The Wanderer thought deeply, though surrounded by friends.
They felt their life would come to an end.

"That sounded like Robert!" Amelia dropped the stick she had been swishing around and ran, bushes and trees seemingly parting to form a pathway for the girl.
'Robert! Where are you?!' She called, before sliding to a halt. A creamy-yellow feathered arrow imbedded itself in the log beside her, and a flash of colour dove behind a bush.
'Who's there? I have a stick, and - Okay I dropped the stick. I have abilities, and I'm not afraid to use them!' She tried her hardest to look threatening, and the foliage rustled 'Oh come on, just come out already!'

'If you're trying to look tough it's not working!' A loud voice replied, and the Truncatis Royal groaned 'Just get out of the bush. I'm supposed to be finding my friends but now I'm curious' The leaves shifted again 'But I don't want to'
'You know I can literally just move the bush, right? It's not that hard'
'...I'm shy' Amelia facepalmed, willing the large bush to bend and break as she saw a flash of chocolate brown 'I know you're not a human, but that's it'
'Not exactly...? It's kind of hard to explain'
'Why don't you just come out? I'm not going to judge you, one of my other friends is a lava creeper hybrid, and I'm pretty sure nearly all of us have powers of some sort'
'Are you sure? You're not going to try and kill me?'
'I'm a Princess, not a killer,' The Truncatis girl laughed slightly 'why would I want to kill you?'

'Because...' A humanoid figure stepped from behind the leaves 'I look like this'
They were certainly different, to say the least. Cocoa fur covered every visible part of their body, and the rest was covered by black jeans and a zip-up jacket of the same color. His eyes were a strange shade of grey, that seemed to change from dark to light when the sunlight hit them.
What really confused Amelia was the diamond axe by his side, the handle carved with beautiful and intricate patterns 'Huh. Nice axe' She said, tilting her head slightly 'I'm Amelia, pleased to make your acquaintance'
'I guess I can trust you...My name's Jerome, from the True Kingdom'
'You're from True?! That's so cool! But what're you doing out here?'
'Well...the Prince went missing a few days ago, and I've been sent out to find him. We haven't really had any luck yet'

The Princess nodded thoughtfully, an idea blossoming in the depths of her mind 'If I could find everyone, we could help you out. What does he look like?'
Jerome looked down, as if embarrassed 'That's the thing, nobody's ever seen his face before. His parents hid him away because apparently, he was "Too dangerous" which is absurd. He's seven years old!' The Guard seemed to grow frustrated, and Amelia put a hand on his shoulder 'Hey, Jerome. Calm down, we're going to find the Prince'
'Yeah, okay...We should get you back to your friends, they're probably worried'
'Mostly my Brother. He's kind of overprotective to a point of not letting me out of his sight sometimes' The two started to walk, occasionally making remarks about each other's Kingdoms 'So, Princess of Truncatis huh? It must be cool, having everyone listen to you all the time'

Amelia laughed 'Who told you that? Nobody takes you seriously, especially if you're a girl. It has its perks, but I honestly hate it when I'm constantly being followed by five people around the Castle' She joked, though there was truth behind her words. She despised being Royalty sometimes, people always telling her the expectations for the Royal Family and having to treat people beneath her like dirt 'You would get along well with the Prince. He constantly tries to ignore all Royalty and would often go into the old Gardens when no one was looking' Jerome wore a slightly sad expression on his face 'You're really close to the Prince, aren't you?'

'You could say that' he snorted 'Jason and I - we go way back. I knew him when he was born. I was one of the only people who could ever see him without a cloak on because of his Parents'
'Why does he have to wear a cloak anyway?' Amelia asked, and the axe-wielder shook his head 'It's not really my place to say...but I trust you. Two years after he was born, wither creatures started to attack. They managed to storm the Castle, taking everyone by surprise and wiping out around a third of our Army'
'Oh...'
'Yep. We managed to fight them back, but three of them had found Jason's room. They didn't hurt him, at the time at least. I remember going to his room and seeing them surrounding the bed while he just...sat there. He didn't seem afraid, he was watching them as they talked and eventually the smallest creature put it's hand on his forehead. It was as if I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything to help him and-'
'Woah, Jerome, he's fine. We're going to find him, but you shouldn't keep beating yourself up about it. This happened five years ago, we can't change what happens in the past'
'I guess...' They fell into an awkward silence, before the trees began to thin out and voices could be heard 'Is this where your friends were?'

