#mortifasso

“I spoke to Nic Stoneground today” you dropped wood into a fireplace watching the flames grow bigger as they ate the wood. “He umm…he told me about a witch” you looked to the floor where a blanket was laid out and on the blanket sat Katja with a plushie of your horse on her lap. The woman raised an eyebrow she was curious she wanted to know what the explorer told you. “He told me there was an ice witch that lived or lives in Icendell” when you saw Katja’s expression change to a knowing one you finally dropped the question you had on your mind ever since Nic told you that story “that’s you.” You probably knew the answer already, but you still needed to confirm it “isn’t it?” Katja nodded answering your question, and she looked down at the plushie her gloved hand drawing patterns on the fur “it is” she answered your question with words as well, and she looked back up to you “I’m the witch he told you about.” Katja let out a grumble “he told you more didn’t he? Bad things about me?” she knew there must be more there was always more. You nodded telling her all about how the explorer told you that the witch, your girlfriend, suddenly became evil, attacked everyone, and went into hiding. “Did he tell you why I left? Did he tell you why I quit helping those who came before you?” you shook your head at her questions. Nic didn’t tell you why Katja left, and he didn’t know it either. Katja knew exactly why neither of you knew. The Druids and Soul Riders who came before you lied about her past to protect themselves from the truth of their evils. “Here” she pat the spot in front of her “I’ll tell you everything” Katja wanted someone to know the truth she needed someone to finally know the truth. You told her to wait for a bit, and you walked away going to your room. You got another blanket from your room wrapping it around your shoulders. Once you had the blanket you walked back over to the living room sitting in front of Katja ready to pay full attention to her story. Once you were ready she began to speak “Back when me and Mortifa were barely a hundred years old I was a good witch” she cringed a bit at the thought of all the good she used to do. The woman wasn’t cringing at being good but at the fact that she did all that helping only to end up hated by everyone. “We helped everyone we could with everything we could” she looked back down at the plushie, and you watched her draw patterns on its fur “but my magic wasn’t strong enough I needed more.” You saw the way Katja tensed you pat her knee letting her know she could stop, but she kept going she wanted to do this. “I looked for the druids I had heard stories of the power they and their Soul Riders held” Katja said ‘Soul Riders’ with an angry tone. You knew she hated your friends but she didn’t hate you, and to make sure you knew that she held your hand giving it a nice comforting squeeze it made you smile. With your hand in her’s the woman continued “The Druids promised to help me with my magic if I helped their riders with theirs it seemed like a good deal so I accepted” you had never heard of the Druids working with Katja? Nic said that only the Soul Riders worked with the Icendell witch but never the Druids “I rode with them as if I were part of their team, and my magic grew stronger and so did the one of the girl who held the power of the sun circle.” Katja could feel her throat close up, and her vision started to get blurry “she was stubborn she didn’t listen to anyone else on the team she wanted more than what she had” the woman frowned “one day during a mission she used a spell too powerful for her, and I got in the way to help.” The woman couldn’t hold her tears back anymore, and you let her cry holding her hand to let her know you were with her. You wanted to hug her but you knew she needed space to speak “Mortifa saw how strong the spell was becoming she knew I was going to get hurt and-“ Katja closed her eyes as the memory hit her.

She could see the spell hit Mortifa’s face, she could hear Mortifa’s pained neighing, and she could still feel the fear she had in that moment. In all her years of living no fear has come close to the one Katja felt when Mortifa got hit with the spell. The woman shook her head as the memory hit her so clearly that she felt like she was there again. “She got in the way right as the spell couldn’t be held back anymore, and she was hit” Katja felt you squeeze her hand and it reminded her that she was there with you, not in her memory. “I begged the druids for help as Mortifa was slowly blinded, but they did nothing” Katja’s tone was angry now “I begged and begged for help, and all they did was simply look at me they didn’t comfort me they didn’t even move a finger to try to help Mortifa.” You felt the air get cold, and you saw your breath lightly fog in front of your face but you didn’t shiver; thanks to the fire still burning behind you. “I left the Druids and the Soul Riders going to the valley to be alone with Mortifa to give her peace as the spell continued to affect her.” Katja wiped her tears away with her other hand “I took Mortifa to the closest and most secluded place which was the valley” back then the valley was warm and full of life but that was quickly changed by Katja’s arrival. “While I looked for somewhere to hide, the Druids and the Soul Riders saw the perfect chance to spread their lies.” If Katja had stayed behind in Valedale she could have probably cleared up her reputation, but it didn’t matter to her now she knew she had made the right decision by leaving so Mortifa could rest. “The Druids made me the villain they told everyone I had randomly turned on them, they said I lost the battle, and ran away ashamed” few words from the old Druids had ruined your girlfriend’s life and saved theirs “everyone I knew turned their backs against me and Mortifa treating us like shit.” The woman huffed “no one knew the truth no one wanted to listen to me, so I stopped trying and I moved on.” You gently took your hand from Katja covering it with the blanket on your shoulders, so you could wipe away her tears, and she closed her eyes leaning into your touch as you wiped the tears away. The woman told you that when Mortifa fully lost her vision she became what the Druids told everyone she was. There was no point in trying to be good anymore so the witch fell to her anger and her grief. She grew stronger learning more spells each one more powerful than the last… and knowledge came at a cost. One of the spells cursed Katja and her mare making it so that everything she and Mortifa touched would be frozen. Katja didn’t care for this curse at all when she first got it, but now she desperately wanted to get rid of it so she could touch and kiss you without killing you. She told you about how she and her horse drove the Kalter into hiding, they froze the valley, and they drove everyone and everything else away making the valley belong to only them. Hundreds of years later when the age of cowboys began to die out her actions caught someone’s eye. “After I completely froze the valley Sands came to see me” Sands had heard of Katja and even had the luck of seeing her in Hollow Woods when she tried to go further and freeze more of Jorvik. Garnok wanted her to be part of the team the man was creating, so he set out to find the witch. “I joined Sands when he came to find me in the valley he knew my story and both me and Mortifa were tired of staying in the same place and destroying the same things over and over again, so we went with him” Katja opened her eyes again when you kissed her shoulder. The air became warmer as the witch calmed thanks to the affection you gave her. “I’ll tell everyone the truth” you kissed her again comforting her and she frowned “why? What will that do?” you frowned too “it will help everyone know you aren’t the villain they made you be and you can come back.”

