Neko's Tale {PG-13}

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Four
Treason​

It had been a mere four days since Neko began working with her new overly energetic apprentice, Rayne. Before she had been assigned to train the Wolf she had thought of him as a irritating and easily distracted pup. Within a few days of training she had been surprised by his attentiveness and obedience. All the troubles she had anticipated when she asked to resume his training before her trip to Vritra had proven to be non-existent. The annoying part of Rayne apparently showed only when he was bored- which was any time he was not out in the fields practicing or being lectured by Neko.

Neko stretched her sleep stiffened limbs and opened her jaws in a wide yawn. She had quickly learned that Rayne was far more focused early in the morning before temperatures began to rise. The fiery Nekomata, however, found getting up early troublesome. Whatever works. If it meant Rayne was going to be even the slightest bit easier to handle, it was worth it. She slipped her bag over her shoulder after making sure it was properly closed. Neko fared not to leave the bag out of her sight for the risk of someone accidentally discovering what lie within the worn out fabrics of her bag.

Neko began her walk to the training fields when Kura blocked her path. “What now?” It was clear that Neko was in no mood to deal with the arrogant Dragon. Not waiting for a response, she shoved him aside and proceeded.

“You’re even more irritable in the morning.” She heard him mutter as she walked away, not turning to respond. Neko did not want to deal with Kura and did not care for what he had to say.

When she arrived out in the training fields, Rayne was already there waiting for her to arrive. “That makes three to zero.” He barked happily.

“What?” Neko had no idea what the young apprentice was talking about.

“I’ve beaten you here three days in a row.” His tail was thumping on the ground as it wagged side to side. If he used that much force in his attacks, he’d be unstoppable.

“I had no idea we were competing.” Neko muttered, slightly amused. She stopped in front of the young Wolf and drew twelve symbols in the scorched soil. “Alright, let’s get started.” The Dark Warrior did not want to waste time playing around. “Let’s see if you can name all of the elements. I drew their symbols to help you.” It was important to know all of the elements and how to counter them with one’s own abilities. Every element had a weakness, it was just a matter of figuring out how to use your abilities to get to that weakness.

“There are the four main elements- Fire, water, earth, and wind.” He pointed to the symbols as he said them.

“You got wind and water mixed up.” The symbols for wind and water were quite similar. The symbol for water was two vertical lines, while wind was three horizontal lines. “Just remember for Water, rain comes down. For wind, remember that wind goes from side to side.” Rayne nodded. “Continue.”

“Nature, Steel-“

“Metal.” Neko corrected him. The metal element had once been called the steel element, but it had been changed since steel was just one type of metal.

“Metal, ice, thunder, shadow, light and dark.”

“You missed one.”

“What?” He studied the symbols again. Neko pointed to the one next to the shadow symbol. This one resembled a swirl.

“Oh- Sprit!”

“Right.” Neko scratched out the scribbles with her claws. “Most creatures have their own element that they are born with. What is yours?”

“Water.”

“Your vulnerabilities?”

“What?” Neko sighed.

“What elements would give you the most trouble if you had to fight against them.” It was important that one knew their weaknesses and strengths, not only those of their foes.

“Umm… Water, nature, metal, ice, and thunder?”

Neko nodded. “Why?”

“Two water abilities would cancel each other out. Whatever might hit would do minimal damage.” He yawned. “Nature users can summon plants that absorb the water. Water can’t pierce through most metals.”

“Unless it is very high pressured water.” Neko added.

“Ice can freeze water, and water conducts electricity so thunder elementals would use the water as a way to attack.” Before these last few days, Neko would have never suspected this from Rayne.

“Okay. Next question.” Rayne was thankfully a quick learner. His biggest weakness was his fear. He was too afraid to fight at the battle with the rebels at Kurori. If he could overcome that, he would make an excellent ally. “What is my element?”

“That’s easy!” He barked. “Fire!”

Neko nodded. “How would you deal with a fire user?”

“Douse the flames with water.” He grinned.

“What about if you don’t have any water available?” Fortunately, Rayne would not have to worry about that.

“Fire needs air to survive… so…” He thought for a moment. “Try finding a way to cover the flames so they can’t breath?”

“Close enough.” Neko drew a very questionable map of the Dark Castle and the surrounding territories. Clearly, drawing was not something Neko was good at. “Most elementals live together in a general area. For example-“ She pointed to the area she believed to be where Marua was. “This area rarely gets rain, so fire elementals like to live in that area.”

“Is that where you are from?” Rayne looked up at Neko.

“I don’t know.” She gave him a sharp look. “Pay attention. Now, where would a water elemental like yourself feel most at home?”

“Um…” Rayne studied the map for a few moments then pointed to a giant blob on the map. “Is that water?” Neko’s amazingly horrible artistic skills made it difficult to tell what was what on the map.

“Yes.” Neko scribbled in the blob to try making a difference between water and land on the map, but the result was even more chaos and confusion in the scribbles.

“Here?” He pointed to the blob of scribbled in water, which happened to be the ocean.

“Exactly.” Neko said. “Fire elementals would keep well away from there because we aren’t particularly fond of water.”

“Really?” The look on Rayne’s face told Neko that he was up to something. This isn’t going to end well. The mischievous glint in his eyes said everything.

“Really.” She lowered her head to Rayne’s level and stared him in the eye.

“Well then, say hi to the ocean!” He flashed one paw over the drawn map, sending dirt and dust from the sloppily drawn ocean towards Neko’s face. The fiery cat could not help but laugh at Rayne’s joke as he ran off towards the castle. When was the last time I had fun? Have I ever been given the opportunity to do things like this? Neko could not even begin to imagine how different her life may have been if she had not ended up at the Dark Castle and became a Dark Warrior.

Neko darted after Rayne in her flameless form and managed to pin him down before he could get away.

“Playing around, I see.” Kura again. “Well, before you start having too much fun, Yugito would like to speak with you.” Neko glared at the Dragon. “Don’t keep her waiting.”

“Rayne, wait here. I’ll be back soon.” The Wolf nodded. For once, Neko actually trusted that Rayne would stay put. She ran back to the dark-stoned castle and kept a steady pace until she reached the entrance to Yugito’s chamber. She halted outside and slid out of view when she heard Zera talking to Yugito. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“Make sure that the job is finished before the day ends.” What job? Neko suspected that the job involved killing someone. Zera was quick and efficient when it came to killing, especially when there were numerous shadows for her to hide in to surprise her unsuspecting victim.

“I’ll make sure it gets done.” Zera nodded. “There shall be no more traitors in this castle by the time the sun sets tonight.” Another traitor?

“I would hope so.” Yugito then dismissed the shadow elemental.

Zera walked by Neko on her way out. “Where is he?” Neko froze for a moment as Zera was on her shadow. It was Rayne that Yugito wanted dead.

“He should be in his room.” Neko felt a strong feeling of dread wash over her. This isn’t good. Rayne was no traitor, but perhaps being the apprentice of Hail automatically marked him as one? Neko shook her head. She had to keep her visit with Yugito as short as possible. Hopefully she would be able to get to the training fields before Zera realized that he was not where Neko said he would be. Rayne’s room was on the opposite side of the castle from the training grounds, so surely Neko would have enough time to warn him before it was too late, right?

“Thank you.” Zera vanished a moment later.

Neko walked to the entrance of Yugito’s chamber. “Enter.” The Dark Nekomata was already aware of Neko’s presence. I hope this doesn’t take too long.

“You called for me?” The fire elemental dipped her head in respect and avoided eye contact with her master.

“Tell me something.” Yugito sounded less than pleased. “What exactly happened at Vritra.” Crap!

“I don’t know wh-“

“Don’t lie to me again. I am well aware that Vritra still stands.” Yugito growled.

“I saw no signs of rebels there.” Neko tried to cover her mistake, but made another in the process.

“You told me that Hail is dead. He was a rebel and a traitor.” Neko was starting to panic.

“He was the only one. I saw no reason to-“

“More lies, Neko.” Yugito stood up and approached the fire Nekomata. “Hail still lives and the rebels are hiding in Vritra.” Neko knew there was nothing she could do or say now. “Tell me, why did you lie.” She hissed.

“After you.” Neko said coldly, trying to remain calm.

“What about all of those lies you, Kura, and whoever else told me.” Neko knew she was just asking to get herself killed now.

“What lies?” Yugito’s claws flexed on the ground.

“About my past, my memories, my home.” Neko’s fur burst into flames. If she was going to die, she would at least put up a fight. “Marua. That is where Kura found me, is it not?” She hissed. “And you- you erased all of my memories, right?”

Yugito laughed. “I’m surprised that you learned of all that.” The Dark Nekomata looked Neko in the eye. “Tell you what.” She held a strong hint of a threat in her voice. “I’ll be nice today. You have two options. You can stay here as a Dark Warrior if…” She grinned.

“If what?” Neko did not like where this was going.

“If you kill the traitor’s apprentice. Rayne, you can continue living here as a Dark Warrior.” Neko remained silent. “Choice two is you leave and live the life as a traitor, just like Hail.” I’m assuming assassins and Dark Warriors trying to kill me is included.

“I’ll kill Rayne.” Neko spoke calmly.

Yugito grinned coldly. “Good. Come to me before sundown with the traitor’s body, and you can stay.” Yugito took a few steps back and sat down again. “Dismissed.”

Neko nodded and slowly walked out into the hall. Once she was out of Yugito’s sight, she broke into a full sprint. Choice two it is! There was no way Neko could kill Rayne. The Wolf had done nothing wrong and was probably the closest thing to a friend she had here. She had told Yugito she would kill Rayne just so she could buy some time to get him before fleeing the castle. Hopefully they would get a good head start before Yugito sent someone to kill them.

What am I doing? A few months ago, she would have had no trouble killing the Wolf, but now there was something else about him that made it impossible for Neko to even consider the thought. Why? So much had changed since her first dream with Cera and the orb. She was not the same Dark Warrior as before. For the better or the worst, she had been changed by the knowledge she had gained.

:Rayne?” She said between her breaths as she arrived in the training fields.

“What’s wrong?” He popped up from one side. He looked at Neko’s face and immediately felt that something was wrong. “Neko?”

“We’re leaving.” She panted.

“What?” Rayne had a bemused look on his face. “Why?”

“It’s not safe here.”

“Neko, what is going on?” The young Wolf began to look scared.

“No time to explain.” Neko hissed. “Let’s go!” With a growl of frustration she grabbed Rayne by the scruff of his neck and ran. The only thing that mattered now was getting as far away from Yugito as possible.​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Five
Escape​

Neko ran on for countless miles with no pause or break. Rayne hung limply in her grip. She had let him run for a bit, but he had become tired rather quickly so Neko decided not to waste time and carry him. The further away they got from the Dark Castle, the better. In the sky, the sun had begun to sink in the horizon and temperatures began to cool off. There was no way the fiery Nekomata was going to stick around when Yugito learned of her disappearance and sent an assassin or Dark Warrior after her.

At last she came across a location that seemed well hidden and stopped to rest. It was a large pile of rocks with a small opening that led into a cave that was just large enough for the two to rest comfortably in. While gaining distance was high up in her priority list, it would do no good if the former Dark Warrior was too exhausted to fight should they get attacked. Having worked under Yugito made them enemies to the rebels. There was no where for them to run. “Are you alright there?”

Rayne was tired and hopelessly confused on what was going on. “Yeah.” He muttered. “Neko, what happened?” At least he understood it had something to do with Neko’s chat with Yugito earlier that day. Neko decided she would avoid telling him about Yugito wanting him dead.”

“I didn’t complete my previous task, the one at Vritra. Yugito found out about that somehow.” Neko had considered heading towards Vritra, but if Yugito knew that Neko had failed to destroy it, she probably would have already sent someone else to finish the job.

“Why not?” Sometimes Neko wished that the Wolf would not be so nosy, but she had literally dragged him into the mess with her.

“Hail was there, as well as someone I needed to talk to.” Rayne’s ears pricked up.

“Is Hail alright?” Rayne, despite having been told numerous times that Hail was a traitor and should not be trusted, was still loyal to his former mentor.

“Still annoying and breathing last I saw him.” Neko muttered. Maybe she should find Hail so that he could take Rayne off her paws. He was probably safer with the rebels than with Neko anyway.

“Did you say for me?”

“Just like I promised.”

“And the rebel you wanted to talk to?” Rayne’s curiosity was never ending. “It wasn’t that Griffon, was it?”

“No, Scart was there, but I went to talk to their spirit elemental.” She was a bit annoyed that he had not answered all of her questions, but was glad that she knew a little bit more than before.

“Why?” That seemed to be the Wolf’s favorite question.

“To ask questions.” Neko dropped her bag and allowed the fire orb to slip out. The brilliant object shone brightly in the dim cave, illuminating the stones around them. A comforting warmth washed over the two. “About this and my sister.”

Rayne ignored the part about Cera as his eyes were transfixed on the mesmerizing and brilliant glow of the orb. “What is that?”

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest.” Neko admitted. “I know that it is very powerful and that there are others like it.” Rayne prodded it with one paw and then withdrew it from the heat. “I also know that Yugito would kill anyone to get a hold of this. If she knew I had it, I’d be dead already.”

Rayne looked at Neko then back at the orb. The fire in the sphere flickered brightly, keeping the area lit despite the sun’s departure outside. “Where did you get it?”

“At the battle at Kurori. My sister slipped it into my bag.” Just what was she thinking?

“Your sister?” Rayne looked surprised. “You have a sister?”

“I had a sister.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Rayne had not the slightest idea what to say.

“It’s alright. I didn’t even know her, or remembered who she was until Kurori.” Rayne lied down next to the orb to keep warm. “Cera gave the orb to me sometimes before Yugito killed her. I didn’t notice-“

“What?” Rayne nearly leapt to his paws. “Your sister was Cera? As in the rebel leader?” Neko nodded.

“I regained most of my memories from when I was younger, well, at least all the negative ones.” Neko could only imagine what Rayne had been through before he was taken to the Dark Castle if it was anything like Neko’s. Maybe some things are better left forgotten.

A still silence lay itself over the area. Neko sighed and pushed the orb back into her bag so that it was out of sight. The two lay down and feel sleep, both tired from the long day. It was not long before Neko’s ears pricked up as a sudden wind swept over the rocks creating a shrill whistle-like tone. “You can’t run forever.” I must be hearing things.

“Did you say something, Neko?” Rayne had woken up. Or not.

“Must have been the wind.” She murmured.

“Neko?” The Wolf pup was not having an easy time falling back asleep. Stupid wind.

“Hmm?”

“Why did you take me with you?” Unfortunately, it was a legitimate question, one that Neko hoped he would not ask and did not want to answer.

“They were going to kill you.” Rayne seemed shocked and frightened at this. Of course he would never have suspected it since he had done nothing to anger Yugito and was not a threat to her rule.

“Why?”

“Maybe because you were Hail’s apprentice.” A stupid reason perhaps, but still a reason. “I didn’t want to leave you to die, so I took you with me. Even then, you never belonged there.”

“What do you mean?”

“You aren’t a heartless killer. You were never meant to have innocent blood on your paws.” Neko truly believed that. “You don’t like fighting either.”

“What about you? You aren’t a heartless killer either.” Rayne whimpered. I was. Not anymore. He had never seen Neko out on an assignment. He would not have seen anything violent if he had gone on tasks with Hail making it that the Wolf was never exposed to the true nature of what he would have been expected to do.

“Go to sleep. We leave again at first light.” Not once did the fiery Nekomata ever imagine having to flee the Dark Castle with a hyperactive young Wolf with a powerful relic in their possession. Of course, there was also the assassin that had probably been sent out by now. There was no question now that the road ahead of them would be filled with many obstacles. Rayne may be able to join up with the rebels, but Neko was a known Dark Warrior, so there was no where for her to go.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Saia!” The old Nekomata lifted his head.

“Scart, what now? Can you not see how late it is?” He retorted. It had been two days since Neko came to Vritra. Saia had been busy spending most of his time trying to figure out the possible locations of some of the other orbs. So far he had no leads.

“Vritra is under attack!” This got Saia up.

“Who?” It was always a question of which Dark Warrior had been sent as it was rare for anyone not under Yugito’s rule to attack. This was a two-sided war. The rebels and Yugito’s followers.

“Kura.” Scart had encountered the dragon at the battle at Kurori and was well aware of what they were up against.

“Go help hold him off until we can evacuate. I’ll go get Hail.” Saia began to head out.

“Can we trust him?” Saia sighed with annoyance. He understood the Griffon’s distrust of Hail, but now was definitely not the time to quarrel on who could and could not be trusted.

“Can you trust me?” He ran out and saw flames from one part of town. Thankfully they had not spread too far yet. By the time Saia arrived at where the Dragon stood with Hail, the town had already taken some heavy damage in that area.

“Well now.” Kura locked eyes with Hail. “If it isn’t our traitor.” He growled. “I was hoping to run into you here.”

“How can I betray a brutish organization that I was never a part of?” Hail moved up to stand next to Scart. The Griffon’s feathers ruffled up. “I’ll take care of Kura, go help get everyone to safety.” He said quietly so that Kura would not be able to hear him. The Griffon grunted and flew off.

“Oh, that’s right.” Kura laughed. “You were the spy. I keep getting you two mixed up.” Hail narrowed his eyes. What was he talking about?

“Two?” Something was not right.

“Oh, I suppose you didn’t know.” The Dragon seemed to be enjoying this. “My apprentice was supposed to destroy this dump a little while back. Clearly, she didn’t.”

“Neko?” Saia was not liking the sounds of this.

“Who else?” Kura began to approach the two Nekomata. Hail quickly stepped in front of Saia. It’s long overdue that you join her and that obnoxious pup.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hail growled, baring long white fangs.

“They’re dead.” Kura continued to approach Hail. That’s a lie. “You know very well what becomes of anyone who disobeys orders.” Hail growled even more fiercely.

“Don’t listen to him, Hail.” Kura was planning something. If Neko was no longer a Dark Warrior, it would make sense for Kura to want them to believe she was dead so that no one would try to get her on their side. That, or he wanted them to look for Neko and get caught in some sort of trap.

“Saia, go find Riza and get out with everyone else. I’ll hold Kura back.” The old Nekomata nodded. There was little point in arguing with Hail and his stubbornness. Regardless, he had better things to do. He needed to confirm that Kura was telling lies and would need some concentration to do so.​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Six
The Assassin​

Two days had passed since Neko and Rayne had fled from the Dark Castle. They were traveling east through the eastern forests hoping to find somewhere that the war between Yugito’s forces and the rebels had not hit. Despite the loss at Kurori, the rebels had yet to give in. It was only a matter of time before the two sides clashed again in a big battle.

Neko was glad to have trees over her head to hide her and Rayne from any flying creature that might have been sent to find and eliminate them. A while back she had nearly destroyed a large portion of the forest when she and Kura had been sent on an assignment in the area. Fortunately, most of it had grown back already.

“Neko, I’m tired.” Rayne whined after an hour or so of walking over the leafy forest floor. “Do you even know where we’re going?” Some things just could not change no matter what situation they were in. Rayne was going to be, well, Rayne.

“Stop complaining.” Neko growled. “We have to keep moving. Time is something we cannot waste.” Over the last day or so she had gotten a strong feeling that someone was following them. She had no idea how far or who, but Neko did not want to take a break to find out.

“Moving where though? We can’t run forever.” As much as Neko hated the idea, Rayne was right. Running would only get them away from the Dark Castle, but it’s inhabitants could run as well, and sooner or later, they’d be forced to stop.

“I don’t know.” She muttered. “As far away from the Dark Castle and the war as we can get.” Surely there must be some distant area that remained untouched by Yugito and the Dark Warriors? So far, they had been lucky enough not to encounter anyone that would recognized them as former Dark Warriors or someone that was ready to kill them.

“What if we get attacked?” Why did Rayne always have to ask so many questions?

“If we get in some sort of trouble, run. I’ll stay and fight if needed, but I want you to get as far away as you can.” Rayne may have impressed Neko in their practice fight, but she knew that he had never been in a real fight where claws, teeth, and harmful abilities were allowed. His encounter with Scart could hardly count since Neko had come in to save his tail when the Wolf froze up in fear.

Rayne said nothing else for the next few hours. The sun had reached its highest point in the sky marking that it was about noon. It was a warm day with no clouds in the air to hint of coming rain. Thankfully, for Rayne’s sake, that the trees blocked a lot of the sunlight and the heat that came along with it. The only part that bothered Neko was how windy it was.

A strong gust of wind blew Rayne off his paws. Surely no natural wind could be that strong? Neko’s ears pricked up. “Rayne, get down!” She hissed.

“What?”

“Just get down.” She placed one paw on his head and forced the Wolf to the ground. “Something isn’t right.” She whispered, keeping her ears open for even the slightest sound. “We aren’t alone.”

“Not bad.” A voice came from behind. “Most don’t hear me coming until it’s too late.” The newcomer was a Nekomata. A Cheetah Nekomata to be more exact. He had a very lean figure, skinny long legs, a long tail, and two rounded ears. His ears were black with a white spot in the center of both. A Cheetah Nekomata with the wind element. No wonder why he caught up with us so quickly.

There was no doubt on who this newcomer was. This was who Yugito had sent to finish off Neko and Rayne. “Leave.” Neko growled even though she knew that there was no hope of avoiding a fight. This was definitely someone she, nor Rayne, could outrun.

“You should know very well that I cannot do that.” The thin Nekomata began to walk in circles around Neko and Rayne. “You know why I’m here, correct?” Neko nodded. “Good.” He vanished.

Immediately Neko burst into flames, accidentally scorching the tip of Rayne’s tail and possibly setting a few nearby trees on fire. Rayne jumped back a bit with a startled yelp. “And I hope you’re aware that I’m not going down without a fight.” A strong gust of wind blasted at Neko’s side, blowing away a large portion of flames. That can’t be good.

