Chapter 2 remake

Scale

Ema couldn't quite understand what happened that day and she couldn't explain to herself how she ended up unharmed, or even unscratched. For a few moments of time Ema thought it was just a dream, she thought that it was all just a figment of her imagination and she felt relieved believing this. If only if she were right, she would have missed the massive disappointment and shock as she felt damp grass underneath her, heard the brilliant sounds of unique unknown birds and other animals, and saw slightly in the blinding light the thick beautiful forest around her.

She got up and examined the forest in confusion, she thought that she was dead. In heaven perhaps, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that maybe she was somewhere entirely different. Someplace far away and unseen, someplace that very few people have been before. Wherever she was however, she knew it definitely wasn't on earth.

She started to panic, afraid of the beautiful world around her. She didn't know where she was, or where to go. The calm lime green grass swayed with the gentile breeze, and small petals from the treetops danced in the air gracefully as they slowly made their way to the ground. Ema looked around her in confusion, she didn't know where she was going but she did know she wanted to get back home. So she picked a random direction and started to walk, while the beautiful scenery revealed itself to Ema with each passing step she took deeper into the unknown forest.

Her surroundings were calm and peaceful, however it made Ema's stomach twist in anticipation. She didn't feel quite welcome in the peaceful environment, but she felt like an outcast intruding upon someone's land. As she passed many alienated trees that Ema had never seen before, she was relieved in the fact there were no shards or unusual winds pushing her with much force to scare her beyond her panicked state.

Many minutes that seemed like hours to Ema had passed in the lovely forest, and she saw many things along her way to wherever she was going. There were some fuzzy white creatures, about the same size as a skunk. With little pink bellies and two long tails for balance as they ran and climbed from tree to tree swiftly and quietly. There were many colorful birds with four wings and long blue beaks, that would fly around and drink some sort of oddly colored liquid from many huge flowers that were scattered across the fields of the forest. Ema also had to admit she was mesmerized at the many metallic silver and blue cat like creatures that were thankfully far off in the distance, as they flicked their spiky tails and sat in the shade of gigantic trees that had branches that were so big you could fall asleep on one and not fall off. She examined the huge tree with much interest, and she couldn't even see the very top of the tree due to the surrounding fog, disappearing into the everlasting sky.

"What is this place?" Ema asked herself, as she continued on in a straight line to who knows where. The constant hum of either birds or bugs filled Ema's ears for the first time today in the unusual forest and unfortunately for her, the sound didn't feel right. It was as if Ema just sprung a trap and a alarm had just gone off. The sound was constant and it made Ema's ears hurt, it was like the calm disguise the forest was hiding under shattered. Ema stopped walking when the sounds stopped altogether, she looked around thinking that perhaps the creatures around her were messing with her and can sense her fear. However not so far off in the distance the bushes caught her sharp eyes, they were moving as if a million of it's own leaves were twisting and turning in different directions as if each had a mind of it's own. She squinted her eyes to see better, and noticed many colors flying through the bushes and past herself. It was then she realized many colorful birds were flying at terrifying speeds around her and as she stood there frozen and watching the racing birds in confusion all she could think about is why they were.

After the birds only a few seconds before they were already gone other animals came and in the same direction as the birds, they ran, climbed, or even slithered away for the same unknown reason. Now the forest was silent and only Ema's footsteps echoed through it's empty pathways, unheard by anyone or anything. She was hesitant at first, but she managed to continue her walk as if nothing happened. However after a few mere minutes Ema realized only too late that the animals were running away from a full fledged war between two army's. Tree's were set ablaze and fields of green were scorched, leaving nothing behind but the dead ash remains and a sorrow filled battleground. People in blue armor seemed to be losing to others in red, as they fought desperately while dodging arrows and spears that were being thrown at them with rage.

