[center][b]Chapter 6[/b]

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Arlex had a strange dream that night.  It was as if he was there, watching his father lay injured in the forest, while an ominous beast walked up to them both.  The owl watching them was nowhere to be seen; perhaps he had left to hunt out some food of his own.

The strange beast sniffed at Father's injured body, his wings especially, and seemed to recognize the scent.  It walked slowly around them on its four lithe legs as a warm breeze blew through the night around them.  It said not a word, nor even revealed any light off its eyes, identified only by the large mane flowing back from its head as it looked down on them, bearing a strange sense of sorrow.

It placed one paw on Father's head but for a moment, then crouched down next to him and leaned its head against his shoulders, listening to Father's heartbeats.

Arlex wanted to ask who it was; the beast was large and serene, and in another minute it paced somberly about them again.

It spied the small Rae sleeping soundly, very deeply next to Arlex as he looked back.

And then it vanished from view, almost as if it was never even there.

"Wait!"  Arlex called out.

And then it was morning.

"You are finally awake?"

Daybreak, and the only one to greet Arlex's eyes was the large owl at a distance of six paces, perched atop a stump facing away, but with his head turned in Arlex's direction.

Father and Rae were still asleep.

"You...," Arlex wondered.  "Where -- who -- it's morning already?"

The owl chuckled to himself.  "The nights are growing longer.  You may not be able to tell yet, but inch by inch they are."

"Don't you get any sleep?"  Asked Father's voice as he shifted his position and opened his eyes.

"I do not require rest in the same manner as you diurnes," the owl answered, looking away.

"How is your condition?"  He asked in return.

Father raised his upper body off the ground by his arms, shaking somewhat.  He stretched his wings carefully, wincing as he did so.

"Seems I am grounded today," he answered as he folded his wings back.

"Your flame is much brighter than last night," the owl answered with but a passing reference to Father's tail.

Father sat upright, curling his tail around one side, being careful not to let its burning tip touch either Rae or Arlex around him.

"It never goes out, does it?"  The owl asked.

"I was born with it," Father answered.  "Its fire is my life."

"Of course," he noted.  The owl spread his wings and readied himself for flight.  "Now, if you will excuse me I have a meal to catch."

And the owl flew off.

Father looked down at Arlex.  "You are concerned, son?"

"About Mother," Arlex nodded.  "What will happen to her?"

"I don't know," Father answered.  "I cannot face him again in my condition -- but I still intend to find out."

Father stood up on his hind legs, carefully monitoring his balance as he took two steps aside.

Arlex walked over to Father, looking up at him.  "I want to know, too...."

"Of course," Father nodded.  "It is our blood that runs through your veins; you have every right to learn."

"What about Rae?"  Arlex asked.  "When is he going to wake up?"

Father shrugged.  "I do not know.  I have never seen a cat like his kind before.  We may just have to take him with us...."

Father carefully spread one of his wings, lowering it to ground level.  "I will carry him.  Arlex, if you would...."

Arlex carefully rolled Rae onto the surface of Father's wing, which he then lifted carefully, allowing Rae to flop over onto Father's back, nestling between his shoulders still soundly snoozing.

"Are you ready?"  Father asked.  "We are travelling North.  If I recall, the mountain of the Fire sanctuary is in that direction."

Arlex began walking behind Father as he led the way.  "The ... Fire ... Sanctuary?"

"It is not as dangerous as it sounds," Father added.  "Nor will I ask for his blessing upon you.  I do not need it, and you should not worry about it."

Indeed; Father aside, Arlex hated fire.

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By evening, Arlex had lost track of how far they had walked.  The trees had given way to grassy hills, above which rose a range of large mountains on the horizon.  Father proved he was nowhere near a match for Mother's speed along the ground, especially with Rae in tow, who seemed to be still dozing away the hours.

Father stopped at the crest of the hill and looked ahead.  "We are getting closer," he pointed out.  A valley spread before them, bereft of trees and even grass, having only dirt and sand for the winds to whip up into a dense, earthen fog with which to blanket the area.

"What is this?"  Arlex wondered as he looked ahead.

"This is the shadow of the mountain," Father answered.  "Not a drop of rain falls here -- ever.

"We aren't going through it?"  Arlex wondered.

"No, crossing it on foot would be too dangerous," Father nodded.  He pointed along the left rim of the valley.  "We shall go around it instead; we can reach the mountain's slopes that way."

Father led the way, tracing the top of the grassy hills in a northwestern direction, with dry dirt and sand to their right and the lush foliage to their left.  This was an easy path to follow, and as the final rays of sunlight faded over the horizon they found themselves near the base of the mountain, with their path winding up and meandering across its craggy sides.

Father lowered his body to the ground and leaned slightly, allowing Rae to roll and slide down his wing to ground level, the young cub still very much asleep.

"Either I have grown weak from today, or he is gaining weight," Father noted.

"How?  He hasn't eaten anything all day long," Arlex wondered.

