Nytehawk sighed as she looked at the calendar. “Em'bar, three months to go.”

“I wish she would come back,” Legacy pouted as he flopped down onto a couch.

“You aren’t the only one, Legacy,” Nytehawk pointed out. “Everyone wants her here, but I guess she doesn’t feel safe.”

“I couldn’t protect her,” he again stated, curling forward in defeat. “I failed my mission.”

Nytehawk put a hand to her forehead, aggravated at the young Guardian. “No, Legacy, you did what you were supposed to do. You kept her safe when she needed it. Now, I guess it’s a case of– ”

“Of what?” he asked, looking up.

“She lived her life without a Guardian,” Sophie began as she walked back into the room from the balcony, sitting in a chair across from Legacy. “She can, has, and will survive without one. No offense.”

“That was a little harsh, Sophie,” Jerome commented as he entered from the hallway.

“Harsh, but true. Snowhawk is simply one of those that doesn’t need a Guardian.”

“How many times has she nearly lost her life?” Jerome inquired.

“Just one I know of,” the gray female replied, referring to Snowhawk’s last mission.

“I’m sure there were others she never told us about,” Jerome replied, making his case for her need of protection. “And that’s not including the number of times she was pregnant.”

Legacy shook his head, again sighing, then he stood from the couch. “I can’t listen to this,” he mumbled as he left the room.

Jerome glared at Sophie. “I seriously hope you don’t think you’re helping, Sophie.”

“I didn’t figure you’d want to hear my part on this,” she responded, returning his glare.

“Not really,” the golden Guardian replied.

Sophie shook her head at him. “You’ve not changed a bit, Jerome.”

“Oh?” he voiced, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes,” she snapped. “You still think everything is so clean cut. Black and white, good and bad. Sorry, dear, it’s not. Don’t I wish it was, though. If it were, then Snowhawk wouldn’t be so damn confused about her feelings. I’m sure she loves Legacy and the rest of you dearly, self obviously excluded, but she does love Janus as well. She wants all of you happy, but it can’t be that way, so she stays where she feels safest. Janus was there for her more than any of you. So, that’s why she’s still there. She had tried to convince herself that he was ‘bad’ but she never could. Hell, she probably can’t even remember the real reason she left him anyway, outside of the little tiff they supposedly had.”

Jerome could only blink. Sophie had never been so vocal about her opinions before. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“Where did what come from?” she half growled, her defenses still raised.

“You would have never bitched me or anyone else like that before.”

“Dying changes beings. I don’t have to be afraid of anything now.”

“Dying?!” Nytehawk exclaimed. “Sophie, I–”

“There’s nothing that can be done, Nyte,” Sophie explained, cutting her off. “My owner didn’t appreciate the fact I couldn’t kill you.”

Nytehawk was shocked. “Kill me?”

“Yes,” Sophie sighed, “I was supposed to kill you, but Legacy opened his damn mouth at the wrong time.”

“Legacy was in on it?!” Nytehawk asked, still surprised.

“Not exactly, but he was supposed to be my cover,” she grumbled.

Nytehawk looked faint. “Why me?”

“Because my owner knew you were basically the number two slave, just behind Snow. He wasn’t stupid enough to target her. Seriously anyway,” she added. “He knew Legacy could never kill her.”

“Jerome, did you know?” Nytehawk half gasped.

“Yes,” he nodded, “and I did my part to protect you then, as I do now.”

“Regardless of where the threat came from.” Sophie sighed, dropping her head, then stood a moment later. “I guess I’ll be leaving now. I’m sure you find me too much of a threat to stay.”

Nytehawk looked to Jerome, then to Sophie after her Guardian answered her glance with a shrug. “Sophie, wait. You don’t have to leave.”

Sophie stopped for a moment, then replied, “I’ll think about it. I may return in a few hours.” She walked out the door, leaving the other two Delphin in silence.

“Do you think she’s still dangerous?” Nytehawk finally asked.

“It would depend on if she’s here on her own accord, or if she’s working for someone again,” he replied.

“That’s not an answer, Jerome,” she noted.

Jerome nodded. “Personally, I don’t think she ever was a real threat. She always was very kind.”

“Just had the wrong influences,” Nytehawk finished. Jerome nodded in agreement as she continued. “Like my cousin.”

“How did you know about that?” he asked, canting his head to the side curiously.

“We were barely apart from the time I was five,” she smirked. “I’m not so blind that I didn’t know about her and Janus.”

“She never intended for you to know what she was doing when she’d leave, you know,” the Guardian mentioned.

“I know,” Nytehawk replied, “but it’s not like I couldn’t figure it out.”

Jerome just smirked and shook his head. “Never could fool you for long.”