In fear, Ema ran and cowered behind a huge boulder as she watched the continuing battle in horror. The air was filled with fiery sparks that stung at Ema's cheeks every time one came in contact with her face and the warm smokey air was hard to breathe in, as she coughed every once in awhile to get enough air to sustain her. Her fear of being caught up in the crossfire of the two army's caused her quick reaction to run even farther away, she even risked her shelter behind her boulder because of it. Unfortunately the fire seemed to circle the two army's so no one could escape, not even Ema.

She didn't know what to do right then, and if it weren't for a few people in red armor noticing her and turning their sharpened spears to her she would have just stood there. Lost and scared, alone in the unknown world, which quite frankly Ema would have preferred. A spear was thrown with rage and bad accuracy at Ema, as she felt the small gust of wind fly past her from the deathly weapon that just barley missed her. The red armored enemies started closing in on Ema with countless sharp weapons pointed at her, as she was backed up to the fiery wall surrounding the area. She was hopeless and above all, just frightened. She knew that she couldn't defend herself and she was starting to lose hope of living another day. The pressure and the mere seconds she had left living made Ema only have split seconds to make a decision that might save her life or fail in her attempt of doing so. She took a deep breath and without another moment of hesitation she jumped through the fiery wall behind her. She felt her skin slightly being singed as the fire danced around her, she felt the fire lick it's way up her arms and slightly nibble on her clothes. The fire seemed unnatural and something was a bit off about the burning sensation it gave, but at the moment Ema did not care. The only thing she cared about was the pain of the pulsing burn on her arms and slightly now on her legs as she tumbled out of the wall of fire and fell onto the cold grass that hasn't yet been engulfed in flames.

"What's this?" Ema heard someones voice as she lay in the grass face down. She couldn't see the person with her head in the grass but she dare not move with the minor burns scaling her arms and legs.

"The human must have been trapped in the crossfire." another voice said.

"I wonder what it's doing out here in Valencia? I haven't seen one in ages." the first voice responded in confusion. Ema tried moving her arms but winced as her burn pulsed in pain from her movement, she made a soft grunting noise.

"The human is burned, should we help?" the second voice asked.

"This human may hold the answers to our questions about this war," the first replied. "and it is my duty to help and train the newly brought humans."

Before Ema knew what was going on she felt her whole body being lifted up from the ground, she saw the shine of blue armored shoes and quickly she felt relieved they weren't red armored enemies like the ones that attacked her before. The blue armored man that was carrying her froze, and Ema wondered if the armored red enemies have spotted them.

"She's conscious." the man said lifting Ema's head. Her ash filled eyes met the man's slit's in his metal helmet, she saw his oddly shaped green eyes stare back at her sternly.

"So? She can't move. Human's are weak remember?" the other voice stated simply. Ema felt some sort of determination swell up inside of her as she gathered the courage to move again. She started to struggle in the arms of the man carrying her in attempt to stand up on her own. When the blue armored man finally put Ema down, she only winced slightly by the pain slithering up her legs.

"I-I can move. I'm not weak." Ema croaked determinately as she examined the red blotchy areas of her arms and legs. They weren't as bad as Ema thought they were, but they still hurt nonetheless.

"Okay your not weak, now come." the armored man said stepping forward slightly. Ema swerved out of his way and backed away slightly from them.

"Your going to take me as prisoner? I don't think so!" Ema shouted in fear, she remembered the red armored enemies and how they attacked her without hesitation. Perhaps the blue would do something similar but more civilized, like capturing. She thought, as she looked for the spear that was thrown at her and missed but ended up going through the wall of fire. Maybe only now, she can defend herself. The human noticed the small glow that pulsed out of her, though her fear, healed a majority of her burns, it was a small mere difference but Ema found herself standing straighter.

"Calm down human, we're the good guys. We want to help you and treat those burns." one of the armored men said, Ema rose her eyebrow in contrary.

"No you don't want to help, you want answers and information. I heard your conversation back there." Ema argued, backing up into a slightly singed tree. The roar of the battle was heard on the other side of the wall of fire, as Ema watched with the corner of her eye the fire grow and devour more trees in the beautiful forest. Which will soon be nothing but a pile of ash, and the beginning of small flowers of fire weed as the forest begins to replenish itself and be born yet again.

