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Alrighty, part four of AbleArcher's request. I hope you enjoy it.

As always, comments are appreciated and requested.

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Continued from 'Hope among the Ruins'...

Lucas walked slowly through the trees outside Lucien's tower, ducking the low hanging branches of the dark pines once more. Olivia was walking on ahead, once again leading him somewhere, but where, he honestly didn't have a clue. He had left the tower only a few minutes ago, intending as he did to get her to drink the potion as soon as he could, but the moment he had left, she had started walking away, once again pausing and waiting for him to follow her before going on. Lucas had known that there was little chance of getting her to drink the strange potion while they were walking and so he had started to follow her. They were almost halfway down the ridge now and she still didn't show any signs of stopping. Sighing to himself, Lucas shifted his pack on his shoulders and ducked under another branch, the pine needles nearly dragging the battered black balmoral off his head. Looking ahead, he saw that Olivia had stopped once more, sitting down and waiting for him at the edge of a pool, the headwaters of one of the numerous mountain streams that fed the wide river at the edge of the village proper.

Olivia looking at him expectantly as he approached, but did not walk on any further, simply sitting at the edge of the stream. Apparently, this was where she had wanted to go. Smiling at her once more, the young rifleman shrugged off his pack and settled it on the ground with his rifle. Lucas sat down at the edge of the pool, and the ferret-girl before him gave him a look that seemed almost like a smile before diving headlong into the water, sending up a frigid fountain high into the air. Shielding his face from the spray of water, Lucas couldn't help but laugh, even though his mind was busy figuring out how he might convince Olivia to drink the potion. She didn't seem all that inclined towards alchemy, or towards Lucien for that matter and he couldn't say that he blamed her. But that meant that he probably couldn't just hold out the uncorked bottle and hope that she would drink it. On the other hand, what else was he going to do? Sighing, Lucas sat back once more and looked up at the sky while Olivia frolicked in the deep pool, every now and then pausing to peer out of the water at him, as if to check that he was still sitting there.

Heaving another frustrated sigh, Lucas lay back all the way in the grass that lined the pool, staring up with his hands behind his head, the bright, powder-blue sky peeking through a gap in the clouds far above. The storm had clearly exhausted itself completely and the sun was once again claiming the mountain village as its own. Lucas smiled slightly, the sun starting to warm his worried mood. Hoping for some new inspiration to strike, Lucas reached over into his pack and drew out the small bottle of potion, examining the liquid within it for a moment and trying not to contemplate what it was supposed to do. It certainly looked harmless, appearing to be little more than crystal clear water. Holding the bottle up to the beam of sunlight shining upon his stomach, he shook the bottle a little, noting for the first time that it had a fine, pale golden aura around it, visible only as a light shone behind it. Intrigued, he turned the bottle over in his hand, looking at it from another angle. Then, the rifleman jumped as a shadow fell across him, craning his neck upward to see what it was even as he almost dropped the bottle out of surprise.

Olivia had apparently finished playing in the water and had come over to see what he was doing. Still dripping with water from the pool, she had settled herself above his head, leaning over him and sniffing curiously at the bottle he held. Surprised, Lucas held the bottle closer to her with one hand while he wiped the cold drops from his face with the other. Olivia began sniffing at it even more curiously, nudging the cork with her nose, as if trying to catch an elusive scent. Inspiration suddenly striking his mind like lightning on a dark night, Lucas rolled over onto his knees and opened his pack, digging around among his possessions for the item he needed. When he had brought the object into the sunlight, he smiled, an old memory coming to him. The object he had dragged from the pack was his battered mess kit, its once bright tin surfaces now tarnished and scuffed with time. Turning it on its side, he dumped the fork and spoon strapped to the tin plate back into his pack and set the plate out on the ground. The plate was the most battered item he carried, a large dent to one side making it a little hard to use at times. Groping for the potion bottle once more, he took a moment to remember why he still carried the plate, and why he hadn't bothered to beat the dent out of it, even though he could have easily done so.

