Orphans ((remade))

(Zayrx)

I headed over to where meera was [i]what seems to be the pproblem?/i] I asked.


(Aldin)

The injured hatchling was in more stable condition now. We decided to keep him asleep for now so he wouldn't be in pain. We carefully moved him closer to where the healers kept thear supplies. henry, the lead healer, took over his care. We also took Amy to her bed. But her condition was not serious.

((Meera))
I quickly explained the hatchling to him and Jasmines fighters minor challenge. He sighed and shook his head. something about war just seemed to activate the rebel in people.

However the was nothing that could really be done about it so we let it sit for several days while the other packs joined us. There was a little bit of fighting, but for the most part everyone was so worried about the bigger threat that they didn't bother much. Until the day I was keeping an eye on Amy.
A seron walked up and glared at me. I stood up and looked at him politely.
"Can I help you? If you are looking for Adlin or Zayrx they are not here right now."
He spat at my feet. "No, I was looking for you. I saw you the other night with Zayrx. So that must make you his ex human fiance. What kind of magic have you been working to get that kind of position? You even managed to get you ex human friend in on it." he gestured to Amy's motionless form. I growled slightly. "I worked no magic. I did not ask for, neither did I want any position. In fact, I declined if offer the first time." I had. I told him that I wasn't anybody and it would not do any good to tread on everyone's toes by presenting them with an ex human leader. He told me not to be ridiculous and convinced me. At this point I couldn't imagine not being with him.
The seron laughed. "A likely story. I think that something should be done about you, before your hunger for power gets the rest of us in danger."
I tensed as I saw him prepare to jump, then I saw Zayrx and Aldin over his shoulder.

(zayrx)

"you touch her and I will kill you righit here" I said. He turned to look at me and seemed to notice that Aldin was there too. "of course she gets your protection" the seron said. I stepped a little closer to him. My voice took on a dangerous edge that only a few heard. "yes, she Does. I am going to marry her after all. And you had best remember that. Also. You really do not want to kill one of Aldin elite. The gold serons are already pretty ticked off as it is"


(Aldin)

I could feel the tension in the air. It was rare that all of the packs were together. And not all of the serons really liked each other or believed that humans should be allowed to live among us. but most serons are not bold enough to openly challenge someone from another pack. So the way this particular one was acting told me he had little or no fear when it came to pushing the boundires. He said something else to zayrx and then turned to me. "oh yeah and both former humans are in your pack" he said with disgust. I met his gaze without flinchIng. "and one of those is my wife" I said. "and the other has been my friend for may years. your are treading on dangerous ground righit now. Oh sure there are some in my pack who don't like them. But the vast majority would hunt you down and kill you if they found out it was you who attacked them. And you know what? I wouldn't stop them"

(Carter)

ItHe was a nice morning. I was in the middlewouldn't g my daily workout. We exercised hard for at l east forty minutes each day. We also practiced fighting so that we didn't forget what we learned. We just made sure halie would be able to heal us. Later today we were going to try another way to sabotage our enemies.

((Serena))

I noticed my brother, Aldin and Meera talking to a seron I didn't know and approached. "What seems to be the problem?" I asked. Something was obviously wrong here. Meera told me what was happening privately and I smirked. "You really think she magiced her was to where she is?" I demanded. "She had my attention as an elite for about a year before she turned, Zayrx took notice of her because I told him about the human that had joined us that was showing a lot of promise. We both kept an eye on her after her change and when she had adjusted I was the one to invite her to be elite. It was only a matter of time before she joined the council, with the council's consent. You have nothing on her and I would kill you myself if you hurt her. as for Amy, she is my leader and my friend, and as such also has my protection. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave my leaders cave now, you are not welcome here. And I will be talking to your leader about this."

((Meera))

I was startled. Serena had been watching me that long? I had never given up on keeping my fighting my fighting skills honed, even when the serons told me I didn't need to worry, they would protect me. I wanted to be able to protect myself and give to the pack. I knew some had appreciated the effort, but hadn't known Serena and Zayrx had noticed and taken special interest. I wasn't sure how to process this information.

(Aldin)

he seemed to realize the odds were not I need his favor and eventually left. I shook my head. "the sooner we have our own place again the better" I said. I was glad for Serena she and I were childhood friends and she had been a strong support for me through the Years. she even knew I was falling in love with amy before I Realized it.


(Zayrx)

This incident told me that we mighit need to have our wedding sooner. It needed to be undisputed that meera held the same rank I did. But, she Woduld have to agree to it.


(Halie)

I was a little further ahead in training than kali and carter. But they were not much further behind me. I was giving them some tips on what kind of exercises would help them do better in a fight. They were both very fit. But this would help them out just a little bit more. "Don't Focus so much on getting more muscle strength" I said. "focus more on being quicker. still do some things that make you stronger. But remember that if you are fast enough it doesn't matter how big your opponent is if you hit them in the right place" other than that small tip hey were doing amazingly well. Besides there were some things they were actually better at than I was.

((Amy))
I finally came to as the seron was trying to start a fight with the others. I decided to lay still until he had left, not wanting to startle him into action. When he was gone I let out a breath of relief. I imagine I had slept for a while and did not want to wake up and jump into a fight. Rolling over I stretched and looked around for Aldin. How long have I been asleep?

((Kali))
I grinned as I flopped down on the ground. It had been a glorious tie. "We might have to start fighting new opponents." I said to Carter.

