Early in the morning about two weeks later, Liana woke up to the sound of someone's voice.
(_) "…ana. Liana."
She opened her eyes and saw Liz bending over her with a worried look on her face. She sat up suddenly, and if not for Liz's quick reflexes, she would have hit her head very hard on Liz's.
(Liana) "What's wrong?"
Liz avoided her intense and confused gaze.
(Liz) "It's Lil."
Liana frowned. Seeing Liz like this was unnatural. They had bonded more over the past two weeks, both enduring Lillian's hard training. She also knew that it was hard for Liz to be actually worried about Lillian, as they both were aware of her skills.
(Liana) "What happened?"
(Liz) "She's disappeared, and I'm not entirely sure where she went. I'm the only one who knows she's gone, but I thought I should tell you."
Liana swung her legs over the bed and stood up.
(Liana) "Let me get washed up first, then I'll help you search for her."
Liz raised an eyebrow.
(Liz) "I said I'm not sure exactly where she went, but I can figure it out."
Liana tilted her head to the side and asked,
(Liana) "Then why did you look so worried?"
Liz's face became grave.
(Liz) "It's… hard to explain."
Liana nodded again, knowing that Liz would explain later. Liz exited the room and Liana got dressed.
*
Five minutes later, she met Liz in Lillian's bedroom. Liz was sitting on the bed with her hands in her lap and her head down, when Liana walked in. Liana immediately knew it was more serious than she thought.
(Liana) "What's wrong?"
Liz's head jerked up, as if she hadn't realised Liana was there. Liana sat down on the bed next to her and said softly,
(Liana) "You said you can figure out where she went, right? We'll find her."
Liz nodded. Liana didn't say anything more as she felt that Liz had more to say but was trying to find the right words for it. A few minutes later, Liana felt Liz tense up before taking a deep breath. Releasing it shakily, Liz turned to face Liana.
(Liz) "What I'm about to tell you… Other than Lil and I, there are only a couple of people who know it."
Liana frowned.
(Liana) "You don't need—"
Liz cut her off before she could complete her sentence.
(Liz) "You will need to know this. I believe she promised you that she'll tell you what it means, but as it stands now, I have to tell you some of it in her stead. Though, I only know some of it."
Liana frowned but waited for her to continue.
(Liz) "Have you ever wondered why nobody finds it weird that mine and my sister's appearance is very different from the rest of the clan members?"
Liana raised an eyebrow.
(Liana) "I heard that your family line has always looked different."
Liz smiled.
(Liz) "Nobody ever questioned it because from the day the village was formed, the leader was already different from everyone else. I think Lil knows exactly why but I don't. However, this is not the only trait that my family line has that is different."
She glanced at Liana to gauge her reaction. When she only saw a gentle smile on her face, she continued.
(Liz) "Every generation, there will be one child who is more special than the rest. That child will be granted powers far beyond the ordinary, even for our family. However, how they choose to use that power is completely up to them. They can be useless to the most powerful person on earth if they tried. These children are all marked with a different animal. Only special people are able to see this mark. Once in a few months, the person will turn into that animal. They will not have proper control over their body, but it is possible to tame them enough to make sure they don't hurt anyone. Only the strongest are able to fully control themselves when they are in their animal form. When and how they turn into their animal is uncontrollable, as far as I'm aware."
She turned to see a shocked expression on Liana's face.
(Liz) "I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but Lillian's animal is a wolf."
Liz let the silence hang over them as Liana processed the information she had just received. Liana was reminded of a prophecy she had once come across while reading in her castles' library, but she couldn't remember the exact contents of it. She pushed it to the back of her mind and asked Liz,
(Liana) "So… what you're saying now is that… Lillian is the special child of your generation, and she has turned into her wolf and is missing. There is also a high chance of her hurting innocents?"
Liz blinked. She raised an eyebrow at Liana.
She's really more than she seems.
