The Pacree looked around at each other, smiling.  Then they brought the bodies of Crow, HailClaw, and GrayStream into the middle of the camp, and said their goodbyes to the two.

    I would've been laying there with the deceased Drolgons right now if I hadn't proved myself worthy of my second chance, Eclipse thought uncomfortably.                                                                    

     Sapphire hugged Eclipse happily, and Eclipse hugged her back. Ruby smiled at the group.

     "We won the battle!" Solar exclaimed triumphantly, bouncing over to Eclipse with   FeatherCloud and SkyChaser right behind her.

     FeatherCloud was smiling. Eclipse realized that it was the first time she'd seen her sister smile since the truth about their father's death came out. She stepped toward FeatherCloud.

     "I'm really sorry," she murmured. "I hope you'll forgive me eventually, and I hope you'll find peace of mind."

     FeatherCloud looked into Eclipse's eyes and sighed. "Why should I? You literally killed our dad. I know he was terrible to you, but he was the only parent I had left. But you're also my sister... and I feel bad hating you, so I guess maybe I'll give you another chance."

     Eclipse touched her nose to the top of her little sister's head. "Thank you, Feather..." but she also knew her friends had just heard what her sister had just said.

     "Wait, what did she say you did?" Ruby asked. "For a second I thought she said..." but then she fell silent, seeing the look Sapphire gave her.

     "It... uh... it's true..." Eclipse said, sitting down.  She felt more and more bad about not telling them about it as she saw each of her friends' expressions were horrified.

     Sapphire twined her tail with Eclipse's, sitting at her side.

     "I can't believe you would do that..." Ruby mumbled disbelievingly.

     Eclipse stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Then she sighed. "I know, there isn't an excuse for what I did. I shouldn't have played myself up to be someone I'm not when I met you, too. And I shouldn't have made you trust me when you couldn't have judged me by my true self. On top of all that, I already know what I did is unforgivable."

     "Wow. I was right, when I first met you. I said 'she could be an assassin or something'. Well, assassins kill creatures, and so do murderers," Rowan said.   She didn't seem very bothered by the fact that Eclipse was a murderer, so much as she was fascinated that she had guessed what Eclipse was when they'd first met.

     Bee and Starspeaker looked stricken that Eclipse would do such a thing.

     "You guys should probably also know that she killed Reed- he was her crush, and they had a thing for a little bit before he decided to be with another she-Drolgon. She killed him the night that he'd told her he hadn't ever actually loved her." FeatherCloud said.

     Brooke looked sick, but also pitiful when she looked at Eclipse.

     "Well, I mean, he broke your heart and was really rude about it." Rowan shrugged. "Killing him's a bit much, but I would've definitely given him a few nasty warning bites."

     Eclipse couldn't believe Rowan was the only one of her friends besides Sapphire that was at least partially on her side.

     "I need to think about this..." Brooke murmured.

     Ruby, Bee, Rodin, Hailee, and Starspeaker nodded.

     "Hey! Eclipse, what're you doing sitting over there sulking?" HavenFlight called. "You're a hero! Without you bringing help, we might not've won the battle, and we definetely would've lost many more loved ones!"

     "Yeah!" SkyChaser agreed from Solar's side, where he and Solar were feasting with HavenFlight, FeatherCloud, Meadowlark, Ragged, and the two Drolgonets. "Come feast with us! You too, Sapphire!"

     Eclipse and Sapphire padded over to their littermates, and sat down next to them. Eclipse hungrily ate a deer with Sapphire, realizing it was the first time she'd eaten in almost a week.

     Drolgons began singing the song often sang at feasts, or like this, after battles. It was a joyous and loud song that got you stomping your paws and flapping your wings.

     Eclipse watched most of the Pacree get up and start dancing, singing along and laughing.

     Then Sapphire stepped in front of her, and extended her paw to her. Eclipse looked up at her, smiled, and took her paw as she got up.

     Sapphire led her right into the middle of the dancing Pacree, and twirled her around. Eclipse got a little dizzy, so she put her wings out to the sides.

     Sapphire giggled, lifting a paw to her muzzle, and put her left wing straight up. Eclipse knew this dance, so she put her right wing up. They touched wings, circling around each other, and stomping out the beat with their paws as they pranced around each other.

     Other Drolgons had started to watch them now, stomping their paws to the rhythm and urging Sapphire and Eclipse to keep going.

     Sapphire turned to face Eclipse, and hooked her wings around Eclipse's. Then she started bouncing, circling the opposite direction. Eclipse joined in, laughing and singing along. This was what she would've missed out on for possibly a hundred years if she hadn't made it back. And by the time that Sapphire would've joined Eclipse in the Spirit Realm, she most likely would've had another mate.     Eclipse pushed the sad thoughts away and decided to just be in the moment with the Drolgon she loved.

     The sun was sinking now, orange light spilling into the camp.

     Drolgons began drumming to the beat on hollowed out logs.

     Brooke magicked a rock into some peanut-shaped thing with strings attached to a long stick coming off of one end, and she started playing it.

     It had a nice sound to it, and when she brushed her hands along the strings it made a slight buzzing noise, and when she tapped her hand on the wood part it made a clicking noise. But when she strummed the strings, it made a twangy hum. Different strings and hand positions seemed to make different twangy hums. Put together, it made calming music.

     A few Drolgons started doing loops in the air, and some chased others playfully about in the sky. Some bobbed along to the rhythm while hovering.

     Eclipse lifted off, pulling Sapphire into the air with her. Then Sapphire grabbed Eclipse's paws in hers, and spun around. Eclipse yelped, feeling the momentum pulling at her fur, and pulled Sapphire into a loop-the-loop with her.

     Sapphire let her wings fold in and she crashed into Eclipse, giggling.

     Eclipse held her in her paws as they hovered, and they just looked into each others' eyes for a few moments. Eclipse felt like it was the right time to confess her feelings to Sapphire.

     "Saph, I heard what you said just after I died," she murmured.

     "You did?" Sapphire asked, her beautiful turquoise-blue eyes shimmering. "I had a feeling you were still there."

     "Yes." Eclipse smiled. "I love you too, Sapphire. You mean the world to me."