It took a staggeringly short amount of time for the jungle beasts to attack them. Almost as soon as they entered the jungle, a pack of timblerclaw tigers jumped at them out of nowhere. Edwyr almost fell out of his saddle in shock, but before he could even think about steeling himself for being mauled by a tiger, golden light enveloped them.

The tigers roared as they hit the magical shield covering their entire party at full speed, but they didn't scamper away in fear or defeat, instead starting to circle them, looking for any weakness in the shield. Even before looking around Edwyr knew that Wyn was doing this. And sure enough, he found the elf holding his staff up, its tip glowing with bright yellow light, a frown of concentration on his face.

Edwyr tried not to wince every time they clawed at the magical barrier, trying to break through. He had all the faith in the world in Wyn, but Edwyr still had no idea how the elf was doing this. Maintaining such a large shield, let alone for more than a few seconds—it didn't make any sense in Edwyr's mind, not that he was complaining. He just hoped that Wyn could keep it up.

Jumping off Tempest's back and reaching out with his hand, Edwyr waited for one of the tigers to get close to him before summoning fire, sticking his hand just outside the shield as he did. The tiger roared, the branches its body was made of catching fire, and immediately it ran, disappearing deep inside the jungle. More elves joined in, the magicless ones staying in the middle and the ones who could use magic taking position in a circle around them, throwing fire at the tigers whenever they could until all of the beasts were gone, giving up on trying to kill them.

Despite the distance between them, Edwyr could hear Wyn let out a long breath as the shield fell. He looked very strangely collected for what he'd just done, sitting back in his squawker's saddle. Edwyr felt like he had gotten more winded from casting flames than Wyn was from holding his shield up.

"Good work," Wyn said, looking at all of them. "But the noise has likely alerted more beasts to our presence. We must press on."

Unsurprisingly, no one disagreed, and with a few mumbles of agreement, everyone climbed back into their saddles and set off, following Wyn and Genrith who were in the front. Edwyr was right behind them, riding next to Orenis, who was staying uncharacteristically silent, her face serious, almost grim. But he supposed he shouldn't be too shocked by that given the gravity of the situation. The more noise they made, the more likely it was that more beasts would find them, so unnecessary talking was out of the question.

But despite staying relatively silent, it didn't take long for more beasts to find them, looking to fill their stomachs. First to attack was a scalewing, and while a few elves sustained injuries that were then healed, it was relatively easy to chase it off, the beast having likely realized that the group of elves were at a massive advantage due to numbers.

Once it left, not too long after a pack of sawtooth wolves tried to attack them, which was incredibly odd because Edwyr had only seen those once in his life before, many years ago. Their horrible, jagged teeth were just as fearsome as back then, but they were much less intimidating when Wyn kept his protective shield up.

And after the wolves came hissing and rapid movement all around them. Nothing came of that, as whatever beasts it had been disappeared after a while of following them, but Edwyr still felt tense from that, even now that things were calm for the moment.

He wondered how far deep inside of the jungle they were at this point, their surroundings growing so dark that Edwyr could see barely twenty feet ahead of him. He wasn't sure how Wyn even knew where they were going, how he hadn't gotten disoriented yet. At least Edwyr was hoping that hadn't happened.

They were going quite fast, their squawkers running as quickly as they could in the cramped spaces between the trees and difficult terrain. But whatever spell Wyn had used seemed to be working. Tempest was focused on keeping up with Wyn and Genrith, and the beasts they'd encountered so far made her angry rather than scared. At least that was how it appeared from the way she had flattened her ears against her head and cawed every time.

Wyn had assured him that with the path he'd chosen, traversing the jungle should only take a day at most, which seemed hard to believe, though they must have been making good progress. Even with the beast attacks, as long as there were no major injuries, they didn't slow them down much. The beasts seemed intimidated by their numbers, which was definitely a good thing, though it was difficult to keep track of everyone. Especially since they only had around ten magic users with them.

Edwyr hoped it would be enough to protect the over twenty magicless elves that were coming with them. They were traveling in pairs, close behind each other so that they would fit between the trees, which made them vulnerable if there were to be a completely unexpected attack.

