Thank you for reading! This last chapter has its flaws, but I like how it ended. :) Enjoy, and thanks again for reading!

Listening to "The Last Goodbye" from the end credits of the Hobbit 3 while editing this was not a good idea...I'm getting emotional again ;_;

SHADOWED

CHAPTER TEN

A New Beginning

Dark didn't want to see them go.

Torak, Renn, and the wolves had left once already, and they hadn't come back. They promised they would visit, but they had said that last time, too. What hurt even more was that Fin-Kedinn was going with them.

These people were as much a part of Dark as he was. Torak and Renn had found him on the Ghost Mountain and taught him that there were still good people in this world. Wolf and Darkfur had showed him friendship and kindness from the very night they met him. Fin-Kedinn had built him into who he was now.

The clan had celebrated last night with a great feast. They were safe now, safe from the wolves and the other shadows, all of whom had been successfully tied back to their Tall-Walkers, and they were celebrating the leadership and life of their great leader, Fin-Kedinn.

Today they were leaving. They were properly outfitted for the summer's weather, and they had enough supplies to last them for a while.

Torak came up to him and embraced him. Dark hugged him back fiercely.

"I'll miss you," he whispered.

Torak grunted. "Yeah," he admitted. "Me, too." They broke apart and smiled at each other. Dark fought to keep himself from tearing up.

Renn came next, dragging Innis along behind her. Dark knelt down and said to the boy very seriously, "I'll see what I can do about your problem, Innis. I'll travel to the Deep Forest and ask Durrain if she can help."

"Thanks, Dark," Innis said with a shy smile. Dark sincerely hoped that the boy could get a body to match his mind someday, but he didn't know how much Magecraft could help in that area.

He stood up and hugged Renn. They broke apart and he said, "You will come visit?"

She laughed. "Of course. It will be good to see you and the rest of the clan again, even if I don't really belong here anymore."

"I wish I could go with you," he said sadly.

"You belong here, with people," Renn said gently. "I only wish Torak and I did, too. But we're happy this way, as wanderers, and...well..." She glanced down at her feet, where her shadow clutched the ground. "And Vera is too."

Fin-Kedinn came last, clasping Dark's hands. "I am proud to call you my friend, Dark," he said seriously. "You have become so much. I trust you'll help Tamun lead the clan?"

"Of course," Dark confirmed, choking up a little. This man was more a father to him than his own had ever been. He traced the clan-tattoos he now bore, those of Raven Clan. Fin-Kedinn had given him these, not his father.

"I'm proud of you," the retired Raven Leader said. "We'll visit, I promise. I'll make them." He smiled, and Dark smiled in return.

"Goodbye," he said quietly as they all turned their backs. The wolves—Wolf, Darkfur, and their cubs—were waiting for the humans at the camp exit. Rip and Rek sat in a tree next to Dark's raven, Ark.

He watched them leave, the ravens taking flight and following. Dark sighed.

Tamun walked up to him and said quietly, "They left?"

He nodded, blinking back tears.

Tamun sighed. "Somehow I didn't really think he would go with them, even after he told us."

"Yeah," Dark murmured. "I know."

"He's always been with the clan, and now..." Tamun trailed off. "Now I'm supposed to be what he was to me. A leader." He shook his head. "I think he should have picked someone else. I mean, Malor was a traitor, but he knew what he was doing."

"No," Dark protested, turning to face the other man, who was only a little bit older than himself. "You'll be a great leader, Tamun. Strong and wise and thoughtful. You'll listen to people, something Malor never did. You'll need some help, of course, but I'll be here to help you." He grabbed his shoulders and looked into Tamun's eyes.

The other man looked down. "I don't know..."

"Look at me," Dark ordered. Tamun looked up. "You will be a great leader, Tamun. But you've got to believe in yourself. If you're doubting yourself at every turn, you'll hold yourself back."

"You really think so?" Tamun said, hope tinging his voice.

"I really do," he replied firmly.

Tamun straightened and stood up to his full height. Something in his eyes had changed. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Fin-Kedinn is gone," he said, "but I'm still here. And even though I don't know if I can do it, I'm going to try to lead this clan, because I am who he chose."

"Good," Dark said, smiling. "Come on, Tamun. Let's go back to the clan."

THE END