\n Chapter Nine

\n Stalwart

\n

\n Lightning raced around the room, crackling off the walls and floor, aimless, chaotic. Stahl didn't flinch when it speared past his head - he hardly noticed it. The floor below made his paws tingle, but he didn't notice the cold that was seeping slowly into his body. He stared across the room, his gaze resting on nothing in particular. He wanted to move, but couldn't force himself. He was stuck, watching but unable to make a difference.

\n He could see the fragments of the Tear on the ground, at the center of the large inscription. Nearby, a bit of Mea's blood had pooled, some of it flowing along the trails of the carved floor, as if it were a river being filled red. Fear held him still, kept him from running. On the far side of the circle, Len sat on his knees, his paws pressed flat against the floor. His fur stood on end, and his loin cloth wavered, as if there was a strong wind picking up.

\n Currently, his eyes were closed, and his head was angled down towards the floor. Stahl could see his mouth moving, speaking silent words. He found the strength to move just a little, and he held up his paw, looking at the blood that stained his fur. Still, his feet wouldn't budge, his body wouldn't obey. When he lowered his paw back down, he saw that Len was looking up at him now. His eyes were open, his expression warm and unafraid. He made eye contact with Stahl, and he smiled as naturally as he ever had.

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\n As Stahl ran out of the holt and started swimming down river, headed for some appointment he could only guess as to what it was, Len sat in his hammock and stretched his arms above him, cracking his back in the process. He settled back comfortably into the mesh, his tail draped to the side, the end resting on the ground. Simple pleasures, he thought as he closed his eyes and tried not to think about the dying forest encroaching on the village.

\n The night outside was quiet, and he only heard the occasional Lahu swimming in the river. Admittedly, though the tribe was seemingly in danger from the make'loa, Len felt at ease. He finally had an apprentice, and though any critic would insist that he should have picked an apprentice from any of the younger pups who were available, he never felt it would be fair to take an apprentice unwillingly. Particularly with shamanism, where the cost was so great. It was unusual, though, for a shaman to wait so long to take an apprentice.

\n Len had apprenticed for most of his life, he had started studying under his teacher before he hit puberty. Now he had been shaman for nearly fifteen years, and he would have to teach Stahl what he knew much faster than it had been taught to him. He didn't have twenty more years to work with. Len kicked a paw to make the hammock swing. He wasn't aware he was falling asleep until it was too late.

\n Len didn't know how long he had slept, but he did remember the dream he had while he was asleep. A nightmare. He was used to that. He didn't have long to think about it, however, as he was shook awake by a frantic paw. He opened his eyes and reached for the paw that tightly gripped his shoulder. "What, what is it?"

\n "You've got to see this, sir." A familiar, red-furred muzzle sat above his own. The face was wracked with worry.

\n "I take it this isn't something good?" Len asked, removing Kai's paw from his shoulder as he slid out of the hammock.

\n Kai moved to the window and tore the curtains out of the way. Len couldn't see what was so important at first. He followed Kai to the window and peered out, looking for whatever had made Kai so frantic. In the darkness, it was hard to see. The moon illuminated the river well, but the forest was immune to the moon's touch. Once his eyes adjusted, however, he could see movement on the far edge of his vision. The forest seemed to be writhing forward, moving closer to the river. Len's jaw would've dropped, his eyes would have been wide, but he didn't want to alarm Kai any more than he currently was.

\n "It's coming for us," Kai said, looking at the speechless shaman.

\n Len pulled the curtain closed and looked at Kai, hand firmly on his shoulder. "Go to Chief Allwaters. Tell him to get everyone off the river. Start moving down the coast, away from the village."

\n Kai nodded, but he didn't move. "Stahl and Mea are in the Koena ruins. What about them?"

\n Len nearly winced when he heard that Stahl wasn't home. Without his apprentice, he'd have to try to stop the make'loa from growing on his own. He accepted the reality of the situation as well as he could, and he nodded. "Don't worry, they'll be fine. I'm going to go stop this thing, if I can."

\n Len pushed Kai gently, and the younger Lahu started to move towards the curtain door. He paused and turned back to Len. "Thank you." He gestured down at the tattoos that adorned his waist and upper legs.