((Aldin))

it's been a few days I told her. The hatchling is in stable condition now because of everything that was going on with fighters needing treatment. we had moved the hatchling back to the leaders cave. he did not need very intense care right now. I checked on him every once in a while. I had taken the sleeping spell off of him. it was only a matter of time before he woke up. How are you feeling? I asked Amy. I knew that if one did not experience using too much magic very often waking up could feel like being hit by a train and then getting sat on by a whale. it usually involved a very bad headache and a persistent ringing in the ears. None of these put your life in danger. But it was really annoying. But there were a few lucky ones who avoided such symptoms.


((carter))

"yes" I said in agreement. "too bad there are not many opponents who are challenging for us." we rested for a bit and then started getting ready for our next Sabotage Attempt against the black serons and feraks. This one was a bit more high risk. from careful observation we figured out that even reshima had been forced into hiding due to the threat from the feraks. His territory was crawling with the fighters that were normally out haraising the packs. this made it harder for us to do anything without getting caught. "it's good to see reshima go into hiding" I said. "but now his fighters are all over the place."



((Zayrx))

Jasmine came to take over Meeras post.giving me a chance to talk with her. How are you doing? I asked her. I knew that she was not weak. But almost being attacked like that could shake anyone up.


(Erica)

I had been doing some work for my sister. I knew that her job could Be very stressful. she was in charge of all of the fighters in the pack. With only Aldin and amy out ranking her I didn't blame her For being stressed out one bit. I ran in to her as she came out of the leaders cave. The look on her face told me something was wrong. what's going on? I asked her privately.


((Jared))

I woke up in a cave. I saw the two serons I had seen when I first arrived. they seemed to be talking. There was another seron there too she was most likely a guard. she looked at me and noticed I was awake. "the hatchling is awake" she said to the others.

((Amy))
I groaned as I tried to sit up. Like someone replaced my joints with rusty hinges and stuffed my head with cotton after putting my brain on one of those spinning carousel things they have at playgrounds in Panem. I said as I quickly lay back down. It felt like my brain was spinning, but my skull was staying still. It was very disorienting. How long does this last? I asked, making a mental note to practice with my magic more before I tried to pull off a stupid stunt like that again. I felt a flash of amusement from Aldin, but before he could answer Jasmine spoke up. "The hatchling is awake." I sat up fully this time, discomfort temporarily forgotten. The poor boy looked pretty disoriented. My throat was dry and raspy so I spoke mentally rather than vocally while adding another note to myself to get a drink of water. Hello there. How are you feeling?

((Kali))
"We are going to have to figure out how to camouflage ourselves." I said thoughtfully. "You know, like the humans do when they are hunting so they are harder to see? We need something like that."

((Meera))
For a moment I considered playing it tough. Saying I was fine and not to worry about me. However, even if he weren't connected to me mentally to see I was lying, he had always been good at reading me. I had thought myself a good actor, a master at hidden emotion before I met him. I tried to bluff my way past him only a couple of times and he caught me every time. I sighed, then decided that I did not care about professionalism right now. I was off the clock anyways. I leaned into him for a hug, wrapping my arms around him and just breathing in his scent as I pressed my face to his chest. I will be alright. but that was rather... nerve racking. He was just so angry. We were both quiet for a moment, then I asked, Serena said you two were keeping an eye on me not long after I got here. Why? What did you see in me? Not that I thought magic was involved. But it seemed kind of weird to me that as a mere human I had caught the eye of the leader of the serons and his sister. It was something I had always wondered. What could I have possibly done to get his attention alone, much less gain his love? It seemed unreal almost.

((Serena))
I started laughing. I couldn't help it. I had been in a battle, moved my pack, removed a leader from his position, and now had to make sure that my brothers future wife and the love of his life (Though he did not often show that much sentiment. Professional as he was.) was not killed by an overzealous pain in the neck; and I had maybe 4 hours of sleep during all of this to top it off. I was a stressed out mess.
Would you believe that someone just tried to attack Meera and tried to claim that she cast some kind of lovespell or something on Zayrx to get to the position she has now? Oh, and she assisted in Amy becoming Aldins wife by using magic on him too. Because humans totally have enough magic to pull something like that off. And ex humans before they are married to leaders do too. Besides, apparently you and I don't know our brother well enough to know if he is bewitched. I hadn't meant to turn into a sarcasm machine. But that all that stress had built up to the point that I couldn't help it. That seron had really gotten under my skin.

((jared))

where am i? I asked. I was very Confused.


((Halie ))

"I may be able to make something work" I said. "I do not know as much magic as my dad. But I think I know enough to make a good disguise."


(zayrx )

it is not very often that a human intentionally seeks us out I said. that alone peeked the interest of many serons of high rank. And on top of that, you have done everything you could to help us out. It would be hard for you to avoid our attention at that point.


(Erica)

that bad huh? I said. sounds like you need a break sis.

((Amy))
I tried to stand but I was not yet strong enough for that. You are in the gold seron camp, and safe. I told him as I sat back down heavily. I couldn't help my slight grunt of frustration as my muscles failed me and I added to Aldin, As soon as I am functional I need to work on building up my magic.


((Kali))
I suspected that Halie was stronger than she was giving herself credit for. I had seen her fathers powers, and I had seen hers when she lost control. But I didn't say anything. She needed to find that out on her own. "Sounds good."

((Meera))
I couldn't help a small smile at that. He had a point. I pulled back slightly so I could meet his eyes. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul. I wondered what he saw in mine. I saw an amazing person who would do anything to help those under him in his. Though you didn't need to look into his eyes to see that in him. I also saw someone I had tried to resist, the person who had gained my trust and my heart and could do with them as he wished. And when did I stop being an interesting human who happened to get the attention of the most powerful seron there is, and become a human that you are willing to face disapproval from the packs to marry? I asked, letting a slight teasing note enter my voice. I was genuinely curious what he would say, but I also found it helped me to relax when I talked to, and teased him. Because when I did that no one else mattered. It was just him and I in a bubble of our own. Also, he often played the part of the quiet powerful leader, and when he was in that mode he often acted more professional than personal. Understandable, but when we were alone I like to try to shake him out of it sometimes. He was too serious and needed to relax once in a while. I guess it came with being higher than everyone else for as long as he had been. That said, the irony that I was trying to get him to relax after I had been nearly attacked was not lost on me.

