How long was I out?
I blink and rub my eyes, and lift my head off the edge of the table. When my eyes focus, I notice Twinkle standing between the kitchen and hallway.
That reminds me. I have to tell her.
"How are you feeling?" she asks.
How am I? Apart from being hunted down by people who want to hurt me, I'm feeling great.
I find myself not looking at her blue eyes. I'm staring at her lips again. It's as if this moment wants me to make a move. I want to kiss her, to make the opposite attractions of ice and fire collide.
What are you doing, Duke? She wants nothing to do with you like that. Can you just listen to her instead of ruining her life?
"Oh, I guess you're still out of it. I only came back to check up on you because Ardere wanted to know if you felt like playing a game with us," she says and then turns around to leave the room.
I quickly step away from the table, almost stumbling in the process.
"Twinkle, wait!" I call out, hurrying towards her right before the tip of her tail leaves the room.
She hesitates for a moment before turning around.
"Oh, so you are up? Are you doing any better?" she says while stepping back into the kitchen.
"Oh, you know, I'm fine. Well, apart from the whole situation we're all in because of me," I say, folding my fingers together and putting my paws behind my head.
"Okay, then let's go. Ardere is waiting for me."
My arms fall back down to my sides. "Actually, Twinkle, I've got to tell you something I think you should know."
Our eyes lock. A subtle warmth flutters in my chest.
"What is it?"
"I've learned some things. It probably sounds crazy, but apparently Dawn used one of her herbal plants to make a potion that wiped my brain of certain past memories. She also did the same thing to Fierdan. Anyway, I found out that Fierdan has a brother. Haven't heard of him? Well, there's a reason for that."
Twinkle doesn't even look that surprised. The only thing she does is click her tongue. I pause, so I can take a breath and then continue.
"Above heaven, there is this foggy barrier called the Jamaa Mist. This barrier is the gateway between two worlds. On the other side, there is the human world. What are humans? Well, it's pretty hard to explain. For one, they don't have tails. Fierdan's brother lives there instead of here in Jamaa. In fact, Jamaa started out as a project in the human world. There are also more people with different Elemental Powers in the human world, one being Fierdan's brother."
"Save your breath. I already knew all that. Dawn told me."
Dawn. She always tells Twinkle things first.
The subtle warmth feeling in my chest has vanished.
"Dawn did? Oh sorry, I didn't know." I say, hoping my words don't sound too obviously bitter.
Both of us don't say anything else for around a minute. Twinkle is the one who breaks the silence.
"Anything else you want to tell me?"
My face heats up. "Uh, that I still and forever will love you?"
She chuckles and walks out of the room and into the hallway.
I laugh slowly and follow her.
We meet Ardere in an almost empty room. He is sitting on a faded brown colored couch, which is one of the only objects in this room. When he sees me, he jumps off the couch.
When he comes to stand in front of Twinkle and me, he says, "Duke, you came! That's totally awesome! Now we can play a game. Unfortunately, I guess it would have to be played a little bit differently now that we aren't allowed to leave Dawn's cave home."
I smile at him. "Yeah, Dawn fixed me up a bit to make me feel better. My throat still feels a little raw, however."
In my peripheral vision, I see Twinkle frown for only a second before returning to a neutral facial expression.
"What's this game called and how do we play?" she asks.
Ardere has a smile on his face. Maybe that's why I love him so much. He has a smile that lights up his entire face. He has a troubled life too, and yet here he is still trying to be as positive as he can be. He's a sweet little kid; his eyes are even the same color as warm honey. Ardere reminds me of Junior, that kid who I played darts with in a hospital game room, so much. I wonder how that boy is doing.
And strangely enough, Ardere also reminds me of human child Fierdan. Who would have expected that such a cute and happy boy who loved colors would turn into a murderous and pain-loving monster who only knew the color black? The more cute and innocent someone is being forced to have their life change for the worst forever, the more cruel and messed up they become. Zios, Fierdan's father, made him and Dawn go through so much trauma. He practically sent them to start a new life in hell. They were only kids. Fierdan's heart got drained of color and turned black. He even got so far as to kill Zios.
