"Thank you for your kindness, though I hope I am not being a burden."  She said as she followed Iceblink into their shared room.  Her eyes slowly looked over the whole room, she being the type to pay attention to every detail.  It was pretty neat and well kept, and the bed that Iceblink probably slept in was made.  It also was a noticeably few degrees colder then the rest of the base, but this didn't surprise her since she had sensed the wolf's icy Crystals the moment she was near him.  "You keep the room very nice."  She murmured after she was done observing it.

Jasper went through a bag he kept by the side of his bed, quickly locating two towels.  "I knew these would come in handy."  He said, wagging his tail as he handed one to Luciole.  "You are free to keep it if you'd like, I brought way too many random things and without the towel there would be more space."

~~~

Ribunny was too focused on watching the fish to hear Shasta.  She loved watching fish, and had always dreamed of having a fish tank, even though it was extremely unlikely that a personified chihuahua that had dragon wings and was wearing a camouflage sweatshirt could go into Pet Co. and buy one.  A girl could dream though, couldn't she?  Now though, it was like she did own a fish tank!  Or, maybe she even was a fish tank, maybe the fish were watching her and they owned her and all the food she got the fish dropped in through the top and, and, and...  She shook her head clear of her racing thoughts when she heard Flare introduce himself.  She turned away from the fish to smile at Shasta, "I'm Ribunny, but you can call me Ri if you can't remember it!"

Ratt swallowed nervously at the sight of Shasta.  Yes, she was being friendly, but he still couldn't help being afraid.  "R- R- Ratt."  He studdered the reply, "My name is Ratt."  He was able to say the full sentance after he took a few deep breaths.

Sneak made a mental note of the names that he heard as he watched the others converse from the shadows.  He wanted to know as much as possible.  Better to blackmail my dear..  He thought to himself as he slunk away to see if any other interesting conversations were going on.  He closely hugged the walls as he inched to where "Iceblink," as he heard him be adressed as, had gone.  That German Shepherd that had gone with him intriuged him and he wanted to know more about her.

((Sneak has like..  Spying ADD.  XD  Meaning he can't spy on one person for too long unless it's super interesting, or he gets bored.  Speaking of ADD..))

Dot's ears fidgeted as she sniffed the air, her arms arched in front of her chest, a bit like a raptor.  She let out a long whine of discomfort, wishing she knew where she was going.  Her sugar rush was starting to wear off, meaning she realized how stupid the idea of walking off from the only ones who knew where they were going.  But..  She still wanted to find Miles..  Despite the fact she knew it was stupid.  She let out a high pitched howl, thunder cracking loudly after she finished.  Even though her sugar intake was low, the energy and lighting power of the storm still fueled her need to keep moving.  She shot off, reaching a high speed in an instant despite the fact that she was stationary only milliseconds before.

~~~

Miles shook his fur from the rain, emitting a low hiss.  "Eora, are we almost there?"  He asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking from his discomfort. "Me being a Fire Wielder combined with the fact that cats hate water makes this experience extremely unpleasant."  He pulled his bandana off his head and wrung it out on the ground, then put it back on only for it to get just as soaked again.  He jumped when the sudden sound of a high pitched howl pierced his eardrums.  That howl..  "Dot..?"  He murmured aloud, tilting his head to the side.

"I doubt it," Eora growled, her ears flat to better keep rain out of them. "And there seems to be a convenient lack of forest in this area to shelter in. Brilliant," she hissed sarcastically. "Where did that Slasher fellow run off to? Is he still following us? What was that sound? Freakin' wildlife." She snarled, obviously in bad temper.

---

Luciole's ears flattened in embarassment as she took the towel, "You are too kind," she said, blushing under her thick ginger fur. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders. She was soaking wet, and freezing cold. She shivered. "Do you think light magic can offer warmth?" she asked. Her crystals on each wrist glowed experimentally, and she purred at the resulting warmth. She had her answer.

---

"Ribunny is a cute name," Shasta said happily, "You look familiar, have we met before?"

Flare looked down at Ribunny, and then back to Shasta. Dillusional, he guessed. "Don't be frightened Ratt," he said, trying to comfort him. "She isn't going to hurt you, just like me and Ribunny."