"Perhaps he doesn't need to," Father suggested.  "But he'll have quite an appetite once he wakes up.  Watch over him."

Father stretched his wings and gave a strong flap.  "My wings are healed now ... flying should not be a problem."

Father flapped again, jumping into the air as he soared off above the desert valley to the east.

Arlex watched him disappear into the evening dusk.  "And I should ... ?"

"Remain here," Arlex nodded, glancing back at Rae.

"How long are you going to sleep?"  Arlex wondered.

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A strange sound awoke Arlex from his sleep that night, a strange shaking, almost rattling sound echoing from the trees around them.  He searched the area with his eyes, attempting to spot where it was coming from.  Then he stood up on his hind legs for a better listen.

"I know you're out there.  Who are you?"

Through the moonlight Arlex spied a shadowy figure moving between trees, something about his size.

Arlex crouched on all four legs, observing and listening for any sign of movement.

He didn't have to wait long; the shaking sound drew closer as a silvery-brown insectoid figure dove out of the trees towards him.

Arlex ducked as it flew overhead, spun around and then hovered in midair, motionless.

"What are you...?  Do you have a name?"

The insect floated, staring back down at him blankly, even its wings motionless.  The moonlight reflected off a large circular crest about its head, then it swooped down again, spreading its pair of sharp claws and attacking.

Arlex blocked one of the hits as it scratched across him, then spun around and tried to cut across its backside, only to find his sharp claws seeming to pass straight through its thin membrane of a shell.

"What the ... ?"

The creature chattered silently, an unnerving sound like the rattling tail of a venomous snake.

Arlex leapt at the creature and tried to slash at it again; the creature seemed to fade slightly as he neared, and his claws swiped merely at empty air as he passed entirely through the being, spinning and landing on his side against the ground, then quickly rolling over and leaping upright.

What was this thing?  It appeared a physical form of some sort, but Arlex's claws were merely passing right through it with no contact whatsoever.

The thing turned around repeatedly, eyeing Arlex first, then Rae, then Arlex again.

It dove to assail Rae with its claws.

"Oh, no you don't!!"  Arlex shouted as he lunged for the creature, pouncing and landing on it from above.  It felt as if he actually hit something this time, and the two of them landed against the ground, before the creature faded out of his grip and reappeared in front of him, once more hovering in the air.

"What the heck are you?  Speak!"  Arlex demanded, but his words merely echoed into the darkness around them.

The creature chattered incomprehensibly, but there were no words in this response.  Was it holding back?

The creature floated back towards Rae, and Arlex leapt at it again.  "Leave him alone!"

Arlex slicd with his claws at the creature, and for once felt something connect:  The creature's form immediately vanished from view as the large, circular crest about its head fell to the ground with a puff of dust.

Arlex picked up the round, crescent-like object and examined it.  What just happened?

Then he heard something rustling in the trees behind him, and whirled around just in time to block a second insect charging at him; this creature stole off with the round crescent-shape, then spun around, hovering in midair with its wings fluttering in a quiet buzz.

"Now you've done it!"  It threatened as Arlex looked it over.

"What are you?"  Arlex asked of the black bug before him.

"Don't you know anything else?"  The bug pointed back at him with one of its small, but sharp, pincer-like claws.  "I was surprised you could hit her at all.  She doesn't take kindly to direct hits...."

Arlex crouched down; not only was this an insect but an aerial one as well; if he were to fight it he'd have to rely on his claws.

"But now we fight!"

The insect clasped its claws together as it increased the buzzing of its wings, a disturbing and distracting noise that echoed through Arlex's head and inthe confusion, made it look as if there were two of them.

Arlex winced as the two image flew to opposite sides of his view and attacked simultaneously.  He forced his eyes shut and leapt aside as the insect flew in and attempted to strike.

Arlex saw a chance to strike and took it, knocking the insect out of the air with a lunge.  Though not much larger than his own size, this creature was definitely heavier, and it quickly threw him off as it rolled upright and hovered just off the ground.

Arlex examined the creature.  No visible legs to speak of, two small, but scythe-like claws, its silver wings shimmering abuzz in the night's moon, and staring back at him through a golden mask; he'd yet to see an insect like this, but something about it felt oddly familiar.

"Aren't you going to make a move?"  The insect asked, pointing at Arlex with one of its claws.

"What?"  Arlex responded.  "You strike first, then you ask for a formal duel?"

It merely shrugged in response.  "I'm not here to kill you.  I just want to see what you're capable of...."

"What are you?"

"Introductions, huh?"  The insect lifted the crescent shape off from around its neck and tossed it aside, where it hovered in the air, and the silver silhouette of the previous creature before it hovered in place as well.  "Then you should take another look at this!"

"What is that ... thing?"  Arlex asked as the silver creature disappeared into the ground beneath him.  Arlex sansed a tremor in the ground below him, then quickly leapt clear as the area he stood on collapsed into a small sinkhole, with the floating creature appearing from beneath.

