Arrow after arrow thudded into the tree bark with a satisfying thwack. Joel fired repeatedly until his entire quiver was empty, and even then he wasn't finished.

Unfortunately for the tree, Joel had been practising his archery for hours at a time every day to try and clear his mind. He had tried picturing each of his problems on the face of the trunk and firing at them. It hadn't worked so far, and he still felt like the world was crumbling beneath him and he couldn't do a thing about it. He tossed his bow to the side and exhaled a sigh of grief.

As if his thoughts had come to life, a ninja star spun past his face and spiralled a few times before lodging itself in the tree amongst the arrows.

Joel whirled around to see Ruby standing half way up the hill, and the house further past her at its crest. His girlfriend smiled lightly and skipped the rest of the way down to meet him. Joel pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of grass and soap.

"Hey." She mumbled into his chest. "I thought I might find you down here."

Joel sighed and kissed the top of her head. "You won't find me anywhere else these days."

Ruby pulled away from the hug but kept her fingers interlaced with his. She stared into his eyes, a worried frown appearing suddenly. "Do you wanna talk?"

Joel shrugged. "Not really."

A gentle breeze picked up the Autumn leaves and tossed them around the two teenagers' feet. Ruby motioned for Joel to follow her, and they both strolled off into the orange and green forest.

They walked in silence for a while, taking in the magnificent colours of their surroundings as the setting sun collided with the orange leaves. It was like the forest was decorated with natural chandeliers. Leaves fell like snowflakes around them, and Joel could almost imagine that the world behind them had disappeared and he was now stepping into heaven.

"I figured that this would be a better place to relax." Ruby said, taking a seat on an exposed root. "Nothing like a little natural therapy."

Joel sat down beside her and held her hand. "I'm sorry for being so harsh earlier." He recalled the way he'd yelled and slammed the door, hating himself for making a bad situation worse. "I'm just so frustrated at how things have turned out. I've lost my two best friends, plus my sister, and everyone seems to be relying on me to plan the next move."

Ruby nodded, squeezing his hand gently. "We're all frustrated. We just need a little more time to think things through, I guess."

Joel looked down at his feet. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Have you heard from him?" Ruby asked. "Either of them?"

Joel shook his head, picturing his two best friends covered in blood and bruises, exactly as he'd seen them last. "They'll show up again when they want to, but they'd better be quick about it. I suck at being a leader."

Ruby patted his arm affectionately. "Hey, you've got me. And Thea, and Kira, and-... Maybe not Tristan."

Joel laughed, something he hadn't heard in a while. His voice cracked half way through and Ruby giggled. Since he'd been forced to smile, he gave up trying to be mopey and kissed Ruby softly on the lips. "Thank you."

Ruby jumped to her feet, making an effort to crunch several leaves underneath her. "You're welcome. Now come on, the whole team is having a meeting and Briannon should be back soon."

Joel let Ruby pull him up and they both started walking back, hand in hand. "Hopefully Kira will cook us something fantastic for dinner. I'm starving."

Ruby giggled and rested her head on his arm. "I don't care how hungry you are, if it's meat I get first dibs."

---------

The meeting started off with Thea and Tristan arguing over who could eat the most T-bone steaks. Everyone else took their seats and waited patiently until Tristan conceded. Kira was busy whipping up something in the kitchen, excluding herself from the discussion.

Joel decided to settle things down. "Okay everyone, this meeting has started. Anyone talks without permission, and you're on cleaning duties for a week." Everyone shuddered in unison. "We're all here to simply discuss our situation as a group and figure out what to do next." He preceded to recount what him and the two sisters had discussed earlier, receiving nods of recognition from all members. Thankfully, this meeting was going smoothly.

"One question." Tristan said from beneath his mop of brown curls. "Are we supposed to kill Estella now? She's one of them, isn't she?"

Ruby breathed in sharply through her nose. "She's not. She can't be, not her. She's stronger than that and she'll be hiding out somewhere, waiting for us."

Thea nodded along with her sister. "I agree. The King is probably just using her as a means of gaining intel on us."

"That means she's being tortured." Joel muttered. He heard a quiet gasp from Ruby beside him. "Well, it's better than her being dead, right?"

"Stop." Thea pleaded, pain clear in her expression. "Just stop. No more talking about Estella."

Everyone agreed, even Kira, who had finished cooking and was carrying over a plate in each hand. Joel inhaled the sweet scent of meat and steamy vegetables, which took over his other senses. Almost instantly upon putting the plates down, half of the food had vanished into people's mouths.

"Well," Kira said. "Glad to know we have some table manners in this joint. Bunch of pigs." She looked towards the front door. "Shouldn't you guys leave some for Briannon? She'll be back soon."

No one answered.

As if on cue, the front door creaked open and a chilly breeze wafted through the house. Briannon shrugged her backpack off and tossed it onto the kitchen bench upon entering the room.

"Hope you saved me some." She said, staring each person in the eye like she was daring them to eat any more.

Joel slowly put down his T-bone and motioned for everyone to do the same. "Did you find anything at our old base? By any chance?"

A look of excitement flashed across Briannon's features. "Oh boy, did I ever!"

The door creaked open for a second time and Joel stood up abruptly. Whoever was at the door took their sweet time revealing him or her self. However, when they did, a collective gasp sounded from everyone in the room.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Said Harley, grinning impishly. "Save any meat for me?"

Joel was across the room in less than a second with his arms wrapped firmly around his best friend's shoulders. Harley chuckled, which was something Joel hadn't heard in a while, and hugged him back, resting his head on Joel's slightly taller shoulder. The others crowded around him and shouted questions from every direction.

"Woah woah woah!" Briannon shouted over the noise. "How about we let the boy eat and clean himself up before we start making demands."

Harley passed her a look of appreciation from over Joel's shoulder. "That'd be nice."

---------

Of course, the second that Harley had showered and slipped on some simple clothes - his blonde hair still damp and curly - the questions rained down on him. He took a seat on the lounge and, instead of answering every one of them separately, he told the group where he'd been and what he'd been up to.

"I went back to the bush, for a while." He said, leaning forward on his hands. "I thought that maybe the Shadow Court would show up at the Samurai base, but nope. So, I stayed there for a few days waiting. I even made a couple of trips back to our old house," he nodded his head in Kira's direction, "but mom and dad weren't home."

Joel smiled at the familiar sound of Harley's American accent. It was like hearing a lost puppy bark again for the first time.

"Anyway," Harley continued. "I stayed in the treehouse for the rest of the time, not that the treehouse is actually intact anymore. Wills definitely destroyed it. There was so much going on in my head, and I knew I couldn't come back and lead the group until the shock of what happened had passed."

"Has it?" Joel asked, putting an arm around his shoulder.

Harley smiled at him sadly. "Not completely, but moping won't do anything to fix it. We've gotta get back on our feet again."

"What do you suppose we should do?" Tristan mumbled from the dark corner of the room. "You know, since you're back and all..."

Harley jumped to his feet and stretched out his arms. "What else?" He put his hands on his hips. "We're gonna get my girlfriend back."