He looked over at Orenis as he thought this, though she didn't look back, keeping her gaze trained on the two elves in front of them. He wondered what she was thinking about, though he could imagine. She was about to get magic. The excitement and relief that had come with it had been indescribable, and even though Orenis didn't seem as focused on getting magic, Edwyr was sure that this must have been on her mind.

They kept going for what must have been hours, barely avoiding more tigers and some kind of winged lizard beasts that Edwyr had never seen before. But thankfully, aside from a few minor injuries that were quickly healed, nothing more serious had happened, and the beasts left them alone after a fairly long chase during which Wyn had maintained his shield around the entire group.

Edwyr truly didn't understand that, but he hoped Wyn would train him to be so efficient as well. Assuming he would ever be able to, though. No matter how much Wyn kept going on about how talented Edwyr was, he was getting the sense Wyn was so much more so, that he must have been highly regarded on Aendor before being banished. But Edwyr didn't entertain these thoughts for long. It didn't matter which Circle Wyn had been a part of because he was now in none of them, his old life left behind long ago.

They finally took a well-deserved rest once their squawkers started slowing down considerably from exhaustion. Edwyr wished they could keep going, but of course he'd put the wellbeing of their mounts first. The jungle was simply an unnerving, horribly dangerous place that Edwyr wanted to spend as little time as possible in.

They only had to chase away a few more of those winged lizards, though, throughout their rest, which Edwyr thought was quite lucky since they'd stopped moving and were therefore a much easier target. And so once everyone and their squawkers had eaten, drank, and regained enough strength for the remainder of the journey, they set off again. Tempest shook her head and snorted when Edwyr mounted her, but she didn't protest further before running after Wyn again.

It seemed as though the farther they got the less dangerous the jungle became, though, which was incredibly strange. Perhaps it was simply by chance, but Edwyr couldn't help but notice that the constant attacks were getting less frequent. Even just the dark shapes sometimes moving in the corner of his eye seemed to become much less frequent the farther they went, and the same could be said for the hissing and growling in the dark.

Edwyr was of course happy about this, as it meant that they had less to worry about, but it disturbed him all the same. Because there had to be a reason why the beasts avoided this place. And he highly doubted it was the proximity to the Infuser that was doing this because that would be far too convenient.

They were currently going through a particularly quiet part of the jungle, unnaturally so. Every crinkle of leaves or snapping of a dry branch made him want to flinch, and with so many people making up their group, these noises were constant. He wasn't sure if he liked the noises or not. On one hand, they were all so loud in the chillingly quiet place, but on the other, he wasn't sure if the complete silence would help calm him down.

He did flinch when he heard something creak, though, from up ahead. Which meant that no one from their party had made the noise. And he wasn't the only one who noticed, judging by Wyn slowing down his squawker immediately. Genrith seemed completely unbothered, however, continuing to head deeper and deeper into the jungle. Edwyr wondered if she hadn't heard the strange noise or if she had simply elected to ignore it, but he was assuming it was the latter.

After a second Wyn sped up again, catching up to Genrith, which made Edwyr do the same to not lose the two elves. Next to him, Orenis shot a dubious look his way. He didn't like this either, but stopping here to discuss things was probably more dangerous than simply ignoring it and hoping it was nothing.

The strange creaking was heard again, this time far behind them. Edwyr looked over his shoulder the way it had come from, not seeing anything suspicious. But his momentary relief thinking that they'd left behind whatever it had been died the moment he turned around.

It was far away, almost obscured by the impenetrable darkness surrounding them, but Edwyr could see it perfectly well anyway—with more, much louder creaking, the branches of trees were weaving together right in front of his eyes, going down to fill the spaces between the trunks, blocking off their path.

"More little elves to slaughter!" thundered a disembodied voice that chilled Edwyr to his very core. The voice was so...wrong. It sounded almost otherworldly, neither male nor female, young or old, not human or elven. Edwyr couldn't think of anything to describe it aside from angry. It sounded so angry. And it wanted to murder them all.

