((.. I'm as.suming you meant Jasper?  xD)) 

Jasper nodded, smiling at Luciole.  "It was amazing Luciole, so beautiful and it almost made me..  Fell good.  It's hard to explain.."  He took a deep breath, "It's as if I could feel the light, not just see it."

Halley nodded quickly, making herself dizzy for a few moments.  "Yes, yes!  'Tis the power of the Light Crystal!  You see, it isn't just light you control, it is goodness itself!" 

((*nodnod* Thinking of the other one XD))

 Startled, Luciole recoiled slightly at the idea. "That's great," she said, hesitant, "Will it be of use in combat?" she said, more hopeful. Anything she could learn for the canine army would be great.

((Lol, it's bound to happen.

.. I forgot to reply to Flare.  xD)) 

"If you choose for it to be."  Halley replied, trying to hide her disgust in the thought of battles, for she was strongly against violence.

~~~

Ribunny shrugged.  "We'll find it if we look enough, the jungle isn't endless, and fights are bound to break out between the two sides and attention will be drawn to them.  For now, we should try to find a body of water of sorts so we can rest and try to think of a plan to decide were to look next."  She tried to keep the fact that she wanted to take a break secret, though it was obvious she was getting tired. 

Luciole contemplated the possibilities for a moment. "Well, what else can you teach me?"

"I think there's a lake nearby, but I smell otters. I hope they aren't troublesome... or that they are tasty," Flare said, laughing at his own joke and walking in the direction of the lake.

((So short 0.0)) 

((That's what she said.  P:))

Halley thought for a few moments.  "Well, a lot of Light Wielders are able to float a bit in the air, kinda hover, and this could really help in battle when you need to dodge or.. attack."  She paused for a few seconds, taking a deep breath.  "Skilled Mentality Wielders can do it too, so this'll be easier for me to teach.  So, the trick is that you don't actually focus on pushing the ground away, you gotta focus on your energy carrying you up, gently of course."

~~~

Ribunny smirked slightly at the joke, wondering if otters would make a good meal.  She stopped short when she saw the lake.  "Is that the entrance to something on the beach?"  She asked her eyes widening as she pointed to a dome like shape on the beach.  "I wonder if it goes all the way underwater.."  She took a few steps closer to it, glancing around just incase anything was nearby.

Luciole thought for a moment. "Is there anything smaller you could teach first? It seems intimidating," she admitted.

---

"There's one way to find out," Flare said, venturing into the opening with little caution, sending surrounding fish scattering. "Wow, it's beautiful," he said, his voice echoing queerly in the tunnel.

"Flare? Is that you?" said a familiar, icy voice a few more feet down the tube. A few more steps forward revealed the icy wolf, Iceblink.

"Iceblink!" Flare barked gleefully, his tail wagging.

"Why are you here? I thought you were against the canine army," Iceblink said, trying not to portray his happiness to be reunited with Flare.

((LMAO)) 

"Hm..  Well, I guess since you seem interested in battling that you could instead learn how to bend light in ways that would hurt opponents."  She paused for a few seconds to remember how to teach it.  "Focus again on the light coming from you, but try to do so with your eyes open this time, and focus the light to an almost slashing motion."  She lifted up a medium sized rock and placed it on the ground closer to Luciole.  "Try to focus on this first."

~~~~

"We decided to join the Canine army after Miles, supposedly, ditched us."  She said the supposedly part with a hint of a snarl, though it was barely noticeable. 

"Well, It's good to have you," Iceblink said with a smile. "This is our new base, built by the otters of sophistication. They have water and ice crystals too, isn't that amazing?"

"I'm glad to see you've been enjoying yourself. We're expecting Dot to come too, eventually, she ran off when Miles left, you remember her?" Flare replied.

"How could I forget? I hope she comes, her powers would be deadly if the felines could control her," Iceblink said. He sniffed and frowned. "What is that thing on your shoulder?"

---

Luciole took a deep breath and went into fighting position. She had studied martial arts since she was able to walk, this would be easy. All she had to do was add power. She gazed at the rock, but turned her attention instead to the sapling tree. It would be easier to bring down then the rock. She hoped Halley wouldn't mind. She blinked and focused on light, imagining it streaming from her paws like blades with all her power. The crystals on her wrists glowed brightly, and two blades of light emerged straight from them, glowing menacingly. Luciole's eyes also turned to pure light, white with power as she slashed the tree in half. She kicked the rock straight into the air as well, slashing it in half with the power as well, a clean cut without a stray pebble. Her eyes faded back to normal, and the blades disappeared, leaving Luciole with a wide smile. "That was so cool!" 

Ribunny shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the Felines controlling Dot.  She wouldn't let them do that, would they?  No, Dot was strong, she would resist..  Wouldn't she?

Ratt flinched as attention was brought to him.  He raised one of his paws to wave.  "Uh..  Hi.."  He murmured, smiling shyly even though he was afraid of Iceblink.