---

"I take my comforts where I can," Iceblink said with a shrug. "That one can be your bed for the night," he said, aiming a paw over to the other bed, just as well-kept as his own. "If you are cold, there are extra blankets in the linen closet near the bathroom over there. I was going to have them enchanted to be warmer by a traditional magic user, but everyone is always busy with more important matters."

((*steals a quote from a video game character* Haha, not exactly. Zevran actually said "I take my pleasures where I can." And he meant it in a... different sense if you know what I mean. *winkwink*))

--- 

((xDDD  Lolol.  Nice.))

Slasher's ears flicked with the mention of his name.  He had been walking slower then Miles and Eora, sticking to his own thoughts for the majority of the journey.  "I am here."  He rumbled in response as he quickened his pace a little so he wasn't so far away.  The rain barely bothered him, and he quite enjoyed the cold.  He'd rather be that then scorching hot, at least.

Miles looked behind him, putting his hand over his eyes so the rain wouldn't blind him when he looked into the distance.  "I think..  I think that may have been Dot."  He snarled, the thought of the annoying runt strangely lightening his mood slightly.

Dot howled again, this time it sounded slightly happier.  Despite the rain, she had picked up Miles' extremely faint scent.  Her tail wagging faster then her drumming heart, she dropped to all fours in her ecstatic scramble to the direction where Miles was in.

~~~

Jasper smiled as he inched towards Luciole, putting his paws over her wrists to warm them up. He instantly felt warm and soon was almost fully dry.  "I feel a lot better now."  He said, enjoying the warmth, "You have so many nice surprises."

~~~~

"Thanks."  Ribunny replied, already liking the wolf.  "Um..  Maybe.  If you remember me we must've, since it's hard to confuse me for someone else."  She laughed at her own joke that wasn't really a joke, "I'm one of a kind, and proud of it."  She stretched out her wings for a few moments then folded them back under her sweatshirt to prove her point.

~~~

"Thank you."  Halley replied, feeling an urge to curtsey but deciding not to.  "I could see if I could possibly enchant them if you wouldn't mind-"  She cut herself off as she focused her attention on the shadows, her eyes turning a lavenderish pink for a few seconds, then turning back to their chocolaty brown color. "Someone is with us."  She said, her voice dropping to a low pitch, the closest she ever really comes to a growl.

A stifled cackling sound came from the shadows, but stopped abruptly, a bit like if someone put a hand on their mouth to silence themselves.

"The chihuahua?" Eora growled, disgusted. "Ugh, Slasher, you know what to do," she said, marching on.

---

Luciole giggled. It was all warm and dry now. She removed the towel from her shoulders and laid it neatly on the bed. "You warm enough?" she asked, her tail curling around to her front so she could sit properly on the bed.

---

Shasta shrugged, "Ah, well. I hope you three can make yourself comfortable. I should get back to Swift and make sure he's comfortable for the night. I'm just accross the hall if you need anything, dears." she said, disappearing into her and Swift's room.

"Well, she was pretty nice," Flare said, grinning happily. "Ratt, would you like a pillow to sleep on?" he asked.

Iceblink stared into the shadows where Halley was looking. Coldness swirled around him. He shut his eyes and concentrated. His ears flicked forward at the laugh, and he shot a blast of ice into the corner. "Are you sophisticated?" he called, wondering who would be spying. 

"Yup."  Slasher said, unsheathing his knife claws as he smiled with his insanity.

Miles' eyes widened.  "Wha- N- N- No!"  He surprised even himself with the emotion in his response.  "I mean uh.."  He tried to save himself, "Dot is very powerful, she can cause big explosions if she wants to, and command strong lightning, if she joined us it could really help."  He felt his fur start to spike up like it always did when Dot was close, She's getting closer, I gotta convince these guys..

~~~

Jasper nodded.  "Yup, thanks a lot for that."  he smiled happily as he went to sit on his own bed, then thought differently and sat next to Luciole.  "You don't mind me sitting next to you, do you?"

~~~

"She was."  Ribunny agreed.  "I'm glad we came here, it's a cool place."

Ratt nodded sheepishly.  "Yes please, that'd be nice."  He replied.

