Family isn’t being loyal to those who are more closely related to you by blood. Family is being loyal to those who know and act upon the meaning of true love—of honesty, selflessness, and willingness to help those in need. Talon looked at his surroundings: the jeering tribe-mates. The smoking buildings. The terror-stricken prisoners. The weeping parents. —This wasn’t love. Love didn’t look like this. He thought about himself and his human half-brother, and he felt a surge of unexpected grief. So much had been lost… so much he could not get back. Was it too late? Don’t think about it. Just do it. Talon gritted his teeth. He gripped the hilt of the sword and raised the weapon over the little boys. One of the children whimpered. The sword flew. A startled shriek broke from Black Blood when the weapon flew toward her head. She lunged herself at the ground and rolled just as the sword whipped over her head and smashed into the structure of the fountain, falling with a loud clatter. The jeering chant of the Moon Tribe was suddenly silenced. Having whirled around to face his sister, Eagle Talon straightened up. He felt adrenaline pounding through his veins, making him feel almost woozy, and his hands were shaking—was that terror or excitement he felt? He couldn’t tell. He was aware of everyone’s gazes—feline and human—boring into his back. He didn’t face them. He kept his gaze on his sister. Black Blood quickly picked herself off the ground, clutching the folds of her robes. Flashing eyes swept over the fallen sword nearby. Then they whipped around and glared hatefully into his own eyes. Talon almost shrank back—something about the way she looked at him made him tremble with terror. Yet, he refused to flinch. He stared back at her, and forced himself harden his gaze. “All you’re doing,” he said, “is leading the tribe to its ultimate destruction.” Black Blood’s dark expression did not change, except for a mild raising motion of her dark eyebrows. “Why, brother,” she responded with a note of condescension, “whatever do you mean?”
Talon took a shuddering breath before speaking. “You talk about taking care of the tribe; making us stronger, making living easier. But you seem to always connect prosperity to vengeance.” He gestured at the half-destroyed buildings around them. “Is this making us stronger? Bullying innocent villagers? Murdering their children? Destroying their homes?” “It’s no less what the Sons and Daughters did to us in the Red Battle,” she retorted coldly. “This is justice. By taking vengeance, we are taking back our former strength and ensuring the next generations of warriors will have a home to fight for. To make us all happier, better warriors.” “This is making us better warriors? Destruction is making us better warriors?” Talon rolled his hands into fists. “You’re sending good warriors into more and more human villages and towns, where they’re wounded and sometimes destroyed, and they’re told it’s for the good of their tribe. You’ve been training students at a younger age than our ancestors’ laws decree, just so they can join their mentors in the battles—which the ancient laws never said they should do in the first place!” “Our numbers are growing few, so we need to train our students faster and more efficiently,” she said. “You train our kits to end humans in cold blood and to hate every creature outside our own tribe,” he argued, “when what you should be doing is training them how to find food for their weaker tribe-mates, and to find plentiful territory that doesn’t belong to anyone!” “There is no territory left!” Black Blood cried. “That is why we must hunt the humans. When we show all in Ninjago City our true strength, they will be too scared to take revenge, and justice will be ours. No more kittens will starve to death.” “But at what cost?” her brother pressed. “The end of hundreds of innocent humans?” Black Blood snarled, “They are not innocent! They almost destroyed us in the Red Battle, unfairly and outside any species’ law!” “No—that was the Sons and Daughters, the Elemental Masters who did that,” Talon snapped back. “But are you going after the ninja to take vengeance?” “Yes!” she snapped.
