Bremen finally returned with roots and berries for the travelers. Shaking awake a 'sleeping' Leo, they ate the food raw. The four greeted each other uncomfortably. Crossing her legs by the fire, Leo began eating some sort of red berry Bremen had found. The berry wasn't quite ripe and the juice of it was sour. Scrunching her nose in disgust, she declared, "What I would give for a hamburger right now. Even the bun would be great. ," Leo stated, shaking her head. Bremen, who was very much amused by her comment, let out into a low chuckle. Allanon was not that far behind with the sarcastic grin. Tai just looked dumbfounded. "What?! Well it would!" All of a sudden Leo herself broke into peals of laughter and rocked back on her back. All three just grinned at her, though Flare looked at her as if she had gone insane.

They talked a lot after. Mostly about everything and nothing at the same time. Leo would bring up her family from time to time and tell stories. She mostly talked about her brother and her. About how they always got into trouble with her parents. A favourite among the group seemed to be when Leo and Jake had been camping and this bear had come into the clearing. At the time Leo had been six and her brother had been eight. Each still had no fear and thought that bears where cuddly things you could hug. They had been brought up in the presence of Winnie the Pooh and Teddy Ruxbin, so their juvenile minds did not quite realize the danger. So, they both went up to the bear and tried to hug it. In the end, the bear ended up running off because they would not leave it alone.

With that story, Leo even got Allanon grinning. Tai would join in, though he would tell stories that happened after his mother had died. Nobody objected. Bremen, like the other two, would tell a few stories as well about his early life. Unfortunately, Allanon did not join in the story telling, though he did listen interestedly, especially when Leo talked about the life she lived in. He had seen the ancient buildings of the city, those that were standing, and he could imagine what they would have looked like. Unfortunately, when he was within the Hadeshorn, he was shown only glimpses of the past.

The three finished eating and packed in for the night. The two Druids walked over to the fire as Leo said that she was going to stay up a few more minutes. Tai was already stretching by a tree as he settled in and Flare curled up beside him contently. Leo smiled at the scene.

She began walking over to the darkness just outside of the fire's reach. All that talk about families had gotten to her. Family. She wondered if she would ever see them again. Maybe she could go forward in time, but maybe she could not go back. She was sealed in that lake for thousands of years. She could not be sealed to go back in time. There were so many things that she would love to do over again.

Shaking her head exhaustedly, she finally sat down about forty yards from where the others slept. She remembered the excitement of her singing. Her manager had truly felt that she would have been a great success. Her friends didn't even know. Maybe, after they could not find her, her family had told her friends. She wondered what their faces had looked liked. Maybe they were happy about the news, or they could have been sad that she was not there to fulfill her manager's dreams for her. Even without realizing it, she began to sing softly. It had begun to become one of her favourites. It was about a girl going out into the world, not really knowing what to expect and how her boyfriend and this girl were drifting apart…. Come to think of it, she had not finished the song. Her manager had left this one up to her to finish and she had never gotten around to it. She started the song over again.

It seemed so long ago, and I'm blinded by this haze.

I miss you now ,I miss you always.

But life is not so easy. Where do I go from here?

I can't deny it,I live with so much fear.

I can't forget those last goodbyes. We had to part

With tears in our eyes.

How many days has it been since I saw that smile?

The one that tells it all

Leo paused in her singing. Something wasn't right with that last verse. It just seemed so burdened to her. Perhaps she should think of something more cheerful. Unfortunately, she was not in a chipper mood. Shaking her head wearily, she began walking farther out. She just did not feel tired. There were too many questions. She suddenly wished for her brother. He was always so comforting and sturdy. He had always known what to say to make her feel better. Now, he was gone. She would not be surprised if he took her disappearance the hardest. They had always had a bond together that never wavered. She hoped that he had gotten over the lose of his sister, but she seriously doubted it.

Staring up into the star filled night, her grief overcame her, and with it, a wind blew past her unexpectedly. Shivering from the coolness it brought with it, she inched her way back to the camp. Again, she thought of the dark Druid, Allanon. He always seemed to have something against her. But Bremen made up for Allanon's disposition with his kindness. He was always so patient with her, as if he really knew what she was going through. Even Tai, with his hard exterior, sympathized with her. He had lost both his parents, so he knew what it was like to have no one.

She sat down by the fire and added another log to its hearth and watched as the flames flew up hungrily. This was going to be a long trip.

The four and Flare set out once again, without their horses. The others were not exactly pleased by the turn of events, but Leo was glad she did not have to board that horse again. They set out in at dawn with a sleepy eyed Leo. The only real thought in her head for the first hour was wondering how anyone could get up this early. Bremen had already found some more wonderful fruit somewhere in the forest. He had built a fire and roasted them over the flame of their fire with water-soaked sticks. Noticing the disgust on Leo's face, Bremen said, "Nothing like the nutrition from roasted roots."

Leo just shook her head, rolling her eyes. Perhaps the man was senile if he could crack jokes about some veggies that tasted like charred wood. Or at least the charred part seemed to be a palatable preference for the old man. "Perhaps I'll prepare my own roots…" she trailed off, not really talking to Bremen really, though he did chuckle a bit at her comment. At least he was always good for finding amusement in strange situations. Shortly afterwards, they had set off on foot.

"How much farther is this place again?" asked Leo, clearly annoyed at their predicament.