You opened your arms, and she took the horse plushie off her lap before moving forward laying her head on your chest. You hugged the woman close to you feeling her relax in your arms “I’ll tell them all what really happened and you and Mortifa can go back to helping people and not having to hide anymore.” Katja smiled sadly and she let out a quiet laugh “everyone who I truly cared about knowing the truth is dead” Katja’s friends had died many years ago they were all human they weren’t like her “they died hundreds of years ago you’re the only person I care about knowing this.” She kissed your shoulder “that is why I told you my story.” Younger Katja would have loved to go back but the Katja of now knew it was best to stay the way she was. “I don’t want to come back I don’t have any want to do good anymore” she shook her head as best as she could while keeping it on your chest “I already did and nothing good came from it for me and Mortifa.” Katja didn’t want to be good again because she knew that being evil or good didn’t matter, in the end everyone hated her…well everyone except you “they all turned their back on us despite all we did for them… I don’t want that to happen again” the woman rolled her eyes all the people she knew turned their backs on her so quickly. She wondered if they ever truly cared about her or if the druids were very good and convincing actors. The woman moved from her spot so she could look at your face, and when she saw that your eyes were glossy she decided to cheer you up “can you believe the druids told everyone I lost and ran away?” She laughed at the thought, and you shook your head laughing softly. You didn’t want to cry so you laughed instead “I can’t imagine it happening.” Your girlfriend was tough and stubborn you couldn’t imagine her backing away from a fight “And if I can’t get back at the Druids and Soul Riders of the past I always have the idiots here now to torture”. The woman squeezed your side gently clawing it, and you laughed surprised by the clawing. “Seriously? You’re torturing me too?” You moved her hand away smiling when she laughed. You loved Katja’s laugh it always gave you butterflies “you’re the only idiot in front of me at the moment.” You picked up your horse plushie, and you gently tossed it onto her lap “you suck!” You shook your head at her, and you remembered something “I need to go to the store, and buy more treats for Mortifa” you loved the mare and you spoiled her rotten. Before Katja could complain about how much you spoiled the Akhal you got serious for a bit so you could tell her something else. “Thank you for telling me your story Katja” you smiled more when she picked your hand up giving it a soft squeeze. The woman was moving on now she could always tell you not to spoil Mortifa later “thank you for letting me tell you.” To finally be able to tell someone the truth was freeing it felt amazing to finally have someone close to her that believed her, and didn’t turn their back on her when she told them the truth. The woman’s anger would always stay, but at least now it was understood and the pain she carried with her from her past was now slowly fading away.

Your chest rose and fell rapidly as you struggled to breathe. Your breathing was quick and panicked your lungs couldn’t hold onto air for long making you feel lightheaded. Your footsteps echoed as you ran down the big halls of the oil rig. Your fear made the halls seem longer and darker. You almost tripped on air, but you managed to keep yourself on your feet thanks to your brain quickly reacting. You brain was ready for any obstacle that came your way. Adrenaline kept you alert, so you could survive. Blood dripped from your cuts and onto the floors of the rig leaving a trail behind. Thanks to the Adrenaline you weren’t feeling any pain. While it was keeping you alive it was also hiding a big secret. As you ran you felt like a wounded deer being chased by a wolf. Thanks to the trail you were leaving behind and the sounds of your panic the wolf was able to keep finding you. “You’re a fool! We gave you everything!” A spike of ice rose in front of you headed straight for your head. You let out a scream as the spike cut your earlobe when you dodged out of the way. “You were respected! Cared for! Loved! And you threw it all away!” Katja’s voice was everywhere you didn’t know where she was coming from. Her voice echoed in the halls of the rig it was impossible to know where she was. You couldn’t see her, but you knew she could see you. Due to the accuracy of the spikes she was sending your way you assumed she was nearby. Your heart made it harder for you to try and listen to where she was coming from. It beat loudly and it kicked at your ribcage. You felt like your body was going to give out soon. It was giving you its all in hope for survival. “Do you really think the Soul Riders will forgive you?!” Katja laughed, and her laugh echoed throughout the hall. “As soon as you arrive Anne will kill you! If I don’t kill you she surely will!” the woman summoned another spike. The spike was headed for your stomach you dodged it letting out a sigh of relief as you managed to dodge it just in time. You could see a light at the end of the hall. The light was coming from the stables you were almost there! You closed your eyes shutting them tight then you quickly opened them. You ran faster using all the strength left in your body to push yourself to go further. You were able to make it to the light quickly pushing the stable door open. Your horse neighed as you ran into the stables. Mortifa, Khaan and Arcebus neighed along with your horse everyone was startled by your sudden entrance. You calmed them all as quick as possible, so Katja wouldn’t hear them and find you. The corrupted starbreeds watched you as you rushed to your horse. “Listen to me” you panted “we need to get out of here now!” You opened the door to your horse’s stall walking into it, quickly leading your soul steed out. There was no time for tack you would have to ride bareback. “Where are you?!” You could hear Katja yell from outside of the stable. There was little time left she would figure out where you where soon by the trail of blood you left behind. You looked down to your wounds going wide eyed as some of the adrenaline wore off, and you started to feel pain. Your surprise didn’t end there. The floor was covered in your blood you were losing a lot of it. You hadn’t realized just how much you had been bleeding. You needed to get out and find a way to heal yourself quickly. You led your horse to the other doors in the stable. The doors led to the outside of the oil rig you clumsily undid the lock pushing the doors open. Your horse’s ears perked up as they heard you groan. You pushed past the pain, so you could get on their back. Your mount neighed looking to you seeing all your bleeding wounds. You held onto their mane letting out a huff as you started to feel lightheaded. “Run” you told your horse “run as fast as you can” you leaned against their neck. “Please” you begged them, and they neighed, lightly rearing to make you sit up before taking off into a sprint. You sat on your horse holding on as they ran through the oil rig.

