Shadewylf

41 - Late

Angel couldn't stop pacing. She should be taking this moment of respite to give her paws a break, but despite their ache they still itched with the urge to move.

Every patch of shadow only increased that urge.

There had been three attacks, and the night was only half over. The beach had only been the beginning. Whether it was true or not, the town felt as if it were crawling with Shadewylves - unseen beasts lurking only steps away, just waiting for the opportunity to pounce.

The hiss of streaming water met the crackle of fire in her ears, marking the battle taking place beside her. She cast a glance sideways, watching as Morgan's power ripped through the spluttering flames. It was too late, however. As the last sparks were extinguished, they revealed the scorched, blackened mess that had once been their precious store of historic scrolls.

Angel sighed, tearing her gaze away. They'd even anticipated this. It was supposed to have been prevented. Wolves had been stationed here, she was sure, and the Wylfire located close enough to help. Instead, it had been her and Morgan who discovered the Shadewylves intent on burning the place to the ground, with no others nearby.

Her flank stung with the lingering press of claws. She and him might have been able to fight them off, but they hadn't managed to stop the fire. The Shadewylves were successful regardless. How outnumbered the two of them had been, the victory it should have been merely to survive, was nothing in her mind.

They had still failed.

The beach had been a failure. The Seawylf's body, still abandoned far at the ocean's edge, proved that. Despite every careful plan, every hard-fought battle, every one of them had still failed.

All she and Morgan could hope was that the others were alive enough to think of failure, too.

Shaking her head, as if the action would dislodge every biting thought, she prowled over to Morgan. "I need to fly up." She was unsure why her voice dropped, but she couldn't bring herself to break the whisper. "We need to find out if the others are okay."

Flicking away the last few droplets of his water, Morgan nodded, though she could see the reluctance in his eyes. "Alright." His gaze swept towards the darkened Thunderwylf labs further down the street. "The others went towards the plaza, right?"

"Yes. But," Angel added hurriedly as Morgan started in that direction, "you need to stay here." She jerked her head to the opposite corner of the shelter, where one, sad stack of scrolls huddled, the only scraps salvagable from the fire. It wasn't much, but it was something to hold onto. "Guard this place. I promise, if I see any trouble, I'll be right back."

Morgan hesitated, then dipped his head. "Don't be long."

"I won't." Angel kept hold of his gaze a moment longer before pulling away. Her wings flicked out immediately, catching the night's wind. If she let herself linger for even a few more seconds, she feared she might renage on her decision and choose instead to stay with him. The thought of leaving Morgan alone and vulnerable in the dark didn't sit lightly in her heart.

But the others were vulnerable, too. She needed to stop putting him on a higher priority. They were all the Twilytra.

The light looked distinctively more patchy than it had been the first time she'd circled the town, as dusk fell. Clearly the Shadewylves had chosen to claim a few more areas to their swallowing darkness. There was, however, still a lantern flaring near the Wylfire headquarters, and it was there she concentrated her search.

As she twisted in the sky, a flash of fur caught her attention. A smudge of pale pink. Tucking in her wings, Angel shot down, only flaring them out again as her paws neared the ground. The stone scraped at her pads as she skidded to a stop, but she only pressed down harder and spun around to search for the pink Pelt in the thin streams of light.