“No!” Talon shot back, suddenly angry. “You destroyed the Son of Fire and the Daughter of Amber and kidnapped the Son of the Lightning, but the rest took him back, as well as the other prisoners! Yet instead of going after the Sons and Daughters after that, you go after the defenseless villages!” Black Blood narrowed her eyes at him. “Have patience, Eagle Talon. We are biding our time until we can successfully capture and destroy the remaining descendants of the Sons and Daughters. This is all merely justice.” “No. This isn’t justice.” Her brother scowled furiously at her. “If it’s ‘justice’ you’re looking for, you’d have at least confronted the Sons and Daughters, face-to-face. Like honorable warriors. Instead, you’re persecuting hundreds of helpless humans, who’ve done nothing wrong to us, nor did their ancestors. “This isn’t justice. This is cruel. This is wrong,” he growled. A chilling silence froze the town square. He felt the astonished and appalled stares of his tribe-mates boring into his back. The two nekomata guards were on their feet and bristling, their forked tails lashing furiously. No one said anything or moved—all were waiting for Black Blood’s response. Talon’s eyes were locked into her’s. She glared at him. Baring her teeth she hissed, livid, “You dare defy me? Question my decisions? I am your leader! I am your queen.” “No.” He shook his head. “You’re no queen of mine. You don’t deserve to be queen. You don’t care about the tribe. You just want to spread war and destruction across Ninjago. “I no longer follow you.” His voice rang coldly and clearly in the air. For what felt like a very long time, Black Blood merely stared into his eyes. Then she murmured, “You’re my brother. Don’t make me do this.” Talon’s heart twisted. “You leave me with no choice.” A strange, crooked smile found its way upon her face. “So it’s treason.”
“It’s been a while,” the feminine voice spoke again, and Kai realized that this dog-person was a girl. Her mouth was quirked in a small smile. “Uhh— yes. Yes, it has,” Kaeden stammered. “It’s good to see you, Cällyn.” “Hi, Cällyn,” Jukeni chimed in. “Here to meet our pal Kai?” He gave Kai a slap on the shoulder saying this. Cällyn’s chocolate-brown eyes flitted to Kai, and she seemed to notice him for the first time. “Oh— right, of course. The Fire Mage.” With an awkward smile, she gave him a nod and spoke in a more formal tone, “By’lännie, Fire Mage. Sorry for not seeing you there— I mean, ah… you fought well today.” She seemed embarrassed. Kai responded with a smile. “Thanks. Are you one of the warriors here?” “Yes.” Cällyn’s gaze settled back on Kaeden. Kai glanced at Jukeni, and realized that his human friend was grinning mischievously at him. He arched his eyebrows significantly at Kai. Perplexed, Kai looked back at Kaeden and his friend Cällyn. Then, he grinned to himself. The two dog-people were looking at each other embarrassedly, with frequent glances in between at obscure locations. Both of their ears—his tall and pointed, hers wide and floppy—were pricked forward with obvious interest, but neither one of them seemed confident enough to say something first. Cällyn stood before them gently wringing her hand-paws together. Kaeden sat on the bench awkwardly, gazing up at her while gripping his drink. If it weren’t for all the fur, Kai was sure he could have seen both of them blushing. Kai exchanged a look with Jukeni, then both of them got up from the table. “Well, we’ll leave you two for now,” Kai announced casually. “I just remembered that… uh, that Tinny Bird wants a report from me, to see how I’m doing after that whole burning-airship incident.” “Yeah, and— and Kai needs me to go with him,” Jukeni added unconvincingly. Before either Kaeden or Cällyn could protest, the two boys left them. As they quickly walked away, Kai snorted, “Smooth.”
“Um, I was there, too,” Jukeni attempted to chime in. “And you got out of there just in the nick of time!” she continued to coo. “When they brought you in, I— I was worried that you wouldn’t make it.” “It’ll take more than a few flames to defeat me. But—you were worried about me?” Kai tilted his head, feigning surprise. “Of course.” Discreetly, her arm curled around his. “It would be just horrible to lose such a handsome— I mean, heroic guy like you.” “There were, like, fifty other guys out there,” Jukeni muttered. Kai ignored him. “Where I come from,” he addressed Yarida smoothly, “being a hero is a duty. I do stuff like that every day.” “That’s amazing,” she said, pressing herself against him. Her eyelashes fluttered flirtatiously. “What kind of place do you come from where you do stuff like that every day?” “I—” Kai stiffened. Ninjago. For just a few seconds, he’d forgotten about Ninjago. He felt Yarida’s figure pressing warmly against his side. Skylor. He’d forgotten about Skylor. Suddenly he tore himself away from Yarida’s grasp. “I— I just remembered,” he stammered, mouth oddly dry. “There’s something… I need to do. Like, right now. Um…” he backed away. “Sorry. I’ll be back.” Jukeni began to say something, and Yarida was looking after him with an expression of dismay, but Kai tore himself away from them. He took off at a slow run, doing through the crowd and heading into the shadows of the castle. Without any idea of where he was going, he followed an empty stone passage for a minute before seeing a flight of stairs. There were no torches, so he lit his hand on fire and held it up to light the way as he darted upstairs. The sounds of the party faded. He was left with nothing but the echo of his boots padding upon stone and the soft hiss of the flames on his hand.