"It's true we need your information, but I swear in the name of Valencia you will not be harmed." one of the armored men said.

"What exactly is Valencia?" Ema asked in confusion. She still wasn't sure she could trust these mysterious blue warriors, but they were the only people she had left to trust. So she decided that she must try and learn everything they had to give.

"This planet is Valencia, like you humans come from your Earth." the man answered, before chuckling at Ema's shocked expression.

"Don't look too surprised, you aren't the first human to walk around in the calm fields of Valencia." the other man said, before turning away from the wall of fire and making his way into the seemingly denser area of the woods. Leaving her and the first blue man alone with the roar of battle beside them and the soft gentile breeze that was once calm but now unnerving.

"Well, my name is Ema." Ema said to the man, before approaching him. She realized she didn't really have a choice whether to trust them or not, she knew she would have to get her burns treated sooner or later and she never wanted to be put in a situation which involves sharpened weapons pointed directly at her again. Perhaps trusting the blue armored warriors would be a good idea for now, she thought.

"Well my name is Scale." the man replied. "We are currently in a war with our own kind, strangely enough though, half of our people started acting like this only about a week ago. We don't know what has gotten into them, our race used to be united but now, it is like we're fighting complete strangers." Scale shrugged in uncertainty, before turning back to where the other armored man left.

"Well Ema, I won't force you to come to our little base camp but your burns should be treated. Come to the blue warriors base camp and I'll treat them." he said. Ema nodded and followed him into the seemingly dense underbrush and thankfully away from the roaring fire that was fortunately dying down.

"So human, I mean Ema. Did anything odd besides being in my world happen to you?" Scale asked. His pace never seemed to slow down and as Ema passed by many tree's it seemed he was slowly but surely increasing in distance.

"Not really," Ema said slowly and cautiously. "but I don't see why you're calling me human all the time. Your a man, are you not?" Ema tried hard to keep up with Scale, but she felt her whole body was on fire thanks to her burns. She did not say anything however, she did not want to appear weak.

Scale stopped walking and turned to face Ema, who was right now tripping over many branches to keep up. Once she was in front of him she looked up into the slits of his armor, only to see his eyes sparkling in amusement. He shook his head slowly, chuckling to himself with much humor. "You are wrong Ema, I am and most certainly will never be a human. I am a man sure, but not a human."

Ema's face showed more then confusion, but shock as well. She narrowed her eyes and tried to see the man in front of her through the iron slits in his armor, but only the oddly shaped green eyes were shown and revealed to her. She sighed in frustration, she didn't know what to say. Or what to expect, but somehow after knowing the man in front of her was indeed not human. Made her feel not as safe or secure as before. Her train of thought was broken however, when a branch slightly touched her burnt skin and she winced in pain. She quickly hid it though, as she did not want the man in front of her to find out. She did not want Scale to know, she was weak.

Unfortunately Scale did notice and his eyes that was once filled with amusement hardened and he was once again a cold and bitter knight. "The camp is not far from here, actually you will be able to see it in a few more steps." Scale then turned and left Ema to follow his long gallant strides, as he quickly walked towards the safety of the camp. Without a moment of hesitation, Ema followed even if it hurt. She noticed how big Scale and the other knight were, and how strong they looked. As if they could knock down the trees with a good push, she almost felt silly for thinking before they were human before she was told. She wondered what these strong beasts looked like, did they look human? Or did they have green skin with slimy webbed fingers with piercing eyes and no nose? Either way, she had to trust them. Ema looked at Scale's bulky body making its way further and further into the forest as she followed desperately in attempt to keep up and wondered how such a strong beast could possibly have problems with anything. As if someone was listening in on her thoughts she heard a voice, it was all but a whisper and it made her stop. Scale didn't notice however, as he kept moving through the trees.