“How impolite of me.” The Nekomata’s voice was carried by the wind, making him difficult to locate. “I forgot to introduce myself.” Neko scanned the area and noted that the leaves were being blown in a large circular course around her and Rayne. “My name is Gale.” Ignoring the wind Nekomata’s words, Neko sent flames into the wind until it looked like there were lights dancing around them. This made it easier for Neko to track the motion of the wind, at least until the flames died out.

There! Neko leapt at one point of the current that seemed to be leading the rest of the wind. She crashed into Gale, leaving several burn marks on his side. “You can still give up and leave.” Neko warned, hoping that she could end the fight before she, or Rayne, got injured.

“Not going to happen.” He chuckled and vanished again. Neko once again struck at the rush of wind but missed. Gale continually reappeared and vanished multiple times before Neko could make a move. “Over here!” He called.

Neko turned around and realized to late what Gale had been doing. Every time she had spotted him she had tried to get close enough to strike. He had merely lured her away from where Rayne was crouching down in the grass, not even ten feet away from the assassin. “Rayne, Run!” The former Dark Warrior broke into a sprint, frustrated that she had been fooled into leaving the Wolf unprotected.

She reached the water elemental just in time to intercept an attack directed at the young Wolf. “Neko!” He barked in alarm as razor sharp blades of wind sliced into her side, making her stagger a few steps back. Crap. “Neko, are you okay?” The cuts stung fiercely, but Neko nodded.

“Rayne, run.” Neko growled. The cuts were more painful than claws or teeth would have been. “Get as far away from here as you can. Run and hide. If you find a town, that’d be even better. I’ll buy you some time.” Rayne nodded and scrambled away into the forest. “Now it’s just us.” Neko glared at Gale. With any luck, she would make it out alive and meet up with Rayne soon.

“For now.” He had a very smug grin on his face. The Wind Nekomata had intended for Neko to take the hit for Rayne. “Once I’m done with you, it will be just me and that runt.”

Gale sent another barrage of piercing winds towards the fiery Nekomata. She created a wall of flames in an attempt to shield herself, but the blades of air simply sliced right through the fire and hit her head on. This isn’t good. I have to give Rayne enough time to get away. Neko’s body was already aching and she needed some time to formulate some sort of plan.

“Tired already?” Gale walked up to Neko as one would approach someone who was a friend. He could see that Neko had taken damage as her flames burned a slightly different color where the cuts had been made. “And here I was thinking that the last fire elemental of Marua would be a challenge.” Neko narrowed her eyes.

“What do you know about Marua?” She growled.

“Plenty more than you do, it seems.” He seemed to be enjoying himself. “I suppose it’d be fair to tell you about where you were from before I kill you. After all, Marua had a very proud history before Kura destroyed it.” Neko’s only response was silence. “Marua was well known for its powerful fire elementals. So powerful that rumors said that even the sun would offer it’s strength to them.”

“How do you know if I’m really from Marua or not?” Neko tried to focus on getting a small ring of fire around the area without being noticed. Several trees were already burning making it a little easier to connect the flames.

“I went there not long before Kura was assigned to destroy the miserable village. Perhaps a month or two sooner.” Neko could not help but wonder if he had seen the orb or not. “You have the same eyes as the one I was ordered to eliminate that day. Strong with a fierce fire. I’ve yet to meet someone more stubborn.” He studied Neko’s eyes. “That one proved bothersome to get rid of. He and his mate persistently clung to life, even when they knew it was hopeless.”

“Marua might have stood for a few more years had I not seen the orb that the fire clan so adamantly defended.” Neko moved her shoulder some to check that the bag was still there. “If they had handed it over peacefully, you might still be living there.” Neko doubted that. “Instead, they chose to send someone to escape with the orb and hide it before Kura could come to take it by force.” No, Cera took it the very day Kura destroyed the village. Apparently, Kura did not tell Yugito the truth regarding the orb, or so it seemed.

“Orb?” Just a little longer and Neko would be able to complete the ring of flames and hopefully defeat, or even kill, Gale.

“I’m not surprised you don’t know.” Part of Neko wanted to laugh. “The orb is a powerful artifact. It seemed as if Marua existed for the sole purpose to defend it. They must have known that Yugito was after it. Without the orb, Marua was easy to bring down.” Neko felt a twinge of satisfaction knowing that the orb was there that day but Kura had been too afraid of the orb’s strength. If only they knew.

“So, I take it Yugito has no idea where the orb is now? What a shame.” She grinned.

“We do know that the troublesome leader of the rebels hid it before she died at Kurori.” Yup. She hid it in the one place that no Dark Warrior would ever think of looking.

“Too bad for you then.” Neko laughed as she completed the ring. It had taken her longer than she had intended since Gale’s story about Marua had distracted her slightly. The flames rose up and created a small dome over them. Neko could not tell if it would work, but it seemed like her best option. This was a move that was better used for large areas, not a small confined area where the walls of the dome could easily be attacked. “Our little fight is just about over.” She panted. This is taking more out of me than I remember.

“Indeed it is.” Gale laughed. If this doesn’t work, I’m dead.​

Comments/Notes

You know, if anyone is actually reading this, it'd be really nice to see someone post. It gets really discouraging when you post 21 chapters with no feedback whatsoever. If no one is reading this, then I'll cease to post new chapters here.​

 

[SerenadeSP]

I've only read up to the first chapter of part one, but I can say that I like this story already. The text is simple, yet it draws you in and explains an unusual world in a way that's both easy to understand and stimulates the imagination. I like how Neko seems to control fire and these cat-like creatures are interesting, especially the fact that they're paired with dragons - it makes a very unorthodox team. I'll be sure to keep reading, so long as you keep posting.

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Seven
Rayne's Plea​

Hail walked along silently next to Saia. Kura had managed to destroy Vritra, but not nearly quickly enough as most of the residents of Vritra managed to escape. Hail and Scart had received a few wounds from keeping Kura busy, but nothing serious. Thankfully everything had worked out fairly well in the end.

The rebels that were in Vritra had split up and headed to different areas to try getting help for their cause. Against all odds, there was still enough support against Yugito for them to continue their cause. Hail was traveling with Saia, Riza, and Scart. The group was heading east in hopes of finding Neko, except for Scart who had no idea what they were up to. If he was aware of Saia’s current goal things would have ended up with an argument.

The eastern regions were known to be very dry past the forests. That made it a reasonable place for the group to look for a fire elemental like Neko. “See anything, Riza?” The Eagle was flying just above the trees for any suspicious activity. So far, things had been very quiet in the forest. Almost too quiet.

“Nope. Just trees and wind.” She dove through the branches to glide just over the group. “Everything seems pretty peaceful over here.” The eastern forest area had been rather quiet as of late with no reports of attacks or skirmishes.

“That’s new.” Scart muttered. The brown-feathered creature was in a rather bad mood since Vritra. He was convinced that Neko had given away their location in Vritra. It did not quite surprise anyone though that he thought so.

“Hey, Saia?” Hail noted that the older Nekomata was unusually quiet. While it was normal for him not to say much, but something was off.

“Yes?” It seemed as if Saia’s mind was in another place.

“I know I shouldn’t be asking this because it’s a bit soon, but got any idea who will lead the rebels next?” It had not been very long since the battle at Kurori and Cera was killed by Yugito, but they could not continue without a leader forever. Hail could see Scart tense up. Good.

“I’m going to go scout ahead.” Scart spoke almost immediately in a harsh tone. He was not particularly fond of Hail nor the topic that the icy Nekomata had brought up. Within a few mere moments he was out of sight into the trees.

“You should know better than to ask that in front of Scart.” Riza scolded. “You know that he was close friends with Cera and that he’s still grieving over her death.”

“What?” Hail laughed lightly. “I had to get rid of him somehow.” He did not want the Griffon overhearing what he had to say. “There are other topics I’m sure he’d love to hear that I’d rather discuss. Though for my safety, it’s best he not listen.”

“No one has stepped up, Hail.” Saia said. “Something tells me it’ll be a while before anyone does.”

“I know, I know.” Did Saia hear a thing that Hail had said to Riza. “I just asked because I knew Scart wouldn’t want to be a part of it.”

“Sorry.” The old Nekomata muttered.

“Is something wrong?” Hail asked as a strong breeze pulled at his mane. “You’re awfully distracted. If there is something bothering you-“

“I’m fine.” He snapped. “I’m just getting far too old for this.”

Hail grinned. “Well, we’re all glad to have you around.”

Said smiled gently. “Anyway, what was it you wanted to discuss again?”

“Neko.” Hail looked ahead to make sure Scart was not in earshot. He still had no idea about anything that had been going on recently. Hail could only imagine the chaos that would break loose if the Griffon learned that Neko had possession of the fire orb. As far as he, and almost everyone else, was aware, Cera had hidden the orb somewhere safe so that it would not be found by Yugito or any Dark Warrior.

“Kura said that she had been killed.” Saia responded.

“Do you believe that?” It was not a completely absurd story, but Hail knew Kura well enough to suspect a lie.

“To be honest, not at all.” Saia responded. “I do, however, believe that she’s probably in some sort of trouble. Yugito would not allow any of her followers to leave without sending someone out to kill them before important information was leaked.”

“She’ll be fine. Some of us are far too stubborn to die.” The Lion Nekomata joked.

“Too stubborn indeed. It must run in the family.” Hail and Riza laughed. How many times had they tried to convince the fiery Nekomata to join the rebels in the last few weeks only to be put down.

“Think she might change her mind now that she’s been forced out of the Dark Castle?” A warm breeze carried stray leaves across the ground around their paws. “Actually, scratch that. She’ll want to kill me first. It’s technically my fault that she was forced to leave.” He chuckled. “She’s probably not too happy about that.”

“Is that the only reason?” Saia joked. “I get the impression she already wanted to kill you back in Vritra. What did you do before then?”

“Oh, I’m sure there are probably a few dozen reasons for her to kill me.” In all the time he spent with Neko at the Dark Castle he had made sure to find ways to kill time. “At least things won’t get too boring.”

“Care to explain?” Riza shifted over to hover over Hail so that she may hear him better. “Sounds like you were up to no good over there.” She teased.

“I just tried to get her to lighten up a bit every now and then.”

“Sounds more like you never left her in peace.” Saia shook his head.

“You could say that.” Hail had made numerous attempts to pull pranks on Neko from the moment they met as mere apprentices. Any other Dark Warrior would probably have killed him for some of the things he had done. “The Dark Castle was a bit boring, alright?”

“With you there? Nonsense!” Saia laughed. “Hail, do you really think she’d help us though?” He tried to get back to the real subject on hand.

“Who knows.” Hail looked ahead for any sign of Scart. Hopefully the Griffon had not gone too far ahead. “If I were in her position, I’d be pretty confused myself. I’m lucky to have regained most of me memories pretty early on.” He muttered. “It’s not everyday you learn that your biggest enemy is actually your sister and that your real enemy is the one you’ve been working for since as long as you can remember.” Hail looked up at the sun through the trees. The temperature had gone up a bit much to the ice elemental’s dislike. “I do know that she isn’t quite like the other Dark Warriors.”

“Cera had faith in her. Most would call her crazy for it, I know because I did, but now look.” Saia looked at Hail. “Neko has the orb, and just like Cera predicted, did not give it over to Yugito straight away. Now she’s an enemy of Yugito. Kura probably told us that she was dead so that we would not try to find her and bring her to our side.”

“You know, it probably would have been smarter of him not to say anything of all.” It was either that the Dragon was an idiot, or had some sort of magnificent plan in store for them. The latter, however, seemed far less likely.

“That Dragon was never the brightest of the bunch. Had he any brain, he’d have gotten the fire orb ages ago, but chose not to.”

“Too bad for him.” Hail yawned. How long have they been traveling? A thought suddenly crossed his mind. “Hey, I’ve got an idea that is sure to work!”

“Well, let’s hear it then.” Riza was still gliding above, avoiding low branches and fighting against the gentle breeze.

“If there is anything, or anyone, that Neko hates more than anything else it’s-“

“You?”

“Hey!” Hail growled playfully. “That’s not nice, Riza. It’s Kura! She considers him at least twice as irritating as I am!”

“I didn’t think that was possible.” Teasing Hail was just too fun sometimes. It made the icy Nekomata glad that there was at least one other, aside from Saia, that did not hate him for having been a Dark Warrior despite actually being a spy.

“Very funny.” Hail smirked. “When we find Neko, we can tell her that if she joins up with us, we’ll let her kill Kura!”

“If she refuses again?” Saia seemed to be a bit amused.

“Then we kill him first!”

“Oh yes, that’ll make her happy.”

“Oh, then I suppose you have a better idea, Riza?” Hail swatted gently at the large bird.

“There is something called trust out there. Blackmailing her or bribing her isn’t going to help us get that from her.”

“Hmm… I like my idea better. It sounds more fun.” Hail saw Saia shake his head out of the corner of his eye. “What? You don’t like it either?”

“You two can be quite troublesome, you know that?” Saia was silent for a moment. “Anyway, we should be patient- and glad that she isn’t our enemy even if she isn’t our ally. If she were our enemy, things in Vritra would have gotten much differently.” We may not have the time to be patient though. Hail could not help but feel that time was something they could no longer afford to use.

“Riza!” Saia’s voice became urgent. “I think something is going on up ahead. Sounds like Scart ran into something.” I didn’t hear anything… I thought your hearing was supposed to get worse as you age!

The large bird swooped ahead under the trees and returned a few minutes later. “Scart is going after a Dark Warrior.”

“Do you know who?” Hail quickened his pace. Dark Warriors do not flee from fights. It was either a trap or…

“No, but it’s definitely not a fire elemental, thankfully, or the forest would be in flames by now.” That could possibly be a reason why the Dark Warrior was fleeing, but the chances of a minion of Yugito actually care about setting a forest on fire was pretty slim.

“Help!” Hail instantly recognized the voice and broke into a full sprint. I knew it! Scart finally came into view.

“Scart! Stop!” The Griffon turned and glared at the Nekomata.

“The Dark Warrior went in there.” He growled and gestured to a burrow in the ground. “He’s trapped, now is our chance to-“

“No, don’t.” Scart looked at Hail, his distrust of the Nekomata clear in his eyes. “He isn’t a Dark Warrior and is definitely of little threat to us.” Hail spoke Calmly and approached the hole in the ground. “Rayne?” He whispered. “It’s alright, you can come out now.”

“Hail?” A terrified looking Wolf face came into view. “Is that you?”

“Who else could I be?” He laughed as the Wolf pup scrambled out of the burrow and hid behind Hail.

“Hail, care to explain?” Scart did not look very pleased. Then again, when did he ever look pleased?

“This is Rayne. He’s a friend.” Rayne did not seem comfortable around Scart. This was the second time that the Griffon had nearly killed him.

“A Dark Warrior friend of yours?” The Wolf tried to get out of Scart’s view by putting Hail between him and the half-bird creature. Does he really seem like a Dark Warrior? The Lion Nekomata thought that Scart’s aggression was completely wasted and pointless.

“A friend, yes, but not a Dark Warrior.” He turned to face Rayne as Saia and Riza came in. He lowered his head so he could whisper in the Wolf’s ear. “Where’s Neko?” He had assumed that he had been with the fiery Nekomata up until that moment.

“Fighting.” Rayne whimpered. Oh crud.

“Hey, Saia.” Hail called out to the older Nekomata. “There’s trouble. Looks like another Dark Warrior beat us to Neko.”

“Wait, what?” Scart glared at Hail, not knowing what was going on. Whoops, I forgot about him. Hail, Saia, and Riza tried to explain everything as quickly as possible about how Neko had fled the castle and Kura’s lies. Neither of the three said anything about the orb or her connection to Cera, however. “Saia, this could be a trap.” What would it take to get the Griffon to listen and stop being so stubborn?

“It’s not a trap!” Rayne barked. “Neko’s hurt and needs help!”

Hail patted Rayne’s head to calm him down some. For whatever reason, that always seemed to relax the young Wolf. “Scart, does this furball look capable of laying out a trap?” Hail turned to face the forest. “Which way?”

“So, you’re going to go help that murderer?” Scart challenged.

“That’s the plan.”

The Griffon positioned himself in front of Hail. “I won’t allow that.”

“Scart-“ Saia began.

“Silence, Saia.” The metal elemental was clearly in a foul mood. “We have no reason to save that killer.” Can we argue about this later? We don’t have the time for this! “Have you forgotten what she did at Thunara? What she did to Kalm and Orre? How she gave us away at Vritra?”

“Scart, her orders were to destroy Vritra and kill everyone, not to go visit and then get another Dark Warrior to do it.” Hail growled. “Now get out of my way!”

“Give me one good reason to.” Scart’s wings were spread out and he was poised to attack.

“Because-“ Hail hesitated. “Because she is Cera’s sister.” He said in a low voice.

“Lies.” The Nekomata dug his claws into the soil, trying to refrain from attacking. His patience was growing thinner by the moment. “You don’t have one, then?”

“I do.” Rayne barked in a very shaky voice. Everyone turned to face the Wolf. He was shaking and lay low to the ground.

“What was that?” Scart said sarcastically.

“I have a reason.” Rayne growled in a louder tone. “Because she saved my life!” He approached the Griffon. “Not just once.” His body was still shaking, but he glared up at Scart who was now within striking distance from the Wolf. “If she hadn’t saved me, she wouldn’t be in trouble right now. So please.” Hail had never seen Rayne look so determined before. “Please help!”
​

Comments/Notes

And here I was thinking that I'd never get feedback. -sigh of relief- It's quite a crazy world, I admit. There are quite a few different types of creatures already in the story. I know several more are to make appearances later on in chapters that I've yet to write out. I'm glad to hear you enjoy it so far, even if it's just that one chapter for now.

I'll respond to any comments at the end of each chapter. (Unless I'm unable to post on a more-less consistent basis, in which case I'll respond at the usual update time.) Most updates are on Tuesdays, but I update more than once a week if I'm given the opportunity. I'll also be posting the status/progress of the story at the end of each post from now on.

One last thing, SerenadeSP, thank you VERY much for responding. It can be quite discouraging after a while to see 900+ views, but no comments. It made me wonder if people thought the story was horrible and such. My motivation thrives best on feedback. I greatly appreciate you posting here. ^_^

Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-7 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Chapter 8 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 9 (P2) Draft - (90%)
Chapter 8 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Eight
The Orb’s Strength​

“Impressive.” Gale muttered as the dome sealed itself around them. Any attempt to break through it would be rather painful. “So this is all you’ve got?”

“Not at all.” Neko could feel her heart racing in her chest. The dome was really all she had left. She became keenly aware that she could not hold it for too long despite how small it was compared to what she had accomplished in the past. What’s happening to me? Surely her strength could not be failing her now of all times? She saw Gale studying the dome. With any luck, he would not attack before the heat and lack of oxygen lowered his strength.

“I can tell a lie when I see one.” The wind elemental turned to face Neko again. “So, what happens if I attack it?” Neko felt the wind tug at the flames. Concentrate! Letting the flames collapse on top of them was not a bad idea, but letting the wind take the flames away would not help at all. Neko took a few steps away from Gale.

Suddenly the wind elemental lunged forward at Neko. The fiery Nekomata jumped out of the way and tried to make distance between the two. All I need to do is stall for time. She was already breathing heavily while Gale still seemed pretty comfortable. “Fine, if you want to play like that.” A strong gust of wind struck the flames. Neko struggled to hold the fire together, but at last the barrier fell apart and the flames were carried by the wind into the forest.

The forest quickly caught fire and would spread in no time at all. “That might work.” Neko staggered a bit but fled into the flames, encouraging them to grow larger so that it would be difficult for Gale to follow. Careful not to trip on any fallen branches or be hit by anything that came down from above, Neko raced through the burning trees. Behind her she could hear the crunch of paws following her. Thankfully Gale was too busy weaving through trees and debris to run at full speed.

Neko took a quick glance behind her through the flames and saw Gale using his wind abilities to blow away some of the flames in his path. At last she began to think that Gale might be falling behind. All that was left to do was outlast him. Thankfully, Cheetahs were not much for endurance. Sooner or later, Gale would tire out. A distant crack from another direction stole away Neko’s focus causing her to trip on the roots of a tree.

Dammit! Neko growled to herself in frustration. She lay on the forest floor too exhausted to fight or run any longer. The fire dome she had created took far more energy than she had anticipated. The part that angered her most was that it did little to aid her against Gale. Neko considered if the outcome if this fight would have been different if she had not taken the attack that the wind Nekomata sent at Gale. The truth was that she did not regret it.

“Tired already?” Gale was standing over her only moments after she lost focus and tripped, casting a shadow over her face. “I was hoping that would last a little longer.” Neko glared back at the Dark Warrior. If only looks could kill, then maybe she would be in a better position. Neko burst into flames again only to have a strong rush of wind scatter the fire into tiny embers. “How many times must I remind you that your fire cannot help you.”

“Anyway, I suppose I’ll make this quick. I’m expected back at the castle tomorrow and if I don’t leave soon, I’ll be late.” Gale moved his claws over Neko’s throat. “Bye.” He whispered quietly. It can’t end like this! She closed her eyes shut and braced herself for the final slash. Nothing happened.

Opening her eyes she saw that Gale was no longer standing over her. Right next to her nose was a metallic feather that was lodged into the ground. “Impossible.” She murmured. The former Dark Warrior slowly forced herself to her paws and was shocked at what she saw. Okay, maybe I am dead.

Gale had been tossed away by a large brown Griffon. Scart. “Something is seriously wrong with this picture.” Neko muttered. “Well, unless you are just getting rid of him so you can take the credit for my death?”

“Wrong.” Neko grimaced when she heard Hail’s voice. “Well… alright, not entirely wrong.” Was there even a slight chance that the Lion Nekomata would ever leave her alone?

“Can’t you just stay out of my life for more than a week?”

