sasha and Russel, while some of the others had gone out foraging for food. Hope tried to find Raven in the clearing, but he was nowhere to be found, giving Hope the suspicsion that he'd gone out foraging.
"There you are!" Dew cried out, flying over to Hope. "I was waiting for you! How is your wrist?"
"Fine." Hope told her. "I'm completely fine."

Chapter 3

"Hope! Get the hell out here now!"

Poking her head out of her treehouse, Hope spotted Heather with her arm around Sasha, who was clutching her side. Hope swiftly scrambled down the tree within a few moments and stood beside the trembling young girl. "What happened?" She asked calmly.

"Sasha got stabbed while we were out foraging." Heather replied. "She claims to have seen your brother."

"She saw Nat?" Hope gave the older girl a disbeliving look. "That's impossible! He's been dead since time stopped!"

"Anything's possible." Heather argued. "With all these strange happenings, seeing ghosts is very likely." She started to lead Sasha away, adding "Stop denying in what you believe."

Nat had been 16 years old when the battle broke for the river broke out. This famous battle had been the exact one that had caused time to stop all those years ago. Nat had been stabbed in the back while trying to flee from the other Tribe. Despite Hope's best efforts to save him, her brother eventually died of blood loss. This death had angered The Light, causing them to stop everyone from aging.

The Light favours no one. Nat didn't believe in them, claiming it was all a stupid fairytale to get you excited about dying. How could he still be alive?

As Hope gave the idea some thought, a group of foragers returned, carrying with them a strange fruit. The white girl approached the party with a suspicious glance at Winter, who was leading them. "What is that?"

"Glory found it." Winter told her with a smile. "Isn't it great?"

"You didn't answer my question." Hope grumbled. "What is that?"

"We didn't think of a name for it, but it's delicious!" Winter exclaimed brightly. "Glory saw an odd-looking tree on the edge of the boundary and we found these strange things that looked like melons, but they were bright green and had this yummy pale green stuff inside it!"

"You went to the edge of the boundary for that?" Hope could feel her blood boiling inside her. "You should know that Eski has forbidden us to the very edge of the boundary! We don't know what's out there!"

"The need is too great." Silver, Winter's companion, pointed out. "Our territory doesn't have enough food. We had to go to the boundary's edge because we're all so desperate. Why can't you see past the rules and realise that what they've found is a major breakthrough for the Tribe?"

Hope was silenced for a while, stunned by the wolf's comeback. The foraging group left her, giving cold stares to the Captain. She didn't respond to them with anything, she just hung her head.

Once the party had disappeared with the fruit, Hope strolled over to her tree and climbed up it, wanting to escape everyone. Dew was perched on the roof of Hope's treehouse, watching the Tribe thrive. She'd been doing that for most of the day.

Eventually, Hope scampered into her treehouse and flopped onto her bed, her head hitting the pillow instantly. She fumbled under the pillow and found the little stuffed dove her mother had given her. She sat up and inspected it. Like Dew, the dove was pure white with beady black eyes, apart from the eyes were small buttons and this dove wasn't real. According to her mother, Hope had called the toy 'Dovey', yet despite the fact Hope couldn't remember it, she still called it Dovey.

Craddling the white toy in her arms, Hope pressed it against her face, making Dovey's soft orange beak peck her cheek. A tear trickled down from Hope's eye onto Dovey as thoughts of her mother flew into her head. She remembered her mother so well, yet she didn't know her as long as other parents.

"It's just us now." Hope murmured to Dovey. "Me and Glory. We're the last ones left."

Resting her head against the pillow, Hope closed her eyes and drifted into sleep, Dovey still pressed against her face.

 

There was strange people everywhere. I reconised Mrs Ladly, the nosey old lady who lived nextdoor to us. The others I'd never seen before. It was just so loud.

I was oblivious to the time, maybe because I'd been dragged out of bed and out in the front garden. I knew it was night, because the sky was dark and there were stars shining in the sky like diamonds.

There were four of us; Nat, my brother, Glory, my sister, my mother Layla, and me. We'd lived in our dear house, which had been left to us in my grandmother's will. I had no idea what that meant, but I guessed our grandmother gave us a leaving present, because she hasn't been to visit us for ages.

A tall man in a strange uniform approached me, Glory in his arms. She was only three years old, four years younger than me. Mother had me and Nat with the same father, while Glory had a different dad who I didn't see much of, because he was always in Mother's room or out elsewhere. My Father died when I was two.

"This is your sister, I believe?" The strange man asked me. "My men found her in her room. Her bedroom door was out of reach, so we got in through the window."

"What is happening?" I asked, taking Glory from him. "Why is our home alight? Where is my Mother?"

"We're still trying to find out why your house is burning, and we're still looking for Mummy." The man soothed me in a calm manner, treating me like a baby. "I'm sure she's just hiding somewhere."

I was relieved when the man walked away. For some reason, I didn't trust him.

"It's okay, Hope." Nat comforted me. He was nine years old and the best brother I could hope for. "Mother will be fine, honest."

We waited for ages. Various strangers from our town offered us treats and sat with us, but it didn't really help much with a bunch of strangers crowding round us. I sat on the grass with a blanket wrapped round me, picking at the grass.

I then started watching some of the strange men, who were talking in serious, hushed voices. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were shaking their heads and staring at us symaptheticly. That annoyed me, because I didn't need anyone's sympathy.

"Where's Mama?" Glory howled, bawling her eyes out. I tried to shush her, but it didn't work. Mrs Temple, one of Mother's friends, came over to me. "Would you like me to take Glory for you?"

"Thank you." I murmured, passing Glory to the young woman, who craddled her gently. Nat put his arm around me as one of the strange men came over. He was shaking his head and sighing.

"Where's Mother?" I demanded. "You all told me that she was hiding!"

"Yes, well, we found your Mother." The man told me. "We got to her, but it was too late. I'm sorry."

"She's gone?" Nat echoed, his voice shaking. The man nodded and took off his hat. "I'm so sorry, all of you."

"What will happen to the children?" Mrs Temple asked, her voice mingled with grief. The man turned to her. "We checked their records. All grandparents found are dead, father one is dead and father two is in jail. Their uncle and aunt live on the other side of the world, and neither fathers have siblings. All three of them have no kin suitable to take them on."

"Oh Lord no." Mrs Temple looked deeply distressed. "You're sending them to the orphanage, aren't you?"

I had no idea what an orphanage was, but I didn't like the sound of it. Tears stung my eyes as I gave our house one more glance before being bundled into the back of a police car. I cried all the way there, while Nat had his arm around me the whole time, trying not to cry.

 

Chapter 4

Hope woke up with a start, wiping the tears from her eyes. Raven was sat on a stool beside her bed, his snowy owl companion perched on his shoulder. "I heard you scream earlier, so I came up here to keep an eye on you." He told her. "Are you going to tell me what you were dreaming about?"

"No." Hope mumbled, turning over. "Unless you can erase the past."

"If I had that power, I would have used it long ago." Raven pointed out gently. "I would have put everything back to the way it was, before all of this happened."

Hope let out a muffled sob, which led to Raven going other to the other side and crouching down so his chin was resting on her bed. "I won't go away until you tell me what's bothering you."

