Kiela's eyes opened and she just as quickly slammed them shut. The memory of the light left a pink imprint on the insides of her eyelids.

"Is she alright, healer?" A voice asked.

"She's more then alright." another voice answered, sounding baffled. "I was sure an hour ago that she had a broken leg, wrist and at least four broken ribs, but they all seem to have healed. Even that huge stab wound on her back is gone."

Kiela moaned and rolled over, and the room fell quiet. "She's awake!" the first voice stated.

"Get her water." the healer commanded, and the distinct noise of someone leaving the tent was heard. Kiela growled as she felt hands prodding her body.

"Get off!" she grunted, sitting up and opening her eyes. Lono, Kym, Œille and another person all stood around her, looking at her intently. For some reason this caused her to break out in laughter.

"What?" Lono asked. "Healer, you're sure she's okay?"

"I'm fine!" Kiela reassured him. In fact, she felt better than she had in days. Every bump and scrape she had earned in the battle ad vanished, and her skin was smoother then it had ever been. "You're all just standing there as if you think I'm going to die or vanish or something."

Lono relaxed, and everyone else in the room smiled. Kym and the stranger turned out their feet in the gesture of respect common to their people.

"I am healer Owaron." The strange man said. "I would love to say that my incredible skills cured you, but I had nothing to do with it. I've never seen a patient recover that quickly."

"Kiela's special." Kym said, wrapping her in a hug.

"Of course, Chief Kymir, but it is peculiar." the healer replied thoughtfully. "I wonder..."

"I'm not Chief yet." Kym retorted sharply. "My father has yet to be buried and the ceremony has not yet occurred."

Owaron raised his hands and stepped backwards, muttering apologies. They all ignored him.

"Where is everyone?" Kiela asked.

"Fip and Lee are outside." Kym told her. "Owaron over here had a maximum number of people allowd in the tent at any one given time, and Fip and Lee were left out. We can go see them if you want."

Kiela made as if to get up but the healer pushed her back down again. "You have to rest. You must-"

"Oh be quiet." Kiela growled at him before marching out the door.

The second she cleared the tent flaps both Fip and Lee hurled themselves at her. "Are you alright Kiela?" Fip asked.

"We tried to get in to see you, we really did." Lee stated. He gestured to a hole in the ground just a ways away. "We tried tunnelling in, cutting a flap in the back and even having Lono lift us in through the top."

Kym laughed. "They got ten minutes into the tunnel before collapsing and begging for water. The knife that they used to cut the flap almost cut your head off, and Lono couldn't even get off the ground with the both of them."

Lono shrugged. "Your friends are heavy."

"Thank you." Kiela said. The depth of their concern for her was truly overwhelming.

Lono quickly sorrowed. "If only Tori were still here." He said. "She would have laughed at all our foolishness and just marched right into the tent herself."

Tears welled up in Kiela's eyes. "Who didn't make it?" She asked quietly.

Œille answered. "I'll list the ones you know. Tori, Samah, Ramsea, Elill and Sarae died. Leya is in a coma, we aren't sure if she will make it. Most of Bolvek house was wiped out when the wave hit, and Wayolak is the only surviving member of Citius house. All the birds but ten died, and most of the archers from Kithna too."

"Pather?" Kiela asked, clinging onto hope.

"Jarnvôsk tells me that he lives." Kym replied.

"Jarnvôsk is here?" Kiela asked.

"Yes. The rest of the village arrived this morning. We will all carry our dead back to be buried by our village."

"I need to talk to all of you, alone, but I need the elders too. Œille, could you get them for me?"

"Sure." Œille said, looking rather taken aback. "They may not come though." She walked off between the tents with all their eyes on her. 

"Kym, are their any clothes that I could wear?" Kiela asked. Her shirt was bloodstained and ripped, and it stank of the despair of battle. 

"Sure!" Kym agreed. "I doubt it will be hard for me to get some. The people consider you their hero."

"I had help." Was all Kiela managed to say. She was astonished. Kym left and returned shortly with a pair of leggings and a short leather dress. The boys turned their backs while Kiela slipped into the clothing. 

"What is it that you wanted to talk to us about?" Lono asked. 

"I really don't want to explain it more than once." Kiela answered.

"And you won't have to." Adrastos, Heru and Œille walked up behind her. Adrastos folded his arms in front of his chest. "What did you want to speak to us about?" 

Kiela sighed. "Let's go into the tent." 

They all filed in after her and once everyone was seated she explained everything.

"So you mean to tell us that you're a goddess." Fip said. 

"It's so unbelievable, I actually don't believe it." Lee added. "Lono, go get the healer."

"Are you kidding me?" Lono replied. "That man's a quack." 

"I'm not crazy." Kiela told them. "You have to believe me."

Sylnav, help. She pleaded.

"Alright Kiela," Heru said, looking wary. "I think you should go take some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow." 

"Kiela certainly isn't going anywhere." Sylnav said. At first Kiela thought that she was speaking in her head, but the others reacted with surprise. "I am the goddess Sylnav, and Kiela is my chosen." 

Sylnav's silver form faded into view, and the tent darkened so that she glowed. 

"I am sorry, Lady Sylnav." Adrastos replied reverently. He looked struck. 

"Kiela will be leaving tomorrow, and that is final." She glared at them all. "Does anyone else object?" They all shook their heads. "I will see you tomorrow Kiela," se said before winking. Her figure vanished and the tent brightened again, returning to normal. Everyone just stared at the place where the goddess had just stood, only moments before.

"We have been given a gift." Adrastos said. Heru nodded.