\n Len nodded, and then retreated to the back of his holt, grabbing as many of his supplies as he could fit into his bag. His heart pounded in his chest, unsure of exactly what he was going to do to stop the make'loa. Kai was normally a strong person, fearless and optimistic. Len understood why he was scared now. With his bag on his shoulder, he swept the curtain out of his way and made his way to the riverbank outside.

\n "Len!" someone called from down river. The shaman spun to see who it was, and saw Stahl swimming upstream as fast as he could. Seeing Stahl helped to put him slightly at ease.

\n "Stahl, just like you to be late," he said, waiting for Stahl to clamber ashore.

\n Short of breath, Stahl stood with his paws on his knees, trying to speak. "Len...I..found it." He held his paw up, telling Len to hold on while he regained his composure. As his breathing slowed down, he continued telling Len what had happened. "We found it. We found the source of the make'loa. It's an ancient machine, below the island."

\n Len turned and looked into the forest, watching as the make'loa inched slowly forward. "What did you do to it, then? Give it encouragement?"

\n "What do you mean?" Stahl asked, turning to see what Len was looking at. He could see the dead forest making its way toward the beach, just as Len had already witnessed. "It's moving faster now? Mea!" He turned back to Len. "The machine ran on the energy from the Heaven's Tear. Mea must have taken it!"

\n "The Heaven's Tear? Stahl, thats just a story. It doesn't actually exist."

\n "Whatever, doesn't matter. The machine uses an inscription, like the one you use on the dam at the New Year ceremony." Stahl grabbed Len's paw and started to pull him towards the water.

\n "Inscriptions? In the ruins?" Len wasn't too familiar with the ancients or the ruins, but he knew enough that the ancients didn't use magic. He pulled against Stahl's grip.

\n "Yes, an inscription. We have to go and break it. It might stop the make'loa." Stahl pulled, but when Len resisted, he stopped. Moving closer, he met Len's eyes. "Please, trust me. I know what I'm talking about."

\n There weren't many options available to them at the moment, and Len knew that he only had one chance to stop the spreading circle. If it took the whole island, the tribe would have to move to a new home. If it got that far, he would be at fault. 'You can't expect absolution from others', the words ran through his head. If he expected to find himself redemption, he would have to do it himself.

\n "Alright, show me the way." Len said, turning to look back at the make'loa once more before following Stahl into the moonlit Kahawai.


\n The world spun around Mea when she woke up. She found it difficult to remember what had happened, her body felt weak. Lightning struck around her, she wasn't sure why. She didn't remember going to sleep in the middle of a storm. She moved her paw meekly against the metal floor, towards the searing pain in her head. The fur on top of her head was wet, and she looked at the source of the wetness. Blood. The alarm in her mind wouldn't kick in, though. It seemed to her like she was looking at someone else's blood.

\n Using all of her strength, she rolled onto her side, looking around the room she found herself in. A fragment of what appeared to be glass sat near her. Not glass, she remembered. A tear. Heaven's Tear. The metal pipe her attacker had used was the next thing that caught her attention. She remembered being hit, now. The silhouette of her attacker was clear in her head, though the words that he had said were too distant to reach. Her vision was still blurry, she couldn't even see to the far end of the cavern. Her arm quivered under her weight, and then gave out, causing her to fall forward onto her chest.

\n Muffled noise, coming from nearby but still far away, reached her ears. Footsteps. Her attacker was back to finish her off. She reached over and wrapped her paw around the pipe, unsure of if she could lift it, even if her life depended on it. A paw came to rest near her head, and she started to raise the pipe, ready to strike at her attacker. A paw closed on top of her own, and pushed it down to the ground, wrenching the pipe from her grip.

\n She tried to say something, anything, but couldn't do more than make a pathetic whimper. The other paw was placed on her side and started to roll her over. Once she was on her back, she recognized Stahl's face looking down at hers. He looked scared, but she knew it couldn't have been worry for her. Even still, her worry about her attacker coming back for her now extended to Stahl's safety as well. Someone else was nearby, looking around the room with what appeared to be wonder.