((Serena))
I sat down an rubbed my face tiredly. We all do. Aldin is even worse off than I am. I pointed out. The best I can do is try to get an hour or two of sleep then get back to work. He needs me. Sometimes I was as bd as our brother. I took my duties very seriously and would got the next three weeks without sleep if I thought it would help my leader. He was my primary concern now that the hatchlings her gone.

((Aldin))

I can help you with that. I said. oh and, if I knock you out again you will wake up in about five minutes feeling perfectly fine. I had done the same thing with halie when I was training her in magic use. The only way to increase your limit was to push yourself until you passed out. But that did not make it any easier to wake up. So I would knock her out again and she would wake up feeling fine. I then turned my attention to the hatchling where does it still hurt? I asked him.


(Halie)

I thought for a moment. This spell needed the subject to fully conscious but not moving on their own at all. "alight kali, I need you to pretend you are unconzscious. If I need you moved I will move you. Your only job is the do such good acting that I think I accidently hit your pressure point" when kali was in full aciting mode I went to work. She did a very convincing Job I would have been totally convinced if I had not told her to do it. I laid her on her back with her arms about half a foot away from her body and palms facing up. I glowed as I worked the disguise into the front part of the body. It was a temporary change but it would work long enough for us to do what we needed to do. She still looked natural, but anyone with bad intentions would not be able to see her clearly. They would look in her direction and not quite see her. I rolled her onto her stomach. "now don't fall asleep on me" I said. "I need you to be fully concsous for this." I did the back part of her and then sat back. "alright you're done." I said. As she got back up I told her what I did. "when you look at yourself you will seem to look no different. But when someone with harmful intentions tries to look at you they will not be able to quite make you out. This will last for about six hours" next was carter. "alright, pay attention to how I position him. I can use magic on myself but someone else has to move me" I did carter in the same manner that I did Kali. Then it was my turn.

(zayrx )
I thought about that for a moment. Then gave my answer. there is a sweet spirit in you that I have not found in anyone elseI said. but that is not the only reason. Nobody else has been able to get me to relax more often. there were probably other reasons. But those were the ones that I could think of. As we sat there I heard a slight movement of someone running swiftly toward us. I could sense the hostile intentions and I instinctively turned to face the threat. It was the same seron who had tried to attack meera earlier as well as two others. They stopped for a second when they realized I had detected them. Then they realized they out numbered us and began to advance.  I held my ground there was no way I was going to step aside and allow them to hurt meera. I showed my teeth and growled at them. be smart zayrx you know you can't afford to be injured one said. step aside and we will free you from being brainwashed by this ex human another said. I did not give them any ground. planning to kill my future wife does not sit well with me I replied to them. if you take one more step I will kill all three of you right here. they seemed to consider my warning for a second but then kept coming. When they got closer two of them attacked me and the third charged meera. I sidestepped both of my attackers and struck one with my tail. He was stunned for now so was able to turn my attention to the other. He had a little more skill than the other. But not much more. He charged straight at me. I dodged him easily and slashed open his throat. I knew the wound was fatal so I turned my attention else wear. Then my heart almost stopped when I realized it was a trick. As I was distracted more had come out and attacked meera. She was now buried underneath a pile of serons who wanted to kill her. I rushed in and started pulling them off of her. Eventually they began to turn on me. I killed two of them in quick succession. But the mob kept pressing forward.


Erica)
this war has been going on for too long[/i] I said. I sighed I miss the days when we would go to the lake with Aldin  and see who could swim across the fastest. I knew that serena and Aldin were as close as you could get without being boyfriend and girlfriend. It did not surprise me. They did everything together as hatchlings. And as adults had fought many battles together. now she was in a position that spoke volumes about how much he trusted her. Then another thought crossed my mind. if amy had not come, do you think you would have married aldin? I asked her.


(katlyn)

I walked into the leaders cave soon after amy and the hatchling were awake. I knew that even with serena and the other elite helping they were pretty overwhelmed. So I had offered to help them with some things. Mine and Aldin's father had been killed when I was still very young. He had taken on the role of raising me and leading the pack before he was even an adult himself. Being his sister I had a rather interesting position in the pack. Serena was commander of the main body of fighters. But there was a special group of fighters that I was over. They only answered to me or aldin and amy. we had been out trying to figure out the movements of our enemies. "I have a report that you might find interesting" I said. When I knew I had their attention I continued. "we have discovered that due to the threat from the feraks reshima has withdrawn his fighters into his own territory. He seems to see them as just as big a threat as we do. but I did not come here to just tell you that. In more urgent news. Two Hundred seron eaters are headed this way. They will be here in three days." I was fighting hard to not lose control of myself. I knew that one of them was nearly impossible for an entire pack of fighters to hold off. Two hundred of them would be outnumbered, but they would be just as bad as millions of feraks. but my report was not yet done. "and.. A couple of them are headed toward where the hatchlings are. I fear that creatures that size are strong enough to break down any magica, barriers we have in place there" aldin was the leader. But known only to a select few I actually had far more skill and knowledge of magic than him. If I thought something couple possibly break down a magical barrier that was a bug deal. I hated bringing bad news in such a time as this. But not telling them might mean we all die.