Was this what Wyn had told him about meeting? Edwyr would have to assume the entity was friendlier than this back then.

"Fall back! Make a circle around the magicless!" Wyn cried as he stopped, forcing everyone else to do so as well. He turned his squawker around and raised his staff, summoning a shield once again. Edwyr wanted to argue, to find a different exit that they could use to escape the situation, but when he looked around, his heart sank when he saw every possible way out blocked off. They were trapped, and if it weren't for Wyn and his shield, the branches all around trying to grab at them would likely be tearing them apart this very moment. At least that was what Edwyr was assuming this creature wanted to do, but it had stated it wanted them to die, so Edwyr was fairly certain.

Alarmed voices filled the air as the elves did as they'd been told, the magic users jumping off their squawkers, ready to defend the magicless elves.

"Burn down the trees! Now!" commanded Genrith, already doing so as she stuck the tip of her staff out of the safety of the golden shield.

Edwyr had no idea why she thought this would work against something they'd never encountered, but he supposed it made sense to fight wood with fire, even if this wood was trying to kill them. He was summoning fire before even putting his fingers outside the shield to ensure the branches couldn't snag him up immediately, making short work of the branches closest to him. Flames erupted all around him as the other elves did their best to put an end to this attack, but Edwyr focused only on his own work, his full attention on casting the spell.

"Come die, little elves!" the voice yelled, making Edwyr grit his teeth. The only one dying today would be this creature. "The trees welcome you!"

The branches beat down against the shield harder as the voice thundered, making the barrier flicker. Edwyr threw a quick look over his shoulder, seeing Wyn grimacing, his eyes closed and a steely grip on his staff. It was clear he wasn't doing too well, not that Edwyr was surprised. He'd been holding the shield up for a long time now, which was an achievement in and of itself, never mind the constant assault it was under from the trees.

A great burst of fire came from where Genrith was standing, setting fire to the entire tree in front of her, but as impressive as that was, Edwyr's eyes found something more interesting to focus on. Movement from the other side of the wooden barrier! And it was two elves he'd never seen before. But how was that possible? Why were they here?

As the shield flickered once more, Edwyr shook his head, getting back to work, burning down the branches. With the help of the elves on the other side, the trees burned away more quickly until finally, they'd burned through enough to make themselves an exit that the entity couldn't manage to close.

A horrible scream came from it as Genrith threw another massive burst of flame at branches that were retreating, making Edwyr wince, but he knew this meant they were victorious.

"Damn you," the voice said quietly, making a grim smile appear on Edwyr's face. As the shield disappeared, he watched the branches retreating, opening up the way entirely. The flames were already dying down for reasons Edwyr didn't truly understand, but he didn't care at the moment. His immediate concern was whether Wyn was okay.

But as he turned around so he could march over to him, he caught sight of the elves who had helped them. And he stopped dead in his tracks.

He'd thought there were only two, but now there were five, and one human that he recognized oh so painfully. Lanna. And...wait, why did one of the elves look like Arbane? Edwyr frowned, not understanding anything in the slightest, but all of his questions left his mind when he noticed yet another member of the party.

Was that...Feyrith? It was difficult to recognize him without those fancy Council robes, but Edwyr was certain it was him. So why was the elf glaring down at him from his mount as if Edwyr had done something truly despicable?

What in the Goddess' name was going on?

"Identify yourselves!" Genrith barked, her staff pointed at the new group. Edwyr wanted to say something, but he couldn't get a word out, his mind reeling. He understood so little about the situation that he felt like he might lose his mind if he didn't get any answers soon.

"I'm certain you remember me! Since you took my magic!" Feyrith yelled, glaring down at Genrith as he grabbed onto his saddle. He looked so angry. So different from the elf Edwyr had spent several days traveling with. But it didn't matter how shocking that was in comparison to the chill that ran through Edwyr at Feyrith's words.

Genrith took his magic? What did that mean? And why would she do that?

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"You said you wiped his memory," Edwyr heard Wyn say in a harsh, out-of-breath whisper to Genrith as he jumped off his squawker and stumbled over to her, but she ignored him. Edwyr, however, finally found his words once more.