"Human, work with us. We could rule Valencia and even the galaxy if we tried." the voice hissed. It sounded wretched, and genuinely twisted and its tone was full of malice. Ema shuddered, as she felt the voice linger in her ear. "Who? Who is there?" she asked, turning around yet seeing nothing but a dark forest.

Yet the voice was still heard, it seemed closer this time and Ema couldn't help jumping in fear. "We are nightmares, shadows of peoples mind. We act upon creativity and we wish to change imagination into something better." the voice replied wickedly, as it slithered in Ema's ear and suffocated her. "Now human, do you wish to carry a huge burden on your shoulders? Or do you wish to return to Earth with all you're friends?" it asked her almost soothingly. Ema reached for her neck and grabbed her shell necklace that Luke had given to her, she almost felt her heart longing to see him again. She wanted to tell him that she was scared, she needed his comfort. "Y-yes, I-I do wish to see my friends, and family again." Ema stuttered. She missed Mel and Luke, she wanted everything just to be normal and her urge of watching the beautiful sunset made her feel even more homesick. She felt lost and confused, but most of all scared.

"Then imagine something my dear," the voice cooed. "imagine you at Earth with your family, don't be afraid and let your creativity guide you." the voice seemed so right to Ema, that she had to believe it. Just as she closed her eyes and saw the outline of the blue sky of Earth, Scale shouted and yelled tearing Ema out of her trance.

"Ema! Stop!" His voice sounded stern and fearful. Ema opened her eyes to gaze at him, but only then realized she was on the ground as if awaking from a dream.

"Scale?" she asked as the man in front of her sighed in relief, he watched her get up and dust herself off. "What happened?"

Scale shook his head and pointed to something on the ground. Ema followed his gaze and gasped in horror. "What is that doing here!" she shouted in surprise, her fear welling up inside of her. Scale walked over to the shard and stepped on it in fury, and didn't stop stomping on the oddly coloured shard until it completely disappeared in the ground.

"You need to be more careful Ema," Scale said after a few brief moments. "these shards are extremely dangerous." his voice was ragged and hoarse as his eyes showed nothing but anger towards the shard as if it killed his pet puppy.

"What are they?" Ema asked curiously, eying Scale with caution. She didn't want to anger him anymore then he already was.

"They're called nightmares. These shards like to get inside your head and take control of your dreams and imagination. They love to twist your creativity into very vile things, but what makes them dangerous is that whatever gets twisted into a nightmare turns real. Even more real then your dream was." Scale said gravely. He turned his back from Ema and gazed at nothing for awhile, before looking back at Ema. "We assume these nightmares are here because our planet is slowly dieing," Scale chuckled to himself bitterly. "but I'd never assume one would reach a human." Scale murmured to himself, Ema looked up and saw huge snake like birds wiggle in the sky roaring and calling out to each other in a gargled tune. "Maybe you should think about this more at camp, I promise I won't fall behind again. The nightmare was only fooling around with my emotions, it won't happen again." Ema said quietly, before gazing at scale. His eyes showed more then confusion, but nodded in uncertainty anyways.

"That's going to be a problem." Scale said starting his walk towards the camp. Ema had heard his remark and was all of a sudden curious, she wondered what he meant by that.

"What's going to be a problem?" she yelled after him, her small legs fumbled trying to keep up as her burns only felt blazing hot as if she was being burned multiple times again.

Scale didn't even turn to face her as he answered. "Your emotions, that is what normally makes humans weak."

Ema shook her head stubbornly, as she refused to believe that. "No way! If anything our emotions make us stronger!" she yelled after Scale, she didn't realized he stopped walking until she was right behind him. Ema couldn't see why they suddenly stopped but after she curiously gazed around Scale she understood. They had made it to Scales base camp, or so it seemed they had.

What Ema saw was far from human, and most people only had their helmets off. These things seemed to be divided into two different groups. A creature that was furry and blue, with huge fangs and small spikes on their foreheads and then a green scaly lizard like thing that had somewhat smaller fangs and horns sticking out of their heads that seemed to bend and continue on down their backs. Ema looked up at Scale with fearful eyes wondering what he was and afraid at what she might find out.