The tower Kai was climbing had been nearly destroyed years ago; the entire top of it was broken clean off, with nothing but bricks and empty space to meet the stairs. Kai put out the fire—enveloping him in the cool shadow of night—and leapt atop the broken edge of the tower. From there he used Airjitzu to fly off and onto the stronger rooftop close by. Stone tiles, old with chipped ends and mold, clinked quietly together beneath his feet. There Kai sat down; he curled his arms around his folded legs and rested his chin upon his knees as he gazed out onto the moonlight countryside of Pawreles. It felt daunting to realize that in all the excitement, Kai had forgotten about Ninjago; his home, his friends, and his duties as a ninja. For a few hours down there, he’d felt content to celebrate with the Pawrelesers—to find joy in his victory in another world, to bask in the awe of these people who were not his own, and to forge new connections in a realm he didn’t belong in. Pawreles was beginning to hold temptations for him, he realized. Now Kai was no longer simply afraid of losing Ninjago; losing his home, his friends, his family, and everything that made that realm the place he loved. Now he was afraid of losing himself.
* * *
Actually that's a pretty relatable feeling in a way. @bold, Ooooh.
Before he knew what was happening, Black Blood leapt off of her feet and into the air, where she shifted into her muscular nekomata body. Caterwauling a cry of fury, she fell upon her brother with claws out. Eagle Talon felt bursts of pain rip down his arms, then shouted out loud when he felt her teeth sink into his shoulder. Talon shifted into his own nekomata form. Wriggling wildly, he wormed his way out of her grasp and scampered a few feet away from her. He whirled around in time to catch her in his paws as she threw herself into his stomach. Snarling, she swiped at the sensitive flesh of his belly. He scratched at her with his hind paws while leaning over to bite her ear. He felt her flinch and reel back beneath him, but he only bit harder. Black Blood squirmed away from him, but not without taking a split second to score a paw full of claws at his face. He dodged the blow and stood up, arching his back. He bristled; his fur sticking up made him look nearly twice as big as he was. His sister too arched her back and bristled, giving a loud warning yowl. Her green eyes gleamed hatefully against her night-black fur. “You mouse-brain!” she cried, baring her teeth in a noisy hiss. “You’ve grown soft! Next thing is, you’ll be telling us you want to side with the Sons and Daughters!” “As a matter of fact, I do!” he retorted. “They’ve shown more love, loyalty, and honor than any cat in this tribe has!” He flattened his ears. “Joining their side would be the best thing that ever happened to me.” “Listen to him!” Black Blood raised her voice to the crowd. “He’s become as soft-hearted as a house cat!” “Traitor!” a voice cried from the crowd. Growls and hisses of agreement followed. A cold chill ran down Talon’s spine. Black Blood faced him again. Her whiskers twitched. “Do you really think you can defy me, in front of all the tribe, and expect to get out of here alive?” He gulped. “Probably not, but I can sure try.” “If you love those treacherous Sons and Daughters so much,” she cried out, rearing up, “Then ‘try’ this!”
“Um, I was there, too,” Jukeni attempted to chime in. “And you got out of there just in the nick of time!” she continued to coo. “When they brought you in, I— I was worried that you wouldn’t make it.” “It’ll take more than a few flames to defeat me. But—you were worried about me?” Kai tilted his head, feigning surprise. “Of course.” Discreetly, her arm curled around his. “It would be just horrible to lose such a handsome— I mean, heroic guy like you.” “There were, like, fifty other guys out there,” Jukeni muttered. Kai ignored him. “Where I come from,” he addressed Yarida smoothly, “being a hero is a duty. I do stuff like that every day.” “That’s amazing,” she said, pressing herself against him. Her eyelashes fluttered flirtatiously. “What kind of place do you come from where you do stuff like that every day?” “I—” Kai stiffened. Ninjago. For just a few seconds, he’d forgotten about Ninjago. He felt Yarida’s figure pressing warmly against his side. Skylor. He’d forgotten about Skylor. Suddenly he tore himself away from Yarida’s grasp. “I— I just remembered,” he stammered, mouth oddly dry. “There’s something… I need to do. Like, right now. Um…” he backed away. “Sorry. I’ll be back.” Jukeni began to say something, and Yarida was looking after him with an expression of dismay, but Kai tore himself away from them. He took off at a slow run, doing through the crowd and heading into the shadows of the castle. Without any idea of where he was going, he followed an empty stone passage for a minute before seeing a flight of stairs. There were no torches, so he lit his hand on fire and held it up to light the way as he darted upstairs. The sounds of the party faded. He was left with nothing but the echo of his boots padding upon stone and the soft hiss of the flames on his hand.