((Amy))
We had only been talking to the hatchling for a few minutes when Katlyn came in. I felt my blood running cold and hot at the same time as she talked. I knew what kind of damage the seron eaters could do. I had seen it. How could we stop a force like that?

((Kali)))
I very carefully positioned her as she had shown me, not wanting to mess her up. When she was done I asked, "Will this keep anyone from seeing your scales glow?"

((Meera))
I had that moment of disorientation as the first serons attacked, but then I saw two other serons getting ready to attack Zayrx as he killed their leader. Not on my watch they wouldn't. Jumping in the way, I knocked them away and would have been fine if others hadn't appeared. I was being overwhelmed. There were only nine or ten serons on me total, but that was enough. They were coming faster than I could fight them off. I made a flash decision. They meant to kill me. I had to stop them. I took a deep breath and focused on a bubble around me, adding bubble around Zayrx so he would not be effected. Then I let loose the sleeping spell. The serons around me collapsed. I managed to stay awake long enough to see Zayrx pulling the serons off of me. Oh good, you are alive. I said tiredly. That had taken a lot out of me and right after that I blacked out.

((Serena))
I laughed a little ad shook my head. No. Aldin is like my brother, and after what happened to Reshima.... Then Zach... She knew about both interests. She was my sister. But she was the only one. Looking at it I was beginning to think maybe I was bad luck. My friend and subject of my love struck young heart had gone dark and evil. My leader and friend and the subject of a budding crush had been maimed and had been forced to retire because he had saved me. I wouldn't want to taint it. Maybe I am just not meant for love. I said. I gave her a weary but sly smile. I did notice you and Jason talking earlier though. He seems nice. Just because I was not the relationship type didn't mean I couldn't be a match maker. I had called Meera and Zayrx years before they happened, and he denied it the whole time.

(aldin)

I muttered sone things I probably should not say in front of a hatchling. This was the last thing we needed. there were still some serons who could not move. And I refused to leave them. "keek us updated on how close they are" I said to katlyn. "Jasmine, go alert serena about the situation. so we can prepare the fighters"


((halie))

"dad says it will. But I have never tested it" I said.



(Zayrx )

When the threat was gone I ran over to meera. Thanlkfully she was not seriously Hurt. She had just fainted from too much magic use. I took her to her bed, where it only took about five minutes for her to wake up.


(erica)

I blushed a little. he is a little cute I admitted. but he is the leader of another pack, how could that work out? before I could hear her answer tho. I saw Jasmine coming, I could tell from the look on her face she did not just come to chat.

((Serena))
My smile faded as I saw Jasmine. So much for my nap. But when I got her news it was so much worse. I could feel the building terror in my throat. Why? Why couldn't these things leave us alone? I stood slowly. "Thank you Jasmine. excuse me for a few minutes. I will be right back." I slowly walked away towards to lake nearby. as I go closer to the lake, and out of the site of the others I started running a ran full speed then jumped into the water while shifting mid jump. As I sunk I tried not to think. I was shaking and hated it. I felt weak. Stupid. I was a leader, why couldn't I act like it? If I were above water I would be crying, swimming is good for covering that up. I stayed there for ten minutes then I collected myself. That was more than enough moping. It was time to get back to work. I shifted back to human as I surfaced, allowing myself to be drenched. I took a deep breath and let it out as I wiped my wet hair from my face and swam to shore. Wringing my braid out as I stood I was dimly aware that it was dusk. The sun was setting. I was beginning to wonder how many more sunsets I had left.

((Meera))
The blankets we crumpled under me when I came to. I had meant to make my bed this morning, I guess I had forgotten. Zayrx was there. Hey. I said softly with a dry smile. You are whole. I took stock of myself as I said it. He must have healed the majority of the scratches and bruises because I only found very minor damage.

(halie )

We we were talking I saw something coming toward our cave. It was two seron eaters. It probably did not see the three of us, but the other hatchlings were plainly visible. I knew there was a magical barrier to keep out anything other than hatchlings. But seeing those things coming was very frightening. They got to the entrance but were pushed back as if by an invisible wall. I thought they were going to eventually give up and Leave. But instead they began ramming the barrier. They slammed into it over and over. At first it held up pretty well, but then they  burst through as if shattering a window. without thinking twice about it my scales glowed brighter than they ever had. The seron eaters were stopped by another barrier. Each time they slammed into it I felt a jolt go through my body. I had to use all of my strength to keep it up. I was shaking and sweating. I knew that if my barrier failed my friends would die. But even with that thought there was only so much I could take. The last thing I remembered was the seron eaters slamming into my barrier one more time and then everything went black.


(Zayrx)

glad to see you are alright I said. At that moment a gold seron came over to us. "I have news from aldin and amy" he said. I could tell from his manner that it was not good news. "go ahead" I told him. He took a deep breath and then proceeded to tell us about the seron eaters. When he was finished I thanked him for the message and then dismissed him. I knew this was really bad. But I also knew that it was even worse with the division over the humans who were living among us. If there was to be any chance at all of us surviving we had to be united. I flew up to the top of a large cliff that overlooked the area. everybody gather around here I said to everyone. When everyone was gathered I began to address them. word has reached my ears that about two hundred seron Eaters are headed our way. This of itself is reason for great alarm. But on top of that we are not United as we should be. Many of you are so set on removing the humans from us that you are causing the very thing that you claim they are causing.   this earned much angered muttering. I knew that the vast majority liked the former humans, but the ones who did not were very vocal. I did not even flinch at their response. I had taken their complaints and harassments for too long. And now I was ready to tear into them without restraint. the threat from the feraks should have caused you to put aside your subbornness so that we could better face the threat. But even during these times we have had to use half of our resources to keep you off of meera and amy, as well as the other former humans. What will it take for you to realize that there are more important things than weather humans join us or not? Well now a worse threat is coming and if you do not stop acting like spoiled children all of us will pay the price.   there was a stunned silence over the gathered serons. It was not often that I tore into anyone like that. But I knew it needed to be done. I turned and walked off.