~~~

"Eek!"  A voice yelled from the shadows as a figure clamored its way into where it could be seen.  "Of course I am, how could an Unsophisticated creature spy?"  He stared up at the two wolves with his yellow eyes, he reached to around their wastes, but he still looked like he had pretty good muscle mass.  He would have reached higher, but his long ferret body was hard to keep standing up straight, resulting in his back being involuntarily arched.  He reached up with his only white hand to adjust his hat which had fallen to the side of his face when he had tried to avoid the ice.

Halley's attention was now focused on the Crystal on the ferret's chest.  It was slowly morphing from black to white, sometimes lingering on one before switching again.  "You..  You have a Dual Crystal?"  She was amazed, even with all her experience she had never seen a Dual Crystal, let alone one with Crystals that had so many differences.

"You are close to the canine then?" Eora said, crossing her arms in disapproval. "The army has little use for canines, especially small ones."

---

"Not in the least," Luciole replied. She adjusted her position to fod her legs beneath her comfortably. "Jasper, how did you find yourself in the army?" she asked, curious.

---

"What's a dual crystal?" Iceblink asked, keeping an eye on the ferret suspiciously. 

"No, not at all!"  Miles said, shaking his head.  "But the thing is that she's really powerful, and she has endless energy so she doesn't ever run out of power, and if we can manipulate her right we could use her power for our benefit!"  He paused a few seconds to get his thoughts more organized, "You have to see for yourself!"

Dot barked happily when she heard Miles' voice, zipping over next to him and causing a clash of thunder-like sound when she stopped abruptly at his side.  "I found you!  Finally!"  She said as she shook her fur, electricity snapping and crackling as she did so.

~~~

Jasper thought a few seconds, "Well, I was kinda born into it."  He replied, shrugging.  "My father was in the army, and so was my grandfather.  At first I didn't think I was cut out for it, but my father said that I had army blood in me, so in the end I reluctantly joined.  I'm happy I did too, joining was probably one of the best things I've ever done, it made me who I am today." He smiled, "My father actually was the general at one point, Torment took over when he retired."

~~~

"A Dual Crystal is a vary rare occurrence."  Halley replied as the ferret yawned out of boredom, "You see, usually when two parents who have Crystals decide to have young, either the young have one of their parent's Crystals, or no Crystals at all.  However, at very, very rare times, they get a mixture of both Crystals.  When this happens, they have half the powers of both, and a bit of their own special powers.  As I said, this is very rare, but even more rare for the two Crystals that he has, Light and Shadow." 

Eora started and hissed, her ears flat. She drew her Greatsword threateningly. "State your purpose, canine," she demanded.

---

"What made him choose Torment?" Luciole inquired, "He's intimidating and all, and likely has the skill to match his temper, but is he fit to lead?"

---

"Isn't light supposed to be good luck?" Iceblink asked, sniffing at the ferret curiously.

Dot tilted her head to one side.  "Welll.."  She thought for a few moments.  "I don't really have one yet."  She had thought Eora was talking not about the purpose of her being there, but her purpose in life or something of the sorts, since her brain worked very strangely.  "What's yours?"  She smiled at Eora, tilting her head to the side playfully.

Miles looked back and forth between Eora and Dot, feeling Eora's tension fill the air.  Ugh..  Don't do anything too stupid Dot..  He begged the runt silently.  He knew Ribunny would be distraught if anything happened to her adoptive sister, even though he didn't care about her feelings..  Of course..

~~~

"Well.."  Jasper paused a few seconds, not totally sure himself.  "Torment joined the army with barely any experience at all, and a rough past, from what I've heard.  Most of the army didn't want him joining, but my father decided to give him a chance, and trained him personally.  I think the fact that he became so skilled so quickly made him realize what Torment could do, so he trusted him to be the next General."  He sighed, "Personally I don't know if that is true, but it sounds the closest to why at least."

~~~

The ferret crossed his arms defiantly.  "I try to pride myself in training more with my Shadow side then Light side."  He said, sticking his nose in the air.  "Name's Sneak by the way, thanks for asking." 

"How old were you when this happened? Why didn't your father choose you instead?" Luciole questioned.