“Is that how you say thanks? Anyway, how can I stay out of your life if you don’t have a life to stay out of?” Hail was now at her side. “Anyway, you made it pretty easy for me to find you. Have you seen how many trees you set on fire already?”

“I don’t recall asking for your help.” Neko kept her eyes on Gale who was now slowly circling around Scart. If anything, he was not pleased that the Griffon had intervened with his fight.

“No, but I did.” Rayne stepped up from behind Hail.

“I thought I told you to get your tail out of here!” She hissed in an attempt to be angry at Rayne. A rather horrid attempt at that. Sometimes it was just too hard to remain upset with Rayne, especially when he came back to help her.

“No need to be upset.” Hail teased and turned to watch Scart. Gale was trying to find a way to attack the Griffon, but the Griffon had hardened his feathers and fur making him resistant to most attacks.

Neko summoned up some flames and readied herself to fight. “Take it easy.” Hail warned. “Scart may not be our best friend, but he’s got this.” Neko was about to ignore Hail and run after Gale, but with only one step she realized how sore and work out she was. “Saia will be here in a few moments. He’ll check your wounds.” The older Nekomata was normally the last to arrive in such situations due to his age and slower speed, but in the middle of a fight he seemed quite agile.

Scart was shaken up by a few strong gusts of wind, but managed to hold his ground. Before the wind Nekomata could knock the Griffon off-balance, a pillar of water slammed into Gale. “Rayne!” Hail seemed alarmed. “What are you doing?” Rayne charged forward despite Hail’s attempts to grab his tail and drag him back to the sidelines. It was clear that the Wolf was scared, but he continued onward regardless.

At that moment Saia arrived with Riza flying overhead. “Good timing.” Hail muttered. “Take care of Neko, I’m going to try getting Rayne away from there before he gets himself, or Scart, hurt.”

Saia laughed but sat down next to Neko. “Feeling alright?” The older feline spoke calmly.

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Neko said dryly. Part of her wanted to rejoin the fight, but she knew that in her condition she would only get in the way.

“If you say so.” Saia responded as Rayne dodged out of the way of some blades of wind that had missed Scart. The Wolf skidded to a halt and leapt into the air in an attempt to get on Gale’s back, but the Cheetah Nekomata managed to sidestep the lunge as he dodged some more metallic feathers sent by Scart that almost hit Rayne.

“I thought you rebels liked playing fair?” He laughed as he dodged another attempted strike from Hail. “Three versus one and you still can’t beat me?” His body was built to be agile which made it difficult for any of the three to land a successful attack. “Pathetic.”

“No point in playing fair.” Scart growled. The four were standing all poised for an attack. “Especially when the other side can’t play fair.”

“Well then.” Gale took a few steps back. “I guess I was wrong about you rebels.” He grinned. “You all are far more like us than I had originally concluded. It’s such a pity how two groups of creatures so alike have to war against each other.”

“Don’t you dare compare us you murderers.” Scart growled with a furious intensity. Neko looked at Gale. It was not like assassins to stop and chat much. Either Gale is being overconfident, or he is plotting something.

“You’ve killed some of our own.” Gale looked at Scart. “Does that not make you a murderer as well?”

Scart’s golden eyes flared with rage. “At least we do not kill in cold blood.”

“There is no such thing as killing in cold blood when you are at war.” Gale paused so that Scart may speak but continued when the Griffon remained silent. “What of Neko, then? You know she has killed many before. She’s killed some of your friends, correct?” Rayne slowly began to creep to one side out of Gale’s sight. “Why defend her?” Scart clearly had no answer to that. “If you allow me to complete my task here, I shall leave the rest of you be.”

“Scart, don’t listen to him.” Hail growled as the Griffon backed off. There was a long silence that settled over the group. Ash was blown into the air by a light breeze.

“What exactly is your task?” Scart kept his eyes fixated on the wind elemental.

“To kill the Dark Warrior, or rather, former Dark Warrior, that stands behind you.” Scart’s golden eyes studied the situation. “So, please, will you move aside so that I can finish what I came here to do?”

Neko flattened her ears against her head as Scart backed away from Gale and closer to her. “Not a chance.” With a flap of his heavy wings he sent an array of metallic feathers towards the assassin.

“That wasn’t quite what I was expecting.” Neko was almost sure that the Griffon would have turned on her. Gale had a very good point. Neko did kill some of Scart’s friends and he really had no reason to help.

“To be honest, I’m rather surprised that he agreed to help.” Saia spoke calmly as Gale and Scart began to fight again. Hail stood to one side in case Scart needed some help. Joining in the fight might cause some accidental friendly fire that neither Scart nor Hail needed at the moment.

“How exactly did you manage to convince him?” Neko could recall his several attempts to kill her at their previous encounters. She was sure this would end up no different when, or if, they managed to drive Gale away. “I’m sure you’ve noticed, but we are quite far from being friends.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Hail?” Neko guessed.

“No.” The fiery Nekomata looked at Rayne who was slowly creeping around to stand where Gale would not be able to spot him.

“Don’t tell me it was Rayne?” Saia nodded. “I guess I should stop underestimating that furball.” Anyone with even the smallest bit of heart would be unable to go out against the full force of Rayne’s unparalleled innocence.

“Be sure to thank him later.” The Wolf was now in the perfect spot for a surprise attack. He peeked out from behind a tree and looked at Hail waiting for his chance to strike. So far, Scart had been doing very well on his own and did not need assistance.

Hail gave a very subtle signal to Rayne. The Wolf slid out from his hiding spot and created several balls of water. Just as they started heading in Gale’s direction the blobs of water froze over and turned into giant chunks of ice. The balls of ice shattered as they hit the assassin, sending frozen splinters in all directions. Gale hissed in frustration as Scart tried to attack him while he gazed around to find where Rayne had vanished to.

Neko’s ears twitched as they picked up the whistling sound of fast moving wind. “That can’t be good.” Hail had also noticed the sound.

“For you at least.” Gale replied. Blood was dripping down from a slash wound on his cheek. Rayne and Hail had given Scart the opportunity to lash out with his talons. Around the group was a barrier of high speed winds. “Now then, I dare you to try going through that.” Neko could see many scratches appear on the trees that were on the wind’s path. The trees could very well be cut through if the wind continued for too long.

“I’d rather take you down.” Scart muttered, not caring much for the barrier. It seemed as if Gale was attempting to trap them even though fleeing was the last thing on their minds. This doesn’t make sense. Rayne was silently walking over the leafy forest floor as he approached the wind elemental.

The leaves on the ground began to life slightly off the ground. A tornado? The Wolf suddenly broke off into a dash at Gale, using the floating leaves to help conceal himself. Just as Rayne leapt off the ground, Gale spun around and struck at the Wolf pup. Within a few short moments Gale had Rayne pinned to the forest flow with one paw. “One down.” He grinned.

Hail and Scart froze. Neko knew that Hail would not risk attacking with Rayne in the way, but she was not entirely sure what Scart would do. No one moved or spoke. The only sound was that of the whirlwind that was slowly growing stronger around them.

Rayne struggled to slip free, but the Cheetah Nekomata had him firmly held against the ground. “Let me go.” He barked in a panicked voice.

“I will.” Gale grinned. “Eventually.”

Scart prepared to attack. “Wait.” Hail spoke. The ice elemental looked steadily at Gale. “Let him go.” Since when did asking ever work? The wind around them was slowly growing stronger.

“Why should I?” The assassin laughed. “My orders were to kill all of-“ Gale froze. What’s going on?

“Go.” It took Neko a moment to realize that Saia was holding Gale with his odd abilities. Her body was still sore, but the few minutes of rest she had helped a great deal. Flames flickered on Neko’s fur as her paws carried her towards Gale. The fire steadily grew as she approached, despite the wind around them.

Her burning body crashed into Gale, forcing him to release Rayne. “I didn’t take Rayne along with me so you can kill him.” She growled.

“Fine, I’ll finish you off first, since you seem so eager to fight some more.” He lunged at Neko with his claws outstretched. Before his claws could tear into her fur, Rayne leapt in the way and took the attack.

“Rayne!” Hail rushed to the Wolf who miraculously landed on his paws. “Are you alright?” The Wolf nodded. Blood was soaking his fur on his flank, but aside from that he seemed perfectly fine.

“You want to fight me?” Gale glared at Rayne.

“Your opponent is right here, Gale.” There was no more playing around. Even Gale seemed to be taking the four versus one situation seriously now.

“Haven’t you learned already?” Gale turned to face Neko. “You can’t win with your fire. It’s useless.”

“We’ll see about that.” Neko could feel a surge of heat around her, more so than usual. “Hail, get Rayne and everyone else somewhere safe.” Unfortunately, there was no where that was completely safe within the small area Gale had trapped them in. Neko focused on keeping the flames alive as she sent them into the whirlwind.

“You’re insane! Are you trying to kill us all?” Neko heard Hail call out from behind. She could feel the heat intensify as the winds slowly grew more and more powerful. All of a sudden an explosion of fire mixed with the whirlwind. Around them was a burning vortex that threatened to burn them all. Neko tried to control the fire, but it raged on well out of her reach.

“What are you doing?” Hail yelled, but his voice was almost completely drowned out by the roar of the burning tornado. Why can’t I control it?

“Stop it! I give up!” Hail called out in a panicked voice. The wind Nekomata valued his life and knew that he was beat. “Just stop it!”

“I can’t!” Neko yelled back as flames began to envelop her body with a scorching heat like never before. She could no longer see anything but fire. Nothing but flames, then darkness.​

Comments/Notes

Well, I've been pretty motivated this weekend, so I got another chapter done before the usual update day. (Basically I'm updating early.) I might get another chapter up on Wednesday, or Thursday. Depends how much I can get drafted and if I have time at home to type it up.

Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-8 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Chapter 9 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 10 (P2) Draft - (70%)
Chapter 9 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Nine
Cera's Request​

Neko woke up to a throbbing headache. I passed out again, didn’t I? She opened her eyes slowly and sighed. Her body protested when she got to her paws. There was no where that did not ache. “Take it easy.” Saia came up from behind the drowsy Nekomata. “You’ve been out since yesterday afternoon.” Neko tried to ignore how dizzy and sore she felt.

“What happened?” She slowly glanced around for Hail, Scart, Rayne, or Riza. It seemed as if it was just her and Saia. I hope I didn’t kill them. The last thing Neko could remember was Gale’s tornado catching on fire and a burning sensation at her side- which was not normal for a fire elemental.

“It seems like you activated the orb’s power.” Neko looked at her side while Saia spoke. No burn marks or anything, just a lot of cuts and bruises. “You made quite a mess. The fire elemental noticed that the trees around them were completely scorched without a single green tree in sight.

“Whoops.” She had not intended to set the forest on fire. Then again, she did not intend to create a giant unstoppable tornado of fire. However, she did consider figuring out how to create that without having a wind elemental around. It’s destructive power could come in handy if she were fighting alone.

“Rayne and Hail spent quite some time trying to get the fires out after you passed out.” Well, that was two more accounted for, and the only two Neko actually cared for. As far as she was concerned, Scart could vanish and never return.

“What about Scart and-“ Neko just realized that she did not know the Eagle’s name.

“Riza?” Saia laughed. “Don’t worry. We all made it out alive- with quite a fur burns of course.” Neko spotted a few patches of singed fur on the old Nekomata’s body.

“Sorry about that.” Neko actually expected him to be far more burnt than he was, though it sounded as if the fight ended shortly after she passed out.

“Don’t worry, Gale was on the receiving end of the full force of that tornado.” Good. “He won’t be back for quite a while after that, I suspect.”

“I’d hope so.” Neko yawned, wanting to go back to sleep. The last thing she wanted to worry about at the moment was dealing with another attack from Gale or some other Dark Warrior.

“You’ll be a little bit sore for a while. I probably should have warned you earlier, but using the orb takes up a lot of your strength afterward.” I wish he had given me that warning sooner. Even after being out for nearly an entire day, she felt exhausted and worn out.

“I didn’t exactly intend on using the orb.” Neko recalled feeling it’s heat through her bag, but she did not even consider using it during the fight. She did not even know how to use the fire orb’s strength even if she had wanted to. “It just happened.”

“You’ll learn how to control it sooner or later.” Sooner would be nice. “I recast the spell on the orb to keep it hidden, so do not use it unless you have to.” Not like Neko knew how to use it in the first place. Had Gale figured out that she had the orb, or did he think she just had a random burst of strength? That was probably a question that would be answered at a later time.

“Why are you helping me?” Neko blurted out. Her sister may have had reason to help her, but Cera was dead which left no reason for Saia, Hail, and especially Scart, to help her. Saia and Hail had been friendly to her even when she was still their enemy, but even now it just felt too strange.

“I’m helping you because Aros, Riza, and I made a promise a long while back.” Saia responded. “To Cera.”

“Cera is dead now, though.” Not too long ago, she might have killed Saia or one of the others that saved her had they crossed paths with Neko at the wrong time.

“First of all- Cera isn’t dead. No one dies until all memory of them has faded from this world.” Under the logic, Yugito would never die either. No one would be able to forget the dark Nekomata and her reign of terror, even long after the sun sets on her rule. “Second- a promise is a promise. All because the one I made the promise to no longer walks amongst us, I still have to follow it. Anyway, if I did break the promise, your sister would surely come and haunt me for the rest of whatever remains of my life.”

“Cera was crazy, but it was her wish that we help you.” Saia continued. “She believed that we could bring you back from the Dark Castle.”

“She was right, though, wasn’t she?” Neko muttered. It still made little sense to her how the leader of the rebels would have faith in a Dark Warrior of everyone in the world.

“However unlikely it was, she was correct. You standing here with us is proof of that.” Neko gazed up at the sky. Clouds were moving gently along over the ash and soot that the forest fire had created. It was peaceful despite the war that plagued the land. “Helping you remember was the hard part.”

“Wait…” Neko turned her head to face Saia again. “You had something to do with that?”

“No. You just had some random dreams and got some of your memories back because you hit your head against a rock one too many times.” Saia muttered sarcastically.

“I don’t remember hitting my head against a rock.” The fire elemental had no memory of receiving such an injury before any of her dreams.

“It’s called sarcasm.” Saia muttered. “Of course I had something to do with it.” He laughed. “I couldn’t bring back all of your memories, regretfully. Only those of Marua.”

“Why not?” Most of her childhood was still unknown to her, save for the final hours of Marua’s existence. Even then, she only began to remember it clearly in the last few days. Before then, she knew only what had been shown in her strange dreams that Saia had apparently created. Neko had been trying to help a friend when she passed out in the burning building. She was the one who let me go at Kalm.

“The longer one’s memories are sealed away, the harder it becomes to recover them.” Saia explained. “I managed to get to Hail shortly after his arrival at the Dark Castle, but you had been there for a few years before Cera told us everything that happened at Marua and guilt-tripped us into getting what she wanted.”

That made sense. Sort of. Neko’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps heading in their direction. “Hey, Saia!” It was Hail. That’s my cue to leave. “Is she awake yet?”

Before Neko could go anywhere Saia had to respond. “See for yourself.” Hail noticed the fiery Nekomata trying to escape.

“Nice to see your up and about again.” He teased. “If you were out cold for too much longer, I would have had to get Rayne to dump some nice cold water on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Neko muttered. Hail made it far too easy to think about killing him sometimes. “Where is Rayne anyway?”

“He’s out patrolling the area with Scart and Riza.” Oh dear.

“Is that really a good idea?”

“Don’t worry, Rayne will be fine. Scart may hate you, and maybe me, but he doesn’t have anything against Rayne.” That’s nice to know.

“Actually, it’s not Rayne I was worried about.” Neko could only imagine the horrors the young overly energetic Wolf was putting them through. It was a miracle that he had not driven anyone to insanity. Yet.

Hail laughed. “well, let’s hope for the best then.” Neko shook her head. How could Hail be so light hearted all of the time? Like Neko, he had Yugito after his life. “Feeling better now?”

“I’m fine.” Neko yawned again. “Just tired.”

“Still?” Hail looked over at Saia who was silently studying the sky. “You’ve already been asleep for the last twenty-four hours or so.”

“I’m well aware of that, thanks.” Neko spoke under her breath.

“So, have you reconsidered?” Hail looked expectantly at Neko. Neko stared blankly back.

“Reconsidered what?”

“Joining us, of course.” Neko sighed with irritation.

“My answer is still no.” The fiery Nekomata could not see herself amongst the rebels. Especially after some of the things she had done in the past such as her visits to Thunara, Kalm, and Orre.

“Come on, Neko.” Hail pressed. “You’ve got no where to go. You can’t go back to the Dark Castle, and you won’t exactly be welcomed with open arms anywhere, especially with Yugito on your tails.”

“I know.” Neko growled at the ice elemental. He could be far too persistent at times.

“Then where will you go? What will you do?” Hail was pushing Neko’s patience, which was already thin after the chaos over the last few days.

“I don’t know.” Neko growled. “Some where- anywhere away from this stupid war.”

“It’s not that simple!” Hail rose his voice. “Yugito won’t just let you walk away and wander wherever you want. You will be hunted down. You may have escaped from Gale, but she’s bound to send more Dark Warriors after you.” Neko unsheathed her claws. “The only reason either of us have survived so far was because we’ve had help. You won’t always get lucky and have someone to show up and save your tails every time you get in a tight spot.”

“Hail, enough.” Saia rasped. “She’s well aware of the position she put herself in by taking Rayne and leaving the Dark Warriors.”

“But, Saia, what about Cera?”

“Cera wanted us to show her the truth and help her if we could.” Hail did not look very pleased. “Getting Neko to join the rebels was not what she wanted us to do.”

“Thank you.” Neko muttered.

“Saia-“

“Enough, Hail.” Saia snapped. “If we force her to join us, that would make us no better than Yugito.” I wouldn’t go that far.

“Fine.” Hail sighed. “If you change you mind, try to find us.” Don’t count on it.

Neko stretched her sore limbs and started to walk off. “Well, I’m leaving now. Thanks.”

“What?” Hail sounded surprised. “Shouldn’t you at least rest up a bit before you leave? You’re wounds can’t have healed already.”

“I’ll be fine.” In truth, Neko was still very tired and not feeling too great, but she did not want to stay put for much longer. Getting away from Yugito and her followers was her main concern at the moment, and staying in one location for too long would only give them more time to locate her and strike again. The sooner she left, the better.

It looked as if Hail was about to argue, but a sharp look from Saia kept him silent. Finally someone who can keep him quiet. At last he had given up. “Be careful.” He murmured.

“You don’t have to remind me about that.” Neko began to head out into the forest. “Hail?”

“What?”

“Take care of Rayne, alright?” Part of the reason she wanted to leave as soon as possible was Rayne. There was no chance of being able to escape without having to explain to the Wolf pup why she was leaving and dealing with his whining. If there was anyone who might actually be able to convince Neko to stay, it was Rayne.

“Alright.” Hail seemed to loosen up again. “So, why exactly did you leave?” Is Hail going to let me go or not?

“Rayne didn’t tell you?”

“He told us that you did it to save him and that you got in trouble for letting us go at Vritra, but there is more to it, right?” Neko had to decide if Hail should know what really happened.

“When Yugito found out about Vritra, she called me in.” The fiery Nekomata decided that their was no harm in telling the rest of the story. “I was given two choices. The first was to kill Rayne and stay, or leave and be in the same position as you. I took Rayne along because he would have been killed if I left him.”

“Thanks for that. I’ll keep an eye on him.” He grinned. “Also, I’m sorry. I was wrong about you.”

“About what?” Neko turned in confusion.

“For calling you heartless back at Kurori.” Neko grinned. “I realized that you do have a heart. It’s just frozen over with the coldest ice imaginable.” I should have seen that coming.

“Thanks.”

With that, Neko walked into the forest. She had no idea where she was going or where she should go, so her only option was to wander aimlessly in some randomly selected direction. The only thing she did know was that she needed to get away from Yugito and the rebels if she ever wanted to have any peace and quiet. She wanted no part in the war, not anymore at least.

She walked on for several minutes. The air was warm and choked with the smell of burnt wood. Thankfully there was no wind. Clouds were scattered high across the sky. There were a few that seemed to be carrying rain as they were much darker than most of the other clouds. I hope it doesn’t rain soon. Shortly after she finally got out of the charred part of the forest, she heard a sharp crack from behind.

“Who’s there?” Neko spun around prepared to attack, but relaxed when she saw Scart. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Nice to see you too.” The Griffon eyed her suspiciously. The Griffon was clearly alone.

“Where is Rayne? Hail told me that he was with you.”

“I sent him back with Riza.” Neko said nothing but kept her eyes focused on the Griffon.

After a few moments of silence the fire elemental finally spoke. “Thanks for helping me out yesterday.” She muttered. “But I don’t quite understand something. Why did you? Of everyone here, you have the most reason to leave me to die.”

“I don’t quite know myself.” The Griffon admitted. “I don’t agree with what Saia is doing, but if this is really what Cera wanted, I won’t argue.” Well, that was a surprise.

“I don’t understand most of what has been going on myself.” Neko turned and began to head out on her way again.

“Leaving so soon?”

“Yeah. I have no reason to stick around.” If there were any reasons, Neko did not want to acknowledge them.

“Just know one thing.” Neko paused again. “Saia might trust you with the orb and I know that he was hoping you’d stay, but know that I can’t trust you.” Neko shrugged. “I can’t forgive you for what happened at Thunara.”

“I never expected you to.” She called back and continued to walk away. “Tell Rayne I said bye.” The Griffon watched as the fiery Nekomata vanished deeper into the forest.​

Notes/Comments

First of all, I must note that me updating this often is not normal and will probably only happen during the summer months. I have 4 update speeds. Slow: Every Other Week. Normal: Every Week. Double: Twice a Week. Fast: Three or more chapters per week. I am currently in 'Fast' When Summer Band and school start up, it'll probably jump to slow, unless I choose to save chapters for buffer rather than posting them as I go.

