By LittleArsonist

Littlearsonist stood surrounded by raiders. She growled as she lunged at two of the raiders. Her sword clashed with with the two coming towards her. Pulling her dagger she surprised one of the men with a slash to his stomach. He grabbed his midsection trying to hold himself together. Twisting she caught two more men with her sword. She grinned. "Is this all you've got?"

The crossbow bolt came out of no where. A blinding pain shot through her shoulder. Looking down she saw the head of the bolt protruding from below her collar bone.

"Damnu Air!", LA screamed dropping her sword. She blindly lashed out with her dagger. Five men rushed her at once. As she was grabbed from behind one of the raiders stepped up and grabbed the bolt twisting it. She screamed in pain before passing out.

****************~~~~~~~~~~~~******************

Back in the camp Pixie was talking to Martman, when she suddenly screamed as if in pain, and passed out.

By EpTalk

The sound of a breaking branch awoke Eppie but she lie still pretending to be sleeping. Slowly and in silence she moved her hand to grip her boomerang. When the raiders began their sneak attack, Eppie threw her boomerang ~~~whoosh ~~ quickly taking out the first raider. It spun to ricochet and clip the temple area of the head of two more attackers coming forward while two approached from behind. Eppie turned quickly and threw both her bowie knives simultaneously hitting both, penetrating their sternum and killing them both instantly.

The party of raiders seemed to surround her as the boomerang returned to her hand just before two raiders ran at her from the left. One raider got close enough to drop kick Eppie in the stomach before she used the boomerang like a sledge hammer up against the side of his skull, dropping him unconcious to the ground.

The last attacker, Eppie held at bay as she grabbed one of her bowie knifes and dared the raider, saying "come and get some!" Lucky for Eppie the raider halted and dropped his sword at Eppie's demand. After retrieving her second bowie knife, Eppie held it so close to the raider's jugular there appeared a small line of blood.

"Take me to your camp if you want to take another breath tonight," Eppie told her attacker. Only gasping and realizing his comrades would not awaken to help him, the raider surrendered. Eppie worked with haste to tie up the raider and gather her things. Shoving her enemy forward, Eppie continued to demand he lead her to the others.

Surprised to see a campfire just over the hill from her own campsite, Eppie tied the raider to a tree and quietly approached the camp using the thick brush to shield her from view. Eppie quietly observed as a raiding party was just returning to camp.

"Oh my god!" Eppie thought in silence as she was surprised to see a returning raiding party entering camp with Littlearsonist being carried in the arms of one of them. The tall burly raider carried the limp and apparently unconcious LA into a tent. Taking notice a guard was placed outside the tent, Eppie worked her way silently to the rear and slowly and quietly cut open the cloth. Looking through the small cut, Eppie could see Littlearsonist lying inside on the ground bound and gagged. Eppie cut a larger hole to sneak into the tent and free Littlearsonist.

Suddenly, an unsuspecting raider entered the tent. Before a sound could be made, Eppie surprised the raider and immediately stuck her bowie knife into his throat, rendering his voice box useless. She made a second stab wound into his leg that severed a muscle and prevented the raider from running back outside for help.

After taking the raiders sword, Eppie carefully pulled Littlearsonist through the tent's opening and as far away into the woods as she could. Eppie needed to stop and assess Littlearsonists' injuries and try to awaken her but was distracted by a noise that signaled the possibility of more raiders approaching. Eppie quickly hid Littlearsonist beneath some brush and prepared for another attack.

By Martman

Martman was talking to Ephiny and Pixie when suddenly Pixie fainted.

"Whats wrong with her?" Ephiny asked the amazonie?

"she fainted, her lover, little arsonist must be in trouble?". The amazonie saw a wierd look in the girl's eyes.

"How can someone be so attached to another that they develop a psychic link that results in something like this?", the girl skeptically said.

As much as he wanted to talk to her about the power of love, he knew the first priority was helping to save his amazon sister. Quickly, Martman gathered together all of the amazons he could find: nike, shsway, lyco, and the rest. He told them all of little arsonist's impending doom.

"Well what are we waiting for?" said nike. Lets go out there, rescue little arsonist, and kick some raider ass!"

The amazons cheered with her as they set out to help pixies companion.

By Nightsong

Nightsong awoke to the sound of Pixie's voice and the concerned eyes of Lyco. As Pixie left the tent, Lyco smiled down and said softly, "I'm glad you're back."

Nightsong smiled in return, "So am I."

Nightsong fought against the haze in her mind, 'damn that Pixie, I didn't want to be drugged, let alone with a drug who's side hobby is a truth serum!' she thought.

Nightsong tried to rise, but Lyco gently pushed her back down. "No you don't, the other Amazons can handle things without you for one day."

"Does your keeping me here have something do do with your lack of clothing? Or didn't you think I'd not notice how much of your skin is against mine?"

Lyco blushed deeply. "No, it has to deal with the fact that it is very hot in here and I have to keep you warm. I'll get my clothes back on now."

Lyco went to get up but Nightsong stopped her by grabbing her arm. Lyco raised an eyebrow and settled once more beside her wife. She was even more surprised when Nightsong brushed away a stray lock of hair from her forehead and then lightly caressed her face with the back of her hand.

"I want to tell you some things before I loose the nerve. I have always thought that you were attractive. But as a slave, I despised you because you took the freedom of others. I always thought you cold, until I woke up in that cavern. That was when I discovered that you had changed. I could look into your eyes and for the first time, I saw the woman within, and what I saw was very beautiful." Nightsong traced the back of her hand lightly along Lyco's face before cupping her chin and looking into her eyes.

"I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm falling in love with you, more and more each day. And if you would, I want you to stay with me and truly be my wife, and share everything I have and every title I own."

