Sunrise stood behind her sister and brushed her hair, doing her part to prepare Rain to eat with those vermin she called parents. Normally, she would be ecstatic to be able to do this for Rain - Rain usually insisted on taking care of Ise despite Ise being the maid - but right now, her mind was distracted by everything she had seen. 

Rain was special. That was obvious to Sunrise, but now that she knew what her sister was capable of and what she had been through, she couldn’t hold down her anger. Rain was too nice; she was trying to help people who didn’t deserve it. People were filth. All of them. No one cared about anyone other than themselves. Rain had spent so much time trying to help slaves, yet it was a slave that had beaten her to death's door - her sister had never realized just how badly she’d been hurt, but those weeks tending to her had been the scariest of Ise’s life. 

If Sunrise had a fraction of the power Rain did, she would kill anyone who harmed her perfect sister. She would remove the filth in the world who didn’t deserve Rain’s kindness and force people to treat her sister the way she deserved. 

With a final brush through Rain’s silky hair, she helped her sister stand and gave her a look over. 

“How do I look Ise?”

“You look pretty!”

And she did. She was the prettiest thing in the world. Her black hair was…

Sunrise’s mind unfogged a second later as the shock of getting a hug from Rain wore off. It was pure bliss. Nothing else came close. It started with the cold tingle that always crawled down her spine when Rain was around, sharpening, then the air went still, her legs started to feel weak, and all her senses focused as darkness seemed to writhe just beyond. Then Rain's arms wrapped around her, and a new sensation was added: warmth. The warmth of a love so strong that it pushed back the emptiness that followed Rain around. It was like a fire on a cold winter day, creating a safe, warm bubble in the middle of the desolate cold outside. Sunrise knew this was the real Rain; this was what the aura protected. 

All too soon, Rain let go, and Sunrise felt that warm place recede. Still, she got to enjoy the spine-tingling feeling that let her know her sister was close by.

“Thanks for your help, sis!”

“Anytime.”

And just like that, Rain was off. Sunrise felt the chill slowly fade, leaving her all alone. With a sigh, she grabbed her favorite chair and moved it to her favorite corner. She could always feel a slight uneasiness in this corner that reminded her of Rain. Sitting down, she thought of the library while she waited for Rain to return. If she could get one of those books, she knew she could be more useful to Rain. Maybe she could even get strong enough to kill Rain’s enemies.

***

Swift-Tail stood with his four paws widely planted in the ash and looked up at his first trial: the gate into the Low Ring. There were guards at the gate. Their kind had killed more than one uffter as they tried to pass by. Swift-tail would need to be smart if he wanted to enter. He could use his skill to make one of the guards not realize he was there, but doing that to two minds at the same time was too much. He had an idea, though.

He scurried off until he found a part of the road leading through the Dead Ring that ran next to a large mound of ash. Then, he simply waited until a cart passed by underneath. 

With a mighty leap, he flung himself off the mound, his four paws spread wide. He felt the air rush through his long white fur and his tail flap in the wind before landing with a soft thunk in the back of the cart. 

“What was that!”

“Dunno.”

“Well, go back and check. We can’t have anything going wrong with this shipment.”

The cart stopped moving, and Swift-tail slunk into one of the sacks in the back. The dark confines of the bag had a tart scent he couldn’t stand, forcing Swift-tail to cover his nose with his front paws while he waited. 

“I’m not seeing anything.”

“Did you check in the cargo?”

“Is that necessary?”

“Do it.” 

“Fine.”

Swift-tail stayed perfectly still, listening to the sounds of rummaging as he waited for the rummager to open the sack he was hiding in. The moment light poured through the mouth of the sack, he struck, grabbing out with his mind and removing any perception of himself from the scrawny human looking in. A few moments later, the sack closed, and the rummaging continued. 

It worked. And as long as both guards at the gate didn’t look inside this sack at the same time, he was going to get in just fine.