(( "She"?! I'm a guy! D: Do I really act like a girl or something? ._.; ))

Zane looked down at Taylor and Shadow, his eyes wide with shock. They both looked so weak and he felt terrible for not being able to do anything for them. He carefully picked Taylor up in his arms and stood up. Their wet clothing made the task much harder then it should of been.

Suddenly Allen jumped through the bushes followed closely by Yuri and Vic and rushed over to Zane.

"What happened here?!" Allen exclaimed, looking from a collapsed Shadow to a still dripping wet Zane and Taylor.

Zane ignored the question. "Help me get them back to camp." he said quietly.

Allen noticed something in his brother's voice that made him instantly do what he said. He quietly helped Yuri get Shadow onto the cheetah's back. Shadow was much larger than him and Yuri looked rather ridiculous trying not to collapse.

The spirit noticed the looks he was getting from the other three and let out a small laugh. "I'm fine, lets just hurry up and regroup before my legs give out."

(( I might not be on when you guys are on. My parents are making me go out to eat with my grandparents at 5 res and theres a good chance I wont be able to get back on afterwards >_< )) 

((oops. typo fail XD no, you don't act like a girl lol))

Sasori looked down at Deomi again. A wave of confusion overwhelmed her. She shook her head. What the heck is there to be confused about? She thought and glanced at Ame. She hoped she would wake up soon. They had to get out of there.

--

Shadow's eyes fluttered open weakly and he let out a small gasp. His blurry eyes focused slowly on the others. He looked down and saw a white cheetah underneath him. "Put me down." He said to Yuri. He was still weak, but he did not want to let the others down.

Frustrated, Shadow sighed. He looked up and saw a break in the trees. "Yuri, you can put me down now. We are at the camp." He said, irritated with himself that he could not be the leader he was meant to be. He looked back over at Taylor. She was still sleeping and breathing deeply. He gently touched his mind to hers and closed his eyes, trying to find a difference. He pulled in a sharp intake of breath at what he found, but kept it to himself.

Sighing, Yuri gave in. He crouched down so Shadow was standing on his own legs and scrambled out from under his leader. He turned to face Shadow. "Are you ok?" he asked, taking Shadow's gasp as one of pain. "Maybe you should rest," Allen offered, trying to be helpful but not having a clue how to do so. He looked back over at Zane, who had found a comfortable spot to sit and was still holding Taylor tightly in his arms. Allen frowned. He'd never seen his brother act like that towards anyone and it was a strange sight for him. 

Shadow shook his head, his eyes still distant. He then focused on Yuri. "No, no. I'm fine." He said and padded toward Taylor. Exhaustion dragged at his paws, but he reached her and the other human, Zane. He nodded at Zane once and touched his warm nose to the tip of Taylor's head. A strange blue light illuminated in intricate patterns on her skin. The other spirits would know what this meant. She was powered. Hesitantly, he reached his mind out to her. Time to arise. He said to her and her eyes fluttered open.

--

Taylor felt a tingling feeling skittering across her body and she felt Shadow's presence in her mind. At his command, she opened her eyes and her focus came to Zane's face. She smiled. "Hey, you." She said weakly.

Zane blinked in surprise, staring at the mark Shadow's touch had left on Taylor. He'd never seen anything like it before but it seemed like the other spirits recognized it. He was about to ask what it was when Taylor's voice broke his train of thought. He looked down at her, giving her a weak smile. "I'm glad you're ok..." he said quietly, trying to ignore the smug grin that he knew Allen was giving him. 

Vic slithered over to Taylor. "Glad you're up. You gave us quite a scare." He hissed, giving Zane a teasing look. Zane would of clocked him if Taylor hadn't been in his lap and knowing this only made Vic laugh.

Zane flinched. "I... don't know. Everything happened so fast and I was only able to focus on you." He mentally cursed himself. He should of been paying attention to everything and not just one person.  

"Lunar? Who's Lunar?" Allen interrupted. 

"The reason why you can't leave," Yuri answered. "She's the leader of the Mutants. Nasty devil." Yuri snarled. He unsheathed his claws, imagining what it'd be like to sink them into Lunar's face.

Zane nodded. He cleaned up Taylor's wound as best he could, being exceptionally careful not to hurt her, then wrapped her arm up. While he worked, he gave Shadow a suspicious look. "So how many ships have crashed here and how many survivors met out fate?" he asked. His voice was casual, but there was a hint of malice. After a moment, he finished wrapping Taylor's arm. "There. How's that?" he asked her. "It's not too tight is it?" He wasn't the best when it came to treating injuries, but the wound would at least be safe from infection. 

Allen and Yuri exchanged a glance before walking over to sit by Zane. Allen gave his brother a worried look. He could tell Zane was feeling stressed just like the rest of them but was forcing himself to hide it. 

Shadow shifted uncomfortably. "Most did not survive and out of the ones that did survive, Lunar and her gang got to them before we could stop them." He said and looked away from Zane. "You were the first ones to make it during our generation." He said and looked at Taylor. She smiled sadly.