"I'm scared." she whispered to Scale as she stood silently behind him shivering slightly in fear. Ema then noticed how bulky the armor must have been, to get the creatures long powerful horns to fit. Ema thought of how hard it must have been for anyone of those scaly creatures to move around, especially when marching off to war.

"Don't be scared Ema, the Lupines can smell it." Scale said almost in a jokingly manner. Ema's eyes narrowed in frustration thinking Scale was just making fun of her.

Scale seemed to realize that he was standing there for too long and turned to face Ema. "Lets go treat your injury's." it was more of an order then anything else so Ema nodded and let Scale lead her further into the camp.

Many of the creatures looked at Ema with many emotions covering their faces, some were shocked or scared while others were confused or curious. Ema couldn't help but whimper in fear as all these eyes landed on her, she didn't like the attention and it made her feel uneasy and alone. Some creatures whispered to each other while some younger looking beasts would giggle and tease her.

"Ema, don't be afraid. I'm one of them after all." Scale reassured her. Ema knew Scale was only trying to make her feel more comfortable, but yet it did nothing as everyone in the camp seemed to ridicule her from afar. As if she were the one with horns and fur covering her body and they were the normal ones.

Ema felt relieved the moment she entered a tent with Scale, she felt a little more secure then she was before and she was thankful.

"What do we have here Scale? You brought me a human?" Ema looked up and found herself staring at a furry light and dark striped blue creature. It didn't have any armor on and the creatures voice was soothing and friendly, its feminine like voice calmed Ema down almost instantly. As she then observed the creature in front of her cautiously and in awe.

The creature had pretty yellow eyes and three small spikes emerging from it's forehead. Its small delicate body seemed strong but its frame seemed smaller then Scales by far. Its hands ended in four massive black claws that looked sharp enough to cut a diamond in half easily, the creatures long furry tail ended in three separate ways as it swayed gently back and forth. Its feet were paw like and had three very same black claws but were thicker and stronger and its ankles looked strong enough to send it flying a couple of feet in the air if it jumped. The creature had some sort of clothing made from vines on and was slightly taller then Ema but shorter then Scale. Ema felt so small and fragile standing next to the two powerful beasts.

"Ema, this is Stripes. She is our best doctor here and one of my best friends, she runs this infirmary. Please don't be afraid, she will heal your burns." Scale assured Ema as he took off his armor.

"Oh I will?" Stripes gazed at me in awe. "What a marvelous day for me then!" she looked at Ema with joy, Ema stared back at the blue creature in fear and confusion.

"Don't look at her like that Ema," Scale said after a few minutes. "You aren't afraid of me, and look at my appearance." Ema turned her gaze from Stripes to Scale and only gasped in horror.

Scale was lizard like and had the same clothing material Stripes had, his muscular frame showed many battle scars left from the war and he had a striped pattern of dark green scales around his shoulders and legs. His eyes were a piercing green and he had four long thick horns sticking out from his head and curled in a right angle down his back. He only had one tail but at the tip of it, two deadly long spikes curved like a pitchfork and looked deadly enough to stab through metal. His hands and feet were clawed but not as deadly as Stripes had, and they both looked more human then beast like.

"S-Scale?" Ema stuttered in fear, backing up into the fur of Stripes. At least Stripes didn't look lethal, Scale was a walking death machine. Without thinking she ran behind Stripes as if she were a three year old hiding from a stranger.

"Don't look at me like that Stripes, at least she isn't afraid of you anymore." Scale said to his friend defensively. "Look at the human cowering behind you as if you were its mother," he said almost in anger. "human emotion is weak!"

"Hush Scale," Stripes replied calmly. "I know you can't tell the difference, but she is only a child. Just like the last one."

Ema heard Scale sigh and before she knew it, she felt Stripes pick her up and place her on a chair. Where she didn't say anything, but quietly took some sort of bottle and poured its contents on a cloth.

