Eeeeeep I am SOOOO sorry about taking so long on this! I´ve had a lot of worries. However, I´l try my best to get a new chapter out in a few days. Please cut me a little slack!

No problem, Wreeboo! In the meantime, we shall keep this thread TOPPED! 

I finally wrote a new chapter!

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The shrill, frightened cry of a barn owl pierced the night. Ryou looked up and saw Fable gliding silently and effortlessly overhead. “He’s back!” Poppy yelled needlessly as Ryou reached his arm up for the beautiful owl to land on. He cooed softly to Fable to soothe him and looked up again, wondering what had scared his oldest friend. Unable to see anything in the foggy, cloudy night sky, he sang under his breath. His vision stretched wide in all directions, and he could now see, far off in the distance behind the 11-strong group, a dark shadow. Reddish dust rose up around the shadow. He gave a quick cry of alarm to alert the others to the shape that was moving gradually toward them. Veda, constantly on alert as always, popped her head up.

“What is it?” she asked enthusiastically. She was always raring for excitement.

“Look,” Ryou pointed off into the distance.

Leelah peered closer, and, only able to see the dust cloud, she turned to Ryou and asked, “What is it? Can you see?” He looked at it again. This time he recognized the fact that the dark shadow was a huge group of men… and they were all wearing dark gray uniforms. He covered his mouth to stifle a gasp.

“It’’s the Furwot,” he whispered nervously, “They’re chasing us!” Cries of alarm, fright, and shock rang out in the group. Even Veda, who loved a good fight, was nervous. Fawn, on the other hand, was positively panicked.

“What are we going to do?” she shrieked hysterically. Leelah was anxious too, but she was trying her best not to show it. Chris was also scared, but he stood tall, trying to get everything under control.

“Guys!” he called over the top of all the noise, “We need a council of war!” Lana giggled nervously.

“A council of war? Since when are we fighting a war?” Chris looked down at the purple-haired girl with a slightly contemptuous look on his face.

“You be quiet,” he said, annoyed, “We need to figure something out.” At Lana’s feet, Iris mewled indignantly at Chris’s treatment of her friend. The older boy smiled apologetically, realizing that Lana was just anxious, and bent down to stroke Iris’s silky-soft fur. “Come on,” he beckoned both of them forward, “We gotta gather everyone together. Hey, Ryou!” he yelled, “How soon do you think they’ll be here?” He waved his hand to indicate the Furwot. Ryou tapped his chin, understanding the grave nature of the question and the need to calculate perfectly.

“Maybe…” he glanced towards the gray-suited swarm again, “I think about an hour.” Chris nodded and began ushering everyone into a circle. Fawn took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down unsuccessfully.

Leelah started off the meeting by saying in as loud a voice as she could muster, nervous as she was, “I think the most important question here is: do we run or do we fight? We all know we can’t hide,” she confirmed, and everyone understood that the huge wasteland around them wouldn’t help them with this endeavor at all. Fawn’s teeth chattered in anxiousness as Joel confidently raised his hand.

“Do they know that our singing is powerful?” he asked. Leelah shook her head. “Then,” Joel continued, “I think we should fight. We’ll take them by surprise. They’ll think that we’re just gonna fight, y’know, physically, or just run away, but we’ll fight with our singing instead.” Chris tilted his head thoughtfully and slowly began to nod as he realized that Joel made a good point.

Veda, less anxious now with the promise of hurling fireballs at the Furwot, took up the defense of Joel’s idea. “I think that we should fight, too. How many are there, Ryou?”

The blond-haired boy tapped his throat, thinking, then said, “I think about fifty. They obviously think we’re pretty weak.” Veda nodded, her red hair flying as she sprang up.

“Then, let’s fight!” she suggested eagerly. 

A new chapter should come out either today or tomorrow.

Furious discussion broke out among the group as half the group agreed with fighting and the other half would’ve liked to keep running. Fawn sat cross-legged behind Veda, her head in her hands, listening with a look of fright on her face. Lana sat beside her friend, her hand on the green-blonde-haired girl’s shoulder comfortingly. “We’ll figure something out,” she whispered. Fawn looked gratefully at Lana, and Iris climbed, mewing, onto Fawn’s lap, rubbing the girl’s arms with her silky-soft fur. In the large circle, Joel and Veda, now joined by Aaron and Allyah, were loudly advocating for a fight. “We can catch the Furwot by surprise,” the fire-wielding girl exclaimed, “and fight them off before they can even acknowledge what’s happening!” Leelah swung her eyes around the circle, vaguely thinking that she should stop the arguing but not knowing how. She caught Poppy’s eyes and beckoned the blonde-haired girl over to her. “Can you calm this lot down?” Poppy nodded and warmed up her voice, eventually singing a slow soft, calming song. The whole crowd quietened, listening, and calmed down as the song registered deep in their emotions. Leelah nodded her thanks, stood up, and raised her hand to get everyone’s attention. “We need a real plan,” she called, “and arguing isn’t going to help us get one.” Veda looked at the ground sheepishly, then sat back down on the reddish, dusty ground quietly. Chris stood up and made his way over to the young, inexperienced leader. He flashed her a quick smile as he sat by her side. “You’ll need help for this,” he said. She smiled gratefully and called out, “If anyone here has something to contribute, please raise your hand. We need to be quick and organized if we are to have a plan before the Furwot arrive.” Veda’s hand shot up into the air, her red hair bouncing. Without waiting for anyone to acknowledge her arm in the air, she said loudly, “I think we should fight. The Furwot don’t know how powerful we can be, and if we fight we can stop them from continuing to follow us in the future.” Chris nodded at Leelah, filing the bit of opinion away for later reference in his mind. Fawn raised a shaking hand and waited until Chris had called, “Fawn?” before speaking. “I don’t know what we should do,” she said “but I do know one thing. We can’t keep running forever. We’ll have to fight eventually, no matter what.” Lana glanced at her friend in surprise. Apparently, the shy girl had hidden depths of knowledge in her. This time, it was Leelah who nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right,” she said, “and it might be better if we confront them on our own terms, and with plenty of energy, instead of being attacked from behind after running for a long time and becoming exhausted. Does anyone have an argument to prove otherwise?” The few people who had been openly advocating for running looked away, realizing that their argument had been proven wrong. Leelah shrugged dismissively and said, “Alright, we need to make a battle formation. Any ideas?” Joel stood up. “This is my area of expertise,” he boasted. “Veda and Chris, you two are probably our best fighters.” Chris looked up in quick shock. “Me?” he said questioningly. Joel nodded. “Remember,” he said, “you can instantly form huge crevasses. That will be vitally important in a battle in which our biggest disadvantage is the enemy’s numbers.” Chris nodded his understanding and waited for Joel to continue. “So,” the brown-haired boy said, “Veda and Chris, you’ll lead the charge. Everyone else, stay behind. If you have emotional abilities, try to make the Furwot fearful. Those of you who can’t fight, stay well behind the others. Is everyone ready? Ryou, how long until the Furwot arrive?” Ryou looked toward the gray-suited swarm and calculated quickly. “We have just ten minutes to prepare to be in range of their guns,” he said ominously.