Fyre-Wolf : Aeden Draft : Incomplete

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Title: Fyre-Wolf [Fire-Wolf] : Draft 01 : Aeden Draft
Writer: Me
Start Date: 17 January 2013
Status: Incomplete / Scrapped for New Draft

Summary:
A girl named Amai finds a boy named Raul, who is capable of turning into a wolf. A new concept to the girl, she listens to his tale of woe after shooting him with an arrow in the shoulder. Hearing about how he was wronged, she chooses to help him prove his innocence to the clan he was exiled from.

Reason for Scrap:
I composed a new draft (or started planning one) with an entirely different plot. As such, this one is now obsolete. This draft of the story can also be found on my deviantArt account alongside other writings.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter One

It was a crisp evening. Two young girls were sitting in a shack on beds opposing from each other.

“So, how have you been Amai,” one of the girls asked the other. The second was looking at a photograph on a bedside table before she looked at the other.

“I’m doing fine. You know you don’t come around that often anymore,” Amai said to her friend, her slightly long brown hair blowing from a breeze coming in the window.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I just haven’t, really, been thinking about it so much having to ensure I have a next meal.”

“I’ve already offered you a spot here in my shack Jessica. You know that I’m a good hunter. It wouldn’t even require you to pay rent like motels or other buildings.”

“You know that’s not why I can’t stay here,” Jessica fired back turning her head. “I have a younger brother to look after, and you know that.” Amai had leaned back a bit sitting up straighter. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” Jessica stood up and walked out of the shack.

“Jessica!” Amai called to her friend, walking after Jessica to the door. To her dismay, Jessica was already down the road a good ways. “Jessica…”

Amai didn’t get the chance to turn around before she saw the wolf again, out on her property. “Do you always have to come at this time! Get off of my property you stupid animal!” The wolf didn’t seem to hear her, or it probably didn’t seem to care about what she wanted. She growled in annoyance and quickly grabbed her bow and an arrow. This arrow was designed specifically for killing the wolf. It symbolized her determination to get rid of the animal.

The wolf’s ear twitched and it turned its head looking at her. When it saw the arrow, it immediately dashed off into the woods, and Amai lowered the bow blinking a couple of times.

“How many times is this going to happen before I get the chance to get you,” she asked to herself sighing. She walked back inside setting her bow down and grabbing a sheet of paper. There were various times written down and a small diagram. “It doesn’t matter now though. When you come back tomorrow, I’ll be sure that I get you. Then I can say I got rid of the one thing that was a nuisance to me.”

With that, she set the piece of paper down and she got up. For the rest of the day she was back in a shed. The shed was located at the back of her property, her preparing a deer.

“Sometimes I wonder if that wolf is a message,” she thought to herself. “I mean, it starts trotting on my land when I start fighting with my best friend. Something has to be behind it, and it could be something divine…” She didn’t think on the matter much more for the day. After she finished preparing the meat that was to be cooked, it was a bit into the night.

The next morning she woke up an hour before the wolf was to arrive on her property. She knew that she had to be quick with her preparation, throwing on some of her clothing and grabbing her bow. She looked at the specialized arrow and leaned her head down.
“May I strike it down with one blow so it won’t suffer,” she said in her head. She leaned her head back up and she strung the arrow, kneeling outside on the porch and waiting for the wolf to arrive. It stopped in the middle of the small space it walked in, not noticing that she was there at the time.

She focused on shooting the wolf, aiming carefully though shaking a bit from anxiety. “Take this you filthy white-furred dog,” she thought, her shooting the arrow, though it was too late. She hadn’t noticed that the creature had moved forward a bit, and her mouth dropped in shock as she lowered the bow. She wasn’t snapped back into reality until she heard the wolf yelp in pain and start limping off.

“Get back here,” she yelled grabbing a sword that she kept nearby and jumped down the steps chasing after it. She didn’t prepare to shoot it just to watch it wander off and survive, especially since the arrow she had made to kill it didn’t work.

She stopped chasing the wolf after a little while, leaning up against the tree panting quietly trying to catch her breath. “I lost him,” she moaned, a hint of snarling in her sound. “I can’t believe…” She heard someone making sounds as if they were in pain, and she looked around the tree that she was leaned against. There was a boy sitting there, who had just fallen unconscious.

“Hey, are you alright,” she asked worriedly, running up to him and dropping the weapon. “Can you hear me?” She looked near his shoulder and saw the arrow she had fired lodged inside with his hand around it. “No, that’s not my arrow… It can’t be…”

Instead of taking the time to mull over the surprise that her arrow was in a person, she pulled it out and pressed some cloth she tore from her sleeve up against the wound trying to stop the bleeding. She looked around and didn’t see anyone else. She knew that she had to do something, and she picked the stranger up and holstered him over her shoulder.

She carried the stranger back to her shack, setting him down on the bed and properly bandaging his wound. When she was finished, she tossed the cloth she had used away and noticed a strange marking on his arm. She looked it over, and it looked a little like it was a burn mark, yet it didn’t seem as though it was. She traced the mark down his arm and noticed that his fingernails looked similar to claws. She didn’t show any surprise.

“I think I’m starting to get the picture,” she mumbled. She took a step away. “White hair, claw-like fingernails, and the arrow that I had designed stuck in his shoulder… I don’t think it’s possible, but then again it could be…”

She covered the boy up with a few blankets so he wouldn’t become cold, and she grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil. She wrote down what she knew related to the wolf: the times it had come, her arrow, and the boy. When she heard him starting to wake up she pushed the paper into a drawer alongside the pencil and looked at him. He slowly opened his eyes and put a hand on his forehead.

“Where am I,” he asked, and Amai stood up immediately.

“You’re in my shack,” she responded. The boy looked to her.

“May I ask who you are girl?” Amai looked at him annoyed.

“My name isn’t girl; it’s Amai!”

“How was I supposed to call you by your name if I didn’t know it?” Amai was dumbstruck. She turned her head down and apologized.

“Sometimes I lose my temper. May I ask what you were doing under a tree with an arrow in your shoulder?” The boy had sat up by then, and he looked at the bandage putting his hand over it.

“I’m not exactly sure. All I remember is that I was heading back to my den and someone fired, and that was it. My head was racing too much to remember more,” he said to her.

“He was headed to his den,” she thought to herself. “Is it really possible this boy is that wolf? All the details are pointing to it, and how he answered makes it seem that way.”

“Humans don’t live in dens. Are you some kind of demon?” The boy laughed.

“So the girl thinks I’m a demon!”

“My name isn’t girl,” she yelled at him. Her response made him laugh worse. “If I didn’t fire that arrow into your shoulder, I would try killing you right now! Now what is your name? Answer me!” The boy looked down from where he was holding his head, almost crying tears of laughter, and he gazed at her seriously.

“If you seriously want to know, my name is Raul. Yes, I’m that wolf you shot, but no, I’m not a demon. Happy now?” Amai calmed down with his answer, her nodding as she fell back onto the bed on the opposing side of the room. “Now if you excuse me, I will be leaving.”

“Oh no you don’t wolf boy! You suffered an injury, and I can’t just let you go out there and let the wound become infected!” Amai got back up again, her pushing him back onto the bed he had just been in. Raul cringed, grabbing his shoulder where the bandage was as Amai began demanding for him to explain where he came from. When he didn’t respond, she decided she was being a bit harsh, and she turned the lights off locking the door and heading to sleep.

Raul didn’t fall asleep so soon though, wondering where exactly he had ended up. He had only been on a walk back to his home, and he had been suddenly shot with an arrow. He knew that from what he had seen Amai wasn’t going to let him leave however, and he fell asleep soon after until it was morning time. He had been having nightmares the whole night, and was obviously making noise since he was being shaken by someone.

“Come on, you’re causing a raucous in your sleep,” Amai said as she shook him. Raul opened his eyes slowly sitting up and rubbing them a bit. “What was that all about? I heard you whimpering and calling for your mother, Celia?”

“You don’t know anything about my parents,” Raul growled, turning his head away.

“I can tell that you must have loved them very much to not only be dreaming about them, but to be crying, but you’re right. It isn’t my business about your parents. I’ll just go cook you some breakfast, since I’ve already eaten.” She turned to go and Raul grabbed her hand.

“Don’t.” He was looking down a bit, embarrassed and thinking himself a child. “I’ve been alone for a long time. It’s just that seeing a fresh face after so long, I became a bit cautious and acted on instinct.” Amai blinked a couple of times before she turned her head and looked at him.

“What do you mean that you’ve been alone for a long time? Surely a wolf such as you has a pack somewhere, or possibly even a mate he could go see when he chooses.”

“That’s for most wolves… As for me, I was exiled…” Amai looked at Raul, unsure what she was supposed to do, but her personality wouldn’t allow her to let him be upset.

“Would you tell me what happened before you were exiled,” she asked, taking his hand and sitting down on the bed beside him, her mind off of preparing him a meal. Raul didn’t think that she would have wanted to listen, but he nodded his head, thinking where to start.

“Do you need a little time to think of where to start,” Amai asked him, watching him for a few minutes noticing he wasn’t talking. Raul smiled a bit embarrassed. “How long has it been, if I may ask?”

“Well,” Raul said to Amai, “It’s been about a year.” Amai nodded, understanding why he was having trouble. A couple of minutes later, Raul’s eyes lit up a bit. “I think I know where I can start at.” He turned his head to Amai giving her his direct attention. “I’ll start a little bit before the problem I had, so you can understand this tale more,” he said to her beginning to speak.

***

A boy sat under a tree. It was evening, and the boy was watching a few other boys play a few feet from the tree. A couple of girls were playing alongside the boys in a game, and one of them strayed away walking to the boy.

“Come on Raul, won’t you come play with us,” she asked, and the young boy nodded his head in defiance.

“I’m fine. Go and enjoy yourself sis,” Raul replied, and the girl looked down a bit. She ran back over to the other few and the lot continued playing games.

Over on the porch of a small house, Raul’s parents were watching him. The mother looked to her side at his father.

“Ranson, why doesn’t he want to play with his sister and the other children like he use to,” she asked, and Raul’s father shook his head.

“I don’t know how to answer Celia. I don’t know what goes on through his head.” Celia turned her head back to looking at Raul.

“He seems so excited about the ritual in a few weeks. Do you think he’ll straighten out?”
“I don’t know.”

As the few weeks passed, Raul still sat under the tree watching the sky and other children play. A couple of times the leader had walked over asking him why he didn’t play with the other children, and he didn’t like Raul’s response. A couple of other times he tried talking to the boy’s family, trying to figure out why he didn’t seem so happy half of the time. When they couldn’t tell him anything, he growled in annoyance, thinking Raul was a bit shameful and shouldn’t stay in the group if he was going to be like he was. The leader plotted that after the ceremony, he would get rid of Raul one way or another, and as the days drew closer to the ceremony, his plan became concrete.

When it was time for the ceremony Raul was ecstatic. He had been waiting for so long for the moment, and he was finally going to receive his mark on his arm to mark he was in the group, and he was an adult. He looked forward to being able to leave the town and go to the outside and explore where few had been before. His family stood around a small fire, and the leader had the boy approach him.

“It’s with the great power that was bestowed upon me, that today I announce Raul’s rite of passage into adulthood as many have experienced.” His voice was loud and clear, and he turned to Raul. He saw the smile on the boy’s face, and when he carefully took the oil in the small bottle and tossed some onto his arm, he could tell Raul was a bit nervous, despite his appearance. “Don’t worry about it Raul. It’s not dangerous,” he whispered to him. The ceremony went on as normal, and Raul was asleep in his mother’s arms at the end.

“I never understood why the ceremony put the participant asleep,” Celia said holding her child. “At least it’s over.” She looked at Raul’s arm for a moment and admired the design before she took him inside to get a good rest.

The next morning when Raul got up out of bed, he heard screaming outside of his room. He got up immediately and walked over to the window, seeing his neighbor’s house on fire. His eyes opened a bit and he threw on some clothing before he ran down the stairs to the door. He opened it quickly and ran outside to find his mother and father standing on the porch. They were just as confused as he was on how the house was set ablaze. He looked across his yard and saw that the leader of the group was in front of the house with a couple of others, ordering them about and having them toss water at the pieces of the building where the most fire was.

Raul decided that he wanted to help them put the fire out. He jumped down the few stairs of the porch and started heading towards the building to grab a bucket, but he found himself pushed down.

“I knew you were trouble,” one of the boys said to him annoyed. “I knew you’d do something this disastrous!” Raul only blinked at him a couple of times, unsure what he was speaking about.

