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| QUOTE |
| .Prologue. Miles of forest stretched into the distance, a blanket of green that ended only when the blackness of the sky absorbed it at the horizon. The natural melody flowed through here; the sounds of a river rushing, wind winding between branches, and dozens of species of insects clicking all rose from the earth, giving the place a sense of peace and natural beauty. A small town, set apart from the trees surrounding it by walls made of clay and sod, was situated beside a river at the base of a hill. As most of their inhabitants had long since gone to sleep, the simple dwellings showed little sign of life beyond the flickers of flames inside a few doorways. A scream ripped through the night, leaving the air disturbingly silent in its wake. A young woman, covered from head to toe in thick red and white fur and clad only in a few strips of leather, hit the ground hard and rolled, stopping a few feet outside the gate. With one arm she pushed herself upright, the other protectively clutching a bundle to her chest. She barely more than glanced at her treasure before her eyes rose back to the gate, ears lowering as her lips curled into a snarl. Her gaze was fixed on the figure that had thrown her from the city and was still following her. He wasn’t armed; he didn’t need to be. His claws were weapon enough for the purpose of chasing a mere female from the walls and making sure she never returned; the blood running down her shoulder was testament to that. She knew this was the penalty for her decision, that this exile was intended to be a death sentence for both her and the tiny life in her arms. That didn’t mean she was willing to die right now. She was on her feet well before he reached her, crimson fur bristled in anger, hand reeled back and ready to lash out with claws of her own. Her mind worked through her memory, tracing the fastest escape routes available as adrenaline took over control of her body. The white tip of her tail thrashed as she began a charge of her own. Her attacker was on the ground well before she could reach him, taken down by another man. The newcomer’s fur seemed to absorb all light from the stars overhead, allowing him to be unseen until he’d already sunk his teeth into the arm of his wife’s attacker. Pulling his head back and swatting to land a strike alongside of the larger male’s snout, he shouted in the direction of his terrified mate. “Sora, run ” A look of fear passed over her as her golden eyes flashed between the two. Yagami was strong, but she doubted the Wolf he was grappling with could be taken out easily, even if she helped the battle. The size difference between the two breeds was just too large, leaving the lean form of her husband clearly outlined against the broad torso of his opponent. “GO NOW ” he repeated, and she nodded indiscernibly, turning to sprint away. She was barely to the river before a sharp yelp reached her ears, causing her to whirl back around, her paws splashing in the shallows as she tried to find the source through the trees. She couldn’t see what had happened, but the smell on the breeze was that of Yagami’s blood. Her hand dove into the water, retrieving the largest rock she could get a grip on with her slender fingers. Taking a quick glance at the baby cradled to her chest, her determination grew, and she raced back across the clearing to the gate once more. It was something between luck and chance that her projectile hit its intended target, knocking him in the eye and stunning him for a moment. “Yagami, let’s go ” Sora screamed, her now-free hand gesturing urgently. He staggered to his feet and took off at full speed, catching up to her within an instant. They turned once they reached the river, the sounds of their agile footsteps muffled by the rushing water as they raced downstream. There was little fear of being followed by now; instead, they were just in a race against the night to get off of the hunting grounds of their once home. Once the sun rose, they were fair game, no different than the deer in the forest, and there were few creatures who could defend against Taleh’s finest hunters. They stopped well over an hour later, only when the bundle in Sora’s arms began to whimper. She rocked the youngster softly, kneeling by a tree and holding her close, cooing for her to silence. Her mate stood beside her, reaching down to stroke the hair out of her tiny face. “Amazing little thing, isn’t she?” he whispered, finally sitting beside her. “She really is...” she agreed, her own furry fingers raising to brush along the cheek of the baby in her arms. The deep copper of her hand were in stark contrast to the black scales coating the child, both in color and texture. A sneeze escaped her hooked mouth, prompting her eyes to open and blink as she gazed up at the woman holding her. One tiny hand freed itself of the blankets, reaching up to latch onto the finger touching her cheek, prompting a giggle from Sora. “I think she’s hungry... you have any more meat? She won’t nurse, after all.” Yagami shifted, retrieving a small stick of jerky from his supplies and offering it to her. She bit off a small section of the length, chewing it to soften it as he spoke. “I doubt Dragons nurse at all, since they come from eggs unlike our children.” There was a pause as Sora took the chewed meat from her snout and offered it to the baby, a bit at time, her fur