This is chapter one of GDP. I can't be as leniant on this RP as I am with most. I ask that you post at least three lines per post. Thank you.
[Ravendust]

---

A small, black cat slumbered peacefully in the lower branches of an old oak tree. Her coat was sleek and well cared for, and occasionally her ears twitched at the sounds of the forest.

"You lost the entire eastern squadrant," Reáper said, her eyes narrowed beneath her golden bangs.

Neneh stood, her uniform torn and bloodied from long battle. Her short, black hair was splayed rather helter-skelter about her weary face. She was wounded in several places, though she stood firmly before the angered woman, clutching her deadky scythe in a white-knuckled grasp of apprehension.

"Your irresponsibily has cost you your position and your many graces in my father's eyes." Reáper continued, "Your failure is unnacceptable, and I henceforth banish you from these lands. You have two hours to gather your belongings before your cottage is destroyed. You will have another hour thereafter to reach the borders of this land before I have you arrested and executed."

"Princess, it is impossible to reach the border in a single hour!" Neneh couldn't hold her silence a moment longer, "It takes at least a full day of walking!"

"One hour is all you will be allowed!" Reáper roared, stepping from the podium and to Neneh's side. Her blood-red fingernails reached out and grabbed the delicate patch on her right breast. She tore the patch free and threw it to the ground, stomping on it viciously, "You are hereby dishonerably discharged. Get your things and leave." Reáper said coolly, ascending the platform once more.

Neneh stared in shock at the patch on the ground and reached for it, "Leave it!" Reáper barked, "Get out, now!"

Silently Neneh left the throne room, her head bowed in shame. "Neneh, how'd it go?" One of the men standing outside the throne room asked good-naturedly.

She looked at him with hollow eyes, "The princess has banished me." She replied in a monotone, continuing along her way.

"What!?!" His eyes widened in shock, "Why that little jealous-"

"Stop." Neneh turned to him, "Don't speak of the princess in that manner. I understand that I have failed. I've been discharged and am now ordered to leave. Please, don't let your temper get the better of you or something along similar lines will happen to you, then what will happen to your family who relies on you to take care of them?" His eyebrows knitted together in frustration and he watched her retreating form in sorrow.

Neneh packed all of the things that she would need to travel, several new sets of clothes, fresh camping gear, tools to sharpen her blades, spell books and other large tomes, and some food. She stepped outside in time to see the princess and several of her loyal guards approaching the small cottage with lit torches.

She lowered her head and began to walk, not desiring to watch as her home was burned. She allowed several tears to fall as she hefted her heavy bags on her back. The smell of burning wood and thatch reached her nose as she began a light run, adjusting her scythe so that it rested comfortably in the curve of her back.

Her hour was half over and the border was nowhere in sight. Neneh picked up her pace, exhaustion sweeping over her as she ran with everything she had, causing wounds to reopen and her head to start pounding. Her heart pounded in her chest, almost to the point that she felt as though it would beat right out of her chest. Finally, with only moments to spare, she caught sight of the outposts on the horizon. She strained harder against her bodies limits, surprising the outpost guardians as she sped towards them.

Most watched her with sympathy, though several had dark, unreadable expressions and moved forward to stop her flight. "Badge." One held out his hand, knowing full well that she'd been stripped of it.

"I don't have it." Neneh panted, bending over double, "Now if you'll excuse me I have somewhere I need to go." Not too much longer now, she was almost out of time...

"I can't allow you to leave through this checkpoint without your badge." Was the stubborn reply, "About 5 miles east is the civilian outpost."

"I don't have that kind of time!" Neneh exclaimed.

"You don't have a choice." The man's gaze hardened, it was only he and a select few in the area with her. "You are late in leaving, Neneh, you do realize what this means?"

"You can't arrest me when it was you yourself who delayed me!" Neneh growled as he and the others drew their swords and decended upon her.

Neneh had no choice but to draw her own weapon and fend off their attacks. She struggled not to injure them, and in the end she managed to slip by them. "You've drawn your weapon against an officer, you've become an outlaw now!" One hooted in her direction.