“You set this home ablaze, simply put,” the leader said, walking from where he was over to the two. He dismissed the other boy to keep helping, and he looked Raul directly in the eyes. “I never thought you would do something like this. Burning down your friend’s home? I suppose it can’t be helped. We will have to get rid of you.” When he said the statement, his mother and sister’s mouths dropped, but his father growled.

“It wasn’t him,” he yelled walking down the steps of the home and storming towards the leader.

“Oh really, then if it wasn’t him, who was it? Your son has been isolating himself from the others for quite some time. He is more than likely mental, which would explain this act. Stand in the way of his death and you’ll die as well.”

“I won’t let you kill him!” Raul’s father stood in front of his son. The leader shook his head holding his hand out. His cooperative put a blade in his hands, and he held it at Raul’s father. He didn’t give the man any time to dodge, lunging forwards instantly and stabbing through his torso. Raul’s eyes opened wider when the blade almost pierced him, and he stepped back a bit looking at his father not moving at the moment.

“Papa, are you alright,” he asked his father, but the only response he got was a finger pointing at a dirt road and words instructing him to run.

“You’re not dead yet,” the leader asked the man pulling the sword out. “Definitely persistent if you didn’t go in the first stab.” He raised the sword again, and tried to swing at Raul, but his father grabbed the blade pushing the leader back before he collapsed. Raul looked back at his mother who had started crying. His sister had buried her head in her mother’s shoulder knowing what had just happened, but she wasn’t trying to cry. Raul looked back at the leader and saw him whispering to him.

“I feel bad for you son. To say the truth, I’m the one that set the building ablaze, to get rid of you,” the leader said in admittance. Raul looked at him angrily. “It isn’t like you can defend yourself though. Who is going to believe you over me?”

Raul knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against the sword, and he turned running down the dirt path that his father had pointed out. He lost his thoughts for a moment, focused solely on escaping. The leader didn’t follow, and when asked by his cooperatives, he told them to not chase him.

Raul didn’t turn his head as he kept running. He eventually reached a small edge, though he had looked back, having run so long, and he fell over the edge screaming. He rolled down a hillside until he collided with a tree at the bottom, passing out immediately from the impact to his head.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Two

Raul looked away after he had finished telling the small tale of how he had been exiled, and Amai blinked a couple of times unsure how to react. So many questions were running through her head, and she couldn’t sort them out of which were important and which weren’t.

“I have a few questions,” she said sounding a bit confused. Raul turned his head back looking at her.

“Yes? What are your questions?” Amai wrapped her arms and tapped them for a few seconds before she decided on the question that she wanted to ask.

“You talked about a rite of passage into adulthood… I know a little about it from your tale, but what exactly is it.”

Raul looked a bit dumbfounded. He had thought that she would have at least figured out what that was.

“Well, the rite of passage is a ceremony, as you heard me talk about. Whenever one of the group members reached the appropriate age, they were put through this ceremony, with everyone watching of course. It was a great honor to make it that far.” He showed her his marking on his arm, it looking slightly like his regular arm since the burns had had time to heal a bit. “At the end of the ceremony one would have a marking wherever the fire touched them. For me it was my arm.”

Amai looked at the mark, remembering having looked at it a bit when Raul had been sleeping. She hadn’t actually gotten the chance to see it up close, and now that she did, she was more amazed than beforehand.

“That’s certainly a burn mark,” she said to him. “Why hasn’t it healed though?”

“Marks like this one do not heal. When you go through the ceremony, it is said that the spirit of the group’s chosen animal enters your body and keeps the mark there. No one seems to care about it, and I am the same.”

Amai nodded, getting up and looking at Raul having remembered they had to eat.

“Well, it seems you’re feeling better a bit. Would you like to go hunting? If we don’t we won’t have anything to eat later.” Raul looked up at her, simply nodding and standing up.

“Do you want me to hunt like this or as a wolf?”.

“It would be best if you hunted with me as you are. If you turned into a wolf, then you could risk hurting yourself further.” Raul understood, thinking that Amai did have a point.

“Well then, let’s go.”

“However, you do need some fresher clothing,” she said to him. She tossed him an outfit, him looking at it, leaving the room so he could get ready. When he was done, he walked out and looked at her.

“Well, now let’s go.” Amai nodded, rushing and grabbing her bow and her arrows before heading out. Raul wasn’t far behind, having already been prepared for another hunt in the first place. She led him to a certain spot that she had prepared before turning to him.

“You shouldn’t have to do any of the hard work since you’re injured,” she said to him.

“Why shouldn’t I? Just because I’m injured doesn’t mean I can’t carry a deceased animal,” he said, attempting to argue. Amai only waved her finger at him. Raul didn’t bring the topic up any further, rather hearing a deer and pointing Amai’s attention to it. Amai immediately grabbed an arrow and strung it, pointing it at the deer taking a deep breath to focus.

The deer was completely unaware that she was there, and when she let the arrow go it was still clueless. It did let off a small sound as it flew through the air, eventually hitting the side of the deer making it fall over.

“That was some terrific accuracy,” Raul commented, Amai standing proud. “However, there is one thing that you didn’t do.” Amai looked at him dumbstruck.

“Oh, and what exactly was that.” Raul laid his response blatantly.

“You didn’t clean the arrow before you shot it. Any contaminants from your quiver could be spoiling the meat from the deer.” Amai blinked in response, looking at the deer and grabbing her dagger from its sheathe. She ran over quickly to the corpse, and she started cutting the meat from the deer that would be spoiled.

Raul only watched her as she cut, wondering for a moment how she had forgotten to clean the arrow. He was thinking that she was more than likely an excellent hunter. He put a hand over the bandage covering his shoulder’s wound, taking his wound as proof.

Amai sighed as she cut, and when she had the contaminated meat cut out, she tied the corpse up in a large bag she had grabbed on her way out. After she picked the deer up, she turned and pointed in the direction that would lead back to her shack.

“You don’t think I don’t know which direction to travel in,” he asked her, tapping his nose a bit. A wolf did have a sensitive smell. He had memorized the scent of a few things in her shack, and he started walking back, letting her start following carrying the deer in the bag. Amai walked a bit slower than normal, having a dead corpse weighing her down, unlike Raul, who had managed to get a ways farther than she was just by walking alone.

“Are you walking faster than me,” she asked him, and when he heard her he slowed a bit to allow her to catch up. “You know some consider it rude to let a girl carry the entire load, nonetheless not waiting for them and even ask helping.”

“Well, you’re the one that said I shouldn’t do any of the heavy-lifting or other hard work so that I could recover,” he said, turning his head to look at her.

She looked up at his eyes before she turned her head, mumbling to herself a bit about how even though she had said that to him, he should have still offered to help. Then her thoughts changed and she remembered that he had offered beforehand, and she shut her mouth quickly noticing the shack coming into view.

“Look, we’re almost there,” she said to him, unable to point at it.

“At least you know your way around.” Amai’s face darkened a bit in annoyance. “I’m only teasing,” Raul said to her, but it didn’t seem to change her expression. When the two were at the shack, Amai stopped Raul temporarily.

“You go on inside and get cleaned off. It was dusty out there after all,” she said to him. “I’m going to go prepare this deer so we’ll have something to eat.” Raul did nothing but nod, walking inside before looking back, seeing Amai carry the deer around the building. Raul shut the door at that, him going and taking a shower before he walked out, him sighing a bit looking down.

“Telling her that story earlier may have been a bad idea. I don’t even know who she is, and she knows a lot about me,” he told himself, snooping around a bit looking at photos and other collectibles Amai owned. He turned his head to a window, looking outside of it at the small building Amai was in preparing the deer. “She’s taking a bit of her time,” he said to himself. “I guess I’ll check on her…”

Amai, meanwhile, was preparing the deer in the small building, her having a time getting the hide off. “The worst part of hunting; preparing the kill,” she thought to herself.

She tried as hard as she could, finally managing to get part of the animal’s skin off. “I can’t believe I forgot to clean the arrow, though I’m more surprised that Raul even knew something about hunting… I guess it comes with being a wolf.” The stench the deer had was horrible, so she didn’t want to be pointed directly at it.

When she had looked aside, she noticed a photograph in a frame nearby. She narrowed her eyes slightly, her setting the meat aside to dry a bit as she walked over.

“Papa, I miss you,” she said, picking up the frame. A few tears filled her eyes, her not looking behind herself until Raul spoke.

“Why’re you crying,” came his voice, Amai jumping, having been startled.

“Don’t you know better than to startle someone!”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to see how you were.” Amai thought for a moment before she responded.

“I’m terrible at this moment.”

“What’s wrong?” Amai set the frame back where she had gotten it from.

“I miss my father. He died a few years ago in a hunting accident,” she explained. “He was dead before I could even say farewell or I loved him.” Raul looked at her, putting a hand on her chin and lightly tapping her head up. She seemed embarrassed, and he knew it.

“Don’t be embarrassed about crying. Everyone dies, and it’s natural to mourn their death.”

“You obviously don’t know how many humans are then.” She pushed his hand away. “Everyone expects you to be strong. Show one sign of sadness and you get criticized.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you further,” Raul said to her, watching her return to the meat.

“I just wanted to make you feel better.” He left, Amai stopping what she was doing a bit.

“I’m glad for that,” she told herself. “You’re the first one to actually show you care, even if you don’t know me.”

After she continued, and finished, preparing the deer meat, she lugged it into her shack, slicing it up and boiling it with multiple ingredients, all of which Raul could smell from where he was sitting.

“It smells delicious,” he said to her, Amai getting a small smile on her face.

“I’ve been told I’m a master at cooking, just like my mother,” she said, turning around and waving her spatula. Raul laughed a bit, his response putting a look of annoyance back onto Amai’s face. “What’s so funny!”

“I’m sorry, but it’s just, you can be funny.” Amai blinked a couple of times. She didn’t understand Raul’s humor, her grumbling a bit as she finished the meal. She put the food on the table, showing a smile as if she had gotten over his laughter, and after they finished she put the plates up herself.

“Now, about that bandage,” she said. Raul looked at her.

“What about it?”

“Well, it needs to be replaced. We can’t have it getting infected, now can we?” Raul gave her a strange look, her asking what was wrong.

“Well, it’s just, I’m a wolf, remember? Wolves don’t typically focus on recovering that long. If you get hit, you just keep going, and then you do what you can before you just ignore it and let it heal.”

“Well, isn’t replacing the bandage doing what you can,” she challenged. Raul sighed as he thought that through.

“I guess so.” He stood and followed her to the table where the first aid kit was. He was told to sit down as she grabbed the necessary materials. She carefully un-wrapped the bandage, and as she did, she decided to ask him a question.

“Have you experienced any excess pain since I wrapped it yesterday?” Raul didn’t need time to think.

“No, I haven’t. The bandage makes me itch though.”

“That’s natural,” she replied. She cleaned around the wound as all medical procedures required. Raul turned his head, looking at edge of yellow around his shoulder, his eyes looking to the stitches.

“It looks like you didn’t stitch it right…” Amai sighed.

“I’ll be taking you to an actual doctor tomorrow, so just live with it.” After she finished, she led Raul to the guestroom again. He fell into the closest bed not much sooner, him not being allowed to sleep on the couch.

“I guess a bed is better than nothing,” he said to himself. “I’m just glad I didn’t keep much. My den was pretty empty exempt a small candle.”

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Three

Raul thought for a bit longer about what had happened to him just a year earlier before he covered up and went to sleep, waking up in the morning first and walking to a window.

“Amai,” he heard someone calling, him pulling the window he was looking from open a bit to let fresh air in. “Amai, it’s me, Jessica!”

“I guess she’s a late sleeper,” he said to himself, walking down the hall and pushing her door open. “You know you have someone at the door!” Amai jumped from where she was sitting.

“I know this! I was fixing my hair!” She was holding a brush in her hand. “Don’t you know it’s rude to just barge in!” Raul sighed when she yelled, him leaving her room. She finished up before running out and to the door, opening it and allowing Jackie entrance.

“Didn’t you have to go somewhere,” she asked her friend, Jessica sitting down at the table.

“I don’t remember mentioning anything about going somewhere,” Jessica said before her younger brother walked in.

“Sis, I found this outside.” He handed her a small rock.

“My, what do we have here?” She had interrupted what she was saying to Amai smiling.

“Thank you.” Her brother smiled, glad his sister was happy before he rushed over to the small fireplace and sat down to warm up. “As I was saying… I didn’t say anything about heading elsewhere to you a couple of days ago. I just said I had to go.”

“That isn’t what I remember from when we were talking,” Amai scolded in response. “You said you would be heading out of town this morning!”

“Yes, I remember now, and I also said you would find a boyfriend, but that didn’t come true either.” Raul walked down the stairs just then. Jessica turned her head, looking at Raul before her eyes widened a bit.