(Katlyn)

I helped serena get our fighters ready to face the incoming threat. We helped keep each other from losing it. I stood by her as we tried to figure out the best places to position our fighters. As I scanned the landscape I saw  a large group of something approaching. At frost my heart dropped. They were not supposed to be here yet! But as they got closer I realized they were not seron eaters. The multi colored serons must have heard from the ones who were already here that we needed some extra help. Jeremiah himself also came. There were too many of them to count, there were probably hundreds of thousands at the very least. It was still going to be hard to beat the seron eat ers but at least now our chances had increased significantly. Jeremiah went to talk to aldin and amy and the other pack leaders. His head elite stayed to talk with us. She was a good friend to serena I think her name was clarissa "we are here to help in any way we can" she said. "where can you best use our fighters?"

(Aldin) (just FYI Aldin's part takes place a little bit ahead of everyone else. Just so we aren't all confused. )

There wasn't much preparation we could do for now. So I Was spending a few minutes with amy before the time came for us all to fight for our lives. I had sent out some fighters to check on the hatchlings. I noticed them coming back now. Some of them were wounded and the hatchlings were with them. I went out to meet them. The team the went out was lead by meera. My heart dropped when I realized she was carrying Halie. I could see no physical wounds on her body, but from where I was I could hear that she was having a hard time breathing. I quickly looked around for the other hatchlings. I realized that kali was not with them. I began to fear the worst. carter looked like he barely even noticed what was going on. There was only one thing that could have put the normally energetic hatchling in such a state. I think the seron eaters killed kali I said just to amy. nothing else would put carter into such a state. as I talked I also saw to halie. At least she was still alive. but her condition was severe. I checked her out to make sure I knew what exactly was wrong with her. after a while I sat back "her condition is not life threatening" I said. " but she will not be able to walk on her own for several weeks" I knew it was going to be terribly hard for someone like halie. I felt bad for her.


(Halie)

The first thing I noticed was that I heard voices and movement all around me. I didn't quite grasp what was going on. I felt someone grab my wrist and check for a pulse. The hands were much too big to belong to another hatchling. I became more aware of sounds around me. I opened my eyes and saw my mother standing by my bedside. How had I gotten here? Then I remembered what had happened just before I just consciousness. The seron eaters had been trying to attack us! I sat up quickly. Immediately a sharp pain went through my entire body. If felt as if every bone in my body was broken and someone poured hot led throughout my body as well. I fell back onto the bed clenching my teeth and groaning in pain.


(I was thinking you could do meera's part from when she goes out to rescue the hatchlings to where the second halie part in my post is. And also do kali's part start from where the first halie part left off. And of Course you would do amy where I have her right now)

((Meera))
I gave Zayrx a hug as soon as he was out of sight of the others. Well said. Hopefully they will listen. For right now though I am off to check on the hatchlings. I told him. I then left to gather my fighters and fly out. When I got to the safe place my heart dropped. The shield was up but barely. Even as I approached it failed and the seroneaters that were there hammering at it pushed through. I immediately threw the shield back up, but one was already in the area. Luckily most of the hatchlings were hiding farther back but Halie was on the ground and Carter was checking on her while Kali stood over them glaring at the seroneater like she was daring it to do something. I felt sick, that girl was a lot like me in a way. Determined to do the best she could at everything. I knew she wanted to be on the elite one day and protect her pack and her leader. She was starting early. Much too early. The beast lunged her and she leaped in seron form and clawed at its eyes. She was quick and all over the thing, but she wasn't quick enough and it grabbed hold of her and threw her into the rock face. She collapsed and didn't move again and by then my fighters were there to fight off the seron eater. I ran to her. "Kali? Please say something." I whispered, but she was still and I could feel her life force draining. I glanced at Carter, he was staring intently at her body with a growing look of pain and horror. She must be talking to him, I could see it in his eyes. My heart went out to the hatchlings but I needed to check on the others. The eater was dead so I set my fighters to rounding up the hatchlings to bring them back.
I knew as I walked into the camp with Halie in my arms and poor Carter at my side that Aldin would figure it out. Kali is dead. She died saving your daughter and Carter from a seroneater. Somehow that girl managed to keep the thing busy until my fighters got there but we weren't fast enough to save her. I told him quietly. I could not stop the tears that were rolling down my cheeks now. She had been so small. I forgot that sometimes because she had such a huge personality. These two would not be alive if not for her, and none of the hatchlings would be alive if it weren't for Halie holding the shield up until I got there.

((Kali))
I was standing near Halie when she collapsed, though most of the other hatchlings had been smart and run to the back of the clearing. Carter immediately rushed to make sure she was ok but I stepped in front of the two of them although I didn't have a clue what I was going to do to a beast that earned the name seroneater. The shield was only down long enough to let one in so I assumed there were adults nearby checking on us. But that one could not be allowed to hurt my friends. I glowered at the thing as it got closer, squinting at me the whole time. It was having a hard time seeing me... It was then I remembered that Halie had made us invisible. He could still see we were there judging by his squinting, so the power of the spell must have diminished when Halie passed out but it was enough to make it difficult to focus on us. The eater lunged to try to get us but I leaped forward and clawed it's eyes so it would have an even harder time seeing. I then grabbed hold and scrambled all over him clawing and biting as I went. I felt a giant clawed hand grab my foot and, before I could think, fling me at the wall. There was a crack in my head and my body stopped working. Everything felt off, fuzzy almost. and distant. I had had concussions before and they weren't like this. Nothing hurt for one. I felt cold and it got worse when I realized what must be happening. Carter! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to. I said, still trying to be strong. I could hear the fighters leading their battle with the eater away and someone was talking to me but I didn't hear them. You can't blame yourself though. Tell Halie too. There was no other way. You have to move on and be happy. Grow up and make your own family and remember me once in a while, okay? It was getting harder to talk, but I needed to say one more thing. I'll still be watching over you. I love you both. Anything else was beyond me. my body had lost all functionality and I needed to let go. I hated to do it but there wasn't much choice. I just hoped Carter and Halie would be okay, Carter especially. He was already so broken... I sighed internally and let go of the small broken form that was once my body and floated away.

