"So, what's the plan?" Lowell asked. He and his sister had been running for a bit and had only just stopped. 

Feather sighed, brushing her bangs out of her face. "I don't know." She looked down at a blue glow, watching as the necklace lifted off her chest. The gem faced her, allowing her to see the swirl.

"Follow the river upstream to its source. Once you get there, you will find a house. Seek help from the man that lives in the house- Tempest Kronos. Beware of the creatures that stand in your way, and the danger that hunts you."

She watched in silence as the glow faded and the necklace returned to normal. "Well, there's the river." she said, nodding to the water flowing next to them. "Now, we just need to follow it upriver."

"How do we know we can trust that voice? It sounded pretty shifty."

"Do you have a better plan?"

Lowell frowned but shook his head.

"Exactly. This is the only plan we got." Feather said, turning and starting to walk. Her brother let out a groan before following.

They walked in silence for the most part, the only sounds being their footsteps and the river. Feather scrambled over some rocks. She paused when the gem lit up.

"Make sure to watch Lowell."

"Huh?" She turned to see that her brother was gone. "Lowell!" The redhead called, turning back. She found her brother trying to feed leaves to small grey creatures that looked like slugs. "Get away from them!"

"But they're harmless!"

"You don't know that!" Feather led the blonde away. "I can't have you getting hurt or sick now."

-_-

The slugs watched the children walked away. Together, they turned and scooted away.

An armor clad hand shot out and grabbed the biggest. It wriggled around furiously, releasing scared chirps. It silenced as the hunter bit down.

When he was done with his meal, he stood up and followed the children. He watched from a vantage point, glowing eyes firmly on the redhead girl.

He had orders: bring the girl to the king.

He just needed to figure out when to strike.

~'~'~

Feather stared down into the canyon. The river continued along the bottom. Right now, the two children stood on the edge.

"Pull the mushrooms up and use them as sails."

"What are you doing?" Lowell asked as she grabbed a huge mushroom. With a grunt, Fae pulled it up.

"Hold it tight, then jump off the edge. Lean to steer. Okay?"

He nodded, taking it. She pulled out one for her. The two siblings stood at the edge...

And jumped.

Wind rushed past Feather, messing her hair. But the top of the mushroom caught the wind. The two were sent in a gentle ride. She watched Lowell, frowning when a bird landed on his sail. It started to peck at the mushroom.

"It's eating my mushroom!" he shrieked.

"Calm down! I'm coming." 

She leaned forward, sending the mushroom forward. Fruitlessly, she kicked at the bird before the wind sent her back. It gave a squawk but kept pecking. Feather noted that the gem had started to glow again.

"In a matter of minutes, the cone will have eaten through the cap and Lowell will fall to his death."

"How can I stop it?"

"You can use the power of the stone. You've done it before. Just focus..."

She focused, thought of how much she wanted that bird away from her brother. Blue energy pulsed from the stone, wrapped around the bird's neck. Feather cocked her head, hearing it's neck snap.

The bird fell.

Lowell watched in silence. "What was that?" he asked finally.

"I don't know."

"Does this mean you're a wizard?"

"No."

"I mean a witch."

"Lowell, stop it. I'm not a wizard or a witch."

"But that...that was so..." He tried to think of a word. "Magical."

Their feet landed on the ground. They discarded their mushrooms, and started walking again. Feather stared at the necklace as she walked. She didn't notice Lowell had stopped until she bumped into him. "What's wrong?"

He pointed.

There was a lake, covered by a fog. In the center, a large house stood on a column of rock. The siblings shared glances but hurried onto the dock. "Looks like we'll have to swim." Feather said. "You ready- Lowell?"

"Somebody's coming." he said, pointing. In the fog, a light was coming. The two exchanged looks and hurried behind some rocks.

A rowboat appeared, carrying what looked like a large man. He was wearing a trenchcoat and fedora, a scarf hiding his face. He tied the boat to the dock and hopped out.

There was a large blaster in his hands.

"What's he going to do with that?" Lowell whispered. The man glanced up at his voice. The blonde paled and ducked down. "I think he saw me."

"Run." she hissed.

The two scrambled up the rocks behind them. Feather gripped one when her brother screamed. She looked up to be met with glowing eyes.

He was tall, dressed in black form fitting armor. A gem glowed grey on his neck. His skin was a dark grey, ears pointed. His white hair was long and messy. Feather stared at him, realizing that his eyes were white with slits for pupils.

"Duck!" she heard her brother scream. Lowell tackled her, the two watching as a bolt of energy hit the person in the chest.

"Come on!" They turned at the deep voice, seeing the rowboat man. The gun in his hand still smoked. "Get in the boat before he gets up."

The siblings hurried down. Lowell glanced back and screamed. "He's up!" Feather glanced back to see the soldier was up, running after them. The three hopped into the boat, the man untying it.

"You can't possibly be able to-"

Feather was cut off by the man making furious strokes. Soon, the rowboat was out into the lake. She glanced back to see the armor wearer on the dock, sharp teeth revealed by fangs.

"Who are you?" Lowell demanded. "Who was that?"

"He was an elf. Must've been tracking after you two. Like others, he seeks your sister's stone for its power."

Feather frowned. "How do I know you're not trying to get it for yourself."

"Because I helped get it to you."