“Amai,” she screeched, her standing up immediately. “You didn’t tell me you had a guest!” She ran over to Raul and inspecting him from a bit of a distance. Raul blinked a couple of times, him looking over at Amai holding back a sigh.

“Is this your boyfriend,” Jessica questioned, her getting up close since Raul was deemed safe.

“No,” both of the others shouted. Jessica laughed, her turning her head to Amai.

“Come on Amai! You don’t have to be embarrassed! I’m completely trustworthy!”

“As if,” Amai muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing… I was just saying that I accidentally shot Raul here with one of my arrows by accident,” Amai explained.

“Amai!” Jessica then noticed the bandage on Raul’s shoulder. “Dear me, are you hurt Raul,” she asked, looking up at Raul, who was speechless.

“Of course he was, that’s why he has a bandage on his shoulder!” Amai rubbed her head in annoyance.

“If I would’ve known this would happen, I would’ve told him to stay upstairs.” Raul got Jessica to calm down and return to her chair.

“I’m just going to take a small walk,” he said to Amai, pointing to the door before he walked out.

“You go accompany him,” Jessica said, directing the statement at her brother. The little boy nodded. He stood up and rushed after Raul, who had exited the door. Raul looked at the boy when he ran up beside him.

“Who’re you mister,” he asked. Raul smiled as he told him his name. “That’s a cool name mister!” Raul chuckled, remembering his sister, who was a year younger than himself.

“You’re like my sister.” The boy looked up at Raul.

“What do you mean mister?” Raul knelt down to the boy’s eye level.

“My sister is a lot like you. She was energetic and ecstatic.” The boy laughed when Raul told him it was a good thing. “I mean, not many people are like you.” This made the child smile.

“I like you mister!” Jessica then called for her brother, the boy running off to her as they both left.

“Who was that,” Raul asked Amai, walking up the steps before he was pulled right back down.

“That was Jessica. She’s one of my friends,” Amai explained, pulling him along. “Now come on, we have to take you to the doctor to get stitched up better.”

“Please tell me it’ll be a regular doctor.”

“What do you mean, a regular doctor?”

“Well, it’s just that people like me can be all around you, and you’d never know it. Not many of us want it to be known we are animals, after all.”

“But I thought you were human, at least originally,” Raul shook his head.

“That’s what very few people believe. When you’re put under the passage to adulthood, you find people consider you more for the animal you can shift into than an actual human.”

“That’s terrible,” Amai remarked. “Who would treat someone in such a way just because of what they can do.”

“I don’t know. All I can tell you is that I’ve had a couple of instances since my exile where I’ve been called a monster, all because I revealed what I was. That’s why I typically hide my tail.”

“Your tail?”

“See, not even you knew.” Raul chuckled, uncurling his tail from his leg and getting it from inside his leggings. The limb was covered in white fur, just like when he was a wolf.

“That’s amazing!” Amai was amazed mostly by how it even existed when he was human at the moment.

“After my rite of passage, I found that my tail never goes away. I guess it’s another thing alongside the marking. It’s one of the most difficult things to hide. You see, no one would expect a marking to be strange, but an animalistic tail on a human isn’t exactly normal.”

“As if you were normal anyway,” Amai said to him. Raul chuckled more. “See, you know that I’m right.”

“You sure are.” Amai looked forward before she spoke again.

“Oh, my favorite place is just a few feet away!” Amai ran over to a bridge, her looking over the fence. Raul just followed, him looking at a waterfall that the bridge was near. “This is my favorite spot. This is where my father and I would sit and listen to the birds. It’s very peaceful and relaxing. It’s one of the good memories I have of him…” Raul smiled lightly, looking at Amai seeming happy.

“Perhaps we have something in common,” he thought to himself, thinking not only of just their fathers.

“Well, I can’t stand here much longer and leave you without a way to the hospital… Well? Start marching, and hide that tail!” Raul put his hand on his forehead, playing along with the moment.

“Yes ma’am,” he said. He hid his tail by curling it around his leg inside his leggings before he put his hand down and marched on. Amai chuckled a bit, not making him march long before she led him to the doctor, who inspected the wound without a bandage.

“My my Amai, you’ve outdone yourself,” he said to her. He grabbed the necessary materials, fixing up Raul before wrapping his shoulder again. “Any closer and your limb would’ve had to be cut off. Anyway, that should just about do it.” He then looked at Raul’s arm. “Also, I noticed this large burn on your other arm. I could prescribe something for you to take to heal it.”

“No thanks. It’s something I’ve learned to live with,” Raul said. Amai didn’t add on. She thanked the doctor again before she took Raul out of the building, her sighing in relief.

“What’s with the sigh,” Raul questioned.

“I thought that someone might see your tail,” she responded.

“Trust me; you don’t have to worry about that.” He walked with her back to the shack, her following him until he was sitting on his bed, it having become late again.

“So, I guess you’re going to be staying a bit longer,” she asked, him looking at her.

“I guess so. Unless you want-“

“Don’t worry about that. Having company for a change is comforting. Rest well…” She headed to rest herself, finding the next day that he didn’t sleep long.

“Rise and shine,” he said to her, her jumping out of bed again before scolding him in annoyance. “What? You’re the one that sleeps in late. I’m going to help you change that.” He walked out of her room, her covering her eyes moaning with a headache.

“I can see multiple headaches like this one coming,” she grumbled before she got up. Not much was different that day; Raul went with her hunting and they came back and ate.

***

As a few days passed, Amai couldn’t help but come to find Raul’s company welcoming and comforting, her mind starting to think on the tale that he had told her before. When she thought about it, she thought about how kind he was.

“Even though he’s been away from civilization for a year, he doesn’t seem to hate people. I admire that,” she thought to herself. Raul then interrupted her train of thought.

“What are you thinking about,” he asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking some… Mostly about that tale you told me.”

“What of it? It was just a story, and it happened a year ago.”

“Well, it’s just…” She was having trouble thinking on what to say. “I’ve decided that I want to help you clear your name.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said you were exiled, right? You told me that the leader of your clan betrayed you. I want to help you clear your name…” Raul looked at Amai, intrigued by her statement.

“What makes you think we can do that? If I return to that place now, I’ll be murdered…”

“What makes you think that they remember what happened completely?”

“I remember, and I’ve been in isolation in nature for a year, which would typically drive someone mad.” Amai scratched her head a bit, her looking at him.

“What about your mother and your sister! We could help them by clearing your name!” Raul had looked away at that, him thinking for a bit before he turned his head. He had seemed as though he was thinking seriously about the idea.

“Fine,” he said to her. “I don’t completely agree with it, but fine.”

“We’ll leave tomorrow then.” Raul sighed, thinking that she was being a bit of a rush.

“Let’s get to bed then, shall we?” She nudged him until he went into the guestroom. She was the first one to wake up the next morning. She grabbed her bow and quiver before she shook him awake.

“Tell me now if you are going to need anything before we go,” she said, Raul yawning. He thought for a moment before he patted his pockets.

“I’m a wolf, remember? I don’t need anything. I get what I need when it comes time I need it.” Amai didn’t say anything further, her shutting the door and locking it. She turned, taking a deep breath, patting her pocket hearing the sound of money in it.

“How far away is this clan,” she asked.

“Quite a ways…” Amai questioned herself a bit. She hoped she was making the right decision.

“It’s to help someone… Father would be proud,” she told herself mentally, heading off with Raul walking beside her.

***

A bit into their walk, Raul was looking at the river they were passing. It was right in front of the waterfall Amai had shown him. He watched the water flow down the stream until they passed the bridge.

“Water… A liquid force that doesn’t stop for anything. It flows in one direction, and never turns around. Nothing stands in its way,” he thought to himself, looking ahead. “Amai could be compared to water.” When the two made it into the town, she looked around at the civilians watching the two.

“Why are they staring at us,” Raul asked Amai.

“We’re the oddballs of the bunch. How many of these people do you see carrying a bow or other weapon?” Raul looked around noticing not many were.

“I see your point.”

“The exit across from here shouldn’t be too far.”

“Do you really even know which direction we’re supposed to be headed?” Amai froze in her tracks.

“Well… Um… No, I don’t.”

“Then wouldn’t it be a good idea if I told you which direction to head?” Amai just nodded her head.

“Good. It’s this way.” Raul pointed in a certain direction, of which the two started heading. It led them into another part of the town, Amai shivering a bit. “What’s wrong,” Raul asked her.

“I haven’t necessarily been in this part of town before. I get a weird feeling from it,” Amai responded. Raul sighed.

“If you can’t even stand to explore somewhere new, you should just head back. We’re headed into a lot of territory you may not even know ever existed, and some of it is going to be full of people like me.” Amai just felt a bit more scared at that, but she hid it well from Raul.

“No. I told you I would help you, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Raul knew she was pulling a tough act, but he was grateful to her. He had been thinking a bit, and he knew that if Amai hadn’t taken him in, that he could’ve died from the arrow in his shoulder. He kept thinking about how grateful he was before he turned his head, stopping where he was.

“What’s wrong,” Amai asked him, Raul scoping his surroundings.

“I’m hearing something.” Amai put her guard up, trying to listen in but not hearing anything.

“It sounds like a howl.”

“Many things howl.” Raul quickly hushed her.

“This is different. It sounds, familiar…” After the noise became louder, Amai could hear it.

“It sounds like a regular wolf.” Raul stepped forward a single time.

“I know that…” He then started stepping forward multiple times, each making him quicker.

“What’s wrong,” Amai questioned again. However, Raul didn’t stop.

“It’s a she-wolf! Even worse, it’s one that I know!” Amai took off at that, attempting to catch up. She saw him take a quick turn, rushing into the forest which was uncharted territory for her where they were.

“Hey, slow down,” she called, Raul not listening as she watched him disappear into fog. “Oh great, I lost him… I must be really out of shape… Either that or the wolf is too fast.” She stopped her running, her leaning against a tree breathing heavily.
“I have two options. Option one is that I stay here and hope he comes back. Option two is that I attempt to follow him, and knowing my curiousity, I want to follow.” She waited for a few minutes before she took off again, headed towards the howling which seemed to be getting more silent.

“Don’t become silent on me now,” she sighed in annoyance, rushing off following the sound of footsteps. When she came to a clearing, she looked at a wolf standing above another animal, it difficult for her to see in the fog. She shivered a bit, her not having a jacket with a breeze blowing. It was a bit ominous, the leaves on the trees blowing with the breeze.

“Raul,” Amai asked. She took a step closer. She was a bit anxious, her hearing leaves crunch under her foot since it was autumn. “Raul, did you find the source of the howl?” The creature in the fog lifted its head, its ears twitching a few times. “It’s alright if you didn’t Raul…” The creature turned around, it looking straight at Amai with red eyes.

“Raul, is that even you,” she asked, remembering Raul had silver eyes. The creature growled, which tipped Amai off that it wasn’t who she thought. She froze, stopping her movements thinking. She had to plan her steps carefully, knowing sudden movements could cause a violent reaction. The creature stalked a bit closer, Amai backing away a bit.

She could swear the creature spoke a few words, it getting closer. When it’s snarling was a bit louder, Amai shut her eyes not noticing it stand up onto two legs. She heard something whispering in her ear before Raul came, pushing the creature away before grabbing her head.

“You idiot,” he snarled. He took off with her hand in his, her trying her hardest to keep up.

“I can’t run as fast as you!” She was about to trip before Raul slowed down.

“You should’ve stayed where you were when you got tired!”

“Did you find out what the source of the howl was?” She said that in ignorance of his statement.

“No, I didn’t, but I wasn’t so far I couldn’t hear your heart about to jump. I got worried.” Amai blushed a bit, hearing Raul express a bit of emotion towards her. He continued to retreat with her until they were back on the original path they were headed on. He took a moment to stop and breathe, Amai doing the same since she wasn’t like him.

“Did you happen to see what that thing was,” he questioned her, Amai waiting a moment before she spoke.

“No, but I swear I heard a voice come from it.”

“That’s because it wasn’t just a wolf that had grabbed you.”

“What, what do you mean?” Amai was shivering a bit since it was cold.

“Do you remember that not too long ago I told you we’d be encountering others like me? Well, that was one of them, and not one of the good ones either…” Amai let what he said process in her mind.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Four

Raul continued on the path with Amai, him looking at the scenery as it passed. He seemed a bit distracted, him thinking on the situation that had just occurred.

“Who was that that we saw,” he thought to himself in question, his eyes tensing a bit as he remembered the red eyes. “Could it be possible that he’s following me, or Amai?” His thoughts were stopped when Amai screamed a bit, her looking ahead. When Raul turned his head to see what was wrong, he didn’t expect to see a smile on Amai’s face.