Tears rolled down from Lyco's eyes as she spoke in a wavering voice, "I...I don't want anything from you, your possessions nor your titles, I just want you." Nightsong smiled and wiped away Lyco's tears, "You already have me." She whispered and pulled Lyco down with her good arm for a kiss.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Pixie's scream rang out from outside the hut. Both heads snapped up at the sound and Lyco sprang from the bed, crossbow ready. Marty came through the door and stopped in shock at seeing a barely dressed Lyco pointing a crossbow at him.

He quickly explained that Pixie had fainted and that LA must be in danger. Lyco followed him outside and helped him carry Pixie into Nightsong and her hut. They laid her by Nightsong and Nightsong immediately began to wipe her forehead with a cool cloth. She then looked up at Lyco.

"Get dressed and go find LA, you are the only one with enough instincts to find her." Lyco began to protest but Nightsong silenced her with a look. Lyco gave her wife a very unhappy glare but dressed and crossbow and sword ready, left the tent. Nightsong looked down at Pixie, "well, you took care of me, now I'm taking care of you." She laughed softly and rewet the cloth.

By Lyco

Lyco slinked through the underbrush in search of LA. She found her just as two raiders were uncovering her limp form and were about to end her existance. Two bolts from Lyco's crossbow ended theirs instead. Lyco went over and gazed down at LA's prone body and sighed. "You know, you have cost me a lot of trouble, daughter of skye. I was this close to having some quality time with my lady and you had to go getting hurt so I had to go find you."

Lyco bent down and hoisted Littlearsonist over her shoulder. "I'm not even going to get a thank you out of you am I? And Gods your heavy! Either those silks of yours are thicker than I thought or you need to stop eating sweets!" Lyco continued her verbal banter to the unconcious LA all the way back to the camp, were Pixie came out to meet them. "Hi dear sister, glad to see you awake. Now you can deal with your fainted love here." Lyco laid LA in Pixie's hut and helped Pixie to remove the arrow. Once the wound was cleaned and sewn up, Lyco picked up her crossbow once more. "Be sure to tell LA who hauled her dead weight back to camp. But better not do it till she has recovered some, don't what to give her a heart-attack."

Lyco turned to leave but Pixie called out, "if you are looking for Nightsong, she isn't here. I think she went out to kill a few raiders. How she managed to get up and go as drugged as she was, I have no clue. I was just heading to look for her when you came in." Lyco turned around to face Pixie slowly, then threw back her head and screamed.

By Shsway

The day seemed to be a flash left in her mind, as Shsway got a moment between battles to notice that night had fallen. The smell of the dead and the stain of the blood on her hands seemed to compete quite well with the horro of the painful screams still ringing in her ears.

As the carnage began to cease it was clear that the amazon nation had once again triumphed by skill and cunning over the enemy. Carefully, the lone figure made its way through the wet, littered field. Brown eyes were becoming used to the moonlight as she trudged through the woods, her sword gripped tightly in her right hand. The shadows welcomed her as one of their own - silent, dark and unhindered in the brush.

It was clear that the young scout had gotten a large taste of war this day, her heart and minded fighting one another to fully comprehend what had just happened. A good amount of amazons had given their lives for the tribe, not enough to considerably affect population numbers but enough for her soul to feel weaker and afraid. She needn't have dwelled on it so much.

She was learning to be a warrior, after all.

Shway's train of thought was interrupted by a scuffle beyond the trees. Too tired and too discouraged to climb a tree for a better view, she settled for crawling over the soft dirt and beneath a bush for a closer look.

There, too her complete shock, was Nightsong, having her sport with about 6 raiders, they being a pathetic sort of competition for her mentor. A smile smile came to her lips as the younger woman realized that her friend was stil slightly out of herself due to the herbs she had been given to break the fever. Still, she seemed to be suffering no handicap for it.

Shsway decided to quietly sit down and wait until the fight was over before she approached the taller amazon. After, she had all night to dwell upon the things.

Unnoticed by the apprentice, a few feet above her position, another set of eyes watched NS with greater fascination and curiosity.

By EpTalk

After keeping quiet in the brush and watching Lyco rescue Littlearsonist, Eppie forged on in search of more raiders. The night had quickly turned to a blanket of total darkness. The path ahead was guided only by dim moonlight as Eppie entered an open field. Suddenly she saw the bright burning of three torches running in her direction.

Eppie faced the raiders swords bravely as her fear turned to rage. The raiders had harmed Nightsong and Littlearsonist and were intruders on Amazon land. Lacking recent word of the Queen and her Champion now depressed Eppie along with thoughts of her former Amazon tribe. Anger swelled inside because such thoughts reminded how much had changed in a season.

Immediately, knocking the raider's swords to the ground with her bowie knives, Eppie wildly flogged the raiders with both arms, stabbed them with brutal force several times and smiled as they fell hard to the ground. Eppie watched their life's blood drain slowly from their wounds. Only one of the three raiders remained alive and grunted as he gazed upward.

Snapping her boomerang from her belt, Eppie pressed it tightly against the windpipe of the raider and scorned him, "now you die!"

Cutting off the flow of air with pressure, Eppie succeeded at killing the attacker and she was not moved by his pain. Rising slowly, she viewed the blood on her hands and looked at the other two fallen raiders that had died instantly.

Killing had become too easy, her mind rang out. The hands that had once so loved to hold twerpsichords lyre and offer the love and joy of music now were more comfortable holding a weapon.

Realizing her emotions and thoughts had become her newest enemy, Eppie walked hastily through the darkness. Her direction was not familiar to her at all as the vision of the fallen raiders repeated time after time in her mind.

"I'm NOT fit for sharing anymore with my closest sisters", Eppie whispered to the cool night air. "I'm certainly not any example for young Ephiny now and I truly wish I could stay lost this time!"