~~~

Halley flinched when the tree was cut in half, but decided to not chastise Luciole about it. "Amazing Luciole."  She said, smiling.  "You've made so much progress in so little time it's almost incomprehensible!  Keep going like this and you'll be a master of Light in no time!"

"This is Ratt," Flare said, smiling at the critter. "He's a friend too," Flare said.

"Very well," Iceblink said, sniffing him for a second. "Make sure to eat well from now on, little one, you are awesully skinny."

---

Luciole purred proudly, her tail curling around her feet in embarassment, "How could I never have known that I had this?" she said, excited at her new power. Her crystals pulsed slightly with light as she spoke, seemingly in tune with her heartbeat. 

"O..  Okay."  Ratt replied, nodding.  He was pretty skinny, due to the wear on his body from all his paranoia, but a better diet would probably work wonders.

~~~

"Sometimes a Crystal's power needs a trigger of sorts to be able to work, sometimes even a certain age."  Halley replied.  "Yours must've been triggered since you believed in yourself."

"I'll take you to Torment now then. He's the leader," Iceblink said, leading the company to Torment's room. "Torment, we have visitors. Look! It's my brother, Flare!"

---

Luciole shrugged. She wasn't really sure what to say or do now. "Should I go back to the canines now? It's getting dark." 

Torment jumped from where he was writing something down on a piece of paper.  "Good, good~"  He said, "If he fights as good as you we will be unbeatable!"  He turned to look at the visitors, his stomach leaping when he noticed one of them. "Oh um.."  He regained his composure quickly, "Do any of you new recruits know who I am, or do I need to explain?"

Ribunny stared at the leader through narrowed eyes.  He was a chihuahua, good, maybe that meant she would get respect around here.  Did she know him..?  No..  She didn't know anyone named Torment..  She avoided looking at his glas.s eye as much as she could, instead looking at his other eye, which was blue.  Weird..  Why have a red glas.s eye if your other eye is blue..?  Eh, it's his life I suppose.

Ratt waved shyly at Torment.  "Hi.."  He murmured, hoping the leader was nice.  He barely was able to hold in a scream at the look at his weird eye and scary looking teeth, but he still was able to keep his friendly smile.

~~~

Halley nodded.  "Don't want to tire yourself out."  She said cheerfully.  "You're welcome to come back any time, and good luck." 

Luciole smiled and bowed gently. "I appreciate your help, Halley, I will be seeing you," she paused, "Hey, why don't you come back to the canine camp? There is another with a pink crystal, like you, though her name is lost to me," she smelled the air and frowned, "I think it's going to rain too, so we had best move quickly if you are coming."

Flare bowed slightly, "It is nice to finally meet you Torment," he said, his eyes glittering playfully as he righted himself. "I have always considered myself a better fighter than Iceblink, to be honest."

Iceblink snorted, "You may dream, if you wish, Flare, but that is a statement only proven on the battlefield."

"We will see," Flare said with a wink.

Iceblink chuckled, "Flare can room with me, since that seems convenient."

"Actually, I'd prefer to room with Ribunny and Ratt here, unless Dot comes back, in which case I would let her room with Ribunny and I would seek you out," Flare said.

