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[Tigress]

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It took less than a day to find and retrieve Tie. Lee found her just where she expected – back home. Tie was sitting in the middle of the forsaken remnants of a once beautiful elven town. Her leather armor was torn, ragged. Blood and dirt had crusted over her bare skin. Lee scooped her into her arms and brought her back to Moonglow – their new home. She helped Tie clean up and tucked her into the warm, safe bed. She spent the rest of the morning and afternoon preparing for the zoo festivities that were to be held that night. Thoughts fluttered about in her head, “Rhiannon will be so happy to see you, Tie. She has missed you almost as much as I.”

Tie had spoken only a few words since her return. She seemed detached - removed. When the afternoon passed, Lee gathered the things she would need for the Haunted Zoo Tour. Lee was a bit uneasy about leaving Tie alone, so she gave her a tonic that would force her into an undisturbed sleep until morning. “I love you, my sister,” she whispered after kissing her on the cheek. Lee left with a content heart. She would take care of her little sister. She would help Tie find peace to replace the hatred that had consumed her for so long. Lee could relax a bit and have some fun at the zoo festivities.

Once alone, Tie rose from the bed and spat out the tonic. She dressed herself in the armor she had worn for the attack. She scribbled a note for Lee, placed it on her desk, and left the house into the dusk. She climbed quietly up the high embankment she had chosen earlier that day. At the top, she stared blankly over the sea; a cold wind blew across her emotionless face. Scenes from her past ran through her mind.

Her times as a young elf…her big sister, their mother, their father – the new born elf…

At the top of the embankment, the wind blew colder…she removed her leather gloves and tossed them off the cliff into the ocean.

Another memory…the fangs…the howling…the werewolves devouring her family…

She pulled her sleeves from her arms, one by one. She held them up, staring blankly at the ripped leather. She threw them in the air and watched them fall to the sea.

Images of Moonglow…the town…the council…training to become a fierce warrior…

She pulled off her kasa, stroked its rim for a few seconds and tossed it away, carelessly. The wind blew harder.

Deciding it was time for vengeance…packing her things…Lee begging her to stay… tears streaming freely down Tie’s face as she stepped into the moongate…

Her gorget and tunic came off next.

Tracking the wolves…stalking them…waiting in the cold…waiting for the perfect time to strike…

She removed her leggings and sent them over the edge.

Her mace crushing the vile beasts… satisfaction filling her heart…blow after blow… splintering bones and ripping flesh…

She pulled her magical jewelry from her hands to look at them one last time. They did not sparkle in the sunset as they once did. She watched as the waves swallowed them to some dismal place.

The frightened werewolf children… some no more than two or three years old…and the babies…small, helpless babies…

The blustering, cold wind circled her naked body. She picked up her bag and removed the skinning knife she had taken from Lee’s sword collection. She cast the satchel down.

Breaking the terrified, tiny faces…one after the other…the pleas for mercy…her hands, choking the life from the babies…

For the first time that evening, emotion broke from her face. Her lips trembled and tears swelled in her eyes. She had become a monster – as ugly and soulless as the werewolves that had taken her family from her. She was a baby killer - babies that would never have the chance to decide their own path… She was an infection…she would infect everyone around her…nothing pure was left in her soul…there was but one thing to do.

She clutched the knife with one hand. If monsters deserved to die – then it was her turn. In one swift movement she clenched her eyes tight and brought the knife to her neck, cutting deep – slicing from one side to the other. The blood erupted and her eyes opened wide at the sudden pain. She fell forward off the cliff and into the sea. The relentless waves pounded her lifeless body against the rocks.

[Lee]

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The Haunted Zoo Trail was a hit! “What fun!” Lee was thinking happily as the cast of the show accepted lavish praise for their hard work. Lighthearted conversation and play filled the streets next to the Moonglow bank. The crowd dwindled slowly and the festive air did not fade with the crowd. Only a few guests remained, joking and laughing, when Lee felt it. Her heart became heavy and her stomach felt as though it had turned within itself. She discretely stepped away from the small crowd, and as she walked she felt a terrible pain in her head. She brought a hand to her forehead. Daz saw her, recognized she was distraught, and asked her worriedly was wrong.

“I don’t know…” she responded. “Suddenly, I feel as though my heart is breaking.”

Daz put his hand on her shoulder and suggested he take her home.

“No, no my love. Please, tend to your guests. I will go. Do not worry…”

Daz began to protest but Lee would hear nothing of it. It was a big night, and she did not want to take any of the wonderful time from him. He reluctantly agreed, as she reminded him that home was not far away and she would see him soon.

“Tie…” her heart told her when she arrived at her doorstep. Lee rushed up the magical teleporter and gasped when she saw the empty bed in which she had left Tie. “The tonic…it should have kept her asleep all night…what…?”