She gave a small sigh. "Of course this was their plan all along... Who in their right mind would allow themselves to be stabbed after all?" She began running again, leaving them behind.

She extended her claws, pressing the pad of her paw into the tree branch, still lost in slumber and released a small meow.

The wind whistled gently through the tree's limbs as if in answer of the cat's soft meow, the nature surrounding her whispered. A faded figure materialized out of the air, it's form hazed for now as the glowing saphire eyes stared at the cat, "...cute..." said a soft and pleasant feminine voice.

She made a small face as though fighting consciousness, her ears twitching at the feminine voice. Almost immediately her eyes snapped open and her form stretched into the figure of a young woman in the blink of an eye. They young woman wore a uniform with a slight miscoloration on the right breast.

The figure 'eeked' backwards and disappeared, the wind dieing down to nothing but the giddy feeling that emanated from the mysterious presence never left.

She leapt from the tree cautiously, making nary a sound as she hit the ground and reached into the base of the tree, which had been hidden by undergrowth, pulling out her scythe cautiously. There was a strange feeling to the air, it didn't seem threatening, but one could never be too careful, "Hello?" She called into the darkness.

"Hi..." replied the female voice, the wind picking up again slightly to be a small breeze and the feeling of happiness changed to curiousity, "How can you change into a feline form?" asked the voice, still not revealing their location.

"It's not as though I want to do it." Neneh responded, her emerald eyes searching the darkness, "Who are you?" She couldn't see just who was there, but she felt her own curiousity being aroused.

"I am... Fiyero... I am an Eidolon." The air shimmered to one side of the tree to reveal a hovering beautiful female, her eyes slightly slanted, giving her blue eyes a feline look while her azhure hair floated around her body. Lots of small shinny things were attached to her strange outfit, the parts around her shoulders and stomach looked to be from a fishing net and no shoes adorned her delicate looking feet. Giggling, "You startled me kitty!"

"My name is Neneh, not kitty." She responded, tucking a strand of her mussed midnight hair behind her ear. She looked over the strange woman with curiousity, never having seen an Eidolon before.

She floated a little closer, seeming to 'lay' in the air for her body was parallel with the ground, "Oh I'm sorry!" She giggled again, "You aren't afraid of me! Great!" Fiyero revealed a large smile, "Oftentimes people think I'm a ghost... then they bring a holy man who tries to banish me, thinking I'm a bad spirit!" She giggled once more and did a flip in the air.

"Well, even if I'd thought you a ghost you aren't a frightening, nor in any way, an imposing figure to me." Neneh replied simply, setting her scythe down against the tree and leaning against it casually.

"Oh..." Fiyero wilted slightly, "I came here... for... I don't know what for... hmm." She thought hard but still couldn't come up with an answer and the breeze picked up briefly before stopping all together, "Oh well."

"How can you not remember why you are here?" Neneh boulsnare feel?" Fiyero asked again, her bouncing stopped as she through that her explanation would solve everything.

"Um... I'd say your explanation has only served to confuse me more." Neneh said slowly, "I never stopped to think about that kind of thing. Wouldn't he feel evil because he is evil? But I mean... there's more people with evil in them out in the world so something so simple wouldn't be very helpful, would it?"

"Well if someone feels really really evil then all I have to find is a really really evil feeling person!" Fiyero grinned, "I can try if you want! And I can be invisible at the same time!!!"

"Well... you could try I suppose. I mean, it's not like it'd hurt, probably be a better lead than anything I've found in the past few months." Neneh said, nodding curtly.

In the blink of an eye the Eidolon was gone.

---

Red. It was all red. Rotten bodies laid ignored by their once masters, the air was filled with the screams of the dieing and the screams of the hurt. Invisible, Fiyero almost joined in their screams, her mind coming close to being overpowered by such thoughts of violence and pain. She sought refuge. There was one place that was quiet, one place that was calm, one place for a haven in this emotional storm. A five-by-five cell in which slept a lanky man covered in the scars of bondage. Fiyero hesitently touched the man's mind, surprised that one in such a place could be so calm and in response to her thoughts the man's eyes opened.