“Why are you smiling,” he asked, Amai rushing ahead a bit. “Hey, where are you headed off to?”

“It’s really still here! I remember this!” Raul was confused as he approached.

“What do you remember?”

“There’s a lake, and it isn’t too far from here. My father use to take me every once in a while for fishing. I use to laugh when he told me about a rumor that there was a large dragon hiding in the waters of the lake.” Raul sighed, him rubbing his head a bit.

“Do you want to go to the lake for a quick stop then, since we’ve been walking a while, and it seems that it’s about to get dark…”

“Can we,” Amai begged. Raul questioned whether she had just heard what he had said. Just to make her happy, he said it over, Amai jumping a couple of times ecstatically as she rushed towards the pathway leading to the lake.

“This wasn’t the same attitude you showed me before,” he said to himself, looking aside at the river that was leading towards the lake. “I have a feeling that this is going to be a long day, and night…” He quieted down, walking towards where Amai had run. When they got to a building, he walked inside, the person at the counter looking up from what she was reading.

“Welcome to the inn. May I be of service,” she asked, her voice not sounding to happy to be up so late.

“Yes. Do you have any rooms open,” Raul asked, Amai having handed him the money pouch.
“Let me check…” The woman looked down at a book that she had in front of her. She ran her finger over the page, her smiling. “We have a room open. I presume you two will be staying in the same one?” Raul shook his head in detest.

“We’re not a couple or anything of that sort. We’d like separate rooms,” he explained. The woman nodded and looked down again. She looked up, her giving Raul a small look of disappointment.

“I’m sorry, but it seems that we only have that one room open.” Raul turned his head to Amai. She didn’t offer any insight.

“I can stay outside,” he said to her, making Amai look into his eyes.

“You can’t just do that,” she said to him, him chuckling a bit as he turned.

“Watch me.” He paid the woman the money required for the room before he was handed the key. He turned, handing the key to Amai. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Amai just looked at the key before she watched Raul worriedly.

“I know he’s a wolf, but still,” she thought to herself. To make it seem like she was listening, she went to the room and opened it with the key, walking in before she crept to the window. She waited, watching as Raul crawled behind one of the bushes.

Amai watched his arms cover in fur before they became legs, her getting to see his complete transformation before she fell from the small ledge she had been sitting on. Her eyes were shaking a bit, her having not expected what she had seen. She seemed as though she were frozen, paralyzed a bit with fear before she snapped herself to reality.

“I’ve got to get use to it. He’s going to be around me for a while,” she said to herself, getting up from the floor. “Also, he made a kind gesture. However, I can’t just let him sleep outside either.” She thought for a moment before she walked outside.

She pinpointed Raul’s location, her watching him as he curled up and fell asleep, having watched the fountain a bit to relax himself. That was when Amai snuck over, picking Raul up alongside his clothing, since his form had changed, and she lugged him inside as if he were a deceased animal.

“You’re heavy,” she thought to herself in a small chuckle. “And look at you, sleeping as though there isn’t anything to worry about.” She set Raul down in a corner, after she put a blanket down for him. She then wrapped him up, knowing after he changed he would be embarrassed. She then crawled into the bed, thinking on what she had seen, unable to get the sight out of her mind before she thought about what he had said earlier.

“What was that creature before… I could swear it was like him, but different,” she thought to herself, twiddling her thumbs and picking her nails a bit. She kept thinking until she had drifted herself into sleep. Raul woke up the next morning a bit surprised.

“I could swear I fell asleep outside,” he yawned, attempting to stand up finding Amai had wrapped him up. He smiled a bit, turning back before he heard knocking on the door.

“Are you alright in there,” the woman called from outside. “I saw you carry that animal into your room! Are you alright?” Amai was still asleep peacefully, Raul knowing he was going to have trouble if they came barging in. He jumped up, keeping the blanket wrapped around himself as he opened the window and made a loud noise. “Are you alright,” the woman called aloud again.

Raul cut his finger intentionally, dropping some blood onto the sill to make it seem as though the wolf ran. He then walked to the door, opening it after he got dressed.

“Everything’s fine,” he said to the woman, her blinking a couple of times.

“Weren’t you-” Raul held his hand up.

“All you want to know is that the wolf is gone, correct?” The woman didn’t question further, just nodding as she turned to go back to her station. Raul sighed, shutting the door with one hand, holding his tail with the other. “That was a rush,” he said to himself, glad he could think of a quick solution, which had multiple ways out. He turned his head, looking over at Amai still asleep before he dug in the cabinets, making them some food, which woke Amai up.

“What’re you making,” she asked, sitting up lazily rubbing her eyes.

“I know that you brought me inside last night,” Raul said to her. Amai got up. She walked over to the table and sat down.

“So what,” she asked. “It was cold outside. I didn’t want you to freeze.”

“A wolf’s coat of fur is enough to stand the cold.” He set her food on the table.

“Would you stop with that? I know you’re a wolf.” She got up, walking into the restroom and splashing water in her face leaving half the food on her plate. “I can’t believe I just said that,” she mumbled to herself. After she got out of the restroom, she looked over at the window, where Raul was looking outside at the fountain.

“What’s so special about the fountain,” she asked, Raul turning his head to look at her.

“A fountain spews water from above, which lands in the bottom. It shows that even though you’re the highest, you can still fall.” Amai smiled a bit.

“I don’t think I’ll get used to the wisdom,” she thought. “I’m sorry about what I said before. I was a bit grouchy and didn’t even thank you for cooking something to eat.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone has a moment they regret. Even I do…” Amai thought for a moment, her curious as to what Raul would regret. “Well, if you’re done, we can continue on, right?” He looked over where Amai had left her bow and quiver.

“Whilst you were in the restroom, I looked at the arrow you fired into my shoulder. Did I really annoy you that much?” Amai didn’t give him an answer just yet. She waited until they had signed out of the inn, her walking forwards at his side.

“Yes, you did,” she said. “You were a pain, but it was a fun pain. I considered your daily arrival a game of sorts. I always plotted, writing down all sorts of things… What times you came, where you stood; these were all factors in the game, and I wanted the ultimate ending; your annihilation.” She looked at Raul, noticing he was smiling a bit. “You’re one of the smartest wolves that I’ve seen. I always wondered how you were able to dodge my arrows when I actually got them strung, and, well, I found out the answer.”

“Sometimes I don’t know either. You aim very precisely.” Amai smiled, her looking at him for a moment.

“I’m a bit glad that they didn’t hit you either, now that I view those moments mentally. I’d been in my shack for so long without anyone. Sure, Jessica came to visit, but that wasn’t very often.”

“So you’re saying that you like my company?” Amai blushed.

“No, I’m just saying that you being in my shack was something refreshing, for lack of a better term.” She wrapped her arms together and turned her head away from him. Raul just laughed a bit.

“You know, you don’t have to be afraid to say it, but fine, fine, let’s change the subject.” At hearing that, Amai looked ahead, her noticing a nearby sign which said it would be about a half-hour walk until they got to the lake.

“So Raul… Would you mind telling me about your mother,” Amai asked. Raul smiled a bit before he looked down.

“My mother was a wonderful woman. She would make snacks for me and my sister, and sometimes for a few of the other children in the clan. She’s a sweet person, someone who doesn’t deserve any sort of pain that had been brought to her… She didn’t deserve to worry about me either, even though I isolated myself for two years. Sometimes I wonder if she had a moment she didn’t love me.”

“Don’t say something like that… Every mother loves her child, no matter how they turn out. A mother’s love is undying, and will never change. Even though they won’t follow you to the end, they’ll show you love and support no matter what.” Raul couldn’t help but tear up a bit.

“Thank you. I needed to hear that.” The rest of their walk wasn’t much but watching the passing scenery and wildlife. They did pass a couple of people, but they didn’t bother to do anything other than waving since they didn’t know them.

***

Raul looked around at his surroundings. He saw boats, a few of which that weren’t attached to posts. Those few had people in them who were fishing in the lake.

“See, I told you,” Amai said to him, looking out leaned on the fence a bit. “It’s a great fishing spot, and it isn’t that far from home. It looks no different than it did a couple of years ago.” Raul looked at the forest across the lake, knowing that was where he had been a bit before.

“I think I remember now,” he said to Amai, who turned to him. “I think I passed by here when I was looking for somewhere to settle in. If I remember right, I chose where I had because of this pond.” His remarks put a smile on Amai’s face.

“See, even you found something good about it! It’s official, this lake, or pond, is definitely good luck to most.”

“Well, then how about we go fishing?” Amai shook her head at that.

“No, we can’t waste much more time. No matter how many good memories I have of this place, I can’t let that get in the way. We have to continue on and prove you innocent, remember?”

“I don’t mind if we stay for a bit and fish, but if you’re sure, then we can go.” He turned, Amai following behind him quickly, her letting him lead for the same reason as last time; she didn’t know where to go. Raul led Amai right back to the inn in a couple of hours. He then looked on the inn’s wall, seeing a sign with directions. The way back would take the duo to the lake. To the right would be the path back to Amai’s home village and to the left would be the path that would lead them towards his clan.

“To the left it is,” he said, making the turn as if he were a train on train tracks, Amai imitating his motions. Starting on the path, Raul kept thinking about the previous day.

“Are you thinking the same thing,” Amai asked.

“That depends. What are you thinking about?” Amai talked about the wolf that he had saved her from. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.”

“I wonder exactly what it was. For some reason, when it got close I couldn’t smell its fur.”

“There is the chance that it didn’t have fur…” Raul couldn’t truthfully figure out whether the figure was a wolf or not. He had suspicions it was the leader. His only evidence was that the eyes had looked the same.

“I guess that if you can’t figure it out, then there isn’t a reason for us to worry about it.”

“I know that, but it’s just, I guess it’s taunting a bit.” Amai noticed the look of worry that seemed to be in his voice.

“Are you alright Raul?”

“I’m fine. I just thing I’m going to be a bit haunted by the mystery.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now come on. We’re not getting that much closer if we walk.” Raul had to agree, the two picking up their pace as they started running towards the next town.

***

When they got to the next town, Raul looked at the river.

“This thing just keeps following us,” he chuckled, Amai looking over at the river as well.

“Rivers are pretty long. You never know where they end.” Amai was stating pure fact, and Raul knew this. Raul looked around a bit more before he heard Amai beginning to speak, to which he immediately gave her his attention.

“I guess I’ll be going to buy some supplies. Just because we’re going to be staying in motels or inns some doesn’t mean we don’t need our own stuff to camp with. You can walk around a bit if you want, but I want to meet in the center square,” Amai said. Raul nodded, him watching her run off to wherever she was headed. He walked over to one of the metal fences to watch the river more. He listened to the sound of the water flowing, and it lasted a bit longer than he was able to listen to it before.

“Hello there, Wolf of Fire,” a stranger said to Raul, which made the male turn his head in the direction of the sound.

“Do I know you,” Raul asked before he could even get a good look at the stranger, him noticing right then a scar on the individual’s right eye.

“Well, you should. I mean, we were friends, after all, before you isolated yourself for two years.” Raul froze a bit, him looking at the man standing a few feet away from him.
“You don’t look like you’re young though.”

“I shouldn’t. Let’s just say I’ve had a bit of an operation by the leader to come and hunt you down.” This made Raul snarl a bit, him backing away from the fence holding his hand up. “Would you relax? I’m not exactly here a first time for a fight. I’m here, to give you a warning.”

“What exactly would that be?!”

“The leader wanted me to say this to you. He said that if you attempted to come back, you would be killed.”

“I already knew this!” The stranger put his hand up.

“He also wanted me to tell you that he has married your mother.”

“He did what!?” Raul’s fist shook furiously hearing that the traitor was now his father.

“I said, he married, your mother.” Raul bared his fangs a bit, the stranger chuckling a bit. “You don’t have to be so hostile, especially in public. Do you think normal people like that friend of yours understand what we are? They don’t have a clue what kind of animals exist beyond their wooden and stone walls. Anyway, I also have a note from your mother.” He tossed an envelope to Raul. After he had, the stranger ran off without another word, Raul looking down at the envelope.

“It smells like mother,” he said to himself, feeling something that was a bit heavier than paper inside. He used a claw-like finger, slicing the top open carefully, seeing a small shine come through behind a sheet of notebook paper. Raul smelt his mother’s scent a lot more after he had opened the envelope, him pulling the small object out first. It was a necklace, and he watched it dangle down a bit, him looking at the small crystal on the end.