\n "Mea?" Stahl said, shaking her shoulder gently. "What happened?"

\n She felt her consciousness start to slip, too weak to have a conversation right now. How stupid are you, I've been attacked. You'd never make it as a treasure hunter. She wanted to say it, but she had to settle for thinking it. The world started to blur again.

\n Stahl looked over at whoever he was with. "Len, can you do anything?"

\n Mea closed her eyes, but when sleep came for her, she resisted. When she forced her eyes open, Len was kneeling over top of her. "She's lost some blood, but there isn't much I can do for her. She'll need to have Kauka look at her."

\n Stahl looked down at her and nodded. "Hang in there, Mea." The next time she opened her eyes, she was in a different room. Stahl must have carried her to the observation room, to keep her safe from the lightning storm inside. He was having a conversation with Len nearby.

\n "Stahl, listen." Len had his paw on Stahl's shoulder, a pained expression on his face. "This thing is huge. Even if we both try to stop it, chances are, neither of us will come back. I want you to take Mea back to the surface and get her help."

\n Mea couldn't see Stahl's face. She assumed it would be as pained as Len's. "If you think that's best." Stahl was looking down, trying to keep from making eye contact with Len. He hated himself, for not arguing. "I'll take Mea back."

\n Len placed his paw under Stahl's chin and raised it up for him, forcing eye contact. "Stahl Rivers, get her help. I'll take care of things here."

\n Mea could see that Stahl nodded, and then he turned and approached her. He bent down next to her, and put his arms beneath her knees and neck. As he lifted her, she could see the tears in his eyes. In that instant, it made sense to her. It made sense why Stahl would become Len's apprentice, why he would throw away his life. She wanted to tell him to forget about her. She wanted to tell him to leave her there and try instead to save Len. He needed it more than she did, he deserved it more. If he let Len die here, he would spend the rest of his life like her, trying everything to bring back someone who had long passed. He hadn't given up on his dreams to become a treasure hunter, when he had become Len's apprentice. Instead, he had chosen something that was more important to him.

\n "Stahl." It was all she managed to say, before she drifted away again.
\n  

\n

\n "It'll be okay, Mea," Stahl told her as she fell asleep in his arms.

\n He got about as far as the ladder before he realized he didn't know how to get her out. He couldn't let something as simple as a ladder break his stride, so he needed to figure something out, fast. It came to him quickly, as he examined the narrow passage. Placing his feet paws on the ladder, he started to climb up, balancing his and Mea's weights as he made the first few rungs. It was slow, but he didn't need to get far like this.

\n After the first few rungs, he let himself fall backwards. The passage was narrow enough that his back his the wall behind him, and he was able to support both weights by pressing against it with enough force. Now he only had to slide his back up the wall as he slowly climbed the ladder with his feet. As he climbed, he fought back the tears in his eyes. He had been too scared to help Len with the make'loa. He knew that he had basically condemned him to death. His legs started to feel heavy and weak, slowing his ascent up the rusted ladder. He couldn't be sure which weight it was that was bearing down on him - Mea or Len.

\n It took more time than he would have liked, but eventually, he was high enough to put Mea down on the cold white metal surface at the top of the ladder. He climbed out and picked up Mea again, despite how tired his arms were. He couldn't remember being so physically able in the past. It didn't matter, though, not if he was so weak inside. He ran towards the elevator.

\n Len had told him to go, but that was only because he knew Stahl would be useless if he stayed. He hadn't learned anything in the past week. He was just as afraid as he used to be, only now he was more upset about it. Stalwart. The tribe was right in giving him that nickname, mocking him. If he had just become Len's apprentice when he was younger, he might have been able to help stop this before it got so bad.

\n Every line of thought took Stahl back to one thing. He was a coward, and his cowardice had caused as many problems as Mea's actions. So he ran, doing the only thing he could, running away from Len under the guise of helping Mea. He swung into the elevator and set Mea down, catching his breath as he pushed the button rapidly, hoping to speed up its reaction. The button didn't care. He waited, at the mercy now of the ancient technology. The same technology that was threatening to destroy the island.