"Lo?" He whispered hoarsely to his cell, looking around in the blackness before shaking his head, "-am I finally going crazy?" He asked himself, scratching his dirty head and sighing softly.

Fiyero was intrigued by this man, for by the looks of him he spent his entire life in bondage, never knowing the freedom that Fiyero enjoyed. "What are you here for?" She asked him softly, A small breeze seemingly to spring up at her words.

He jumped.

"For being born... I suppose," He answered her, "Am I really going crazy? Or has the death mistress finally decided to release me?" Fiyero giggled, "No! I was looking for someone." She made herself visible, floating in the air with her body glowing softly, "Where is this place?"

"This place..." The man's face tightened, "This is the dungeon under Soulsnare's castle... commonly referred to as the Hellpit.nI was born here and have never left... what brings a beautiful creature such as yourself here to this ugly place?" The man asked her, the scars on his face showing slightly in the small amount of light.

Fiyero giggled at his complement, "I was searching for Soulsnare! I am Fiyero and I am trying to help my friend find him!"

The man couldn't help but smile slightly, the action awkward on his face, "So casually?" Fiyero shook her head, "I came in here invisible... however the emotions in this place almost made me slip out..." She wilted then was startled into invisibility when light burst into the room.

"Time for fun Chado..." Said the cruel guard, dragging the man from his cell and attaching his wrists to a chain which he hoisted up to the ceiling. Chado gasped as his feet just barely touched the ground. "Fiyero..." He whispered, "Stay away from Soulsnare... I don't want something beautiful to be destroyed!" A whip cracked against his back harshly, drawing blood down to the bone instantly, "NO TALKING!" The guard screamed. The Eidolon didn't know what to do, she should leave, but Chado... why should he have to stay and endure this anymore? His body was covered in painful scars, his mind was bright with potential and his future dim.

The guard hit him, again and again till the ground was soaked with his blood but Chado's face was still and his eyes closed until Fiyero touched his mind again, "Come with me!"

Chado grimaced as the lashes touched his ripped open back, "H-How?"

"Will yourself to be like me... free..." Fiyero replied, her body appearing infront of him and she embraced him softly. Chado shed a small tear of the thought of freedom, and he willed his body to be free of the pain and to be like her, an image that could disappear from this horror.

---

Reappearing was difficult for her. She had Chado with her, his body torn and his soul at peace in the deep sleep of his own mind. However the difficulty Fiyero managed to make them appear in front of Neneh... hopefully she knew what to do.

Neneh leapt almost immediately into action when Fiyero reappeared in front of her with a bleeding man. She gently laid him onto the ground and dragged over one of her large bags. From it she brought various dissinfectants, bandages, and some needles and thread to stitch his wounds. "Fiyero, do you know where I can get some fresh water?" She asked.

"Give me a bag, and help me to make it a mirage!" Fiyero replied in distress, "I found him in the dungeons under Soulsnare's castle!"

"Here, I've got a few waterskins." Neneh responded, pulling them out of the bag and lifting them up to her as she put pressure on the man's wounds.

With Neneh and Fiyero's will the water skin changed into a mirage which Fiyero grabbed and disappeared... then reappeared several seconds later, the bag full of water as she dropped it, changing it back to normal.

Neneh stood up and quickly dug out a fire pit. She quickly lit a small fire and pulled out a crude pot, resting it over the fire as she poured in the water.

Slowly awakening, Chado opened his eyes to a dark blue ceiling, full of sparkling white bits that captured his gaze, then Fiyero's see through head popped into his view, "Chado! You're free!"

"Free?" He tried to move and found he could not and in the dim light of night he saw another female by his side, lightly dealing with his wounds, "Is this heaven that there are so many beautiful things around me?"

"Please don't move while I do this..." Neneh murmured, gently wiping the blood away from the wounds to assess the damage, "These are really deep..."

"...It is normal," Chado responded before staying still, the pain a sting at the end of his soul. "I've had worse wounds than this."

"It doesn't matter." She said simply, cleaning and stitching his wounds after the water had boiled and she'd sterilized her needle. She quickly wrapped the wound and stood, feeling suddenly dizzy. Why... She thought as she collapsed and her form shifted.