Also, for those who like to look at some art, I made cover pages on photoshop out of boredom.

Part One Cover
Part Two Cover

Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-9 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Chapter 10 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 11 (P2) Draft - (40%)
Chapter 10 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Ten
Yugito’s Plans​

Night had fallen over the Dark Castle, laying a thick blanket of eerie silence over the black corridors. Within the main chamber near the entrance, Yugito lied in wait for Gale’s return with Zera sitting silently at her side. “He’s late.” Zera said flatly. The two Nekomata had expected him to return well before nightfall and was quickly growing impatient.

The dark Nekomata replied with silence, acknowledging Zera’s words with a flick of her ear. She was already planning her next strike against the rebels. Yugito had hoped that the battle at Kurori would put down the rebellion against her, but it seemed as if she had failed to notice who was pulling the strings behind the scenes of the rebellion. Cera and Aros had both been faces to give hope. It was clear now that the mastermind behind everything was the old Nekomata named Saia. Taking him out was what she had to do.

“Yugito?” It was Gale.

“I trust you have something to report?” Yugito’s voice was void of all warmth or emotion. Gale easily spotted Zera’s striking yellow eyes in the dark room.

Gale bowed his head. “Forgive my tardiness.” The wind Nekomata had told Yugito that he would return before nightfall but had not anticipated the trouble he had with the rebel group and Neko. The dark ruler instantly knew that Gale had not succeeded with his task when she saw the wounds her bore. The heavy burn marks proved that both Gale and Yugito had underestimated Neko’s strength. “I caught up with Rayne and Neko, but a small group of rebel fighters interfered with the fight before I could finish Neko off.”

“Who?” Zera narrowed her eyes. It was unusual for a small group to wander around, let alone defend a known Dark Warrior from an assassin.

“Saia, Hail, and a Griffon. I believe they called the Griffon ‘Scart’” Yugito growled softly at the mention of the spirit Nekomata. At least Gale’s failure brought news of Saia’s location.

“Where are they?” Saia had been a thorn in her side since the war started six years ago. It had only recently occurred to her that whenever one of her plans failed, the old Nekomata was at the scene. Despite his age, he had proven able to evade death thus far. Killing Saia was high on her list of things that had to be done.

“In the eastern forests- not too far from Midveil.” Gale was surprised, and slightly suspicious, that Yugito had not been upset about his failure to eliminate the fire Nekomata or Rayne. “I believe Neko split up from the rebel group.” Perfect.

“Dismissed.” The assassin nodded and silently left into the pitch black corridors of the castle.

“Would you like me to pursue Neko?” Zera offered coolly.

“No, I’ve already come to a decision on who I should send next.” The dark Nekomata had already prepared another plan in the event that Gale failed.

“Alright then.” Zera was hardly visible in the dim room. “Then what did you wish to discuss with me then?” Yugito had called for Zera, but had decided to wait for Gale’s return before saying anything on why she had summoned the Dark Warrior. The shadow Nekomata merely assumed that it was a topic that Yugito did not want the assassin to accidentally overhear.

“I believe that I’ve pinpointed the location of one of the orbs.” Zera’s interest grew much stronger.

“Which one?”

“The water orb.” Zera nodded. She would have preferred hearing that it was either the Dark or Shadow orb, but this was still good news for them.

“So that is why you’ve called me?” The closest Zera had gotten to one of the ancient relics was when she had chased Cera down near Mt. Valline and ended up being on the receiving end of the orb’s strength. It was clearly not a force to underestimate.

“Partially. I’ve already sent one of the other Dark Warriors to go fetch the orb.” Zera assumed immediately that a water elemental had been sent out. “Speaking of water, I sent Talon out to take care of Rayne and Hail.”

“You think he’ll be able to finish them off if they are with the rebel group that beat Gale?” Talon was one of the strongest of Yugito’s forces, but it was still doubtful that he could take on too many at once. Zera herself was familiar with the strength of Saia and Hail and knew that those two alone would be handful, but add another Griffon and Rayne and that would prove difficult if Talon did not take them seriously.

“Worst case scenario, I’ll end up dealing the problem myself.” Yugito purred. She actually fancied the idea some. She had not fought in a fight since Kurori and kind of liked the idea of getting to spill some blood. “Anyway, I’d like you to head out towards some old ruins that we recently located.”

“Ruins?” It was not exactly what Zera had expected. She did often find looking at old architecture interesting, but this was not what Yugito would normally send her out to do.

“Arth found the ruins recently. He managed to decipher some of the writing there that led us to the possible location of the water orb. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure much else out.” While Yugito wanted to send Zera after the rebel group, she decided that getting the orbs was of a higher priority. “You are more familiar with the ancient writings than most, so I want you to go investigate.”

“You believe that these ruins may be able to tell us where the orbs are?” Zera was doubtful. The orbs were created so long ago that most living beings no longer knew of their existence. That, and Arth had proven to bring false information in the past. The orbs could have easily been relocated several times over the many years since their creation.

“Perhaps. Even if the ruins fail to reveal the information we seek, I’m sure you will find something worthwhile out there.” There was only one way to find out. “The ruins are located in the northern mountains. Not too far from where Kalm was.”

~*~*~*~*~*~​

Neko sighed as the forest continued on before her. She had been walking, and partially limping, for days and had let to see no end to the trees. After so long of seeing nothing but the forest it began to feel as if she had been going in circles. Turning her gaze upward, she tried to find a suitable tree to climb. One large tree with large dark green leaves stood out amongst the rest.

Bunching up her muscles, she leapt onto the tree and pulled herself up onto a low hanging branch and leapt again. Eventually, despite the aches of her wounds, she managed to get to the highest branches. Careful to maintain her balance, she slowly inched towards the edge of the branch so that she may look out past the leaves for a better view of the forest.

Neko was surprised to see how far up she had gone and how tall the tree was in comparison to most of those around her. An ocean of green leaves lay out around her. The only area that seemed out of place was a blackened area that was the result of her fight with Gale. Did I really do all of that? The fiery Nekomata was aware that she had destroyed a part of the forest, but not an area that large.

The tabby Nekomata mapped out the area she saw in her mind before slowly making her way back down. Fortunately she had been traveling away from the charred area which assured her that she was not going in the wrong direction. Just before she could make it to the ground, the branch she was on snapped and sent her crashing down to the leaf-littered earth. Neko quickly scrambled to her paws, wincing in pain as she realized one of her paws had been injured in the fall. Great. Looking up at the tree, she saw her bag hanging off the branch next to the one that had broken.

The fire elemental hissed in annoyance. This was not turning out to be an exceptionally great day. I really need a new bag. Ever since it first tore in Kalm, the straps of the bag had snapped apart time and time again and she had to constantly patch it back up.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her paw and her many cuts from her fight with Gale Neko leapt for the bag and managed to snag it with one of her claws. The branch, unable to support her weight, snapped and sent her straight down- again. Her back slammed against the ground. Sometimes it seemed like a far better idea to simply finish what she started and burn the forest down.

“And here I thought cats always landed on their paws.” Neko, still laying with her paws in the air, tilted her head back to see the face of a silver fox.

“It’s not as easy as it looks.” She tried to make up an excuse for her fall.

“Not your lucky day, I take it?” The canine had taken note of not one, but two, broken branches.

“Not at all.” She rolled over and got to her paws. The silver fox, upon closer inspection, was not really a fox. It was a Kitsune- a fox-like creature capable of having anywhere from one to nine tails. The more tails, the stronger they were, or so Neko had heard. The tips of his five tails and his underbelly where white and his eyes were a light blue. “More of a bad week, actually.”

The fox-like creature laughed. “The name’s Storm.” He seemed friendly enough, well, friendlier than many of the others Neko had bumped into since she had fled the Dark Castle. Having a reputation as a Dark Warrior definitely did not help her at all. “Let me have a look at that paw.” Neko was hesitant, but eventually held it out for the Kitsune to see. “Looks like you just twisted it. It’ll hurt for a few days, but it’s nothing to worry about.” I don’t quite recall being worried about it in the first place.

“Thanks.” Neko flexed her paws, allowing her claws to snag a few leaves in the process. It ached but not so much that she could not put pressure on it.

“So what brings you here?” The Kitsune’s bright blue eyes shone with curiosity.

“Trying to get away from the stupid war between the Dark Castle and the rebels.” Neither side of the fighting seemed to want to leave her alone. “I just need to get somewhere peaceful enough to think for a while.” Neko was not quite sure what she wanted to do yet. She had considered Saia’s offer of joining with the rebels, since going back to Yugito was out of the question, but imagining herself being welcomed by the rest of the rebel forces, especially those who she had fought with in the past, was difficult.

“Don’t want to join up with the rebels?” Neko laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.” The silver-furred Kitsune seemed friendly enough. Neko began to explain how she had been a Dark Warrior, why she was exiled, and her encounter with Gale. She was careful to leave out anything related to the orb, Cera, and how Saia and Hail had invited her over to their side.

“So you’re basically trying to find somewhere peaceful to hide out where neither side will find you?” Storm’s tails gently waved in the wind.

“Yeah, but it isn’t easy seeing how I’ve been bumping into both Yugito’s forces and the rebels almost every day.” In the time since she had split off from Hail, Neko had bumped into a few other creatures that had recognized her as a Dark Warrior and were not too welcoming. She could not blame them for hating her though.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance, then.” Neko looked at the Kitsune with curiosity. “I’ve traveled quite a bit in my time. I believe there is somewhere that may yet to be reached by the war- or Yugito even.”

Neko became far more interested. “Where wound that be?”

“If I recall correctly, it’s quite a way from here. North-east beyond the mountains.” Neko’s heart sank.

“Over the mountains?” Storm nodded. The idea of heading north through the snow did not sound fun. She remembered her time near Kalm where her fire abilities had melted the ice, rendering her flames useless with the water. Since then she had been careful not to be in her fire form unless necessary, but the thought of the risks were hard to forget.

“Why? Is that a problem?” The Kitsune looked at the sky. I thin layer of soft grey clouds had blown in over the forest. I hope it doesn’t rain.

“You can say I’m not particularly fond of snow.”

“Well, it would make it harder for anyone to find you.” It would also make it easier for anyone to kill me. “How many Dark Warriors or rebels would think to find you in the mountains if you don’t like snow?

Neko thought about it for a moment. “I guess you have a point there.” She admitted.

“How about I lead you there myself?” Storm suggested. Neko knew it would be helpful to have someone who knew the area with her, especially one that was not trying to kill her, but she was used to traveling on her own thus far.

“I don’t know.” She muttered doubtfully. “Remember that I’ve got Yugito after me, and if you are with me, you’ll likely be targeted as well.” Neko had been careful not to kill anyone. If anything, the fiery Nekomata wanted to leave that part of her life behind.

“You were a Dark Warrior yourself, no?” Neko nodded. “That would mean you must be pretty strong.” Neko could only wish that were true. If she had the strength to fight off other Dark Warriors, she would not had to have Hail, Scart, and Rayne come to save her tails. The fiery Nekomata was still concerned on how easily she had tired out in her last fight and how easily she lost control of her abilities.

“If you get caught with me, you realize that both sides will immediately mark you as their enemy as well.” Neko felt a small drop of water hit her nose. It was drizzling. “After all, I did kill a good number of rebels and betrayed the Dark Warriors.”

“I don’t mind much.” Storm yawned and moved closer to the tree in an attempt to stay dry. “We all have our histories. It’s who you are now that matters though. There’s little point in fretting over things that are long past.”

“It hasn’t been that long actually. Just a week or so.” Storm laughed.

“Well, do you want me to come with you or not? It’s not trouble at all really.” Neko paused for a moment. “I’m just a wanderer, It’s not like I was heading anywhere to begin with.”

“I guess that would be helpful.” Neko was glad to have her odd feather-shaped shell charm with her as the drizzle strengthened to a light rain.

“Great!” He barked. “Let’s head out when the rain clears, alright?”​

Notes/Comments

Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-10 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Chapter 11 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 12 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 13 (P2) Draft - (10%)
Chapter 11 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 12 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[Corrosion]

I really like this story; it is one of the few worth reading in the Non-Pokemon section. I knew, though that the Nekomata with the Light Ball would die, so maybe you can work on less predictable plots points. Of course, Neko is going to win, duh, but who will survive, certainly Raine with an injury.

Other than that, the story is well written, with only a couple of typo's.

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Eleven
Ally or Enemy​

“It would be easiest if we went a little further east before attempting to cross the mountains.” Storm was leading Neko eastward to find an easier way to cross over the mountains. After the rain they had set off again until nightfall came. If they wanted to evade any unfriendly visitors it was best that the two did not waste any daylight.

The sun was shining over the trees again as brightly as ever. The humidity n the air was barely tolerable in the afternoon heat. “About how long do you think it will take to cross over the mountains? Neko spoke to break the silence. “It depends on where you choose to ho over.” The mountains had at last come into view that morning. “I plan to cross between those two mountains over there.” Neko saw a gap between two rather large mountains. “It’ll take most of a day to cross there, but it looks like that way would be the easiest.”

“How far have you traveled?” Neko asked. She was curious about the Kitsune. Amidst the war there were very few that were brave enough to travel on their own. Most wanderers did not make it far before getting into some sort of trouble.

“I’ve been to too many places to count.” Storm responded. “Though I do have a few favorite locations. The southern shores were rather pleasant. It’s beautiful there if the weather is good.”

“You’ve been to the southern region and came out alive?” Most of the fighting between Yugito’s forces and the resistance had been in the south since the war began. Some of the stories the Nekomata had heard of the violence where so gruesome that even Neko had a hard time imagining the chaos there. Fortunately in her time as a Dark Warrior she was never sent there.

“I was there before the war. It’s not exactly a great idea to visit these days is it?” The Kitsune had to be older than Neko originally thought if he had been able to visit the southern areas before Yugito’s rise to power and the bloodshed began. “I decided to leave when the light elementals began to be killed. Back in those days the light elementals were quite common. Yugito saw them as a threat though, so she ordered that they all be killed.”

“Are you a light elemental?”

“No, but I didn’t want to stick around and fight.” His five tails gently hovered over the ground. “It wasn’t easy to watch the world you grew up in change completely in a matter of days and be completely powerless to do anything about it.”

“I would imagine so.” Neko muttered. “What was it like?”

“What was what like?” Storm responded.

“Before Yugito came along. I know that the south was where the rebels first started to fight back so they got the worst of the punishment. They still are, actually.” Neko had heard many stories of current events, but rarely anything of before the dark Nekomata’s appearance.

“Peaceful.” Storm murmured. “There was very little to worry about. It was a huge shock when Yugito came up from out of nowhere and turned everything upside down. It wasn’t exactly bad at first, but then someone tried to resist the new laws and killed one of Yugito’s Dark Warriors in the process. It wasn’t until then that blood began to be spilled.”

“Do you know who it was?”

“A Nekomata, the founder of the rebels.” Storm continued. “Saia, a spirit elemental.”

“Wait, I thought Aros was the founder of the rebels.” All of the tales she had heard led her to believe that Aros was the one who rose up against the dark Nekomata. She had never even heard of Saia until she saw him at Kurori.

“Aros was just a face to lead those who wanted to go against Yugito. Having an old creature as your leader doesn’t do much for recruiting.” Storm explained. “Saia has been the one pulling all of the strings since the beginning though.”

“I guess that doesn’t quite surprise me.” Neko muttered. Storm seemed have become distracted. “Storm?”

“Be quiet.” He whispered and sniffed the air. “I smell trouble.” Storm kept walking casually with Neko. The fire elemental tilted her ears in different angles to listen for any sounds.

“I hear it.” It was not just one creature either. “Not too far from here.” Something tells me it isn’t Hail or Saia. Neko’s ears picked up sounds from another direction than the first ones. “Sounds like we’re surrounded.”

“I suppose this means you weren’t kidding about how trouble seems to be following you around.” The two stopped walking and positioned themselves to face opposite directions.

Neko laughed. “No I wasn’t.” Several creatures appeared one by one out of the trees. Three for each of us. Fun. The creatures attacked without a word. Within moments Neko could see that they were not Dark Warriors. “After sending Gale back with half of his fur burnt off, you’d think Yugito would take me more seriously than this.”

Three of them, a Wolf, a Panther, and a large Eagle, were fighting Neko while the other three, a pygmy Dragon, another Wolf, and a rather small Falcon faced off with Storm. The Nekomata successfully sent the first Wolf flying with a strong burst of fire and swatted the Eagle away with her un-injured paw. What is Yugito up to? Had Yugito sent six Dark Warriors instead, she would be as good as dead.

Their attackers were just blindly attacking. No strategy or thought whatsoever involved. At least that made them rather predictable and easy to fight. “Neko, watch out!” The Kitsune pushed her out of the way of a water elemental’s attack.

“Thanks.” Even with her special feather-shaped shell, Neko did not want to get hit by any water attacks. A few more minutes of fighting continued before the six attackers gave up and fled back into the forest. “Are you alright?” Neko was sore, but not from any injuries she had obtained in the small skirmish that had just taken place.

“Yeah, just a few scratches.” Storm licked a wound that was just above his paw. “What about you?”

“A little sore, but I’ll be fine.” She stretched and felt her limbs protest as her older bruises and scratches ached. Thankfully, it was very bearable. “It looks like we’ll have to move a little faster before we run into some more of Yugito’s minions.” It had not taken long for them to get into the skirmish and it was likely that if there were anymore on their way, they would not be as surprised by Storm’s presence.

“So, those were some of Yugito’s followers?” Storm’s blue eyes gazed in the direction that the group had fled.

“I think so.” Who else would openly attack her?

“Are you sure?”

“Who else could they be?” As far as Neko was aware, Yugito was the only one making orders for Neko to be killed. Any rebels that may want her killed would probably not go out of their way to hunt her down.

“The rebels?” Storm suggested.

“Alright, I know I’m a former Dark Warrior and all and I’m not exactly on the good side of anyone involved with the war right now, but some of the rebels have helped me out and saved my life before.”

“Thank about it for a moment.” The Kitsune shook some dirt off of his fur. “They want you to join their side now that you’re being chased by Yugito, correct?”

“Yeah, but how does attacking me have anything to do with that? Wouldn’t that make me less likely to join up with them?”

“If they frame the Dark Warriors for the attack, you or anyone else would get upset and dislike the Dark Warriors for it.” Storm explained. “Then the rebels could come in and ask you to join them against Yugito with the promise of protection, revenge, or whatever they might be seeking to gain out of it.”

“I don’t think Saia and the others would do that.” Would they? The attack had come rather soon after Gale’s strike. There was no way that an ambush group that weak could have made it so far from the castle since Gale had fled.

“This is a war, Neko.” I can see that, thanks. “Both sides are willing to do anything to gain power and win. In the end, it is one evil against another.”

“The rebels aren’t evil.” Neko said dryly.

“Maybe not in your eyes- but that is what they want.” Neko listened to what Storm was saying. “The rebels have attacked innocent towns and put the blame on the Dark Warriors before just to rouse up anger against them.”

“How do you know this?” Neko was having slight difficulty believing the Kitsune’s words.

“I was once part of the rebels.” Storm continued. “They ordered me to attack and destroy my own hometown with some others.” He turned to one side and showed Neko one of his tails. There was a nasty looking scar that had been concealed when it was in line with the other four. “When I refused, this is what happened.”

Neko stared at the scar for a moment. It looked as if it had been created by someone with very sharp fangs. “I was just a disposable tool for them. Once I was no longer of any use, they tried to kill me.” The fiery Nekomata had no idea how to respond. “Clearly, I managed to escape.”

“Is that why you are heading in this direction as well?” Neko did not want to automatically assume the Kitsune’s story, but most of it made sense. The only way to learn the truth was to confront Saia, but she was not about to turn back after having traveled so far.

“Exactly.” Storm answered. “Just like you, I don’t want to be involved with the war any longer.” His words seemed rather honest.

The two silently traveled until nightfall. Nothing else occurred after the small skirmish and their brief discussion. Neko was glad to be heading away from the war plagued territories, though she was slightly bemused about what Storm had said. Surely Saia meant well? Or maybe the Kitsune was right that it was just a huge fight over two sides that wanted the same thing- power.

He’s from the southern reaches of the war though. Maybe things are just worst over there. Saia could not see what was going on in a location far from where the main rebel bases were usually established. Perhaps Saia, Aros, and Cera did not have a full grasp of the situation in the more violent areas of the war.

“I think we should stop and rest now. It’s getting late and it looks like we’ve got more rain on the way.” Storm interrupted her thoughts.

“Alright.” Neko noted that they were just about out of the forest with the mountains less than a day’s journey away. Neko made a small fire for warmth with some pieces of wood she managed to find. Within moments the fire elemental fell asleep. Storm, however, remained awake.​

Comments/Notes

Feedback! You know, it really makes my day to get feedback. ^_^ I'm glad you like it so far.

Anyway, on a more serious note. I didn't exactly try to surprise anyone with Cera's death. In fact, I even flat out mentioned that she was going to die... well, Saia did, but you get my point there. There are a few things I've been hiding, though I do like to drop a few subtle hints that you may or may not pick up. The next chapter will have something that I'm pretty sure most would not have predicted. In fact, I only dropped one very vague and subtle hint way back in part one. Even then, you might not remember it until a little bit later probably.

And for the record, Neko has bad luck. She's not a black cat, but she has the luck of one. Of course, it wouldn't be any fun if she never got into any tight spots. Part Three will hopefully be less predictable compared to the first two parts. Hopefully.

Also, feel free to post any predictions. I really do enjoy hearing what people think will happen next. It does help me evaluate if I've dropped too many hints or something along that line. (I post this story at a few other places, and for the most part the guesses are rather interesting to read.)

Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-11 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Chapter 12 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 13 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 15 (P2) Draft - (0%)
Chapter 12 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 13 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[katiekitten]

Hey, Petunia! It really is a shame that this hasn't gotten any reviews - the nonpokemon section swallows too many gems. D: I've only had the chance to read three chapters as of yet, but I've enjoyed reading it! Your writing style is very smooth, the characterisation good, and although there is the occasional typo (a missed comma, etcetera), they are hardly noticeable. :3

In the prologue, for example:

Clouds rolled onward, and everything seemed like a perfectly normal day in the fields, but as it was, things are never what they seem.

Repetition of forms of 'seem'. :3

They could have been mistaken for twins, except for the fact one bore Green eyes, while the other a deep amber.

No capitalisation needed.

Scanning the grass for the slightest sign of movement she saw the tips of her sister's twin tails bob up above the grass for a split second.

Missing a possessive apostrophe. x3

A final point: there's no need to indent all of your chapters. x3

In any case, as I said, I've really enjoyed it thus far and will continue to read it. You have a nice foundation here, your writing style is solid, and as you write more you will become better and better. <3

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Twelve
Ice​

Another dream. Saia had been getting many usual visions in his sleep for the last several days. While it was perfectly normal for him to have such dreams, it was not often for him to have so many in such a short period of time. His main concern was the fact that they almost always had some sort of meaning behind them that warned of something that has, is, or will happen.

He was in a dark place. The floor was cold, hard, and uneven. There was a dripping sound echoing from further in. A cave. Saia’s paws carried him slowly through the cavern. A tiny flame lit the dim cavern further up. If anything, fire had become a common theme recently.

He casually approached the tiny flickering flame. There was nothing special or unusual about it. The fire was flickered slightly as a small drop of water dripped down from above. Saia sighed, accidentally blowing the tiny spark out. Sometimes the dreams felt far too real which always worried the old Nekomata.

He shrugged and continued walking down the damp cave, using his white whiskers to help him feel the way. At last his eyes detected some sort of light coming from further up. Quickening his pace he glided forward until he reached the source of the light. It was the exit to the cave.

Saia squinted his eyes when he stepped out of the cave onto dew-covered grass. The air was damp and heavy with a thick mist. The old Nekomata could see a slightly distorted reflection of himself in the moisture in the air. He looked away for a moment to check where he was and turned back to face the reflection. This time, however, there were two blobs in the image. A red and a blue one.

Looking back into the cave he saw two bright lights dancing around each other. They had definitely not been there when Saia had passed by only moments before, unless he had been moving to fast to notice their presence. A third very light blue light joined the others. The spirit elemental began to take a few steps forward when a thunderous roar echoed out of the cave.

The sound grew increasingly louder until Saia could see the cause. A rush of water burst from the cave, engulfing the three lights and the Nekomata. The old creature began to claw frantically in the water to propel himself to the surface only to reach out at more water. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of something large swimming in the water. What in the world is that?

With a brief glance he managed to see a large reptilian creature with a long flowing tail. It was definitely not an alligator though it did resemble one in many ways. It was mach larger and bore many long, webbed spines that went across its back. It had to be some sort of serpent. Saia cleared the thought and tried to swim upward again. He had to reach air before it was too late.

One paw broke past the surface of the water. With one final surge he pushed upward only to receive a strong blow to his side as the creature’s tail collided with the Nekomata and forced him deeper into the water. No!

Saia’s eyes flashed open in the forest. His breathing was heavy and the taste of the water was still quite strong in his mouth. “Just a dream.” He reminded himself with a slight shiver.

“Another one?” Riza was perched on a low hanging branch. Hail, Scart, and Rayne were still sleeping as it was still rather early in the morning. The sun had yet to ascend past the horizon and the air was rather cool.

“Yes.” Saia got up and shook his fur, half expecting water to fly in all directions.

“Saia, I’m getting worried about this.” Riza’s striking golden eyes shone even in the dim morning light. “These dreams of yours seem to be getting worse every night.”

Saia sighed. Everyone always seemed to be far too concerned about him. “I’ll be fine. They’re only dreams. They cannot hurt me.” He looked over at Hail and Rayne who were sleeping side by side. It was needless to say that everyone had grown fond of the Wolf, even Scart.

“The dreams themselves might not be able to hurt you, but the fact that they have been depriving you of sleep will.” Riza warned. “The others have noticed how tired you’ve been recently.”

“It’s just part of being a spirit elemental.” Spirit elements like himself were rare, but they had great potential. Of course, with great power cones greater responsibilities. “They dreams will cease sooner or later.”

Riza shook her head. “If you say so.”

The sun slowly made it’s way into the sky giving more light to the forest. Hail woke up with a large yawn just as Riza went off to scout the area for any sort of trouble. “Morning Saia.” Hail was normally the first one to wake up followed by Rayne. “Everything alright?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Rayne was the next to get up. The young Wolf was glad to be back with Hail, but had thrown a tantrum when he learned that Neko had left without saying goodbye. Scart was the last one to get up having stood guard at sunset until late into the night. “We’ll head out to Terran when Riza gets back.” Terran was the nearest town at the moment and would take the better part of the day to reach.

“Terran?” Hail was scanning the sky for the eagle. “Sounds fun.”

“When exactly did she leave?” Scart asked as several long minutes came and went.

“About an hour ago.” After another hour passed, the old Nekomata began to pace around.

“Saia, are you sure you don’t want me to look for her?” Scart had offered to fly out earlier but Saia had refused so they would not risk getting separated. There was a lot of safety in numbers.

The group waited for a while longer before the golden eagle finally returned. Saia began to relax for a moment until Riza had begun to explain the cause of her delay. “There’s a Dark Warrior not too far off. I trailed him for a little bit to see which way he was heading.” She spoke as she landed on the same low hanging branch from before. “Not one I recognize, but he’s definitely looking for someone.”

“Species?” Hail asked.

“Griffon.”

“Too bad. I don’t know any Griffons aside from Scart.” Hail shrugged.

“Where was the Griffon heading?”

“I couldn’t tell for sure, but he seemed to be going northeast.” If he were trying to find someone, he’d be flying… unless he already knows where his target is.

“Let’s go then.” The old Nekomata got up and grabbed his bag.

“Wait, what?” Scart looked awfully bemused. “We’re going after the Dark Warrior?”

“I thought of all of us here, you’d be the most willing to fight, Scart. If that Dark Warrior was looking for us, we’d already be fighting. With any luck, he is unaware of our presence here. We can surprise him and drive him back to the Dark Castle.” He explained. “Dark Warriors don’t come all the way up here unless they have a reason to. I’d rather not allow him to do what he wants.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” Scart’s feathers were slightly ruffled. “You aren’t exactly the one I’d expect to go looking for a fight.”

Saia laughed. “One more thing.” The old Nekomata grabbed a small pouch from his bag. “Hail, take this.” The ice elemental eyed the pouch with curiosity. “You may need this.”

“What’s in it?”

“You’ll see.”

~*~*~*~*~*~​

Hail silently flowed behind Scart as they moved through the trees. He was itching to know what was in the small pouch that Saia had given him, but he had been instructed not to look until later. “Get ready.” Riza called quietly to them after checking ahead. “We’re nearly there.”

Scart took the lead from Riza and walked as silently as possible. This outta be fun. Hail thought as the Griffon came into sight.

Immediately Hail could see that he was one of Yugito’s minions. It was not the Griffon’s appearance itself, but a strange vibe that he gave off. The Dark Warrior had silvery feathers and fur with flecks of black. The huge wings on the Griffon’s back were more black than silver. Ready? Saia’s voice echoed in his voice. Hail nodded along with the other two who must have heard the old Nekomata as well. Follow the plan. Now!

Rayne used the moisture from the earlier rain to create a jet of water and struck the Griffon. Before the large Griffon could turn around or even realize what was going on, Hail froze the water. The silver-feathered creature screeched in fury as he tried to shake the ice off. In only a moments time Scart shot forward and knocked the Dark Warrior to the ground.

“I should have known.” The Griffon was about to get up but Scart swiftly pinned him down to the forest floor. “Rebel idiots.” He snapped.

“It’s never wise to let your guard down.” Saia rasped.

“You again?”

“Have you two met before?” Hail looked at the older Nekomata.

The Griffon tried to wriggle away from Scart, but the metal elemental had increased his weight to make it more difficult for the Dark Warrior to escape. “No, but Yugito is getting rather annoyed with your meddling.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Saia approached the two Griffons. “Care to introduce yourself?”

“I’ve no reason to.” He growled. The Griffon was clearly rather young and seemed to be a bit hot-headed. I guess all Griffons are rather irritable and stubborn.

“It’s four versus one. Even if you manage to get free from Scart’s grip, you are outnumbered. How about you cooperate with us?”

“How about we just kill him.” Scart suggested.

Hail sighed. “No.” Scart looked at the Nekomata. “Stick to the plan. Anyway, if we kill him, we won’t be any better than him.”

“Fine.” Scart submitted. They would not resort to killing unless they had to.

“Cowards.”

“Let him go.” Saia ordered.

“What?” Everyone, including the Dark Warrior, spoke in unison.

“Are you insane?” Scart did not budge.

“You heard him. Let me go!” The Griffon tried to smile innocently.

“I have a message for Yugito.” Saia turned to Hail. “I’ll need a little assistance in a moment.”

“With what?” What’s going on? Hail could make little sense of anything that was going on.

“You’ll see.” How in the world am I supposed to help you if you won’t tell me how? “Scart, let him go.” Scart looked doubtfully at the old Nekomata and released his hold on the Dark Warrior. Immediately the silver-feathered creature lashed out at Scart. With a heavy swing of his wings Scart pushed the Griffon away.

“You rebels are far too soft.” He growled. “It’s no surprise you’re losing this war as badly as you are.” He stretched his wings. “Tell me, what is this message of yours? I’m curios what you’ve got to say.”

“Tell Yugito to stop sending arrogant idiots like you and come to face us herself.” Saia! What are you thinking? Hail stared in amazement. Saia was basically asking for trouble by taunting an enemy they had no knowledge of.

“Why you-“ The Griffon went after Saia who remained fixed in the same spot only feet away.

“Saia!” Hail yelled as he intercepted the Griffon’s path. “What exactly are you trying to accomplish.” He growled.

“Scart, Rayne, stand back. I don’t want you two to get involved.” The spirit elemental stood behind the ice Nekomata. Focus, Hail. Hail still had no idea what Saia wanted him to do. “What’s the matter? It’s one on one now. I thought it’d be nice to give you a fighting chance.” Hail realized that Saia was intentionally trying to anger the Dark Warrior.

“And you called me arrogant.” The Griffon’s feathers were ruffled up. Hail, The ice elemental could hear Saia’s voice. Focus your energy. Unleash it when the time is right. Hail did not comprehend what was going on, but he did as Saia said.

The Griffon was now poised to attack. The Nekomata felt an icy feeling on his shoulder. “Saia, an explanation would be very nice right now.” Just focus. You don’t need to know anymore than you already do. That was… reassuring. The Dark Warrior spread his wings and attempted a strike from above.

Now. The small pouch Saia had given him earlier began to glow intensely. Ice began to form on every stick, rock, tree, and blade of grass around Hail. “What the-“ The Dark Warrior screeched and veered in another direction to avoid a large white figure heading in his direction.

“Saia? What exactly was it that you gave me?” Hail, slightly dizzy, stared in amazement as a polar bear faced off with the Dark Warrior. The Bear’s white fur shone slightly and the entire creature seemed to be partially transparent.

“Soyala, spirit of ice and guardian of the ice orb.” Another orb?”

“Wait, you’re telling me that you’ve had another orb this entire time?” Hail opened the pouch with one claw just enough so that he could get a glimpse of an icy blue sphere.

“I found it a few months ago, not too far north of Kalm.” The bear, despite seeming nothing more than a ghost or mirage, was more than capable of striking with its long icicle-like claws. The Bear gave a powerful aura that was enough to keep the Dark Warrior from attacking. “Now that you know the real message, I suggest you get moving.” Saia muttered. “We have no intentions of giving up, no matter what happens.” The Griffon hesitated before retreating off into the forest.

“That worked.” Hail felt exhausted but was glad that everything had worked out in their favor. “But what exactly was that?” Hail motioned towards the Bear who had begun to fade away.

“Just what else are you hiding Saia?” Scart was almost speechless.

“Don’t worry Scart, I think that will be the last of the surprises for now.” The old Nekomata snagged Hail’s bag with one claw and opened it so that Rayne and Scart can look at the ice orb within it. As the spirit began to fade, so did the glow around the orb. “I did warn you that these are quite powerful, no?” He opened his jaws to speak some more but feel silent.

“Saia?” Riza had been watching from a safe distance.

“I’ll explain later.” Hail sighed. His curiosity did not like Saia’s response.

“Is this about those dreams that have been keeping you awake for the last week?” The bird gently glided down to the others and landed gently on the ground. The old Nekomata nodded.

“There’s another orb in this area.” There’s more to it than that. The worried expression on his face said for more than his words. Trouble was brewing and they all knew it.

“You still owe us all an explanation.” Hail urged.

“Saia can explain while we get moving.” Riza concluded and stretched her wings for flight.

“Riza, scout the area for anyone- or anything else. I doubt that Yugito would send only one Dark Warrior is she is aware of the presence of another orb.” Everyone seemed unsure of what was going on. “I’ll explain everything on the way, but for now, let’s get going.”

“It’s just one thing after another.” Hail sighed. “Why can’t we just find a nice shady spot and have a nap for once?”​

Comments/Notes

Yeah, the non-Pokemon section is way too broad and great stories can be easily overlooked. I don't mind the fact I haven't gotten reviews thus far, though. I enjoy what I do. Anyway, it's not as if I haven't gotten any feedback whatsoever every so often.

After 150+ pages of typing it's almost impossible not to have the occasional typo. I promise you- there are more to come. xD -shot- I try to keep an eye out for them when I'm typing, but I miss a good number of them.

Well, considering you've only read three chapters, I'm sure you will be glad to hear that my writing has (or should have) improved over the last year and a half that I've worked on this. Between chapters eleven and twelve a took a long hiatus so if there is any obvious style change, it might be there.

I indent my chapters cause I can be OCD-ish and like things to look neat. It sorta bothers me seeing huge lines of text and paragraphs that are extended into two lines. It's just something that drives me crazy that really isn't a big deal.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it so far. It's always great encouragement to get some feedback, so thank you very much for responding.

On another note: Updates have officially shifted into the 'Slow' status. Chapters will now be posted every other week until further notice. (Reason: Marching Season has started so I'll be busy most of the time and will not receive as much time to draft and type as I normally would.) Updates should return to a weekly basis by late November or early December.


Status

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-12 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Part Four Outline (0%)
Chapter 12 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 13 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 15 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 13 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 15 (P2) Typing - (0%)​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Thirteen
Betrayal​

“Good morning, Neko.” The fire elemental opened one eye lazily. It was humid and misty outside.

“There’s nothing good about it.” She muttered. She hated muggy days such as this. Her fur felt damp and heavy in the air.

“For you perhaps, but I rather enjoy this weather.” Storm was already awake, shaking dew from his silver pelt. His fur shimmered gently in the light. Neko looked up at the clouds overhead. “We’ve got rain on the way.”

“Wonderful.” Neko responded with undisguised sarcasm.

They set off again towards the mountains. The trees had slowly begun to thin out and give way to a more damp and open ground. At least the mountains that loomed in the distance were now clearly visible and creeping closer and closer as they moved on.

By late afternoon they had made it to the base of the mountains. Neko was glad to set her paws on solid stone as the two left the wet soil behind them. “Almost there.” Storm looked up. The mountains seemed much larger from their bases than they did from afar. “I guess we should find a place to rest up.”

“But it’s only afternoon.” Neko pointed her nose upwards to the sun. “We still have plenty of daylight left before night hits.”

“I don’t think we want to get stuck on the top of the mountain when night hits. It’ll get rather chilly.”

“Alright.” Neko decided not to argue. Her paws itched to continue onward, but her mind saw sense in what the Kitsune had said. Of course, she also did not want to get stuck in snow as well.

They spent a large portion of the afternoon checking around for a sheltered place to rest. Rain had begun to drizzle over the land, eventually drenching the Kitsune. “How are you still dry?” He laughed.

The grey Nekomata tapped her charm with one claw. “This keeps me dry. Fire isn’t very helpful when you’re wet.” She was always thankful to have her charm with her.

“Ah, that must be quite valuable.” He inspected the shell’s odd shape for a moment. “Anyway, I think I’ve spotted a cave up ahead.” Sure enough there was a dark shadow amongst some stones that seemed to mark an opening to a cave.

“Perfect!” As they headed toward the opening in the stone, Neko caught movement from the corner of her eye. A large bird was flying overhead. They’re still following me?

“What is it?” Storm followed her haze to the sky, squinting through the rain.

“She’s one of the rebels. A scout of some sort.” Neko glared at the shape as it dived to a lower altitude.

“Looks like you’re still being followed then.” He muttered unenthusiastically.

“Not for long.” The Nekomata muttered.

“Neko!” Riza’s golden-brown feathers were darkened by the moisture. “I have to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” She hissed. “I made it clear I want no part in whatever you, Saia, or the others may be planning.” Her ears were flattened against the back of her head in a clear show of aggression.

“It’s impor-“ Neko summoned a large fire ball and sent it in the Eagle’s direction. As it hurled towards the bird, the rain slowly whittled it down so that by the time it got close to the bird the flame had diminished in size. Riza managed to dodge it at the last moment and got away with the tips of some feathers slightly charred. “Fine, be that way.” The Eagle turned around and headed back the forest.

“For a moment there I thought you were trying to kill her.” Storm commented as they got under the protection of the cave.

“No, but I hope she got the warning and will pass it on to the others.” Neko muttered. “I didn’t ask to be followed. I made it more than clear on multiple occasions that I’m not going to join up with them.”

Neko and Storm lay down in the cave for a short while. The Kitsune began to feel a little restless and began to explore the immediate area. “I think there is more further in.” He pointed to a darkened tunnel that opened up at one side of their temporary shelter. “Want to check it out?”

“Not really.” Neko yawned and rested her head on her paws. She was rarely given the opportunity to take a peaceful nap these days.

“Come on! For all we know it may lead straight through the mountains!”

“Or it may get us killed.”

“Stop being so pessimistic.” Storm laughed. “It’s not like you have anything better to do.”

“Fine.” The Nekomata sighed and got up reluctantly. The thought of lying back down and sleeping was still very tempting. “But if anything happens, it’s your fault.”

“Fair enough.” He slipped into the dark tunnel with Neko following closely behind his many tails. Her green eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light and her whiskers guided her through the stone passages.

“I think this will get us stuck in a dead end.” Neko muttered. The passage had become increasingly narrow. The Kitsune, being smaller than Neko, did not seem to mind too much.

“There’s only one way to find out, no?” Surely enough the path widened up enough for the two to have plenty of breathing room. Neko could hear the sound of a small stream filtering through at one end that was fed by a few cracks in the ceiling. The rains must have allowed the water to come down into the cave. The small trickle of water steadily grew wider as the path continued until they reached a wide open room.

“A little light here?” Storm nudged Neko gently. “I don’t have your eyesight.”

“Oh, right.” Neko sent an array of small flames throughout the cavern lighting it with a gentle orange glow.

“Whoa.” The stream fed into an enormous lake that spread through a large portion of the cave. “Look how clear the water is.” The two poked their heads over the water to gaze into the depths of the pool.

An uneasy feeling began to creep through the Nekomata when her eyes pinpointed a spot towards the center of the lake that seemed to be slightly glowing. “What’s that?” Whatever it was, Neko was not intending to get into the water to find out.

“Hmm…” Storm shrugged. “I don’t know.” He whispered then pointed to a spot in the water just in front of him. “Come and look at this though.”

“Look at what? I don’t see anything.” She focused her eyes to where the silver-furred Kitsune was pointed and saw nothing but water and stone. Storm suddenly flashed a paw towards the Nekomata’s neck. “What was that for?” She quickly retreated from the water. Something small splashed into the water. My charm!

Storm laughed quietly. “I admit, I rather enjoyed your company these last few days.” The Kitsune gave a half-hearted smile. “Unfortunately, I’ve got orders to follow.”

“You’ve been sent my Yugito?” He nodded. I should have known. Neko felt like a complete idiot for believing what he said about the rebels and not expecting that Storm could have been one of the evil Nekomata’s followers. I shouldn’t have attacked Riza like that. Neko realized that the Eagle was probably trying to warn her of this.

“There are more Dark Warriors than the ones you met at your time at the castle.” Storm’s five tails gently lowered into the water. “You should have known that Yugito wouldn’t allow you to get away so easily.”

“Can’t you just let me go and tell Yugito I’m dead?” Neko growled. “I’ve already told you, I want nothing more to do this war.”

“To be quite honest, I wouldn’t mind that idea myself, but it won’t work.” Storm spoke calmly. “I don’t quite understand why the rebels have taken interest in you, but it seems as they won’t give up. So even if I do lie to Yugito, she’ll probably find out sooner or later.” Another reason for me to hate Hail right now.

“Fine, have it your way then.” The flames that scattered across the room all shot towards the Kitsune.

“Again, I apologize that this is how things have to be.” A veil of water blocked the flames. Crap! Neko’s fur bristled with both anger and rage. There was no way she could fend off a water elemental with a lake of liquid at his disposal.

Neko froze and remained motionless for several moments. The Kitsune could not spot her or hear her if she withheld her abilities. Hopefully the damp smell of the cave would be enough to mask her own scent from the canine’s sharp sense of smell.

Step by step the Nekomata inched towards the way they had entered. “Leaving so soon?” Storm was already blocking the way. I’ll have to charge through then. With a deep breath her paws propelled her forward. Flames enveloped her body as she attempted to push past storm and get away from the lake.

“Neko, you can’t keep running on forever.”​

Comments/Notes

Well, short chapter this week. I've been busy with... other things.