"Take a closer look...," the insect waved with one claw, with the empty husk mimicking this motion itself.  The insect set itself down on the ground, silencing and folding its wings against its back as Arlex cautiously approached the shadowy, silvery insect before him, ready to defend himself should it try to move again.

"Wait," Arlex examined the shell as it lay on the ground.  "That move...."  Arlex looked the creature over again; its blank slitted eyes were unfamiliar, but he'd pickedup this scent before.  And recently, too ...

"Ina?"  Arlex realized.  "Is that ... you?"

The empty insectoid shell seemed to leap backwards, towards the other, flying insecct, where it remained in place, motionless and silent.

"Congratulations," the insect buzzed.  "At least you're smarter than you are strong.  I don't know how you managed to land an actual hit on li'l Ina here, but even without her, I could have taken you on easily.  I might even be faster than your mother...."

"What happened to Ina?"  Arlex asked.  "Where is she?"

The insect swiped one claw in front of itself and nodded.  "You don't get it?  You're looking at her!"  The insect crouched down, claws first, wings folded flat against its back, and pulled the shadowy husk over itself.  Then it leapt into midair, hovering above the empty shell with its silvery wings.

"I'm fully grown, that's what!"  The insect announced back.  It waved the white shell aside as it fluttered closer to Arlex and sat down.

"I shed that old name along with my old shell.  She is Ina now.  As for me, I call myself Nija now."

"So who is that?"  Nija inquired of Rae, still sleeping soundly nearby.  "Another friend?"

"Yeah, sort of," Arlex answered.  "He lives at the Water Sanctuary.  His name is Rae...."

"Does he always sleep like that?"

"I don't know."  Arlex walked over to Rae, examing the black tufts on Rae's head, and the golden tuft of his tail.  "He's been sleeping all day long ... I don't know if that's normal, or...."

"...not now...," came mumbled words from Rae as he shifted.  "...five more minutes, Dad...."

Rae was now laying on his back, front paws above him, and seemed to be snoring again.

"How can he sleep through all this?"  Nija asked.

"You got me," Arlex shrugged.  "But tell me -- Nija, is it?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here, anyway?  Isn't your home at the Earth Sanctuary?"

"It's a funny story," Nija answered.  She called the empty shell over to her, then picked up the large circular crest from its head; the rest of the creature disappeared from view as she slung the crest around her own.  "Well, not funny at all, just unusual.  Our Sage hasn't returned yet, and Rodaka is becoming worried.  He's just been informed the Water Sage is missing, and asked me to deliver this news to the Fire sanctuary up this mountain."

Nija scratched her head.  "Funny meeting you here, actually.  Isn't this a bit far from your forest?"

Arlex sighed.  "Father is tracking a Katcham in this area."

"A Katcham?"  Nija asked in surprise.  "Of all things?"

"Have you seen one?"

"No, actually," Nija responded.  "But I've heard Rodaka talk about them before.  Nothing good ever comes from the Katcham -- your father can't actually be trying to locate one?"

Arlex nodded solemnly.  "Mother... she was taken by a Katcham."

Nija paused.

"I'm ... sorry," she added.  "I did not know."

"You couldn't have," answered Father's voice from behind her as he touched down on the ground.

Nija froze as Father looked her over, as if he was contemplating to take her out for a meal.

When she spied the large orange dragon out the corner of her vision, she disappeared, leaving only the empty shell floating behind in her place.

Father paused, examining the shell floating in front of him.  "Well, that is an interesting trick...."

"Dad!"  Arlex shouted.  "You scared her!"

Nija peered out from behind a tree, one claw wrapped around its bark as she examined the two.

"That... that thing is your father!?"

"It's all right, Nija" Arlex answered.  "He won't harm you."

"Nija?"  Father asked, glancing over to her from his distance.  "Who is she?"

Nija came out of hiding, then approached in a cautious buzz.  "I am from the Earth Sanctuary.  And you...?"

"This is Dad," Arlex answered.

Nija recalled her empty shell with a wave of her claws, its form disappearing as she grabbed its circular crest and slung it around her head for storage.  "I am sorry.  I thought --"

"You thought I was going to eat you," Father chuckled.  "Don't worry; I've already had my fill for tonight.  Besides, you two seem to have exchanged names ... Nija, is it?"

Nija nodded as she rose up in the air to hover at about Father's height.

"Yes," she nodded.  "I am currently charged with delivering a message to the Fire Sanctuary.  Although...."

Nija spied the flame atop Father's tail.

"I ... really hate fire," Nija confessed.  "And Ina doesn't fare any better against flames either.  I thought ... I thought that if that was Arlex I saw, maybe I could get him to accompany me?"

"Arlex does little better himself," Father answered.  "The Fire Sanctuary ...."

Father looked towards the mountain up north.  "The Katcham left in this direction.  What if he is after the Sage?"

"That would make three, then," Nija answered.  "Two is bad enough.  But three?"

"We may have no time to rest, then," Father spoke as he walked over to Rae, still sleeping.  He scooped up the sleeping cat with one wing and placed him on his back.  "We must pick up our pace."