'Ye-' The Truncatis Royal was cut off when someone tackled her to the ground 'Amelia! I was so worried about you, the others came back and said they sent you and Vik but you were gone and-' She sighed and wrapped her arms around her older sibling 'I'm fine Rob. A little tired, but I'm okay...Where's Preston? Is he back?' Robert tensed, and pulled his Sister up 'Well...Yes, he's with Kenny and Nathan'
'I've got to see if he's okay! Oh by the way, this is my friend Jerome. Be nice to him' She sped through the makeshift camp, sliding on a small pile of wet leaves and slamming into a thick birch tree 'Are you actually serious?!'
'You seem to have an unfortunate habit of falling into either bushes or trees' Noah laughed, extending a hand to pull her up as she held her nose 'We need to stop meeting like this'
'No, I would never have thought' The girl accepted her friend's aid and, after standing upright, turned to the Prince 'How's life been since I went on a rescue mission?'
'Nothing too special happened. Lachlan ran off after Rob said something about losing a sibling, so both Vik and Lachlan are missing, and your Brother basically had a panic attack'

'Vik's not here?! Oh Lords this is bad...I need to talk to Preston about something, where is he?' Noah shrugged 'Last time I saw, he was by the river with Kenny'
'Thanks Noah!' She gave the Prince and quick wave before jogging to the river, hoping that the Ignis Prince was there so she could warn him.
Thankfully, she didn't have to look for too long. It wasn't that hard to be honest, the Texan didn't exactly...blend in with the surroundings 'Hey guys!'
Kenny's head snapped up, and he waved 'Amelia! Where have you been? Everyone was getting worried' She joined them by the riverside, seeing Preston flinch and look away as she sat 'What's up with Preston?' The female muttered, and the Ignis Guard shook his head 'He feels kind of guilty for - You've got a nosebleed'
'Oh, that? I ran into the birch tree. It honestly hurts like Hell but I can't do anything about it'
'Should I ask why you ran into a tree?' Kenny asked, and Amelia grinned 'I was trying to find a certain lava mob by the name of Preston' The Prince flinched again when he heard his name, causing both companions to feel a growing concern for their friend 'Preston? You okay?'
'...It's all my fault...' His voice cracked, sounding like he was on the verge of crying 'What? No, nothing's your-'
'If I hadn't ran away, Vikram might be here and nobody would be hurt!'
'Preston, it's not like-'
'If I hadn't been born, everyone would be happy and my Mother would still be alive!' He was shaking, gripping the long grass on either side of him as he struggled to keep the tears from flowing 'Preston! Look at me' Amelia shifted so that she was facing him head-on 'None of this was because of you, okay? Calm down, it's alright...' She soothed, slowly moving next to him and wrapping her arm around his torso 'Just let it out'

All the thoughts Preston had been holding back suddenly flooded out, ending up with his head on Amelia's lap while she stroked his back, murmuring soft words of "It's okay" "You're okay Preston, you're okay" and "We're here for you" while exchanging worried glances with Kenny "What do I do?!" She mouthed, and her American friend shrugged "I don't know, I've never seen him like this before"

'Amelia? Where - There you are!' Robert's head appeared from over the hill 'Lachlan and Vik just got back, but Vik's hurt'
Preston tensed as he heard the Canadian talk, resisting the urge to run again. He knew the Truncatis Prince hated him for being an Ignis Royal, but for some reason his Sister didn't. She actually comforted the hybrid when he cried, and he didn't understand why 'Thanks for telling me Rob. I'll be over in a few minutes' Her Brother's eyes darkened when he saw her with Preston, and he looked back at the group just in time to see Vikram faint 'We need you up here, now!'
'What just happened?'
'Vik collapsed, that's what happened! Why do you need to ask questions like this?!'

