A/N: MAJOR SHOUTOUT TO Mystyc_Dragon FOR GIVING ME A BUNCH OF IDEAS ON WHERE THE STORY SHOULD GO NEXT!
As night fell in the rainforest, Shore glared at the sky. There were hardly any stars, which made it much easier to glare at them all individually.
"Shore?" Rin asked, breaking the silence. "You okay?"
"Yea." he replied sharply, not bothering to look over as she sat down next to him.
"No you're not." she rejected. "You're mad at the stars."
"Hell yea I am." He declared, glaring harder at the twinkling balls of light in the dark sky. "Jackasses. They were supposed to protect her, not hurt her."
"They are protecting her," Rin insisted. "In their own way. It takes a while to understand."
"You know what else takes a while to understand?" Shore shot her a grin. "The fact that you broke into Grandmother's office and talked to Darkstalker's sister." Rin shrugged.
"All in a day's work."
"What does that make me? Chopped liver?" Apple's voice interrupted. She shot Rin an offended expression.
"No, it makes you a monkey's cousin." Shore insisted.
"I'm already a monkey's cousin. I've got you."
"How flattering of you. I guess now I don't have to tell you about Ember." Apple shot over to him.
"What about Ember?" she questioned, trying to regain control of her face. Rin started laughing.
"Apple and Ember, flying in the sky, "she sang.
"Definitely NOT gettin all K-I-S-S-Y," Shore added.
"I swear to the moons, I WILL shove you both off this platform." Apple threatened.
"Go right ahead." Rin insisted. "We've got wings."
"Thanks for the invitation." With a forceful push, Rin was shoved from the platform. She shrieked as she plummeted towards the ground, her wings getting tangled on vines. Shore and Apple laughed from the safety of the platform.
"APPLE!" Rin screeched.
"Here's a tip," Shore insisted. "Don't fall asleep. Especially since she knows where you live."
"Terrifying." Apple assured him. "Now, are you going to glare at the sky all night long?" He sighed and got to his feet.
"Fine. Let me go check on Ander one more time and then we'll do something else."
"Like run for our lives from rabid creature we cal our relative?"
"Sounds about right."
"I CAN HEAR YOU!!!" Rin yelled. Shore shook his head and ducked back into the healer's hut.
Ander lay on a reed mat, practically motionless. Her talons twitched slightly, as if they wanted to grab something.
"Hey Ande." Shore greeted her, half-smiling. He wasn't sure if Ander could hear him, but it was worth a shot. Her talons fell still at his words, and her lips started to twitch, like she was straining to say something. Shore frowned.
"Nhh......" she whispered. Shore leaned closer.
"Ander?" he asked.
"Knife." she hissed.
"Knife? What do you mean knife?" He frowned again. What did she mean? Ander fell still, clearly not speaking anymore. Shore began to wonder if he had imagined it.
But if he hadn't.....
"Oh, what the heck." he proclaimed.
Joy had given him a short dagger once, for protection and other purposes, she had instructed. This seemed like a decent other purpose. Carefully, Shore lay the dagger in Ander's talons and headed for the door. He stopped once, glancing back at Meander.
"Use it well, little sis." he instructed before stepping outside.