The dent was a product of one of his first battles after the siege of Constantine, marking the spot where a spent bullet had penetrated his pack, stopped barely an inch from his back only by his mess kit's plate. All soldiers were superstitious to some degree, and riflemen most of all, though Lucas had, for the most part, managed not to fall prey to the same things that the others in his unit seemed to. Even so, when he had discovered that the plate had saved his life, Lucas had gotten the sudden feeling that if he tapped the dent back into shape, the gods that watched over all soldiers would take offense, so he had left it the way it was, carrying the dented vessel for the rest of his career and never once had another bullet come at him from behind, trying its damnedest to kill him. Shaking himself out of his musings, Lucas uncorked the bottle, noticing for the first time the slightly sweet scent of the liquid contained within it. Hoping that he was doing the right thing, he tipped the bottle into the rimmed plate, the battered tin just barely big enough to hold all of it. Then, with a heavy moment's hesitation, he extended the makeshift bowl towards Olivia and set it down in front of her. The ferret girl moved forward cautiously, sniffing curiously at the potion once more and Lucas crossed his fingers, hoping that she would trust him enough to try it. Then, to his relief, after a moment's hesitation wherein she looked at Lucas with a curious expression on her face, Olivia tentatively licked the clear potion experimentally, and then, apparently finding it to her liking, lowered her muzzle to the plate and began to drink in long, slow drafts.

Grinning in silent relief, Lucas watched his companion apprehensively, not knowing what to expect. Lucien had always been reliable when it came to alchemical remedies, but even so, Lucas felt a twinge of fear shake his confidence in the old teacher. Olivia finished off the potion quickly, licking the bottom of the plate almost dry, and then sat back, licking her lips, the same almost smile on her face that she had worn before, satisfied. Lucas waited a few moments, then settled back on his haunches, a frown on his face. He had expected something, anything to happen, but it appeared that the potion was a dud, which was certainly better than it having some adverse effect, but he had expected more than this. Sighing, Lucas collected the plate and turned to his pack, disappointedly reassembling the plate into the mess kit along with the utensils and the tin cup. And then, as he dropped the completed kit back into his pack, he froze, for Olivia had made a very strange sound, a sound that had sounded almost like a word. Turning back, he looked at his furry companion carefully, hoping that he hadn't imagined what he had heard.

Olivia was sitting there in the same position she had been in since drinking the potion, but as Lucas looked closer, he knew that something had indeed changed, though what it was he couldn't quite put his finger on for a few moments. The ferret girl's liquid green eyes were still considering him with an expression of curiosity, but beyond them, in the depths of her gaze, something was slowly, almost imperceptibly changing. It was as if he was witnessing someone coming out of a deep sleep, or perhaps, more like to a waking dream. Behind the emerald gaze that considered him so carefully, he could almost see a mind returning from where it had slumbered. The gaze was more than that of an animal now, a cool, human, intelligence coming back to it. Sudden hope flaring in his chest, Lucas leaned forward slowly, taking the ferret girl by the shoulders, and she did not draw back as she had before. Instead, he felt her body trembling as though in anticipation or fear and he shifted forward slowly, locking her eyes with his own, praying with all his might that it would work, trying to block out the distracting closeness of her warm, furry, and still quite naked, body.

"Olivia?" He questioned quietly, looking deep in her eyes. The emerald orbs before him widened slightly inside the tan mask of fur and he spoke once more, wishing with every inch of his mind that it would be so. "Come on Olivia, please, come back to me..." The ferret girl's eyes were distant for a few moments longer, then, he saw them widen in sudden recognition.

