Fan Fiction ❯ Esthenia ❯ Part Two, The Hidden Village ( Chapter 2 )

Part 2. The Hidden Village

The Eyes

At 9:00 am I climbed out of bed and grabbed my pack. My parents were well on their way to work and my sister was still asleep like I had planned. I opened my drawer and pulled out the orb. I then put the pack straps over my shoulders. I took one last look around my room, and then pictured the Dream world inside my head. My room suddenly vanished and I was floating again. I felt my body change. Before, the pack felt loose on my back, now it felt tighter as my wings came out of my back.

I landed in something white and powdery. I backed out of it and bumped into something. I spun around and there in front of me was a big mass of black fur.

It was making a snorting sound.

I ignored it and looked around. I didn't see Pagasis anywhere. I waited for a while but nobody came. I was beginning to grow impatient. The pack made it hard to fold my wings. It itched too. I also had enough watching Rinoa sleep. I walked around her and whispered in her ear for her to wake up. She didn't move. I nudged her, yelled in her ears, but to no avail. She was just as stubborn in her sleep as she was when she was awake. I had enough of this. I held up my paw, claws sprang out.

"My butt!!" Rinoa yelped. She was looking at the scratch marks on her rump. "You scratched my butt!"

I looked at her. "I'm sorry. It was the only way to wake you up." I said.

Rinoa was silent as she licked the wound. I turned away from her and looked around for any sign of Pagasis.

"Where is Pagasis?" I asked.

"Waiting for us." she replied as she stood up and stretched. "Okay, let's go. Oh, do you mind if I run? I have to stretch my legs."

"Not at all." I said. Knowing it was a good opportunity to fly. Rinoa took off, so did I. After a few bounds I leapt into the air. I rose higher and higher until I had a clear view of Rinoa below me. She was agile at dodging the rocks and crystals. It looked as if she too were flying. I looked off into the distance. I saw a little white speck at the edge of the forest. Knowing what it was, I flapped my wings as hard as I could, throwing myself ahead a couple yards. I then dove to the ground and landed sweetly in front of Pagasis. A panting Rinoa halted beside me.

"What took you guys so long?" Pagasis asked. He then looked from my innocent face to Rinoa's guilty one, then back to mine. "She was asleep wasn't she?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"Okay, lets go…" said Rinoa promptly trying to change the subject. She turned and walked into the forest.

Pagasis and I followed. I looked around. The trees were as big as I had imagined, and they towered over us like skyscrapers in a large city. The morning sun was shining through them and making shadows in the green moss on the forest floor. The whole scene was beautiful.

"So Rinoa, what was wrong yesterday?" I asked her.

Rinoa looked over her shoulder at me. "Oh, it was nothing. Just a small fire." she said. "Nothing to worry about."

"A fire?" I wondered. I couldn't imagine how a fire could have started here, but I supposed that it wasn't all that surprising. So I decided to ask for the heck of it. "How do you think it started?"

"I'm not quite sure." she replied. "I think it was caused by a fire fox. I've never seen one before, I suppose that's why they are so rare."

"Rare?" I questioned.

"Yes." said Pagasis. "I've heard of them too. They say that one of them belonged to a tribe called the Omogoa's that lived on the island. Nobody has ever seen them before."

"How big can this island be?" I asked. "Surely somebody would have seen them. Where did they come from anyway?"

"Long ago, before Pagasis or I was born, there were powerful Guardians on this island called the Dragonwolves." said Rinoa. "The Dragonwolves were said to be descended from the great half god Agushia. Along with the winged horse Guardians, the Dragonwolves also protected the island from the demons. However, as the years went by, they were said to be so large that there wasn't room for all of them, so the ones who didn't leave the island, began to die out one by one. Another rumor said that they evolved into smaller, more maneuverable creatures called the Omogoa. They lived in a tribe in the forest somewhere, but nobody has ever seen them before."

I hopped over a fallen branch. "But don't you live here in the forest?" I asked Rinoa.

Rinoa smiled. "Yes, but there are still many things that I do not know yet…" she admitted. Suddenly she froze.

Pagasis and I stopped too. A smell was creeping in the air. It smelled like… smoke! I looked up. A tall, black cloud rose above the trees. About a quarter of a mile ahead of us. I stared at it until Rinoa bolted.