Completed
Chapters 1-15 (Part One)
Chapters 1-12 (Part Two)
Part Two Outline
Part Three Outline

In Progress
Part Four Outline (0%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 15 (P2) Draft - (100%)
Chapter 14 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 15 (P2) Typing - (0%)
Chapter 1 (P3) Draft - (90%)​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Fourteen
Extinguished Light​

“Nice try.” Storm remarked as he pushed Neko aside, preventing her from escaping. If anything, the Kitsune was fast and agile. The Nekomata lashed her tails in frustration sending sparks of fire in one direction. “Stop trying to run and fight me already.”

I don’t think I’ve got many choices. Flames began to spark in all directions giving light to the area around her. She sent the cinders at Storm and vanished into the darkness. It was probably best to use her better sense of hearing and sight to her advantage.

“Trying to hide now?” Her fur stood on end as she heard Storm move in one direction closer to the exit. A strong surge of water and the sound of falling rocks came shortly after. “Now that we’re both stuck her, tell me why you chose to betray the Dark Warriors.”

Neko held her tongue. He’s just trying to figure out where I am. “I’m under the impression that you aren’t quite close friends with Saia and his traveling companions, so why spare Vritra and the Wolf?” Her heart began to beat faster as Storm’s paw steps grew louder and drew nearer to her. “Try to realize that I merely wish to understand the reason for your actions.”

The Kitsune was now walking in from of Neko. Without even the shortest moment of hesitation Neko jumped up on top of the Kitsune forcing him to the ground. “Are you going to answer now?” He grunted as she pinned him down against the stone floor.

“It’s complicated.” She hissed.

“We’ve both got plenty of time.” Storm insisted.

“I had no reason to stay.” Neko dug her claws into Storm’s fur so he would not try to escape from her grip.

“What about being chased down and hunted for leaving? Surely that is reason enough to be obedient.” Neko growled softly.

“Yugito lied to me about many things. Staying there would have just resulted in me doing her wishes for who knows how long. I’d rather live in peace then have someone tell me what to do for the rest of my life.”

“And your friends and family?”

“What?”

“Yugito could just as easily target them in order to get to you. By leaving you not only put yourself into danger, but anyone close to you as well.” Neko looked at Storm for a few seconds then laughed.

“I don’t have any. As far as I’m aware, everyone in my family has been killed by Yugito or someone serving Yugito.” That was true for Cera at least. She had no idea what became of her parents. Perhaps they died in the fire that destroyed her former home.

“No one?” The Nekomata caught a glimpse of shock in Storm’s eyes. The shock only lasted a moment. “That’s a lie.”

“What makes you think that?” She hissed.

“You saved the Wolf pup. You chose to be marked a traitor just to protect Rayne, am I correct?”

“I promised someone I wouldn’t let the brat die.” Neko dug her claws a bit deeper into Storm’s fur.

“You wouldn’t have kept the promise if you had no connection with the one you gave the promise to, now would you?”

“I-“

“Admit it, you’ve got friends, or whatever you want to call them, you’re just too stubborn to admit it. If they really aren’t your friends, then you must owe them something or you at least have some sort of trust in them if you were willing to put your life on the line like that.”

“What would you know?” Neko growled. “Just stay out of my business. You don’t have any idea about anything that has happened in the last few weeks.” Neko spat. “You’re just another one of Yugito’s mindless slaves sent to do her bidding.”

“Very well.” A wave of water crashed on top of them. Dammit! Neko was lifted by the water and carried into the lake. With a heavy heave her paws carried her upward towards the surface of the lake, which thankfully was only a few feet above her head. She gasped for breath and reached her claws out for the stone floor of the cavern.

Another strong wave forced her back under the water but at a greater depth. Neko flailed to get back to the surface as her lungs began to scream for air. Her claws eventually scraped against solid rock. Using the stone to guide her, Neko made it back up. I hate water elementals.

Once again a wave came towards her. “Not again.” She hissed with fury. The Nekomata spotted Storm and sent a ball of dark energy at the Kitsune. Neko had nearly forgotten about the practice she had with using dark elemental abilities. Unfortunately, she never really got the hang of it.

The attack did help as it caught the silver-furred creature off guard. “I wasn’t aware that you could use more than one element.” He remarked as he got back to his paws. Neko could only hope that Storm would not realize how shaky her dark abilities were.

Neko’s paws waded through shallow water until the found a surface that was not submerged in water. I need to get out of here. The entrance may have been blocked off, but there had to be a way out.

She focused on the point where light filtered in from a small crack in the ceiling. Water still dripped down from the crack. It must be raining still. Widening the opening would not be too much of a problem, but getting up there was a different story entirely.

A large splash broke through Neko’s thoughts. With a quick glace around Neko determined that the Kitsune had jumped into lake. I don’t like the looks of this. A shadow in the water blocked out the dim light she had spotted in the lake earlier. Whatever the source of the light was, it began to move as the Kitsune swam back to the surface. What is that?

A large roar shook the cavern sending many stones falling into the lake at once. The sound of water falling water drowned everything else out as a large creature emerged from the lake. “Please tell me that thing ate Storm.” Neko took a few steps back only to realize that the water level had risen so that there was very little space to walk.

It was a large snake-like creature with skin that looked like stone and legs that ended with webbed claws. It’s underbelly was similar to that of a Dragon’s and the creature’s tail was long and clearly powerful. It had webbed spines from its head all the way to its tail. If anything, it looked like a mix of a crocodile, a serpent, and an eastern dragon. The part that struck Neko was how the creature seemed almost transparent.

“Unfortunately, no.” Storm had surfaced and was now standing on a rock not too far from the large reptilian creature. At his paws lay a small blue sphere that glowed gently in the cave. “I was told I would find this in one of the caves here, though I didn’t expect to find it until after dealing with you. This should speed things up though.”

Neko fixed her sights on the orb. If she wanted to get out alive, she would have to take it from him. Saia had never told Neko that there were other orbs, and despite what she overheard at the Dark Castle, she had never really considered the possibility. While the Nekomata was not entirely sure, she was almost certain that the beast was linked to the orb in some way. “Care to introduce me to your new friend?”

“This orb has more power than any other relic or charm known to the creatures of our world.” Tell me something I don’t already know. “There are more like it- one for each element. Within each there exists and entity that can be summoned forth. I guess you can say they are like spirits that can do more than just haunt the living world.” The fire elemental wished that she knew how to use her own orb so that she could have a chance of fighting off not only the Kitsune but the huge reptile that she now faced.

Neko felt the water rise around her paws. With the main entrance blocked off there was nowhere for the water to go, trapping it all in the cavern and dooming it to be flooded. At least, assuming Neko survived long enough, there would be a way to reach the crack in the ceiling. The idea of luring the reptilian creature to the entrance to smash it open again was also took into consideration.

The Nekomata sent a large rush of fire at the creature in an attempt to get the reptile’s attention. It worked. With a low grow the water-entity walked out onto the shallow water over the stones. Neko was able to see how long the creature really was. The creature’s long body was able to move with ease on land just as in water. The water entity’s spines slowly flattened against its back as it left the water.

While the creature was not enormous it was still huge and definitely looked powerful enough to smash through solid rock. The end of it’s tail had sharp spines on the sides likely used to deal additional damage to whatever unfortunate creature that happened to be on the receiving end of a powerful lash.

The serpent-like beast opened its mouth and hissed gently as Neko sent more fire at it. The large water elemental followed her slowly around the cave. It was a relief that it had not launched a full out attack yet. The creature seemed more curious than aggressive. Neko guessed that it might be attracted to the orb in her bag, which against all odds was still strapped to her shoulder.

The water finally reached the point where Neko’s legs could not reach the ground without submerging her head. The water entity, however, was still able to stand. There was no doubt that the creature was many times more dangerous in the water than on land. Neko pushed hard against the water towards the pile of rubble.

Before she could arrive at the blocked-off entrance the cave began to tremble. The pile of rocks behind her began to collapse. The creature once again began to growl lightly, but ceased after a moment. “Now what?” Neko hissed. A white blur crashed through the rubble and raced past Neko and rammed into the serpent-like entity. The serpent seemed to have been surprised and quickly backed off some.

“What’s going on?” Storm growled as he repositioned himself to get a better view of the water entity and the newcomer. “Attack!” The serpent looked hesitantly at the Kitsune before creating a giant wall of water. Oh crap.

​

Comments/Notes

I started a web-comic based on events prior to the beginning of Part One's Prologue. If anyone cares to check it out, click Here.
​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter Fifteen
Rebirth​

“Miss me?” Hail pushed through the rubble that had just collapsed. His face bore a wide grin.

“Not at all.” Now the entrance had been cleared so the water had somewhere to flow. That did not change the fact that a large wave was racing in their direction.

“Oh come on!” Hail laughed. “This is the second time I’ve come to get you out of trouble. Give me some credit!”

“I don’t understand why you insist on helping me, but can you please do something about that?” Neko gestured to the water.

“Oh, right.” A thin layer of ice slowly tried to coat over the wave slowing it down as the water broke through and froze over again until it stopped entirely. The ease of which Hail stopped the wave only irritated Neko because of her own uselessness at the moment. “Anyway, I help you because it’s what friends do.” Friends? That was the first time Neko heard that word used in reference to her that she could ever remember.

“Yup!” A happy bark echoed through the cave.

Neko could only grimace as she braced for Rayne’s attack. “You brought Rayne?” The Wolf jumped up onto Neko’s back, further soaking her already drenched grey fur.

“I know how much you love water, so I brought Rayne along.” Hail joked at Neko’s miserable appearance.

“Shut it.” She growled. Hail only laughed before turning to watch the water entity fight off the newcomer that he had brought along. Neko saw that the bear had the same ghost-like appearance as the serpent. The bear had been freezing the water around the reptilian creature in order to halt its movements.

“I’m going to assume that your Kitsune friend over there has the water orb.”

“Yup. Let me guess… you have the ice orb?” That would explain the big semi-transparent polar bear that was using ice abilities to fend off the water entity.

“It’s Saia’s. He’s just letting me use it for the time being.”

“Where is he anyway?” Neko had expected the older Nekomata to be with Hail and Rayne. Scart also seemed to be missing, not that Neko minded much. She was rather thankful for his absence.

“Keeping watch. Your friend over there isn’t the only one that has been hanging around these parts.” If anything that was not reassuring in the least. The possibility of other Dark Warriors joining in was not exceedingly high but still worth some concern. A small wave of water from the serpent washed over their paws. “So, what’s the plan?”

“What plan?” The only think Neko had tried to do so far was to stay alive and possibly escape if the opportunity was granted to her.

“Well, we can’t just let him get away and give that orb to Yugito.” Hail looked around and examined the area.

“Rayne, can you search for my charm? It fell in the water earlier.” The Wolf jumped off, or rather fell off, her back and turned to face Neko.

“But I can’t see.” Oh, right. Wolves, although their sight was pretty good, did not have the night vision capabilities that most members of the cat family did, especially in deep water in dark caves.

“I’ll light this place up when I can, alright?” The pup nodded and slinked off into the water. Neko turned to Hail. “How do I do that weird ghost thing with the orb?”

“First off, they aren’t ghosts- ghosts don’t even exist. Second, I have no idea really.” Neko sighed. “If you really want to know, go ask Saia!”

“I’d love to, but he’s not here.”

“Go find him then.”

“Does it look like we’ve got the time to-“

“You two shouldn’t quarrel in the middle of a fight.” Storm casually walked up to the two Nekomata.

“Stay out of it.” Neko snapped and turned back to glare at Hail. The Kitsune stared in bewilderment. “Either you tell me now or we all die down here!”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” Hail was keeping an eye on Storm who simply stayed off to the side in confusion.

“Well, if you try the same thing you used on Gale, maybe we’d all die.”

“Don’t you dare bring that up!” The last thing Neko wanted to think about was how she had lost control of her fire abilities against Gale.

“Too bad, cause I just did!”

“Um, I don’t mean to interrupt but-“

“What?” Neko hissed.

“However entertaining it is to watching you two argue, we have some business to finish.” The fire elemental glared at Hail for a moment then back at Storm.

“Fine. I’ll deal with you later.”

“Just like you dealt with Gale and Storm?”

“Not again.” Storm sighed. Even the two elemental entities had stopped fighting to watch.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Neko was about to continue the argument when a ball of water was dropped on top of her. “What was that for?” For a moment she had nearly forgotten about Storm and thought that it was Rayne. “Oh, right.”

“Shall we continue?” The Kitsune asked. Neko had to give him one thing- he was polite and had some honor which was far more than could be said for many, if not all, of the Dark Warriors.

“Hail, the fox is all yours.” Despite how immensely irritating Hail was at times, Neko was glad for the help. “I’ll try to help-“ Did the bear even have a name?

“I believe Saia called her Soyala.” Neko had not expected the entity to be female.

The two elementals began to clash again shortly after Storm interrupted Neko and Hail’s fight. What confused Neko, however, was how they seemed so unwilling to fight. She could not help but wonder if the two entities had their own thoughts and feelings like herself or were merely just doing what whoever had the orb wanted them to.

I forgot about Rayne! Neko realized that the Wolf was probably searching in the water using feel alone. The fiery Nekomata willed for flames to appear in the damp air and illuminate the cave. It was not easy considering all the moisture, but soon enough the area was sparking with flames. The Kitsune was glad to be able to see but was still about evenly matched by Hail’s ice. The contrast between the cold water and the hot muggy air became more and more noticeable after a few minutes passed by.

Neko spotted Rayne’s head come out of the water as he came up to replenish his air supply. Within a moment he had diced back down into the lake. It was a known fact that water elementals were able to stay underwater for much longer periods of time than most other land creatures. Unfortunately for the young Wolf, the charm could have been pushed anywhere by the waves Storm and the water entity had created.

She turned back to the two spirits that were fighting. The bear was much lighter footed on land but was unable to keep track of the serpent as every time it dove into the water it appeared in another spot in moments. The former Dark Warrior was slightly concerned that the reptilian creature may go after Rayne, but it seemed busy enough with the bear.

Am I the only one here who is completely useless? The only thing she was capable of doing at the moment was to keep the cavern lit and send the occasional fireball at the water entity or Storm- but the light also aided Storm. Neko snapped out of her thoughts when the water entity finally decided she would be an easier target and sent it’s large tail swinging in her direction.

“Hail!” Neko called out when she noticed the bear beginning to fade away. She spared a quick glance in his direction to see that the ice elemental looked very worn out already. The Kitsune also seemed to be tiring out as well.

“Just keep it distracted for a while longer. Summoning the entity takes a lot of your own energy, so Storm shouldn’t be able to keep this up for too much longer.” I hope this means that giant serpent-thing will be gone soon. If what Hail had said was true, which was the case, the water entity would soon follow the bear and vanish in some time. Until then, Neko had to keep the much larger and more powerful beast with an elemental advantage busy. No problem.

It’s just me and a big ghost-reptile. How hard can this be? Very hard, apparently. The entity sent wave after wave of water in her direction at every chance it was given. Either the reptile had gone easy on the ice entity or just really hated Neko. The fire elemental ducked out of the way of it’s heavy tail once again before catching a fleeting glimpse of Rayne with the shell charm clenched in his jaw.

“Toss it over here!” The Wolf nodded and threw the shell in Neko’s direction. Another swat of the creature’s tail however, tossed the shell back into the water. “Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile.” The former Dark Warrior muttered before sending a flurry of fire at the entity.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find it again!” It was times like these that she was extremely thankful for Rayne’s optimistic and helping attitude, even if it was not as contagious as many would think. The creature growled in a deep tone before heading to the water after Rayne.

“I’m not done with you!” The tabby Nekomata hissed and jumped onto the entity’s tail. The reptile thrashed it’s wildly around, clearly not pleased to have a wet cat clinging to it. The more it tried to shake her off, the harder she dug her claws into it’s thick scales.

At last it stopped moving. Did I kill it? Rather, the reptile had decided to ignore Neko and slide into the water, with or without the Nekomata on it. Knowing that Rayne would not stand a chance in the water against the entity, Neko started to bite down and claw at the creature’s somewhat transparent thick skin in an attempt to distract it.

She could feel a tiny bit of blood well up from the bite just before it went into the water. Crap! Under the water she saw the webbed spines on it’s back begin to unfold. The thought of tearing the webbed skin between the spines crossed her mind. Surely it would be more painful than clawing at hard scales and thick skin?

Resisting the water and the entity’s movement, Neko slowly clawed her way to the side of one of the long spines. Gripping tightly with three sets of claws, she lifted her right paw and slashed at the webbing.

Her actions undoubtedly made the aquatic creature furious. Folding it’s spines back down, the water entity began a spiraling dive to the bottom of the lake. Unlike the Serpent’s previous attempts to knock her off, the water entity finally broke free from Neko’s claws.

I need air! The fire elemental had not realized how long she had been underwater nor how deep the entity had taken her until she began to feel slightly dizzy. She kicked her paws and started to swim back to the surface. I won’t make it! Something bumped into her side and began to push her upward.

She coughed heavily when at last she made it to the surface. Rayne popped up next to her. “Thanks.” She gasped. The two swam back to the rocky surface. “Are you alright?” He was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Yes.” The Wolf pup was understandably tired. He shook his fur dry, sending drops of water all over Neko. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” There was no way her fur would dry anytime soon regardless.

“No, I mean about your shell.” Rayne managed to fish out the charm- or what was left of it. The water entity must have shattered it when it’s tail collided with it earlier.

“Don’t worry. It isn’t your fault.” The serpent must have vanished because neither Neko or Rayne saw any sign of movement in the water. “It’s Hail’s fault… speaking of whom… where did he go?” The fiery Nekomata relit the cavern with flames. The ice elemental was still facing off with the Kitsune. “Let’s go help.” Storm was strong, but he would not be able to handle a fight against three former Dark Warriors.

“Hey Storm.” Neko felt comforted by the warmth in her bag. For a moment she had forgotten about it and worried that the orb may have slipped out while she was in the water. “It’s over.”

The Kitsune looked up. “As I said earlier, I have orders to follow.” He broke away from Hail who gladly allowed the five-tailed fox to go after Neko instead.

“Think about that before you send you-“ What was the water entity anyway? It was not any type of creature she had ever seen or heard of before. “- lizard after Rayne.” While she was not entirely sure if he or Hail had full control over the entities, she was still very irritated- mostly because she had to take a swim. “I didn’t go out of my way to save him at the Dark Castle so he could get killed here instead.”

“What do you intend to do about it? You’re just as tired as the rest of us.” Storm slowly approached the Nekomata. “It’s three versus one, but my orders are to kill you. As long as I get that done, the rest doesn’t matter.”

“What if I flee and leave you with these two pests?”

“Hey!” Hail protested.

“Then I will be forced to kill the Wolf.”

“You won’t be killing anyone.” Neko knew Storm either had something planned or was desperate to be acting so confidently in this situation.

“Really?” He growled and changed course to Rayne’s location. Why does everyone insist on going after Rayne?

“Really.” A shrill screech echoed in the cavern as flames began to build up and take form. “You have one orb, we’ve got two. Give it up.”

Two blazing wings spread above Neko as the fire took the form of a great bird. A Phoenix. Any confidence Storm had drained away. Everyone knew he was too exhausted to put up a fight with an entity, even if it was for a short time.”

“No!” He growled. There was a tone of desperation in his voice. The Kitsune halted and looked at Rayne and Hail. Storm hesitated before backing off towards the exit. “Fine. I promise you though, we will meet again.” With that he ran off in his escape. Neko let out a sigh of relief. At last this mess was over. Storm was by far the most interesting Dark Warrior she had met so far. There was something about him that was different. Maybe it was just her imagination.

Within moments the Phoenix vanished. “See? You didn’t need me to tell you how to do that.” Hail teased.

“Do we have to start this again?” Neko muttered.

“Maybe.” Hail joined Neko as they started to head out of the cave.

“You have a lot of explaining to do.” There were many questions that Neko wanted to be answered.

“I’ll let Saia do that. I’m not even completely sure what any of this is anymore.” Hail yawned. “So, will you join us now?”

“You’re annoying persistent, you know that, right?”

“We’ll let you kill Kura!”

Neko laughed. She had made a promise to herself not to kill unless it was necessary, but this was an offer that was just too good to resist. “Your persuasive abilities are horrible, but sure. Count me in.”​

Notes/Comments

And that concludes Part Two. Part Three will begin in a few weeks. (Mostly so I can build up some draft buffer and work on other things.) I will get the Pt. 3 prologue up in the next week or so.

Also, cookies for whoever catches the allusion I threw in there. ^_^
​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Part Three
Prologue​

Zera padded carefully on top of the frostbitten stone, careful not to slip or trigger any sort of trap that might be waiting for her. All around her stood ancient ruins that had endured many years of wind and ice. The shadow Nekomata puffed her fur out in an attempt to keep warm. She was deeply annoyed with Yugito for sending her out to check up on some old ruins while Storm and Talon were sent to go after Neko and the rebels. Of course, there was no way Zera would show that she was irritated in front of her master.

It was not that Zera did not want to check out the ruins, save for the fact they were so far north in a climate much to cold for her short fur. The fact that Yugito had sent Storm and Talon on such important tasks bothered her. If Gale had failed to handle the problem, then it was clear that the two Dark Warriors would not succeed without some difficulty. Talon may have been powerful, but he was not the brightest or most strategic fighter. His tactics usually involved jumping right into the fight without a second though. Against a strategist like Saia he was bound to lose. In fact, Zera suspected that the rebels had probably defeated him already.

Then there was Storm. The Kitsune was a newer addition to the Dark Warriors. He had proven himself a powerful opponent, but there was something about him that Zera did not like. The Nekomata had a strong suspicion that Yugito had sent him after the orb and Neko as a way to test him. If he failed to get rid of Neko while she was still worn out from her encounter with Gale, then Yugito would have lost a huge opportunity.