---

"I see..." Iceblink said, crossing his arms. "Well, ferrets are hardly canines, and the army doesn't usually have use for rodents. What do we so with our little criminal, Halley? Throw him out in the pouring rain, or in the middle of the lake?" ((Haha XD Oh Iceblink))

---

"What? My purpose is to get to the feline base with my new recruits, Miles and Slasher. you had best be on your way before things get bloody, rat-dog," Eora hissed. The rain was definetly getting to her, putting her in a terrible mood. ((Oh no she didn't! :O)) 

"I wasn't that old, a teenager at best."  Jasper replied, shrugging.  "That was back when I didn't want to join the army, and my father wasn't the one to force something like that on me or anything.  I'm not the type to be good at governing over others like a general does though, It'd probably overwhelm me."  He laughed, "The army would be in ruins if I was chosen, plus we wouldn't have this base, it was Torment's genius idea and friendship with the otters that allowed this base to be made."

~~~

"Excuse me?"  Sneak said, growling.  "For your information, ferrets are not rodents."  He spat our the words, "If anything, ferrets prefer to eat rodents.  Ferrets actually are a part of a group of animals that are related to Canines, actually.  I see how well educated you all are."  ((That actually is true.  ._.  I forget where I read it, but it is.  xD))

~~~

Dot's ears twitched, a low growl escaping her lips.  "See here."  Her voice became menacing and low, not the high pitch and happy go lucky tone it usually was.  "You don't know what I can do, you haven't seen what I can do, not even my own sister has."  Her fur started to spike up as lightning lit up the sky more sporadically then it had before, thunder cracking every few seconds.  "I could aim a shot of lightning from the sky on your sword right now if I wished, frying your heart and killing you in seconds.  Do you want that?"

Miles couldn't help swallowing nervously.  He had never, EVER seen Dot get mad.  He was so used to her happy and hyper attitude that her current state actually scared him.  He knew it was stupid, but such a huge personality change so quickly made him unsure if she was bluffing or not, but by the looks of her eyes she probably wasn't.

"You are just as closely related to cats," Iceblink snapped. (Thank wikipedia~) "Which makes you no less an enemy, of course," he growled, ice spiking his fur. The room was getting frosty. "I say we drown him."

---

"You remind me of an old friend I knew in the forest," Luciole said, "He had a ti
tle to royalty, to rule his kingdom, but he didn't take it because he'd rather let someone else lead him along, tell him what to do."

---

Eora's ears flattened in anger, thinnly veiling her fright of the beast. "Of course not," she snapped, "I wish that you would stop following us." 

"Those are mongooses, different then ferrets."  Sneak replied slyly.  "Ha, just try, as soon as you touch me I'll drain all your energy, you'll barely be strong enough to pick up a pillow, let alone me!"  He smirked at Iceblink, silently daring him to touch him.

"Come on you two, there is no need to be on bad terms with those you have just met."  Halley said quietly, trying to calm them down.  "Perhaps we could come to some sort of agreement?"

~~~

"It's not that it's just.."  Jasper sighed, "Well, maybe it is.  I guess I'm more of a follower, not a leader."  He shrugged, "I don't really mind though, I guess, it's not like I know how to be anything else, it's just who I am.  Who was that anyway?"

~~~

"Hmph."  Dot growled, "And why can't I?  Would you rather my power be in the Canine army. Oh yes, I can imagine now, bolts of lighting falling on all of the warriors, electrocuting them all.  I already think I got a good plan."  She smirked at Eora, ".. You should be happy, I don't normally like to use my powers unless I, myself, deem it worthy..."

"He has been spying on the canines! He might go and squeal details about our camp to the felines!" Iceblink accused.

---

"His name was Irza, a sophisticated bird. Small fellows, they are, but adorable nonetheless," Luciole answered. "There aren't very many of them left, as they are often hunted by the unsophisticated predators of the forest."

---

Eora paused, thinking for a moment. "Why would you follow us if you really wanted to be in the canine army?" she said slyly, "I can think of a few good uses for you with us, if you so wished to come." 

"Then that means it would be better to allow, or make, him join the Canines.  Maybe he could even spy on the Felines for us."  She bent down to Sneak's level, "It's either that or you die."  Her voice didn't become harsh, but it did sound a bit weird for her to say something like that.

"Did I ever say I didn't want to?"  Sneak asked.  "Yes, I'll join.  Sounds fun.  I bet I could become more powerful too, power means I can steal stuff better.."  He cackled happily.  "Plus you didn't see my "Special Power", as I call it, yet.  I always love the expressions I get when I use it."

~~~

"Poor things."  Jasper murmured.  "I've never met a sophisticated bird I don't think, probably in hiding so they wont get eaten..  I wonder if any of them have Crystals, that'd be interesting."  He giggled a little at the idea of a small bird that had a Fire Crystal breathing fire on an unsophisticated house cat who wanted to make a meal of it.

