Children of Fey and Night: Chapter Seventeen

The Legion of Thieves

Children of Fey and Night

I don't know what to name this yet

Camilla Croce 

Dawn only saw darkness in her dreams. Always have, always will be.



However, this time there was some kind of thing trying to poke at her in her dreams. She didn’t know what it was; neither did she particularly want it in.



But as it made its existence more forceful, she couldn’t deny its existence.



<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Dawn!”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She bolted up from her sleep, sitting straight up.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Finally she wakes.” Dawn turns to see Try leaning on the wall.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Alyssa made her presence known by placing a blanket over Dawn’s shoulders. “After that teleport you did, you were totally out cold. We tried everything to wake you.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Eventually we just got hungry and I stole some food for us.” Trey finished.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Dawn immediately reached for her neck and looked at Trey accusingly. “You didn’t bite me did you?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“What? No!”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Liar! There’s colour in your cheeks. You just fed.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“He fed from me.” Alyssa revealed and Dawn turned to her. “What? I couldn’t let him feed on a bystander can I? Plus getting bitten is pretty- uhmm…”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Pretty what?” Dawn demanded.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“It’s kinda intimate. Like the pleasurable kind.” Trey finished for her.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Smettila, smettila! I don’t want to know what you two did in my house.” Dawn waved her hands around in surrender.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“This is your house?” Trey looked around.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn had recognised it the minute she sat up. The house that constantly smelled like roses because she bought a cheap air-fresher a while ago. The house still had her furniture though a year of not living here had allowed spiders to move in.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Her first thought during the shadow-travel was ‘safety’, which was why she was brought here. She found it amusing that her sub-conscious considered her old home to be safer than the Legion base.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Yup. She stood up and stretched. She could hear the sounds of Carnevale going on outside. She wished that she could go out there and celebrate. Steal a few goods while she was at it.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She also wished that Pratt was here.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“What time is it? How long was I out?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Right not that clock says midnight, and you were out for about a day.” Alyssa replied.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Bene. We can head back to the base now.” Dawn started picking up her stuff- realising that she was still in that dress. She frowned. “After I change.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Wait, what? We’re doing the teleporting again?” Trey held out his hands in the shape of a ‘T’. “Time out. You didn’t seem to have much control of the location before.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“That was because the Pixie queen cut through my tendrils and that weakened me.” Dawn frowned at the thought. Could her tendrils really be slain? If so, how much did she have left?

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She made a mental note to take note of how many she had left- not that she knew how much she had in the first place. Sometimes they seemed to split off into two and then joined back again.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Anyway.” Dawn went her closet and let the damp air escape from it. She reached for a t-shirt and jeans. “If we don’t leave tonight we would have to wait till tomorrow night.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Okay and wait-” Trey stared at her like she was going to explode. “You’re not changing here are you?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn raised an eyebrow. “Yes? It’s my apartment. If you’re uncomfortable then leave.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey turned to Alyssa who shrugged. “I’m fine as you don’t look.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey shrugged nervously and then turned away.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn started changing. “So did I miss anything important?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Yeah. Apparently the fairies are looking for us again- even more now that you stole Titania.” Alyssa replied.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Titania?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Alyssa pointed to the sword at the corner of the room. It was the sword that she had taken from Visanny-whatherface.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Oh.” Dawn shrugged and pulled up her jeans up to her hips.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“What were you thinking when you took it?” Alyssa frowned.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“That your mother was annoying and I just wanted to piss her off.” Dawn pulled her t-shirt on. “And she seemed so smitten with the sword, so I just took it.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn frowned. She didn’t usually hand loot back to people but she didn’t really mean to keep the sword now, especially when the sort-of-owner was right here. She walked over to the sword and handed it to the fairy princess. “Here you can have it back if you want. I’m not touching that thing, it’s too dangerous. You can keep it.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn didn’t even stop the grin that spread across her face. She didn’t usually like swords- they were heavier to carry around than knives.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">But she wasn’t going to deny having a powerful sword in here arsenal.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“I don’t have a sword sheath but I can probably get one at the base.” She turned to Trey. “By the way, you can look now.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey opened one eye. “Okay. Do you always take off your clothes in front of guys? You’re not afraid of them touching you or anything?”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn raised an eyebrow.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Alright. Alright. I get it. You’d cream them if they did.” Trey said.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn picked up the remaining things she was supposed to take. “How did you get the vampires to attack us anyway?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey jerked up at the question. “Well I thought you guys were going to go get Alyssa and give her to the queen, which meant you were going to go where Alyssa was hiding. You especially made Maekar mad, so all I had to do was say that you were going there and then he sent the vampire armada against you. I was planning to get Alyssa out during the chaos but you saw how that go.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn paused. “Trey- Loki. Did they- what did they do to him once Maekar got up?”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey paused as well, looking between Alyssa and Dawn. “I’m sorry but they got- they killed him. They cut his head clean off. Put it on a stake outside to prove his betrayal.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn’s fist clenched hard. She bit her lip and looked down to the floor.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Were you- were you close?” Trey asked.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“N-no.” Dawn blinked hard because she could feel the tears coming.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn’s fist clenched hard. She bit her lip and looked down to the floor.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Were you- were you close?” Trey asked.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“N-no.” Dawn blinked hard because she could feel the tears coming on. “But he saved my life. I-I don’t-”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Alyssa stepped forward and hugged her- Dawn almost pushed her away. She wasn’t used to people hugging her, she wasn’t used to compassion.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Instead Dawn wrapped her arms around the taller girl’s body and hugged her back.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Was he your first?” Trey asked.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“I didn’t love him-”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“No, I meant was this the first time someone you cared about died?” Trey asked.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn thought about her father, so drunk that he couldn’t even function and that forced young Dawn to run around stealing. It was no wonder that he had died- the problem was that Dawn never cared for her father.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She nodded at Trey, taking a shaky breath.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey joined in on the hug. “I’m sorry about him. He was my brother too- he was already dead when I got there. I was too late.”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn shook her head. She would allow herself this moment of vulnerability. “It wasn’t your fault.”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey nodded. “It wasn’t your fault either.”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Dawn allowed herself a few more seconds of comfort before breaking away. “Alright. Let’s head back.” Grabbing Titania by the hilt. “Grab on to me.”

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">They did and Dawn summoned her tendrils. Luckily for her, their ranks were still well filled. She thought of the base, she thought of Lissa, Max and Xaro. She may had not liked them much but they were her teammates.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She thought of the shape of it and the annoying computer that liked to annoy her.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">She thought of Pratt.

<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;"> <p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;border-style:none;padding:0cm;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">“Take me there.” She whispered to herself and the three of them melted into shadow. <p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10.5pt;line-height:16.5pt;">They appeared in her room- which could’ve been bad because anyone of them could’ve appeared inside a wall- or basically anything because her room was so tiny.

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0cm;">Trey however, banged his knee on her bedframe. “Ow!”

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10.5pt;line-height:16.5pt;">“Oh suck it up.” Dawn pointed the sword down so that she didn’t accidentally skewer someone with it. "Let's go find the others."They should be in the common room."

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<p style="margin:0cm0cm0.0001pt;line-height:16.5pt;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10.5pt;line-height:16.5pt;">(WIP)

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