--

Taylor looked up at Shadow. Her arm was feeling sore and it was burning like crazy, but she ignored it. "No, it's good that it's tight." She said and locked her gaze with Shadow. "They did not survive the crash, but maybe they weren't meant to." She said and shrugged.

Zane didn't say anything. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and decided to focus on a small pebble beside his foot. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank. Everything was just too much to deal with all at once. It was giving him a headache.

Vic noticed Zane's sudden calmness and took it as an opportunity to explore his mind. Zane fascinated him and he wanted to see exactly what made Zane who he was. He focused on his partner's mind.

"Get out of my mind, bird food," Zane growled calmly, causing Vic to jerk back, hissing in surprise. He gave up probing Zane's mind and looked away quickly.

(( Zane's epic XD

Gotta go, grr >_> )) 

Deomi stroked Ame affectionately, and the tigeress stirred. Ame opened her blue eyes with a groan, "you-your okay." The relief was apparent in Ame's voice.

"Of course I am!" Deomi said smugly, "I'm a Branson, nothing bad ever happens to us." she said with a wink. She looked over at Sasori, "so, lets head back to camp." Deomi was so relieved Ame survived, and that Lunar was gone. She brushed the leaves and dirt of of herself.

___

Dagger limped back on all four legs to the heart of mutant teritory. Khaos had taked a toll on the black werewolf's front leg. He growled angrily

___

Trust me now? Khaos's voice echoed in Luke's mind. No. not really. He replied. Khaos snorted why not? what reason have I given you to not trust me? Luke almost laughed out loud. Gee. Maybe its because you are a REALLY big wolf who can talk to me. Thats makes me think that I might just be a little crazy! Both looked frustrated as they continued their silent argument.

Lunar looked over her shoulder. "Stop limping Dagger. Show some backbone." She snapped at him. Lunar slid her black dagger back into her rawhide belt, but the shadowy aura still surrounded her. "We have to attack again soon. Before they can recover. As soon as the humans are left less protected again." She said, mumbling to herself, but loud enough for someone to overhear.

--

Taylor sat up and out of Zane's arms. She turned her torso to face him and sucked in a quick breath when the movement hurt her arm. "Don't be mean to Vic. You have to learn to trust him if we're going to stay alive on this God-awful island." She snapped at him. "No offense guys." She said to the Spirits. "None taken," Shadow said. "We can understand how you must feel."

Dagger snarled, "you think it was easy? you had the tiger's human. Khaos's human was nowhere to be found, so he had no weaknesses that I could find." he snarled. The wound on his arm still oozed blood.

___

Deomi walked into the camp with a dazed Ame by her side, smiling broadly, "Lunar is gone!" she said proudly.

"for now." Ame added, laying down with a huff. The Tigress panted slightly and she closed her eyes, "she did some damage on us before she left though." she said. The gash she had given Deomi was now mostly healed, leaving just a red, jagged cut that had stopped bleeding and was at least clean.

Shadow looked at Deomi's cut. "Your cut should not have healed that fast." He said, getting up on shaky paws. He padded over to her and sniffed the cut, his eyes widening. He swung around to face Ame. "Look in your bond's mind. You must know what has happened to her." He whispered to her. "The same has happened with Taylor."

--

Taylor watched as Shadow walked over to Deomi and examined her cut. He then said the words in a hushed voice to Ame. Taylor quickly thought of hiding her mind from Shadow's and quietly entered his mind. She read his thoughts as he spoke the words to Deomi. She kept a calm, collected face as she heard this information. She did not understand what he meant, but she knew she had changed.

Zane blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Taylor to snap at him. His eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter if I trust him or not. He doesn't have any right to mess around with my mind. I already feel weird about talking to a snake!" He snapped back. 

Yuri and Allen scooted a little ways away from the two. It looks like this is turning into a lover's spat. Yuri said to Allen, slightly appalled. Allen didn't answer, he was too busy trying to decide if he should laugh or run.

------

Crux followed quietly behind the pair, not wanting to interrupt. (( Fail. ))

"Well, maybe he's just trying to understand you." She said back. "He's not just a snake. He's a snake that will probably protect you with his last breath. You would know that if you bothered to get to know him." She said and pulled herself out of his arms. She sucked in a deep breath before pushing herself off of the ground. She stalked away from him and flung her arms around Shadow's neck. He bent down and she climbed on top of him. He instantly connected his mind with hers. I need to ask you some questions. Taylor asked. As do I. He said and then turned to the rest of them.

--

After their exchange, Shadow opened his mouth. "I am taking Taylor into my den with me. She will sleep and I will rest. Vic and Ame. Please get guards posted and make sure everything is in order. I wouldn't be surprised if Lunar attacked again tonight." He said and with a flick of his ears, retreated into his den.

Ame probed Deomi's mind, but couldnt find anything different. She knew that Deomi knew Ame was reading her thoughts, but knew the girl wouldnt do anything. Demoi had completely trusted Ame from the start. What was Shadow talking about? There was nothing different about Deomi....

Deomi watched Ame with a look of puzzlement, "what are you doing?" she asked, confusion in her voice. Ame just shook her head.