Jay~

I raised my head weakly, watching the three go into the portal. They must think I'm dead. At least, I'm almost dead. I jump through it behind the Runner as the portal closed. Soon the others knew I was here.

"Please don't hurt me!" I transform into human to protect myself from the light. The runner frowns at me, probably wanting to kill me.

"I mean no harm," I whimper. The druid looks at me, slightly kindly. 

"She doesn't. I know werewolves are suppose to be bad but... She has seen as much bad things as we have," the druid says. I smile and then frown as I notice the angel... Her feather. I swear under my breath.

"This is why angels are so fragile," I whisper, looking at everyone.

~Redcap~

A portal. A charge. A message. A decision.

The choice is terrible. I am paralyzed with indecision. I am sworn to two duties, that lead me different places. How can I protect the cat if I'm Running to Hedgerow? How can I Run that message if I go through the portal after her? But she called on the King, and like it or not, the Baroness didn't. Portals are tricksome things- a pang of fear hits me as I realize I may never see my beloved Gloomwood again- but I steel my nerves and goad Comet through the rapidly shrinking whorl of blue light.

It feels like leaping through a plane of icy water. A shockwave of magic vibrates through my body. The cold is tangible and intense, pressing, seeking, stopping my nose and mouth up tight. I can feel Comet's fear as the same thing happens to him. We are weightless, flying with no sensation of movement, through an eternal moment devoid of anything but cold. My lungs burn for air, my entire body is numb with the cold...

...And then we are standing in a field, blessedly warm and sunny. Both Comet and I are shivering violently. I gasp for air, feeling the warmth of it begin to displace the numbness. The druidess doesn't seem to have been affected (no surprise), but she's annoyed at me for some reason. I quickly survey my surroundings: the largest wheat field I have ever seen; a black road with odd yellow and white stripes, whose surface looks strangely smooth and hard; the cloudless blue sky; the ticked-off druid, chastising me for jumping through the portal; the cat Magetouched, shivering only a little less than me...and a sight to make my blood run colder than the portal's magic.

The angel, curled on the ground, with a clearly visible hole where a primary feather should be.

It feels skin-crawlingly wrong just to look at the spot. Like the universe is saying that the hole isn't supposed to be there. It's truly unnatural. I look away, slightly queasy all of a sudden. I exclaim, "Sister Druid! Look at the angel!" She does, and I can see her already-pale face lose any color it might have had. In an instant, she's kneeling at the angel's side, not touching her for fear of hurting her more, murmuring, "Oh no, Storm, Storm, you have to wake up, we're here, it's all right, please please please..." 

I know about almost any creature that's ever set foot in Gloomwood. I know what feathers taken from an angel mean. I know that Storm will die if someone doesn't do something fast. And I just might know something that will buy her some time. But dare I risk it? My magic has never been strong, and if I try something too big...well, Scurry bit off more than she could chew last winter; it was the second time I've really had to bury a friend. I've managed a stasis before, on a package of volatile alchemical supplies, but this is an angel! A living magical creature the same size as me! Can I do it? Would it be folly to try?

This is her life in question. For better or for worse, I must throw caution to the winds. I dismount Comet and run over to Storm, simultaneously pulling out my emergency spell-component pouch from its usual place in my knapsack. I search frantically through the pouch, tossing aside some herbs and a copper wire before I find the tiny shard of adamantine I was looking for. Mustering all my magical energy and praying it will be enough, I chant the words of the spell and draw a complicated sigil in the air with the shard before placing it on Storm's chest. This is it. Either the spell works, or we both die.

I feel the power drain like a physical punch to the gut. A vibrant red curtain of light balloons from the shard, flowing over Storm and lifting her prone frame slightly off the ground. I can feel it take energy from my body for every inch of progress. I double over, face hitting the earth when I haven't the strength to catch myself. Through the black haze threatening to steal my vision, I see Storm become eerily still in her capsule of red light. The stasis has taken hold; she'll be in suspended animation until the spell wears off or I remove it, whichever comes first. Dimly I notice my gasping for breath, wanting to sit up but not having the energy, fighting unconsciousness with everything I have. The black loss of feeling is overwhelming, though...

I come to propped against the druid's side as she trickles some tangy liquid into my mouth. How long was I out? Apparently not long, judging by the sun. But this is another world; is the sun even the same here? I try to ask the druid, but it comes out as a weak little croak. She lets more liquid dribble down my throat, tsk-ing me into silence. "Easy now. You don't have the energy to talk." I send a prayer to Pelina of the Forests for this druid, and to the Piper for the luck of meeting her. I am not yet out of danger, but she has pulled me back from the edge. 

************

Koda says cyaa. Wait, Koda! Where are you going?! 

TOPTOPTOPTOPTOP!!!!!!!!!!!!! And another TOPPITY TOPTOP for good measure!!!

TOP TOP TOPTOP, so TOP the TOP off TOP TOP! Did you hear me? I said TOP!!!!!!!!