Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hanna watched this display, feeling sick. She leaned against the rafters of the hideout, out of sight from the ground.
"We need to get out of here," Ferin whispered, but Hanna shook her head. She couldn't leave, not yet.
"We have to know what they're up to."
He stared at her, frowning. "You don't look so good."
"I know."
She leaned forward again, dreading what would happen next, but knowing that she had to watch. Daceria and the others had saved her life. She wouldn't let that debt go unpaid.

They left to find Daceria's tree, praying they would make it with their message in time. Hanna was beginning to feel sick and stumbled often, but still they moved quickly, neither knowing yet that tonight was a cursed night for the silver wolf they ran to save, for tonight was the full moon; Daceria was human.

"Daceria," Hanna called, her voice seeming to float toward them. She walked from the trees, leaning heavily on Ferin's arm. Her face looked waxen and pale, and her eyes were shockingly blue. "You have to get out of here," she said.
"We won't leave," Daceria replied. "We will not run from them anymore."
"You don't understand!" Hanna gasped. "They have..." she paused, as if she were having trouble breathing all of a sudden. "Kallman," she said at last. "They have Kallman. He's with them, and they're coming now."

"Go quickly and pack whatever you need for a journey. No food. Hurry."
"You don't look so good," Forest said, studying Hanna. "Are you sure you can go far?"
"I have to," Hanna replied, closing her eyes. "We have perhaps an hour before the hunters arrive. I suggest you do whatever you can for yourself before then. Make sure you that the two of you have disguises."
Forest followed Daceria into the house, looking back over her shoulder before she went in.
"She's right. You don't look good," Ferin said, taking off his long coat and putting it around her shoulders. He looked strange without it.
"We can't stay here. I'll be as dead as them if I do."
"What about Charlie?"
"I--I..." she faltered. She covered her face with one hand. "I'll send Kai a message. I think he would help."
"I hope you're right," Ferin replied, taking her hand.
"So do I."
~~~

(That last line sounded pretty cool in my head when I read it)

Hanna hardly dared to let them stop, but she had to say goodbye to her brother...for the last time.
"We'll wait here," Ferin said. "We can't go in there at night."
"Don't wait," Hanna replied. "Keep going. You can't afford to stop. I'll catch up to you."
Ferin nodded and and took them on. Daceria looked back with worry. They were leaving Hanna alone?
The huntress was quickly fading. Hanna felt the blue girl filling her body, and knew she had little time.
"Charlie?" she whispered.
A dark shaped moved toward her, revealing himself as her brother. "Hanna," Charlie muttered, dropping his head.
"I am leaving, brother," she sighed, hugging his long stem. "I fear I shall never return."
"Hanna," Charlie whined, pumping her hands. His eyes were sad. He did not want her to go.
"I must. The hunters have Kallman on their side. I have to take the wolves far away, where no hunters will ever find them."
Though a plant, Charlie began to cry. Hanna caught his tears in the palm of her hand, and put it on her cheek, closing her eyes. "I am sorry brother. I have to."
~~~
Hanna raced to catch up. She could sense Jeanette's confusion in the distance--they had reached Daceria's tree.
She caught up with the others quickly, for they seemed to move so slow!
"Faster," Hanna snapped, joining them. "They know you're gone, and they're coming after us."
"We were waiting for you," Ferin said.
"I told you not to!" she retorted. "If I can catch up, then so can they! If we're lucky, they'll look for us toward the mountains first."
"What about Aurora?" Forest asked with concern. "Doesn't she live there?"
Hanna cursed, snatching a blowing leaf out of the air. A storm was coming.
She held it close to her mouth, muttering to it, and the leaf became a papery moth, flying away at great speed. If it should be caught by one other than those it was intended for, it would destroy itself, for it carried a message:

Kallman has joined the hunters.
The half-wolves leave the land
in search of safety. Be prepared
for battle, for they may search
for us with you.

Hanna's blue sign, a curled dragon, marked the bottom. Aurora would know the message was from her.
"Now move. When they figure out where we are, there will be blood in the water."

The storm broke with fury over their heads, but there was no place to stop. Halfway through the night, hours after setting out, Forest discovered a cave, barely visible through the pouring rain. They ran toward it, slipping into the dry chill. They were drenched to the bone, but somehow Ferin made a fire. They huddled around it, tired and cold and aching.
"How far must we go?" Daceria finally asked.
Hanna rubbed her arms, staring at the flames. "To the sea."
"But that's days away," Forest protested in dismay.
Hanna looked up, her eyes grim. "From there we must find a boat. Jeanette will have a hard time tracking us through the ocean."
"You really mean to take us so far?" Ferin asked, surprised.
"If it will keep them alive...then yes."

Hanna felt the strength of their prayers, but she knew they would not save her. God had told her that her death was coming and that she could not stop it, but that all would be well, and she trusted him.
For the first time in hours, Hanna felt Jeanette and her forces begin to move toward them again.
The others had all fallen asleep around the fire and Hanna went about, waking them calmly. "We need to move," she said. It was almost dawn;the sky was gray and glowed red in the distant east, but a steady drizzle continued. They had to march on; they had no time to wait for the rain to stop.
Hanna's fingers tingled at the closeness of so much water. It cleaved to her skin when she stood too close to the cave's narrow mouth, and pooled at her feet.
"We're ready," Daceria said. Hanna looked back at them gravely, sensing the blue pulse in her veins.
"Alright. We'll rest for an hour or two when we reach the next town and get something to eat."
She stepped out into the rain and it seemed to curve toward her. In the dark, she did not think anyone would see.
But Ferin did.