"Then I guess it is going to be just as hard as last time." Scale murmured to himself as he paced around. Ema watched Stripes carefully rub her burns with the cloth and instantly felt relieved, the cool sensation the liquid gave off was like heaven to her. Ema never wanted it to go away. Ema watched the liquid on her arms in awe, as it quickly seeped through her skin and made the burns fade away in seconds.

"Last time there wasn't a war, so no it will be even harder then last time." Stripes commented. Not even daring to take her eyes off Ema's burns, Ema watched Scale stop pacing as he thought to himself intensely for a few minutes before continuing to pace yet again.

"What are you talking about?" Ema asked confused as ever, She gazed at Scale who now stared back at her with piercing green eyes. Her face then lit up when a idea struck her. "Are you going to help me get back to Earth?"

She gazed at Scale with much interest and curiosity, that she didn't understand why Scale looked at her so gravely. Even Stripes grip on Ema's arms seemed to tighten unconsciously and even if it looked like the blue creature was concentrating on Ema's burns, her cat like ears were perked up and listening with much interest.

"Stripes? Don't they inform the humans anymore?" Scale asked ignoring Ema's question entirely.

"Yes, they do and always will." Stripes answered darkly, as she finished up the rest of Ema's burns.

Scale looked over at Ema, confusion plastered his face. "Ema? What exactly happened before you ended up in Valencia?" he asked calmly, he watched as the human gave him an odd look before grabbing her necklace made of shells that hung from her neck.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked him cautiously, not once letting go of the necklace. Scale sighed in frustration.

"Tell him child, your life rests on our shoulders." Stripes told Ema calmly, Ema nodded slowly and turned to Scale before telling him her story.

About how the nightmares fell from the sky, how the environment around her seemed more vicious then usual, how the sky flickered and broke along with the sun, and how they were tossed into darkness. Ema told him every last detail, her feelings, her world and the dangers that were at risk. Scale seemed surprised after what Ema told him as he listened with as much concentration as he could possibly give and once Ema had finished her story Scale seemed to realize how bad their situation was.

"She hasn't been informed she is a Link Rider Stripes, she hasn't even revealed her true power!" Scale seemed scared and his voice only elevated with each passing word. Ema still didn't realize what was going on, she didn't understand. Scale on the other hand was freaking out in panic, yelling questions at his friend like she could answer them all like some sort of fortune teller.

"What should I do Stripes?" Scale hollered as he started to pace yet again. "The Link Rider is my responsibility! It was a stroke of luck to find her out in the woods and all but other then that I feel luck is not on my side!" Scale panicked hopelessly. Ema watched Scales muscles flex and tense up as he talked, and she couldn't help but think that Scale could break her skull with them if he had wanted to. Sure he wouldn't but Ema still felt uneasy around him, she felt powerless against him.

Stripes patted Ema's head after she was done treating her burns and sat up and faced Scale, who was still hollering like a child. Pacing and stomping his feet in panic and frustration. Unlike Ema, Stripes was used to seeing Scale like this and only sighed as she waited patiently for Scale to stop worrying and face her. She crossed her arms and waited, with a bored expression on her face. It seemed to work, because exactly once Scale sighted her he froze and gazed at the blue creature desperation clearly showing in his green eyes.

"Why not go and ask the king himself? You were going to go there anyways to train the kid. Might as well ask the king if he knows what had happened to Earth. To tell you the truth, according to the human child. It seems as if Earth is in trouble, and the king is in charge of watching Earth and reporting what state its in and he rarely has time for that." Stripes said calmly, not only was the girl nice but wise as well.

Scales face lit up in hope after hearing Stripes point of view. "Great idea! You see, this is why I befriend Lupines like you. Fammels like myself are just horrible when it comes to situations like this!" Scale joyously smiled, his sharp white teeth looking as deadly as ever. Stripes just snorted, and turned to Ema with a pitied expression on her face.

