WAR

Star sat on top of the cliff and watched the sun rise with a smile on her face. "New day begins… I'm going to get stronger and find out why they did that."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

She looked down at the stone city with a worried face and watched as the warriors started running around calling out to each other. She stood up. "I better go and see what has happened."

She jumped down the cliff using her bow to fire into the rocks allowing her to swing down the cliff. She landed in the cliff city with a thud and ran towards the palace. She looked inside and saw the queen standing at the door in battle attire with her mask on.

"Sister… Stone dogs are attacking our city. They want this land for themselves… Come with us and defend your home."

Star nodded and stood ready and waiting as the queen walked past her. "Follow me… Stay close to me. If you do, then you'll be able to kill many dogs of stone."

Star nodded quickly falling behind the queen listening to her racing heartbeat. She clutched her bow and closed her eyes breathing.

"I must defend my home…" She looked up and around the cliff city smiling. "This is a beautiful home. I'll keep it safe. Very different to the circus." She closed her eyes and felt a single tear fall onto her cheek. She wiped it away and focused on the queen communicating to her people in their whistling language.

She stood waiting and watching the people as they yelled and cheered to the queen's words. She looked at the queen and smiled, and felt her face turn a little red. "I'll keep you safe…" She vowed to herself.

She smiled as the queen looked at her. "I'll be at the front. Come with me to kill our enemies and unite all the tribes under the shade of our holy mountain. Bring your bow and rain down your arrows against our enemies. Dance the dance of war and blood upon them."

Star felt her heart skip a beat and walked closely to the queen with a red face. She looked down at her feet muttering to herself.

"Why does she make me feel like this?"

She walked down the path and saw her guide run up to her and hand her a mask. She smiled. "I make… You wear… dance of blood."

"Thank you…"

She looked at the mask and smiled. "A sky dragon. Perfect just like the picture in the caves." She put it on.

"I'm ready to fight and protect my queen." She walked with the war party and stood in front with the queen. "To War!"

She ran down the path out of the city close to her with a smile on her face. She slowed down and stared at the mass of warriors in the valley. She looked at them all from the distance and looked at their masks. "Stone dogs."

She heard the language and whistling from them and looked at the queen as she stepped forward drawing her large swords whistling back.

"What are they saying?"

"Sister… They say we no strong… Not protect mountain spirit��� They say they strong… Keep mountain spirit safe…"

He looked at the large warrior and smiled. "What would I do without you?"

"Without me… You learn… If stay… you learn. Now sister fight. Show brother you strong…"

Star pulled her bow taut smiling. "Don't worry about me. This place will be covered with my arrows. She took a step forward and stood next to the queen. She leaned towards her and smelt her perfume. "I can hit a few from here… Just so you know."

"We're still quite far out. You must be very talented with that bow… What about that one with the black mask?" Star followed where the queen pointed and nodded. "Can you hit them from here?"

Star drew her bow and held her breath before letting it loose and looked at the queen. "Easy…"

She turned and followed the arrow in the air and watched it hit the black mask through its eye slot. She rose her bow as she watched the one in the black mask fall to the ground. "Who do you want me to hit next?"

"Nice shot sister. You really know how to use that… How about their front line? How many of them can you take down before they charge?"

Star looked at their front-line smiling. "This is easy. I can probably hit quite a few." She pulled her bow and started firing rapidly into the air. "Rain of arrows." She smiled as she stretched her arms tight.

She stood by the queen as she turned to the stone dogs and started communicating again to them.

Star smiled as her arrows landed and hit the eye slots of the stone dogs' front line. "Nice shot sister… Queen tell go back. Arrow rain kill... Mountain spirit bless arrows show mountain spirit... us stay."

She stood and looked over the mass of stone dogs listening to their whistling communicating back. She looked at the queen and the warrior behind her. "What's going to happen?"

"We dance… Be ready sister. Give mountain spirit lots stone dog blood."

She nodded and stood ready for the queen's command as the queen turned facing her tribe and whistling at them.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Star joined in and lifted her bow screaming as loud as she could. She looked at the queen and smiled.