After a few moments of silence, Hope eventually gave in. "I had one of those nightmares about Layla again. It was the one when she died."

"It's perfectly normal to be upset about that." Raven comforted her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "But it is also normal to have those closest to you pass away. It is a natural process that happens to everyone. No one lives forever, I'm afraid."

As Raven started to leave, Hope leapt out of bed and flung her arms around him. He was slightly taken back by this, but he hugged her back all the same. For a moment, Hope was quite happy to stand there and listen to the sounds around her without stressing or worrying. Everything was perfect.

"Hope!" Eski cried. "I need your help!"

"Sorry." Hope told Raven with a smile of amusement. "I'll be back soon, I imagine."

As Hope scrambled down her tree with Raven just behind her, Eski approached her. "Heather has told me about what happened to Sasha. She also told me that she saw a strange child wondering around the edge of the boundary. I'd like you to go and investigate this."

"Sure." Hope said. "I'll be back before sunrise tomorrow."

 

As Hope wondered through the forest alone, she thought about the future of the Tribe. So far, The Falling Stars had thrived well, despite the fact that many children were very impaitent and untrustworthy. The Swooping Eagles were desperate for food, as Hope had seen earlier today.

Jumping over a fallen tree, Hope eventually reached the edge of the boundary. She saw the tree with the strange-looking fruit, and realised in suprise that there was actually quite a lot of food. It would keep them going for a while.

A flash of brown over the boundary switched the attention of the young Captain, but she was bowled over by a young brown bear. It slashed at Hope's face, leaving a long scratch. Hope got her knife out and stabbed the bear's shoulder, making it stumble off Hope and let out a screech of agony. It swung it's head round, but fell to the ground, blood flowing from it's shoulder. Hope jumped up to her feet and cautiously approached the bear, who was breathing heavily.

"Fortis!" A voice cried out. Hope turned her head towards the bushes and saw a small white monkey, followed by a maginificent stag deer. The white monkey instantly turned her gaze onto Hope. "She's the one who attacked Fortis! Let's get her, Protege!"

"Wait a moment, Paulo." The stag called Protege said. "Would everyone else agree? Perhaps Fortis was threatening the human's territory." Paulo looked disgusted, but eventually agreed to what Protege had suggested. She approached Hope cautiously, sniffing her. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"I'm Hope." The Captain introduced herself politely. "Who are you?"

"I'm Paulo, which is Latin for 'little." The monkey replied. "The stag is Protege, meaning 'protect'. The bear who you attacked is Fortis, meaning 'strong'."

"Do you speak Latin fluently?" Hope asked. Paulo shook her furry little head, but flicking her long white tail over to the trees. "We will take you to meet everyone else. I must warn you that we are not who we seem."

Removing the knife from Fortis' shoulder, Hope inspected the wound. She was no Healer, but she remembered that she had a little bottle of cream in her pocket which would sooth it for a little while.

"Do you posess healing ablities?" Protege asked curiously as Hope applied the cream. Hope shook her head. "In my Tribe, we have Healers that look after us. I just have some cream that will take Fortis' mind off the pain."

"There are more of you?" Fortis looked alarmed, but Paulo comforted him. "The humans won't hurt you if you are one of them."

"What!?" Hope was utterly confused. "But Fortis is a bear!"

"Oh dear." Paulo sighed. "Allow me."

Hope watched as the monkey sat down on the ground a little way away. Within about half a second, a small pale skinned girl with blue eyes and wavy brown hair sat on the ground. She wore a small blue t-shirt, demin shorts and white trainers.

"Oh, shapeshifters!" Hope realised. "You're all shapeshifters!"

"Well done." Paulo sighed again. "In my human form, I am ten years old. In monkey form, I have no idea how old I am. But I'm pretty young regardless."

"We'll take you to our home now." Protege announced. "Come on."

 

Soon enough, Hope and the three shapeshifters arrived in what looked like a small village. There were several small huts made of wood and straw dotted around the place. Some children were crouched beside fires, while others washed clothes or anything similar. A large fire was situated in the centre.

"Can you see the snow leopard over there?" Paulo whispered to Hope. "That's Larva, meaning 'ghost'. She is what we call our leader here."

"The polar bear next to her is Ignis, her younger sister. Her name means 'fire'." Protege added. "Fortis has a crush on her."

"Do not!" Fortis growled, his fur spiked up in fury. "I'll kill you if I have to!"

They bicker more than anyone I know! Hope realised in amusement. I wonder how much they fight in one day!

A long-legged red fox with a scarred muzzle caught Hope's eye. She poked Paulo gently and pointed him out to her. Paulo rolled her eyes. "That's Sica, meaning 'dagger'. He's my brother."

"Let us all gather by the fire to share news!" Larva cried out, changing back to a human. One by one, those who were still in animal form changed back to humans and gathered by the fire. Sica was a tall pale skinned boy with blonde hair and hazel eyes from what Hope saw. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans and black trainers.

"Paulo, Protege, Fortis." Larva addressed the three shapeshifters. "Who is this you have brought?"

"This is Hope. She's from the other side." Paulo said casually. "She saved Fortis' life."

"I see." Larva looked interested. "Carrying on anyway, we will need a home for Hope. Has anyone died recently in any households?"

"Senior died of sickness." A black girl called Flos offered. Larva shook her head. "Flos, your hut is still full. You had too many people in there and I fear you have your hands full."

"I can take her, sister." Ignis offered. "Equus and Talpa moved out and Talentum died of sickness. Rivum, Silva, Nocte and myself can take her in."

"Brook, Forest and Night." Paulo told Hope quietly.

"Thank you, Ignis." Larva said. "Now, we'll continue."

Chapter 5

After the meeting finished, Hope followed Ignis into her hut, which was near Paulo's. Silva was already asleep in bed, but Rivum and Nocte were playing a board game which looked like Monopoly.

"How's it going?" Ignis asked. Rivum gave a short laugh, her short wavy black hair shaking. "I'm loosing pretty badly."

"Let me see." Hope pulled over a stool and glanced at the game, which defintely was Monopoly. "Well, if you get Mayfair on your next go, that's a full set and you can start putting houses on it, costing Nocte more money."

Rivum shook the two dice in her hand and dropped them onto the board. It added up to four, putting Rivum onto Mayfair. She punched the air in triumph, giving Nocte the loser sign with one hand. "Full set! Oh yes! And it's the most expensive!"

"Calm down, Rivum." Ignis hushed her. "Silva needs her sleep and it's not fair if you're going to wake her up."

While Rivum and Nocte continued playing, Ignis nudged Hope away. "They'll be playing until dawn at this rate. But if you're not tired, we've got plenty of other games to play that won't take too long. Have you ever played Go Fish?"

"Yes." Hope responded. "I played it with my brother several times when we lived in the orphanage." Ignis looked confused, but didn't question Hope as she got out a pack of cards from a cupboard near Silva's bed. Hope had to admit that Ignis was very pretty, with soft pale white skin, ginger hair and friendly green eyes. Paulo had told Hope that Larva was fifteen, while Ignis was thirteen.

"Do you have many friends here?" Hope asked suddenly. Ignis looked a little suprised, but responded quickly. "I have the friendship of pretty much everyone. My best friends though are Paulo, Rivum and Mirus, which means 'wonderful'."

