As the embers of the ashes glowed, the distant fires still burning; illuminating the night sky, making the stars shine that little bit brighter. The screams echoing, shattering the once peaceful night, making the tears fall down the lone toddler's cheeks as whimpers fell from her full pouty lips and the toy cradled to her chest tighter, crying out for her nomon, nontu and her sister. It was too surreal for this to be happening, one minute her parents were eating dinner then the next, the horns sounded and panic upon the couple's faces as they whispered for her to run to Naikou, her uncle and she would be safe there. Leksa knew not to question her nomon and nontu when it came to the horns, they had drilled it into their little girls that the sound meant danger was coming and the only safe place would be the healer's tent for it was heavily guarded.

After the danger had passed, the stench of death lingered in the air long after the screams died down and the little girl broke away from Naikou and walked over to the ashes that was once her home. The three year old sniffed, wiping her tears away from her eyes; the name of her biga sis whispered into the wind. Clutching her dirtied teddy for comfort, at least what little it could offer to a little girl whose parents was taken away from her and her sister.

"Leksa!" A taller form crashed onto the toddler's own, arms wrapping around the smaller frame, pulling her into the safe embrace of a sister's love. Her voice soft and mournful. "Nomon, nontu… ai laik moba biyo Leksa. Ai beda don- nou bon au Leksa" Anya pleaded as she pressed a kiss against her striksis's messy brown curls. "Nou bon au beja, ste yuj" Anya pulled away to gaze into watery green eyes and prayed that she never saw the horrors of their parents' deaths. Guilt started to overwhelm the young warrior for being away on a trip, she could have prevented their deaths, she was only ten years old but already one of the strongest warriors of their clan and Indra's seken.

Anya held back a sob when Leksa dropped her toy into the soft mud, the innocence was forever lost along with their parents, she stood up with her back straight and took Leksa's smaller hand into her own. "We nau gyon au to Naikou. Em ste seingeda" Anya and Leksa didn't look back, their lives as they knew it, was over and they were moving onto a new one.

Leksa stopped and turned her head over her shoulder and a whisper was heard.

"Reshop Nomon and Nontu"

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"Ge up strik mokskwoma!"

A soft whine escaped from plump lips as she burrowed deeper into the furs, to stave off the harsh winter air from seeping into her bones; making the eight year old shiver and barely opening her eyes at Anya's shouted insult. "Onya, it is too early for this!" A protest falling from plump lips.

"Shop of goufa, you forget what day it is today" Anya chuckled and pulled the furs away from Leksa's body wracking with the cold air hitting her form and throwing it to the side. "It is an important day for you, now get up." The older sibling walked over to the small dressing area and grabbed Leksa's battle clothes and flung them onto the bed and atop of Leksa's still unmoving body. "You better be out there in before the sun even thinks about rising." Anya smirked and walked out of the tent, pulling the door covers behind her.

The young brunette grumbled as her feet made contact with the ground and winced at the icy feeling that shot up her legs, she couldn't wait for Spring to arrive to take away the edge of the coldness. Pulling on her clothes as fast as she could before pulling on her boots. Nerves started to overtake the young warrior, ever since that fateful day she switched from an innocent child to one that was ready to train as a warrior. Anya and Naikou noticed the black blood smeared across her hand from a small cut, fear gripping both of their hearts, especially Anya's, she couldn't stop anyone from finding out but she would teach her little sister all she knew and perhaps… in Leksa they would all find hope within the young girl. That same night that a sword was handed to her and her future was decided for her by her sister and uncle and she was officially training for the Conclave for when it came in time.

~~ Anya was recently called to Polis to become their trainer and to teach the younger Natblidas, she was in line to become Leader of the Trikru soon, but first she had to learn patience which she still needed much of; they took notice of the strong siblings and the current Heda was taken by Anya's prowess as a warrior and he knew of their past and he could see the promise within the two, light and dark as they were. Anya was wild, quick to anger yet Lexa was quiet, stubborn and reasonable. He could tell either was to be the next Heda but he couldn't quite tell just yet hence why he had offered a place for Anya to teach the Natblidas, that way he could keep an eye on the promising warrior and he received word that Indra, the general of the Trikru was to take Leksa as her seken. Yes, they were the future to all of their survival. ~~

Leksa pulled on her long fur lined jacket, pulling on the sword around her waist; the sword that was given to her by Anya when she turned 5 summers. Fingers dipping into the jar that held the black kohl, smearing only two lines across her eyes horizontally, she hadn't quite earned her own design just yet, that would come |only| when she was of age and a full warrior. At the age of eight, she would be the youngest warrior in history to have become a seken, she was the strongest, most cunning and best of all, she was analytical of her opponents which would serve her best in battle.

