Chapter 2

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BRIGHTNESS

Brightness stopped at a bloodied hall, not yet discovered by anyone.

Who would, on such a bright, sunny morning with no classes? Everyone would be outside, enjoying the sun.

Looking around to make sure no one was nearby, she walked into the dark hallway. 

The walls and floor were all splattered with crimson, and scrapes in the stone showed signs of a fight.

Clearly, Jasmin hadn't decided to die easily. 

Brightness neared a sizzling spot in the ground. Some black liquid was eating up the stone, and when she poked it with one claw, she immediately jerked back, growling softly as pain sparked from where it had touched. 

Heal, she ordered. Her claw grew back. 

RainWing venom, Brightness thought to herself. Does Jasmin have venom, or was it some form of her fear? Do both even have venom?

Her eyes landed on a dark shape near a wall. She approached it, and crouched besides it.

The creature Brightness had found in the prey-center, the one Jasmin had fought to protect, was slumped on the ground, barely awake. She hissed at Brightness as she neared, her sharp blue eyes narrowed but clouded with pain. 

An unexpected stab of sympathy hit Brightness. The sympathy turned into thoughtfulness.

She can fight, Brightness remembered. Lithe, agile, can hide in the shadows. 

A perfect ally. 

She gently picked up the broken creature in her arms. The animal hissed. 

What's this creature's name? She asked the feather which was tucked in a small pouch tied to her neck. 

Eclipse, it answered. A rare black-and-silver ocelot.

A small smile growing on her snout, Brightness turned her attention back to the ocelot. 

"You hate Jasmin, don't you?" She whispered in her ear. "Getting you injured, not allowing you to go anywhere, keeping you locked up in the mountain." She cast a quick spell on her words so that Eclipse could understand them. 

Eclipse blinked up at her with surprise. She slowly moved her head up and down, closing her eyes at the pain. 

"I can fix you," Brightness continued in her soft whisper. "But you need to help me."

Eclipse nodded again. Satisfied, Brightness clutched the ocelot tighter, and murmured the words of her spell to heal her new ally.

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