"What about Fortis?" Hope pressed on, remembering his obvious crush on her.

"He's quite nice, I suppose." Ignis admitted. "Very quiet and awkward, but nice. We were good friends when we were younger."

Hope had a strong urge to confront Ignis about her friendship with Fortis, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She just nodded as Ignis placed the pack of cards on the table and started arranging them.

 

Later that night, Hope laid on the sofa with a blanket wrapped round her. Ignis had won the Go Fish game, while Rivum managed to beat Nocte in Monopoly, which Nocte wasn't very happy about. Silva had been up a couple of times throwing up, but she was sound asleep now.

In a few hours I became one of them. Hope realised. Time flies quickly here. I can't believe they actually trusted me and let me into their village.

Hope could hear Rivum getting up from her bed and retrieving a sweet from Ignis' stash on top of the cupboard. Ignis had invited Hope to take whatever sweets she wanted, so Hope guessed this rule applied for all residents in Ignis' hut.

"Are you awake?" Rivum whispered.

"Yes, I am." Hope replied. "What's the time?"

"Two thirty in the morning." Rivum told her. "Ignis has to get up at six thirty, while Nocte gets up at seven to help prepare breakfast. He's a good hunter in animal form, because he's a black panther."

"What about you?" Hope asked. Rivum let out another laugh. "I get up at eight, which is ten minutes before breakfast. Silva gets up with me usually, but she's now in bed most of the time because she's ill."

"That's understandable." Hope agreed. "It's not really fair to drag someone out of bed if they're sick."

"We'd better get some sleep, anyway." Rivum yawned, snuggling under her duvet. "Good night, Hope."

"Night." Hope murmured, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Chapter 6

Hope was woken up by a loud bang coming from not too far away. She quickly rose to her feet and turned around. Silva was lying on the floor, her leg bleeding pretty badly.

"What happened?" Hope asked calmly as she picked up the young girl. Silva blinked at Hope, but then pointed at the floor, where there was a sharp metal thing pointing through the wooden floor. She then pointed to her bleeding leg, before pointing at the metal thing again. It didn't take long for Hope to realise that Silva had landed on a nail. "Where are Ignis, Rivum and Nocte?" She questioned. Silva pointed to the door, and Hope groaned. "Fantastic. Now I don't know anyone who can help you, unless you can tell me."

As Hope carried Silva outside, the clearing was deserted. There was no one there, not even in animal form. This was going to be a difficult task for Hope, who had barely any knowledge of who everyone was.

Soon enough, Hope's luck was turned round when a group of shapeshifters returned, carrying meat and berries. She reconised Protege and Nocte among them, so she darted over to them. "Silva fell on a nail and her leg's bleeding!"

"Right." Nocte was currently in animal form as a black panther, but her quickly changed into a small dark skinned boy with black hair and blue eyes. "Protege, you can help too! Don't look at me like that!" He snapped.

"How old are you in human form?" Hope questioned, staring at the muscular boy. Nocte glared at Protege as he changed into a tall black boy with dark hair and hazel eyes before replying. "Protege and I are fourteen, while Silva is nine. If you're wondering about Rivum, she's thirteen."

"So, are you all unable to age?" Hope continued on.

"Yes. It has been like that for a century or two now. We just haven't been aging, but we lived here with our families. Before time froze, many families of shapeshifters lived and worked here peacefully. They had this simple life for generations, until time froze. Every single person from seventeen onwards disappeared, while the rest of us left below stopped aging." Nocte explained. "No one's sure why, but we've all lived here peacefully, like our families."

"Oh Nocte, I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."

"I don't need your sympathy. Just pass Silva over."

Hope carefully gave Silva to Nocte, who gently hushed the little girl. "It's going to be okay." He told her soothingly.

"Are you two related?" Hope inquired. Nocte shook his head. "Before time froze, our parents were good friends, so Silva's family would visit mine frequently. We were very good friends, especially when we were younger. I just help Ignis and Rivum to look after her, seeing as she's quite lost without her parents."

"Understandable." Hope agreed. "She's still so young. You know what, she reminds me of my little sister." Nocte just gave her a brisk nod and turned away, Protege following close behind.

Oh shoot! I was meant to be home at sunrise! Hope remembered with a gasp. What am I meant to tell Paulo and the others?

"Hey, Hope!"

Hope was slightly startled by a loud voice coming from the other side of the clearing. Turning her head, she saw a smiling black boy with friendly green eyes. Hope couldn't exactly remember his name off the top of her head, but she was sure that he was related to Protege or someone similar.

"Who are you again? Sorry, my memory's not exactly the best." Hope asked reclucantly.

"I'm Virtus. My name means virtue." The young boy replied. "Seeing as you've been in a coma for your time here, I am ten years old and Protege's younger brother. I have another sister, Vita, meaning life. She's nine."

"Anyway, what did you want me for?" Hope said quickly, changing the subject. Virtus scratched the back of his head before replying. "I need help with work."

"Work?" Hope was confused. "You're ten and you're working?"

"Not in that way. In homework." Virtus corrected her. "Larva wants us to have some knowledge when our parents return. I never went to school because my parents could only afford to send Protege to school at the time. I could have gone too, but my parents were poor and needed the money. If I went to school, my family would have starved."

With a brief nod, Hope followed Virtus to his hut, which he shared with Mane, Lepus, Lux, Iocale and Fragosus, meaning Morning, Rabbit, Light, Jewel and Crash. Inside, Lux and Iocale were dancing around gracefully while Mane played a cheerful tune on a strange wooden instrument. Virtus pulled over a chair for Hope, allowing her to sit down and look at a sheet of paper. It was full of various maths sums, with few of them being filled in.

"I don't know what the 'x' means." Virtus admitted with a depressed sigh.

"Well, the 'x' means times. Basically, say if you had 3 x 2, that's three lots of two." Hope explained. "Just add two three times and what do you get?"

Virtus thought for a moment. Hope could see he was trying to grasp at the answer, which she guessed was normal for a child who never had a proper education. Eventually, his face lit up in excitement. "It's six!"

"Well done." Hope praised him. "Larva will be happy with you."

"It's not just Larva, y'know." Virtus said, scribbling down the answer. "Protege wants me to be good at maths too, and english. I can read okay, but I'm a dope at writing."

"You'll learn." Hope assured him. "I'm sure you'll be a genius by the time you've finished. Smarter than your brother, perhaps!"

Virtus gave her a huge grin. "Thanks."

Chapter 7

After an hour of teaching Virtus, it was time for breakfast. The shapeshifters generally ate outside and kept all the food in Larva's hut, which was the biggest. Most shapeshifters ate as humans, but some were in animal form today.

 Hope sat cross legged on the floor, between Paulo and Rivum. Joining them were Fortis, Nocte, Iocale, Protege, Ignis, Sica and a girl called Flumen, meaning river. She was one of the people in Protege's hut.

"How are you settling in, Hope?" Iocale asked, taking a bite out of an apple. Hope nodded her head, her mouth full of meat. Ignis let out a friendly laugh, while Fortis just gazed at her. Protege nudged him sharply as the pretty girl turned round to finish her breakfast. Hope couldn't help but snigger, which in response Protege winked at her.