Hot orange flames burst out of her forepaws and flew at his face. Talon heard a yelp leap out of his mouth as he scrabbled backwards and threw himself to the ground. The waves of heat flew over his head, singeing only a few hairs on his head. Kai’s power! he realized with a jolt. He recalled the ceremony where Black Blood had scratched Kai’s forearm. She’s using the powers she absorbed! As if in response to his thoughts, Black Blood growled, “This is what the Sons and Daughters will do to you if you go crawling back to them! Do you really believe they’ll accept you as an ally? You betrayed them! They know you were our spy!” Talon felt his heart wrench. She’s right. An image of Cole’s bruised face flashed into his head. It’s too late for me. Yet he wasn’t going to back down now. Again, it seemed as if Black Blood was reading his mind. “Do you know what the Son of Earth will do to you? I’m sure it’ll be a little something like this!” The ground trembled beneath Talon’s body. He stumbled to his paws, but was immediately thrown off-balance; great pillars of stone suddenly burst out of the ground and reached for the sky, right beneath where he was standing. They threw him up, and for a few seconds, he flew. Air rushed past his face when he plummeted, and he twisted his body around to land on his paws. A heavy, hard weight slammed into his ribcage. He was thrown to the side and fell skidding across the cobblestones, scraping and bruising his body. He was aware of several boulders clattering alongside him. Black Blood had summoned and tossed them at him. She’s only just absorbed Cole’s powers, Talon realized, heart thudding into his mouth. But she’s powerful enough as a sorcerer that she’s adept in using them already!
Before he could think about what to do next, the ground shifted strangely beneath his body. To his astonishment, the cobblestones became wet, thick, and oozing; pale mud stirred like a live creature. The mud came to life and wrapped itself around Talon’s belly and hind paws. A panicked yowl flew out of his mouth, and he struggled wildly against the force of the mud gripping him. He clawed at it, but it would not release him. The mud grew taller and held him up, so that he was facing Black Blood. She cast him a smile, but there was no mirth, nor even savage pleasure in it; nothing but anger filled her glare. “You’ve betrayed me,” she said, ears pressed flat against her head. “My own brother. You’ve betrayed your tribe—the community who raised you and made you into the brilliant warrior I thought you to be.” For a split second, Talon wondered if he saw a true hint of hurt flash in her eyes. Her face twisted painfully. “I trusted you. How could you.” The mud wrapped around his body was pressing against him, and slowly rising to his rib cage and chest fur. Talon struggled to breathe, but he raised his voice to respond. “The Moon Tribe used to be a great, honorable clan! But it’s no longer the tribe I grew up with. Little Leaf was right: you’ve contaminated it with your hatred and your violence.” The yowls and hisses of rage intensified from the crowd. “End him!” an irate female screeched. “It’s not too late to change,” Eagle Talon’s voice became a pained squeak; the mud was squeezing harder and drove the breath out of his lungs. “It’s not too late to go back, to change ourselves—!” “You speak of walking a path of compassion and peace—which is essentially weakness,” Black Blood snarled. “The world has moved on, Eagle Talon. Compassion and peace no longer work in this world. Those stronger will only see us as weak and strive to take everything we love from us, just as the Sons and Daughters did all those seasons past. The only way we can live and thrive is to become hard and strong, and to pick off those weaker than us. That is the only true way of this world, like it or not.”
