Branch was up in the tree again, still keeping a look-out for lykars, he was determined to find them. Iris had been worried about him, the lykars still haven't shown up and she didn't want Branch to be upset if they didn't come after all. Iris took a deep breath, wrapped her hair around the tree branch that her brother was standing on.

"Hey Branch," Iris greeted. "Are you okay?" She tilted her head, waiting for a response. Branch finally turned to her.

"Yeah," he replied, "still no sign of them." Branch slumped back against the tree and sighed. Iris sat down next to him. "I knew it was that storm! It threw them off track, they could be hurt! Or worse!" Iris put a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

"Branch, if the storm went their way, they would have found a way to shelter from it," she reassured. "They're so intelligent, you know that." Branch didn't respond, just stared down at his feet. "Look Branch, it's been days. Maybe they're not-" Branch perked up his head and stared to the horizon. There was a shape in the water. He pointed it to his sister and got out his binoculars. His face lifted.

"They're lykars!" Branch exclaimed. "It's the pod! It really is!" Iris took the binoculars off of him and took a look. It was the pod, the color of their fur and their markings proved it. "Let's go!" The two abseiled with their hair down the tree and ran to the lagoon. Other must have also spotted them because more trolls were heading for the lagoon, including Tekai and Manta.

"You guys want a lift?" Tekai asked Branch and Iris, giving them her hand. They agreed and hauled themselves onto Manta's back and they ran down to the lagoon. The lykars crossed the lagoon and Luna jumped out onto the lagoon edge, her purple fins sparkling in the sun and her blue-purple eyes shining. The trolls cheered, both music and rivered trolls came out to celebrate. Branch kept an eye out for Spirit, he was so excited to see her. More and more lykars entered the lagoon as they surfaced and leaped onto the rocks and edges. Branch looked around, trying to find his beloved lykar, but there was no sign of her.

"Have you found Spirit?" Poppy asked excitedly. Branch shook his head, then he spotted Kayla and Kotar; if anyone knew where Spirit was, it was them. He ran over to them and greeted them.

"Branch! There you are!" Kayla greeted. "Spirit will be so happy to see you, she's been excited all week!" Branch smiled at Kayla's words, he too was excited to see his best friend.

"Do you know where she is?" Branch asked. 

"She's probably with her friends," Kotar answered. "Most likely Askar." Branch nodded and searched for her. Time passed by and there was no sight of her. Luna was lying down on a high-up rock near the back of the lagoon, watching the pod; Branch decided to ask her if she'd seen Spirit, she was the pod leader after all.

"Luna!" Branch called to her. Luna perked her ears to him and walked over to meet him. Branch climbed up the tall rock to meet her, she helped him the rest of the way up by grabbing his tail in her teeth and pulling him up. He thanked her before asking. "Have you seen Spirit anywhere? I've looked everywhere and I haven't been able to find her." Luna tilted her head, then looked up and around the lagoon. Spirit was a very unique-looking lykar so it would be easy to spot her, but Luna looked doubtful.

"I haven't seen her," Luna eventually said. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her since the-" Luna's expression dropped, Branch looked up worryingly at her.

"Since what?" He asked. 

"The storm..." Luna spoke. Branch's heart sunk. Iris and Poppy came running to him, calling his name.

"Branch!" Iris yelled. "It's not just Spirit who's missing, Askar's gone too!" 

"They must have got separated in the storm," Luna said. Branch was terrified, he didn't know what to say. Six months waiting for Spirit to come back and now she was lost and possibly in danger. 

"Branch, she's a lykar. She may be able to find her way back," Iris reassured. "We crossed the ocean once with her." Branch didn't say a word. He was hoping, praying for his sister to be right.

***

Spirit and the others searched around the island to see if they recognized anything or had any clue where they were. 

"Any luck?" Ali asked as she met up with the others. They all shook their heads. Ula caught sight of Spirit who was struggling with swimming, when she climbed onto the shore, Ula saw exactly why.

"Spirit! Your tail!" Ula gasped. Spirit looked down at her flukes, her brace had dug deep into her tail and was doing her more harm than good. "We need to get it off of you!" Ula stated.

"But I can't swim without it!" Spirit said, but Ula wasn't listening. She scratched at it and pulled it with her teeth. The brace came loose and finally broke off of Spirit's tail and Ula tossed it aside. Spirit hesitated. Her flukes didn't look as bent as they used to be, she wondered if they were healed and back to normal.

"Are they okay?" Askar asked. Spirit shrugged, unsure. 

"Try swimming," Corkscrew advised. Spirit slowly got to the water and started swimming. Askar decided to run over to help her, just in case her flukes weren't strong enough and she needed to get to the surface. As they got deeper in the water, Askar held Spirit up with his head, then cautiously let go. Spirit moved her tail slowly up and down and she started to move through the water. Her flukes were supporting her, she was swimming normally without her brace!