Fiyero gasped and flew over the the cat, "Neneh!" The man propped himself up on his elbow and touched his back gingerly, "She did a good job... why is did she... change forms?"

The Eidolon shook her head, "I don't know..."

"Hahaha!" The faceless man laughed as he always did, Neneh's smoking form resting several feet before him as she struggled to get up, "I've stolen half of your life force." He said with a grin, holding up a swirling ball of light, "If you want it, come and get it." He turned to walk away.

Neneh grabbed the legging of his pants, "Give... it back!" She gasped out as he kicked her away in disgust.

"As you are now you cannot accomplish this task." He laughed again, "I would kill you... but you aren't even worth staining my hands with."

She began to feel her consciousness returning a small while later, though she was loathe to fully return to consciousness.

While she was out cold, Chado had explored the area around them with Fiyero's help, found the water and gave himself a bath... with Fiyero keeping an eye on Neneh while he did it. Coming clean, his hair returned to its red-blonde color and his very pale skin was washed free of all the blood and muck of years of imprisonment. When he was done he rumaged through Neneh's things, finding a cloak which he donned to give himself more cover. Together, he and Fiyero waited for Neneh to come to.

She stirred and her form began to haze as it hovered between transformations. She blinked her eyes open and sat up then, giving the two an apologetic look as her form settled itself in it's usual manner.

"Are you alright?" Chado asked with genuine concern, however his face was thoroughly emotionless, "What was that you turned into?"

"I am fine..." She said softly, "and my other form is... a cat." She stood up slowly, a little wavery at first, "I am sorry..." She said more softly.

"Cat? Sorry? Can you explain?" He replied, slightly confused.

"How exactly can I explain it..." She said with a small laugh, "A cat is mammal, kind of like you and I..." She said, "except it's smaller and covered in fur. They're quite calm and intelligent creatures..."

"...And... what is this Sorry?" Chado asked, "This is all new to me... everything is. I've never been out of the dungeon in my whole life, Fiyero saw how maddening it is down there." Fiyero nodded her agreeance.

"It's an apology... Something you say when you've done something wrong or feel badly about something." Neneh responded.

"I see... what are you apologizing for?" He was full of questions about life because he had never had a choice to live, it was always a privilage.

"For suddenly passing out like that..." She said, pulling out a bag of dried meat from her things, "Are you hungry?" She turned and sat down once more.

His stomach growled, "Apparantly.. but I don't need it, I'm fine... I can last a long time without food."

When Chado looked to Fiyero to see if she wanted some the Eidolon was gone, "Interesting creature."

"You're too thin. Don't think of yourself as being a prisoner, eat." She said, holding it out. "I don't care how long you can last without food, if your stomach's telling you it's hungry, feed it."

Chado sheepishly accepted it, "Alright... Oh, I'm Chado by the way, I never caught your name." He bit into the food heartily.

"It's Neneh." She said simply, "Tell me... why did Soulsnare keep you as a prisoner?" She asked softly, her curiousity getting the better of her.

He didn't answer her at first, chewing slowly as he thought through his answer before simply, "He wanted dominion over me."

"Would it bother you to say that I am currently seeking him out?" She said, looking at him as she traced circles in the dirt, "He's taken something very imortant to me..."

"It would only bother me if you were killed, no one should have to face that monster... except another monster..." Chado said those last words in a whisper as he shifted his skinny frame.

"He won't kill me." She said simply, staring up at the night sky, "He'll be the one to die when next we meet..." Neneh sighed softly, "We should probably get some rest, it is late."

Chado looked up at the sky and asked softly, "What are those called?"

"They're called stars... Distant flames from many different universes..." Neneh said just as softly, "They light up the night sky on clear evenings such as this..."

"I have so much to learn." Chado whispered before wrapping the cloak around himself and laying down on his side, not complaining or whimpering about his wounds, just accepting them.

"And you will certainly have the time with which to learn." Neneh replied, "You will not be so lost about the outside world for long. It is good that even while in captivity you were not made bitter..."

"I deserved every minute of it..." Chado admitted, "For the very fact that I was born, or rather the factor of my father siring me."