"I will miss you." Lono said, racing over to her. "Please tell me you'll stay."

"I can't." Kiela replied heavily.

 Kym hugged her. "We have already said goodbye once, and this second time is more painful than I can bear." 

"Please, do not say goodbye now." Kiela asked them. "We still have one day, let us have it just like normal." 

"Are there any things you wish to do?" Heru asked. 

"Yes, in fact. Are the children in the nurseries back?" 

"They are." 

"Then please bring me Jarnvôsk and Manin, and assemble a court. I would also like Inaust Fayl and Raykorm Ny'den." Fip nodded and raced off. 

Kym smiled. "It is time to cleanse our people, and ferret out all that do wrong."

***

The audience was unruly, and Kiela assumed that it was due to the influence of the people from Kithna. The shifters were never loud when together. The heads of house were all lined up as normal, but there were seven instead of the normal nine. Two houses had been completely wiped out, and Wayolak stood forth for Citius. Kiela's heart wrenched in pain for the death of Tori. 

It was the second time that she had experienced a court. The first was as the accused, and now it was as the judge. She sat in Ramsea's old chair, and glared down and Manin before her. 

"You have been a terror." She stated simply. "You beat us and hurt us an forced us to kill at our nursery. I was plagued with self doubt and terror after I left, and who knows how many people were worse off than me. But don't listen to e, listen to your children! Inaust Fayl wishes to testify."

The girl crept forwards and looked around as if fearing a whipping. "Manin sent us on things called tasks, and many of us were killed."

"The girl lies!" Manin shouted. Fayl went on.

"He hit us and threatened us all the time." She revealed a purple and yellow bruise on her leg. "I got this three days ago because I was slower hen the rest walking."

"Thank you." Kiela said.  Ny'den was next and he testified in the same way as Fayl had. 

"You have heard the stories!" Kiela called out. "Now vote! All who believe that Manin should be exiled as I was, on pain of death if he is ever to return, mark the wood!"

"I did what was right!" Manin called. He stood, and the whits of his eyes were larger than normal. He looked crazed.

The vote was unanimous. "Leave now." Kiela called. Mannin cursed and held his ground, but turned and ran when a burly bobcat jumped out of the trees. 

Kiela watched him go and felt as though a huge weight had bee lifted off of her. She no longer had toe fear his presence. 

"Next I would like to call the case of Jarnvôsk-"

"Not needed!" Kym called out. "He has been demoted and sent back home."

Kiela smiled. "Then let us rejoice! Justice is resorted and we are once more free!"

***

"Time is like the sky." Kiela observed to herself. Though she wasn't speaking directly to Sylnav, she left her mind open so that the goddess was privy to her thoughts.

"It's as though my experiences are tendrils of cloud. Misty wisps drift off and in time all my life has faded, only to leave the memory of what was once there. Those who come after may see the by the cold earth and emerging sun, but none will truly know me." She laughed to herself dryly. "At some point I begin to wonder if it was all worth it."

"Now you feel the pain of the immortal." Sylnav replied. "Take comfort in the knowledge that you have done things to benefit others, even if it may be at the expense of your own joy."

Kiela nodded and shifted her weight. "I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gone looking for Connix that day. Wether this all would've happened."

"You looking for Connix would not have prevented him from murdering, nor did it stop Drisnôk's attack. If you had not been forced out of the village there would have been no way of procuring Kithna's assistance in the war, and another nation would have been destroyed with no knowledge of the evil they faced. You gave them a fighting chance."

Kiela was about to speak when she noticed a large brown bird dive down from the sky. Its ragged feathers quickly shimmered and changed.

"Kiela!" Lono shouted, running up to her. "You have to see this." Kiela immediately dropped of of her perch and raced after him into the forest. Lono jumped into the air and dove back down, landing on her shoulder in bird form as she stealthily walked through the woods. They came to the clearing around white rock, and Kiela gasped. Lying on top of the rock with the sunset reflecting off of its golden fur, was a huge mountain lion. Its lazy tail flicked to and fro, brushing against the stone while it's tufted ears swivelled around. As Kilea watched it stood and stared straight at her.

"Tori?" she gasped. The huge creature's eyes locked onto hers. It blinked once, and then leaped off the rock, vanishing into the forest. The girl with brown hair and the rugged falcon stared after it, and the huge boulder lay empty under the glare of the dying sun.

A/N: Shift began as an idea that I came up with while running around causing madness and mayhem at my grandparent's farm. It started as an idea, and little short stories that I would make up whenever I needed something to think about. Soon it evolved and I truly began to write it out on paper. Let me say thank you so much for sticking through with me to the end. I have like 200 reads for the first few chapters and then it really flatlines. For those of you who actually enjoyed shift, it's not over! I will constantly be editing and changing even the watt pad version, and adding new scenes. I'll keep you posted! I have also started a prequel, which I still need a title for despite all of your lovely suggestions. Now, there are tons of people I need to thank for reading, and being with me for the conversations at lunch or late night texting tests that go something like this:

Me: I suck

Friend: No you don't

Me: You know it's true.

Me: will you edit

Friend: Of course

Me: I suck

Anyways, you get the gist. I love feedback, so thanks to those who gave it to me. Negitive is just as good as positive, and I welcome either. As long as it isn't "&*($%$ You suck" Or something along those lines. Thanks to epicherry Kandakx x_PhoenixLight_x and em-theory. You all rock! I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, and if I am I apologize. Also thanks to grao800 fro reading the first chapters in the september of grade 8. Keep reading!

-Wolf_lover824