"Did anyone hear about Silva?" Hope asked, changing the subject. Iocale nodded, her bright blue eyes full of sympathy. "Poor little mite. I really hope that she'll get better soon, now with a bad leg to worry about."

"Nocte said she's a real fighter, surviving everything thrown at her." Protege commented. "But I think he's starting to loose faith. Silva was weakened by the sickness and all these new illnesses and injuries aren't helping her in any way whatsoever."

The group were silent for a little while, until a loud cry echoed from the edge of the clearing. The shapeshifters were instantly alert as a small coyote approached the middle. He let out a loud bark, and a slightly larger husky dog dragged a squirming sack along the ground.

"What is that?" Larva asked, flicking her leopard tail back and fourth.

"Prisoner." The husky replied gruffly. "Virtus found an intruder from the other side."

Hope stared at the little coyote. She could defintely tell that it was Virtus by the facial expressions, but she wasn't sure who the husky was. She took a guess it was one of the people in Virtus' hut.

"That's Fragosus." Iocale whispered. "He's from my hut. Bit of a show off, if you ask me, but he's thirteen like me." Her hazel eyes flickered towards the sack and then towards Hope again. Hope stared at her, realising that Iocale resembled Glory a lot. She had same white skin, but Iocale had darker eyes and her hair was shorter with more blonde than strawberry blonde.

"Take the intruder to my hut." Larva ordered. "Tie it up and get Protege and Fortis to guard it. Visitors will not be permitted unless you have special permission."

As the sack was carried away, Hope had a horrible sick feeling that the 'so-called prisoner' could be one of her Tribemates. Her heart almost jumped out of her mouth, terrified if it was Glory or someone close to her.

 

"I have to go and find out who the prisoner is." Hope decided later that morning. "It could be one of my Tribemates!"

Ignis looked up from her drawing. "Are you mad?!"

"No!" Hope protested angrily. "My Tribe were my family when I had no one! How would you feel if one of the shapeshifters were inside that sack and you were in a unknown place?!"

"Calm down." Ignis told her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "Look, if you want to find out who the prisoner is, go ahead. No one's stopping you. If it's your heart's desire, go on and find out."

Hope calmly left the hut and headed towards Larva's hut. Protege and Fortis were in animal form outside, staring at Hope in suprise as approached them. "I need to find out who the prisoner is. They could be from my Tribe, alone and frightened as I was." She requested.

"Fine." Protege sighed, letting her in. "The prisoner is weak, I must warn you. They may not want you there, especially if you know them."

As Hope closed the door behind her, she heard a loud cough. It sounded like someone was throwing their guts up, much to her horror. "Hello?"

"Hope?" A raspy voice called out. "Is that really you?"

"Yes!" Hope was almost beyond excitement, realising that it was one of her Tribemates. "Who are you?"

"See for yourself." The voice rasped, letting out a cough that vibrated the floor. "Though don't blame me if you end up ill."

Anxiously, Hope took a couple of steps forward before seeing a small body hunched up in the corner. Another cough racked it's body, and Hope realised that it defintely wasn't a girl. Crouching down beside him, Hope carefully moved the grey blanket that had been thrown over the boy. It took her a few moments to reconise the frightened face of Raven, much to her terror. "Raven?"

"Well done, Sherlock." The Captain croaked. Hope placed one hand on his pale-looking face. He was very warm, maybe suggesting he had a fever of some sort. Raven had tears in his eyes. "I'm scared. I don't know where I am." He admitted.

"It will be okay." Hope comforted him. However, she instantly noticed that Raven's companion was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Life?"

"In camp with Dew. Everyone thinks that you're dead, Hope!" Raven wiped a tear away. "Eski thought you were dead! Glory thought you were dead! I   thought you were dead!" He stopped as another cough rattled his body violently. For a moment, both of them were lost for words, which was very unusual for two chatty people such as them. Hope soon said after a while "What happened while I was gone?"

"What do you think?" Raven croaked. "It's been crazy since you left! First off, we eat the fruit that Glory found and people start getting ill. Sasha was almost dead within a few minutes of getting sick, but she's okay. Jade's keeping an eye on her. Then, I go off to look for you and I'm captured by a talking husky!"

"They're shapeshifters." Hope corrected him. "The husky was called Fragosus, which is Latin for 'crash'. All of them have Latin names. Like the guards outside are called Protege and Fortis, meaning 'protect' and 'strong'. Their leader is Larva, meaning 'ghost'."

"Great." Raven groaned. "Like I'm going to remember a load of Latin names."

"If I can, so can you." Hope insisted. "It's not difficult."

Again, silence surrounded the two Falling Stars Captains. Hope stared at Raven anxiously. He was usually bright and full of courage, but now he looked like a lost puppy. The sickness is weaking him. She realised. What will it do to my Tribe? Is this the end of the Falling Stars? Did The Light intend for this to happen?

"Will I die?" Raven blurted out after a while. Hope looked startled, but she almost stopped breathing as she realised how weak her best friend was. He was likely to die, but Hope didn't want to cause him any more grief. Her disappearence had already frightened him, and Hope knew that Raven didn't deserve anything that had happened to him over the course of the past few days. "You won't." She promised him eventually. "Not while I'm still alive."

Raven narrowed his eyebrows and gave another hacking cough, but it turned into a fit. Hope placed one hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Shhh." She hushed him. "It's going to be alright. I'll find someone who can help you."

"No one can help me!" Raven snapped. "You know perfectly well I'm terrified of death and you pretending that I'm not dying isn't going to help me!"

Silence yet again. Once again, Raven was the one who killed the silence. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Hope insisted. "This is all my fault." She then turned her head to look at the door. "But I could stop this all now."

Chapter 8

Hope sat cross-legged at the edge of the boundary, her blue eyes fixed on the tree with the killer fruit. There was a slight breeze in the air, but it didn't affect her in any way. She had bigger things to worry about rather than a little bit of wind.

She cleared her thoughts to everything that had happened recently. First off, the Swooping Eagles invaded and nearly killed several members of the Falling Stars. Then, Sasha got attacked by Nat supposedly and the shapeshifters took Hope in when she was lost. Finally, the shapeshifters took one of Hope's closest friends, and he was weakened by the sickness that was likely to be destorying the Falling Stars.

I could stop all the grief. Hope told herself confidently. If I do what I'm about to do, the Tribe will never know what happened and this would all stop.

Being as careful as she could, Hope placed the blade of her knife against her neck, murmuring a prayer. Tears blurred her vision as she took a few more breaths. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the forest, stopping Hope instantly. She turned round and saw Ignis, Sica, Iocale and Virtus. Sica had been the one who shot the gun.

"Drop the knife." Ignis told Hope calmly. Hope shook her head crossly. "I have to do this! It's the only way to stop everything I've done!"

"You won't erase the past by killing yourself." Sica pointed out sternly. "Drop it now and stop this madness."

"You can't stop me!" Hope protested. " You'll have to kill me first!"

Ignis then nodded at Iocale, who pointed a gun at Hope. She pulled the trigger back and fired.

Everything went blank.

Chapter 9

"She's been gone for an hour now. Is it time?"

"Should be. That shot didn't kill her. I wouldn't have shot her if I was using proper killing bullets. Ignis wouldn't have let me either. She's very useful."