"Lu..." She whispered, the sound of the single syllable spoken as if strange to her, but then it came again. "Lu-Lucas?" Lucas nodded, unspeakable joy flooding his soul. He saw a smile come to the girl's lips, a real, human-like smile and then, with a familiar squeal of delight, she lunged forward, tackling him back onto the ground and wrapping him in a tight hug. Then, pressing herself tightly against him, her head underneath his chin, she began to cry. Pulling her as tightly to him as he dared, tears coursing down his own face, Lucas tried to imbue that wonderful embrace with all the feelings he had felt for the years they had been apart. Every moment of every long and lonely night, every sorrowful thing he had seen seemed to shatter into nothing when compared to holding his love close for the first time like this. He could feel her trembling against him and he tightened his hold on her yet further, unwilling to let her go even for a moment. After about a minute of that warm embrace, he heard her voice speaking once more, and, though muffled by his close embrace, it was the sweetest sound in the world to him. "I feel so strange, like I have been dreaming but I couldn't wake up. I wanted so badly to wake up, but I couldn't..."

"I know, love, I know." Lucas replied softly, his voice barely a croak, so filled with emotion it was a wonder he had managed words at all. "But you are safe now. I promise..."

***

Lucas strolled slowly through the tree shadows, the mountain air freshly laundered by sunshine and sweet rain, the entire world no longer looking nearly so dreary as it had before. True, the air was still chill, and true, he still walked with a loaded rifle slung on his shoulder, but all the same, everything suddenly seemed brighter. A smile was on his face that seemed to have become permanently fixed there, mirroring almost exactly the smile that his companion wore. It was hard to believe that an hour ago, he had been depressed, despairing at his own future, a future that seemed as uncertain as the weather in the wild mountains. Barely an hour ago, Olivia had drunk the potion; an hour ago, he had waited with bated breath to see if it had worked, pinning all his hopes upon it. And then, Olivia had come back to him.

They had held each other for a long time, ignoring everything but one another, and then gradually, they had separated, lying back in the grass, side by side, hand in paw, the sun sweeping aside the thin clouds to shine its wondrous warmth down on them. Olivia had started asking questions, and he had answered as well as he could, leaving out nothing and she had smiled when he had told her of the stormy night they had spent in her burrow. She had seemed to half remember it, like the way one sometimes remembered dreams long forgotten.

When he had finished telling her of what had happened, she had fallen silent for a while, thinking back, seeming to be searching her memory for something. Then, she had told him what she could remember of the time that had passed since they parted, starting the day the blending had occurred. She had related how she and the others had started to forget who and what they were, and how, one by one, they had stopped even recognizing each other. She had said that the last clear memory she had was of wandering the woods around the town, feeling like she was looking for something, or someone, but she couldn't remember what it was. Eventually, frustrated by seeking something she didn't recognize, she had lain down in the lily-filled gully and drifted off into sleep. When she had awoken, she had been in the endless dream she had been living since then. She had fallen silent when she had told him this, tearing up once again and Lucas had drawn her close, gently holding her to him, an embrace she had returned heartily, clinging to him as the memories crashed through her. He couldn't imagine what it had been like to gradually lose who you were, until you no longer were the person you had been.

When they had broken the embrace, Olivia had suddenly seemed to realize that she was naked, but, surprisingly, she had seemed not to care. Lucas assumed that because she had been living naked for so long, it no longer bothered her. Unfortunately, he was much less comfortable with her nudity than she had seemed to become and had looked away, finding himself blushing. Lucas had offered her his long green jacket and she had examined it with interest, and seeing how embarrassed he was, she had put it on and then settled back beside him. It wasn't until then that he truly realized how much he had grown since they had last seen each other. When he had left for the capitol two years ago, his jackets had been about her size, but now, his uniform's sleeves came down to her knuckles and the hem was down past mid thigh.

After a few moments, she had risen up on one elbow as she once had done when they had lain together in the meadows of the mountains, when they had both been human. She had asked him then about what had happened in the war and he had told her, speaking with as much detail as he could remember, the story flooding from his mind as if a dam had been broken within him. She seemed fascinated by what he had seen, and what he had lived through, gasping in all the right places as he told of close calls where he had only narrowly avoided death. And, when he had told her about the cold nights spent scouting alone in the Bealemori mountains, when it had only been thoughts of her that had kept him going, she had embraced him tightly once more and they had kissed, snuggling their bodies close once again. Her kiss had been sweeter than ever before, and, though the kiss had been a might awkward with her muzzle, there had been no mistaking the longing that had filled it. It had been all he could do to release her once they had begun, and it was only the burning sensation in his lungs reminding him that he did, in fact, have to breathe, that made him stop.