~~~

"I very much do wish to come."  Dot replied, ignoring her first question.  Her voice was progressively becoming its normal tone and her fur started to lay flat again. "Uses you say?  We will have to talk about that, but so far sounds like it could be fun!"  She jumped into the air happily, her previous state of mind forgotten to her.

"I don't think he'll be helpful if we force him to join us," Iceblink said, skeptically. "If he does so by choice, that is fine, else we let him stay for the night before turning him loose when the bloody rain stops."

---

"Maybe I should seek them out again someday, and see if they want to take shelter with us? We are friendly enough with the otters, and they have potential to be good sentries," Luciole said, smiling at the idea of seeing her bird friends again.

---

"Perfect! Welcome to the feline army then... er... what was your name?" Eora said, unsure. 

The ferret huffed, "I do want to join.  Now at least!"  He raised his voice so the wolf wouldn't have a hard time hearing him.  "And since I'm this..  Dual Crystal I think you called it, I could be a good member, right?"  He smiled, mischief glinting in his eyes, "Plus I have this ability that I've seen no other do before, of course I'll only preform it if I deem you worthy to see it."

~~~~

Jasper nodded, "Brilliant idea.  Plus most birds, Sophisticated or not, hold a natural hatred for Felines, so they would be a great help on our side."

~~~~

"Dot!"  She replied, wagging her tail a mile a minute.  "Glad to join you."  She did an unneeded bow.  "Yours is..  Eora right?  I remember from when you introduced yourself earlier!"

Miles felt a progressing dark feeling wash over him.  Dot shouldn't be here, it isn't healthy for her to be away from Ribunny, not at all, since Ribunny always prevented Dot from doing things that were too insane.  He barely stopped himself from letting out a sigh that would reflect his uncertainty.

Slasher focused his attention on Miles for a few moments, sensing his uncertainty.  Part of him wanted to say something comforting, and he was very close to before his red eye flashed and he turned his focus elsewhere.  What a stupid idea I had there, I do not care for this cat.  He thought, mentally growling, Yes you do..  A tiny and weak sounding voice whispered, but was quickly pushed away, We do not.

((Notice how the last part said "we" ;D))

((I can't wait to add birds with crystals! They don't speak the common language very well though XD))

"You may save it for battle then, if you wish," Iceblink said. "It's getting late, we should find you a room or something. Ah, well, do you need a few pillows and perhaps a small towel as a blanket? You coul spend the night here. I sure hope the rain stops in the morning..."

---

"We are one and the same, aren't we," Luciole said, bemused. She laid back onto her bed tiredly, her crystals pulsing in unison with her breath.

---

"It is, nice to have you. A fine memory as well. Let us take shelter from the rain over in that hollow tree for the night, we can continue on in the morning," Eora said.

((Silly Slasher and his dual personality ;3)) 

((I can't either now.  xDD'  Being a bird sounds really fun~))

Sneak sighed.  "I guess I could deal with sleeping on a towel and blanket, I've slept on worse."  He shrugged, suddenly becoming tired.  He wished he had someone to leech energy out of, but he had never done so to someone with another Crystal, and he wasn't just about to get hurt when he found out what happens, if anything.

~~~~

Jasper realized how tired he was when he noticed Luciole laying down.  He yawned, "Well, It's best we get some rest now, never know what could happen tomorrow."  He stood up and went to his own bed, slightly reluctant to leave Luciole's side.

~~~~

Dot nodded, "Sounds good to me!"  She replied, zipping over to the hallow tree in a blur of yellow light.

((xD That's the biggest reason why I like 'im)) 

Iceblink nodded to the ferret and promptly took a few pillows and a towel out of the linen closet, setting them on the ground between the two beds for Sneak to do as he pleased. He yawned. "We'll take you to see Torment in the morning," he said.

---

Luciole watched Jasper walking away, fighting the urge to call him back with some lame excuse about being cold, which was unlikely, since she was a light crystal user. "I hope it stops raining soon," she said as she drowsed.  She shut off the light by her bed, the only remaining light was the steady pulse of her crystals by her face.