"Iocale, since when was she useful? Fortis and the others made a mistake bringing her here. We've had nothing but trouble since she  arrived."

"You don't need to say things like that, Sica! Paulo would shoot you herself if she heard you say that!"

"I don't give a care in the world what the pipsqueak says. She can blab all she likes, it won't affect me in anyway whatsoever."

"How could you say that about your own sister?"

Hope could hear voices around her. She had heard them talking for a while, mainly about Raven and his sickness, especially how it could affect the other shapeshifters. According to Sica, Raven had begged Virtus and Fragosus to take him to their camp, but this hadn't been proven as true yet. Hope guessed that her friend was trying to find out if she had been inprisoned here.

Iocale had also mentioned about Raven getting worse by each cough, frightening Hope slightly. Her eyes suddenly shot open and she could see a strange shape looming over her.

"Hey! The kid's awake!" Sica exclaimed, pointing his finger at Hope. The young girl watched as Iocale smiled, but frowned in the direction of the strange shape. "Mirari, put that away. We don't need you getting involved."

"Wha-what?" Hope was slightly confused. Iocale called, and a small girl appeared. She had bright green eyes and long hazel coloured hair tied in two plaits that hung limply over her front. She also clutched a small, fluffy monkey with black fur. Iocale stroked the girl's head. "This is Mirari, meaning 'wonder'. She's our youngest at seven years old."

Hope took a glance at the young child. Mirari wore a light purple dress with a white cardigan and pale purple tights. Compared to the other shapeshifters, Mirari looked like a princess from one of those Disney films. Hope wondered if Mirari even knew what Disney was, let alone who the princesses were. Someone in the real world like her would be obessed with Disney.

"She's in Protege's hut, mainly because he's good with little kids like her." Iocale explained, her eyes sparkling. Hope couldn't help but smile in amusement, which Iocale blushed at. "Shut up!"

"She didn't even say anything." Sica sniggered. "But maybe I'll mention that to Protege next time I see him. I'm sure he'll love hearing what you have to say."

"We'll leave that subject now, unless you want your head chopped off." Iocale replied briskly. "Now, Hope, let's get you up and out of here."

With Iocale and Sica helping her, Hope rose to her feet with no problems at all. She smiled as Mirari as she smiled brightly and innocently. She's such an innocent child in a world where danger lurks at every corner. If she's survived 160 years of time-freezing madness, how much longer will she survive?

A harsh wind nearly froze Hope's bones as she stepped outside. Storm clouds gathered overhead, causing the shapeshifters to look up from their work and anxiously at the sky. Virtus closed his eyes for a moment before declaring "There's a storm coming. We must be prepared, I fear that it will bring terror and much difficulty."

"How do you know?" Nocte turned on the young boy. "Who died and made you king?"

Quick as a flash, Virtus turned into a coyote and flung himself at Nocte furiously. Nocte swiftly turned into a black panther and avoided the attack, growling viciously.

Nocte will tear Virtus apart. Hope realised in horror. Knowing that she had to do something, the young Captain darted between the two, trying to split them up. Virtus ignored her completely and sweved round Hope, lashing out at Nocte. The black panther responded with a fury of claws, tearing at Virtus' greyish brown pelt.

"Stop this!" Hope screamed, trying to pull them apart. Iocale quickly pulled her away before one of them lashed out on her.

Suddenly, Nocte let out a shrill cry of pain, stumbling back a few steps. Hope glanced up and saw Raven shakily holding his bow. An arrow had been shot into Nocte's shoulder, only just missing Virtus by a whisker.

"Murderer!" Larva howled, lunging furiously at Raven in her snow leopard form. Instantly, Hope got out her pistol from her pocket and pulled the trigger back, the barrel aimed at the sky. The bang startled everyone, even Larva, who had hatred in her eyes for Hope's weak Tribemate.

"Nocte is not dead." Ignis told her sister. "Let the prisoner go, Larva. He did not intend to harm Nocte."

To everyone's shock, Larva refused. Hope aimed her gun at the leader. "Let him go, or I'll shoot!"

"Do your worst." Larva challenged, a vicious look crossing her face.

Trembling, Hope took aim at the massive snow leopard. Larva lashed her tail, but suddenly charged at Hope, roaring. Ignis instantly rammed into Larva's side, while Fortis also changed into a bear and lashed out on his leader.

"You actually dare to rebel against your own leader?" Larva let out a short mildly amused chuckle. "Well, this is surprising."

"I told you that Nocte isn't dead." Ignis growled. "Just because I'm younger than you doesn't make me stupid!"

Angrily, Larva aimed a blow at Fortis, but Ignis shoved him away, meaning that Larva's claws landed on Ignis. Larva's sister made no noise, but her facial expression told everyone that she was in pain. She quickly changed back into a human before collasping, blood oozing from her side. Fortis also changed into a human and crouched down beside Ignis, fury in his eyes. Ready to avenge her friend, Hope aimed the gun at Larva, but Fortis lifted one hand up. "Enough damage has been done here. Put your weapon away, Hope." He commanded. "You can go and check on your friend. I don't think he's injured."

Hope approached Raven and helped him to her feet. He had a few scratches on him, but otherwise he was unharmed. Hope let out a sigh of relief. "I thought she'd killed you!"

"Well, you said I wouldn't die while you were alive." Raven pointed out, winking at her.

Chapter 10

Hope gently applied the last of her cream onto Ignis' side, who had recently woken up. Her green eyes were glazed with fear and she had refused to speak upon awaking. Fortis, Paulo and Raven were also present, observing everything.

"That's all my cream gone." Hope told Ignis with a sigh. The pretty teenager also let out a brief sigh. "Is it alright if I speak to Fortis for a moment?"

"Go ahead. We'll leave you alone for a moment." Hope said, ushering Fortis over. He was in human form as a thirteen year old white boy with brown hair, blue eyes, a black t-shirt, blue demin jeans and red trainers. He also had a brown jacket on, protecting himself from the cold.

As Hope turned to leave, she noticed Paulo curled up as a monkey, her chest rising and falling slowly as she slept. The Captain scooped up the white monkey in her arms and carried her out into her hut, where a tall dark-skinned girl named Mirus took Paulo from her. "I'll look after her." She promised.

"Thanks, Mirus." Hope said, leaving the hut after a brief moment.

The clouds from earlier had disappeared, leaving a midnight blue sky dotted with tiny stars, shining in all their wonder and beauty. Hope strolled away from the mini village and settled down on a log near the boundary. She closed her eyes for a moment and let the sounds and smells of the evening wash over her. There was a slight breeze in the air, making a differance from the harsh winds earlier.

"You did all you could, Hope." A voice said behind her. Hope turned her head and saw Raven. He was still ill, but not as weak and he didn't cough so much.

"If Ignis dies, Fortis will never forgive me." Hope murmured softly. "He loves her, Raven. You could see the look in his eyes when Ignis took the blow intended for him."

"It's not your fault." Raven reassured her. "Some things are meant to happen."

"This is my fault!" Hope insisted, tears in her eyes. "If I had never come here, Ignis wouldn't have been injured and you wouldn't have been captured!"