“Mother,” he said, a small rumble in his voice remembering his mother’s smile. He saw the crystal open a bit, a hinge attached to it showing an image of the family. Raul put the necklace on his neck, him closing the crystal with a smile, a few tears in his eyes having to think about the monster of a leader that had married his parent. He then remembered the note, scolding himself slightly for having gotten distracted so quickly. He pulled out the piece of paper, tossing the envelope away since he knew that he wasn’t going to need it anymore.

He opened the piece of paper carefully, him noticing that the leader’s scent was also on the paper, but not as much as his mother’s was. Reading down the note, Raul was glad to read that his sister was alright. Even though she was a year younger, she was acting like an adult like he was supposedly. He read until he reached the bottom of the note, which had the one phrase he had missed hearing.

“I’ll love you forever and ever my sweet child,” was that phrase, and it was written in his mother’s handwriting.

“I miss you to mother,” Raul said, finding it hard not to cry as tears fell onto the paper. He quickly folded it up, putting it in his pocket so he wouldn’t stain it further as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He turned back to the river, putting his arms on the fence. “I swear mother, I’ll make that traitor pay,” he said to himself, watching the water flow again like he had before the encounter. “Someday…”

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Five

Raul headed towards the town square when he felt Amai would be done shopping. Of course, he had to follow signs which pointed him in the right direction, having not been through the town for a while. When he saw Amai not too far away, he sighed in relief, but he also got a bit fearful of how long he had possibly kept her waiting. He rushed over, asking her if she was doing alright, to which she looked at him a bit angrily.

“I’m not like most girls Raul. I can care for myself. Now, where were you so long that it took you forever to come,” she scolded, Raul closing his eyes a bit in a cringe, but opened them when she sighed. Amai then changed the subject.

“So, I notice that you have a new necklace. Where did it come from?” Raul looked down, looking at the purple crystal.

“My mother gave it to me,” he said to her. “I encountered someone I knew. He gave me a letter, and it had this necklace inside of it. I know that it was my mother who sent it because her name was on the envelope.” Amai just nodded, trusting Raul even though she didn’t know he partially lied; his mother’s name hadn’t been on the envelope.

“Well, where do we go from here?” She was holding a couple of bags. It didn’t seem as though she had purchased much. Raul scratched his head, looking around a bit.

“I guess we could stay here for a night or two, if you want to. Else-wise, we could head on out of town and keep walking. We do have quite a distance to cover.”

“You mean I have to carry this small bit of groceries around for a long time,” Amai joked. Raul took one of the bags to take some load from her arms.

“Thank you kind sir,” she said, pretending to kneel a bit as if a princess.

“You’re welcome madam.” Raul was playing along before he started leading her towards the exit.

“So, would you tell me more about your encounter earlier,” Amai asked, trying to get Raul to talk some.

“There really isn’t much to talk about relating to it.” It was another lie. He had been told his mother had married the one person he despised completely. Amai shrugged.

“Oh well.” After that it was silence. Raul didn’t seem interested in talking, and she didn’t have anything to say either. Amai tried to think, but the silence was a bit awkward and it made it hard for her to even consider where they were going. “Can we please find something to do? I’m going to die of boredom!” Raul stopped, Amai bumping into him.

“What’s the big idea,” she asked a bit angrily, rubbing her head a bit.

“Do you have any ideas as to what we could do,” he asked her, looking directly into her eyes which made her a bit anxious. It also scrambled her thoughts.

“Well… There’s always… No, that won’t do…” She repeated the same thing over and over until she finally sighed. “I don’t know.”

“If you would really like to know, I don’t know much about what we should do either.” Amai felt just a bit better hearing that. “I just try to think of roaming around as a wolf when I’m bored.” Amai looked at him oddly.

“Isn’t that a bit strange,” she asked, to which Raul shrugged.

“I am a wolf after all. You have to consider that.” Amai just looked away, staring at trees and wondering what was beyond them. They seemed to walk forever before the stars started to show. “I think we should be finding somewhere to stay now.” Amai grinned, and he looked at her.

“What’s with that grin?”

“I have the perfect solution,” Amai said to him. “You see, the stuff that I decided to purchase was camping materials.” She pulled Raul aside, not wanting him to be in the way of other travelers should any be walking. Raul watched with curiosity as Amai pulled out a backpack from the bags, her attempting to get the tag off of it first.

“Having trouble,” he asked.

“No, I’m perfectly capable of doing this on my own,” she said, being stubborn as she pulled at the plastic tag. She sat there and struggled with it, Raul chuckling some to her annoyance. He leaned over, using a sharp fingernail to cut the tag off, taking it and putting it back into the bag before he stood up straight. “Thank you, but I could’ve done it alone…”

“Sure you could have,” he thought to himself whilst she opened the bag. Amai pulled out another package, which had a word on it.

“This is a tent,” she said, Raul wanting to put his hand on his face.

“I can see that.” Amai looked at Raul annoyed.

“If you want to be that way, you could sleep outside again.”

“I’d be perfectly fine with that. The ground is comfortable when you have nothing else.” That made Amai angrier. She gave in though, tossing him the other backpack since he was able to tear the tags off. She threw the remainder of the stuff, which was mostly trash, into a garbage bin nearby. “Now what are we going to do about food?”

“Isn’t that one obvious? We’re going to hunt.” Amai tapped the bow on her back. “There isn’t a purpose for us to waste money on manufactured junk when we could hunt.”

“I don’t think I couldn’t agree more. However, how about I hunt instead of you? It’s been a little over few days since you took me to an actual doctor and had me stitched up.”

“Are you sure that you feel up to it?” Amai was worried. Even though he had changed once before, that was to sleep outside. It wasn’t to hunt.

“You sound as though you think it’s a bad idea.”

“Well, it’s just, you haven’t changed but once, you know. Who’s to say that you don’t tear your stitches open by accident?”

“I can see your point, but remember that I said a wolf gets over that?” Amai looked at Raul when he said that, her keeping her worried look.

“How could he be so unfocused on his injuries,” she thought to herself. “Of course I remember. I’m just worried you’ll hurt yourself.”

“You don’t have to worry. I know what I’m doing. I just have to change first… You stay there.” As he walked behind some bushes, Amai thought.

“It isn’t that I don’t think he can’t do it without injuring himself. I’m worried about the fact he could…” She waited a couple of minutes to see if he would come out. “What’s taking so long?” Raul didn’t respond, and it worried her a bit. She walked around the bushes, her looking at his snout lengthen as he snarled. She opened her eyes a bit wide before he noticed her.

“I told you to stay where you were,” he snarled, able to talk as a wolf. This caught Amai off guard, and she shivered remembering a few nights ago. “Well, what’re you waiting for,” Raul questioned. “I can’t necessarily pick up my clothes with paws!” Amai snapped back to reality.

“I didn’t know you could talk as a wolf.” Raul looked up at her.

“It isn’t like you didn’t see it coming.”

“I didn’t!” Raul sighed, shaking his head a bit. Amai didn’t say much more, her picking up the male’s clothing and sticking it in his bag. Afterwards, she picked up both of the bags in her hands.

“So, what do you want for a meal,” Raul asked her. “Would you like some rabbit? How about some deer meat?”

“Does it really matter? Anything would be food at this point. So hurry up, because I’m getting hungry!” Raul didn’t need another word. He rushed off with his nose pointed forward. He looked around carefully, searching for prey to catch.

Amai watched him, her following a bit behind. She didn’t want to scare any of the wildlife that he would prepare to chase. She watched him notice a deer in his sight, his ears twitching a bit.

“He must be listening in to see if another hunter is nearby,” she thought to herself. “That’s what a hunter like myself does…”

Raul seemed a bit hesitant. He got over this, however, and walked a bit closer to the animal that he was going to kill. It was clueless to his presence.

“Are you sure you can get it,” Amai whispered to him, trying to not be loud.

“Of course I can get it. Doesn’t she trust me,” Raul thought to himself, not speaking. He didn’t want to disturb the animal just like Amai. In order to assure the kill would be made, Amai drew an arrow. She prepped it for firing, not forgetting to clean it like Raul had seen her before. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Raul to get the animal; she was still worried. She drew the arrow, Raul hearing it and smiling a bit in his mind.

He knew that she wanted to be of help should things go too far. He waited, hoping that the animal would stand still since it moved a lot. Eventually it came to a complete halt, looking for food just like Raul. It didn’t expect Raul to begin dashing soon, Amai aiming her arrow at the animal should something go wrong. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, right until Raul attempted to jump.

He yelped aloud in pain, straining his wound as he turned a bit in the air. He collided with the ground hard, rolling a few times as Amai let out a quick tear. She knew she had to be quick, the deer lifting its head quickly hearing the loud noise. Amai fired quickly, pulling her sword out immediately after. Her arrow penetrated the animal’s leg, causing it to trip as soon as it attempted to dash away.

“Are you alright Raul,” she questioned aloud, dropping her bow beside their bags as she ran towards the deer. She threw the sword into the deer’s side, letting the deer scream aloud as it died, Amai turning and rushing towards Raul. “I shouldn’t have let him hunt,” she thought to herself.

“I’m alright. I’m alright,” Raul said to her. He tried standing, his leg collapsing under him. He had sprained it, which just led to ever more pain for him. After Amai inspected the leg, she shook her head a bit.

“You aren’t alright. You hit the ground pretty hard, and twisted your leg some…”

“Well don’t focus on my leg. Go finish off the deer.”

“I don’t have to you idiot! It’s already dead!” Raul heard Amai, him trying to stand again. Amai wouldn’t let him, pushing him right back down.

“Would you let me try to get up,” he said a bit annoyed.

“No! You sprained your leg moron!”

“Well then would you help me stand instead of just sitting there!” Amai got up, her wrapping her arms.

“If you’re capable of changing form, then why don’t you just turn yourself back into a human,” she yelled.

“It’s not so simple! It requires energy to force your entire body to change, which I don’t necessarily have at this moment!”

“And why not?!”

“I don’t have energy because I just changed recently, and I just injured myself! Don’t you think it’s going to be directed to my injury!?” Amai thought about it for a second, and she realized that Raul did have a point. Most of the energy not spent pushing his blood through his veins would more than likely be spent on fixing the sprain and healing any bruises he would have. She sighed, kneeling down and pushing her hands under Raul’s side.

“I told you that you were going to injure yourself,” she said, a little calmer as she spoke.

“And what of it? It isn’t like this is of your doing…”

“I should’ve made you not hunt like this. I knew you were injured.” Raul turned his head upward, sighing.

“I shouldn’t have insisted that I hunt. Once again, you can’t blame yourself.” Amai didn’t say much more on the matter. She scooped Raul up and set him on the ground, being careful of his leg. “Thanks for caring though.” She watched him put his leg up, her knowing he was going to be limping some.

She walked over to the animal that was laying on the ground, pulling her blade from it before she cleaned it with her cloth, setting it back in her pocket before she tossed the blade to the pile of things belonging to them. She picked up the deer on her own, turning and noticing Raul was laying beside the bags.

“Well, I guess I’m preparing our meal again,” she said to him.

“You don’t have to do that. I can eat it raw and save some space for you to cook your portion faster,” Raul responded. Amai nodded, her setting the deer down temporarily. She grabbed a towel from her bag, laying it on the ground before moving the deer onto it.

“It’ll have to do,” she mumbled to herself. “I don’t exactly have a table here.” She then grabbed the knife from her pocket, kneeling down beside the animal starting to tear its hide. After she was finished, she started the small fire that would be their light for the night. It glowed brightly as she grabbed the squares and strips she had cut. When she was about to toss them into the blazing inferno, Raul told her to stop.

“What now,” she asked. She turned her head to him.

“Keep the raw hide. Hang it up somewhere to dry.”

“Why would I do that? It could help fuel the flames a bit longer.”

“You can keep the hide to sell for money later on. Haven’t you done that before?” Amai thought for a moment to herself.

“No, I haven’t… It isn’t like I went into town that much…” “Of course not. I never had a purpose for the hide, so I always burned it or threw it away.”

“Then you’ve been missing out. Raw hide, never the less the fur that the deer has could earn an extra dollar.” Amai knew that they weren’t at her shack, and a few extra dollars would be handy.

“Alright… Alright,” she sighed, putting the hide up in a low branch. She let it hang there, her walking back over to the deer.

“Just snap a leg off and bring it over here,” Raul told her.

“Why a leg? Don’t you want any other part of the meat?”

“A leg is a bit handy to me unlike the rest of the animal. I can chew on the bone afterwards and make my teeth sharper.” Amai didn’t question farther. She grabbed one of the legs, which now had no hide. She pulled hard, hearing the leg snap from the rest of the body, which made her shiver a bit.