"Protect this child greatly Scale, I had seen how you treat all your other Link Riders. It is not satisfactory." Stripes said, gazing at Ema with sorrow filled eyes. Ema couldn't quite understand what she was talking about but knew it couldn't be good. The way she looked at her.

"Lupines," Scale snorted turning to face the exit of the tent. "You worry too much. Come on Ema."

Ema cautiously gazed at Scale before following him, she wondered if Stripes was going to follow them but she didn't and the last thing Ema saw of her was her glowing yellow eyes in the shadows of the tent.

"I don't understand Scale," Ema managed to yell after his retreating figure, as he quickly made his way throughout the base camp. Her human legs aching in exhaustion as she tried to keep up. "I can get back to earth, right?"

The Fammel quickly shot her a glance of sympathy but other then that there was nothing. Ema didn't know what was going on in his head, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. She decided not to question him further when he didn't respond, because she assumed the worst.

They both passed many tents, and Ema received many questioning glances by the other creatures, she was still startled by their odd appearances, so she tried her hardest to stay close to Scale. It may have been exhausting but it was worth it, she felt safer near her huge Fammel friend.

After awhile it seemed that even Scale was a bit annoyed with their silence so he said. "The king will be very happy to meet you, it is a long way to our castle so I need to stock up on some supplies." Ema looked up at Scale and examined his four thick horns that curled down his back, she shivered as she imagined being hit by one of them square on in the jaw. Not only would she suffer a concussion, but perhaps she would die from the blunt of the blow.

"What will we do after visiting the king?" Ema asked carefully, as she gazed at his tail that hovered about five inches off the ground. It swayed dangerously back and forth as he walked and the two sharpened spikes at the end of each one cut quickly through the grass as it slightly touched the hazardous blade, Ema gulped in fear.

"I will train you. You will learn to feel no emotion, you will learn how to used your power." Scale replied. His tail flickered slightly as a small blade of grass slightly grazed the tip of the tail, the grass was instantly shredded by the sharp spikes that glistened in the sunlight.

Ema tried her hardest not to focus on the sharp spikes, she needed to keep talking to her friend, it distracted her. "Where are we going to get these supplies?" she asked as they turned into another group of tents. These tents were closer together and they reeked of some sort of animal. Ema tried her hardest not to touch any of the tents since she was disgusted with the idea of the material touching her.

"Right here." Scale replied, stopping in front of the biggest tent in the area. The material used to be blank white but tinted slightly over the years it seemed, and it now looked grayish yellow in the basking light of Valencia. The smell of the area still made Ema's nose scrunch up, and her face twisted slightly in disgust.

"What kind of supplies do we need?" Ema asked curiously, trying her best not to breathe in sharply. Scale noticed her and scoffed slightly, before sighing.

"You ask many questions, and that could get you killed." Scale told her, before making his way into the tent. Ema hesitated in fear before making her way in, she didn't feel quite safe with Scale around her, and she wondered if she should take Scales words literally.

The tent was packed full of many things that Ema couldn't identify, some looked like weapons, and even some looked like instruments that were either tossed aside or scattered in many different directions. If Ema wasn't told any different, she would have assumed this place to be a dumb, or a trash keep. They had to put garbage somewhere, right?

"Ah Scale, what a pleasant surprise!" a voice purred from the opposing side of the tent, behind a massive wall of metal garnets. "Going out for awhile, perhaps to see the king?" Ema saw a Lupine step out from behind the metal and dust himself off before walking over to Scale and smiling. His eyes glowed brightly and his ears flickered in every direction, but he didn't seem to notice Ema much.

"Yes Leo, I'm off to see the king. Is Mink around?" Scale replied looking around the small tent with his bright green eyes. Leo shook his head and took a small glance in my direction, his cat like eyes grew wide in curiosity at the sight of me.

"Yes, she is somewhere around here." he said, glancing at Scale and smirking slightly.

Ema felt something poke her side, and she jumped slightly. No one seemed to notice her however, as she gazed slightly off to her side. A light green glow of eyes stared back at her, underneath the shadow of rubble scattering the tent.