\n

\n Len walked solemnly into the lower chamber, setting his bag down by the wall. He rifled through the bag and pulled out several of his dyes. Forgoing the use of his knife, he applied the dyes to his paws and started to paint a new inscription over top of the carving in the metal. As he worked, he considered the situation. He could have begged Stahl to stay and help, but that would've put him in an incredible amount of danger. It was safer for the boy to take Mea away, and let Len do his work alone. Of course, this meant sacrificing himself. The last time he had tried to get near the make'loa with magic, he had almost died. He was relatively sure that he couldn't neutralize it without using every bit of strength he had.

\n If Stahl had stayed, it was possible they could both die. He had devoted his life to taking care of the boy, acting as a mentor and a father figure. He was so desperate to keep Stahl close, he decided to go to great lengths to make him his apprentice. Stahl's lifestyle scared him, salvagers had a dangerous job and he didn't think Stahl was cut out for it. The floor tingled underneath his paw, and he recognized the feeling as the same invader from the circle on the ground, so high above him now. Len's paws were covered in the dyes, leaf greens, ocean blues, clay reds. Colors so far removed from the cold, white ruins left underground by the ancients.

\n Lightning crackled past him, somehow filling the room and yet still avoiding contact with Len's body. His stoic face didn't show any of the fear that he held inside. He didn't have anyone to hide his expression from, but he didn't feel the need to show expression for no one. If Stahl lived, he could find a way to be happy. That was good enough for Len. It would mean that he had redeemed himself, that he had given everything that he could to atone for what he had done. Len had never told Stahl that he was responsible for the death of his parents. Responsible for the deaths of so many, from both tribes. Telling him wouldn't have made a difference.

\n The inscription carved into the floor was larger than any he had seen before, and covering the area with his own was taking longer than he would have liked. He looked up at the roof of the cavern, wondering if the dead forest had reached the Kahawai yet. Maybe he was already too late. Looking back down, he kept working. The lightning filled cavern was silent, as if it was paying its respects to someone who was as good as dead.

\n

\n Stahl found swimming with Mea in his arms to be quite difficult, and wished, as he usually did, that he had Kai's strength. He could recall Kai once bringing back some supplies that would have been equal in size and weight to Mea's sleeping form. The night sky was still being illuminated by the bright full moon, and Stahl could see the torches lighting the village from a distance, leading the way with a glow in the sky. As he swam closer, he could see a number of Lahu swimming around the river, each one carrying supplies or leading pups to safety. He had never seen the village engulfed in so much chaos. He swam ashore and carried Mea up onto the bank of the Kahawai, looking around for Kauka or anyone else who could help.

\n Help found him, as Lakeland came across him, his arms full of supplies. He could naturally carry more than the much smaller Lahu. He looked over Stahl, and he grunted when he saw Mea. "Looks like she got what was coming to her," he said, putting the supplies down next to them.

\n "I don't know what happened, it looked like someone attacked her after I left her in the ruins. She went after the Tear, when I came back to get Len." Stahl said, looking down at Mea. "It must have been another one of her group, someone looking for the Tear just like her."

\n "Like I said, got what was coming to her." He waved Stahl over next to a torch, trying to get a better look at Mea's injuries. After inspecting her head, he nodded. "You said you came to get Len. There seems to be a shortage of information going around right now. Do you know whats up with that?" he asked, throwing a paw towards the far side of the river, where the make'loa was nearly to the water.

\n "I'll tell you when everyone is safe. Where is Kauka? Mea needs her help," Stahl said, looking around the Lahu that were frantically swimming around the river.

\n "Kauka is in the woods, to the west. She's watching over the camp we've got set up in the forest, along with Chief Allwaters," Lakeland said, noticing that Stahl's arms were shaking under Mea's weight. "Let me take her off your hands. You go help gather supplies, follow the other Lahu to the camp. It's straight west, hard to miss."

\n "Would you really do that for her?" Stahl asked, even as Lakeland took Mea from his arms. Carrying her was a simple task for the larger creature.