“All this time and I still had that noise,” she thought, continuing to pull. The meat eventually tore, the leg coming free. “Have at it,” she said, tossing it over to Raul, though she was a few feet off. The wolf pawed at the leg, being a bit lazy as he drug it over to himself. He was able to start eating immediately. Amai prepared some of the meat for herself, cooking it above the fire until she saw Raul was finished.

She repeated the process, making another leg snap off from the deceased animal and tossing it to him before she sat down. She then ate the food she cooked, tossing the burnt pieces away before she spent a little while setting up the tent. Raul watched her, and as she stood over it proud he started speaking.

“Tents are for the weak.” Amai turned her head.

“What makes someone weak for wanting shelter?”

“It provides evidence that you can’t truly withstand nature. Instead of embracing your surroundings, you choose to hide behind a single sheet of canvas.”

“There he goes with that wisdom speaking again,” Amai sighed mentally. “Will he never have something to say?” “Are you saying that I’m being a chicken?”

“No. I’m asking if you are so afraid you choose to hide from nature.” Amai turned her head to Raul, looking him dead in the eyes.

“I knew it. You are calling me a chicken. You don’t think that I could make it one night in the wilderness!”

“I’m not saying that-“

“Well you know what,” Amai said in interruption. “I’ll take your challenge! I’ll sleep out here!”

“That’s completely your decision…” Amai snarled a bit to herself, pulling the small cotton mattress the tent came with out into the open. She then shut the tent, which she had spent minutes setting up. Amai rotated the flat mattress so the edges would be at each side of the tent.

“Aren’t you forgetting something,” Raul questioned, Amai having lain down quickly. She turned over, looking across the fire to him.

“What exactly would that be?”

“The campfire. I mean, you don’t want to burn the trees down, now do you?” Amai blinked, her sighing as she stood up. She didn’t know how to put the fire out, her looking around until she saw the towel. She grabbed the linen, knowing that if she didn’t move quick enough she could light it on fire as well.

She walked over to the fire, flapping the linen over it fast and with efficiency, her watching the flames die down then rise again a bit lower. Raul watched her, a bit amused that she didn’t just grab some water to put it out. After it was done, Amai was breathing a bit heavily from all the flapping she had to do. She put the towel aside, her disregarding the carcass of the animal as she sat down on the mattress.

“Good night then,” Raul said to her, laying his head on his paws, mostly on the one not injured. Amai bickered a bit to herself before she laid down, looking up towards the stars in the sky. She could see them more clearly now that the fire was out. She turned onto her side, looking at the tent. She then heard a few crows, it disturbing the moment she had relaxed. She sighed, turning onto her other side.

“You make things seem so easy,” she thought. She stayed up a little longer, her finally falling out when she didn’t have much more energy.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Six

In the middle of the night, Raul woke up. He looked at Amai, seeing that she was asleep and smiling a bit. He then looked up to the stars, him sighing before he laid his head back down.

“I’m just a bit confused,” he mumbled to himself. He was staying quiet, not wanting to wake up Amai. “Why did the leader marry my mother? Was it because she needed someone to care for the family? I can’t help but think that wouldn’t be the reason.” He looked back over at Amai, noticing she was still asleep. “I think I’ll just go for a small walk.”

Raul got up from where he was. He looked over to the two bags sitting under the tree beside the weapons, him noticing a couple of flies taking off from the bow. He watched them fly innocently away from the bow, him walking over to the luggage both him and Amai had. He made a note of the two bags, one of which was still a bit big from the tent and mattress inside.

“Everything seems to be in order,” he said to himself. “But where is my suit of clothing…” He thought for a moment before he remembered earlier, when Amai had put his clothing in his bag. He grasped the small metallic piece with his mouth, pulling it slowly so the bag wouldn’t tip. Making no noise was the goal.

It took a few minutes, but he got the back open. He grabbed the clothing, him pulling it out. He set them on the ground, him turning and looking at Amai. She was still asleep, so everything was alright. He turned himself back, having recuperated some of his energy in her rest. He prepared himself, looking up at the stars after he was warmer in the cotton fabrics.

“I wonder why I feel a bit different tonight… Was it that dream I had last night,” he said to himself, looking down. He turned, picking up Amai’s sword and holding it in his hands carefully. “I’ll more than likely need this. If I encounter something, I do need a way to fight back.” He put the weapon’s sheathe over his shoulder, letting it hang from his back.

After he had his weapon, he started moving, carefully at first. He didn’t have any shoes, and it wasn’t like he needed any. His claw-like nails would just tear them apart anyway. He was careful to avoid leaves, knowing they crunched when stepped on. He slowly navigated, slowing his breathing a bit when it came to him having to move around Amai. Closer range meant that a quieter noise could just as easily wake her up.

Raul just looked up, looking towards the distance as motivation. He wanted to break away from Amai for a bit and get some fresh air, and he couldn’t do this when she was awake. When he was sure he wouldn’t wake her up, he picked up his pace a bit, looking from side to side.

“Things are so peaceful when it’s nighttime.”

“They sure are,” a voice called. Raul stopped walking, looking around a bit twitching his ears a couple of times. Unlike the last time he had changed, this time he let his wolf-like ears stay alongside the mandatory tail. “I see you kept your hearing up to par…”

“Who’s there,” Raul snarled, turning his head a couple of times again. “Don’t be a coward. Show yourself!”

“So the Fire Wolf makes a demand… How bossy.” Raul snarled again in response, his head to the right. When his friend jumped down from the tree, he turned his head to look ahead.

“Why are you here? Don’t you have a leader to be sucking up to?”

“No, I don’t. Trust me, if he wanted me to come back, I would know it.”

“You don’t have telepathic ability. You aren’t that intelligent, so how would you know?”

“That’s what you don’t need to know.” The old friend then chuckled.

“Answer me Suai,” Raul growled louder. Suai laughed a bit. “What’s so funny!?”

“Nothing is. It’s just the fact I don’t have to listen to a monster like you.”

“You’re the monster! You serve a demon that betrayed his entire clan!”

“You have no right to say that, after you burnt down someone’s home,” Suai responded. Raul growled a bit.

“I didn’t burn down that house Suai! It was the leader! He did it to get rid of me!”

“I don’t believe you!” Suai made a small roar. “You burned down the house, my home!”

“Suai, if you would just listen,” Raul sighed angrily.

“I don’t have to listen to you! Aeden has been the only family I’ve had since my mother and father died in that fire!” Raul’s eyes widened a bit, him looking at Suai.

“I didn’t know that. I’m sorry for your loss…”

“You aren’t sorry! You’re the one that killed them! I know you did!” Suai withdrew a weapon then, Raul, jumping back a few feet when he was swung at. “I’ll kill you for it!”

Raul put his hand on the handle of Amai’s blade. “I knew that I was going to need it,” he thought to himself, sighing as he pulled it from it’s sheathe. “If you aren’t going to listen to reason, I suppose that I’m going to have to make you listen,” he said to Suai.

“I’d like to see you try!” Suai lunged towards Raul, the male holding his weapon up to counter. Suai’s blade made a clash, the noise not completely loud, but obviously heard in the silence of the night. Raul struggled a bit, looking into Suai’s eyes. He could see a fire burning in them, and it wasn’t motivation. It was rage.

Raul knew he would sustain another injury if he didn’t break free soon. With that thought in mind, he immediately pushed Suai away with a lot of his strength, his opponent sliding back a few feet. Suai wouldn’t have it, rushing towards Raul with both of his hands on his weapon. He wanted to land at least one hit. He wanted to majorly damage the person he believed burned his home.

Raul couldn’t do much. He just held his blade as professionally as he could, and he took the incoming blows. He did feel a bit fatigued, still being a bit tired as he had changed not too long ago. “Suai, if only you knew the truth,” he thought to himself as he deflected each attack. When a major one was coming, he put both of his hands on the handle of his blade. Once again, the two weapons clashed, a couple of sparks flying this time unlike last.

“I swear on my mother and father’s graves, you will die a horrible death,” Suai said to him, a very terrifying growl in his voice.

“If only you knew the truth,” Raul responded to him, speaking his thought.

“There is no truth other than the fact you’re a killer.” Suai found himself tossed back a few more feet again, him putting his weapon away in his pocket. “You need to work on your tactics. It’ll get you and that pretty girl of your killed one day. Maybe it’ll be at my hands.”

“Suai, would you please just listen to me,” Raul questioned. He was attempting to reason with his past friend. He also knew now, however, that his old friend wasn’t really his friend anymore.

“I don’t want to listen to a single word you have to say. You killed my family. That’s all I need to know. Next time you won’t get off so easily.”

“Suai…” Raul watched as his old friend, and new enemy, turned. He watched him walk away, and he didn’t attempt to follow. He didn’t want to risk provoking him any further, especially after he saw how easily words made him fight. When he was a ways off, and Raul was sure that he wasn’t going to turn and run back to fight, he himself turned around. He looked down a bit, holding Amai’s weapon in his right hand.

“Aeden, you traitor… You’ve turned my friends against me, and there’s no way to tell if you’re doing the same to my mother and sister…” He formed a couple of tears in his eyes, him remembering back into the past.

“Come on Raul. You can’t just isolate yourself like this,” a younger Suai said to him. “What would the others think?”

“Don’t worry about me,” the younger Raul had responded. “I’ll be fine, trust me.” He remembered the younger Suai walking off, hoping his friend would be alright. Raul then brought himself back to reality, trying to ignore the heartache that he was feeling. He turned back, looking at the empty scenery since his friend had either turned or otherwise disappeared.

“I truly am sorry this happened to you. He was after me, and you should’ve never been harmed,” he mouthed, knowing Suai wouldn’t hear him. He put Amai’s sword up before he started walking in a different direction. He wanted to avoid any further contact with Suai, and walking in the exact same direction he did wouldn’t help him accomplish that.

Raul couldn’t help but remember a few different instances of his past, each of them being of Suai or another friend trying to get him to speak a bit. “I wonder that if I hadn’t isolated myself, would things be better,” he questioned himself mentally. All of the thoughts he had pointed to it, but he then shook his head. “I can’t help how I was a few years ago. I shouldn’t have to justify myself…” He sat down near the river, and watched the water flowing in one direction, putting Amai’s sword aside a moment.

“Even a long way from the origin, a river can flow in the same direction with as much force as it can. This is a law of nature, I believe,” he said to himself. “This is what our old clan leader believed as well. Or so I’ve heard.” He rolled his leggings up some, putting his feet into the water. “The strength of the river is not justified by just appearance alone, however. In order to see its true strength, you must experience it.”

Raul stood up then, stretching. As he stretched, he was forced to look up at an angle where the sky was clearly visible. The sky was a bit lighter, being a bit more towards the gray side as opposed to black. He put his arms down as he leaned back up, breathing deep a couple of times and taking in the air. He grabbed his hair, straightening it out a bit so it wouldn’t look like he had just woken up as well before he knelt down. Raul splashed water on his face, cleaning his face a bit before he stood up again.

“I guess I have to head back now. Amai might be waking up soon,” he said to himself. “If she wakes up and I’m not there, who knows what she would think.” He knelt down just a second longer, picking up the weapon he had temporarily borrowed before he started on his way back. As he walked, he put the sword’s sheathe around his neck, hanging it from his back as he had earlier on in the day.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Seven

Amai started stirring on the mattress. She had slightly rolled off of the fake bed. She put her hands on the ground as she stood up a bit on her hands.

“Where am I,” she asked herself, sitting up a bit slowly. She wiped her eyes a couple of times after she wiped her hands, not wanting to get dirt in her eyes. “I think I remember. I slept outside instead of in the tent, to challenge Raul…” She turned her head to the side, looking to see if Raul was still asleep. When she saw he wasn’t, she stretched. “He must have woken up early. That’s how things have been for the past few days or so, I think…”

Amai stood up, rolling the flat mattress up into a small roll before she stuffed it back into her bag. She didn’t really seem to care that it still had some dirt on it. She was looking to get prepared before Raul got back, not the other way around. Whilst she worked on dismantling the tent, she couldn’t help but think on what she had been dreaming about the night before; her father.

“Dreams are a method of torture in my opinion,” she yawned, getting the tent down. “All that they do is cause you to feel sorrow. In my instance, I dreamt of my father, but he is gone. Having to wake up and realize that again reopens the wound in my heart.” She rolled up the tent as it had been before, stuffing that as much as she could into the tent. Luckily, it was enough for her to be able to shut the bag again.

Amai then looked over to Raul’s bag, noticing the zipper was open. She looked over a bit, noticing Raul’s clothing wasn’t there. That was another piece of evidence he had gotten up, her closing his bag. Then she started to doubt that he was going to come back, but she shook her head.

“If he wasn’t going to come back, he would’ve taken his bag with him, considering it does belong to him,” she told herself, turning back around as she picked up her bow. She noticed that her sword was missing. “I wonder why he took the sword though… It isn’t like his nails aren’t weapons already.”