The rig looked like a maze to you as you were starting to pass out. Your vision was blurry, and everything was spinning. Your hands managed to stay on your horse’s mane, but the rest of your body was slipping. Your horse neighed as they felt you slowly slip off. They bucked, and you slid back to where you were originally seated. Your smart mount wasn’t going to let you die today or ever. “Get them!” You could hear Katja yelling, but she sounded so distant like if she were miles away from you. The woman sent the workers of the rig after you. The clones scrambled to catch your horse, or to try and catch any of your limbs to be able to slip you off the steed. The workers didn’t have any luck and their stupidity angered Katja. The woman let out an angry scream raising her hand to create a giant wall of ice. Your horse neighed loudly, and they sped up. They wanted to try to jump the wall, but it was rising too quickly. Once your horse realized jumping wasn’t an option they came to a hard stop. The stop made you slide forwards causing you to hit yourself on their neck. The pain and the surprise of the hit woke you up giving you enough consciousness to realize what was happening. You were trapped Katja trapped you this was the end. You were going to die. If Katja didn’t kill you the blood loss sure would. You looked at the wall and then behind you seeing the rig workers approach you. Behind the workers stood Katja glaring daggers into you. She couldn’t wait to kill you and you knew she wouldn’t make it quick. You shivered in fear closing your eyes. Your eyelids felt heavy you couldn’t keep them open for long. Your horse turned around facing their back to the wall they snorted at the workers. You heard them bray at the clones their ears going back they weren’t going down without a fight. You let out a sob “it’s over” you let go of their mane slumping forwards “she caught us.” You gave up, but your horse wasn’t going to quit until you were both safe. You felt them tense, and you opened your eyes to see why. You saw your horse looking over the edge of the railing. The water below the rig formed huge waves. They crashed against the legs of the rig. The waves were headed to land. They were quick and strong enough to carry. Your horse whinnied throwing their head back, and you could see the plan formulating in their head. You had no other choice but to sit up and hug their neck as they slowly started to back up to the other railing. Katja knew what was happening right away, but before she could yell out orders your horse sprinted forwards. You closed your eyes hugging your horse tighter as they jumped over the railing. Workers reached out for your horse or for you, but none of them caught you. Your horse neighed, and you screamed as you both began falling down to the water. The fall wasn’t bad you had hope you would survive, but if you didn’t then death by gravity or drowning was definitely much better than whatever Katja had planned for you. The witch leaned over the railing watching as you and your horse dove into the water. She straightened up no longer leaning against the railing when you disappeared into the waves. The woman didn’t walk away though she continued watching. Katja saw the current take you and your horse deep underwater. The waves quickly swept you both away from the rig. The witch laughed there was no way you would both survive. She would have liked to kill you herself but whatever it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was that you were dying anyways.

When you and your horse were in the water you opened your eyes. You looked around seeing that the water was dyed red by your blood. You held your breath not wanting to drown, and you tried not to panic. Your arms went limp you could feel and see yourself slipping away from your horse. You watched as your horse swam upwards. You tried to follow them, but you were too weak. You couldn’t swim you couldn’t even try your body was too tired. It gave you its all on the oil rig it had nothing to give to you now. You panicked as you realized you were going to drown. You had tried to stay calm, but you couldn’t hold fear back any longer. Your panic caused you to try to breathe which made the situation worse. You held your throat as water went into your mouth and nose. You felt cold as liquid started to fill your lungs. You kicked weakly trying to swim but you couldn’t. You blinked, and when you opened your eyes your fear grew. Your vision was getting worse. With each blink you took everything around you got darker and blurrier. The last thing you saw was your horse swimming above you. When you blinked for the last time your body went limp it was starting to shut down. You were unable to open your eyes again. Your eyelids were too heavy your body denied you any movement, and your lungs got colder and colder as water filled them. This was the end.