"Nobody ever deserves to be put into such a situation, so don't you say that." Neneh said, looking over at him seriously, "Do not think that way."

He didn't respond. He didn't want to think about it. Thinking about it made him angry... and it was a terrible thing for him to be angry, "We should get some sleep."

"Mm, you're right." Neneh said, "I think that I might have a bedroll in here somewhere that you can use..." She moved over to her things and began looking through them.

"I don't need one..." With a soft sigh Chado let himself slip into sleep.

She sighed, pulling out a blanket, "It doesn't matter." She said softly, draping it over him before packing her things and putting them back into the base of the tree with her scythe. She stretched and leaned against it's base, closing her eyes tiredly.

It was in that moment that Fiyero appeared in their vicinity and almost yelled out her arrival but realized barely in time that they were both sleeping. So instead she sat cross-legged in the air and a light blue sheen over took her eyes. Eidolon's never slept but occasionally they took on a meditative state.

Morning came and the sky was gray with clouds and the birds were silent; something was in the air... and it was dangerous.

She dug her claws gently into the dirt at the base of the tree, still lost in deep slumber, her ears twitching with the early morning sounds.

Sitting up, Chado yawned and shook off the blanket, seeing Fiyero in the air he paused, then slowly wandered off to relieve himself.

Neneh at last began to surface from her sleep, though quite grudgingly of course. She blinked awake in the early morning light and sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Wandering back, Chado had hold of a squirming rabbit, "This creature was watching me piss, made me curious." He bluntly said.

Neneh blinked in a mixture of surprise and amusement, "That's a rabbit... They like to eat vegetables and are rather shy around humans- that's why it's squirming in your grip right now..."

"Oh... I see. What do we eat?" He asked, still holding the rabbit as it settled down in his arms.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure. There's some dried meat left, I could always do a bit of foraging..." She said thoughtfully as she stood up.

Chado lowered the rabbit to the ground, the creature still for a second before it sprinted for the nearest cover.

"Here." Neneh threw the bag at him and stood, stretching her legs, "That should be enough for now... I'll have to make some more later on..."

The man deftly caught it, opening it and eating whatever was inside. "What about Fiyero?" He asked after a second, realizing that the Eidolon had been in the same position for a while.

"I don't know..." Neneh replied, "I don't really know what her kind eat... Fiyero, are you hungry?" She turned to the other woman, waiting for her answer.

Fiyero snapped to attention, the glow leaving her eyes, "Huh? Oh foooood.... Uh no... I won't be hungry for a few days now." The Eidolon smiled before fliping in the air for a second before finally settling down.

"A few days? What's that supposed to mean, and just what do you eat, anyway?" Neneh asked curiously as she knawed on the piece of jerkey that she'd snagged from the bag before throwing it to Chado.

"...I eat star essence... the energy that radiates from stars." Fiyero explained, which made Chado frown as he didn't understand, but he didn't say anything either.

"Oh... I... see." Neneh said, she didn't really understand, but she wasn't going to say anything about it, "Well... anyway, can't stay in this area much longer, I don't know how safe we'll be..."

Chado's frown turned her way, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well... I'm kind of being chased through here right now..." Neneh said, rubbing the back of her head nervously, "I was supposed to be gone a while ago..."

"Gone? From this area? Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Fiyero commented, her hands on her hips before she turned back to Neneh and blinked, "Why do we have to leave?"

"Because... I was... banished." She mumbled in shame, her fingers automatically moving to the light patch on her uniform, "They delayed me- kept me from getting out in time..."

"Banished?" Chado questioned, "Why would someone banish you? Well lets get out of here then! You helped me, I'll help you."

She pulled her bags out from the roots of the tree and began strapping them over her shoulders silently, "Banished because of my incompetence..." She murmured.

The wind suddenly picked up and Fiyero went still, "Some one is coming..."

Chado loooked around them, unacustomed to nature and the threats therein.

Neneh set the bags back down and drew her scythe, "Can you tell who or how many there are?" She asked softly, pulling out a simple knife and handing it to Chado, "I'm sorry, this is all I have on me... I'll buy you a decent weapon later, promise."