((Amy))
I was hold Halies hand when she woke up. She stirred then remembered where she had left off and sat bolt upright. She then collapsed with a groan of pain. I squeezed her hand to let her know I was there. But I knew that would be of little comfort when she asked what had happened. And where Kali was. I owed that little girl everything for saving my daughter, and yet the debt would never be filled and it killed me. Hey baby, you did well back there. I heard you held up the shield, that is no easy feat for a full grown seron. I was stalling. But how do you tell yur child her best friend is dead?

((Serena))
I felt like I had been hit by several trucks in one go. The seron eaters had killed Kali? She had been begging me the last week before she left to accept her for elite training as soon as she was old enough. She made me promise. She had wanted to protect her pack she said. She had done that. Poor Carter must be a mess. She had always been his guardian. She grew up a lot to take care of him, often putting her own problems on the back plate for later. Suddenly I felt lucky. Zack had protected me, but at least he was alive. I felt so childish for freaking out earlier because my friend was crippled. At least I still had a friend. I knew that the multi colored serons were here and that Clarissa would want to talk, I could see her with Katlyn. I had something I needed to do as soon as I was done directing her. We are arranging a border, and cutting ourselves a little short on land so that we have more apparent manpower, if you could assist with that it would be one less thing for me to worry about, you to Katlyn if you aren't doing anything else. I added.
Once that was underway I headed to the part of the camp where I knew Zack would be. Searching until I saw his familiar blondish brown hair, I walked up and hugged him wordlessly. I knew word of Kali's death would be spreading so he had probably heard, which would explain why he didn't say anything. Just hugged me back. I can't stay long. I said at last, though I didn't move as I said it. But I needed to see you for a moment. I knew he'd understand. He always did.

(Carter)

I was numb. I kept thinking this was all some terrible nightmare and I would wake up and everyone would be just fine. But I knew that wasn't the case. out of the corner of my eye I saw someone come and sit by me. I did not look to see who it was I just sat there.


((Hallie))

The pain slowly subsided. I knew that something was wrong. I should not experience that much pain from just using too much energy. I looked at my mother How did I get here? I asked her. I couldn't really focus on what she was saying. Every time I moved at all a sharp pain would go through my body. I would have to lay perfectly still and wait for it to stop. I saw the hesitation in her eyes now and I knew something bad had happened. mom, what's wrong? I pressed But she did not have to say anything. Jasmine lead a very shaken looking carter into the cave. He had come to visit me. I looked into his eyes and suddenly I realized what had happened. The shock hit me all at once and then the tears came. Why did it have to be Kali? I had always understood that some day I would not be able to save someone. But why did it have to be my best friend? On top of my emotional pain there was also the pain I kept feeling when I moved even a little. These two things combined made it so I was barely aware of anything. Someone, I assumed it was my mother, pulled me close to them and held me. It did not make the pain go away, but I was too weak to do anything but just lay there. Suddenly I felt someone else touch me and a weird fuzzy feeling went through my body. The physical pain went away entirely and I was able to relax at little bit more. But the emotional pain was still there. I buried my face into my mothers clothes and sobbed.

(Jared)

By now I was almost fully recovered and the serons knew my name. They also knew what had happened to me. I watched what was happening from a distance. it seemed the friend of the two hatchlings had been killed and Amy was trying to comfort her daughter. I felt bad for them. They had been so kind to me and it weren't for them I would not be alive. I noticed that each time the girl moved she would stiffen as if she was in a lot of pain. I knew what was wrong with her and I also knew how to fix it. I was very talented with repairing magical damage. It was time for me to repay their kindness. I could not take away emotional pain, she would still have to go through that. But I could make the physical part of it go away. I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder. My scales glowed and she visibly relaxed I knew that the spell was a success.


(zack)

The entire pack was in Shock. We were always devastated when we lost a hatchling. Kali was special tho. If you did not know who kali was you were probably living under a rock. Not only because she was the best friend of the leaders daughter. But because that was just how she was. There were many times when she would come and help the retired serons with things and we would tell her stories. She especially loved stories told by those who used to be elite and their adventures. But she had died too soon.

((Amy))
I was trying to comfort Halie, without moving her too much when the reflective hatchling came over and touched her shoulder. The girl relaxed for a moment then curled up into me and cried. I gently rocked her as I stroked her hair, words would be no help right now so I said none. I watched the boy though. He was stronger than I had realized. How did you do that? I asked him.

((Meera))
I sat down next to Carter and watched as Amy comforted Halie. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to the boy next to me, but he wouldn't hear me. He was lost inside himself. Instead I put my arm around his thin little shoulders hugged him. He needed to know he was not alone. My heart went out to the kid. He was so alone right now. I knew that feeling. When I first came her everyone was nice, but I was the outsider. I had no family and all my friends were gone. I didn't belong. I found my place though, and he would too. It would just take time. And he would need help...
Zayrx. I said tentatively. What would you... What would you think of adopting Carter? He needed a family. Someone to help him keep going. His parents were dead and now his friend and guardian. Why not us?