“I took the sword as a way of defense,” Raul told her, having returned. Amai jumped up, caught off guard having not expected him to return so soon.

“Do you have to scare people,” she yelled at him angrily. “My heart almost jumped out of my body!” Raul laughed a bit at her expense. “What’s so funny?!”

“It’s that the look on your face is priceless sometimes. You know that I’ve already told you that you would need to be prepared for things like this.” Amai clenched her fist, pondering the idea of slugging him to the ground. She didn’t even bother to ask how he was in anger. She just held her hand out.

“Hand over the sword…” Raul did so, and she pulled it out inspecting the blade. “There’s a dent in the edges… Did you use this to fight?”

“I had to defend myself. I told you that is why I took it, after all.” Amai looked up at Raul, noticing a small scratch on his face. It hadn’t been there the night before. Her eyes were then carried up, her staring at the ears on the top of his head.

“What’s wrong,” Raul questioned. “What are you focusing on?”

“Your ears… They weren’t there yesterday.” Raul caught on just then.

“These are my actual ears. I don’t necessarily prefer them,” he said to her. “At least, not like this, anyway.” He turned around, leaning his head down a bit before he lifted it, his normal ears back. Amai sighed, putting her blade up. She couldn’t blame him for the dents, so there wasn’t a purpose to have it out.

“Well, what are we going to do now,” she asked him.

“Well, first, I’m going to wrap my arm. I’ve been noticing a lot of people pay more attention to it than I thought.” Raul knelt down, tapping his bag in a couple of places looking for some wrap.

“I didn’t purchase many medical supplies yesterday. I purchased only necessities.”

“We’re going to be walking for a little while, so why not? Isn’t it always best to be prepared?”

“Smart mouth,” Amai thought. She then sighed.

“I didn’t purchase many medical supplies because I thought there would be a town nearby.” Raul grabbed his nose a bit, pinching it lightly sighing.

“Does she hear what I say, or does it slip from one ear to another and out?” He stood up, picking up his bag.

“Well, you should consider the possibility that the next town could be half-way across the world. Also, stop being so stubborn. You aren’t always right, girl.” This set Amai off.

“I’ve told you three times that I’m not ‘girl!’ My name is Amai!” Raul didn’t bother chuckling, despite finding it funny.

“That temper is also another thing that could be fixed,” he insulted.

“I don’t have a temper! Stop making assumptions!” Amai put her weapon around her back before she picked up her bag and did the same thing with it. She started marching, not remembering which direction. She had just picked one, and Raul shook his head.

“You’re going in the wrong direction, genius,” he called, stepping in the opposite direction. Amai stopped, grumbling to herself before she turned around and walked a bit faster to catch up. She slowed down, stopping her grumbling as she looked ahead. Raul looked at his right arm, inspecting the marking on it. Ever since he had encountered Suai, his arm had burned slightly unlike the peace he had before.

“Is it some kind of warning,” he asked himself in thought. He wasn’t sure what to think of it. Little did he know that it was a sign of what was to come. He just put his arm down, and he did the best that he could to ignore the burning.
“So how did you rest,” he asked, deciding to start a conversation.

“Why do you care,” Amai asked him, still angry from the insults.

“Well, I am traveling with you, so is it so terrible to care just a little?” Amai sighed.

“I guess it isn’t. If you really want to know, my night was one spent terribly. It took me a little while just to get to sleep, and even when I did, I had a nightmare.”

“Nightmares are believed to be messages of some lingering guilt you know.” Hearing his thought caught Amai’s curiosity. She turned her head towards him.

“What do you mean exactly?”

“Some take nightmares as a message. That’s what my mother told me a few times when I had them. I remember when she would wake me up because I was kicking or screaming aloud asleep.”

“What kind of messages could they mean?”

“Well, that’s not necessarily the easiest thing to know. The message could be anything, but most of the time I’ve found that it meant something about guilt.” Amai, having heard this, looked forward, thinking.

“What would I feel guilty about,” she thought to herself. “If what he said is true, then it would have to deal with my father…” She scratched her head a couple of times.

“Would you mind telling me what you dreamt about,” Raul asked her. “Maybe I could help you figure out what your nightmare might have meant.” Amai felt a bit reluctant to talk about her dream, but she eventually looked down a bit.

“I dreamt about my father. At first it started with him being alive and healthy, but then the dream took a turn for the worse. The next thing I knew I was watching him dying on the ground, my arrow the cause of it.” She shivered a bit, holding back tears not wanting to cry again. Raul took a moment to think about what she had said before he responded.

“Perhaps you feel guilt for that accident,” he said. He didn’t want to be too descriptive to help her not cry. “Did you ever apologize to him, at any time?”

“Well, not necessarily… He said he forgave me when I was trying to keep the wound from bleeding, but I never apologized…” With that thought lingering, she started crying. “I felt so terrible about what happened, the thought never crossed my mind.” Raul turned his head to her, stopping where he was. He pulled her into a hug.

“You don’t have to cry about it. Just apologize now. I’m sure that wherever he is, he’ll hear it.” Amai felt a bit embarrassed that she was crying, but she got over that. She started apologizing, first off for causing her father’s death, but it went into much more. She started apologizing about the simple things, including a few lies that she had told her father to get away with something. Raul patted her back, rubbing her back some in an attempt to calm her down. Even though she hiccupped a couple of times, she kept her face hidden.

“Thanks a lot Raul,” she thought, a bit grateful.

“Do you feel any better now,” Raul questioned. Amai kept her face hidden a couple of moments, and then she pushed away from the hug. She wiped her eyes, looking at him.

“I feel a bit better. It’s like a burden disappeared or something.” That put a small smile on Raul’s face, and he turned forward.

“Well then, should we continue on the path or not?” Amai looked forward, her smiling a bit. Even though her face was red, she couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess we should.” After she spoke, the two started walking down the path again, Amai stopping a bit later.

“Is something else wrong,” Raul questioned. Amai just shook her head.

“I wanted to say thank you. That back there makes twice you’ve helped me be happy.”

“It isn’t a problem. If you make someone’s day brighter, it shows a little light on your own. Trust me, after the morning I just had, I need a little bit of shining on my day.” Amai looked at him curious, wondering what had happened when he hadn’t been around her earlier that morning.

“What happened this morning that you aren’t telling me,” she asked.

“All you need to know is that I got into a fight, and it ended in a draw. The rest is something I don’t want to talk about.” Amai looked at him a bit angrily. She was thinking of the moment they had just experienced.

“If you want me to tell you all my secrets and problems, then how about trusting me with one or two of yours for a change!?” Raul grabbed his nose, pinching it lightly like he had before.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. Don’t get your bow’s string in a twist.” He looked forward, thinking of what he should and shouldn’t tell her. “If you want to know so badly, I met one of my friends earlier this morning…”

“How is that a bad thing?” Raul turned his head to her, putting his hand up in front of her.

“Let me finish. The only problem is that the leader of the clan has, well, brainwashed him. He thinks I’m the one that burnt that structure down a year ago.” Amai blinked.

“Didn’t you attempt to reason with him?”

“Let’s see, if you attempted to reason with someone that despises you with passion, do you think that they’re going to believe you,” Raul challenged. Amai put her hand on her chin for a few moments thinking.

“I don’t suppose the person would…”

“Exactly. It wouldn’t have matter how much I tried. Either way, it would have resulted in the fight we had.” He turned his head back forward, continuing to walk on Amai’s left side.

“You may have a point. Still, it could’ve been different. You never know,” Amai said. She also had a point. Figuring that the conversation was over, Raul didn’t really say much more on the topic. “But I’m also curious. You still haven’t told me their names.”

“Who’s name are you speaking of?”

“Well, their names. The leader of your clan, your old friend. It would be nice to know.” Raul turned his head to Amai, stopping where he was, her stopping with him.

“Are names really that important? I still don’t know your father’s name, and you’ve talked about him a couple of times since we’ve met.”

“I just wanted to know,” Amai said, sighing and wrapping her arms. “Is there really something wrong with that?”

“How about this? You tell me your father’s name, and I’ll gladly tell you one of the two people I’ve talked about. Sound fair?” Amai turned her head back to Raul.

“My father’s name was Mark, and he was a professional hunter.” She wanted her father’s profession known. “Now tell me what your friend’s name is…”

“My friend’s name is Suai.” Knowing Raul’s friend’s name made Amai satisfied, her turning her head forward in contempt.

“Good. Thanks for saying that.” She started walking, Raul watching her a moment before he started following.

The two continued to walk, not much else showing up in their conversation. Amai did make some of their time occupied by attempting to play games, but Raul didn’t really seem interested. She just sighed at that, trying to keep her mind focused on the adventure ahead. She eventually saw the town coming up, her finding slight relief in that fact.

She turned her head to Raul. He didn’t really seem to show any emotions about getting close to town. When he noticed her staring at him, he wondered what she was thinking.

“Why are you staring at me,” he asked her.

“Well, it’s just, you aren’t talking that much,” Amai responded to him. “You’re kind of like a zombie. All you do is walk, and never talk or smile.”

“I talk and smile, and do many other things when you talk to me. I just don’t have much that I want to say.” Amai turned her head forward, Raul a bit happy that she stopped looking at him. “If you’re truly that bored, we could purchase a book since we’re almost in town,” he said to her.

“I don’t want a book to read! I want to talk to the person that I’m travelling with!” Raul stopped and turned to Amai.

“You don’t have to be so overdramatic. Just because you don’t get one thing how you want doesn’t mean you have the right to act childish.”

“Childish! I’m trying to communicate with you and get to know you better, and all you do is keep hiding everything from me!” Raul sighed. Amai didn’t seem to be able to take even a small insult. Amai stormed ahead, Raul looking at her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m getting away from you for a change,” Amai yelled, not stopping as he leaned his head to the side.

“You are childish,” he moaned to himself. He decided that he couldn’t let her keep rushing ahead, and he started walking after her. When she heard him walking up, she immediately started dashing. She had meant it when she didn’t want to be around him for a bit. “Would you stop running,” he questioned.

“I told you I want to be left alone for a bit,” she yelled in response, continuing to run. Raul wasn’t going to chase her further, him just stopping.

“So stubborn. Very very stubborn,” he told himself. He wrapped his arms together, looking around.

“I won’t follow her if she doesn’t want me to though… Now where are we exactly…” He noticed a sign nearby, and he walked over looking at the faded text.

“Welcome to Riverville,” he said, reading what he could. “Founded by gods.”

“It’s a very proud town,” a nearby civilian said, Raul turning to face her. “If it wasn’t for the founder working with gods, this town would’ve flooded years ago.”

“Isn’t there supposed to be just one god,” Raul questioned to her. She gasped a bit.

“You’re one of those people? You’re insane if you think there is just one divine. There is more than one. One makes the river flow, and another for the creation of life.”

“Isn’t water alive though? That would make it a creation of life.” The woman gasped again, Raul asking himself mentally if she was nuts.

“You are mocking those we worship! You’re a disgrace!” The woman then marched away from him, leaving Raul to blink in confusion.

“I’m a disgrace for what I believe? That’s something I haven’t been told…” He remembered just then the hide that Amai had cut. “I suppose I should sell this for spare cash. It’s not like either of us could hold a job whilst traveling.” He looked around, noticing different signs before one struck his mind. It was a sign with an article of clothing drawn on it.

He walked to the building, finding that the door was open. As he walked in, he ignored the mat outside the door welcoming him to the store. He soon heard a bell ring.

“I’ll be out in a moment,” a voice called. Raul turned his head to a doorway behind the nearby desk. “I’m organizing some merchandise!” Raul decided that while he waited, he would observe his surroundings. It was definitely a clothing store. There were racks everywhere, including shelves with more things hanging from them, themselves full of clothing.

“I’m getting the feeling this is the only store that sells clothing,” he mumbled to himself. The clerk had obviously heard him.

“That’s right sir. This is the only store in town, and we sell the finest linen! How may I help you?”

“Your linen isn’t qualified as the best because you’re the only store,” he thought to himself before speaking. “Well, my friend and I were hunting not too long ago, and we happened to reserve the hide,” Raul responded. He turned to the clerk, walking over to the desk. “It isn’t much, but I’m hoping it fetches a fair price…”

“Well, get the hide out already! I hope it’s dry though. Most of our imports are always soggy because the companies never dry their product…”

“Don’t worry, I had my friend do exactly that.” Raul put his bag down, digging through it for the hide. He knew that Amai had to have put the hide in his bag… There would be no way that she would choose to carry it herself after he insisted they keep it. He looked up, wondering a bit where she was as he noticed the clerk smiling.