Allanon shot her a sideways glance. "Why such an annoyed tone? I would think that you would have liked the idea of not riding those horses again."

Leo shot a dark glare back at him. "Did you notice me complaining all that much near the end there? No? Thought not… Snarky little bastard you are…" Tai gave her an appraising look, but quickly turned away when she caught him staring. Huffing, she went on, "You didn't answer my question oh high and mighty druid." She couldn't help but lace that last part with a nice dose of sarcasm.

Taking no note of the name, Allanon answered back, "About a week I suppose with the loss of the horses"
"Pity really," Bremen added. "I was really becoming attached to that colt."

"You would, wouldn't you? People and their abnormal attachments to animals."

The dark druid simply answered, "Then somebody better educate what a moor cat is then. Last I heard, they were of the animal species."

Reaching out, Leo stroked the moor cat's ears. "Alright, so not all animals are bad. Though, then again, you could say humans are also animals. Mammals to be exact."

Tai looked over at her as though she had grown a second head, but instead of arguing, he simply shrugged it off as another strange idea of hers. She caught his eye, grinning at his obvious disparagement. She had since given up on explaining anything related to modern, or perhaps not so modern, science. One step at a time she figured. There may be time to at least give him the basics before she found a way home.

The four fell into silence once more and continued their trek towards the ruin of a city. There wasn't much more to talk about as they still had no further ideas with regards to Leo's strange powers. She could barely remember anything as it was and since none either than Tai had a close enough look, they could not begin to examine those powers. Tai, himself, refused to give much information, though he simply said that he didn't really recall much. Whether his lie was accepted by the others he didn't know, though they didn't push him any further. He had been difficult enough with cooperating among the others.

For three day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Leo took pride in annoying Allanon, Bremen remained his normally upbeat self, Tai kept silent most of the time,… and the moor cat looked on at the four humans with a discerning look that clearly thought they were all children.

As the sun was setting on the third day, Leo settled down on a somewhat soft spot of earth beside the fire, gazing into the flames. She couldn't help but wonder about her family again. What was it about a fire that brought on memories?

Her brother… what had he looked like when he was an adult? Did he get married? Children? Could Leo have been an aunt? And her parents… what ever happened to them? He glanced around her, noting the others resting as well. Allanon, as usual, could barely be seen from where he lay beside a thicket, Tai was resting up against a tree, breathing in a slow, restful manner, and Bremen was snoring on the other side of the fire.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out and looked skyward. Never before had she seen so many stars. Even in the countryside, light pollution still had managed to disrupt the stars brilliance, but now… She couldn't help but smile. With her finger, she started tracing constellations in the air absentmindedly. It was something her dad and her loved to do whenever they had gone camping. Just the act reminded her so much of her dad and how much fun they would have while camping. That was where her dad had taught her brother how to shoot with a bow. She looked over to where her brother's bow lay, an idea popping up in her head.

As quietly as she could, she got up and grabbed her bow, making sure to not step on twigs or leaves on the ground. She then borrowed a few of Tai's arrows and walked softly out of the camping spot.

She felt a tug at her shirt and looked to find Flare pulling on her. Leo smiled, rugged the cat's ears and led them both away.

A little ways away, Leo and the moor cat came upon a clearing. Looking up, Leo noted a near full moon, perfect for lighting in a place like this. Taking the arrows out, she notched on onto the bow's string and pulled it back. Flare just looked up to her from his place beside her.

"How did this go again…?" Pulling back as far as she could, she let the arrow fly across the clearing. "Ummm…" She hadn't been aiming properly and the arrow was lost in the brush. Shrugging, she decided that she would search for it later. Notching another arrow, she aimed carefully at a fallen log not too far away. Her arrow came close, just missing it by a few inches. Pleased with herself, she continued shooting arrows until she ran out.

Having collected all the ones aimed at the log, most actually being embedded in it, she went to go look for the last arrow in the thickets. Pushing aside branches, she found it buried in twigs and leaves. A breeze lifted her hair, smelling wonderfully of lilacs. Curious, she walked further one, slinging the arrows onto her back and Flare following closely behind. She barely walked fifty feet before she saw where the smell was coming from. Before her lay an entire field of lilacs, stretching for a half mile all around. Flare moved into them, clearly enjoying their scent as well. Smiling, Leo wondered that the cat could stand such a powerful smell with such a keen nose. Walking a ways into them, she sat down, playing with some flowers beside her, lost in her thoughts.

It wasn't until a low rumble came from Flare that she noticed the shadow being cast to her left. Jumping up, she turned quickly, notching an arrow almost expertly into place on her bow.

"Easy, Leo." Leo felt herself grow with relief when she saw Allanon behind her.

Replacing the arrow, she remarked, "Next time, a simple 'hello' would suffice."

Allanon remained silent, apparently gazing into the field as well, though Leo knew that he wasn't thinking how pretty or how nice they smelled. "I saw you practicing with that bow. You're quite good."

"Did my ears deceive me, Allanon? Or did I just receive a compliment?"

He ruffed, adding, "You should be sleeping. We still have three or four days left."

Leo stood up, brushing her pants off. "You're right. But," she added, "I'm glad I found this place." Allanon's face softened. If Leo didn't know better, she could have sworn that she saw a smile. Yawning, she followed behind the departing druid with Flare following reluctantly behind.

A truce was struck between the two humans. Nothing more needed to be said.