"I don't know, do we have more rooms, Torment?" Iceblink asked. 

Halley thought for a few seconds.  "Well.."  She replied hesitantly "I really would like to live somewhere around others, but I may be a burden, since I don't believe in fighting.  However, I suppose I don't have much against teaching others to fight, and possibly helping with healing.."  She was silent a few more seconds, not being the type to easily make a decision.  "Okay, I'll go, but I might not stay for long."  She smiled at her friends, "I'm not the type to stay in one place for long."

Jasper smiled at Halley, she would be a very good member of the army, even if she didn't fight.  "Good!"  He said, turning towards where the camp was as he felt a few drops of rain fall into his fur.  "Come on guys, let's go before we get soaked."

~~~

Torment nodded, "I made sure to make sure plenty of extra rooms were created with the base."  He replied, "You may choose any room arrangements that you'd like."

~~~

(Hrrr.  I actually have an idea, it's kinda random, but it's cool too.

So like, usually when two creatures with Crystals mate and have kids, the kids usually either have a Crystal of one of their parents or no Crystal.  However, on rare occasions.  Very, very, veeery, rare occasions, one of the kids have something called a "Dual Crystal."  The powers of "Dual Wielders," as they are commonly called, are random and very commonly uncontrollable.  Dual Crystals are more common with Crystals that have things in common, or at least aren't opposites (Ex- Water/Ice Dual Crystals are a lot more common then Fire/Water.)  "Dual Wielders"  Have a few powers from each Crystal they have, but some powers from each Crystal are also dropped.  They are also known to have a few of their own special powers that come from both Crystal's powers being mixed.  (Fire/Ice would have ice so cold it burns, or something like that.)  Dual Crystals either look like they are split in half, (Diagonally, left to right, or up and down) with one color on one side and another on the other, or sometimes its own color.  It is said in some legends that many of the Crystals that exist now were originally Dual Crystals that evolved into their own, (Air and Water is said to be the ones who created electricity.) and some powers that some Crystals have were from them being bred in my Dual Crystals, (like Shadow Fire.)

Soooo.  Another idea I had was that Sneak was a Dual Wielder. 8D  Since the powers I give him when I use him are a mixture of Shadow and Light.  (I actually planned at first for it to be Shadow and Mentality, but Shadow and Light was cooler.  xD)  His Shadow powers are his ability to Shadow Morph, his Light ability is to be able to move things and hover for a limited amount of time, his combined powers is his ability to absorb and give back energy from others and his "Dropped" powers are the fact that he can't control light or shadows, or heal, or anything else.)

((Sounds awesome! Who is Sneak again? Is he the ferret?))

Luciole nodded and hurried towards the lake at top speed-- pretty fast, considering her cheetah heritage. She made sure not to outrun her new friends too far, though the rain came down pretty had when it did. "What I wouldn't give for a water crystal right now," Luciole snorted when Jasper and Halley caught up. They were not too far from the lake now. "What if the lake floods into one of the camp entrances?" She put out worriedly. She could see the lake now, and it had indeed swelled slightly past its normal water line.

-- 

"Appreciated," Iceblink said with a bow, leading Flare and company out. The rain was loud under the lake, he could hardly hear himself think.

"Is this place safe in the rain?" Flare asked, his ears flattened with worry. He hated water in general; the thought of drowning was certainly not appealing.

"I'm sure Torment planned on it in the blueprints," Iceblink said assuredly, though he really wasn't sure. "I should get back to my post and watch for intruders, I have left it far too long now. Your room should be down the west corridor, third on the left. A Mentality crystal wielder lives accross from you, Shasta. You might say hello to her? Thanks." Iceblink said, and then he rushed back to the entrance. He checked for any fresh scents, but the rain had washed anything away from outside. 

((Yup!~  <33  And he wears a cowboy hat.  xD'  All his paws are black too, except for his left hand which is white, which is the paw that he can give back energy with. I'll describe him more when I use him.))