As she tried to make sense of the disappearance, heat crept up her neck into her face and she began to sweat. She needed some fresh air. She opened the windows in the bedroom and a blustery whirlwind rushed into the house, startling her. She brought her hands to her face, blocking the aggressive wind. The heartache was now very strong leaving her shaken and frighten. The wind calmed down to a gentle breeze. She began to feel dizzy so she sat down at her desk. She laid her hand next to the quill where Tie had placed her note, her suicide note as it were, only no parchment remained. It had been blown to the floor and under the bed when the wind rushed into the house. Lee sat heartbroken, not knowing why, while her answer laid in the dark, hidden corner of the bedroom just a few steps away.

[Miss Rhiannon]

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Rhiannon hopped off her horse, Feisty (as poor Frisky had met and unfortunate end in an encounter with a few ettins...) and walked excitedly to Lee’s front door. “Tie is home, Tie is home,” she thought to herself over and over again. She was trying to maintain her composure which was something Lee had been preaching to her over and over again. This morning, doing so meant not barging through the front door and running through the house screaming to the top of her lungs, “TIE!!!! YOU’RE HOME!! YOU’RE HOME!!” So, when she knocked loudly on the door, pushed past Lee, and skipped through the living room – she felt pretty good about herself. “Where is she? Oh! She must be upstairs!” Before Lee had a chance to respond, Rhiannon was upstairs in the bedroom searching for her friend. No luck. Up to the roof, then! No luck. Rhiannon put her hands on her hips and gave a disapproving look to the empty house.

She called downstairs to Lee, “LEE! WHERE IS SHE?”

“Do not scream, child. I am right here,” Lee stated in firm manner, standing quietly behind Rhiannon.”

“Oh.” Rhiannon responded with a hint of shame in her voice. “I didn’t hear…”

“Tie is not here.”

Rhiannon stepped back a bit at this sentence partly because it didn’t make sense and partly because of Lee’s tone. Tie was supposed to be here and Lee was, well – she seemed cold.

“Well, where is sh…”

“I do not know,” Lee interrupted.

Rhiannon was a bit nervous to respond. She studied Lee’s face. She did not look well. Her eyes seemed very weak, as though neither opening nor closing them would be restful. Her hair was not braided in the usual neat and tidy manner, and she wore only a robe. Her posture was the same though - elegant and proud. Lee sat down at the roof top table, sighed lightly, and looked up the road towards the sea.

Rhiannon took a few steps in the direction of the table, eyeing the other chair next to Lee. “Wonder if it’s safe to sit…” she questioned to herself. Lee was not sending a welcoming vibe which was something even Rhiannon could sense. “I don’t have to be an all-knowing elf to feel that,” Rhiannon said to herself almost lightheartedly, but a twinge of sarcasm hid just below her jocular thought. She decided to remain standing.

“Didn’t you say you brought Tie home yester…”

“I did say that. Now, I am saying I do not know where she is. She was here and now she is not. It’s as simple as that.”

Rhiannon looked to the floor. She was so confused! Tie was supposed to be here but she wasn’t, and most baffling was how Lee was acting.

“Rhiannon. Go…do something. Go practice your spells. I will handle this.”

“What are you handling? I don’t know what is…” Rhiannon pleaded in a hurt, childlike voice.

“That’s right. You don’t know. I will find you later and we will discuss it, but right now I need to be alone.”

“But, Lee!”

“GO!” Lee shouted, standing up.

Rhiannon felt the tears coming to her eyes, but before she would let Lee see them she hurried out of the house. Lee's composure crumbled. She collapsed her head into her hands and cried. For one of the few times in her life, her emotions, not her thoughts, were dictating her actions. She was loosing control, and with that she had just displaced her anger on to Rhiannon. Truly, she was angry with herself…how did she lose Tie, again? She had been here…in the house…and now she was gone. Even worse, Lee knew wherever she was – something awful had happened. She could feel it in her heart.

Rhiannon jumped onto Feisty and quickly galloped away towards the town. The tears made their way out of her eyes and onto her long sleeve as she wiped them away, drop after drop. “Lee! You probably pushed her away! You are always trying to tell everyone what to do, how to act, who to be!” She thought angrily. She stopped riding just short of the town gates. She hopped off Feisty and began pacing back and forth over the road. “That’s it! Isn’t it Lee! What did you say to her? What did you do?” She paced angrily and clutched her hair with both hands, pulling it tight by the roots. “DAMN YOU, LEE! DAMN YOU AND YOUR ELVEN ARROGANCE!” She screamed at the top of her lungs in the direction of Lee’s house.

She could feel the anger that had once driven her mad stirring inside her gut. “NO!” She stated aloud. “I will not be driven mad, not again.” She shoved the anger down and took deep, slow breaths to calm herself. She needed a friend, but she had none here in Moonglow, except Lee. The only person she had been able to spend any time with was Lord Fong, but she did not want to bother him with her problems. She wished to spend more time with him, to get to know him – not to bombard him with the problems of a silly girl he barely knew.

“Okay, okay,” she told herself. “I will be fine. I don’t need Lee, and I don’t need her help making friends.” She nodded firmly to herself.

She looked towards town and decided to settle herself at the inn and then go out, inquiring about Tie. Maybe someone had seen her. She wiped away the last of her tears and headed into town.