Raven sat down on the log and put one arm around her. "Look, just because everything bad happens, it doesn't make it your  fault. Ignis getting injured was actually my own doing because I shot Nocte. All you did was try to defend me."

"If you didn't shoot Nocte, he would have killed Virtus. I couldn't stop them, so-" Hope was then interupted by Raven cutting her off. "Exactly. You couldn't stop them. It wasn't your fault. You've got to look past your mistakes and stop blaming yourself for everything, because trust me, nothing has and never will be your fault."

"Nobody's perfect." Hope sighed softly, wiping tears away.

"You're perfect in my eyes." Raven assured her. Hope stared at him a moment, taken back by what he said. She gave him a disbelieving look. "Lying isn't going to make me feel better." She sniffed.

"Since when did I start lying?"

There was a slight hesistation as Hope thought of an answer. She eventually sighed and gave in. "Never. How comes you're so flipping perfect and everyone else is a untrustworthy liar?"

"Nobody's perfect, I am nobody, therefore I am perfect." Raven told her with a smile. Hope shook her head. "You're somebody. I'm nobody."

"Then you are perfect." The Captain concluded, gently kissing her on the forehead. "Don't you worry about anything. It will be normal again soon, I promise."

 

Hope laid on the sofa in Ignis' hut, her head spinning. She had been thinking about what Raven had said, how kind and relaxed he'd been to her. Hope knew well that Raven had a soft spot for her, and truthfully she had feelings for him too, but life was now so complicated that there was no time to concentrate on that.

Life can be so cruel. Hope told herself privately. It takes away so much; family, friends, love... what does it actually leave alone?

A knock on the door interupted her thoughts. "Can I come in? It's Fortis."

"Sure, go ahead." Hope called. The young boy casually strolled in, his eyes brighter than usual. Hope smiled as he entered. "Well?"

"Ignis is going to be okay!" Fortis told her. Hope almost passed out in relief. "Is she? Did she say much to you, if it's not prying to ask?"

"Well, I told her what I thought of her. I told her she didn't have to save me, but Ignis told me that she couldn't watch me at Larva's mercy. She even said that she liked me!" Fortis was over the moon as he continued. The Falling Stars Captain smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that, Fortis. Is she asleep now? Rest will help her get better." She pressed on. Fortis nodded, just as Nocte came in. He was in human form with a lump on his shoulder, suggesting that someone had bandaged up his shoulder after the fight. Hope greeted him with a brisk nod, while Fortis ignored him and left.

"How's the shoulder?" Hope inquired. Nocte just nodded briskly. "Fine. Just great. Where's Silva?"

"Asleep." Hope replied, pointing towards the young girl's bed. "I think Rivum's gone for a walk, in case you were looking for her too. I'm the only one awake here."

"How nice." Nocte grumbled, strolling away towards his bed. "I think it would be nicer if you actually got some sleep."

Too tired to argue, Hope wrapped the blanket round her and closed her eyes, allowing sleep to wash over her.

Chapter 11

Hope was woken up by a loud scream that echoed across the forest. Horrified, she realised that the scream belonged to Iocale, so Hope swiftly leapt out of bed and rushed outside. Out there, four shapeshifters had just arrived back in the village, panting. They were all in animal form; Iocale as a cheetah, Virtus as a coyote, Fortis as a grizzly bear and Fragosus as a husky. Hope noticed instantly that Virtus was limping, suggesting he'd been shot.

"H-Humans!" Iocale cried anxiously. "They're chasing us, and they set these horrid demons on us! They even shot Virtus!"

Protege walked up to his brother in animal form and nudged him away, wanting to get his leg checked over. Rivum came out of her hut as a pretty lioness, while Silva stood beside her as a fox.

"They're coming!" Fortis yelled at the top of his voice. Hope retrieved her gun from her pocket and aimed it in the direction of where the intruders were coming from. The other shapeshifters prepared themselves for the attack, changing into animal form. Raven also stood beside Hope, his bow ready to shoot anyone.

Soon enough, a large attack party swept through the village, animals running or flying at their side. Raven took aim and fired instantly, hitting a golden eagle in flight. The mighty bird let out a cry of pain as the arrow pierced her foot, but she pulled it out with no problems and continued on. A large dog ran at Hope, it's golden fur bristled with fury as it got closer. Hope kicked the dog in the face as soon as it got too close, resulting in the dog retreating with a loud whimper.

She observed the other shapeshifters fight while she fled towards the 'hospitial' hut. Fragosus was wrestling with a vicious looking beagle, who despite her size was actually putting up quite a reasonable fight. Nocte and Paulo fought side by side against a vicious looking tiger, while Larva was fighting a dark skinned girl in sword combat.

"Take Mirari and get her out of here!" Iocale cried, thrusting the little girl towards Hope. The Captain scooped the young shapeshifter up in her arms and ran across the battlefield, dodging arrows flying overhead.

Eventually, Hope and Mirari got to the 'hospitial'. In here, Fortis was crouched down beside Ignis, both in human form. Protege and Virtus were in here too, along with a short black girl with sky-blue eyes. Hope guessed that she was Vita, the youngest of Protege's family.

"Is that all the young ones out of the way?" Protege asked.

"Where's Silva?" Ignis murmured weakly. "Nocte told me she was in the hut still. All this noise is frightening her."

"I'll get her." Hope offered. "Can you cover for me, Protege?"

Again, Hope rushed into the battle field, along with Protege, who was in animal form as the usual stag deer. A white skinned girl of about thirteen or fourteen aimed a gun at them, but Raven sorted her out, firing his bow and arrow again.

"Fantastic." Hope groaned. "There are intruders outside my hut. How the heck are we supposed to get in now?"

"Charge down the wall?" Protege suggested sarcastically. "How else are we meant to get in, stupid? We obviously go through the intruders to rescue Silva, duh!"

"How the Hell are you going to manage that, Einstein?" Hope challenged. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a slaughter house!"

Instead of replying, Protege charged at the intruders, whom were too shaken to fight back. Hope let out a short laugh of sarcasm, but was able to push her way through the crowd and get to the door. However, the door wouldn't budge. "Oh snap!" She cried, pushing her weight against the wooden door. "It won't budge!"

"Call to her." Protege suggested. "This could be the only chance we'll get to rescue Silva."

"Silva!" Hope yelled, banging on door. "Can you hear me?"

A smashing noise could be heard from inside the hut, followed by a muffled scream. Hope was concerned now, so she attempted to try and open the door again. "Do you reckon Ignis will care if you charge the door down?" She asked Protege.

"We can build new doors." The stag sighed, dipping his head. "Very well. You may want to get out of the way. Oh, and get your gun out. I have a feeling the intruders are trying to kidnap the younger ones."

Hope stood behind Protege and watched as he pawed the ground briefly. With mighty force, the young stag deer charged at the door, sucessfully opened it. He changed back into human form and took out a sword, while Hope entered the hut with her gun aimed at a thirteen year old boy. "Stay where you are." She threatened. "I'll shoot if you disobey my orders."

"You should know about disobeying more than anyone, Hope." The teenager replied uncertainly, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Wait a minute, is that really you, Hope?"

"Who are you?" Hope demanded, placing the barrel of her gun at the young boy's forehead. "How do you know me?"