prickling no matter how well she managed to otherwise hide her fear. She finally spoke as Yagami reached to touch her arm, her eyes unmoving from where the little Dragon had latched her hand onto her finger again. “Our children...” she whispered, shaking her head slowly, unconsciously pulling her finger free and resting her palm on her stomach. “Yagami... Winter is coming.” “I know,” he nodded, nuzzling her softly, his black nose sliding beneath her pointed ear in an attempt to comfort her. “I promise I’ll find us some place for my family to live... we’ll survive... All of us.” .1..1. Two silent forms inched quietly through the trees, their contradictory scents confusing anything downwind. Naeve and Lycoris stepped in unison, the brown fur of their clothes and assorted dark shades of their own fur blending into the trees and shadows. Tawny brown creatures were visible between the wooden pillars, grazing, peacefully unaware of their carnivorous observers. The Panther flexed her fingers, her claws extending and adding an inch to each digit. She kept her eyes slitted to prevent the sunlight from reflecting off her silver irises, her gaze darting quickly between her prey and her Fox sister's hands, one of which held a knife, the other an almost rope-like leather strip. An emerald sparkle came from the other side of the clearing, and the Panther's legs coiled, letting her crouch into position. A twenty-foot wingspan flapped open both suddenly and loudly, causing the animals to look up in alarm, waiting in the silence that followed, staring in the direction of the sound. The following roar was almost deafening, and instantly the tan animals were off, bounding away from Yoru and screaming out in warning, “Kuweeee, kuweeee ” Their path led them, guided by the pursuing Dragon, straight toward her waiting sisters, both of whom leapt at the first animals they could. Lycoris dug her knife into the side of one of them, losing it but leaving it to bleed as it crashed through the brush, then she turned to find another. Meanwhile, Naeve was still slashing at her chosen prey, as the claws of her feet tore into the muscles of its back to hold on and her hands ripped into its neck. Yoru raced past them now, trailing the beast Lycoris had injured, her land speed low and her wings useless in the dense forest but her ebony-scaled arms powerful enough to mow over anything that stood between her and dinner. The tussle would be over any moment now, and Naeve's prey had already fallen. Her palms and soles were stained with blood, which she licked off as she sat on her kill, waiting for the other two to complete their missions. Within a moment, the Dragon came lumbering back, her victim tucked lazily under her arm, a grin on her hooked mouth as she showed off the size of the creature. Lycoris sliced one leg off the now dead creature she'd downed, taking a bite from the warm meat and slinging the rest of the body over her shoulder, grinning at her sisters as well. “Three for the price of one, girls… For tonight we feast ” “And tomorrow, and the day after, unless that husband of yours eats it all at once, dear sister ” Naeve laughed, agreeing. Lycoris rolled her eyes and pulled the leather strap taught across her knuckles in a threatening manner then nodded her head back toward home, licking her snout and smirking. “Let’s go you two, before kitty here lands on the menu.” As the leaves settle behind her, her sisters were left to be amazed at how Lycoris could be even faster when she was the one being chased. .1..2. The fourth moon rose slowly over the forest, its red glow doing nothing to overpower the rusted green glow of its sister Luminez. As the last of its circumference broke free from the branchy horizon, a chorus of howls erupted from the forest floor in celebration- Summer had risen. A trio of roars slipped in between the melodic cries, the bass group in an unlikely choir of fur and scales. The smallest pup was dancing around her father's feet, giggling as her tiny voice sang to Sesona, the moon which rose only at the start and peak of each season. Her eyes glowing beneath thick black hair in fascination of a sight she had never before witnessed. Summer was heaven for the pack, the only time they could guarantee their survival for an entire season, not bearing the weather born threats that the other three quarters of the year brought. Exile from the rudimentary civilization of their world had been cast upon the little pups’ grandparents – a sentence most believed synonymous with death, and yet here Penda was, one of four proving the survival of a forgotten way of life. The other three were all nearby, watching their mother lead the pack in soulful praise of the season. Xylon, a year older than the three girls, sat on his haunches, his arms wrapped protectively around little Shiri, while Aleshanee clung high above the others, sitting in a tree, more interested in insects than the occasion. And there was Lycoris, not an ounce of Wolf blood in her and yet her howls soared above her half-breed children, the meek voice of a fox brought to full volume by human vocal chords. To herself, she was just another Fox, one of the many breeds of human that populated the earth; she was the leader of her tribe, wife of a Wolf, and a devoted mother. To the rest of the world, she was a second-generation outlaw, daughter of two who had committed one of the ultimate acts of treason to the Canines over eight years