She was ready to prove to them all that she was the right choice to be Indra's seken, and she was ready to make her biga sis proud of her, somewhere amongst the stars… she knew her parents would be too.

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"Costia, give that back!" Alexis pouted at her older sibling, swatting at the toy and signing furiously to her sister. "Or I'll tell Nomon."

Costia gave a bored sigh and tossed the threadbare sweater to the side, and shoving her sister as she walked past. Stopping when Alexis pulled on her elbow, her dark eyes on her sister's hands, reading them.

"What's wrong with you? You're different today" Her sister might be only six years old but she wasn't stupid, Alexis saw everything with her eyes even if she couldn't hear just like herself.

Shaking her head lightly, waving Alexis off. She really didn't want to bring her sister into the complex situation, a situation where they were looked upon in disdain and inferior just because they could not hear. She, Alexis and three others were cast aside by the other children, she could fight better than the rest of them, Alexis could outwit the fools and the others could learn better but no one ever gave them the chance to shine for they were looked down on.

"Nothing, I love you little bird." Costia ruffled Alexis's raven haired curls and pulled her into a loose embrace. Lifting her hands where Alexis could see them. "We need to be careful today" Smiling reassuringly at Alexis's frown and refrained from explaining any further. She adored her little sister and she would protect her to the ends of the earth, even from their own parents.

There were tension in the village, she could feel the unease coming off the other villagers in waves every time they passed them by, she could see the flicker of fear in their eyes, she couldn't understand why, and she tried to piece snippets of information together from what she lipread from her parents' conversations. Maunon… the body language was clear to Costia when Maunon fell from their mouths. They were scared of whatever the Maunon was and the threat posed to the two young girls, she was only ten but she knew that this place wasn't safe for her and Alexis. She had quickly formed a plan the night before, that she and her little sister would run… to where she didn't exactly quite know but they couldn't stay any longer.

That night when everyone succumbed to Morpheus, she lay awake and slipped out of the furs when it was safe, her hands moving to whip off the top layer of furs off her younger sister, covering Alexis's mouth quickly; she herself was deaf but her parents were not so she knew they had to be extra careful with their movements. Seeing the confused look in Alexis's eyes, she quickly signed as her free hand picked out clean clothes for the raven haired sibling.

"We need to go now, it's not safe anymore" Costia tried to keep her face schooled as not to panic Alexis more than she already was, crouching low as her eyes got used to the darkness and watching the shadows outside as she waited for Alexis to get dressed. The older sibling startled as she felt a light touch against her back and relaxed as she recognised her sister's touch and she grasped their bags and Alexis's hand.

They would be safe, Costia would make sure of it.

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Silence enveloped their world as the two young girls trundled through the forests, they were deaf to the loud crunches under their feet, deaf to the bird calls across the trees… deaf to the horses' hooves thundering in the distance. A flash of white had Costia pushing Alexis up against the trunk of the nearby trees, their little hearts bounding with a rapid rhythm.

"What is it?" Alexis made sure to keep her signs subtle as not to attract unwanted attention.

"I don't know, I saw white and it was gone… safe now I think" Costia peeked her head out from their place and saw that it was clear, a tight swallow as she could feel that something was wrong but there was nothing in sight. Carefully stepping out into the open, covering her little sister's form with her own protectively; dark eyes searching the horizon before she moved forward, her shoulders tight with tension. Costia could feel the vibes rolling off her sister in waves and it was making her feel off kilter and it was affecting her thinking. It was beginning to get light and soon their nontu would soon see that they were gone, whether he would act on it or not; she did not know.

As they walked, Alexis munching on a piece of fruit; Costia was however silent… the hairs on the back of her neck were beginning to stand up, they were being watched and yet she could see nothing as she craned her neck subtly to search amongst the trees and beyond. Her legs moving slightly faster as Costia's hand slid into Alexis's own in a tight grip eliciting a pained gasp from the younger child.

But they were halted in their path, by a clothed figure; panic overwhelmed Costia as she fought against the stranger, where had they came from? The grip upon the girl's arm tightened and Costia struggled against the hold, using her feet to kick at the stranger's legs and hand to strike at the figure's face, to her surprise; the tall girl was immovable and immune to the punches by slightly dodging away.

Alexis dropped her fruit in fright and backed away but she felt something behind her and she turned slowly around; afraid of what she might find, eyes connected with dark ones and a smile crept over the young girl's face in a beaming expression as she signed frantically.

"ANYA!"

"What?!" "You know them?" Lexa and Costia shouted together, confusion colouring their features.

Anya lifted up the small child and looked between Lexa and Costia.

Well this was going to be difficult to explain.