"I'm Harry, you idiot!" The boy snapped. "Where the Hell have you been?"

Chapter 12

"Harry?" Hope echoed, putting her gun away. "B-But that's impossible! How did you know where I was?"

"I didn't." Harry pointed out with a irritated sigh. "We found shapeshifters on our territory, but we didn't know you and Raven were on their side."

"Who else is here?" Hope demanded anxiously. "Glory isn't here, is she?"

"Glory's sick. I'm sure Raven's told you all about it, seeing as he went missing while being ill. We'd all thought he died." The younger Captain grumbled. "Anyway, Galaxy, Russel, Griffin, Eski, Lily and their companions joined myself and Coconut. Dew and Life are also here, seeing as they have no human to look after."

"Lily?" Hope was slightly confused. "Who's she?"

"Oh yeah." Harry remembered. "You haven't met Lily. She's the tall pale white girl with short wavy blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Her companion is a black mustang called Stalk. The Light sent her down yesterday."

Hope watched as Protege searched the hut, fury in his eyes. "Where is she?" He yelled angrily at Harry.

"What, the little termite?" Harry let out a mildly amused chuckle. Protege ran forward and placed the tip of the sword where Harry's heart was, which changed his attitude instantly. "She's in that bag! Just leave me alone!" He wailed.

"Sorry, Harry." Hope murmured, turning away from him and picking up the sack. "I belong here now." Tearing open the sack with her knife, Hope scooped Silva up in her arms. Protege turned back into a stag deer, allowing Silva and Hope to ride on him back to the hospital hut.

Leaving the young Captain, the trio set off into the battlefield, avoiding arrows and swords. Protege had a little bit of trouble carrying the two girls, but he didn't give up as he bravely made his way across.

Suddenly, a gunshot pierced the air, aiming for Protege. Not wanting him to die, Hope leapt off his back, just in time for the bullet to hit her hip. She let out a loud cry of pain as she fell to her knees, clutching her hip. Harry stood nearby, shakily holding his gun. He had been the one trying to kill Protege.

"Hope!" Raven cried, rushing over to her. He crouched down beside his friend and placed one hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Harry..." Hope murmured, glaring at the culprit. Raven instantly aimed his bow and arrow at his former Tribemate. "If you've killed her, I will kill you!" He declared. "Get out of my sight, betrayer!"

Hope had a sudden dizziness come over her and she collasped on the floor, still clutching her side. Raven spun round and widened his eyes in horror. He carefully placed his hand and moved her own away, wanting to look at the damage. Hope flinched as she felt Raven's touch on her wound. "Ow." She mumbled.

"Sorry." Raven sighed, moving his hand away. "That's a pretty nasty wound you got there. I haven't got anything to stop the pain."

A shadow loomed over the two Tribemates. "I'll carry her back if you want, Raven."

"Thank you Protege." Raven said, lifting Hope up onto the stag's back. He dipped his head respectfully. "You're one of us now. Expect this kindness from most of our family."

 

Hope woke up with a startled expression on her face. Raven sat on a stool close by, alert and watching. Ignis was reading a book to Mirari, who was clutching her little monkey. Protege was asleep beside Fortis, both in animal form and both wounded in the battle.

No one escaped the battle without a injury. Hope realised. This really was a struggle.

Silva and Vita were asleep too, blankets wrapped round them. Virtus was talking to Lux, who was only nine and very afraid of what was happening. Hope knew that he'd looked to Iocale for help and everything else.

A cheetah soon strolled in, eyes wide in fright. Protege lifted up his head and got up, approaching the cheetah. "Is everything alright, Iocale?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine Protege." Iocale replied sarcastically. "We are all weakened by the attack and two brave soilders are dead."

"Who?" Protege asked curiously.

"Mirus and Flumen." Iocale sighed, turning back into human form and wiping a few tears. Protege also turned back into human form and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry." He murmured. Virtus exchanged a suspicious glance with Ignis, making Hope snigger, despite the fact she was upset about hearing the deaths. She'd got on well with Flumen and Mirus had always been very kind.

Hope watched as Raven sat up straight, still as a statue. He had been quiet for some time now, worrying her. She started to whistle a tune to a song her mother had sung to her;

'Dear Child, listen well,

A little star you are,

And a little star you always will be.

While the angels call and the birds sing,

I will be here with you,

Until the end of time.

Dear Child, contine listening,

A little fighter you are,

And a little fighter you always will be.

While the winds blow and the rain falls,

I will be here with you,

Until the end of time.

Dear Child, please keep listening,

A little joy you are,

And a little joy you always will be.

While the world sleeps and your soliders rest,

I will be here with you,

Until the end of time.

Dear Child, listen to my final words,

A little miracle you are,

And a little miracle you always will be.

When there is no light and hope seems lost,

I will be here with you,

Until the end of time...'

"That sounds like a nice song." Protage commented. "Are you going to sing it for us?"

With confidance, Hope took a deep breath and started to sing.

There was total silence in the hut, even when Hope finished. Raven's eyes sparkled. "That's a beautiful song, Hope. Who taught you it?"

"My mother did." Hope replied with a sniff. Raven got up from his seat and crouched down beside the bed Hope was on. She smiled at her friend, and in response he smiled back. His expression soon went serious. "Listen to me now, Hope. I know you're half-dead and tired, but there is something you should know."

"Go on." Hope pressed onward. "Whisper if you need to."

Raven did not speak for a while, seeming choked up and upset. Eventually, his voice became a anxious whisper as he said "No matter what you may do, please don't leave me. There will be nothing worth fighting for anymore if you die."

"No," Hope replied softly. "The shapeshifters need every last loyal solider to fight for them. You are part of that family, as am I. If I happen to die, I want you to promise me that you will fight in their honour."

"Of course I will." Raven promised. "But I just want you to know that I...I love you."

"Silly idiot." Hope murmured with a smile. "I knew that. You don't need to tell me what I already know." After a little hesistation, Hope added "I love you too, Raven."

As Raven left her, Hope decided to catch up on her sleep and hope for the best.

 

 

Chapter 13

"Help us! Help us!"

Hope lifted her head with a yawn upon hearing desperate cries. Mirari, Silva, Lux and Vita were still in the hospital hut, along with Virtus, Fortis and Ignis.

"What's happening now?" Ignis complained, covering her ears. "I'm sick of all of this!"

"Doesn't sound good, whatever it is." Hope remarked.

Rivum and Nocte rushed into the den, startling the others. Fortis changed back into human form and stared at both of them. "What's going on? Why is everyone so frantic?"

"There's this strange army invading our territory." Nocte panted, his black fur bristled angrily. "The leader just killed Lepus."

Hope leapt to her feet instantly. She had never met Lepus, but he was part of the family that she and Raven were now members of. Any deaths within the family would be avenged.

As she started walking, the pain from her hip was gone. "Who helped me with my hip pain?" Hope enquired, looking round.

"What?" Ignis was confused. "I've been awake most of the night. No one has come over to you and attempted to heal you. Let me see." Hope nodded and pulled her shorts down slightly, revealing nothing but a pale scar. Ignis rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "I don't know anyone who has healing powers, but they did a good job. We'll find out soon enough."