\n "I said not to trust her. Doesn't mean I want her to die. I just know what kind of things follow the Tear, and its never good." He glanced to the far side of the river. "Like so."

\n "Len is going to stop it, then he'll help us get everything back to normal," Stahl said, looking up at Lakeland. He told the lie so he could try to convince himself it was true. "Take her to Kauka. I'll be there soon."

\n Lakeland nodded down at his friend, and started off into the darkness under the trees. Stahl looked around the river once more, trying to decide the best place to gather supplies from. Enough Lahu were swarming around the river that most of the food in the village had probably been moved already.

\n Before he had anything really figured out, he was lifted off his feet by a blow to his side, and carried jarringly into a tree nearby. His head smacked against the trunk, and his vision spun. He couldn't see the face of the person holding him against the tree, but he could feel their strong arm pressing against his neck. He recognized the hiss of his attacker, and by the time the attacker had started to talk, he could see the face of Alaka, lit from behind by the torches on the river.

\n "Where is he?" Alaka asked through bared fangs.

\n Stahl struggled to speak with his neck constricted, so Alaka let off the pressure just a bit. "Len? He's in the Koena ruins. He's stopping the machine that is causing the make'loa," Stahl said, matter-of-factly.

\n "You left him there by himself?!" Alaka shouted in Stahl's face, before he started to growl deeply. Stahl had never seen a Lahu acting so feral before. The look in Alaka's face was frightening, more beastly than angry.

\n "He sent me away," Stahl said meekly, looking away from Alaka's terrifying visage. "Mea needed help."

\n "Coward!" he shouted, pressing his arm harder against Stahl's throat, making breathing that much more difficult. "He gave his entire life to raising you, and now he's going to give his life because you're too afraid to help. If you ask me, he never should have given you more than a second glance."

\n Stahl struggled to talk. "That's not how it is!" He coughed, having trouble getting a complete breath. "I needed to help Mea. Her head was...she was attacked, and losing blood."

\n "She could bleed out on the goddamn beach for all I care," Alaka yelled. "Mea doesn't want anyone's help. And she doesn't deserve it." He brought his arm out and squeezed Stahl's neck with his paw. "You don't, either."

\n Stahl coughed and sputtered again at the pressure. "No, you don't understand! Len didn't want me to help him. He wanted me to take Mea..." He closed his eyes and took a staggered breath. "I couldn't help anyway...I wouldn't know how..."

\n "Shut up, you ungrateful whelp!" Alaka dug his claws into Stahl's neck, and blood trickled down through his fur. "He gave up everything, he devoted himself to you, and you couldn't even have the decency to return the favor. He gave you all of his attention, yet you resisted him your whole life." His grip seemed to grow tighter at the sight of Stahl's blood. "You couldn't even show up to his New Year ritual on time. You're pathetic. So full of yourself that you never considered why he was so hard on you."

\n Another cough from Stahl caused Alaka to let up on his neck just enough to allow the younger Lahu to breathe. "It's not like that."

\n "Then what is it like?" Alaka's brow narrowed, and his face was almost completely transformed. Stahl hardly recognized him. "You're selfish and you take whatever anyone gives you, without ever giving anything in return. You're blind, and you don't realize the number of people that care about you. I don't see why they waste their time, but they treat you like family. You're selfish and ungrateful!"

\n "Shut up!" Stahl yelled, grabbing at Alaka's paw, though he was too weak to pull it free. "Shut up, Alaka! Yes, I'm selfish. I'll admit that. I'm selfish because I'm afraid." He kept pulling on Alaka's paw.

\n As Stahl shouted, the feral expression on Alaka's face faded, giving way to something more akin to confusion. He wasn't used to Stahl being assertive.

\n Stahl continued. "I'm afraid to care about anyone because I'm so scared of losing them! But you know what? At least I do have the decency to admit that I'm selfish because I'm afraid. Unlike you."

\n Stahl leaned his face in close to Alaka's, he could feel the warm breath of the furious Lahu. "You blame me for taking Len's attention away from you. You blame me for taking Len, but I can't be blamed for that. You're selfish because you're jealous of me, you never got the same treatment, Len didn't give his life to you." Alaka leaned back, and his grip on Stahl's neck weakened enough for the younger to pull free of his grasp. Stahl moved closer, more full of determination than he ever had before.