It was December 12th. Only a few more days till Christmas and Jay was counting down the days. She really wanted to get a gift for you. The woman had a crush on you, and she decided she should confess on Christmas. It was perfect she could just give you a gift with her confession in it. She was too nervous to tell you in person since she didn’t know how you would react, and she wanted to avoid conflict. She saw the whole Christmas confession thing in a movie once it was painfully cheesy but also incredibly romantic. Jay took Chiyo to the Winter Village and there she learned about a Secret Santa that was taking place. While Chiyo played with penguins and deer Jay listened as a Capran standing under a giant Christmas tree explained the Secret Santa. This secret Santa had a small twist people could choose who they wanted to give a gift to. Jay wasn’t interested in signing up until she saw your name in the list. Your name was among others, and it was unclaimed. Jay blushed as she changed her mind, and she signed up. she could use this as an excuse to give you a gift and if she chickened out of her confession, she could just leave the gift with your name on it and without her confession under the tree and you would never know it was her. she claimed your name and she went to look for Chiyo. She spent the days leading up to Christmas looking for the perfect gift for you. At first, she struggled with finding something for you. Jay couldn’t find anything that would match your style or your horse’s. when she asked Sabine for advice on a gift the woman said to just buy some fuzzy socks or candy and call it quits. Jay didn’t like that so she went to Katja who said the same thing and added that whoever Jay got for a secret Santa would most likely not care too much for the gift so just getting fuzzy socks would be good. The woman couldn’t find anything, and her teammates were no help so she decided she would buy some fuzzy socks and candy three days before Christmas and call it quits. Since Jay was saving the gift for later, she focused on her letter for you. In her letter she wrote her feelings for you, and she added sweet things about you into it things that were really cheesy just like the movie she watched. When her letter was done, and she was sure it was good she put it away in a green gift box she bought days ago for when she got you a gift. The letter sat in the box…Jay didn’t know it, but something was missing from the letter. Three days before Christmas she was on babysitting duty again, so she took Chiyo with her to the store. While she looked at fuzzy socks Chiyo looked around nearby aisles for a better gift. When she found something, she came running back to Jay “I found something!” she whisper yelled “it’s better than boring old socks come on!” Jay followed Chiyo to the aisle she found the gift in, and she went wide eyed. Chiyo was right the gift she found was better than some boring socks and it looked like it matched your style perfectly. The woman looked down at Chiyo “thank you Chiyo” she smiled at the girl and Chiyo smiled back. Jay bought the gift and some stuff Chiyo asked for before going back to the rig with the girl. When Christmas day hit Jay was extremely nervous. She was in the stables of the rig getting her horse. Sands told his generals to take Chiyo out to the winter village again for Christmas even though none of them celebrated it and to enjoy the small time of peace while it lasted. Jay let out a shaky sigh in her hands she held your gift was she ready to give it to you? She was unsure she thought she was ready but now she was having second thoughts. Sabine led Khaan by his reins out of the stable when she heard Jay sigh she looked to the other woman. Sabine stopped walking and Khaan neighed at Arcebus receiving a neigh back. “Nervous?” Sabine asked and Jay shook her head she was lying, and Sabine knew it the woman rolled her eyes “I’m sure the person you got for the trade will love the gift you got them.” Sabine felt she was being too nice, so she added “twenty five percent sure at least”

she nudged Jay with her hip laughing when Jay gave her an annoyed look “come on book brain Chiyo is getting impatient.” Jay scoffed and smiled at what Sabine called her and she opened Arcebus’ stall door grabbing the horse’s reins with one hand and her other held the gift. The woman led her Marwari out of his stall. Sabine and Jay walked out of the stables meeting up with a very impatient Chiyo and a tired Katja. the four dark riders and the three horses took a ship to Moorland’s beach and then they traveled to the winter village. Once there the horses went to eat some hay left out by the Caprans and Chiyo ran around enjoying the snow and the festivities. Sabine kept an eye on the girl and Katja went along with them leaving Jay all alone. She closed her eyes she sighed she was ready she could do this! She opened her eyes, and she walked going to search for you. She spent a while looking for you and while she looked for you, she rehearsed what she was going to say to you. Jay didn’t want to just go up to you and make things up as she went so, she practiced what she was going to say. This would be so much easier if you two weren’t enemies. When she found you sitting near a campfire she blushed, and she cleared her throat getting ready to speak. You looked upset really upset and Jay wondered if she should talk to you…what if you became aggressive with her? You had never done so before, but you seemed like you were in a bad mood, so she worried. Right as she was about to open her mouth to speak to you, she heard one of your friend’s call you to them. Jay watched as you stood up and you walked over to Alex who had called you over to her and she saw the rest of your friends standing with the woman. Then Jay saw Katja and Mortifa and then Sabine who was leading Khaan and Chiyo who led Arcebus. Alex and Katja yelled things Jay couldn’t hear at each other and right as a fight was about to start you stepped in between them. Katja backed up because she didn’t want to fight but Alex didn’t back up, she really, really wanted to fight Katja. that’s when Sabine stepped in and told Katja it was time to go. Sabine, Chiyo and Katja walked away with the horses. The three found Jay standing near the campfire where you were sitting before, and Sabine told Jay what had happened. Jay frowned when Sabine told her they had to leave since they weren’t welcome which wasn’t surprising but still it hurt that Jay wasn’t going to be able to give you the gift. The woman placed it down where you were sitting, and she walked away with her teammates leaving the gift there for you to hopefully find.

Alex groaned “can you believe it? Dark riders showing up here?!” she shook her head “I bet they were coming to ruin Christmas.” The angry woman kicked up a bunch of snow “assholes!” Linda backed up when Alex kicked the snow managing to save herself from it being kicked onto her “I’m glad we caught them before they could do anything.” Lisa backed up as well sighing relieved as she managed to dodge the snow “we should keep an eye out just in case they decide to come back.” Anne nodded she stood next to Alex “I agree with Lisa we can still celebrate of course but as we do we have to pay more attention to our surroundings.” You walked back to your seat as your friends talked and you sighed sadly. Today had been awful you slipped on ice and fell on your bum, your horse rolled in muddy snow and to top it all off everyone who did the secret Santa got a gift except you. When you made it back to your seat you saw a dark green giftbox and you felt like crying. You closed your eyes and breathed in trying not to cry. You picked the giftbox up looking for a name tag. You turned it to the left then to the right and then you saw the tag hidden in the ribbon of the gift box. You took it out careful not to undo the ribbon and you gasped when you realized the tag had your name on it! You flipped the tag looking for the name of whoever left this here for you to find. There was no name, so you undid the ribbon opening the giftbox hoping to find a clue of whoever gave you this gift. When you opened it, you gasped again the gift in the box was something you had wanted for a long time! Who got you this? You took the gift out of the box, and you laughed you were so happy. Your horse who had been eating hay by the campfire neighed and walked over to you wanting to see what you had. They lowered their head sniffing the box your horse found something in it and they grabbed it. Your horse snorted getting your attention and they moved their head up and down showing you what they had in their mouth. You put your gift back in the box and you gently took what your horse had in their mouth. It was a piece of folded paper. You opened the paper and you saw your name and then you sat down to read. The letter had beautiful cursive writing and your eyes got glossy you felt your face get hot as you read the letter. The paper contained the most beautiful love letter you had ever seen and as you read it you felt your heartbeat get faster. Whoever wrote this letter really liked you and your cheeks and ears turned redder as you thought about someone having a crush on you. you couldn’t wait to get to the end of the letter and find out who wrote this for you. when you got to the end you frowned, and you flipped the paper and then you grabbed the giftbox digging through it. Your day had gotten better and just as fast as it had gotten better it got worse. You put the note down in the giftbox and you sobbed you covered your face as you cried, and your horse pressed their nose against your shoulder to try and comfort you. Your friends heard you crying, and they walked over to you going to comfort you. they all asked you what was wrong, and you told them about the gift and the letter crying harder as you told them that…

The letter wasn’t signed. Jay forgot to sign the letter.