"You stay up here and take down as many as you can. Cover the valley with stone dog blood. Your queen asks this of you."

Star nodded and pulled her bow releasing arrows as fast as she could. "As my queen asks, I shall obey."

She jumped onto a nearby cliff and watched as the warriors jumped down the cliff and started to run towards the stone dogs. She pulled on her bow and started shooting her arrows towards the enemy. "Take that. If any of you hurt her… I'll be taking these arrows and castrating you all!"

She smiled as the arrows hit their targets and she jumped again along the cliff face shooting and watching the bloodshed in the valley. "I'll keep an eye on her. Keep her safe."

She watched the queen as she attacked the stone dogs and felt her heart flutter. "She is making me feel excited… Why?"

She started firing arrows at the stone dogs around the queen and frowned. "I have to move, or she'll get out of my range…" She looked around at the cliffs in the valley and smiled. "There's the perfect spot." She aimed her bow at the cliff and let an arrow fly.

"Thud…"

She jumped and pulled on the energy wire connecting to the arrow and swung along the cliff landing in a different position. "That's better." She aimed and started firing arrows around the queen again with a smile on her face. "Take that…"

She sighed as the line of stone dogs started to pull back she cursed and kept firing the retreating stone dogs.

"That's right go back to where you came from!" She yelled as loud as she could at the retreating stone dogs. Star looked down at the queen and saw her blood covered swords with a grin. She climbed down the cliff and joined her as she got closer.

"Are you alright? Are there any wounds on you?" Star circled around the queen checking her for any cuts. She let out a deep breath when she didn't see any.

"I'm fine. I taught those stone dogs a good lesson. They won't be back for a while. Pity it was only a scouting party and not all of them. I saw your arrows hitting the ones I missed. You have a good eye. I'm glad you didn't miss, or I might've had a few wounds… If that happened the boring ones would go crazy. Thank you."

"It's not a problem for me. It wasn't hard to aim for them. They came to hurt you, so I just took care of them the way I know best."

"It seems you're used to blood and killing.Your hands are steady, and they never missed."

Star shrugged her shoulders. "Not a problem for me, I saw people trying to hurt you, and I reacted in the same kind."

"I'd hate to be your enemy… Your dance is one of vengeance and death… Even I would have trouble dancing against you."

Star smiled. 'You don't have to worry about that. As you said your tribe and my tribe are close allies… And from what I saw when I went up there, my anger and vengeance will never be aimed at you."

"Hahaha… That's good news to hear. Now lets go celebrate our victory. "Star smiled as the queen whistled to the warriors as they circled around her. Star turned to the cliff that the stone dogs ran towards and felt her heart tighten. She tackled the queen onto the ground as an arrow flew where she was standing and hit a nearby warrior.

She looked at the queen. "Sorry…" She stood up and scanned the cliff and pulled her bow before cursing and letting an arrow fly. She followed the arrow as it landed into the mask of the person who shot the arrow. "Not when I'm here…"

She looked at the queen as she stood up in surprise.

"How did you know there was an arrow coming?"

Star felt her face turn red and smiled knowing the mask hid it. "I heard the arrow in the air. When I saw it I was able to guess who it was going to hit so I tackled you onto the ground."

She looked at the fallen warrior and looked at the wound as it started to turn black. She cursed. "That arrow was poisoned. A slight scratch would have killed you…"

"You're a hero… It's like you're the embodiment of the mountain spirit." Star smiled as the queen hugged her tightly. "In the future you're not leaving my sight."

"Blood sister… good dancer…"

She turned and looked at the tall warrior near her and smiled. "I bet you're also a good dancer too."

"Hahahaha. Blood sister… I'm best. No one dance war better."

Star smiled and walked with the warriors around her and the queen as they climbed the path leading them to the city. She stopped on the outskirts of the cliff city and smiled as the people stood waiting for them to return. She looked at the queen as she raised her bloodied blade over her head.

"YEAHHHH!"

She took her mask off as the queen grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the palace. "We celebrate and drink tonight, but before that we must bath. Come bathe with me…" Star felt her heart racing and quickened her pace to keep up with the queen.

"I follow my queen…" She smiled.