He took it hesitantly, the knife awkward in his grasp.

"There five people approaching," Fiyero reported, flitting about nervously, "Do you mind if I go invisible for a while?"

"No, it's fine." Neneh responded, "Five's not so bad... I'm fairly sure that we could handle them easy enough..." She at least hoped that they would be able to handle the situation, anyway.

In one moment of truth four of the soldiers that once protected Neneh's back sprang at her, the fifth coming after Chado.

"Ah! The king's soldiers!" Neneh gasped, working simply to fend off their attacks, not to actually hurt them in any way. Despite having been banished, she was still loyal to her people.

Chado however simply worked to avoid getting hit, which surprisingly, was fairly easy for him.

"Please, stop attacking us!" Neneh pleaded, "I don't want to have to hurt any of you!" She leapt to the side to avoid a strong thrust at her stomach.

Hissing at the one attacking him, Chado managed to get within the guard's defense and punched him in the face, hard enough that the man flew backwards and hit a tree.

Why does it have to be this way? Maybe if I can get a thick stick I can knock them out... As she defended herself she began to look around for decently sized sticks.

Leaping at one of the men attacking Neneh, he forced the guard to defend himself from Chado's attacks.

A hooded figure leapt quickly from the trees, and from his fingers flew several long, thin needles that buried themselves into the throats of each of the men. Silently they fell. "Come, I will show you a safe way to the border..." He said to them, "Do not worry, they are not dead."

Chado growled at him, "What should I do Neneh?"

"I think that he's okay..." Neneh said softly, she felt as though he were familiar to her, "Who are you?"

"Right now that doesn't matter, let's go." He said.

Chado instantly complied obediently.

"...Alright, I thank you for your aid." Neneh said softly, following him.

The cloaked man led them deeper into the trees. "We're almost there..." He said softly. There was a loud roar nearby, and Neneh almost immediately identified it.

"The river?" She said, puzzled.

"It is unguarded, too many men haven't the faintest idea how to swim, several got to close, fell in, and drown. They're afraid the spirits of the dead will harm them. I've a boat that should hold up..."

Boat? River? Chado looked cluelessly from either person before sighing and simply followed them both.

The river came into sight, it's raging waters frothing white in several places, "I don't know if I can do this..." Neneh said nervously.

"You've sailed worse waters..." The cloaked figure responded, leading them to a small boat, "This is as far as I can take you. Good luck."

"Thank you!" Neneh called as he vanished.

"This looks dangerous," commented Chado, touching the rivers edge with a bare foot.

"Yes, yes it is. You should really stand back... The current could pull you right in..." Neneh said, throwing her packs into the boat and tight them down with some rope.

Chado did as he was bade and watched as she finished with her stuff.

"Alrighty then, climb aboard and I'll get us out into the water." Neneh said once she'd secured everything.

Looking from her to the boat Chado was obviously confused then simply shrugged and stepped into the boat. The river was violent and he almost lost his balance but hastily sat down.

She pushed the boat into the water and leapt aboard, it shuddered only once, threatening to spill over, before steadying. Neneh immediately grabbed one of the paddles and began to steer the boat.

"I want to correct myself... This is extremely dangerous!" He told her, each of his hands were on either side of him, keeping his skinny self in the middle of the boat as possible.

She simply nodded as she forced the boat away from a large pile of rocks, "Yes, but... nothing that I've not dealt with before." She responded.

The spray theatened to soak Chado's nearly naked body however Neneh's cloak did it's job and kept him fairly dry, "When will this end?"

"Who knows? It could be a short while before we can beach again." She replied, "Just brace yourself for the rough waters, this is no picnic..."

"Picnic?" He realized that he just asked another question, "Nevermind..."

"Heh, a picnic is generally referrered to as something fun or easygoing." Neneh wiped water from her eyes with her free hand.

"I see." He replied, watching Neneh's movements closely, learning.

She strained against the water's current, steering the boat towards the left side to avoid a sandbar, "Treebranch- duck!" She said suddenly.

"Duck?" Chado wasn't paying attention and caught the large bough right in the face, knocking him out and sending him out of the boat and into the water.