You held onto your horse as they took a sharp turn to avoid crashing into a spike of ice. You were in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur currently in the middle of a fight. Your horse neighed as they slid on the frozen lake. Katja was giving you a really tough time. She was the only person after you and she made sure to make your ride as horrible as possible. You wished Sabine and Jay were the ones trying to attack you because at least then you would have an easier time dodging attacks, but the two women were busy fighting with your friends. You were on your own with Katja and you knew exactly why. Your horse did another hard turn and they neighed almost bucking you off when they jumped up and bucked in pure excitement. You laughed quietly and pat their shoulder “you’re having fun? In this horrible cold and with all these spikes you’re having fun?” your horse neighed in response and kept running. Another spike came up far in front of you both, but it was angled it looked like a jump. Your horse jumped over it and you looked over at Katja who was standing on a small hill with Mortifa. The woman was overlooking the whole fight. When she saw you look at her, she smiled and waved. The woman was giving you a tough time and only targeting you because she cared for you…she was your girlfriend. Katja had asked Sabine and Jay to leave you to her so she could protect you. While your friends were fighting Katja was playing with you and your horse. She kept you safe by pretending to fight you. All the spikes were just for show to make it look like she was really trying to hurt you but none of them ever touched you. Your horse had the time of their life racing around the spikes and occasionally jumping them and you just held on while they had their fun. You looked behind you seeing your friends and the rest of the Dark Riders far from you. You looked back to Katja, and you asked your horse to stop. They slowed before coming to a stop and they looked to Katja neighing at the woman. You knew what your horse was asking for and you put it into words “can you set up more spikes to jump?” you pat your horse’s shoulder “please?” you kindly asked your girlfriend. The woman pat Mortifa and then she got on the mare “I’ll join you” Katja rode down the small hill and to you “want to race?” she rode Mortifa behind you ready to make it look like she was chasing you. “I can pretend I’m doing more than just watching and hoping I’ll land a hit” the woman watched as Mortifa lightly reared the mare was excited to race. You nodded and smiled “sounds good!” you hummed and then you asked your girlfriend a question “why is it always you that does the chase? Why not me?” Katja laughed and she shook her head “no one will ever believe you managed to scare me” she gave Mortifa’s sides a small squeeze and the mare began to walk. You huffed and clicked your tongue your horse walked and then gained speed. Soon you and Katja were racing around the lake. The woman set up some spikes and your horse jumped them with ease. You and Katja were having so much fun that you did not even realize you had ridden right into the fight. Katja tried to call out your name and stop you, but it was too late you were caught in the middle of it. You tried to ride out, but it wasn’t possible you were stuck. Your horse turned and accidentally turned right into Sabine and Khaan. Sabine was about to throw an attack at Alex, but you stood in the way, and you were about to be hit with a fireball. Katja saw the fire headed towards you and she tried to stop it with a wall of ice. The wall was really close to both you and your horse. Your horse was spooked by the fireball and then the ice wall, so they reared. You did not have enough time to react, and you gasped as you fell off your horse. Katja saw everything she saw your horse rear, you falling off, and landing hard on the frozen lake. Everyone immediately stopped when they heard the sound of your fall and your friends panicked when you didn’t move. Sabine and Jay looked at each other and then to Katja not knowing what to do.

The two women knew you must have meant something to Katja if she went through the whole trouble of asking them to leave you to her. Katja was horrified she had a hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide and glossy. Your horse looked to her for help and then down at you they nudged you trying to get you to get up. when you didn’t move your horse neighed and nudged you again their ears going back. Lisa quickly rode Starshine to you getting ready to heal you but before she could get to where you were a huge snowstorm blew Starshine and everyone else away from the area.

Lisa put a hand over her eyes, and she squinted trying to shield them from the snow. Starshine walked through the storm with Tin-Can behind him. Linda and Anne stayed behind while Lisa and Alex went to get you. Alex squinted and she spoke when she saw something in the middle of the storm “I think I see them!” Alex let out a ‘huh?’ when she saw that you were not alone. Who could be with you? “Do you see anyone else there?” she asked Lisa and the woman looked back at Alex and nodded “I do! I don’t know who it is though?” she looked back at the middle of the storm, and she gave Starshine’s sides a small squeeze. The horse sped up and Tin-Can kept up with his speed soon they reached the middle of the storm and Lisa and Alex saw you being held by….Katja? Lisa was confused by the sight in front of her. You were still knocked out and being held by a crying Katja and the more she cried the more the storm got worse it threatened to blow them out of the area again. Your horse was standing by Katja and Mortifa stood with them. Lisa got off of Starshine and she looked to Alex the woman stayed on Tin-Can ready to protect Lisa. Starshine watched as his rider walked to Katja with her hands raised to let Katja know she was not a threat but someone who wanted to help. As soon as Katja saw Lisa approaching the storm got stronger thankfully Lisa managed to hold her ground “we just want to help!” she yelled over the wind “let us help them!” she pointed at you and Katja looked down at you knowing you needed help… She would definitely kill Lisa and Alex later for seeing her with you and for seeing her cry but right now she needed them alive to help you. Katja let Lisa approach and she let Lisa and Alex take you and your horse. Before Lisa left she knew that if Katja was holding you and crying over you like that it was obvious you were either both friends or… “we’ll be in Valedale!” she told Katja “you can find them there!” even though she hated Katja Lisa still told her where to find you so she could see you when you were better because she knew the woman cared for you. Alex rode ahead leading your horse with you laid on them and Lisa followed after her leaving Katja with Mortifa to cry.

