found you at long last…” she said in a very excited and eager voice, gently shaking the wolf. Rallan groaned softly, his body shuddering and his paws twitching slightly as he was woken up. He blinked several times before his eyes opened halfway, showing just how truly energy-deprived he really was. His head rolled slightly so he was now looking up at a gray and white shape, unsure of who or what it was.

“W-who… are you…?” Rallan asked weakly, his voice a little hoarse and very soft. The female gently placed a paw over his muzzle to stop him from using anymore energy that he had to.

“Are… Are you… Rallan…?” the wolf asked. Even though Rallan couldn’t see her, he knew the soft voice was female, and it had a tone that made several bells go off inside his head. He got a confused look as his vision slowly began to clear up.

“Y-yeah… Yes, I am…” Rallan replied wearily, still trying to see who the wolf was.

“It is you! It really is you!” the female said, her voice filled with joy and excitement, “Oh, I can’t believe I’ve finally found you after all these years!” Now Rallan was beginning to get a better idea of who this wolf was. Suddenly, it clicked in his mind. He knew the voice so very, very well. His eyes widened with surprise.

“Krystal?” Rallan asked, his vision finishing clearing up and he could now clearly see an older Krystal sitting beside him, amber eyes filled with happiness and a wide smile on her muzzle.

“Yes Rallan, it’s me…” Krystal replied softly, gently stroking his forehead, “Look at you… You’re not that young wolf I remembered anymore, huh?” She could feel the tears of happiness welling up in the corners of her eyes now that she’d found her dear long-lost friend once again.

“W-what’re you… doing all the way… out here…?” Rallan asked a little louder now, shifting his body slightly, “Shouldn’t you be… back home…? With your… father and mother…? Back at the… Lylrite Pack…?” Once more, Krystal covered his muzzle with her paw to keep him from speaking.

“I’ll tell you once you wake up, Rallan…” Krystal responded, stroking his head gently again, “Now, you need to rest… Go back to sleep…” Once more, Rallan’s eyelids began to drift down to a closed position. The last thing he saw before darkness enveloped him was the smiling face of Krystal, feeling her soft paw gently glide across his forehead.

“Krystal……” Rallan whispered softly, his body beginning to relax for sleep once again, “…… Thank you……”

And with those last few words, Rallan was gone, back into his subconscious dreams while he slept. Krystal smiled down at him as his breathing became somewhat heavier, still petting him softly. Finally, her search had come to a close as she sat there beside the one she’d been searching for, for two long years…

“You’re welcome, Rallan……” Krystal whispered back in the same soft tone. Her paw fell back down to her side as she stood up and lay down beside him, curling her body around his to help him dry off faster and keep him warm from his damp fur. Krystal gave a small smile to his sleeping form before laying her head down next to his and falling asleep as well.

            Rallan’s eyes slowly opened up, his vision all brightly-colored blurs for a long while until everything began to settle into proportions, objects retaining their original values and shapes. He was lying in a large open meadow, wildflowers blooming all around him and filling the air with fresh fragrances. The bright sunlight warmed his body as he lay in the soft grass.

Slowly, he stirred and rolled onto his belly, eventually rising to his paws. The gentle breeze made ripples in the grass, causing his coat to sway in the air. He looked around for someone or something familiar, but there was nothing.

“Where the hell am I?” Rallan asked to himself, slowly trotting across the meadow in no particular direction. He sniffed about, but there were no scents besides the flowers.

“Rallan!” came a soft, sweet voice behind him. He turned around and saw Krystal running toward him. Rallan smiled widely and ran toward her in return, the two meeting halfway and Rallan tackled her. Both wolves tossed about in the grass for a while until Rallan finally got the advantage and placed his paws on Krystal’s shoulders, pinning her down to the ground firmly.

“I win…” Rallan remarked with a playful grin. Both he and Krystal chuckled softly as he got off of her. He opened his muzzle to say something else, but a very familiar and unwelcome scent reached his nose. His eyes darkened and widened as he looked up and spotted Rayne. He glared fiercely and growled threateningly at her, his white fangs bright in contrast to his gray fur.

“Rayne… What the hell are you doing here?!” Rallan asked in a furious and deadly voice. Rayne just grinned and scoffed softly.

“You know why I’m here, Rally… I’m here to bring justice to a murderer…” Rayne replied with a voice colder than the winter’s snow. Rallan growled louder and moved to protect Krystal- until he realized Krystal was gone. Rallan looked down where she’d been, but she was gone and all traces of her scent were gone. He glanced up again just in time to see Rayne tackle him.

The two sibling enemies tumbled backward and began to roll down a hill. Rallan and Rayne snapped at one another all the way down. The next thing Rallan knew, he and his sister went off a cliff and went into a free-fall, down and down and down into the infinite darkness below. Rayne lunged for him in mid-air, missing his neck by a few mere inches. He growled viciously and bit back at her, managing to grab her head in his jaws. The two wolves wrestled about as they fell, Rayne’s muzzle biting deep into Rallan’s chest while his fangs sunk into her forehead and partially into the back of her neck.

After several minutes of aerial combat, the two hit ground of a dark forest with a loud thud. Rallan lost all feeling and was forced to release Rayne and she had to do the same to him. They both slowly got back up uneasily, glaring at one another as they got their strength back.

“Just confess, Rallan… I promise you I won’t make you suffer if you do!” Rayne said earnestly. Rallan growled lowly at that statement.

“I won’t confess to something I’ve never done!” he snapped back at her, running forward and lunging for her. Rayne sidled to the side and Rallan missed his target, winding up falling to the ground.

“You’re making this difficult, Rallan… You could have just owned up to what you did and come quietly, but you didn’t…” Rayne said coolly, her eyes as cold as ice, “I offered you an easy way out, but you denied it… Now you’ll regret murdering Dad…”

“I didn’t murder Dad!” Rallan shouted and ran at Rayne. She charged him and they collided in midair. Once more, they began to fall for a few minutes until they hit a snowy ground beneath them. The sudden cold hit Rallan intensely, sending shivers through his body. They were now at a large cliff at the edge of the forest. The snow covered the ground and the trees, the sky above them a dreary gray.

“Give it up Rallan! You can’t win!” Rayne said in a deadly tone.

“I’m never gonna give up…” Rallan said determinedly and rushed at Rayne once more. The female wolf side-stepped at the last possible moment and grabbed Rallan by the shoulder, tossing him toward the edge of the cliff. Rallan almost went over the edge, managing to stop himself just as his front-right and back-right legs began to dangle over the brink. He slowly got back to his feet, glaring at Rayne while panting heavily. Rayne looked over Rallan and sighed heavily.

“Rallan, why the hell won’t you just say you murdered Dad?!” Rayne asked, a look of pure confusion on her face.

“Because I didn’t! I didn’t murder him Rayne!” Rallan shouted again. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook and he and Rayne looked down beneath his paws. The snowy ledge he was on shook again and began crumbling away, sending Rallan falling off the edge and into a black oblivion far, far below…

            Rallan shifted about in his sleep, moaning and murmuring softly to himself. Krystal felt his tossing and turning and slowly woke up as well, looking around in the daze of sleep before looking down at Rallan. She sighed softly and shook her head, seeing him trapped in a nightmare like that. She gently placed her paw on his shoulder and shook him a few times.