He could barely breathe. Eagle Talon stared desperately into his sister’s eyes. He found no trace of mercy in her gaze. She glared back at him, and he saw only the eyes of someone who had grown hard and cold a long, long time ago. He gritted his teeth. So this is it. He wondered if Little Leaf would be well taken care of by the ninja. I’m sorry for what I said, Leaf—all of it. His heart twisted, remembering those angry conversations with his little sister. You’re so brave. You realized the truth before I did. Now you’ll hopefully live longer and happier than I will. The wretched mud squeezed ever harder. A low groan slipped out of his mouth. His head was beginning to throb. Stars were appearing at the edge of his vision. Growing fuzzy, Talon dimly wondered, So this is the end. I wonder if Jay would have a stupid joke about it. Jay. He stiffened. Wait. Black Blood spoke again. Her voice was as hard and as cold as ever. “You were one of the greatest warriors of the tribe, Eagle Talon. I’m sorry to do this.” “Yeah,” he rasped back. He flexed his forepaws. “Me, too.” Lightning burst out of his paws. A flash of light blinded him, but he concentrated on the flow of energy coursing through his forelegs—it shocked him; how powerful it was! Never in all his life had Talon felt so much running through his body. His blood felt like it was on fire, yet it didn’t hurt—not in that way. He had no idea what he was doing. Fiery energy pouring out of his paws, he simply pointed them both forward and braced himself, gritting his teeth. The electricity shook him to the core. He felt as if the whole world were blazing in white fire, shaking and pounding into his blood. He wondered if this is what it felt like to explode. Then, as soon as it had started, it stopped—maybe because he let go, although he was not entirely sure how he knew. The ground rushed up to his face. He thrust his paws out to keep himself from smashing his muzzle into the ground. The mud had released him. He looked up, feeling sore all over.
Black Blood lay several feet from where she had been standing. Her feline body lay unmoving beyond the faint trail of smoke drifting through the air. Talon gazed at her, dumbfounded. Did I do that? For one terrifying second, he wondered if he’d finished her with the lightning bolt. Ancestors, no…! Heart hammering, he scrambled to his shaking paws and started toward her. She stirred. Heaving a loud groan, Black Blood opened her eyes and got to her paws. She turned and faced him. He saw that her black fur was standing on end, and faint wisps of smoke rose from the singed parts. The crowd was utterly silent. Everyone seemed too shocked to speak. An irate yowl ripped the air. Flexing her claws, Black Blood reared up and balanced upon her hind paws. There she thrust them up; a massive boulder formed within a cloud of dust between her outstretched paws. Baring her teeth in an angry screech, she chucked the boulder at Eagle Talon. Talons’ heart stopped. Without thinking, he leapt onto his hind paws and swung one forepaw at the incoming boulder. He gritted his teeth and concentrated desperately on feeling the energy he did before. Come on, please! he prayed. A shocked yowl broke from his jaw when the white fire ran through his body again—but it was less violent this time, more controlled… Caterwauling, he directed the force of the lighting at the boulder through one forepaw. A white bolt tinged in blue flames burst into the flying boulder. The world seemed to shudder beneath the force of the explosion. Both Black Blood and Eagle Talon were thrown off their paws. Pieces of rock shattered and flew through the air in the great cloud of dust. Talon fell, but landed on his paws; he had an idea of what he was doing now. Black Blood tumbled onto her side, but quickly scrambled up. Without a word, she thrust both forepaws upward again. This time chunks of the cobblestone road broke free and hovered in the air. They wavered there for a moment, before she cast them at her brother with a loud grunt. They shot toward him.
Eagle Talon steadied himself and used both paws to shoot another bolt at the incoming projectiles. This time, the lighting bolt met the pure energy of the flying rocks with a strange buzzing noise. Instead of the stones exploding, they were frozen in place. Multiple fiery lines of lightning tingled in the air around them, lighting up the late day’s sky in unnatural colors of white and blue mingled with green. The stones pressed against the lightning force holding them up. Eagle Talon growled loudly as he shoved against Black Blood’s force. The lighting continued to trail out of his paws. It was burning him, but he refused to let go. He only pressed harder, determined to not back down. “You won’t win this, brother!” Black Blood cried over the buzz of lightning and the groan of the stones. “I am more experienced in using these powers than you are! Accept defeat now, and I will make your death swift and merciful!” Eagle Talon didn’t reply. He kept the lightning pouring out of his paws; he knew that as long as he kept up this burst of energy, he could hold those stones in place and keep Black Blood from doing anything else. Still, he could feel the power draining him. He gasped for breath, feeling the electricity make every hair on his pelt stand on end. Desperate, his gaze roved over the open space of the village center, past the fountain. “Do you yield?” Black Blood demanded. Talon’s gaze was caught upon a crate of odd-looking gray containers set by one of the shops. It took a few seconds for him to remember that those were what the humans called gas tanks. He’d heard some of the older warriors talking about what they were for and what they did a few days ago. “Do you yield?!” Black Blood cried furiously. His gaze snapped back to her. “Yeah, OK.” He released the flow of lightning—and redirected them at the crate of gas tanks. The side of the building behind Black Blood exploded in a wave of heat, with bursts of fire and smoke blasting into the air. Bricks, glass, tile, and stone shattered and flew through open space. The hot force threw Eagle Talon off of his feet in a bright flash of light.