Nodding slowly, Liz said,
(Liz) "Yes. Well except about the killing innocents' part. There's a reason she goes out of the Clan when she transforms. It's to avoid hurting others, although every time I found her, she's hunted down some bandits but has left some innocent people untouched. I think she has more control than most before her. It's hard to explain and would be better if you see it for yourself."
Liana frowned.
(Liana) "This seems like the kind of thing you wouldn't want to involve and outsider in. Why did you tell me all that?"
Liz smiled sheepishly.
(Liz) "I have a few reasons. One of them is that Lillian really trusts you. It's hard to explain, as is much of anything about her, but I can feel it. The others I'd rather not tell you yet."
Liana nodded. She stood up and asked,
(Liana) "Will you be able to locate her, then?"
Liz nodded.
(Liz) "I can find out her general location, but I want you to come with me when I go find her."
Liana nodded. Liana wanted to ask why but figured Liz had a good reason and would explain it later on. Liz stood up and Liana followed suit, both getting changed into stealth suits and getting their respective weapons. With Liana following close behind her and under the cover of darkness, Liz ran towards the clan walls. Liana raced to catch up with her, now being glad of the amount of training Lillian was putting her through with Liz. Liz slowed and came to a stop in front of the wall and turned around with a strange grin on her face. Alarm bells went off in Liana's head and her eyes widened as Liz said,
(Liz) "Time to put your training to good use. We can't use the door just in case the guards wonder why we're going out, so we're going to jump the wall."
Liana's jaw dropped as Liz continued,
(Liz) "You can either use your magic to get up and down or use your magic to power your legs to jump right over, I don't really care how just do it. I'll be here to make sure you don't go splat on the wall."
(Liana) "How encouraging."
She said this with a sarcastic tone as she turned to the wall and thought carefully about what Lillian had said about these kinds of situations. Liana used her magic to form boosters under her feet and jumped, creating a shockwave just wide enough to knock Liz off balance. She turned and gave Liz a smirk before floating or flying to the top of and over the wall and landing on the ground softly. Not long after, Liz landed next to her.
(Liz) "Lillian will be so proud."
Although Liz had said this teasingly, Liana couldn't help but grin inwardly at the thought of Lillian being proud of her. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Liana turned to Liz.
(Liana) "What now?"
Liz gazed into the forest for a short while before bending down and touching the ground. Liana's eyes widened when Liz's hand started glowing a few moments later. Liz stood up and opened her eyes. Liana moved backwards a little in surprise. Liz's eyes were glowing a bright sapphire blue.
(Liz) "I know the direction she's in, but we still need to find her."
Liana watched as the glow in Liz's eyes faded back into their usual light blue. She nodded slowly and Liz started running into the wall of trees. Following behind her, Liana wondered why she was uncharacteristically excited about meeting Lillian, when she had just seen her the previous day.
(Liana's thoughts) 'But she was acting off the whole day yesterday. I guess I know why now',
Liana mused. Cutting off her thoughts, she jerked to a stop as Liz did the same. They both turned their heads to the sound of a fight.
(_) "Kill her while she's down! We may not get another chance at getting rid of the black beast!"
Liana frowned when she noticed Liz was trembling on her feet. She was about to step forward and ask what was wrong when Liz darted off into the direction of the shouting. Liana quickly followed her, her heart pounding hard in her chest as she thought of the possible reasons Liz would react like that. She arrived at a clearing to see Liz crashing into a guy holding an axe and knocking him onto his side as he was about to bring it down. Liana calmed her beating heart as she took in the scene. There were ten men, with six of them holding down a black wolf. The wolf turned her head to look at Liana. Liana immediately knew it was Lillian the moment they made eye contact. Two of the other three men standing at the side finally noticed Liana and drew their weapons, stalking towards her.
*
Liana, wanting to test her newly learned skills, and also wanting to show off what she learned to Lillian, drew her sword and flicked it out. While training with Lillian and Liz, they discovered she had an affinity with the dual ended blades. Holding it with both hands, she blocked the first strike and kicked out before twisting her body to block the attack from the other guy. Smiling lightly, Liana turned her blade and stabbed him in the stomach with the other side of the blade and kicked him away. She ducked, slamming her hands into the ground and kicking with a round motion, knocked the first guy onto his back. Getting up quickly, she stabbed his chest before standing back up. She faced Lillian with a wide grin on her face, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins as she panted lightly.