Stepping outside, Hope spotted the strange army fighting against the shapeshifters. She facepalmed with a sigh. "They're ghosts. They're invinsible and can't be killed!"

"Fantastic." Nocte replied sarcastically. "This is going to be easy."

Wait, what would a load of ghosts want? Hope thought to herself. They're generally lurking around in the shadows and usually come to collect someone when the die. They don't kill people!

"Drop your weapons!" Hope cried, raising her voice above the terrible din. Everyone froze and stared at her suspiciously. Sica snarled at her. "Traitor!"

Some of the ghosts were murmuring away, pointing at Hope. A tall boy then stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the young Captain. Raven glared at the stranger. "What do you want with her?" He demanded.

"Ah, Raven." The ghost smiled at the Falling Stars Captain. He had a soft voice, setting off memories in Hope's mind. "So good to see you again. It's been a while, old friend."

"How do you know who I am?" Raven questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "What do you want with Hope?"

"So I did find the right person." The strange ghost replied. He turned to Hope. "Nice to see you again, Hope."

"Umm, nice to see you, whoever you are?" Hope said awkwardly. The ghost laughed. "Don't you remember me?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "I'm actually disappointed to can't even reconise someone who was very close to you and looked after you when you lost faith in yourself."

"How do you know me?" Hope inquired, still confused.

"I better sing then, haven't I?" The ghost sighed. "Here we go;

 'Dear Child, listen well,

A little star you are,

And a little star you always will be.

While the angels call and the birds sing,

I will be here with you,

Until the end of time."

Hope stared at him in disbelief. "How do you know that song?" She stiffened.

"Oh, my mother taught me." The ghost replied coolly. "I believe she taught it to you too, Hope. You taught little Glory when Layla died in the housefire."

"Nat?" Hope asked disbelievingly. "Is that really you?"

Chapter 14

Hope stared at the ghosts, her eyes wide with surprise. No one had figured out why they were here yet, but that didn't matter. The only thing she was worried about was why her brother was a ghost and threatening to attack the shapeshifters.

"Get back, Hope!" Iocale cried.

"It's okay, Iocale, I promise." Hope assured her, stepping forward. "I know what I'm doing."

As Hope stood face-to-face with her dead brother, Raven appeared at her side, his green eyes staring at her. "I'm not going to let you do this alone." He murmured softly. Hope nodded in approval and took his hand in her's, squeezing it tightly. I'm not going to let a group of ghosts scare me. I have all these soilders behind me, along with my very loyal best friend. I can't let them down.

"Well, isn't this sweet." Nat remarked. "Two Captains of the same Tribe standing up for shapeshifters?"

"Falling Stars turned their backs on us. We are free to do what we wish." Hope argues. "They nearly killed me yesterday and I don't fancy returning to a group of murderers."

"They didn't try to rescue us either." Raven added. Nat narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "That's a bit rich coming from you two. Neither of you tried to return, and also you've appeared to forgotten one of The Laws."

Hope gulped. When time froze, The Light set down some laws to keep everyone in order and out of trouble. There were rumors that if everyone kept The Laws for long enough, The Light would unfreeze time. No one had broken any Laws so far, but herself and Raven could be the first ones.

"The Laws state that you must be loyal to your Tribe, whether you were sent from The Light or actually a real human." Nat went on. "So you failed that one. Even more surprisingly, you're both human. The Laws also state that two Captains cannot be in a relationship because it will distract their duties. From what I recall, you're both Captains and you clearly have a liking for the other. So you've broken two Laws."

"We're outcasts. The Laws have no meaning to me." Raven retorted.

Hope stared at Raven in horror, her blue eyes shocked. "How could you say something like that? If it wasn't for the Tribes, many of us would be dead! The Light intended for these Laws and even sent down people to create our Tribes! We'd be nothing without them!"

"I'm sorry, Hope." Raven murmured. "The Laws have never really meant much to me. I didn't want to tell you in case you looked down on me because of it. I'd always looked up to you and respected you, I just wanted someone to actually like me for who I am, not for what I believe in."

"Oh Raven." Hope sighed, giving him a hug. "Why didn't you just say? I don't judge people by beliefs, you should know that. I'm always going to care about you, belief or no belief, you're my best friend and I want you by my side."

"I'm still here, y'know." Nat butted in. "But that's enough. My soldiers came here with a duty, and we're going to do that duty. Attack!"

The ghosts and shapeshifters raced into battle, while Hope and Raven were pushed aside by Ignis. "Go! Please, just go!"

Taking the young girl's orders, Hope and Raven fled deeper into the forest, though ghosts followed them. Raven drew his bow and fired several arrows, but Hope grabbed him. "We've got no time, come on!"

The ghosts then started firing guns and arrows, some deadly close to hitting the two Captains. Yet Raven tripped up on a tree root and one arrow hit his ankle, making him howl out in pain.

"Raven!" Hope cried, helping him up. "Please, keep going! There's somewhere we can rest in a moment!"

Eventually, the two Captains reached a small cave. Hope laid Raven down on a smooth rock and realised that he was actually quite badly injured. A bullet had hit his shoulder, along with the arrow in his ankle. He looked up at her with a pained expression. "Am I going to die?"

"No." Hope insisted. "You're going to be fine, I promise. Just get some sleep, the ghosts probably think we're dead."

"I love you, Hope." Raven mumbled before drifting off to sleep, blood still trickling out of his shirt and his shoe. Hope took off her jacket and used it as a blanket for her friend while he slept. They'd made it out, but at a great cost. Hope didn't know what she'd do if she did loose Raven.

I don't know if you can hear me up there, but if you can see us, please help. I don't know how to save Raven and I can't bear to watch him die.

Resting her head against Raven's chest, Hope shut her eyes and hoped for the best.

Epilogue

Because I'm too lazy to write a final chapter, I'm going to just spoil it all out. If I miss anything, I'm sorry.

 

The shapeshifters managed to drive out the ghosts back to the shadows. Larva was killed and Ignis is now their leader. Her and Fortis are dating, as are Protege and Iocale. Life is starting to get better for them, though they have never forgotten the two Captains who changed their lives in ways they couldn't possibly imagine.

The Falling Stars have been cleared of the sickness. As Hope and Raven declared themselves outcasts, Dew and Life joined The Light, as their services were not required any more. Eski is still leader and no new Captains have been elected, leaving Winter and Harry with a lot of work. No more people have been sent down from The Light and none have joined them either. Glory came close, but luckily she was saved. She now only dreams of her sister.

Nat and the ghosts, as you know, returned to the shadows. The ghosts were the ones who died before time froze. They still roam the forest, but they currently have no ambition to take back their homes. The reader may find it interesting to know that some members of the Tribe used to live in the forest before the Tribes were formed.

Now, about Hope and Raven. Raven did pull through with a stroke of luck, but his shoulder has long-term injury from the bullet wound. He can still shoot arrows, but he's not as accurate as he was. Hope made sure that he would make it, and by some miracle he did. She now has nightmares about the confrontion with Nat, but not as frequent as the ones about Layla in the housefire.

For now, we leave the world of Hope, the Tribes and the shapeshifters. Yet who knows, something else might stir that could become a story like this...

 

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Texte: Idea and text belongs to me. Please ask permission from the author before copying or editing.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.03.2013

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