"Good!" Sarin said, and Sorrel caused the snow to melt even faster, before freezing it. 

"Your getting better!" He smiled, and Sorrel sat on the stump next to him. A circle of ice surrounded them.

"Water?" He asked, passing her the bottle.

 "Thanks." She replied. As she drank, the two sat in silence. Sorrel finished, and capped the bottle.

"Have you ever read the book The Storm Over Sharo?" She asked him, finally.

"Ah yes. Owla Nightgale is an amazing author." He replied. "I love the part where Cora drops her off in the woods, and she has  to survive."

"That is really fun." Sorrel said.

"Or when Falcon steal the Orb Fruit and hides it." He smiled even wider. "Have you read the Bright Star?"

"Yup." She replied.

"That was truly amazing. That mystery, the suspense. Ah. I've read it over and over again. The very end is kinda sad, though. I wonder if a sequel will come."

"I doubt it." Sorrel said. The story had ended with Illa sacrificing herself for Florida and Cyan, and it was, and

"Sarin, Whats that?" She asked, pointing. Sarin stood up, looking at the dot that was rapidly approaching. "I don't know." As it got closer, Sorrel recognized it as an eagle. 

"Were we expecting someone?" Asked Sorrel, frowning.

"No." The eagle began to land, and when it was five feet or so above the ground, a woman dropped to the snow. Sorrel recognized it as Alena with her purple hair, but she was crying. 

"Sarin. The palace was attacked and... They took your father." Sarin's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. 

"Zanier has been taken..." He sat down on the stump, and stared around in shock.

"Yes." Alena said, obviously trying to calm herself as much as Sarin. Sorrel turned, watching the two. She had never met the king himself. Alena put her hands on Sarin's shoulder, singing softly. Feather walked in on the three of them, from eating grass. She looked up, snorted, and came over to Sorrel, who petted her softly.

"Lets go inside." Alena said softly, and they went inside, Feather trailing a little behind. The cave was actually a network, Containing a stable, a food storage, and two room-caves. The two walked into the larger Room-cave, while Sorrel lead Feather into the stable. She shut the door behind her, and let Feather munch on the hay.

"Hey Feather." Sorrel said softly, patting her.

"Sorrel... Hello." Feather said. She lifted her head, and for a moment, Sorrel saw a glint of deep intelligent in her eyes. And then she returned to eating hay, and Sorrel walked out of the stable. She walked into her own Room-cave, and settled on the rock ledge. Everything was moving way too fast. The king was taken, Cassia and the others where Who-Knows-Where, And Carmen Jon was taking control. Sorrel sat down, and focused on breathing. It was something you could control, know... There was no way to know how long she sat there, but she was pulled out of her trance by a voice, echoing in her mind.

"Sorrel..." Sorrel sat upright. She shook her head, but the voice continued. "I'm sorry for not communicating this way before. You are powerful, but it still took a long time for me to truly accept you." Sorrel looked around, searching for something. Then she screwed up her face, and tried to reply. "Who are you?" 

"Feather." Sorrel clambered down, off the ledge, and sat on the floor.

"How?" She replied.

"Everyone has a life force. It slowly regenerates over time. I discovered this only recently, based on something Sarin said. When you heal, a part of it splits of, going into the other. Most of the time this just causes a connection, emotionally. But you were so powerful that by healing me, I became semi-part of you." Sorrel tried to process this, but it was difficult. 

"I don't know much about this subject, though. This effort has exhausted me, as well. Talk to Sarin if you want the answers." And Sorrel felt Feather retreat, and she stood up shakily. She walked down the cave, feeling water drip onto her skin, and then walked into Sarin's cave. Alena was sitting next to Sarin, who was on a ledge.

"Sarin?" Sorrel asked. He looked up, and managed a weak smile.

"Anything wrong?" He asked, noticing her expression.

"Not... Exactly. But I need to talk to you."

"Of course." He replied kindly.

"Well, I was in my caves, and Feather spoke to me Telepathically." She continued with the rest of the story, telling him what Feather knew.

"Yes, that can happen. It takes years of training and practice to do it though... I wonder how you did it. Maybe the amulet influenced that. But yes, it is a possibility. Some people can even create life out of clay and wood. Although someone that powerful is rare..." He tilted his head slightly, looking deep into Sorrel's eyes. She awkwardly looked away, and sat down on a boulder.

"What are we going to do?" She asked. Alena smiled, and then replied.

"We have a few options. We can sit and wait, We can go back to the rebels, or we can... Chase after Zanier." Sorrel nodded, thinking. 

"And what do you think would be best?" Alena got up and began pacing, eagle-like. "If we wait, we will be trapped. Eventually they will find us, we'll run out of food, or something else will happen that will cause us to evacuate. If we go to the rebels, we will eventually be overrun..."

"And if we look for my father?" Sarin asked, tired-sounding.

"If we look for Zanier, there is a small chance of success. Most likely we will be captured or killed... Carmen Jon will do that much at least without hesitation. But if we do have success, we could hit a major blow, and maybe turn the tide."

"What do you think?" Sorrel asked, turning back to Sarin. He sighed, and then looked up.

"We will look for my Father."

~~~

Sorry for not posting last week, my guinea pig is sick and I had no time to post it.

Please vote and comment if you liked, and if you didn't, tell me what too improve on!