"What is going on?" he called at Wyn, dread pooling in his stomach when Wyn looked at him with fear and such guilt. Whatever was going on here, he knew it couldn't be good. And the fact that Wyn was involved in this somehow.... It made Edwyr sick to think about it. What had they done to Feyrith? Was this what Wyn had been avoiding telling him this whole time?

"He didn't tell you?" Orenis whispered to him, her eyes full of horror and concern. Murmuring rose all around them, Genrith and the newcomer elf yelling at each other in the background, but Edwyr couldn't pay attention to anyone other than Orenis.

"Tell me what?" His voice came out sounding almost desperate now. He felt like he was the only one confused as if he'd missed something obvious that everyone else already knew and didn't need to have it spelled out.

"Your magic. It came from someone else," Orenis said. And all Edwyr could do was stand there, gaping at her in horror. He couldn't make a sound while Orenis continued, a sad grimace on her face. "The Infusers don't have enough magic in them to help elves like us. It's a transfer. We all know it. Wyn promised me he'd tell you before you did it, that he'd break it to you gently. I just assumed you didn't want to talk about it. Not many people here do."

Edwyr found himself gasping, swallowing thickly as the urge to vomit almost overcame him as his heart clenched in his chest. He didn't think he'd ever felt this betrayed. He'd unwittingly taken Feyrith's magic for himself. He'd never thought to question why Wyn, Genrith, and Orenis had been in Urzikal back then. Why Genrith had followed him and his friends as they made their way over there. It had all been a calculated trap, hadn't it? To bring an elf sent by the Council, such as Feyrith, and take his magic from him to transfer to someone else.

Lanna and Arbane had been right after all—this had been too good to be true.

This...all of this was horrible. But the worst part about it was that Edwyr wasn't sure himself if he'd refuse even if he knew. He'd wanted magic so badly. He still did. But he had no right to it. It belonged to Feyrith, and he should have it. Surely, it could be transferred back.

His eyes found Wyn again, now standing between Genrith and Feyrith's group, his arms extended to both. He was clearly trying to calm both sides down, to avoid a conflict, but all Edwyr wanted to do right now was push past everyone standing in his way and scream at Wyn for what he'd done.

How could he have kept this to himself? How could he have not told him? He'd trusted Wyn with his life, but now that trust was gone. This put everything into question. How could Edwyr ever again trust Wyn's intentions after this?

His guilt and anger were suddenly joined by horrible, overwhelming shame. How could he have been so stupid? He should have listened to Lanna and Arbane. They'd even told him that Feyrith had gone missing that day, and he'd just ignored them, disregarded it completely. He'd been such a fool.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, blinking. It was Orenis, of course. He expected a look of pity from her, but instead, her expression was steely.

"Look, I know you're hurt, and that you want to go yell at Wyn, but you can't right now," she said, her grip on his shoulder tightening. Edwyr wanted to argue, but she didn't give him enough time to speak. "This place is dangerous. If we start fighting among ourselves, we're dead. And also, this Infuser is different. It won't just transfer, it will give magic. We can't afford to lose out on that."

Edwyr took a deep breath, his insides twisting in on themselves. He knew that and, Goddess damn her, Orenis was right. What Wyn had done was horrible, but it was personal. This changed nothing about the larger mission or what was at stake. If this Infuser truly worked the way Wyn had described them all working back in Urzikal, then it would be incredibly selfish of him to jeopardize this mission because Wyn had lied to him.

Edwyr would do his best to keep his anger at bay until they got somewhere safe where he could yell at Wyn properly. And then end things between them. He wanted to hear Wyn's side of things first, though. Edwyr wanted to see him try to justify his actions. Because Edwyr couldn't think of a single thing that would do so.

"What is it you want here?" he heard Wyn ask the newcomers. The sound of his voice made Feyrith see red, but he had to keep his rage contained. He tried to remember his training on Aendor before he was banished. They'd taught him to control his emotions, repress them.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on his friends instead. He longed to run to them, hug them, tell them he'd been an idiot, and finally ask what had happened to Arbane that he looked like that, but seeing as that could complicate an already difficult situation, he stayed rooted to the spot, only listening.