*********

Sophie walked through the city streets, alone as usual. She thought about her past and the things she had done. And she remembered how most of it was triggered by accidentally meeting Janus.

~~~~~~~~~

“Sophie, could you show Janus and his companion to the guest house?” her owner, a man named Bryce, commanded.

“Yes, sir,” she quietly bowed.

“Legacy, accompany them,” he added, receiving a bow of acknowledgment from the soon-to-be Guardian. Bryce turned to Janus, then gave a small, respectful bow. “I apologize for not showing you myself. I’ll come check on you in a couple of hours. I figured this little– problem I’m having would have sorted itself out by now.”

The other slaver waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s no problem, Bryce. I understand as well as any, better than some.” Another small bow followed, then Bryce turned and hurried off.

“This way, please,” Sophie quietly said. She led them around the main house. Legacy followed the little group, almost too obviously staring at the rear of Janus’ Delphin companion. The lavender female walked just behind and to the right of Janus. Her head was lowered and her eyes remained closed as they walked, yet only once did her hoof catch on a stone of the pathway. As quiet as she was, she seemed to be studying the area.

Janus happened to glance back and noted Legacy’s gaze fixated on his female’s amethyst tail. He smirked, then plainly stated, “You could be a little more discreet about staring at her ass.”

Legacy immediately stopped, only managing a blink as the others kept walking.

“You’ll have to forgive Legacy, sir. He doesn’t see many new females and already seems to be tired of staring at all of our tails,” Sophie dryly replied, stopping the little group.

“It’s alright. Snowhawk’s tail seems to attract many gazes,” he replied, standing next to his companion. The lavender Delphin’s expression had not changed and she still had not opened her eyes. Her ears moved about slowly, but other than her breathing, she made no other movement.

“... If I may ask,” Sophie began, “what is she doing?”

“Listening,” he grinned. “Forming a picture in her head with sound rather than images.”

“Oh,” she replied, a little more than confused, then continued on to the guest house. She opened the door for them, motioning inside. “Your quarters, sir. Shall I show you around?”

“No, but thank you. I would like to speak with Legacy, though,” Janus replied nodding toward the male Delphin.

Sophie nodded. “Very well. Legacy, I’ll inform Bryce where you are.” She gave another small bow, then quickly left.

The next day, as Sophie returned to the guest house to check on Janus and his companion, she found the slaver standing near the compound’s lake, intently staring across it. “Good morning, sir,” she stated as she approached him.

He nodded his head to her. “Good morning, Sophie.”

“If you don’t mind that I ask, what are you looking at?” she queried.

“Snowhawk is swimming,” he replied. “I’m waiting for her to surface. This is training for her.”

“’Training,’ sir?” she asked tilting her head to the side.

“My dear Snowhawk gathers information for me from my enemies,” he explained. “She prefers to train as much as she can.”

“Oh...” she replied, filing the information away in her head to tell Bryce later.

~~~~~~~~~

“And with that one meeting, I made an enemy out of someone I could have called a friend.” Sophie sighed, then stopped to look where her hooves had carried her. She found herself in front the the estate of her old owner. The place had fallen into disrepair since he had died. “But who would I be now if he wasn’t dead?” she asked, thinking no one was around.

“What does it matter, Sophie?” Legacy asked as he neared her.

Sophie jumped at the sound of his voice. “Dammit, Legacy, I wish you wouldn’t do that!”

“So,” he began, standing in front of her, “why did you accept that mission anyway? You knew you’d never succeed.”

“If you had kept your damn mouth shut I would have. But no, you had to talk and you let it slip what I was there for. I was almost killed then and I’m dying now.” She was near to losing her temper again.

“Sophie– ”

“You stupid Guardian!” she yelled, shaking with anger. “Because of you I will die within two years. Because of you I had the shit beaten out of me. Do you have any idea of what happened to me?”

“No,” he honestly answered.

“You wouldn’t,” she growled. “Why do you think I never show my wings anymore? And why do you think I stayed locked in my room for weeks after that? Why was there a perpetual red stain on my back until all the new fur grew in?

“They took your wings?” he asked, surprised.

“Yes, Legacy, they took my wings. They ripped them from my back, hoping it would kill me,” she replied in a bitter tone. “When that didn’t work, he decided a slow, painful death would be better punishment. I’m being eaten away, one cell at a time. And no, no one can save me. It’s a modified Vampiric toxin.”

The Guardian took a step back. He didn’t know what to say.

“And you...” she continued in that same tone, stepping toward him. “You failed as well, but they didn’t do a thing to you. They couldn’t since you were their power play. The one that would kill Janus’ little pet and weaken him so they could deliver the final strike.”

“Sophie, I never meant for any of this to happen to y–”

Again, she interrupted him. “Bullshit! You did. You should have killed her then and you wouldn’t be feeling like you’ve ‘failed’ now.”

“... I am not using my final option,” he quietly replied.

She gave him a bitter smirk. “Oh, but you’ll think about it. Give her three more months and you’ll be very seriously thinking about it. Every day with him is less of a chance she’ll come back to you.”