Zera shivered in the cold and turned her focus back to the ruins. They were set far north of where Kalm once stood and had laid undisturbed until Arth recently came across them on an investigation task. It always seemed that Zera was sent to the most miserable places as a result of Arth’s findings. The stones were either covered by snow or encased in ice making for a very slippery walk. Zera stopped when she reached a dead end. A large wall loomed over her. At the base there was a small altar with a shallow dip as if something was supposed to be placed there.

Behind the ice on the stone there was text. Thankfully, most of the text was legible even with the ice layering over it. This was the reason Yugito had sent her. Of all of her followers, Zera was the best of interpreting ancient text. The weird symbols were spread out before her in a uniform pattern. The first thing the Nekomata looked for were symbols that were still used in the present time. Immediately she picked out two. Ice and Shadow. The symbols were usually used to represent the element rather than the word itself while the written word was the opposite.

The symbol for ice, two perpendicular lines, was written at the top of the wall of text while the symbol for ice, a clockwise moving spiral was hidden very vaguely in the midst of the text. The ice part was not a surprise at all seeing how unbearably cold it was in these parts, but what of the shadow element? And what was with the altar? A thought crossed her mind. If she placed the ice orb there, would it lead to the shadow orb? The dip seemed to be about the right circumference for an orb to fit in.

Her eyes sluggishly scanned over the text. It was more than difficult to translate as there was at least fifty different characters- more than twice as many as the language spoken by a large portion of the world. She found the part that Arth had managed to decipher. “Submerged in darkness. Hidden by earth. The serpent’s cache lies at the trough.” Zera whispered. If anything, Arth was good with riddles. Other parts were hardly legible due to countless years of erosion, however.

Be… he… eternal… re…n… On the… of… en… dar… he… ha… rise o… ore. we… ill… se… n… tw… wi… all. The power of the past will… ing… ao… to all.

Zera muttered in frustration at the eroded text. That phrase was near the top where the ice and wind had done the most damage. There were some lines at the top that mentioned the ice element, but were also very difficult to translate.

She then turned her attention to the shadow symbol. Her hope was that whatever was written here could lead her to the shadow orb. With that, no one would be able to defeat her, except maybe Yugito. She deciphered bits and pieces of the text, but most of it seemed to refer to old history or ancient tales that Zera had heard of but never took much interest in. There were many different stories told about what had happened in ancient times, but no one could ever seem to agree or confirm the truth of any particular story. Of course, the chances of any history written on an ancient block of ice were probably much more accurate than anything one would find in a book.

A slight sound broke into the shadow Nekomata’s thoughts. “Who’s there?” She hissed. After a few moments of silence she decided it was just the wind blowing over the stone. Moments later, a pile of snow fell from the top of one partially crumbled wall spraying her with frost. The snow had been covering up several unusual pictures that she had not seen before. The images, despite the crumbled part of the wall, seemed to be in pretty good condition in comparison to the eroded text.

There were about five illustrations that were intact. One portrayed a mountain range that had a sudden dip towards the center. Another showed a large chasm in the earth. The third seemed to be a large tree in the midst of a valley. Above those three pictures were some of a Dragon she had never seen before. It looked like any other dragon, but it had feathered wings and seemed to have fur rather than fur. The last was of a Wolf standing before the twelve orbs. She looked back the landscape pictures, then the realization hit.​

Notes/Comments

Well, part three started yesterday, I just didn't have the time to post it up here. Anyway, I'm back to every other week updates... assuming anyone is actually reading this. (Kind of hard to tell these days.)

So in that break, I got very little drafting done. Why? I've been unusually busy, even more so than I had expected. Things should slow down in a few weeks, though. Hopefully I won't run out of buffer before then.​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Chapter One
Birth​

“Where are we going again?” Neko looked expectantly at Saia.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“You said that yesterday.” Rayne whined.

“And the day before that, actually.” Hail added with a slight smile.

While Neko, Hail, and Rayne dealt with Storm, Saia had been with Scart planning some sort of scheme that, aside from Saia, no one there had any details to. The only piece of information they knew was that he and Riza were to meet up with other rebel groups and prepare for an expected fight with Yugito’s forces. There was no way the leader of the Dark castle would sit idly by when the news of the ice and fire orbs reached her ears.

The group had traveled back through the forest. After a few days into their trek, Neko had begun to doubt that they were ever going to leave the trees. The journey to the mountains seemed much faster, though the fact that she had traveled alone for most of that part might have contributed to it. Saia was admittedly slow when he was not fighting or in any rush.

To pass the time, Hail had attempted to explain to the fire elemental what little he knew about the orbs. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in bringing further confusion not only to Neko, but himself. Saia promised that he would tell them everything they needed to know- and Neko assumed he would tell no more than that- but so far the old Nekomata had said very little since Neko had joined in their group, let alone anything on the orbs. “We’re almost there.” He muttered. “We should be there by noon.”

“You realize that there is absolutely nothing but forest around here, right?” Neko recognized the scorched part of the forest not to far off ahead of them. After seeing that stretch of the forest so many times, she could only assume that they were going in circles.

“Don’t be too quick to assume that.” Neko sighed. At least they have not run into any more trouble. They were all tired and worn out from travel and fighting, the last thing they needed was to run into an unfriendly face.

“My paws hurt.” Rayne whined. While they were all exhausted, Rayne was the only one to be open about it.

“Deal with it.” Neko growled.

“Ignore her, Rayne. She’s always in a bad mood. You get used to it though.” He leaned down so the young wolf could climb up onto his back. Thankfully he was still small and light enough to be carried, though for how much longer was unknown. Neko could see that Rayne had grown some since the events that took place in Kurori.

“Not always.” Rayne barked happily. “I think it’s only when you’re around.”

Hail laughed. “Lovely. I must have missed something then.”

“We’re here.” Saia came to a stop.

Neko looked around and saw nothing but trees. Finally, a large boulder propped next to what was easily one of the largest trees in the forest. “This is it? A big rock?” The fire elemental was decidedly unimpressed considering the amount of time it took to find it. Saia closed his eyes and put his focus onto the boulder. After a few moments it shuddered before slowly floating up from the ground. It crashed back down after moving about four feet to the right revealing a large hollow in the middle of the tree trunk. “Oh.”

“Come in.” They all followed the spirit elemental into the tree, pausing only to allow Saia some time to move the boulder back into place. Everyone, except for Saia, had been caught by the unexpectedly steep slope inside and nearly rolled down a lengthy tunnel. “Watch your step-“ Neko tripped on something and nearly collided with Hail. “-there are several tree roots sticking up from the ground around here. It’s also a bit slippery.”

“Where are we?” Rayne eagerly looked around at the damp soil surrounding them as he tried to make out what he could in the dark passage. This doesn’t exactly seem very safe. One wrong move could bring down the soil above them, but Neko decided not to think about that.

“We’ll be able to hide out here without any interruptions so I can explain what the orbs are, why they were created, and how to use them.” After a few short minutes they ended up a more open room with a stone floor. Books lay scattered across in all directions in large piles or stacks. The air smelt somewhat or ash. We must be under where I burned the forest. “After Yugito rose to power, she ordered that all books be destroyed.” Neko recalled seeing a small library in the Dark Castle, but she never bothered to read any of the books, scrolls or tomes. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to do so while she had the chance.

“Yugito wanted to wipe out any knowledge that could help bring her down from power- especially the old legends.”

“What legends?”

“Well, it looks like she succeeded with that.” Saia muttered. “They used to be pretty common tales back before she rose up to power. I guess I can’t blame everyone for forgetting them with everything else to worry about.” The old Nekomata lifted a book from one of the piles with his abilities. “Anyway, Aros and I managed to hide away some of the historical texts as well as other books we believed were of some importance.” He looked through several books before gesturing to some torches that were aligned along the wall. “Mind giving us some light here?”

The former Dark Warrior lit the torches and brought light into the room. “Thank you.” She could only assume that Saia’s eyes were starting to lose their strength in his old age, as most Nekomata would have little trouble seeing in the dark. She looked over to Rayne who had fallen fast asleep on top of Hail’s back.

Saia continued to look through the books for a while. “Here we go.” He pulled an old book off a dusty pile and placed it on top of a nearby stack so that Neko and Hail could see the book clearly. “You wanted to learn about the orbs, right?” The two Nekomata nodded. “Well, this should help.”

The brown cover of the book was heavily ornamented with gold markings and featured a thin black and silver dragon flying in a tight circle in the center. The first page had many colorful illustrations of places and creatures- some of which Neko had never seen or heard of. Most of the text was pretty easy to read, but scattered around the pages were several phrases and words written with unusual symbols.

“The legend of Velius.”

“Is it true?” Surely if it were a legend- it could be all false, right?

“No one knows for sure, but I believe, based on my past experiences over the years, that this story is more accurate and reasonable than many of the stories out there. There are many variations of this legend- many of which are rather absurd.”

“Basically, you believe this one is true, then?”

“Yes. No one has been able to find proof that any of this could have ever happened- until recently perhaps.” Neko looked at Hail who merely shrugged.

“Proof? What kind?”

“You’ll understand when you read the story.” Neko looked at the first page. There were many strange symbols and another more detailed illustration of the same black dragon. There was no deciphering the unusual text, so Neko turned her attention to the next page. A list of seven chapters stretched down across the page with a picture of an odd Dragon hatchling in the upper right hand corner. The first chapter was titled ‘Birth’.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Damn it.” A black-scaled Western Dragon growled in annoyance as her prey barely managed to escape the grasp of her claws and flee into the dense forest around her. The Dragoness was a lithe and elegant Dragon with dark scales. The silver of her horns, claws, and underbelly contrasted with the darker colors. The reptile was worn out from the trek through the trees and frustrated due to her lack of success. Hunting had been difficult for the past several weeks and she, as well as others, were being forced to go further and further from the city to find food.

There had been rumors of some sort of evil and murderous creature roaming the area, but the Dragoness insisted on traveling deeper into the forest despite the warnings and caution of many others that lived in the nearby city. Almost everyone had begun to rely on fruits, vegetables, and whatever other plant life they could scavenge, although it was a growing concern that the plants were slowly withering away in recent days.

The sleek Dragoness glided silently over the trees in search of another target. The forest was unusually still with not even the slightest trace of animal life moving amidst the foliage. With a sigh of annoyance and frustration, the Dragoness swooped down to perch upon a tree. The limb swayed under her wait, but held showed no signs of snapping. Tired from the days hunt, the dark-scaled creature decided to take a short nap.

When she awake the sky had begun to darken as nightfall started to creep up over the horizon. The Dragoness was about to return to her home nearby the city when something froze her on the spot. A strange, ominous, whispering was beckoning her further into the trees. While she was usually bold, proud, and fearless, the black Dragoness felt a strong uneasiness creep up as an overwhelming sense of danger began to consume her instincts.

As she walked, deciding to stay in the cover of the trees rather than fly, every sound nearly made her spin around half-expecting to see the monster than many believed to have taken residence in the forest. “it’s just the wind.” She muttered in an attempt to relax, but the strange whispering slowly grew louder, though remained inaudible. “Who’s there?” She hissed. Silence fell over the trees as the last light of the sun sank away in the distance.

She spread her wings and prepared to take flight to the safety of the city when the voice returned.

The eternal one shall rise at last.
Distortion and chaos shall follow his path.
No hope to grasp when the final spell is cast.
For all will be destroyed by the eternal’s wrath.

“This better not be some sort of joke.” She growled. At this point every muscle in her body was frozen even as her instincts screamed at her to run and put as much distance between her and this spot as possible. Thunder crashed into the jungle. The winged creature finally managed to take a few steps back only to halt as her hind leg bumped into something hard, smooth, and round.

Her hind leg had brushed up against a soft white egg with thin gold stripes that laced across the entire surface. How long had the egg been there? The egg was identical in size to that of a Dragon. The Dragoness glanced around nervously. There was no in sight, and without a mother, or someone else, to care for it, the egg was doomed to die.

Pushing aside her nervousness, the black Dragoness grabbed the egg carefully in her hook-shaped silver claws and took to the sky. She could not help but feel as if she were being watched as her wings carried her above the trees. The strong headwinds slowed her progress, but the Dragoness was determined to make it back to the city that lay right near the forest- Hala.

Hala was the largest city known to the world and had long been a center for trade and news. Recent hauntings, however, had driven away many travelers and created a unsettling situation for those that lived within it’s limits.

“Amaris!” She was greeted by an Eastern Dragon as she arrived to where she lived- a small house just outside of the city. “Where have you been?” The long serpent-like Dragon had clearly been awaiting her return. He had soft white fur and a light blue mane that ran across the back of his long body. His underbelly had the armored scales that most types of Dragons had. “We’ve been worried.”

“I’m flattered.” She muttered. “But by ‘we’ve’, you mean you were worried, and you know very well that I can take care of myself, Aalok.”

“You know that it isn’t safe-“ Aalok paused when he noticed what Amaris was holding in her claws. “What is that?”

“An egg. I thought you could figure that out on your own.”

“And it’s mother.”

“If you’re thinking that I stole it, you’re mistaken.” Amaris growled softly. “It was just there. No nest, parents, sibling… nothing.”

“Perhaps it’s already dead, Amaris. If it wasn’t in a nest, it was probably abandoned for some reason.”

It was not uncommon for creatures to abandon bad eggs or weak young so that the stronger offspring could have a higher chance of survival when times were difficult, but Amaris found the idea repulsing and cruel. At one point she had wanted to raise children but was never able to find a mate and had long given up on the idea. “If it’s abandoned, I’ll care for it.”

“And if it’s dead?”

“I guess we’ll find out in a few months.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Several months passed quietly by with little occurrences. After the arrival of the white and gold egg the food shortage had begun to end and there were fewer sightings of the monstrous creature that was thought to be living in the jungle. Some even believed that the creature was gone for good. Because of these events, many of those who lived in Hala began to believed that the egg had been sent from the heavens as some sort of gift to protect them from danger.

Amaris, of course, found the whole idea absurd, but welcomed the special treatment she and the egg were receiving. The Dragoness spent a very large portion of her day standing guard over the fragile egg and keeping it warm with the occasional flame. She only left to get food and supplies in which Aalok would step in and keep an eye on it for her. “Amaris?”

“What is it now?” She growled as the Eastern Dragon entered a home. The place where she lived was not extravagant in any way. A simple structure made of stone was all she needed for shelter. There were two rooms in the house- one of which was used as place for her to sleep.

“Has it hatched yet?”

“Of course, it hatched in the few minutes you were gone.” She growled sarcastically. “It’s just as it was the last time you came in the last dozen times.”

“Amaris, it’s been too long.” The Eastern Dragon raised his head a bit to try getting a better view of the egg as it was partially covered by Amaris’ wing.

“It will hatch.” She insisted. “Perhaps it’ll hatch sooner if you stay away from here long enough. Now, unless you’ve something important to tell me- get out.”

“Relax.” Aalok was more tolerant of her temper than most. “Garan just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

“Since when was taking care of an egg a dangerous job?” The black Dragoness was rapidly losing whatever patience she left.

“He’s just concerned, Amaris. You know how he is.” Aalok dipped his head and began to head out sensing the Dragoness’ annoyance.

“Tell the superstitious Wolf to sop poking his nose in places it doesn’t belong.” Aalok give a short nod to acknowledge her words. “Now get out.”

Amaris spent the rest of the day keeping her sights on the egg until at last she fell asleep. Her dreams were filled with memories of her days as a young hatchling. She was always the outcast- others would relentlessly treat her badly until the day Aalok stood up for her. Even then, the taunting and cruel treatment never completely ceased. The Eastern Dragon had always tried to help her, even after he was invited to join the elemental warriors.

The elemental warriors were a group of well trained and skilled elementalists. There was one spot for each known element- making twelve spots total. However, there were only eleven warriors as the vast majority of creatures had a natural distrust for anyone with dark abilities.

Much to her surprise, she had been invited in alongside her friend. “Is this your idea, or everyone else’s?” She had asked with suspicion. Surely they would never allow her in willingly. “You know they don’t trust Dark elementals like me.”

“I trust you.” Was all Aalok replied. The Dragoness thought about the offer for several days, locking herself away from the rest of the world for a while. She had finally declined the invitation by breathing fire into the leader’s face. Secretly, though, she had been grateful for the offer and wanted to be a part of the group, but she knew that joining the elemental warriors would cause more trouble than it was worth.

Her sleep was disturbed by a sudden clicking sound. Her eyes blinked open in a heartbeat and focused on the egg. A small crack had appeared on one side of the shell. The break steadily grew larger as something scratched at the shell from within. Amaris could only watch in anticipation as the creature inside began to break free.

Slowly, but surely, the egg shell began to crumble away until a small dragon sat on top of the scattered remains. It was much different than any other Dragon Amaris had ever seen before. Except for the usual protective scales on the hatchling’s underbelly, the baby Dragon was covered in fur. This was normal in Eastern Dragons, but the newborn was definitely not an Eastern. Two small feathery wings hung at the hatchling’s side. Both his fur and feathers were the purest of whites lined with glittering gold flecks.

“He’s beautiful.” Aalok poked his head around the corner. He had never actually left earlier and decided to stay and wait to see if anything would happen before night fell. Amaris had known he was there but chose not to say anything about it. “What are you going to call him?” The hatchling’s two eyes looked up at Amaris with a bright curiosity.

“Any suggestions?” The odd Dragon chirped excitedly as Amaris nuzzled his feathered wings.

“You’re his mother- that’s your job.” Aalok cautiously crept closer, careful not to frighten the baby Dragon. “So?”

Amaris thought for a moment. “How about… “ There was a brief pause. “Velius.”​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

I have decided to cease posting new chapters up here in the serebii forums due to lack of responses and readers. I no longer see the point in posting up chapters (That take time to reformat from the other site I post this for) for non-existent readers.

- Petuniabubbles/Neko

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

I don't even know why I'm updating this.

Chapter Two
Velius​

“Velius, it’s time to go.” Amaris called out to the unusual young Dragon. It had been a few years since the dark Dragoness found his egg in the forest and things seemed to be going well so far. Velius had grown a good amount though he was still very young for a Dragon. His wings had strengthened enough so he could glide for short periods of time and he was steadily getting better at flying. Straight, pointed, golden horns had begun to grow on his head with a row of spines and fur that ran down his back.

“Do I have to?” He whined trying to claw at the ground as his adopted mother lifted him up by his tail. The two were returning home from a rather pleasant trip to Hala. Usually Amaris disliked going to town, but she wanted Velius to see around and play with some of his friends. The last thing she wanted was for him to end up as an outcast like herself.

“It’s almost dark out, Velius. I’ve told you many times that it isn’t safe out alone-especially at night.” Sightings of the weird creature in the forest had risen in the last few weeks but there was never any trace of such a beast whenever someone went out to investigate the rumors. While Amaris believed that everyone was probably just seeing some weird patterns of shadows formed by the trees and plants in the forest. However, she was not going to take any risks.

“Fine.” Velius muttered and let the Dragoness carry him back to their home without further protest. He was thankfully obedient most of the time, though his curiosity often got him into all sorts of mischief. “Can we explore the forest some more tomorrow then?”

“What have I said about that?” She muttered, making sure not to drop Velius as she spoke- not that she has not done so in the past.

“Please!”

“It’s not safe for you to go wandering about there.”

“But you’ll be there too!” He pleaded and tried to look up at his mother to give her his most innocent face. “Anyway, the monster everyone talks about only comes out at night!”

“There is no monster there, Velius. It’s all just silly superstition. If there were something like that in the forest, it would have been confirmed by now.” Confirmed by some sort of dead body or an attack, but Amaris left that part out.

“So if there isn’t a monster, why can’t I go?”

“Because-“ Amaris realized she had destroyed her own argument against him going.

“Because-?”

“Alright, I’ll think about it!”

“Yay!”

Sure enough, the next morning Amaris found herself walking through the forest with Velius riding on her back between her wings which were folded against her side. The forest was rather quiet and calm despite the rumors of some strange, supposedly bloodthirsty, creature. “It’s really green out here!” Velius looked in awe at all of the trees and plants that were scattered in high density across the area. “Are all forests like this?”

“Most are, but they all have different types of plants and trees.” A loud rustling brought Velius to his feet.

“What was that?”

“Don’t worry,” Amaris caught of glimpse of white amongst the trees. “It’s only-“

“Roar!”

“It’s the monster!” Velius jumped in shock and ended up falling off Amaris and into a patch of muddy ground. A nearby fern was lit up in flames.

“-Soyala.” Amaris sighed. A large white bear walked out and stomped the, thankfully small, fire out with one large paw before nuzzling Velius with her nose. She was a large white bear- not a polar bear though. She had long black claws on her front paws that looked like they could tear through just about anything. Although bears were usually seen as aggressive and stubborn, a gentle gleam could be seen in her dark eyes. She was wise- but fierce when she needed to be.

“That makes seven elements now.”

“What?” Velius, still slightly in shock, looked up in confusion.

“Soyala, you know better than to sneak up on him like that.” Amaris gave the bear a stern look.

“It’s all harmless fun.” Velius, finally relaxing as he realized that it was only Soyala, began to swat at the small diamond-shaped pendant that hung around the bear’s neck. There was a crystal in the middle of the pendant with the symbol for ice within. On the back of the pendant there was some ancient text engraved in the silver metal. This pendant was the sign of one of the elemental warrior. Each one had their own pendant that bore the symbol of the element on it and had different text on the back.

“Oh yes, like the time Itzal scared him last week.”

“That was but a little tremor.” Velius had proven capable of using many elements, though he was not aware of it. Aalok occasionally reminded her that they would have to train the young Dragon to control these abilities at one point or another, but Amaris wanted to put that off for as long as possible.

“Oh, yes- it only collapsed one or two buildings.” Amaris retorted. Velius, oblivious to the fact that the conversation was about him, scrambled up onto Soyala’s back and settled into her thick fur to keep warm as the weather around Hala was usually cool or cold- never hot. Had Soyala realized how muddy the young Dragon had gotten when he fell of Amaris, she may have reconsidered allowing him to climb on her back.