Why did Dawn have to wipe away that memory from our brains? Why couldn't we remember the human world like she did? Why couldn't we be allowed to remember the black ashen dead bodies in Jamaa? Dawn, why did you do this?
I feel an elbow nudge me near my ribs.
"Did you get all that, Duke? We're about to start playing," Twinkle says.
I decide to lie. "Yeah, yeah I got it. Let's start."
She looks at me suspiciously and then shrugs.
This should be fun. I hope.
ARDERE
"Okay, let me just make sure. Do you all understand the rules?" I ask them.
I'm only saying that because I had the feeling that Duke wasn't paying attention when I was explaining the game. Duke, however, didn't tell me to repeat or clarify anything.
"Who wants to be the Black Rabbit?" I ask.
Before either one of them can answer, Dawn bursts into the room.
"Twinkle, let's go do some more training," she says before turning around and leaving the room.
Not even a minute later, Dawn turns around to face us. "Actually, never mind. Duke and Ardere can come too."
When Twinkle passes me on our way out, I hear her mutter some complaints under her breath. I hear her say, "Ugh, why is she so annoying? Can I ever have some fun?"
Duke follows her out of the room. I don't hear him saying any words; the only sound that comes from him is a tired sigh.
I follow him out. Dawn takes us to this much bigger room.
Seeing all the artillery lined up on the shelves makes me think of Duke.
"Dawn," he gasps, "you have so much. This is amazing."
On the wall perpendicular to the one with the shelves is a row of targets.
"Don't grab it yet," I hear Dawn tell Duke who is about to grab a red bow and arrow from the bow and arrows shelf.
Duke sighs and takes his paw off the shelf.
Dawn smiles. "I think it's time I explain everything to you guys."
Twinkle raises a paw. Dawn nods at her and she speaks.
"Is this about why you changed your mind from thinking that weapon training is meaningless to being all serious and dedicated in teaching me now?"
Dawn replies by saying, "Uh, that's kinda true. I used to think that training you held no significant meaning, but due to some specific circumstances, I changed my mind. Perhaps you could say that I'm training you so much because I have to make sure that you possess the strongest Elemental Power. It really is extraordinary how you hold two elements, ice and fire. It would be such a waste to see your Elemental Power not reach its fullest potential. Just like the rest of yourself, Twinkle."
Dawn then turns to Duke.
"The reason I didn't allow you to join us in our previous training sessions is because I have the feeling that you wouldn't need to. Being the new Fierdan permanently combined with Soulless has made you have as much strength and confidence in your abilities as you do today. Duke, it amazes me how quickly you learn and adapt in learning how to do specific techniques. In under a month, you've learned how to control your orange and black flames. Now today you are able to summon either colored fire at will."
Duke's face gets a little red. He slightly bows to Dawn and says, "Thank you."
I clear my throat. "What about me, Dawn? Why wasn't I allowed to train with you and Twinkle? I'm not as dangerous as Duke could possibly be, right?"
Dawn faces me. "No, of course you aren't. It's just that, well, you're younger than the rest of us. There's also the fact that you're a wolf and not a fox."
I frown. "Why should my species mean anything? Are you saying you were avoiding me only because I'm a wolf? You guys all know that I'm a fox trapped in a wolf's body, or a human trapped in an animal's body in larger terms just like the rest of you."
"That's not what I mean, Ardere."
I glare at her. "Oh really? Because it sure looks that way."
"I just want to make sure you don't get hurt. I care about you just as much as Twinkle and Duke do, if not more."
Duke and Twinkle object at the same time. "I highly doubt that. You definitely don't care about Ardere more than I do."