(Jared)

I've always been able to do it I said. I've never really considered how. All I knew was that I wanted to help her feel better.


(Zayrx)

I think that is a great idea I said. I knew that the boy needed someone to care for him. also both meera and I knew how to deal with cases such as his. He needed to be in a actual family if he was going to recover. let's find aldin and let him know we would like to adopt carter.


((katlyn))

despite the tragic events my team and I kept working to secure the camp. The other pack leaders and their fighters also helped. We had two days before the seron eaters arrived. I coordinated with serena to make sure we were on the same page. We had no authority to give each other orders, but we had a great respect for each other and listened to one another suggestions.

(Erica)

I mingled with regular fighters and special fighters as I checked and adjusted positions. Katlyn could not lead this group all by herself, so I was a secondary commander.

((Amy))
That is a very special gift you have. I told him. Don't make it too well known yet though. People were scared of reflective serons already. I didn't want them to perceive him as a threat.

((Serena))
I was back at work. No more moping, there were things that needed doing. Katlyn, Erica and Clarissa were endless help and kept me from totally losing it trying to keep track of everything. The addition of the multi-colored serons also made my life that much easier, although it was another pack to keep track of. Zayrx was like a blur everywhere all at once, I was amazed he didn't catch fire he was moving so fast. I was standing near him when he slowed for a moment looking thoughtful. Then headed in the direction of Aldins cave. I wondered what was up with that but didn't dwell. I would investigate later.

((Meera))
I am in the leaders cave with Carter now, I am not sure where Aldin went though. The boy in question was oblivious to everything. he was in shock and making him sleep right now would probably not help, but make it worse. He'd be tempted not to wake up. When he went to sleep in needed to be natural. Carter, do you want to go sit with Halie for a bit? I asked him quietly.

(jared)

I nodded understanding. I knew that people had strange ideas about reflective serons. there was one time a patrol of gold serons met us. They were about to attack us for being in their land. But the one in charge of the group ordered them to leave us alone. my eyes fell on the women who was with the boy. No wonder she looked familiure. "you're the one who told your fighters to not attack us" I said.

(carter)

I was startled a little when meera talked to me. But I gave little response beyond a small nod. I had retreated deep inside myself.


(zayrx)

I arrived at aldin and amy's cave. Everyone looked Subdued. Carter did not look to be in good shape. And halie was an emotional mess. Aldin wasn't there. But we could also talk to amy. we think it would be a good idea if meera and I adopted carter I said.

(halie)

One thing about me, was that I moved in quicker than most. I still missed kali terribly. I probably always would. But I had to pick myself up at some point and keep going. so after crying for a while I sat up in my mothers lap. The best way to honor my friends memory as to do all the good I could. At that moment I decided to do just that. I heard zayrx telling mother he and meera would like to adopt carter. I thought it was a wonderful idea. The poor boy needed a real family. I think you should let them take him I said to her.  But part of the descision was up to carter. We did not send orphans to families they did not feel comfortable with. I walked up to my friend and knelt down in front of him. I knew this was even harder for him than it was for me. I had lost my best friend. And even  now it still hurt. I coped with it by trying to help someone else. But she had kept him from going over the edge and falling into a pit of depression. hey carter, how would you like meera and zayrx to be your parents? I asked him. he looked at me in disbelief for a second. If there is one thing every orphan wants it's to be part of an actual family again. My parents loved them and did all they could to make them comfortable. But until they were adopted they always felt out of place.

Carter of course accepted. And soon he was officially the son of one of the most powerful serons With all of the rights and privlages that one of his birth children would have. I smiled a little as they walked off. But there was still that dull ache inside of me. It would probably be there for a while. I sat down next to my mother and leaned my head against her. Taking comfort from her. I'm really going to miss her I said. I think she would have wanted carter to go with them too.


(Alldin)

I was not able to be there in person at first when halie woke up, or when meera and zayrx came to adopt carter. But my wife kept in contact with me she that I knew what was going on. As soon as I had a few minutes of free time I headed back to my cave to see how everyone was doing. I could not stay long. But I spoke a few comforting words to halie. Amy told me about how jared had healed her. I found this to be very interesting and made a mental note to pay attention to the boy. Unfortunately I could not stay long and I had to go back to work. I was one of those leaders who actually took an active role in battle planning. I did not just let my elite do it and then find out what they did when the battle happened, which was what some leaders did.