It was a Fammel, just like Scale, and as Ema squinted her eyes and nudged closer without any fear. She saw that it was a girl, her scales were lighter green then Scales and her horns were slightly smaller. She still looked dangerous, but compared to Scale, she was a cute puppy dog.

"Are you Mink?" Ema asked in a whisper.

The Fammel giggled and her eyes sparkled with joy before nodding slightly. "Yeah, do you think Scale will find me here?" she asked innocently. Ema shrugged, before stealing a glance back at Scale who at the moment, was yelling at Leo for a straightforward answer to all his questions.

"Tell me where Mink is! Is she here? Or is she not?" Scale asked in frustration, his tail swayed faster in his impatience but nothing was knocked over.

"I think she is hiding and wants you to find her." Ema stated, as she walked in between the two. Leo curiously gazed at her, and Scale rolled his eyes in annoyance, before grumbling slightly to himself.

"Your human friend is correct Scale, you should know by now that Mink always hides from you." Leo chuckled to himself before leaning against a pile of objects behind him.

"She always hides in the same place though!" Scale sighed in annoyance before making his way over to a small pile of clutter. Ema already knew Mink was under it since she was only over there a few minutes ago, but she wondered why Mink always chose the same hiding place.

"I see you squirt." Scale said, laughing at Mink's pout. Ema didn't realize it before, but Mink was a lot smaller then Scale.

"Mink is the best kid in the base, she always helps me find things in this tent. As you can see, I am not organized." Leo whispered to Ema, answering any further questions of Mink.

"So, what do you need Scale?" Mink asked in a singsong voice, skipping gracefully past the heaps of clutter.

"Well, I am off to the City with my friend here." Scale replied, pointing at Ema.

"Is she a Lupine? Or a Fammel? She looks rather odd." Mink asked, her light green eyes gazing at Ema in wonder.

"No, she is a human. I think your mother told you stories about them." Leo replied for Scale, as he shifted some materials and pulled out some unique objects Ema couldn't identify.

"Wow! Really? I've never seen one before!" Mink jumped up and down excitedly, before making her way towards Ema and touching her forehead. "So cool!"

"Please Mink, that is disrespectful. She is a powerful and legendary being, she mustn't be handled like a toy." Leo scorned her, as he handed Scale some sort of bag, its contents where a mystery to Ema unfortunately.

"Sorry," Mink apologized and stepped away from Ema, keeping her distance. "I forgot."

"Its quite alright, I'm no mythological being." Ema interrupted awkwardly. "I'm more amazed by you guys then anything really. Perhaps even a bit scared."

Scale adjusted the bag over his shoulders before glancing at Ema. "Yes, we will have to change that."

"What? My feelings?" Ema asked, locking on to Scales gaze. Scale nodded and patted Mink on the head.

"Its natural, I'm a better person with feelings." Ema argued, but Scale ignored her.

"It was fun Leo, but it is only midday and we must go before nightfall." Scale said, passing by Ema and making his way towards the exit. "Come along now Ema."

"Good luck!" Leo called out after them.

"Have fun!" Mink shouted in her cute squeaky voice. Ema waved a small good bye but had to turn and run in order to keep up with Scales pace, he was always on the go and it seemed that he waited for no one. It was something that she would have to endure on their journey Ema thought to herself, even if he was escorting someone. It didn't matter, if he wanted to leave or go somewhere, he would leave with or without you.

"Hurry up Ema, you walk very slow for a human." Scale commented as he made his way to the boundaries of the forest.

"How would you know how fast we all walk?" Ema shouted behind him, as she jogging slightly to catch up. She ducked slightly to dodge the small branches that stuck out in every direction and soon she was behind Scale yet again. His tail slashing everything in the way.

"I am a human expert!" Scale replied stubbornly. Ema sighed as she dodged a small tree that fell from the impact of the spikes on Scales tail, she almost tripped but regained her balance in a matter of moments.

She wondered how long she would last out here, especially with Scale being the 'expert'.