And finally, when he finished his long tale with his journey back to the village only to find it ruined, they had decided at last to go back to Lucien's tower to tell him the good news. When Lucas had gotten to his feet, he had offered Olivia his hand to help her up. She had taken it easily, and then Lucas had been surprised as she was when she had used it to haul herself wholly upright like a human once again. She had taken a few uncertain steps, and then had almost toppled back to all fours. Lucas had caught her as she stumbled, and she had leaned against him for a little while, finding her balance. It appeared that while it was possible for her to walk upright, she was much more comfortable walking like a ferret did, on all fours. But, even though she was a little unsteady, Olivia had stubbornly remained standing, not allowing her animal self to rule her.

When she had found her balance again, Olivia had looked down at the green jacket she wore and Lucas had caught a glimpse of a mischievous grin coming to her lips. Then, without warning, she had playfully snatched Lucas' faded black balmoral from his head, settling it in place between her ears and giving him a passable salute, making both of them laugh. Now, they were walking along easily, in no great hurry to get back to the tower, their hands still clasped, Olivia still wearing his hat and jacket. Lucas had to admit that she looked awfully cute wearing half his uniform, though that thought made him wonder whether he had spent too much time in the military. They had been silent for a while now, just enjoying each other's company, but then, as they both ducked out from under the trees to see the tower stretching up above them from the end of the ridge, she finally spoke once again.

"I keep getting flashes of the time when I was lost in my own head," She began, looking over at him. "Sometimes, it was like I was almost myself again, but most of the time I couldn't remember much of anything, but I don't think I ever really forgot you Lucas. I dreamed of you a lot, and I think that helped me remember some of who I was. I missed you so much..."

Lucas' reply was to draw her too him once more and to kiss her tenderly. She returned the kiss with a giggle and they continued on through the trees once more. About a minute later, they finally emerged from the trees near the base of the stone tower, and found Lucien standing at the door, waiting for them with a tired smile on his lips. The owl-man looked relieved when he saw them walking towards him, holding hands and talking as they had always done.

"It worked, I take it?" Lucien asked and Olivia answered him.

"Like a charm." She said, giggling. "Thank you Lucien."

"My pleasure." The old owl said, giving a short bow and straightening back up with difficulty. "Though I think you both will have to help me to make more. It will be draining in the extreme for me to make enough to bring everyone back."

"Of course." Olivia said and the odd pair followed him inside the tower and up to his workshop. A pair of great iron caldrons now stood out in the center of the tower, and Lucas suddenly understood what an undertaking this would be.

"Um, Lucien, how much of this potion are we going to need?" Lucas asked, suddenly apprehensive and the owl-man smiled in a tired fashion once more, knowing at once what he wanted to know.

"Quite a lot, unfortunately," he said, an odd, haunted look on his face. "Don't worry Lucas, I have strength enough to make the final enchantments." Lucas nodded and set his rifle and pack down against the wall, the old man starting to take down great bunches of herbs from the ceiling and piling them next to a massive mortar and pestle. But, even as Lucas went to help him, he felt a pang of regret in his heart, knowing that he had seen that kind of look before, on the faces of men that had known they were facing certain death.

The first time he had seen it was two months after joining the Rifles, before the walls of Constantine. Every man who had volunteered for the Forlorn Hope, the company sized group that would be the first to assault the breach in the city walls made by the siege cannons had worn that look as they had gathered beneath the banner they would carry into that terrible space. It was the look of a man who saw his death coming, and was going to meet it with open arms. At Constantine, the Forlorn Hope had been wiped out before they had gotten anywhere near the mouth of the breach; seventy men, some of whom Lucas had only that morning been laughing with around their camp fire, gone in a matter of moments. But they had gone willingly, no one able to talk them out of going. Lucas knew that Lucien was facing a very similar prospect, but he also knew it would do no good to try and argue the point. Even so, as he grabbed a bundle of dried herbs from the ceiling, he felt himself feeling glad that Olivia didn't recognize the look or what it meant...