\n "I'm scared, and you're jealous. Len chose me, but I didn't ask him to raise me. Maybe the reason Len gave me more attention than you is because I'm worth it to him. Maybe he thought I needed him more than you did." Stahl was practically touching noses with Alaka now, and he spoke calmly, but still forceful.

\n Alaka tried to respond, but his voice was weaker than it had been before. "I gave my life up for him. I left the Haku tribe because I cared about him. He repaid me by leaving me. He said he had his hands full with you."

\n "If you really cared about him, you'd realize he was happy. You're just as selfish as I am."

\n Alaka was out of things to say. He just stared at Stahl, waiting for him to make the next move.

\n For a second, Stahl contemplated punching Alaka. He decided that it wouldn't do any good right now. "I'm scared of caring about the people that I love, because I don't want to hurt when I lose them. But I almost lost Kai, and I still hurt. So I decided to change. I wanted to learn how to help, so that I could keep the people I care about from getting hurt in the first place." His eyes widened, and he leaned back from Alaka's face. The torchlight flickered as the wind picked up on the river.

\n "I wanted to learn how to help so that I could keep the people I care about safe. Now look, I've left Len in the ruins by himself." He looked across the river at the make'loa. It was inching along, so close to the Kahawai now. "I've got to go help him. I can't let him give his life just to protect me. The tribe can live on, even without the Kahawai. I don't want to live on, if it means letting Len give up on himself."

\n He turned towards the ocean, wondering if he had time to make it back before it was too late. There was only one way to find that out. Leaving Alaka behind, he dove into the river and swam for the ocean.

\n Stahl hurried back to the ruins, familiar with the path now like the back of his paw. Hoping he wasn't already too late, he swam through the underwater cave, and then ran to the elevator. He brushed the water from his fur as he waited for the elevator to take him to the bottom floor. As soon as the doors started to open, he squeezed through the gap and started for the center of the ruins. Sliding into the hole in the ground, he grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder and climbed down as fast as he could. The hallway at the bottom was dark, as usual.

\n Lightning raced around the room, crackling off the walls and floor, aimless, chaotic. Stahl didn't flinch when it speared past his head, he hardly noticed it. The floor below made his paws tingle, but he didn't notice the cold that was seeping slowly into his body. He stared across the room, his gaze resting on nothing in particular. He wanted to move, but couldn't force himself. He was stuck, watching but unable to make a difference. He had come specifically to help Len, but now he realized that he didn't know how.

\n He could see the fragments of the Tear on the ground, at the center of the large inscription. Nearby, a bit of Mea's blood had pooled, some of it flowing along the trails of the carved floor, as if it were a river being filled red. Fear held him still, but he kept himself from running. He had come too far to run now. On the far side of the circle, Len sat on his knees, his paws pressed flat against the floor. His fur stood on end, and his loin cloth wavered, as if there were a strong wind picking up.

\n Currently, his eyes were closed, and his head was angled down towards the floor. Stahl could see his mouth moving, speaking silent words. He found the strength to move just a little, and he held up his paw, looking at the blood that stained his fur. Mea's blood. He wondered if Lakeland had gotten her to safety. Still, his feet wouldn't budge, his body wouldn't obey. When he lowered his paw back down, he sat that Len was now looking up. His eyes were open, his expression warm and unafraid. He made eye contact with Stahl, and he smiled as naturally as he ever had.
\n It made all the difference in the world.

\n Suddenly, Stahl realized that it didn't matter if he knew what to do or not. What mattered was doing anything at all. When he had pulled Kai out of the way of the monster by the ruins, he hadn't thought about what he was doing, he had simply acted. When he asked Tai to help Kai, he had asked, and even though he didn't do anything to help Kai directly, it was the act of asking that was something. He didn't know how to help heal Mea's wounds, but he helped to take her to the surface, to safety. He hadn't known what to do, but he had still done something.