"Guys! I can do it! I'm swimming!" Spirit exclaimed. The others squealed and cheered in excitement, hopping on their hind legs.

"Now that that problem is fixed, let's focus on the next one," Ula said. "Getting home."

"And how do you expect we do that?" Ali asked. Spirit jumped back onto shore and shook off.

"Well, when we left the lagoon to get to the island, we followed the sun's path until we reached it," Spirit said. Ula knew what Spirit was talking about.

"So this time," Ula added on what Spirit was saying, "if we swim the opposite way than the sun's path to setting, we should be going the right way to the lagoon!" Askar, Corkscrew and Ali looked at each other, then back at the two lykars.

"Look, I know it's not much to go on, but at least it's a chance!" Spirit assured. The lykars decided to trust Spirit and agree to her and Ula's plan.

***

Branch sat at his desk, laying his head on the top. Spirit was nowhere to be seen, he and Poppy searched everywhere for her, across the cliffs, the beach; he was scared that something had happened to her. He glanced up at the photos on the wall just above his desk, most were of him with Spirit. He smiled at the sight of them, the photos really captured Spirit's playfulness, curiosity and the relationship she had with Branch. He focused onto one photo in particular among the rest, it was him and Spirit when they were kids, he was still gray and Spirit only a few months old, she was in the water and Branch was kneeling on a rock, hugging her head with a big smile on his face. Branch carefully took the photo off of the wall and stared down at it, those days with Spirit were the happiest during his gray days. He felt a tear fall from his face and it landed on the photo, it streamed down the photo between him and Spirit, as if it was dividing them. Branch held it close to his heart and started to cry quietly. He didn't care if Spirit was with him or not, he just wanted to know that she was okay.

***

The five lykars had been travelling for a long while, using Spirit and Ula's plan to find the trolls. They had to keep an eye out for any predators that could come their way. Because they were a small group and not a full pod, if any group of predators attempted to attack them, it was going to be very hard for them to defend themselves. 

"Uh Spirit, the sun is going down," Corkscrew stated. Spirit stopped swimming and looked behind them at the sun, it was slowly setting over the horizon. Predators such as sharks tend to start hunting when it gets dark, making Spirit and her friends an easy target in the wide ocean. 

"We need to find an island to rest at," Spirit said. She looked around to try and find a nearby island, but there was no sign of one. Spirit hesitated, not knowing what to do.

"Let's keep searching, we still have a little time until the moon rises," Ula suggested. "Also be careful of your tail Spirit, it could still be injured." Spirit nodded to her and they all set off to find an island.

The moon was rising quickly and there was no sign of an island anywhere. The lykars were cautiously scanning their surroundings, also being aware of any predators. It was becoming dangerous for them. Askar suddenly heard a small splash sound coming from behind him, it couldn't have been any of the others because they were in front of him. He hesitated, thinking it was just his imagination, or if it was just his own tail. He then heard another splash, louder this time, followed by a hiss. 

"Guys...I don't think we're alone," Askar alerted cautiously. The rest of them stopped and looked around. They heard something breach behind them. Was it a shark? An orca? Whatever it was, it was close. Ali was suddenly yanked underwater by her tail, gasping for air. Something was pulling her under the surface. Spirit dove to see what it was. It was an eel, not like any she had ever seen before, this one was nearly twice the size of her! Its blue and purple scales shimmered in the moonlight as it pulled Ali. Spirit rammed head-first into its face, knocking Ali's tail out of its grasp. It hissed at her and attempted to snap at her, before she knew it, more and more eels came to catch the lykars, surrounding them. The eels coiled their long ribbon-like bodies around the lykars, restraining their tails so they couldn't escape them. The lykars tried their best to keep their heads at the surface to breathe. Spirit grunted as one eel bit her hard on the tail, refusing to let go. Corkscrew had an eel wrapping tightly around his torso, making it hard for him to breathe. He could feel himself growing tired and weak, he was about to pass out until something rammed hard into the side of him. Before he knew it, the eel unraveled itself from him and swam away. What had hit him? It wasn't an eel, but another sea lykar. More and more lykars came to chase the eels away until they were gone. Spirit, Askar, Ali, Corkscrew and Ula were weak and exhausted from fighting the eels. The other lykars carried them on their backs and took them to safety.

When they reached an island, the five lykars were drifting out of consciousness. They were so exhausted. The strange lykars hauled them onto the shore of their island, when another lykar met them and inspected the tired lykars. He had dark fur with scars all across his body, the most noticeable one was on his face, right across his eye.

"They're not from around these parts," the lykar spoke in a deep voice. "Still youngters too." A sand-colored sea lykar stepped forward.

"We found them struggling," she explained. "The eels had got to them first." The dark lykar saw the bite marks and scratches on the unconscious lykars.

"Nothing too serious," he said, while turning away. "Bring them into the cave."