earlier: They had taken in a Dragon. Though at the time, the Dragon had been but a baby, it still broke one of the few laws their culture had. The then-childless Sora had found the infant newly hatched and seemingly abandoned on the side of a hill, surrounded by the crushed eggshells that would otherwise have become her siblings. The scent of the lizard was picked out within a few hours of their return to the village, and Sora and Yagami had been instantly faced with the choices of exile or murdering the child themselves on the spot. Their choice resulted in the exile of the couple from all Canine cities, and their species made them unwelcome in those of any other. Left to return to the wild life of their ancestors, they had raised the girl as their daughter, naming her Yoru and acting as though she were just another Fox pup. Her wings and scales made her stand out clearly from their new litter and their red tails, but one of the litter stood out as well, her black fur matching the leather of Yoru's wings. Little Lycoris quickly became inseparable from her sister, a bond that would save both their lives multiple times between the acrobatics of two toddlers and the proud adults almost a decade later... Lycoris knelt beside the river as the chorus continued, calling over Penda, the last born, and pulled out her knife, taking hold of the girl's black hair gently and cutting it short. “So you are always a part of the world,” she whispered, setting the strands into the water and watching her youngest's silver ears perk in curiosity as she felt at her newly cut hair. The Fox smiled at the girl and held up a small bowl filled with mud. Cutting her own palm carefully, she let enough blood drip in to color the earth the same shade of red as Sesona. “And so I,” she continued, mixing the two together then drawing a streak on each of Penda's black-furred cheeks before kissing her on the forehead, “am always a part of you.” Gently picking her up with one arm, so as not to get the blood from her other hand on the toddler's little dress, Lycoris carried Penda to Sanjay. Kneeling by the river once more, she called over the rambunctious middle triplet. Aleshanee practically tumbled from the tree, landing with a thud on her side. She whimpered as she stood up, shaking her head to free any debris from her long silver hair, then rubbed her elbow discreetly as she walked much more cautiously the rest of the way to her mother. The ritual was repeated on her, her face scrunching up as the mixture was placed on her cheeks. As Aleshanee was placed into her father’s arms, she reached up and tapped him on the ear, which he promptly leaned down to listen to her whisper, “Is it supposed to itch?” A chuckle was his only response as he gently nudged Xylon with his foot, urging the boy to let go of the last girl. Reluctantly he did so, his golden eyes shimmering with pride in himself for, in his mind, keeping her and the other two so safe for the four months they’d been alive. There was pride in Sanjay’s eyes as well as he looked at his only son, the knowledge of the youngster’s mounting strength giving him peace of mind in the triplets’ future safety. Shiri didn’t feel at her neck as her hair drifted down river as the other two girls had. Instead, she reached out and gently took hold of her mother’s bleeding left hand. “Doesn’t it hurt?” she pleaded quietly, somehow knowing she shouldn’t ask this at a time of ceremony and yet the thought tugged at her small heart all the same. “Yes,” Lycoris admitted, raising the fingers of her right hand lovingly to the girl’s soft tan face. “But it will keep me with you always, and always keep you safe. It is nothing compared to the pain I would face from losing you or your sisters.” Softly she nodded, taking her tiny hands away from her mother’s, standing solemnly until she was picked up as well. Aleshanee had climbed around to their father’s back, clinging to his neck and leaving one arm free for Shiri to be placed in. The image of her husband decorated by their daughters left her smiling, her ears tilted low as she drifted into memory, sorting through the idea that Yagami had been left holding five children at once on her first Summer’s Rise. A more painful memory surfaced then, of one year earlier, Xylon riding proudly on Sanjay’s left shoulder, his three siblings clinging to their father as well, the mud already smeared around their snouts. She closed her eyes and swallowed the tears that had found their way to her mind, pulling her own crimson hair back with her bloody left hand and cutting it to the nape of her neck. The length, a full year's worth of scarlet and black growth, just wrapped around her hand, and she held the knife in her teeth as she tied it like a cloth bandage around her palm, the flowing blood blending invisibly into her hair’s color. Not wanting anyone to see the pain of the memory drifting in her face, she turned back to face Sesona, letting out another howl in celebration of Summer’s Rise, the rest of the pack following suit quickly. Xylon, now content that his sisters were safe, the memory of a year before not even drifting into the pup’s imagination, raced over to his mother, knowing it was his turn now to receive a special privilege. The triplets would be left in the care of the other three members of the pack, while Xylon was taken with his parents deep into the forest for the first time. It was time for the boy’s first hunt. |