“Those buildings were expected to collapse soon anyway. He only made it happen earlier.” Soyala fluffed up her fur. “His abilities are harmless- for the time being at least.”

Amaris was silent for a few short moments as she watched Velius. Soyala was a regular visitor so the odd Dragon had grown quite close with her over time. “What did you want, anyway?”

“Mommy, what’s that?” Velius motioned to something in the forest, but neither Amaris or Soyala turned to look.

“In a moment, dear.” She looked expectantly at the bear.

“To deliver a gift from Aalok.” The Eastern Dragon, though Amaris would never openly admit this, had been a great help with caring for Velius since he had been born.

“A gift?” Soyala reached into the bag she often carried around with her and pulled out something small and shiny. It was a pendent- much like the one Soyala was wearing, except that instead of a icy blue crystal, it had a very dark, almost pitch black, crystal. The symbol for the dark element could be seen through the clear gem. The metal around it was silver in color with a long thin chain attached to it.

“He had Tamotsu make it for you.”

“Tell Aalok I don’t want it.”

“Why not?”

“It’s the mark of an elemental warrior. As much as he likes to believe that I’m one, he should know by now that I have no intentions of joining.”

“He predicted you would say something like that.”

“Then why bother?”

“He wants you to take it regardless. It only has meaning if you give it meaning.” Soyala gave a sympathetic look to the dark elemental. Aalok was always trying to be kind to Amaris, but sometimes he tried a little too hard.

“Mommy!”

Amaris grabbed he pendant. Not even she could have denied the elegance of the dark gem. It shone brightly even though it’s color was that of night. The details Tamotsu was capable of putting on even small pieces of metal like this one always amazed the Dragoness. Even with her sharpest claw could she etch a design so neat and precise. “And why isn’t Aalok delivering this pendant himself, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“We both agreed that the chances of him returning home unscathed were very slim had he done so.”

Amaris grinned. “That’s probably true.” The Dragoness could imagine taking a few swipes at Aalok for even thinking of this.

“Speaking of Aalok…” Soyala looked up to the sky where the Eastern Dragon was flying in the unusual way that his wingless species managed to do.

“Mommy!”

“Aalok! Get you tail over here!” Amaris growled. The light elemental came down, cautiously avoiding tree branches, and landed on the ground next to Soyala.

“Is something wrong?” He looked at Amaris in bemusement.

“Explain this.” She held up the pendant.

“Oh… that!” Aalok grinned nervously. “I thought it would be nice to give you something to celebrate the fact you haven’t tried to kill anyone in a while- and vice versa.” Soyala chuckled lightly just before he whispered in her ear. “I also thought you were going to give that to her sooner!”

“With the emblem of an elemental warrior?”

“It wasn’t just my idea! Everyone agreed upon this!”

“Everyone?”

“Well, Onatah and Shant no, but the rest of us did.” That was not a surprise. Shant and Onatah, mostly the latter, were very aggressive against Amaris and made little effort to conceal their dislike. Shant, at least, did try to make an effort to treat her with respect despite his dislike of dark elementals. Onatah, on the other hand, made extra effort to make Amaris’ life miserable.

“Agreed doesn’t necessarily mean they supported the idea.”

“Must you be so negative about everything?” Aalok sighed.

“Mommy!”

“Velius, what is it?”

“Can I go explore?”

Amaris looked at Soyala. “Soyala, can you keep an eye on him?”

“Of course.” The bear lumbered after the young Dragon as he scampered off into the jungle.

“So, what is this really about?” She said as the two were out of sight. Aalok looked away from Amaris. “I know something is going on here.”

Aalok began to look uncomfortable. He never liked being the bearer of bad news. “Garan thinks something terrible is going to come. He isn’t sure when or what, but-“

“Garan is young and inexperienced. He could be wrong.” Amaris cut Aalok off. Garan was the youngest- and newest- member of the elemental warriors. Amaris did not know much about him other than the fact he was a rare type of Wolf that were thought to have died out long ago.

“He may be young, but he’s one of the best spirit elementals we’ve had in a long time. I wouldn’t dismiss his concerns so quickly- the nightmares he’s been having recently have not only kept him from getting sleep, but the rest of us as well. If he is even a tiny bit correct, things won’t end well.”

“What does this have to do with me, anyway? If you’re asking for my help, the answer is no.”

“No, we aren’t asking you to help us, but…” Amaris studied the Eastern Dragon’s expression. Aalok was terrible at hiding his emotions and at the moment he was clearly very nervous and concerned. “It’s Velius we’re worried about.”

“He’s a child, Aalok. He poses no threat to anyone and has never shown any signs of aggression.” Yes, the odd Dragon was very curious and mischievous at times, but he was well behaved and usually acted upon good intentions.

“Not yet, maybe, but he’s already showing signs of using over half of the elements. That is something you don’t see often, if ever- especially in one as young as Velius.” It was true that mastering elements that you were not born with was a difficult task, but it was not impossible. It was unheard of for anyone to have competent skill in all twelve of the elements though.

“Only half.” Aalok brushed over the burnt foliage with the tip of his tail and gave her a questioning look. “A bug bit Velius, so I killed it.” Amaris did not want Aalok or anyone else to know that Velius had fire abilities. Fire elementals were considered highly dangerous due to how volatile their abilities tended to be.

Unfortunately, Aalok could tell that she was lying- but he didn’t push the issue. “If you say so. Anyway, Garan is concerned that Velius’ abilities will be too much for him to control sooner or later. That quake he created last week only solidified his concerns.”

“Wait- Garan told Itzal to scare Velius, didn’t he?” Itzal was easily the most intimidating of the elemental warriors. He could not be described as mean, but he was not really gentle either.

“Well-“ Aalok looked away from Amaris.

“And Nereus approved of that?”

“Yes.”

“Aalok, he’s only a child!” The Dragoness growled with a protective fury over her adopted son. “He isn’t some sort of test subject for you or any one else to experiment with!”

“Amaris, calm down. You know Nereus won’t allow any harm to come to Velius. He just wants us to keep an eye on him for anything unusual… aside from the obvious. As far as we’re aware, there has never been a Dragon like him before- if he really is a Dragon. We have no idea if he possess any other types of abilities or traits besides the elements.”

“He may have fur and feathered wings, but I have no doubt that he is a Dragon. If you want to keep an eye on him, please do so without trying to frighten him or treating him like he’s different. He deserves to live a normal life like everyone else.”

“Amaris, you don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” She hissed, losing what little patience she had left.

“Nereus wants to…” Aalok paused as he tried to put the words together in a way that would not result in his immediate death. “Nereus wants to take Velius to base so we can all keep an eye on him and watch over his training.” The light elemental braced himself for what was to come. He would not blame Amaris if she took it all out on him- as long as it was not anyone else.

Amaris, however, was lost for words. While the unusual Dragon was not her own child, she was just as protective over him as if she really were his mother. “I won’t allow it.”

“Nereus himself ordered this, Amaris.”

“Did he say what would happen if I refused?”

Aalok shook his head. “No, he didn’t, but I promise you- he is not going to take no for an answer.”

The dark elemental still could not believe what she was hearing. “And you’re okay with this too?”

“No, Amaris. I tried to dissuade him from doing this, Soyala, Ebele, and Tamotsu were also against it, but that quake was the last straw.”

“So you’re going to take my son away from me just because he can use more than one element?”

Aalok gestured to the pendant in Amaris’ possession. “Look at what I gave you.” The darkly colored gem shone brightly, even in the shade of the forest. For the most hated element, it gave a beautiful glow. “Nereus- and many of the others- agreed to allow you to join us so that you can still be with Velius.”

“So I have to join up with you just to be with Velius?”

“It’s just an offer.” Aalok seemed rather disheartened at the whole mess. Amaris realized that he really did not want any of this to happen. “Nereus will find you tomorrow morning to hear your answer.” At least they were giving her a little time to think on it- or to run for it. “Oh, if you try to run, Garan will be after you.” Or not.

“Leave.” She growled softly. The light elemental bowed his head and began to head away when Soyala returned. Immediately both Amaris and Aalok saw that something was wrong. Velius was not with her. “Where is he?” The dark Dragon growled with such fury that both Soyala and Aalok were startled.

“I do not know.” Soyala exchanged a quick glace with Aalok. “He was there- then he wasn’t. I never took my eyes off of him.”

“Looks like he used a spirit or shadow ability.” Aalok could sense that the Dragoness’ fury had subsided to concern for her son. “If that is the case, he could be anywhere. Soyala, help Amaris search. I’ll go get some help.”
​

 

[PetuniaBubbles]

Really, if anyone is reading this... it'd be very encouraging to see some feedback on occasion. This story is almost two years old and of all the places I post it, I only have one person that consistently gives me feedback. It's very cruel to my motivation when I know that no one will respond.

Chapter Three
Search​

Aalok watched as Amaris vanished into the forest. He could not help but suspect that he would be blamed for Velius’ disappearance sooner or later. He cared deeply for Amaris, far more than any one else did- except maybe Velius- but Amaris’ fierce temper was something that should be handled with extreme caution, especially when Velius was involved. He only hoped that the Dragoness would not assume that he or the other elemental warriors were involved with Velius’ disappearance.

A glint of light caught his attention as he prepared to head back to town to gather a search party. It was the pendant he had convinced Tamotsu to make for the dark element. For a moment he considered picking it up so that he could return it to Amaris later, but he decided to leave it in case the Dragoness came back to retrieve it herself.

Not wasting any more time, he lightly took to the air gliding gently under the clouds with both of his eyes scanning the earth for any sign of the young and unusual hatchling. Despite the situation, everything beneath him seemed peaceful and calm. The missing Dragon would have little to fear in the jungle due to the fact that most of the feral creatures there had slowly vanished over time. What was the worst that could happen in the quiet forest, anyway?

Feral creatures were any creature that lived in a very primitive state of mind, surviving on instant alone. They are capable of using elemental abilities like most other creatures and have proven to be very dangerous when enraged or threatened due to their lack of self-restraint when it came to using their abilities. However, since they relied solely on their instincts, their actions are quite predictable and they are not extraordinarily clever or intelligent in any way or form. Any well taught being would be able to outsmart them and escape. Of course- any well taught being would also know to avoid feral creatures when possible and avoid angering them.

Despite the apparent peace and the supposed lack of feral creatures in the forest, Aalok was deeply worried for the young Dragon’s safety. Something just was not right with the whole situation. It was true that Velius had shown significant potential of having powerful strength in most of the elements already, but as of now, he could not have successfully warped himself or hidden for long. Even experienced shadow and spirit elementals had difficulty with such tasks as they were easily the most difficult elements to master.

Much to the Eastern Dragon’s relief, the city had not been too far away from where he had spoken with Amaris, though it made sense that the Dragoness would not want her adopted child to be too far from help. Hala stood in clear view upon a fairly rocky slope that lay between the forest and the mountain top. In the innermost area of the city was Aalok’s destination- the base of the elemental warriors. His feet gently landed on the grey stone path that led to the entrance of the building. “Hello?”

The main hall was ornately decorated with white and brown stones. Ancient writing was engraved upon many of the stones. Aalok had always wondered what the writing said, but not even Garan was able to decode it. At present, the main hall was empty. It was very rare for the base to be left unattended. He quickly walked to the eastern wing where he and the others slept. Just like the main hall, there was no one there. The Eastern Dragon began to feel uneasy. Perhaps they had already heard of what happened and were already out searching? No. Aalok shook his head. There was no way that any of the others had already learned of Velius’ disappearance.

“I better head back.” He muttered. Waiting around for someone to show up was a waste of time. He was better off heading back out to look for the young Dragon, with or without extra help.

As he was about to take flight outside of the large building he heard his name being called from the sky. “Aalok!” A figure glided down from above and landed lightly on the ground. “Where’ve you been? We’ve been looking all over Hala for you!”

It was Shant, a rather outspoken Wyvern- and the electric elemental. Wyverns are a type of reptile that are closely related to Dragons, but unlike their larger brethren, their wings and arms were together. Shant had grey scales with yellow wing flaps that slowly faded into a light silver. A line of black spines went down his back.

“Same.” Aalok responded. “Where is everyone?”

“Trouble in one of the southern villages.” For everyone to be out, it must be something significant.”

“What happened?”

“We’re not entirely sure what is going on yet- but it looks pretty bad. One of their villagers arrived her this morning in very bad shape.” Aalok shifted his tail nervously. It was not that he had no interest in what was going on, but he wanted to get back to searching as quickly as possible. “They say that it was the monster that everyone was talking about.”

“Shant, I’ve got to go.”

“What?” The Wyvern looked astonished. “Whatever you’re up to, it can wait.” He growled.
“I know, I know, but Amaris-“ Bad idea.

“Forget about that dark elemental.” Shant snapped. “She’s nothing but trouble. We’ve got more important things to do.”

“No.” Aalok turned his back on Shant. “If I don’t help Amaris, who will?” Well, Soyala would, but Aalok was not about to get her in trouble for doing so. “I’m not the only elemental warrior. The rest of you should be more than enough to handle whatever is going on.”

“I’m not asking you, Aalok- Nereus himself ordered that all of us report to Mistveil.”

Aalok froze. “Mistveil?”

“That’s right.” Shant looked the Eastern Dragon in the eye. “So unless you want to abandon your home and disobey direct orders from Nereus, you better hurry up.”

“But-“ Aalok watched Shant take to the air and leave without another word. The Eastern Dragon was heavily torn by the two choices- go back and help Amaris find Velius, who may or may not be in danger, abandoning his family and home while disobeying orders at the same time- or he could go to Mistveil and leave Amaris with Soyala to search for Velius.

Aalok had been born and raised in Mistveil with his younger sister. Mistveil was a small town near a beautiful lake that was almost always shrouded in a thick fog. It was a gorgeous place in clear weather, but nearly impossible to find otherwise. The attacker must have known where the tiny village was or had been extraordinarily lucky, or unlucky, to stumble upon it.

Then there was the possibility of the attacker being a feral creature that may have just wandered there by pure chance. Despite being dumb and nearly thoughtless, they were vicious and would fight and kill anyone on sight if it felt threatened or angered. To make matters worse- Mistveil was known to be a very peaceful place and thus did not have many capable of fighting off any threats. The villages’ main defense was the shroud of fog that constantly drifted over from the lake.

Then there was Amaris. He knew if he want to Mistveil that she would not forgive him any time soon if at all just for leaving, regardless if the little Dragon was found or not. The Dragoness had also lived in Mistveil, but unlike Aalok she had very little attachment to the small village. At the first opportunity she had got, the dark elemental left Mistveil and headed out on her own for a while until she finally ended up in Hala, which was not too far. Aalok never asked, but he knew that she had been driven away from many places before she found a more less tolerant place to settle.

It was common for most to drive away dark elementals due to superstitions that they brought disaster and chaos with them where they want. Hala did not usually turn away dark elements, but they did not give them a very warm welcome either. Aalok found the way dark elementals were treated as cruel and unreasonable. Amaris may be cold and bitter, only as a result of the way she had been shunned and picked on for her entire life, but the Eastern Dragon knew that she would never intentionally cause harm to others or stir up trouble without good reason.

Finding Velius’ egg was likely the best thing to happen to Amaris in a very long time. The odd hatchling was too young to understand that his adopted mother was an outcast and gave her the unconditional love and admiration that she had never received from anyone except perhaps her own mother. Others also held back any aggression towards her so that they would not upset Velius who had already become quite popular amongst the residents of Hala.

Aalok sighed. He had to make a choice sooner or later. Go help Mistveil where his family could be in danger or help search for Velius who was likely safe and would be alright on his own for a little while longer. Anyway, if he gets frightened, he’ll just use some of his abilities. The Eastern Dragon remember the small earthquake Velius had caused when Itzal caught him off guard. Another more worrisome thought crossed his mind. What if- Aalok pushed away the idea. If he was right, however, which he certainly hoped he was not, Velius might not be really missing.

“Sorry, Amaris.” He muttered before flying off in the direction of Mistveil.

~*~*~*~*~*~​

“Velius!” Amaris called out from just above the tree tops. There was no sign of the young Dragon, so far. This can’t be happening. She folded her wings and dove back into the trees to search on the ground again. What bothered her most was Soyala’s story. Velius had just vanished. His abilities so far were usually only triggered when something surprises him. According to the white bear, nothing happened. Nothing at all.

Maybe he was finally become aware of his abilities and was learning how to use them on his own free will. Amaris hoped that was the case. At least if something did go after him, he would be able to fight back in some form or another. “Velius!” She called again, but there was nothing in sight. A sudden rustling from behind started the Dragoness. “Who-“ The white shape of Soyala lumbered into sight. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Anything yet?”

“Not a trace.” Soyala looked to the sky. “None of Aalok either.” The bear noted. “He should have returned by now.” Where was he when they needed him?

“He better get back soon.” She could not help but add. “If he’s coming back.”

“Amaris, you know very well that he wouldn’t forget about you. He’s probably just trying to convince some of the others to come help.”

“Well, he’s wasting his time then.” Aalok would be lucky to convince even a single other being to help her.

“Perhaps.” Soyala began to part with the Dragoness. “We’re doing no better standing her talking, though.”

Just before the white bear could leave, and odd creature burst into the scene. “There you are.” The newcomer was a Ki-rin- and odd creature that looked like a mix of a reptile and some sort of deer. The Ki-rin had the form of a deer, but instead of fur, there were brown scales. Around the creature’s neck was a bright mahogany colored mane that continued down to it’s belly. Tufts of hair also hung from the end of the Ki-rin’s tail and at it’s ankles. A single horn grew from the center of the deer-like creature’s forehead and curved very slightly backwards. However, Ki-rins could come in a wide arrange of colors.

“Onatah.” Amaris glared at the Ki-rin. Onatah was one of the elemental warriors and easily the one she disliked the most for many reasons.

“Soyala, I can’t believe that you’d take a walk in the forest with this beast.” She gestured towards the dark Dragoness.

“Jealous.” Amaris muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?” The Ki-rin stamped one hoof on the ground.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Onatah, I hope you didn’t come all the way out here to antagonize our friend. We are in the middle of something rather important.”

“Friend? Maybe for you and Aalok, but I wouldn’t be caught dead with that demon.”

“Oh? And you’re an angel, I suppose?” Amaris could see the rage building up in Onatah’s eyes.

“Let’s not stir any trouble, now.” Soyala stepped in between Onatah and Amaris. The dark elemental was not one to strike out often, but Onatah was more than impulsive enough and was clearly losing her temper. “So, what bring you, Onatah?”

“Trouble.”

“With you around, there’s always trouble.” Amaris whispered, half to herself.

“A feral creature attacked Mistveil.”

“You attacked Mistveil?” Amaris spoke with a smug grin.

“I’m not a feral creature!” Soyala sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.”

“Amaris.” Soyala gave a warning glace at the dark elemental. “Anyway, I thing the others quite capable of dealing with a feral.” She was careful not to stir up any more anger from Onatah. “Amaris and I should get back to searching for Velius.”

“He’s missing?”

Amaris and Soyala exchanged a quick glace. It was probably best they not let her know.

“Just a game of hide and seek. We’d best not make him wait.”

“So while Mistveil is burning to the earth, you’re going to play with Amaris’ little rat?”

“Wait, I thought you said it was a feral-“

“Don’t you dare insult my son, Onatah.” Amaris growled fiercely.

“But he isn’t your son- you stole him, remember?”

“Onatah!” Soyala warned, knowing that the best way to infuriate any mother was to attack her child.

“I guess I can’t blame you- after all, being a freak must get pretty lonely.”

“Onatah!”

“It’s just unfortunate for the little brat that you were the one to steal him away.” She sneered.

Amaris spread her wings and leapt into the air over Soyala’s head. Apparently, standing in between two angry friends was highly ineffective when at least one of them was capable of flight. The Dragoness was not particularly large for a Dragon, but she was still large enough to knock over Onatah and pin her to the ground. “I warned you.”

“Amars, enough!” Soyala tried to calm the Dragoness.

“It’s alright, Soyala, let her prove to us the monster we all know she is.”

Amaris glared down at the Ki-rin for a few moments. “You aren’t worth my time.” She said at last before releasing Onatah. “I’m going to look for Velius. Feel free to go help with the feral problem, Soyala. I’ll manage.”

“Wait.” Soyala spoke as the Ki-rin shook the dirt off her mane. “Onatah, what do you know about this feral?”

“Well, to be honest, we aren’t all quite sure it’s a feral. Nereus thinks it is… but you never know. We do know it’s a fire elemental though.”

“There aren’t many fire elementals in these parts.” Soyala thought for a few brief moments. “Go on ahead; I’ll join you shortly, Onatah.” She waited for the Ki-rin to be completely out of sight before turning to address Amaris.

“I think we should go investigate the occurrence at Mistveil.”

“We?”

“Listen- what if it’s Velius?”

“Velius would never harm anyone or set a village on fire.” The Dragoness did not like where Soyala was going with this,

“Perhaps, but what if he did warp there… he could have been startled by the sudden change in his surroundings. After all, he isn’t quite aware of what he is capable of.” The bear pointed out. “If a small scare caused a tremor, imagine what he could do if he really gets frightened.”

“But what if he’s not there?”

“Regardless if he took any part in what is happening in Mistveil, it’s the most dangerous place at the moment. If he is there by chance, he’ll be in trouble. If he isn’t, then he’s probably safe for now. The forest isn’t exactly dangerous.” Amaris could not argue with Soyala. Checking the more dangerous areas first would allow them to help Velius sooner in the event has was in real danger.

“Alright.” She replied hesitantly.

“You go ahead. I’ll follow.” There was no way the Dragoness would be able to carry a full grown bear with her and it would be much faster to fly ahead on her own. “Aalok might already be heading there.” Without another word, the Dragoness set off to what was once her home.

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