The girl stood up, making sure Preston was okay before stalking towards Robert 'Because Preston's hurt too, you idiot' She muttered 'More than any of us know. He's been holding back emotions all this time, he feels terrible just for being alive! You don't need me up there, but Kenny and Preston do'
'Vikram might die, Amelia. Nobody can die of sadness, so Preston's just-' A slap to the face shut the Prince up, as his Sister pulled her hand back 'Finish that sentence, Robert. I dare you' The ground began to rumble as small red flowers grew from the earth 'Amelia, you're being childish'
'I'm the one being childish?! I was one of the only people who went after Preston, it's your fault in the first place for all judging him like that! Just because he's the Prince of our enemy Kingdom, that doesn't mean he acts like them! He's never done anything wrong to you...' She trailed off, her breathing heavy 'Amelia-'
'No, Robert. Until you make it up to Preston, I'm not going back to camp'
'You can't do that, you'll die!'
'Sue me' The girl spat, her vines retracting into the dirt 'Look-'

'Why the Hell is there a wolf in the camp?!' Noah ran out of the treeline, followed by the same wolf that had attacked the rescue team and bitten Kenny 'Oh Lords, not this again'
'What do you mean "again"?'
'Let's just say we've met before' Kenny spoke up from behind the Truncatis Princess, causing her to squeak 'Dangit Kenny! But yeah, we've dealt with it before and this time I don't want anybody getting hurt-' She directed the comment towards her blond friend, who sub-consciously rubbed his arm '-so it's just going to be that thing versus me. Any objections?' Everyone put their hands up, and she smiled slightly 'Just the way I like it'

'Amelia, trust me when I say that you don't want to mess with this thing. It's from...my Kingdom' A thick layer of tension curled between the group, who all glanced at eachother nervously 'Nevermind. So Preston, you have experience with these things?' The lava hybrid nodded, hiding behind his two friends slightly 'They're called Guard Wolves. Hard to control, and if they don't have anyone keeping a close eye on them...It gets very bad, very quickly'

'Is there any way to stop them?' He sighed, looking down slightly 'I'm not really sure. I know some things about them but not a lot' Robert groaned, crossing his arms 'So basically, we're screwed. You managed to mess up again Preston, good freaking job!' Amelia narrowed her eyes at the Canadian 'If you've got a problem with my friends, you take it out with me. He's done nothing wrong'

'Keep telling yourself that' The wolf had crept up on the group and, while their argument went on, took it's chance to strike. Robert shrieked as he felt sharp teeth sink into his leg, tearing through skin and flesh as the canine pulled away 'Rob?! Holy-' A blast of fire startled the wolf, causing it to yelp and take a few steps back as Preston moved forwards 'Back off, Flare. You have no right to be here'
It snarled, the same look in it's eyes as before as it stalked towards the Pyrokinetic 'Preston-'
'Kenny, I've got this. Get Rob some help' He kept his eyes locked on his target, prepared to make a run for it 'You're gonna need some backup. I'm gonna stay with you'
'No. It's too dangerous, I'm the only one who can take this thing - bullshrimp!' Flare lunged, knocking the Prince down 'Noah and Amelia, take Robert back to the camp, I'll help Preston!' Kenny ordered, and the two teenagers looked at each other 'But-'
'Go!' He snapped, and Amelia flinched 'Ok-okay'

The ex-Guard ran to tackle the wolf off his friend's chest, but froze in fear when it turned it's head and howled 'Kenny, run! I'm about to do something incredibly stupid!' The hybrid's lava-patterned skin seemed to glow brighter, but Kenny stood where he was in pure fear. Seizing its chance, the wolf jumped to its frozen target 'No!' Preston screamed. He felt his body temperature grow higher than he'd ever felt before, before there was a flash.

Everything went dark...