I look at the two of them. I love both of them so much. They're like my new family. Dawn, however, I'm not exactly sure of yet.
"Ardere, you have done so much good here," Dawn starts. "You were able to visit Twinkle when she was in isolation in her first life's ice castle. You informed her that she is in fact not the true ice Other since he lives in the human world. You made her realize that she is more incredibly special than she thought she was. You, Ardere, were the one who told Twinkle that she holds the power of ice fused with fire to create cold blue fire."
I nod my head. "I guess so."
Twinkle pipes in. "Yeah, that's right. And when we were alone together, you helped make my dark thoughts about there being no reason for me to live vanish and disappear to this day. I really do think you've brought happiness to both my life and Duke's."
Then Duke pipes in as well. "Yeah, she's right. When we first entered that forest, you were getting on my nerves. When we exited it, however, I'm not afraid to admit that I fell in love with you like a little brother. Your happiness has dripped down onto me, and I'm grateful for that. It was like you were the first person I ever spoke to who actually understood certain things. To hate your body, who you are; to have a complicated life regarding your parents. I called myself a freak so many times, but you said that wasn't true every time I said it."
"So you see, Ardere? You positivitely impacted both of the fire-based Others. You're so very intelligent."
I look up and stare into the center of their eyes. Green, amber, blue.
Then I try my best to hug all three of them at the same time.
TWINKLE
Right before Ardere breaks out of the hug, I pat him on the head.
"We all love you, dude," I say and briefly laugh.
"That's for sure," he says and laughs.
Duke clears his throat. "What specific circumstances were you talking about before, Dawn?"
"War. The weapon training is for war. Now that Taurel has escaped, it is of upmost importance that we all start using our Elemental Powers with weapons. Once Taurel finds out that Duke is not the only one who possesses a special power, he would likely want to capture the rest of us as well."
A few minutes later and we each grab a bow and arrow- Dawn with a green one, mine being blue, Duke's being red, and Ardere's being yellow.
Dawn points at herself, and her outfit changes into her training outfit. Then she points at me, which makes my clothes switch into my training ones. She hesitates before switching Duke's clothes into a dark red T-shirt with a black fire design in its center and a pair of black shorts.
I try to hold in my laughter when I look at Duke when he first realizes what Dawn did.
"Your bow and arrow is only for orange flames, so there's no point in keeping your black clothes on. We always change our clothes for training, anyway."
Duke just looks down at his shirt. "Oh okay."
Dawn looks at Ardere. "Sorry bud, I have no clothes for you."
He chuckles. "That's okay, Dawn. Wolves don't wear clothes like foxes do."
"But you're really a fox, right?" she says back.
They both laugh.
Then Dawn tells us to tie our hair up. When Dawn and I both have our hair tied up, she coughs at Duke.
"What?"
"Your hair is long enough, pretty boy."
"This is ridiculous," Duke mutters. "How much has my hair grown out over these past few months?"
Dawn smiles at him a few minutes later.
"Okay, now we can begin."
Dawn's arrows are earth-based, Duke's are fire-based, and Ardere's are lightning-based. I would say that mine are ice-based, but when the arrowheads come in contact with the target, they turn into flames just like Duke's. Except instead of being orange, mine are blue.
I notice how smiliar the end results of the fire target and lightning target are. The areas where the arrows penetrate the targets are left with burning holes.
Right after Dawn shoots another arrow and the arrowhead turns into a leaf, she says, "Fire and lightning are pretty similar. When they both strike, they both burn what they come in contact with. How they specifically do the burning is the only difference. Down to the basics, it's fire being with flames and lightning being with natural electricity and static energy. Perhaps that's a reason for why Duke and Ardere share such a great bond with each other in quite a short amount of time that they spent together."
I zone out from what anyone else is saying. I only focus on myself, my bow and the arrows, and the target.
We have weapons too. We won't give up without a fight. Taurel and Fierdan, I'm talking to you.
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