Together, Raven and Arefe walked towards the town gate. Kiara had instructed them to say nothing about why they were leaving. If a guard stopped them, they were told to say that they were attending a funeral. No one stopped them, and a mile outside the gate, they took a break.

“Raven!” Arefe huffed, “Why does your sister need to drag both of us out into the middle of NOWHERE to tell us something?”

“Don’t ask me!” Raven said, wondering the same thing. Movement caught his eye and he turned south to see Kiara winging towards them from the direction of their first home, where Raven’s dad had died. She was holding a large bag that was full of some kind of white thing. As soon as the friends saw her, they shot into the air and flew towards her.

“Slow down! I’m stopping on that rock, so don’t run into me.” Kiara exclaimed, clearly tired from the long journey. She had been gone for two months and Raven was excited to see her again.

“Where did you go?” He asked, curious about what was in her sack.

“I’m sorry I was gone so long, but since dad’s murderer is dead, I thought it would be fitting to bury his bones.” She gestured towards the bag she had gently placed on the sand. Raven peeked inside and saw that it was filled with a jumble of large dragon bones. The bones were translusent and shone brightly in the sun. Along with the bones, there was a dark-colored crystal-like sword.

“Dad told me, a month before he died, that it is dragon tradition to bury the dead with their sword. This is dad’s old sword.” Kiara said, hoisting the crystal sword in the air.

The three stood together and dug a ditch, carefully putting the bones inside. Reverently, Raven laid his father’s sword on top of the bones and they filled the hole in. Once the hole was filled in, Kiara piled rocks on top, scorching them so that they melted, creating a glassy cover.

Two hours later, Arefe, Raven and Kiara were sitting around a campfire, enjoying some goat stew. “Tell us a story, Kiara!” Raven exclaimed. Kiara looked towards their old home for a moment before starting.

“Long ago, there were two creatures, one dark and one light. They were siblings without parents, like us, and they found it hard to get through life. The dark one was evil and gained much money through killing others, but the light one helped those in need. Eventually, the dark sibling was caught and put in jail. The court found him guilty. The fee that had to be paid was more than he had and he thought he would be killed! The light one heard of his trial and rushed over. She asked the judge how much she had to pay for him and she had enough for it. Before she freed him, though, the light sibling made her brother make a promise. She made him promise to change. He agreed and his sister paid the debt. A month or so later, while the dark one was out and about, he met his old gang members. They tried to persuade him to join the gang again, but he kept on remembering his promise and how it would be broken if he joined the gang. He refused to join and they beat him. The dark sibling was seething and he didn’t know what to do, so he sought his sister’s council, when he had hobbled home, he told his sister.

“Forgive, brother. As many times as they beat you, taunt you, try to persuade you to be evil again. Simply reply to them with love and forgiveness, knowing they have not been given a chance or love like I and my friends have given you!”

Raven thanked Kiara for telling the story, before settling down next to the already snoring Arefe. That night, Raven dreamed of his father. “The last thing you should know, is that the world is ruthless!” he had said, “They will try to destroy a kind heart like you. Instead, you destroy them!” Raven now thought that was bad reasoning. Arefe had been nothing but a friend and Kiara had no trouble with academy bullies! He tried to tell his dream father this but was cut short from an odd gurgling sound. He came back to reality a moment later. He looked around and saw Arefe boiling water in the pot he had brought.

“Morning! I caught a goat AND I found some nice herbs for a soup, so I decided ‘why not!’” He looked at Raven’s face before adding, “Don’t worry, I know what herbs are edible and which ones are not. I got barley, some spindo, and basil.” Raven straightened up, amazed that someone would actually MEMORIZE different plants! On purpose, too!

“So, why did you decide to learn different plants?” Raven asked, gulping down water from his canteen and setting it in his wing bag.

“Well, my mom is a healer, as you know, and since I help her sometimes, I have decided to memorize the names and what they smell like. It makes helping her A LOT easier.” Raven nodded before turning to his sleeping sister

“Hey, sis! We should probably be going soon.” He whispered, not sure if she was asleep.

“You’re right!” She grumbled, propping herself up with her wing. “We can get going.” With that, everyone ate breakfast, packed up, and they were on their way back to Possibility.