I stood next to serena and looked out over the arrangement of gold seron fighters. She clearly knew what she was doing as our fighters were alligned to give them the best advantage possible. Fighters from other packs mingled with them. I also saw fighters from katlyns team in there as well. I hardly have to Give you any suggestions these days. I said. I knew there was a reason I had chosen her. I knew that I could absolutely trust her with anything and she would find a way to get it done. She was also like a sister to me and a pack leader needed someone who was completely willing to support and help them like she was willing to help and support me. Second only to my wife and daughter, nobody else was closer to me. I sighed a little. this war is going on for too long I said. for four hundred years we have kept our enemies back. But the toll it is taking on all of us is noticable I glanced at my friend. sometimes I wish we were hatchlings again, when the biggest thing we worried about was winning multi pack fight tournament but I knew that there were some things that I would not have. I would never have met Amy and halie would not be in my life. I would never give them up. As I scanned the area I noticed a fight about to break out between one of meera's fighters and one of jasmines. One constant problem in the pack was that members of different elite's teams thought they were in their own little group and members of other teams had better not come near them. Now this was not true of all serons, but it was enough of a problem that we had discussed it many times in pack government meetings. This even happened when the commanders of the two teams were friends. Like Jasmine and meera. They did not seem to understand that they all ultimately answered to the same pack leader and we're therefore on the same side. if the seron eaters don't kill them I just might. I said to serena. I did not hide that I was very irritated with this kind of behaviour. I headed over to deal with the problem before it became necessary to call the healers. They immediately stopped when they saw me and acted like nothing was going on. But I and serena had seen it. I could see her coming down to lend me a hand. don't act like nothing is happening. I watched the whole thing. I said to them. he's in a different team. I shouldn't have to deal with him. one of them said. With great effort I refrained from strangling him right there. I was normally a calm and reasonable leader. But one could only deal with these things for so long. are you not both gold serons? I said. yes, but this is different. Different elite teams should never mix, it means we are disloyal the same one replIed. disloyal to who exactly? I asked. last I checked we are all in the same pack. And furthermore we are even united with the other packs seeing as all of us answer to Zayrx. There is no law that says fighters from different teams cannot be around each other. In fact your respective commanders get along very well. they just glared at me. you don't understand how things work outside of the leading family the other said. I almost laughed. I know a lot more about it than you may realize I said. do you think I just sit in my cave and hope the elite don't run the pack into the ground? I am up most of the day doing all I can to help this pack keep going. I am constantly getting reports from not only serena and the other elite but also katlyn and erica and their special forces team. And on top of that I am training halie and dealing with individual fighters who bring complaints to me. I have not had more than five hours of sleep total because I am up most of the time preparing for what possibly be a battle that destroys more than half of us if not more . So don't tell me that I am not aware of what is going on in the pack. they just stared at me for a few seconds. but this is different was the reply I got. would they be missed if I just broke their wings and threw them off a cliff? I said just to serena.

((Meera))
Carter was a mess, but I intended to help him. And for now I would stay with him. We had some time before the battle started so I sat with him for a while not saying anything, just holding him. My brother had died in the Games long ago. I had been very close to him and it tore me apart so I knew his pain.

((Serena))
Yes. Yes they would. I said, rubbing my eyes. I looked at the fighters. How diplomatic was I feeling. My filters were down so I guess it was going to be a verbal punch in the face. You know I thought you were trained fighters not squabbling hatchlings. What in the world makes you think that the immanent demised of our pack is an appropriate time to start this? If you can't get along then you will be demoted here and now and I will find fighters that actually understand what we are fighting for. Because we are one pack, and we are a family. Your parents, I added, pointing to the serons that had started it, were best friends and from different elite. in fact his mother and father were each from a separate elite. And your father is a silver seron and mother gold. Get off your high and mighty pedestals and recognize we have the same goals and pack. And if you can't do it then get out of my elite now because I refuse to have hippocrates in my team. And yes, I so mean my team. Meera and Jasmine both report to me which means so do you and I dare you to tell me I don't know what I am talking about seeing as I trained all of you.

(Aldin)

I supported serenas statement. These fighters needed to be put in their place. if I catch you behaving like this again I will personally make good on her threat I told them. we did not have any more incidents with them the rest of the day. There were also other thoughts going through my mind. I knew that it was unlikely we would survive this. Even with the multicolored serons helping. Then I puased. What if we could avoid the battle? I headed off to talk to zayrx.


(Hallie)

Despite the circumstances I still went through at least the basic parts of training. Right now my mother was seeing how fit I was staying. I stood there with my arms slighly outstretched as she looked me over. Continuing to train helped to keep me from falling into a depression.


(Jasmine)

It was unfortunate that the incident with our fighters happened. It made it seem to the other packs that we were not united. It was a very frustrating situation that we had been trying to fix for some time. I walked over to serena do you need help with any thing?

((Amy))
As I looked over Halie I couldn't help thinking of Kali, she had been quite a fit hatchling. She had even sat in on a couple of elite training sessions. She hadn't actually fought anyone but they had caught her trying to imitate them and decided that she would be safer practicing where they could see her. It had drawn the elite together in a way because she didn't care who you were as long as you had something you could show her. They would team up to show her the moves. You know, she got to live her dream. I said sadly. All she wanted to do was protect people, especially you and Carter. She did that like no other. Maybe we could use that to stop the fighting in the pack. If we let the hatchlings who knew her speak at the funeral, and then the elite who knew and trained her. Show that love and friendship matters more than who is on what team. I made sure Aldin, Meera, Jasmine, and Serena could see what I was thinking.

((Serena))
Currently we are as ready as we will ever be. I said with a sigh. But from now on I want you and Meera to train your teams together. They seem to have gotten it in their heads that if they get along they are disloyal to you two. I am also thinking about swapping them around a little bit so that they aren't with you all the time if that is alright with you. I am planning on doing as much as possible to shake them out of this idea that they are enemies. Right at that moment I got Amy's idea. I laughed sadly. Kali had once said something about the internal fighting to Jasmine and I after we had finished training. She'd asked us why it happened, and what made the fighters forget who the real enemy was? That girl would have been a great head elite one day. I said quietly to Jasmine, who knew I had my eye on the hatchling.

(Halie)

she always was a good friend I said. then I sighed a little. does it always hurt so much to lose someone? I askded. Up until now I did not realize that the heartache of losing my best friend could actually be physically painful. I had seen people die before and it did make me sad, but none of them had actually been someone I knew very well. The exam was done now.

(Jasmine)

sounds like a great idea I said to both serena and amy. This problem needed to be fixed as soon as possible. Our teams would not like it, but they were just going to have to do as we say like the well disciplined fighters they are supposed to be.


(aldin)

I got amy's idea right as I arrived at zayrx 's cave. I think we should do it I said. oh and amy, I am talking with zayrx about possibly avoiding the battle altogether. So be ready for that.