You woke up and you groaned as you opened your eyes. They hurt from the light hitting them, so you closed them again. You let your eyes get adjusted and once they were fine you opened them, and you looked around the room. You were in Avalon’s home in the living room you had been here before when he invited you for tea. How did you get here?... what happened? You sat up and groaned again when a horrible pain hit your body. You tried to call for someone to find out what happened and why you were hurting so much but your throat was dry. You huffed and looked around the room and you saw Anne and Linda sleeping at the table. You tried to get them to wake up, but nothing worked. You could throw your pillow at them, but you would feel bad doing so even as a joke. You let them sleep and thought about going back to sleep too but you were stopped by a gasp. You looked behind you seeing Lisa she smiled widely “you’re ok!” she walked over to you, and she hugged you being careful. You hugged her back and you sighed enjoying the warmth and comfort of your friend’s hug. Lisa asked you questions about what happened as she held you which you could not answer because you didn’t know and because your throat was dry. You managed to ask for water and Lisa went to get it and while she got it she woke Anne and Linda up. Both women were happy to see you were alright and gave you many hugs while Lisa got you some water. When Lisa came back with the water you drank it all and gave your throat some time to rest before speaking. You had questions and your first was “what happened?” Anne explained everything to you and while she did, she rubbed your back soothing the pain and Lisa did some more healing. Linda took over when Anne got tired of talking and she told you about how she saw your fall and how everyone was worried when you didn’t move. The fall knocked you out cold then she told you about how before anyone could get to you a huge storm blew them away from where you were. Lisa then dropped a huge thing on you that made you blush bright red. “Katja was with you she started the storm to protect you… are you guys?” you knew what Lisa was asking and you blushed at the question. Anne was angry at first when she heard about you and Katja together in the storm thinking about betrayal, and Alex thought the same but Linda told them that there was no reason to be angry. Linda said that you were not betraying anyone you were just good friends or probably in love and there was nothing wrong with that. It wasn’t like Katja would turn you evil so both women stopped being angry and they listened to Linda they trusted her and you. You messed with your blanket, and you answered Lisa’s question “do you guys remember when I told you I met someone and started dating?” Lisa and Linda gave each other a knowing look and Linda spoke first. “I think it’s wonderful” she knew you must have been nervous, so she offered words of comfort “she clearly cares a lot about you since she made that huge storm to protect you.” Linda pats your hand, and you smile knowing there was nothing to fear. Lisa smiled too and she spoke when she finished healing you “she clearly cares a lot” the woman looked over at a chair “she waited for you to wake up and she helped us while she waited” Lisa frowned and looked over at you “you just missed her though” you frowned as well “Alex just left with her she had to sneak her out of Valedale because Avalon was coming back.” You were about to stand up, but Anne stopped you by putting a hand on your shoulder “you can see her when she comes by again tomorrow.” Your leader cared for you, and she wasn’t going to let you go out when you were recovering “rest don’t rush it” she smiled at you, and you smiled back. “Does a sleepover sound good to you?” Anne asked you and you nodded it had been a while since you and your friends had spent time together “sounds great to me.” When Alex came back the rest of your night was spent having fun and once it was late and Avalon came home you all got ready to sleep.

You thanked Avalon for letting you stay, and the man told you not to worry about it and that you were always welcome. No one had told him about Katja, and you were grateful they didn’t.

In the morning you woke up to find that your friends were already awake and outside. You felt much better now the pain in your body had calmed down and you were able to move more. You stretched before sitting up and when you sat up you got a lovely surprise. Katja was in the chair Lisa had looked to before and she was reading something. Your friends were outside the home so you and Katja could be alone. You didn’t know when she arrived, but you hoped you hadn’t kept her waiting for long. The chair was near the couch, so you quietly scooted over to her, and you spoke quietly “what are you reading?” Katja looked up from her book and to you and you frowned when you saw that her eyes were red…she had been crying. The woman started to cry again and your heart ached. This was the first time you had ever seen Katja cry. She had gotten upset before and she did not hide her feelings around you, but she never cried. “Katja? why are-“ you wanted to ask her why she was crying but she interrupted you she started apologizing to you and it was clear that she felt guilty for what had happened in the Valley. “Katja” you softly said her name you felt like crying too “don’t apologize you have nothing to apologize for” you opened your arms and she moved from the chair to sit next to you. She hugged you tightly and you hugged her back with the same force “it wasn’t your fault Katja.” You brushed her hair trying to comfort her and she shook her head “it was my fault!” she sobbed and you kissed her temple “if I had been paying more attention you wouldn’t have gotten hurt it is my fucking fault.” You shook your head as well and you rubbed her back telling her it was not her fault it was sadly just a horrible accident, and it was no one’s fault. “things happen and sadly I got hurt but it wasn’t your fault” you let Katja cry into your shoulder “you kept me safe Katja you didn’t hurt me or cause me to get hurt.” You kissed the top of her head “please don’t blame yourself” she sobbed and you held back tears “I’m alright I’m ok I just had a bad fall but none of it is your fault”. Katja looked back at you, and you smiled softly at her kissing the tip of her nose you wiped away her tears, but they kept on coming. “If you need to cry that’s alright, I’m here for you” you knew that she may need to cry, and you were right she really needed to cry she was scared. When she saw your fall, she was terrified she felt as if she were watching a horror movie and at that moment she had lots of feelings she couldn’t process. Here with you she was able to cry and process how she felt when you fell. Here with you she felt safe and comfortable she knew she could cry. You held Katja as she cried, and you wrapped her in your blanket rubbing her back and giving her kisses to comfort her. Once Katja was calm you talked to her “do you need anything?” you heard her sniffle before she answered you with a sad and quiet “no.” She looked like she was thinking and then she changed her answer “can we…” she blushed a bit and you wondered what she was going to ask. “Can we stay like this for a bit?” she just wanted to be held and when you didn’t answer quick enough, she blushed more and she shook her head “forget I said anything it was stupi-.” You laughed softly at how she did not allow you to reply “yes we can stay like this for as long as you like” you held her close to you and she melted into you completely relaxing in your arms. “You didn’t even let me reply” you laughed again and she huffed “I thought you would say no.” You brushed a strand of her hair into the back of her ear so you could see her face better and you raised an eyebrow “why would I say no?” you would have never said no to that. She answered you with “it was an embarrassing request” she grabbed your hand, and she kissed your palm and then your knuckles she missed you. “I don’t think it was embarrassing” you smiled “I thought it was very cute” you laughed when she blushed again and turned her face away from you dropping your hand.