\n Len didn't know what he was doing much more than Stahl did. That didn't matter - he was trying his best to save the village. Stahl had to at least do the same. The village had raised him from a pup, and taken care of him. Alaka was partially right, he was selfish. It was time to repay the tribe. It was time to prove that he had learned something from Len's constant lectures.

\n Stahl moved his feet paws forward, and fell to his knees at the edge of the inscription that Len had painted on top of the metal floor. He placed his palms down on the circle, just as Len had done. Closing his eyes, he felt around inside the inscription, looking for Len's paw. When he opened his eyes, the lightning that wracked the room had slowed to a crawl, and Len's face was nearly frozen in a content smile.

\n As he reached his Uhane into the circle, as Len had taught him to do earlier that day, he felt the frigid, icy tendrils wrapping around his arms and legs. It must have been the original inscription, merely draining his energy the same as it had the plants and trees in the forest above.

\n "Aren't you scared?" Len asked, as he felt the warmth of the other Lahu inside the inscription. Stahl felt Len's Uhane grasp his, as if they had clasped paws. He could hear Len from across the cavern, even though they were so far apart.

\n "Of course I am," he replied, holding tightly onto Len's warmth. "I'm terrified. But I don't want to run away anymore."

\n The cold filled his body, gripping his muscles, causing him to tense up. Despite that, the energy that he felt in the circle was warm. Just like before, he felt the two of them becoming one, this time lasting longer than before. Len's emotions were his, and he felt all the pain and regret that Len hid deep inside. He felt the love he had for Stahl, and he finally realized that Len thought of himself not just as a mentor, but family. He also felt the feelings that he was hiding from himself, the feelings cast aside long ago, for Alaka. He looked up, across the circle, into Len's eyes. He knew that Len was feeling his emotions the same way.

\n He knew that Len could feel how much he cared for him, how much his mentoring meant to him. He figured, with a bit of a flush to his ears, that Len could tell how much he cared about Kai. He knew that Len could feel his fear, because he could feel Len's fear. The fearless shaman, that was how Stahl had always seen Len, but in this moment, he was aware of how afraid Len really was. He never let that hinder him. Stahl strengthened his resolve, hoping to at least come close to how strong Len was. They were both scared, but they were both fighting together.

\n "So you have been listening to me all these years." Len chuckled, his voice as calm as his expression.

\n "I should have listened to you before. I'm sorry I slept late for the New Year ritual. I've been ignoring you my whole life, because I was afraid of letting you get close."

\n "It's alright, Stahl. At least you know better now." Len's paw tightened around Stahl's.

\n "Alaka knocked some sense into me. I can't run away just because I'm scared. I guess I want to be more like you."

\n Stahl looked down when Len started to laugh. "There's words I never thought I'd hear. Though I figured something out while I was down here by myself. You should live your life however it makes you happy. I got so caught up in trying to raise you right that I forgot you were your own person. I wanted to protect you, and making you my apprentice seemed the best way to do that."

\n "This is what I want to do now, Len. I want to be a shaman, I want to help the people that I care about."

\n The lightning grew in intensity above, and the inscription on the ground began to glow. Even still, time seemed to be crawling. Stahl hoped that Len had any idea of what to do. He held fast onto Len's ethereal paw as he felt the darkness start to pull at him. It was trying to tear them apart, and to draw their energy from their bodies individually.
\n Then something shifted. The cold started to replace the warmth, and he felt his grasp on Len's Uhane weakening. It felt as though he was being pulled away, dragged down by the ancient machine. He wasn't strong enough to hold on for much longer.

\n "Len, I can't. I'm not strong enough for this," Stahl said, surprised at how exhausted he had become so quickly.

\n The room was engulfed in light now, and the only thing Stahl could see was Len's face across the room. He smiled at Len, and Len nodded at him. He couldn't hold on for much longer. His eyes started to feel heavy, and the cold that seeped into his bones and muscles made him want to sleep. Len started to show signs of exhaustion as well. His eyes sagged, his shoulders dropped down.

\n "Stahl," Len said, his voice changing, becoming softer and more solemn. "Thank you for coming to help me. I know now that you'll be okay, even without me to guide you." His Uhane started to slip from Stahl's paw. Stahl held on tightly, straining to keep Len from being pulled away.