***

Lucas set the huge stone crock back down on the floor where it had once been full of pale golden liquid, groaning softly as he straightened back up. The crock was empty, but it had been his job, since he was the only one strong enough to lift it, to dump its contents into the caldrons. There had been just barely enough of it to suit Lucien's calculations, and he had been carefully pouring the liquid into the caldrons for the last ten minutes, while his muscles slowly cramped up from the weight. Thankfully, the massive batches of potion seemed almost complete. Lucien was already adding the very last component, the nameless powder that looked eerily like bone meal, though Lucien had assured him it wasn't anything of the sort. As he poured the finely measured powder into the first caldron, Olivia stirred it quickly, swiftly causing it to form a vortex in the center before it dissolved. Then, Lucien repeated the process with the second and nodded to Olivia, the signal for her to stand back.

Lucien then moved so he stood between the two caldrons, his eyes closing wearily, one hand stretched out over each. The owl-man began to speak, odd words that Lucas recognized as magic, though he couldn't understand them. For a brief moment, nothing happened, and then, slowly, the stir-sticks that had been left in the caldrons began to move, though no one touched them. And then, within moments, the sticks were swirling faster and faster, the potion suddenly glowing violet as Lucien spoke the odd spells he had worked before. The potion began to cycle to blue, then to green and Lucas knew it was working, though his eyes were not focused on the caldrons. Instead, his gaze was locked on Lucien's face, which had tightened perceptibly as he had spoken the first spells. Now, his teacher's face was so strained that it looked like it was all he could do to remain on his feet. Lucas felt the first icy tendrils of worry beginning to clench his heart as he watched the alchemist, only barely aware of Olivia's fingers clasping his hand. By the time the potion was red, Lucien was trembling so badly his hands were shaking, but still he pushed onward, forcing himself to the limits of his body's ability.

And then, all at once, it was over. The potion turned perfectly clear, and Lucien stopped speaking, the trembling calming to bare tremors. And then, an exhausted smile crossed his features and the owl-man crumpled. Lucas was there in an instant, catching his teacher before he could fall completely. Even though he was young and strong, Lucas could only barely support his teacher's weight. He was surprisingly heavy, and all of it limp, dead weight. For a moment, Lucas feared that it had been too much, that Lucien, like those poor souls in the Forlorn Hope, had given his life to the task, but then, as Olivia came to help him, he felt Lucien stir in his grasp. The teacher's wide yellow eyes opened slowly, wandering the room unseeingly for a moment before settling on the caldrons before him. Seeing the clear potion swirling slowly to a stop, the magically animated stirring rods abandoned by his power, his aged face crinkled in a smile. Then, his eyes rolled back, closing once more and his body relaxed completely, all the strain leaving his feathery face in an instant. Staggering with his weight, Lucas and Olivia settled him gently to the floor and the rifleman examined his old teacher with apprehension.

"Is he..?" Olivia asked, kneeling beside her love, who had placed his head on the owl's chest.

"No, his heart is still beating." Lucas finally said, sitting back up. "He is still alive. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would think he is just asleep. The magic must have taken everything he had."

"Shall we get him into his bed?" Olivia asked and Lucas nodded, hauling the comatose owl upright, one arm thrown over his shoulder. It was quite a challenge to get the sleeping, and totally limp, old man, down the stairs and into his bedchamber, but finally, after twenty minutes of careful manipulation, the owl lay in a position of peaceful repose in his bed, the covers thrown over him by a thoughtful Olivia.

"Well, what now?" Olivia asked, settling back into a sitting position like the one that she had occupied when he had first seen her in the village square and Lucas sighed, wiping his brow as he slumped against the wall. "Shall we set out the potion?"

"I think that can wait for a little while." Lucas said, panting.

Olivia grinned and pushed herself up once more, taking his arm. Still smiling broadly, she tugged him gently towards the stairs leading down to the ground level of the tower and the way out. "Come on. I think we both could use some time alone..."