echo fluffed her feathers against the cold, glancing up at the sky. time to go. shoot, the moon would see. maybe it would somehow contact and reprimand her. did she care? she flew silently to the border, meeting galaxy at the windrock. galaxy was in human shape, shivering and wearing ahat to hide her hair.

"why didnt you just dye it?" echo whispered teasinly. shoot. to freindly.

"did you see frosts expression?"

"highlight of my day. i totally could have told her to wear a hat. i just didnt want to. in fairness, it did save her life."

"to bad..."

"i didnt want her to die! ish..."

"ah ha! a confession!"

"no its not." echo relised she was smiling. how to change the subject?

"yes, it totally was!"

"lets go, we arent safe here."

"ok." echo paused. she coulld bring her to the tunnels... but that would show a lion spy a way directly to the heart of the wolves den(huh, this sounds kinda like warriors. later series, when windclan uses tunnels for an abush on thunderclan). there was the meadow she met her parents in. no way, she wasnt showing  spy and enemy her famliys last thread of connection. on instinct, she reached out her wing and touched the windrock, wincing in anticipation. she drew back her feather, ignoring galaxys confused look. unexpectedly, the windrock grew up and wider, until it was a bit larger than a doorframe. suddenly, inside it glowed black for a brief flash, and then left a black emptyness. breezes blew towards it, heavy breezes, gently vacumming them in. they resisted.

"so i suppose we go in... right?" echo said apprehensivly.

"suppose so..." galaxy looked as keen on it as echo felt, though beaks were not good for conveying emotion. echo waited for galaxy.

"traitors first..." she mumbled under her breath, inaudible.

"what was that?"

"nothing. you first."

"um... yep... are you sure you dont want to go first? running face first into an unknown magical force is a you thing."

"no, no, i wouldnt want to deprive you the opportunity." the wind howled, it sounded like a sigh, and a particularly strong wind almost pushed them in.

galaxy nodded and took a deep breath, glancing at echo. her eyes said so much in such a quick flash. i love you more than anyone else in the world and im only doing this for you(not what you think. youll see. season 3! but, spoiler warning, theres something about echo that galaxy knows and echo doesnt. only galaxy knows it. she feels like it makes her responsible to love, guard, and protect echo because she is the daughter of someone important to galaxy.) then she stepped thru. the messages in her eyes were so sincere. lies. she wouldnt fall for them. did eyes lie? apperently.

a tanned hand reached out and gave her  thumbs up. nervously, she took it and stepped thru she saw a room, simple and slightly terrifing. there were two chairs and a table. outside was the twilight sky. softly, they heard winds howling and whispering, in a muted sense. they were in the middle of the sky, with no land near them. ugh she wished there were at least a carpet t hide the nothingness below. she examined again the sky. to one side was the moon, the other the sun. surrounding the moon was a clear azure, and the sun a dark navy. in the gradiant between sat the room she hoped had at least glass between it and the... sky. 

"well thats not terrifing." echo said as she became human.

"eh, it wasnt a portal to angry giraffe. our last leader was killed by one. they have scary hooves."

"probly for the best."

"exuse me?"

"if he was stupid enough to attack a giraffe, it was probly better for everyone involved that he is no longer your leader."

"he wasnt attacking a full grown giraffe, a baby was left unattended. he thought he could get it, but the mother returned."

"wow thats strong moral fiber. attack defensless baby animals. so it was best that he died for a diffrent reason."

"has living with the wolves taughtyou nothing?"

"you sound like frost."

"well we dont have the same ethics as humans."

"im aware. frost has made it abundantly clear."

"whatever. whats your plan?"

"well... im currently in high standing with the wolves slate and eden. they are generally in charge of all the wolf pups. if i convince them and they tell the pups who would tell their parents, even if the intrest ended with the pups it would circulate ideas, generate gossip. maybe the children are the keys to the belifs of society... actually, probly not. but it would spread the word. speaking of which, your dad is kinda important. have you no sway over his thoughts?"

"eh. i secretly hate him, he knows it. publicly we pretend to be on good terms. privatly, he tolarates me for now."

"well he cant not tolarte you. lions never kill their cubs, only other lions. i read that somewhere."

"its more complicated than you think."

"ok... like how complicated?"

"well, i guess if i didnt hate him, the moon would be dead right now..."

"what?"

"the host would be dead, so the moon ould be dead."

"how did you hating china save me?"

"i shouldnt say. you wouldnt belive me."

"ok..." weird. "anyways, so who can you get support from?"

"my stepmom is nice enough, she wouldnt just follow me on some random radical idea from the moon host though. ah acaica o-my half brother likes to antagonise me and generally agrees with dad. ahh again, symphony is my freind but he wouldnt do something so crazy either. thats really all the important lions. aside from that i have a couple freinds, not close, and everyone generally likes me, exept for one who likes to antagonise me for no reason, but thats everyone covered."

"who antagonises you?"

"lemon, but he hasnt got anything to do ith anything."

well maybe hes the most likly to help, since hes the most diffrent." and also, she wanted to have galaxy have to deal with him every time they met.

"yeah, because hed totally love to do something because i asked him to."

"do you ever dare each other?"

"yes."

"talk about how scary i am to all the lions, and then dare him to come meet me."

"oh thats a good idea."

"frost should have a knife for me soon, and ill have my bow, and wings, and magic."

"as if you could ever forgive yourself for killing a human."

"i would just warn him off and leave."