"Someone has been interfering here with something that chases beasts out of the jungle. Potentially some kind of river," said the taller elf, her face firm and resolute. Truly a Council elf, they both were if the robes weren't enough proof. "Villages have been destroyed. We are here to put a stop to it and make the outside world safer."

"The beasts are being driven out?" Wyn said quietly before raising his voice and addressing the elf directly. "And you were sent here by the Council?"

"No, we came of our own volition."

Edwyr's eyebrows flew up. That was...incredibly difficult to believe, but somehow Edwyr knew she wasn't lying. It was simply so difficult to imagine an elf from Aendor willingly abandoning their post, their life, to protect humanity like this. Especially considering they didn't seem to have much of an idea of what was going on here. Edwyr hadn't noticed that the beast attacks have increased, but then again, the elves' castle was located toward the south. The fact that Lanna and Arbane were here meant that this was a northern issue.

He couldn't help but grimace with guilt, then. He'd left them behind. If the situation was so dire that two Council elves have gone against orders to help, then his friends could have died in one of these attacks. He was so glad they hadn't, but his stomach churned at what could have happened. Perhaps realistically his presence, especially without magic, wouldn't have made much of a difference, but he couldn't help but feel remorse anyway.

"If lives are at stake, we have a mutual goal," Wyn said in such a soothing, understanding voice that Edwyr had to grit his teeth. He had been so fond of Wyn's tendency to stay calm and collected in difficult situations like this, and now it just made him so angry. It came across as manipulative now, not comforting. "Please, join us. We can find the cause together."

"If this is a trap, it is a very bad one," the female elf replied, looking very unimpressed. And so was Edwyr, given the fact that Feyrith was right there.

Just as Edwyr thought of him, the elf spoke. "They took my magic! We can't trust them."

"We cannot trust you either," spoke Genrith, leaning on her staff. She'd stopped aiming it at them at least for now. "But we don't need to. As you can see, you are vastly outnumbered."

Wyn shot her such an angry look over his shoulder that for a second it stopped Edwyr from thinking any of the bitter, hateful thoughts that had been running through his head the entire time. Then Wyn looked back at the group. "Yes, I did take your magic away, and for that I am sorry. Unfortunate as it is, it is a sad necessity of our mission. However, there is a way to return your power. That is actually why we have come here. Not far from this place, there should be a device that can grant elves magic."

Edwyr couldn't see Wyn's face, but he was sure he was doing his best to look as approachable and regretful as possible. And sure, Wyn probably did regret what he'd done, but he'd still done it, over and over. A new wave of anger threatened to choke Edwyr if he didn't do something to let it out, but he somehow stamped out the fire just in time to stop himself from doing or saying anything.

"If you wish, you can join us. Allow me to right this wrong."

Feyrith seemed unsure, looking over at the female elf, and then another elf at his other side that Edwyr didn't know. His friends were looking at him now, clearly having noticed him, and while they didn't look angry, they certainly didn't seem too happy to see him. Edwyr dragged his eyes over at Feyrith instead, trying not to look at Lanna or Arbane. It made his heart hurt.

"Why should I believe anything you say after what you've done to me?"

Wyn's shoulders visibly sank as he presumably let out a sigh. And Edwyr couldn't hold himself back anymore.

"Yes, Thereswyn, why should they believe you? You make a habit of lying even to people close to you."

The moment those words made it past Edwyr's lips, he felt ill, and the fact that everyone around him was now looking at him wasn't helping in the least. He had wanted to stop himself, but he couldn't manage it. And now he couldn't take it back. He fully meant it, of course, but now Wyn was looking back at him, his eyes hurt and vulnerable, and glassy, even from the distance. And it made Edwyr's heart clench.

A part of him wanted to keep going. To hurt Wyn more. But another, small but vocal part of him was regretting saying anything. But no, Edwyr wouldn't listen. He was more than justified in his vengeful anger, and no matter what he said, Wyn deserved it. Edwyr glared back at the elf, his face steely and unfeeling, hiding the whirlwind of emotions within.

