S.H.H.A.

Would You Just Let Me Go Insane In Peace?

A dull ache started in the back of my head, slowly progressing into sharp, cutting blades that ran down my temple, crossing over my left shoulder and weaving through my ribs. Sleep lulled me in, but the unbearable pain forced me awake. Like a game of tug of war that pain was winning.

I scrunched up my face to feel my nerves awaken. Their pricking sensation spread across my body, causing me to shudder only to growl from the pain of my wounds moving.

Spears of light pierced my eyes as my eyelid shields parted. It took some time and blinking before I could make out the world around me.

A blurry purple figure I recognized as Kightlen sat before me. Their indigo eyes speckled by midnight blue bore into mine. Beside them sat Kight with the same expression of concern- but their long snout was moving as if they were talking.

My ears rang like a metal spoon clinking against a glass cup -the noise impossible to hear over, but slowly fading away. As it faded, my hearing became clearer. "-iends came. Can you get up Misha?"

Hearing the "get up Misha" loud and clear, I attempted to stand. Sluggishly, my feet slid beneath me and tried to lift my body. However, I only succeeded in stumbling forwards into Kightlen.

The touch of their fur felt like cool liquid to the skin on my face. I noticed the feeling of my coat plastered to my body; it was heavier than usual. Black pterodactyl goop stuck to my paws and fur like a second skin.

"Misha!" I felt another presence to the side opposite of Kight. Pulling away from Kightlen, I stumbled back and turned towards the distressed, brown-winged calico.

My senses back to normal -besides my sense of pain which had gone berserk-, I cleared my throat before uttering the single word, "Ouch."

Behind me, the snarky voice of a certain pufferfish replied, "Oh look, she can speak. Let's hand her over to the doctors and be on with our day."

Athena's lemon-yellow eyes flickered between concern and anger and she hissed a short but serious command, "Kelpie, not the time. Shut up and stand back."

Kelpie didn't respond, but I highly doubted she stood back. There was a reason Kelpie had to be forced into a team rather than joining one like most. But my mind couldn't spare the space to think about the disobedient girl.

There were too many images flooding my mind as they had before. Images of a masked man.

"Misha," Kightlen's voice pulled me out of my near mental breakdown. "Don't forget the present."

Pudding! My mind instantly realized, but Apollo, who stood somewhere behind me, cut me to it, "Your sister's safe and sound. So are your friends."

"Friends?" I asked, my throat scratchy and dry from shouting earlier.

The overly enthusiastic voice of one of my new acquaintances answered me, "Hey, you guys all good? Seems to be the case. While I'm here, have you seen the white-spotted cat with an ego the size of- oh gosh."

Her eyes must have landed on me. Do I look that bad? Between the coat of black everywhere but my face -which someone must have been wiped off- and my slumped form, I must have looked like a zombie. Oh right, my shoulder's bleeding as well.

"Please tell me there's some sort of hero ambulance here." The black and white cat, Ninja, drifted down to stand between the coyotes, Kightlen and Kight. Her bubble-gum pink cape wrapped around her white paws.

Athena narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, but I cleared up the confusion. "Ninja's new," I explained in one breath. The stinging in my chest dissuade me from adding anything else.