“What? Don’t like to be called cute?” Katja grumbled and she kept looking away from you “you’re embarrassing me shut up” she held back the want to laugh. She told you to shut up but she didn’t mean it. All she wanted right now was to hear your voice. You kept messing with her to take her mind off of being upset and it worked soon you were both laughing and playing around. Katja had gotten tired from crying and then playing with you and while you were telling her a story, she fell asleep. You held her as she slept, and you hummed a song to her the same one you heard when you went with Lisa to find Aideen’s song… You then remembered you were still in Avalon’s home… Hopefully your friends could keep Avalon away from home for a few hours so Katja could sleep.

You ride side by side with Katja. you have a strong grip on your reins your knuckles turning white you’re angry. You’re talking to Katja, and your horses walk along a trail as you talk. You had a lot of stuff happen to you today all of it bad and all of it in a row. Every time you thought ‘hey at least it can’t get worse from here’ it got worse. The first thing that happened wasn’t too bad you had gotten splashed by water thanks to someone riding right into a puddle unaware that it was there. You weren’t badly splashed, and it was just an accident, so you told the rider not to worry about it. You went into your stable to dry off and that’s when you found the second thing. You walked in to find your horse had gotten out of their stall and into the tack room they made a huge mess and ate some treats. You cleaned the room up and you tacked up your horse going for a ride. You rode to Valedale meeting up with Rhiannon for soul riding. She gave you three things to do and on the last lesson which was evading lightning your horse didn’t have enough time to turn and they came to a hard stop which caused you to fall off of them. They caught you completely by surprise as they did their hard stop and that’s what caused you to fall off. You fell onto your side, and you were covered by dirt and mud Rhiannon rushed to help you and you thanked her for the help, but you were extremely embarrassed. When you were all cleaned up and you finished all you had to do for Rhiannon you rode home stopping when you heard your phone ring in your pocket. You grabbed it from your pocket to see who was calling you and that’s when you got your last surprise of the day. Your phone’s screen was shattered when you fell it shattered how you didn’t feel or hear it was a mystery to you, but you knew from the look of the screen that you were going to need a new phone. You went home absolutely tired and sore from your fall. Your day was awful and all you wanted to do now was cry yourself to sleep and just forget about all the shit that happened today. life of course had other plans because as soon as you started crying you heard the door of your home open and then you heard your girlfriend tell you she was home. When Katja didn’t get a response back she looked for you all around the house eventually finding you in your room crying. Katja did her best to try and comfort you but you wouldn’t tell her what was wrong she couldn’t do much she decided to let you cry. She knew you had most likely had a rough day and needed to cry it out. Katja made sure you were fine and comfy, and she told you to find her in the kitchen once you were ready to talk. She walked out of the room leaving you alone to give you space so you could cry. You appreciated the fact that she didn’t keep asking you what was wrong and gave you space. When you were done crying you went to the bathroom to freshen up and once you were ready you went to the kitchen to see Katja. The woman sat at the table with a book in hand and a teacup in front of her which you originally thought was hers. When she heard you walk into the kitchen she looked away from her book and to you asking you if you were ok. You shook your head you still felt bad about all the shit that happened today. Katja frowned when you shook your head, and she stood up putting down the book and grabbing the teacup she walked over to you. She handed the cup to you and told you it was to help with the stress. You enjoyed the tea, and she asked you about what had happened today you didn’t really want to talk yet still too upset to so Katja suggested something she knew would cheer you up. The woman asked if you wanted to go riding and you accepted knowing a nice ride could do you good. Now here you were riding with Katja telling her all the crap that had happened today. Katja listened and she looked to you and then to your hands seeing how hard you were holding onto the reins she pats your thigh making you look at her and she gestured to your hands.

You looked to where she gestured and you blushed as you saw how hard you were holding the reins. You loosened up your grip on them and Katja didn’t comment on the blush normally she would tease you but you weren’t feeling good so she wouldn’t right now…maybe later. “I’m sorry your day was awful” she hummed and smiled “I think you might have a new record for most shitty things to happen to a person in a row on Jorvik.” She was playing with you in an attempt to cheer you up and it worked you laughed and nodded “I think I do yeah” you huffed and covered your face as you felt your blush get worse “I still can’t believe Rhiannon saw me fall off.” Your horse neighed apologizing for the hard turn, and you gave them a pat to let them know you weren’t mad you could never be mad at your silly horse. Katja laughed as she thought about how funny it must have looked when you fell, and she knew you must have read her mind because you nudged her and told her to “stop laughing!” Katja looked away from you trying to hide her smile “I’m not laughing.” You huffed when you heard her hold back laughter “yes you are!” you started laughing too “stop it! I’m being serious!” Katja began to laugh again, and she looked to you “make me!” she nudged Mortifa’s sides, and the mare sprinted. Katja had started a game trying to fully get your mind off of what happened today. You clicked your tongue and your horse ran after Mortifa. The two horses neighed loudly as they galloped, they were both having fun and so were you and Katja. Thanks to the game you were both playing you were now feeling much better. Katja’s game had the effect she wanted. All the stuff that happened earlier today didn’t matter anymore all that mattered right now was having a good time with your girlfriend.