"Of course you shouldn't trust me," Wyn said as he turned back to the group, his voice strained. He sounded almost tormented, like he might cry if Edwyr kept pushing. Edwyr somehow felt horrified and pleased by that all at once, and both of those reactions made him feel sick.

"That would be quite foolish. But...but as difficult as it may seem, I do not wish you harm unless you attack us." Wyn's voice was now getting a little more even, but he still sounded so profoundly sad. "And as much as I do not want to use this argument, Genrith is correct—you are outnumbered. If we wanted to capture you, kill you, we could. There is no reason for me to deceive you. But I will not force you to do anything, of course."

The group exchanged a look, all of them frowning in suspicion. Edwyr hoped they would come along, though, even though he'd just endangered that chance by pointing out Wyn had lied to him. He longed to talk to his friends, to hug them. As selfish as it was, he wanted to make things right with them. Their last conversation hadn't been his best moment at all, and the fact that they'd been staring at each other, too far to talk, was tearing him apart. Almost as much as his barely contained fury.

"Please, join us. It will be safer if we combine forces."

"Actually," Lanna spoke, making Edwyr swallow thickly. Hearing her voice, her angry tone, it made him even more nervous about soon talking to her and her husband again. "This part of the jungle seems to be empty. Aside from that...creature."

"Oh, it is? That is very good news," Wyn said, his sadness overshadowed by surprise for the moment. "But my point still stands. That creature, as you say, could reappear at any moment. I certainly do not know what it is or how it behaves, and so I cannot predict its actions. Can you?"

A short moment of silence followed during which everyone seemed thoughtful as they considered their options. Aside from the female elf acting as the leader.

"No, I will not sully myself by working with traitors, liars, and blasphemers."

Wyn let his arms hang at his sides as he sighed again. "Very well. And what does the rest of your group think?"

Another moment of silence followed, with the female elf who had just spoken continuing to glare down at Wyn. Then Arbane spoke. And it truly was Arbane, just based on his voice. Given his new face, Edwyr hadn't been entirely certain about...well, what exactly was going on with him.

"I'd like to talk to one of your elves, Edwyr."

Edwyr tried not to wince at that. There was a new flareup of rage inside of him at the reminder that he was with Wyn, even if only a member of his group. Yes, Edwyr still believed in the overall mission and ideals, but at the moment any reminder of Wyn simply made him angry.

And he was also very uncomfortable now. Not because he was intensely aware that the elves around him were now looking at him again, though that annoyed him quite a bit, but mostly he was nervous about how this was going to go. He wanted to reunite with his friends, but he knew they were likely still angry with him, and they might not be very interested in talking to him for longer than simply telling him that. Then again, the fact that Arbane asked for him specifically did give him some hope.

"Oh, you know Edwyr?" Wyn seemed surprised, though that probably made sense given that Edwyr had told him he knew no other elves. And yet here Arbane was, not looking human anymore. "Well, of course, provided that Edwyr wishes to speak to you—"

"He does," Edwyr said loudly enough for them to hear him, his tone completely flat. As anxious as he was about talking to his friends after a month of being separated from them, hearing Wyn talk about him made him angry enough to forget about it.

Wyn looked back at him in surprise, clearly not having expected Edwyr to cut him off like that. But he said nothing, ever so slightly ducking his head in what looked like shame before looking back at Arbane and giving him a nod.

"Then, please, go ahead."

Genrith started to protest, arguing with Wyn, but Edwyr wasn't listening. All he could focus on were his friends, now hesitantly approaching him. He swallowed, unable to look away despite how much it made him want to shrivel up and die.

Even as his group started to move again, he stayed rooted to the spot, waiting for Arbane and Lanna to reach him. His chest felt so tight by then that he could barely breathe, only capable of standing there, staring as his friends finally stopped in front of him. He wanted to make himself move, say something, anything, but no words would make it out of his mouth, his limbs refusing to listen.