\n "That's not enough. I came here to make sure you could come back! I came here to save you." Len was getting harder to hold on to. He was slipping away, into the darkness.

\n Across the circle, Len's body fell forward, as slowly as the lightning which filled the room. His eyes closed as he fell, and he looked as if he had fallen unconscious.

\n Stahl held on as hard as he could. He felt the cold beginning to leave him, as though it were dripping off his fur. His eyes began to fill with tears - he knew exactly what was happening. Still, he didn't let go. With his strength no longer being pulled away by the machine, he was able to hold onto what was left of Len's energy.

\n It didn't make a difference. The warmth was fading, and it was still being pulled away. He could only hold on for long, eventually he would have to let go.

\n "It looks like it's a little late for that, Stahl. " Stahl heard Len's voice in his head, even though his body lay still on the floor.

\n He shook his head, unwilling to give up. "No, you're still here, right? I've still got you," he sobbed, speaking out loud, unsure if Len could even hear his words. His tears fell silently to the ground.

\n "You have to let me go. You have to go live your life. Hunt treasure, solve all of the mysteries of the world. Whatever you want to do, you do it."

\n "Be quiet! I'm not going to just let you go. I've got you. You saved the village, now I'm going to save you." He tightened his paw, straining.

\n "Stahl?" Len sounded surprised. "You don't have to do this. I knew this would happen eventually, when I became a shaman."

\n "Of course I don't have to. You gave me every chance to run away, and I almost did. Stahl closed his eyes and held on tight. "No, I want to do this. Even if I'm scared." In his head, he recalled falling asleep, warm in his hammock with Len's paw draped on top of him.

\n "Nothing to be scared of," Len said, his voice becoming weaker.

\n "Losing you," Stahl replied, his own words increasing his fear, which in turn rallied his strength.

\n Len's paw began to slip from his, so they were grasping each other only at their fingers. Across the circle, Len lay motionless. Above, the lightning stopped moving entirely, as Stahl felt frozen in that moment. Unlike before, when time had merely felt slow, it now felt as if the flow of time had be ground to a complete halt.

\n "Len, stay with me!" Stahl shouted, and his voice broke the silence of the still cavern sharply, echoing dominantly.

\n "You won't lose me. We're all, as one." Len replied, sounding more distant than before. Stahl thought back to the New Year's ceremony, back to swimming in the river with the rest of the tribe. Feeling connected, feeling as one. Everyone in the tribe was expected to do what was best for the tribe, and Stahl finally understood. The tribe was one, and they all shared each other's lives.

\n Len's paw finally parted from Stahl's, and everything happened in an instant. The lightning in the air above disappeared as the light engulfing the room faded, and wisps of soft light floated down as if they were leaves falling from a tree. The inscription on the ground stopped glowing, and the cavern fell into darkness. Stahl grabbed out, searching for Len's energy. Breaking free from the inscription, it was his real paw that reached out aimlessly into the air, and his fell forward onto the cold metal floor.

\n The tingling sensation was gone, and the artificial lighting provided by the many machines had shut off. Stahl's body felt numb now, the cold gone along with the warmth. He felt weak, nauseous. As much as he wanted to get up and run to Len's body, he couldn't bring himself to stand. He felt empty.

\n Len was the closest thing he had to family, and now he was gone. His mind started to race, trying to figure out what he could have done differently to save him. He went back through the past few days, the past week, through his entire life. Everything had led to this moment, and he had so many chances to stop it. Len still didn't move.

\n Stahl's paw lay out before him, grasping at nothing on the ground. For a second, he thought he felt a paw close around his, but when he squeezed against it, his paw proved to be empty. He opened and closed it a few times, just to be sure. There was nothing.

\n Inside, the numbness gave way to the slightest bit of warmth. Stahl moved his paw and held it over his chest. He realized, as he slipped into the blackness of sleep, that the warmth was the same as when he joined with Len. For some reason, Len's emotions were still there. His fear, his pain, and his love. "We're all, as one," Stahl whispered to no one as he gave in to his dreams.