He fell hard upon the ground, and immediately curled up into a ball with his paws over his head. Ears flattened, eyes shut tightly, he waited for the rain of debris to end. He heard lots of stone falling and smashing onto the ground near him, and some pieces plummeted onto him. Shocked shouts and screams intensified around him, but he didn’t look up—not yet. It felt like a full minute of broken parts raining from the sky, flames roaring heatedly behind him, and the cries of panicked humans and cats before all of those sounds began to calm or fade away. Eventually Talon deemed it safe enough to open his eyes. Raising his eyes, he looked and saw that the entire side of the building that had the gas tanks was gone. Shattered bricks, broken beams, and red flames were all that remained. A thick cloud of smoke hung over the air. He looked to the other side of the town square. The two little boys had disappeared. The crowd of prisoners were scrambling about in panic, screaming and crying. Most of the giant cats of the Moon Tribe had fled, but a good number were still left; some trying to reign in the scattered prisoners; others helping wounded tribe-mates, and a few more simply stumbling around in a shocked daze. Cries and yowls of fear and confusion filled the thick, smoky air. Black Blood was nowhere to be seen. Eagle Talon stumbled up. His pads were throbbing—had they been burned? His fur was standing on end. His ears were ringing from the shock wave; he shook his head a few times. This is my chance. I’ve got to get out of here. He started away from the crowd of his tribe-mates. Beginning at an awkward trot, he broke out into a run. “Where’s Eagle Talon?” A voice behind him made his blood freeze. “Find him! He can’t be far!” “The cat who finds him and brings him to me will be rewarded!” Black Blood’s irate shriek rose above the rest. Not good. Not good. Talon kept running. The smoke stung his eyes. He lowered his head and tried to peer through the dark screen wafting about his head. Up ahead, he saw a narrow street turning between two buildings. He headed for them.
As he neared the dark opening, his mind raced. I can escape through the alleys to the west side of the town. I could head down the river, and— A heavy weight slammed into him head-on. Claws pricked past his chest fur. Eagle Talon found himself thrown to his back on the ground, the breath knocked out of him. He wheezed. Blinking, he stared up through the darkness. The shape of a cat stood over him, bristling. Mist Rise. Eagle Talon could do nothing but stare helplessly up at his captor. This was it. They caught him. All his efforts had been futile. Mist Rise’s blue eyes glared down at him, but he said nothing. He stayed there silently, weight pressing down on Talon. The seconds grew longer. Talon waited for him to do something—anything. Why was he waiting so long? Finally, Eagle Talon opened his jaws and whispered, “Just do it.” Mist Rise’s eyes narrowed. Feebly, Talon said, “Whatever it is, just do it. Finish me. Bring me to Black Blood. Do your duty to your tribe.” A long, tense silence followed before Mist Rise eventually nodded. “All right.” The weight left him. Eagle Talon blinked, bewildered, when the large tom stepped off of him and stood back. He gave Talon a long look. Warily, Talon picked himself up. “Wha— what are you doing?” “What you said I should do. My duty to my tribe.” Mist Rise’s tone was serious, but a small, wry look made his whiskers twitch. Eagle Talon gaped at him, uncomprehending. Mist Rise’s eyes hardened. “Go. Get out of here. Do what you have to.” Talon stared at him for a moment longer—then dipped his head. He turned and raced into the shadows, delving himself into the shelter of the alley. Behind him, he heard Mist Rise pad away. A few moments later, he heard him yowl, “I saw him! By the fountain! After him!” Eagle Talon didn’t stop. He ran—through the alleyway. Down the empty streets. Past the burning houses. Out of the village and into the night. Into the surrounding darkness. He didn’t stop running for a long time. He was guided by a persistent tugging in his heart.
