Behind the Flames .:H2OVanoss:.

.:Chapter 27:.

Winter's breath howled quietly through the town in the midst of the night. Snow drifted silently through the air, blanketing the houses with a fresh layer of powder and ice. Tucked away in their homes, the townspeople slept warm and cozily, unaware of the many shadows creeping past their windows.
Pairs of heavy boots treaded softly, cushioned by the snow to avoid as much noise as possible. These mysterious people, hidden by thick cloaks and scarfs, made their way onto the porches of unsuspecting houses. Two climbed the steps of one house, delicately opening the doors so not even a creek could be heard.
          The pair snuck into the house, pushing open a few doors until they finally found what they had been searching for. In that moment, all shadows stood over the beds, looking down at their sleeping victims and slowly, silently, drawing out their steel swords. They lifted their arms high above their heads and plunged them deep into the pillows, earning a satisfactory squash. Feathers flew everywhere as they lifted their swords and brought them down again, then once more for good measure, and pulled back to admire the blood that dripped from their blades and saturated the sheets.
          However, something was off. They could tell by the strong aroma wafting through the room. Angrily, tearing the blankets off, it revealed nothing more than a couple of smashed red melons and stuffed pillows. Ripping off his hood, a guard of the king stared bewildered at the illusion.
          The soldiers reunited in the middle of the street, whispering harshly to one another. Hearing quick footsteps from down the hill, they turned to face their last companion. He slid up to them, breathing heavily, "The Fire bender is gone, as is his dragon!"

                                      .•••.•••.

The first many hours of riding into the night were silent. Passing by as large shadows, leaving barely a footprint behind, a group of ostrich horses and their riders thundered into the snow down a hidden path. Through their thick fur cloaks and gloves the frosty breeze nipped at their ears and fingers.
          Evan's wide eyes kept to the dark sky. As soon as they left sight of the town, the dragon refused to crawl through the trees any further, and vanished into the clouds to watch from above. The only way to see her was to watch for her shadow in the silver mist.
          The fire bender's thoughts ran rampant with the events prior. One by one as the day went by Tyler had approached each of them, heeding only a warning of their departure at midnight, and a quick explanation about the chief's true intent. However, when the captain got to Evan, Tyler grabbed his arm before he could walk away, breathing a sigh of exhaustion.
          "Evan, I need to apologize."
          He furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Why? You didn't do any-"
"I knew the situation you were in. You were struggling to figure yourself out, with hardly any memories of your past to work with. You were not ready to handle the information I gave you, and I'm sorry. I became very angry and stressed with everything going on, and I completely took my anger out on you." Tyler made sure to look him straight in the eye. "You truly are a different man than the one I knew on the island. You show incredible strength, loyalty, and empathy. I'm proud to have you on the team," He swallowed his pride with a little smile. "-and to call you my friend."
          Evan was frozen in shock. He had no idea how to respond, but for some reason, the heavy weight of guilt was lifted from his shoulders and a kindle of hope sparked in his chest. He too smiled back, lifted his hand and placed it on Tyler's shoulder, chuckling, "Are you feeling ok? I think you're sick, you should see David or something."
          "Shut the fuck up, I'm fine, dumbass." He smirked back. "Seriously, though. I know we both have differences that make us ram our heads together, but with our destinies intertwined and the fate of the world at risk, we can't afford to be in a dispute. Plus, being banished from my home twice in my life made me realize something."
          Evan listened closely as Tyler continued. "I realized that... that it's time I stop holding on to the past, because none of it is going to matter if we don't set things straight. I'm willing to put this all behind us until we have a proper time to discuss it. Only if you want, we don't have too." He stepped back and reached out a hand.
          Without hesitation, Evan took it and shook firmly. "It's already behind me."
His eyes closed against the lightly falling snow and a smile graced his lips. He didn't understand why he felt so at ease with Tyler's apology, or why it instantly lifted his spirit; figuratively. It's possible that all of the anxious guilt he'd had his whole life was tied to seeking out that one moment of forgiveness.
This exhilarating sense of purpose made him want to leap off his horse and race alongside it, frolic into the snow, and dance in the moonlight. It was a feeling of peace and contentment with himself. He was so eager to move on and start new that he never wanted to look back again. Just like Tyler.
He looked behind him, wanting to share his happiness, but the sight made his smile falter. Jonathan looked defeated and frail atop of the horse. In one hand he gripped his reigns, while in the other, he held the reigns of his brother's horse. David's face was pale and he swayed dangerously close to falling off. The water bender had come down with a bad sickness the day before, only growing worse as they ventured further in the freezing weather. At this rate, he could enter a seriously critical condition.
Behind them were Felix and Cry, with the white poodle monkey sleeping soundly on Cry's shoulder. Cry had been forced to leave the town for his own safety, but Felix couldn't let him go alone, so he loyally dropped everything to follow his friend. Cry had been the only fire bender in the town until Marcel showed up, but was hardly a threat because of his shyness and gentleness.
At the front, Brian and Brock trailed Tyler, followed by Ohm and Luke and Craig, then Lui and Marcel right in front of him. Their tiny group was all they had left as the world turned its back on them. Staring at Tyler's back, Evan put on a face of determination as the snow quickly settled on their cloaks.