You lay down on your stomach on Katja’s bed. You stretch and let out a quiet groan as your bones crackle and pop. Once you’re done stretching you let out a sigh going completely flat on the bed your body slowly relaxing. Today had been hard your team accidentally bumped with Katja’s during a mission to destroy a Dark Core machine in Hollow Woods and obviously Katja’s team wasn’t fine with letting you do that, so a fight broke out. While you gathered enough energy to destroy the machine your friends fought the dark riders. You thought you were safe from the fight and that you were clear to do your job but right as you were about to deliver the final blow Sabine and Khaan came out of nowhere and knocked you off your horse. You hit the ground hard. Hard enough to knock all the air out of your lungs and leave you with a horrible pain in your back. Your horse kept running for a bit before realizing you had been knocked off. When you recovered you got back up with the help of your horse who came running back to you when they realized you were not on their back anymore and together you both destroyed the machine. As you did you kept your guard up terrified to get hurt again. Once the fighting was over due to the fact that the machine was destroyed Jay and Sabine rode off. Katja looked for you and once she found you and you made eye contact with her, she looked to Valedale she was trying to tell you to meet her there. When you nodded, she rode off following her teammates. Your friends didn’t see Katja’s interaction with you since you were behind them, and they were celebrating their win. When their little celebration was done you told your friends you would stay behind and clean up. once you were done with cleaning you could see Katja, but Alex told you they would do it. Alex and the others saw your fall, and you went red clearly embarrassed, but they assured you that you were fine and since it looked like a hard hit it would be better if you went home to rest. You got on your horse you thanked your friends wishing them luck with the clean up and you rode to Valedale If they asked you any questions about it you would just say you took the Valedale trailer home. Once in Valedale you rode up the little mountain that held the entrance to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. You rode into the entrance taking the elevators down into the valley and then you rode through it and to the ice witch lair. You rode slow because of the ice and because your back was killing you. when you made it to the lair the magic protecting the entrance slowly faded and the ice spikes that looked like fangs slowly went down to let you in. when it was clear to go in you led your horse inside to a little spot where Mortifa was eating hay. You had taken a while to get here so Katja got home first. Your horse neighed and Mortifa neighed back welcoming you both. You took your horse’s reins off and you put them away watching as your horse trotted over to Mortifa to join her in eating. You walked deeper into the lair, and you went straight to Katja’s room thinking she would be in there. She wasn’t but you were too tired and sore with no energy to go and look for her, so you laid down on her bed. And now here you were on her bed waiting for her. You sighed again this time the sigh was from boredom. You closed your eyes maybe you could catnap while you waited for her. You closed your eyes only a few seconds passing before you felt a blanket be draped on you. You opened your eyes seeing Katja and what was draped on you was not a blanket it was her poncho. You smiled at her, and she smiled back at you sitting next to you she put her hand on your back. She watched your face making sure you were not in too much pain before rubbing your back “how are you feeling?” She asked you and you hummed “like shit” you laughed softly “your friend hits hard.” Katja’s nose scrunched a bit in anger and her brows furrowed “I saw what she did and that brute is not my friend” she shook her head Katja didn’t want any harm to come to you she was angry really fucking angry.

Angry enough to cause her magic to react to her emotion making her hand cold, cold enough for you to feel through the poncho and your clothes. You shivered a bit, and you said her name causing her to tense as she realized how cold she had gotten she quickly removed her hand from your back apologizing. You reached for her hand, and once she made sure it was safe she allowed you to grab it. You kissed her palm and then the back of her hand making her relax she frowned “I should have kept an eye on you.” You shook your head “it’s my fault I should have been looking around” you let her hand go propping yourself up on your elbows letting out a quiet groan of pain as you did. You laughed and you covered your eyes with your hands confessing something to her “I’m so embarrassed!” You laughed more your cheeks turning red “I keep imagining how it happened and I feel it must have looked incredibly silly” you huffed and smiled at Katja she did not return the smile. “It looked horrible It didn’t look silly” when she said ‘silly’ it sounded angry. you sat up when she said that the poncho sliding off of you as you sat up. You frowned “Katja I’m fine” you picked the poncho up from behind you putting it on you loved her poncho it was really warm and soft, and it smelled like her perfume which you loved because it smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. “I’m fine I really am and if I don’t laugh about the pain in my back then I’ll cry about it” you rubbed your back it still hurt a lot. “Don’t be upset Katja I’m fine” you pouted a bit when the angry look on her face remained. She let out a huff looking away from you not wanting to see the sad look on your face and you scooted over to her nudging her. “Laugh with me?” You kissed her shoulder that got her attention she looked at you the angry look on her face gone replaced with a surprised one. Your smile returned and you kissed her shoulder again and even though she was still a bit angry she smiled back because she knew you hated seeing her upset and she loved the affection she got from you “I promise I’ll stick by you next time” you rest your head on her chest and she messed with your hair. Katja was about to say something to you, but you beat her in speaking “also I’m stealing your poncho” you were playing with her trying to lighten the mood and remove any negative emotions she had left. She let out an amused laugh “you wouldn’t be stupid enough to dare steal it from me.” You kissed her cheek before you slowly started to scoot off the bed and she narrowed her eyes at you “don’t you dare” She saw you look behind her and she followed your gaze seeing you look at the door. She was about to stand to block the door of her room, but you beat her, and you got off the bed laughing loudly as you ran out of the room. Katja laughed surprised by your little game, and she stood up running after you. The rest of your day was full of laughter, and you completely forgot about the pain in your back and Katja forgot her anger.