"I'm sure Torment thought ahead for things like that.  He probably seals the doors shut, meaning we should hurry in before he does."  Jasper said, glancing at Halley, "Should she stay in our room for now, Torment is probably busy, and I know where the sleeping bags are."

Halley shrugged, "I don't mind sleeping on the ground much for tonight, but I wouldn't want to be a burden."

~~~

Ribunny looked around, "Wow, this place is huge."  She murmured as she looked, slowly turning her whole body around.  "This is awesome!"

~~~

A dark shape slunk behind the bushes, a low cackle coming from its mouth.  It was none other then the sneaky thief, (Though you can't help lovin' him,) Sneak the ferret!  He rubbed his paws together as he peered with his yellow eyes, seeming to glow in contrast because of the black markings around his eyes that resembled a mask, at what he assumed was the Canine Base.  Found you..  He cackled again to himself, proud he was able to find the Canine's base so easily.  He pulled his hat over his head more to prevent his face from becoming as wet as the rest of his body, the rain now starting to pour.  Sneak wasn't really a part of a 'side,' though he was willing to do what one side told him if it would help him in any way.  The Crystal on his chest, unlike how it looked on most Dual Wielders, slowly switched between black and white, though mostly remained a grey color, turning black with bad thoughts/emotions and white with good thoughts/emotions.  He inched out from behind the bush, peering at the wolf that seemed to be standing guard.

"We can pobably find extra rooms, it is so empty from what I recall," Luciole answered. 

"Who goes there," Iceblink challenged, peering through the hazy rain out into the open. He could have sworn he heard something. He was about to seal off the entrance completely when he heard the familiar voice of Luciole. He groaned in annoyance. "Hurry in," he snapped.

Luciole didn't hesitate, leading the company into the shelter. "Thank goodness," she said softly, wringing the water out of her fluffy fox tail. "Thanks for letting us in, Iceblink, I know you don't like me."

Iceblink snorted, "And you've brought the local witch into the camp, brilliant," he said, shutting the floodgates, though there was plenty of time for a certain thief to slip in unnoticed into the dark canine base.

"Halley is no witch!" Luciole objected angrily, "She is a mentality wielder, like Shasta," Luciole said, smiling slightly, "It appears I have remembered her name after all," she said to herself.

--

Flare smiled widely, "I think this is our room," Flare said, carefully opening a door. "Seems empty enough." 

Jasper remained silent, not wanting to get on Iceblink's bad side.  He supposed he was on..  Okay terms with him.  He never really talked to him though, but he's heard that Iceblink had a bit of a temper, and he didn't want to start anything.

"Why do you judge those whom you do not know?"  Halley asked, tilting her head innocently at Iceblink.  She wasn't being a smart aleck or anything, she really did wonder why.  She didn't quite like the aura that surrounded Iceblink, it was hostile, and made her feel uncomfortable, but she could tell that there was some kindness in there..  Somewhere.  She knew that any time she could bring out his kindness, but she didn't like to do things like that to others unless it was necessary or with permission.

As expected, Sneak slipped into the Canine base, the shadows his perfect cover.  He cackled quietly, as he searched for things to mess up.

~~~~

"Wow!"  Ribunny said, running to one of the walls and carefully placing her paws on it.  "We can see the fish and everything!  It's a lot clearer then I thought too!"

((Sorry if this seems a bit rushed, I gotta go~))

Iceblink's ears twitched, "Nevermind that," he said, "Come, let's get you three dried off, and then get to bed. It's getting late.

Luciole dipped her head in respect towards the icy wolf and followed him back to her and Jasper's room.

"Halley, you may follow me, Shasta is rooming with Swift for now, and there's an extra bed in my chambers. We'll work out something more permenant tomorrow," Iceblink said.

---

Shasta peered out of her room and accross the hall. "Newcomers I see?" she chirped happily, trotting out to meet the others. "I'm Shasta, how should I address you?"

"It's Flare, I'm Iceblink's brother," Flare said, chuckling at Ribunny's amusement to the fish. He privately disliked being surrounded by so much water; rather unnerving.