“Delightful,” he said.

Posts : 4447 Location : On the hype train .3.

Chapter Eight

Amai turned around. She looked to the sides, making sure that Raul wasn’t following her any further. She had ignored the sign welcoming them to the town; her mind had been flustered at the time. She sat down on a bench outside of a store, her breathing a bit heavily since she had run so much.

“I’m not childish,” she said to herself, having teared up again. She wiped her eyes before she laughed a bit. “Why am I crying? I don’t even feel upset!”

“We believe tears are a release of stress and pain,” a woman said, Amai looking up.

“Who are you?”

“I’m no one of importance. Really, I’m nothing compared to our gods.”

“Gods? What are you talking about,” Amai asked. The woman looked at her.

“You mean that you haven’t heard of every one of our gods? Are you an outsider?”

“Well, I thought that was a bit obvious.” Amai noticed how the woman was clothed. She didn’t look similar at all.

“Of course. Well then, welcome to Riverville.” The woman held her hand out, and Amai looked at her. She shook her hand. “Now, would you like to talk about what’s wrong?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about a conversation me and someone else had.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, then that is fine. At least let me take you to a chapel. You could pray there, and you might end up relieved from it.” Amai had stopped paying attention. She saw Raul, noticing that he was pretty close to where she was. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s him,” Amai responded, not pointing to Raul as she stood up. “I can’t let him see me!” She turned, running behind the building so Raul wouldn’t catch sight of her. She peeked back after a few moments, seeing him walk in a completely different direction.

“Has he been causing you trouble,” the woman asked.

“Well, yes. He’s the one I got into an argument with.”

“That’s all I need to know,” the woman smiled to Amai. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright.” Amai looked at her. She wondered what she meant, but she decided not to her let it impact her day. “Now follow me. I’ll take you to the chapel.”

“Al, alright…” Amai took the woman’s hand, letting her lead her to the chapel. She sat down in one of the pews.

“You just stay here. Like I said, everything is going to be alright.” She walked further up, Amai kneeling her head. She pretended to pray, her listening in on what the woman was saying to others.

“Are you sure,” the stranger asked.

“I’m positive. This girl is in need of assistance. Our gods wouldn’t stand by like an innocent would.”

“Who should we look for then?” The woman scratched her head. “You don’t know, do you? Well, find out!” The woman nodded, her turning and walking over to Amai, who lifted her head.

“I see you have been praying.” She then sat down beside Amai. “Tell me, what characteristics are of this male giving you trouble?”

“Well,” Amai hiccupped a bit, her still having been crying some. “He has white hair…” She started talking about him. “He’s a bit tall, and has a strange marking on his arm, but it’s unique… He’s a bit stubborn, and he can sometimes drive you insane, but looking into his silver eyes can make every problem melt away, if you want it to bad enough…” The woman chuckled, and Amai looked up at her.

“That sounds like a classical case of developing emotions,” she said to Amai. “I think you’ve started falling in love with him.” Amai’s tears stopped then, her lips wavering a bit as she started becoming embarrassed. “Is something wrong,” the woman asked, Amai’s face becoming a bit red before she laughed, leaning back in the pew.

“How could I start to love a wolf like him,” she shouted aloud before she froze, leaning back and stopping her talk. When she had yelled aloud, almost everyone in the building turned to stare at her.

“W… Wolf,” the woman asked, her looking at Amai seriously. “Are you speaking of some demon?”

“No, no,” Amai yelled in response. “He isn’t a demon! Disregard what I said!”

“I can’t just forget what you said. You just said this unnamed male was a wolf. He is a threat to our gods.” The woman stood up, Amai standing up after her.

“Please, just leave him alone! You don’t understand what I said!”

“I understand perfectly what you said,” the woman said, having a few people take Amai’s hands. “I also understand that if there is a transforming animal in our town, he must be dealt with.”

“You mean by killing him! You spoke of him as if you truly believe he’s a demon!” Amai struggled as the two holding her arms started carrying her towards the motel. The woman didn’t say much more to her, Amai having been carried away before she could even say anything anyway.

“I need some holy water,” she said, the priest of the chapel bringing her a small glass bottle of the water. She looked at it, her grabbing a nearby sword. “I’ll be the one to hunt this one.”

“I wish you luck,” the priest responded. “Know the gods are protecting you.” The woman nodded, thanking her priest before she went to prepare.

***

Raul had successfully sold the hide. He had taken a few steps away from the front of the store, him counting the profits that he would be sharing with Amai. He folded the money in half, putting it into his pocket. He knew it was safer there than in the bag.

“I can’t believe I made so much just by negotiation… Typically I’m fighting other wolves to just get a bit more,” he said to himself, looking to the sides to make sure no one was listening to him. “I also managed to get a duster. It definitely works more than hiding my tail around my leg.” He waved his tail lightly, looking at the jacket budge a bit. However, it looked as though the wind had blown it. “Now I just have to worry about Amai.”

He looked around, walking in a certain direction before he gave his bag away to a stranger. It wasn’t like he needed it, and it didn’t necessarily fit his garment. “Which reminds me about my marking…” He stopped in a medical store, grabbing some wrap and purchasing it, wrapping his arm. It looked as though he had sustained an injury. When he walked out of the store, he tossed the trash away, him looking out into the crowds.

“I don’t see Amai anywhere,” he mumbled to himself. “Perhaps she got caught up.” Just then, Amai was yelling, her bag having been taken, but her weapons left in her possession.

“Let me go,” she screamed, Raul blinking a couple of times.

“What has she gotten herself into?” Raul sounded a bit annoyed.

“Let me go,” Amai screamed again. She looked around a bit, her noticing Raul staring at her. “Raul… Raul! Raul, run,” she yelled.

“Why is she telling me to run,” Raul questioned himself in thought. He noticed then the symbol that was on the two strangers’ shirts. It was a cross, and he knew she had to have done something in the chapel. “This place is a bit twisted…” Amai struggled further, the two turning their heads and seeing who Amai was speaking to. Raul decided that it couldn’t be helped, and he started walking towards the three.

“Raul, you idiot! I said run,” Amai screamed. Raul didn’t listen to her, him attempting to get closer.

“Not so fast you animal,” the woman then said, putting her hand out in front of Raul. “You monster…”

“Who gave you the right to call me a monster,” Raul questioned, him not turning his head. “Just because you don’t understand something, you automatically assume I’m a monster?”

“I don’t need to be given the right. The right was already there,” the woman said. She had her weapon unsheathed, her slicing towards Raul. He ducked, and decided to counterattack. He swept his foot in a full circle, as if a windmill, and took the woman off her feet before he stood up and jumped away.

“Did you have to tell them,” Raul sighed at Amai, him turning his head back and looking at the girl.

“It was an accident! Get over yourself already and get away,” Amai yelled back at him, one of the two carrying her by her arms putting a hand over her mouth. Raul snarled, and he started turning before he felt glass on his foot. He turned his head, looking down at the small glass bottle laying around his foot, the water moving towards the ground.

“Did you honestly think holy water would work,” he asked the woman, staring up at her. “Like I said. I’m not a demon.” He had recognized the liquid by its scent. The woman just prepared her blade, her staying back having got up.

“So you aren’t a demon. You’re still a monster,” she said, keeping direct eye contact with Raul.

“I don’t appreciate being called that…” Raul stood, waiting until the woman attempted to make the first strike.

"Well what else are you supposed to be?" The woman started charging towards Raul, her eyes focused on her target. Raul waited, and when he saw the blade incoming, he took a deep breath. He had to dodge, and he leaned back. The blade swung right over, him watching the woman step forward because the blade would fly from her hands otherwise.

"An innocent in which you would be shamed for killing," he responded, pushing himself back up.

"Nonsense," the woman snarled. "People like you aren't innocent. You cause more trouble than you admit." Raul was curious about why the woman thought that way, him not noticing she was holding a second vile of water.

"Just great," he thought to himself. He couldn't dodge this time, being in close proximity. He didn't yelp when the glass shattered and went by his face, the water hitting his eyes directly. He stepped back, him rubbing his eyes whilst snarling. He tried to see, but the water was burning his eyes and caused him to tear up, him rubbing frantically to get the junk out.

"It isn't any use," the woman said to him, running towards him. Her sword ended up slicing his left arm. He yelped at that, Amai hearing it and struggling worse. She began to consider her options, her looking at the two carrying her.

"They aren't carrying any weapons," she thought to herself. "That means I could easily fend them off." She took a breath, jumping a few times before flipping backwards. She tore the two holding her to the side, since they inevitably had to follow her motions. She was lucky enough to make the two hit their heads on rocks, the two releasing her to grab their heads and hold them.

With a quick flick of her head, she looked over towards Raul having been cut a few more times by the woman. She had to be careful of the sword she was carrying. Knowing this, she pulled her own blade from it's holder. She took the chance and rushed at the woman, swiping and knocking her sword in the opposite direction. Unable to see what was happening besides blur, Raul spoke.

"Amai, is that you?" He felt someone grab his hand and start pulling him around. He noticed from the sounds that it was away from the woman and the other two men.

"Can't have you getting sliced up by those idiots, now can I," Amai said, making Raul smile. "If you die I can't prove you innocent."

"True," Raul responded. He let Amai continue pulling him around. He was ignoring the burning of his left arm, Amai pulling him around by his right hand.

"How bad is it," she asked.

"I don't think it's going to kill me, but it needs bandages."

"You should've known better."

"Scold me when we're out of here..." Amai understood why Raul wanted that, and she decided to scold him worse. The first incident for not running when she said, and a second for telling her what to do.

"What're you two doing," the woman before yelled. She kicked the two men until they were standing up. "Go after them!"

"Yes ma'am," one yelped, not appreciating the kick. The two got up then, rushing in the direction which the woman had pointed. They hadn't exactly seen where the two had started running, so they relied on her information to start.

"Can't you run any faster," Amai sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be fast as a wolf?"

"I can't exactly see," Raul yelled at her. The yell wasn't too loud.

"I'm leading you by your hand! You could run where I'm leading!"

"What if you crash us into a tree?" Amai started bickering at him about wanting to know the reasons behind him thinking she would run them into a tree. "Just shut up and keep going! Distracting yourself won't help!"

"You're definitely getting scolded... I might just throw in a few slaps too," Amai thought to herself. She noticed that Raul sped his pace a bit.

"I can hear those two following us Amai..."

"Well, if you would've ran faster earlier..."

"I can smell something to our left..."

"Yeah, you smell a stream," Amai thought to herself. "Wait, a stream? We could hide there." As if Raul were thinking the same thing, she heard him telling her to jump into it. She took a long breath in, her running to the left. She jumped into the stream, knowing the water would be the perfect cover, considering she lead Raul under a bridge.

Hearing the two men stopping on the bridge, she covered Raul's mouth when she nearly heard him talk.

"Keep it to yourself for the moment," she whispered, her hearing the two above speaking.
"Should we keep going," the second man asked.

"I don't think we should. They would've gotten away by now, and if we went alone we wouldn't be able to take them on." The second man sighed, him having turned around.

"She's going to have our heads for this one."

"Maybe not... We know where the two are headed, so we have a chance if we go back now." Amai was patient, her waiting until she was sure the two were gone.

"Now you can talk," she said to Raul, who was rubbing his eyes with the fresh water.

"My eyes burn like fire," he grumbled. Amai took a moment to watch.

"You did have holy water tossed at you, and I would think that would burn worse than fire... Anyway, can you see anything?"

"No, because as I said, my eyes are burning!" Raul scooped more water up, him blinking a few times to see if it helped. His vision was a bit better, but not by much. "At least I can still hear..."

"We should get to the next town. The doctor may be able to help you more than you can yourself," Amai told him. She took his hand again, her leading him back to actual land. Despite the fact that it was cold with the breeze hitting their damp clothes, she led him on. "Can you tell me something," she asked.

"What would that be," Raul grumbled, him wrapping his eyes for the moment. If he couldn't use them, it wasn't even worth it to have a headache from the bright blurs.

"Before I go about scolding, tell me why you didn't run."

"That's an easy question to answer. I didn't want you dragged away to some place you don't even know. I know that I wouldn't." Amai blushed a bit then, her wondering if Raul actually cared about her.

"Well then," she said. She started scolding him at that, him slapping a hand to his face asking her to quit yelling at him. She was beginning to hurt his ears, and she didn't really seem to care. She waved her sword angrily at him, him glad it was a bit chipped or dull because she couldn't hurt him with it.

» Draft Tournaments
» Fyre Redd - New trainer
» Fyre and Leef, a good combination?
» Rivals from the start - Leef Vs Fyre
» Time for Training - Fyre + Suicune