*
She was so focused on Lillian that she didn't notice the last guy sneaking up behind her. Lillian had stopped struggling when Liz showed up, but the moment she saw Liana in imminent danger she jumped up, throwing the six men off her in the process. The guy behind Liana lifted his arm to strike as Lillian sprinted towards them. Growling, Lillian bit into the guys hand and threw him to the side. She ran over to him and bit down on his neck, killing him instantly. Panting lightly, she turned her head to face Liana for a second before running back and engaging in a fight the other four men. The man Liz had engaged was the leader and was the strongest, so she only managed to defeat him at that moment. She walked over to Liana's side, both of them watching as Lillian scratched and bit at the remaining men. It wasn't long before all of them were on the ground, blood flowing out from more than one place.
*
By the end of it, her fur was splattered with blood and she turned to the two of them. Liz breathed in sharply when she noticed Lillian's eyes were glowing red. Liana frowned slightly, not knowing the reason behind Liz's reaction. Lillian stalked over to Liana, her muzzle open and panting lightly. With the glowing red eyes and the blood splattered on her coat, Lillian was quite the scary sight. However, Liana did not feel fear, knowing deep inside her that Lillian would never hurt her. She did not move and waited for Lillian to get closer.
(Liz) "NO! LIANA!!"
Lillian suddenly pounced and knocked Liana onto her back, her teeth dangerously close to Liana's neck. Her heart strangely calm, Liana signalled to Liz to not move.
(Liana, though mind-link to Liz) "I'm fine, don't move."
Liz frowned but obeyed. Liana gazed into Lillian's eyes as she slowly moved her hand. A low growl emerged from Lillian's chest as she noticed Liana's hand, but she did not move. The next thing Liana did shocked Liz to her core. She brought her hand up to the black wolf's head and stroked it gently. Still worried for Liana's safety, Liz watched anxiously but raised her eyebrows in amusement when she heard a strange sound emerge from Lillian when Liana moved her hands to scratch behind her ears. She recognized it as rumbling, a sound a wolf makes when it's happy. It sounds like purring, just lower, and closer to a growl. Sensing it was safe to approach, Liz took a step forward but quickly jerked back when the wolf's head jerked towards her and a warning growl escaped from her throat.
(Liana, softly, so that only Lillian could hear her) "It's fine, she's your sister, she's not going to hurt you."
Liana said softly as she slowly stroked Lillian's glossy black fur, turning her attention back to her. By this time, Lillian's eyes had stopped glowing red and had returned to a striking silver colour.
(Liana's thoughts) 'The colour of her hair.'
Liz didn't try to approach again, only watching from the side as she was now sure Liana wasn't in any danger.
(Liz's thoughts) 'I was right.'
*
A few minutes later, Lillian dropped onto Liana, a light glow enveloping her body. A few seconds later, the glow grew too bright for them to see past it and when it faded, Lillian was passed out in human form, dressed in a stealth suit, on top of Liana. Liana gestured for Liz not to move yet, as she sat up slowly, so as not to wake Lillian. Lillian stirred, but did not wake up. Slipping an arm under Lillian's upper body and another under her legs, she stood up, lifting Lillian into a princess carry. Liz gaped at the seeming ease with which Liana lifted Lillian, not being able to detect any use of magic. Liz herself had had to carry Lillian before, and while she was not overly heavy, she was by no means light.
(Liz's thoughts) 'She didn't seem to be so strong during training… Is she hiding something?'
She was jerked out of her musings as Liana mind-linked her.
(Liana, through mind-link to Liz) "We should get her back, right?"
Blinking a few times in surprise, Liz responded,
(Liz, through mind-link to Liana) "I'll teleport us back."
She walked over to Liana and put a hand on her shoulder before activating her spell.