"Chado!" She exclaimed, setting the oar down quickly and grabbing a rope. She tied it to the boat and then to herself and leapt into the water, it would be faster that way. She knifed expertly through the fast waters.

He stood out like a white pearl against the bottom of the river as his body was being forced foward by the current.

She caught sight of him and moved faster as she grew nearer, "Chado!" She spluttered, diving down after him. I'm coming... She thought firmly.

Finally his body got stuck in between two boulders, keeping him from being swept further away, no signs of life coming from the man.

She grabbed his still form and strained against the water's currents and the bolders as she swam towards the surface. She gasped for breath and tugged on her rope with her free hand, trying her hardest to pull them back towards the boat. ... rocks! She forced him against the boat, there's not enough time... She thought to herself as she struggled to lift his soaked form.

"Danger!" Came Fiyero's voice and a huge gust of wind pushed them out of harm's way just in time. The wind kept blowing until the boat was beached. "Tis a good thing I managed to get myself away from that shiny thing!" Fiyero said proudly, appearing over the boat.

"Thanks..." Neneh huffed, dragging Chado ashore. She gently placed her ear against his chest, searching for his heartbeat, "What shiny thing?"

"Oh..." Fiyero scrunched her eyebrows together, thinking, "Oh yeah! It was a big moving shiny thing, walking humanoid shiny thing!"

"I see..." Neneh pressed her palms to Chado's chest, "Give me a minute... I think he might've swallowed a bit too much water... I don't think that that knock on the head helped him much either..."

His eye's fluttering open, Chado turned to the side and threw up water before dry heaving for a minute. Coughing, he finally laid back and muttered, "That was no picnic..."

"No..." She laughed, throwing herself down on the ground tiredly and allowing her aching arms to rest, "It most certainly was not. But at least now you know that when I say 'duck' generally it means put your head down really quick or something like that'll happen..."

"Thank you," He responded and put a finger to his slightly bleeding nose, "At least I've taken enough pain for this not to matter."

"I'm sorry..." She said, forcing herself to sit up, "I'm also going to apologize for the fact that we've got to get back aboard. We've not crossed the border just yet..."

"Well let's just get this over with..." Chado said, standing awkwardly and moving back toward the boat.

She nodded, and once he was settled in she pushed it back out into the water again, "Be a bit more attentive this time around... I say we were both lucky that Fiyero showed up when she did..."

Fiyero giggled, "Lucky! Yes you were!"

"There is no such thing as luck," Chado commented, instead of keeping his eyes in the boat he looked all around, not wanting to fall out again.

She shrugged, "Now I can't lose my concentration- we've reached some pretty rough waters, hold on tight, okay?" She said.

"Okay." Chado didn't say anymore and let her guide them to safetly, with Fiyero floating overhead happily.

There was a stronger roaring in the distance, and it took Neneh a little while to identify it, "Waterfall... there's a waterfall on this river?" She blinked nervously.

"Waterfall?" Chado asked before Fiyero interrupted, if a little reluctantly, "I can mirage both of you...Buuuuut it'll be very difficult for me to maintain it..."

"It's fine... if I can maneuver the boat just right we should make it over with minimal damage. I don't want to strain you. Keep an eye on Chado though- since he can't swim."

Chado grimaced, trying to ignore the small amounts of blood seeping out of his back from his adventure.

"The water's about to get a whole lot rougher." She said calmly, "Hold on tight, alright?"

"I'll try," He responded honestly, not knowing what they were about to go through in the least bit.

She nodded, an 'I'll try' was better than nothing. Silently she steered them through the steadily faster waters.

Around the next bend Chado strained his neck, looking at the mist with an odd look of fear in his eyes, "Whats that...?" He whispered.

"That, my friend, is a waterfall." Neneh responded coolly, the muscles in her arms straining against the velocity of the water, "This is where you really need to hold on, if you go over those falls recklessly you could be killed."

Fiyero twittered around in the air, not speaking but you could tell she was worried from her actions.

Neneh remained calm as she steadied the boat in it's helter skelter movements, trying to make the ride as smooth as possible for Chado.