And then they both practically pounced on him, pulling him into a hug, holding him one from each side. Edwyr gasped in surprise, not having expected it at all, but he hugged back just as hard, not caring in the slightest that his chest was being squeezed to the point of making it hard to breathe.

Finally, as first Lanna and then Arbane pulled away a bit, both still gripping Edwyr's shoulders, the elf took a deep breath. There were tears in both his friends' eyes, and to Edwyr's surprise, so were in his, stinging. He had missed Arbane and Lanna very much, but he wasn't one to cry much, so this was surprising.

"We missed you," Arbane said, grinning at him with such joy in his eyes. His face was different, much more angular, but those eyes were still the same. And they were filled with so much love and warmth. It made Edwyr dizzy that Arbane cared so much.

In comparison, Lanna's gaze was colder, though she couldn't seem to stop herself from smiling either.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she said before her expression hardened. Edwyr barely had enough time to understand what she was doing before her hand was smacking the top of his head. Even though it didn't hurt in the slightest, Lanna clearly not intending to hurt him, he made a noise, too startled not to.

"What were you thinking? We told you this was too good to be true."

Edwyr sighed, his head bowing a bit in defeat. Yes, they had been right. And until now, he'd had no idea. All because Wyn had failed to mention the dirty secret surrounding the Infusers.

"I'm sorry," he said, unable to look up at either of them. He was much too afraid to see the disappointment in their eyes that must have been there after the initial relief of seeing him alive and well had now dissipated. "I was stupid. And until just now I didn't even know Wyn stole Feyrith's magic so I could have it to make this even worse, so—"

"What's done is done," Arbane said, putting her hand on Edwyr's shoulder and squeezing, which finally made him look at them. "I'm just glad to see you again."

"I'm still a little mad at you," Lanna added, but there was amusement in her gaze. It was so much more than Edwyr deserved. He needed to find a way to make this up to them. Simply leaving them behind the way he had had been selfish and ungrateful, among many other things. He'd just been so focused on finding a place he could fit in, but in the end, now that he thought about it, he'd mostly only spent time with Wyn and Orenis. Perhaps the problem hadn't been living with humans at all, and it had been him the entire time.

"So that's the guy's name? Wyn? Something going on between the two of you?"

Edwyr grimaced. He didn't want to talk to his friends about Wyn. Even just hearing the name from Arbane's mouth made both fury and unbearable shame burn through him. He wanted to give them answers, but he didn't know how to talk about Wyn right now. So he had to change the subject. "Yes, that is what he goes by." He decided to avoid the second question completely. "Why do you look like that?"

Arbane raised an eyebrow before the confusion on his face cleared. "Oh, yeah, that. I have no idea."

Now it was Edwyr's turn to feel perplexed. How could Arbane not know why he looked like an elf? Surely something had happened to him to cause that. Though he didn't fully look like an elf. For one, his eyes weren't black.

"Could one of your elves maybe know?"

Edwyr shrugged. He honestly had no idea. Normally he'd go right to Wyn, but now.... The thought made him feel sick. He didn't want Wyn's help with anything, not now and not any time soon. But if Arbane wanted to ask him, it would be unreasonable of Edwyr to argue against it. He would recommend asking someone else, but Wyn was the only one who could potentially have answers, aside from Genrith, but no matter how much Edwyr wanted to never talk to Wyn again, talking with Genrith was still out of the question. She would tell him to go away, anyway.

"Well, I'm going to go ask, if you don't mind," Arbane said, turning enough to look the way the group of elves was going. They were quite far now, barely visible in the darkness of the jungle. If Lanna and Arbane were going to go with them, that was wonderful, but they had better catch up before they lost them. It was so easy to just stand here chatting and catching up, but they weren't safe out here, and Edwyr couldn't defend them all from whatever might be lurking around here.

He wondered if Feyrith and the other elves were coming along as well, though when he looked around, he found them trailing behind the group, slowly following them as if a little unsure of whether they should go after them or not. It made sense to do so, as Edwyr and the others meant them no harm and it was dangerous out here, but he would fully understand if Feyrith especially wanted to stay away. He had plenty of reason to.

"Right. Let's go."