"ok, where would you meet than? do you know anything about him? hes an obnoxios brat anyways."

"at the windstone. and no, tell me about him then. do you think the best way to reach him is to antagonize him? be nice?"

"how would i know? and hes about our age, hes a selfish brat with a bloated ego who thinks hes so great, and somehow everyone else does to, and is somehow convinced that we're the best of freinds and all our bickering and anger is just a game. between freinds." she spat out freinds. 

"on second thought, ill just meet him myself. can you dare him to come?"

"do you even want him? its not like hes important!"

"didnt you say everyone likes him?"

"well everyone likes me to, bt they wont subscribe to radical ideas over it!"

"well, im willing to take anyone i can get. clearly." she eyed galaxy pointedly, but looked away when she caught sight of her eyes. they were hurting, and made her feel bad. it was all an act...

"then i guess ill do it." she detected no hint of tears in her voice, no physical signs of pain. bad acting... or maybe good acting. 

"alright. i cant bring people here, but we can bring lemon."

"why?"

"because slate and eden will only listen because they owe me, lemon will hopefully actually care."

"why will he care again?"

"i can be persuasive." and slightly manipulative... but she wouldn't admit it.

"and why do slate and eden owe you?"

"wolf stuff. not important." or rather, it was important... that galaxy not find out more than she already had. she glanced at her. galaxy had clearly figured that much out.

"anything else?"

"yes, is there a way to restore the pool?"

"what pool?"

"the moon pool in lion territory."

"uh no, not that i know of."

"thats kinda bad. its important for balance..."

"not much we can do about it." 

the wind picked up outside, and its howls almost sounded like words. "iii... knsoowww...."

"were those words?" echo asked.

"sounds like it. the wind is likely a conscious being. just speaking. what do you know?"

"aaaah..... wasyyyyyyyy...."

"to restore the pool?" echo asked.

"tooh ressssstorreee..... balancccee innn fulllll....."

"really? how?"

"waiiihht...."

"really?!"

"yooooooouuuuuhhh...... areeee ...nottttss readdy...."

"great. thanks, that was so helpful." the wind howls died down, and they ceased to sound like words,just a beautiful, awful, confusing song. foriegn.

"well that was... intresting.  i cant belive i talked to the wind! one of the forces! albeit the strangest and least powerfu one, but still."

"ive spoken to the moon. so has frost."

"yep, i know."

"but what it said doesnt change anything, and least not in the present."

"sooo... what now?"

"we go back home and sleep. in two days ill wait for lemon at noon for a few hours. if he agrees, i will instruct him to tell you wow, i cant belive youre afraid of an owl. either way, we'll meet again that night." galaxy nodded and they left, when they were both out the stone shrank. echo, in owl shape, heard a ways away rustling. it smelled like frost.

"go!" she took off and landed in the fountain, thruoughly bathing and preening in the freeing water, to get the scent of galaxy off her. she heard frost head over.

"echo! there you are!"

"hm? oh, yeah."

"why are you still out?"

"just busy with magic and stuff."

"so its a coincidence that youres and galaxys scents are mingling at the border?"

"hm? i go there often to think, and try to analyze the wind rock."

"and her scent is recent. so is yours."

"yes, shes figured that out and will occasionally intercept me and make me tak to her. i can provide serveral exaples."

"your scent carried minimal hostility, and hers none. and you smell like fear right now."

"i- what?"

"echo, why were you talking to galaxy?"

"i told you, she interupted me!"

"interupted you waiting for her? your scent predates hers by minutes."

ugh... talking was making things worse... "yes, i guess she was in the area and smelled me."

"ok, so all i smelled on your trail was a tiny bit of hostility and a moderate amount of fear. there was also a long gap in the scents. why?"

"i dont know, maybe your nose is broken! and yes, shes a lion of course i was afraid of her."

"the fear came thru around when you would have heard me coming. and she, again, didnt have hostility on her trail."

"ok, so your nose is broken."

"echo, i want the truth."

"i dont know what youre talking about."

"your story has gaping holes, and your scent is clearly fearful and deceptive."

"ok, so how can you tell past emotions by smelling? how feisable is that story?"

"for moons sake, dogs can smell humans emotions. DOGS! and they are frankly weak and stupid."

"ok, youre racist... right? what is it for wolf people?"

"wolf walkers. and thats not the point. i want the truth. now."

"well hes not my responsibility, why would i know where he was?"

"echo!"

"whatever it is youll think ill say i wont, so stop asking."

"fine." echo felt frost grow a shade colder, and a wedge fall down into the bridge outline standing over the charred remains of its old, decorated, fancy predecessor. good. 

frost lead her home. she went to her room, ready to collapse onto her bed, but something caught her eye. a gleam of silvery steel. she reached down and lifted a dagger, partially out of its sheath. steel, with a silver tip and sides. was it true that werewolves were hurt by silver? she shurgged ans strapped the sheath around her waist, then took it off and put it around her ankle, to feel like a cool ranger type person thing. then she realized it wasnt easy to reach, so she put it back around her waist.

a soft thump caught her attention. she glanced back down and noticed movement in the shadows. she wacthed intently and saw a flash of amber eyes with slitted pupils. a snake?! she lept back, and out tumbled a tiny black kitten! she was so cute! echo ran over and gently lifted the kitten. so cute!!! what would she name her? how about... onyx? 

"what do you  think, onyx?" the kitten cocked her head and batted echos nose. echo smiled.