"Come on!" she ordered.

Pagasis and I followed as fast as we could. Rinoa seemed to glide with her speed. She obviously knew where she was going. We followed her until we entered a large clearing. A large tree had caught.

"Come on!" yelled Rinoa, whom had already started to kick up dirt with her hind legs to extinguish the flames.

Pagasis and I did the same. Being on all fours, it was harder than it looked. The flames were high and hot. Hot ashes flew in all directions. At times I had to dodge large burning branches that had fallen from the tree. I quickly learned that it was a hard, and dangerous job. I began to sweat from the heat and was partly blinded by the light, but I kept on kicking up dirt and prayed that it would be over soon. Not to long after, Pagasis, Rinoa and myself laid down in the soft moss. Tired and exhausted we looked over ourselves. I was covered with ashes. I kept on sneezing because a large portion of it got into my nose. Then, without thinking, I began to lick my arms to clean myself. My tongue felt rough like a comb. Suddenly, my right ear twitched. I rose my head. Pagasis and Rinoa were cleaning themselves too. I looked to my right where I heard the sound. A pair of large, black eyes were staring out of the brush at me. I stood up. I took a closer look and took a couple steps toward it, but when I got too close, the eyes blinked, then vanished. I quickly backed up.

"What's wrong?" I heard Pagasis ask from behind me.

I turned and looked at him and Rinoa. I pointed my paw to the place where I saw the eyes. "There was something just there." I said.

Rinoa stood up and walked over too me. "Where?"

"There." I said and pointed more directly to the spot.

Rinoa walked over me and began to sniff around. Pagasis appeared by my side and looked at me. We both shrugged and watched Rinoa pace around the brush until…

"I have a scent…" she said. "Lets follow it."

The Differences Between Friends

We trudged through the forest. Rinoa was in the lead. Every now and then she paused to sniff the air. I was happy to stop. My feet were beginning to hurt, but as soon as we stopped we started off again. We were still following the creature's scent. We had figured that the eyes I had seen belonged to a fire fox. We spent our walking time discussing it.

We walked all day. The further we walked the more I began to wonder. At times, the scene seemed familiar. I would see a tree with the same pattern of branches every other hour. There where other obvious things too. This puzzled me. It seemed as we where walking in circles. Pagasis and Rinoa didn't seem to notice this, but I figured that it would be a silly thing to be lost. Rinoa knew the forest well. She had lived in it all her life. I stopped worrying about it after I thought about it.

An hour later, we stopped again. The sky was turning a dark purple again, and the sunlight was being replaced by the soft glow of the moon. It also had begun to get cold. Pagasis told me that it was pretty awkward for it to get so cold at night. He figured that it was the condition of the island that did this.

Rinoa took a couple more sniffs, then laid down. "It's getting dark. We should rest here." she said.

"I have a source of light." I said. "We can still keep going if you want too"

Rinoa shook her head. "It's not only darkness," she said. "There are things that wander in the night. Dangerous things that you cannot see. Only hear their cries."

I shivered. The thought of things wandering in the dark gave me the creeps.

"Anyone hungry?" Rinoa asked.

My eyes got wide. I was always hungry. I had a pretty big appetite for someone my age. "Yeah! Now that you do mention it, I am pretty hungry."

"Okay, I'll round us up something." said Rinoa. She turned and walked into the trees.

Pagasis and I decided to make a fire because the darker the sky got, the colder it became. Pagasis wasn't to sure on what to do. So I told him.

"Go and collect some dry tree branches. I'll clear a pit." I said.

Pagasis did as he was told. I took off my pack and hung it on a low tree branch. I then cleared a spot with my paws and dug a shallow hole. I also made sure that our fire couldn't catch on to anything else. We didn't need another fire started. Just as I had finished, Pagasis had returned with a pile of sticks in his mouth. He dropped them at my feet.

"This good enough?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you." I said while smiling. I grabbed a handful of sticks with my claws and laid them in the pit. I situated them into a neater pile.

Pagasis watched in curiosity as I did so.

I then stepped back. "Careful Paggy." I said to him.

"Why? what are you going to… "

He didn't have time to finish what he was saying because he jumped back as I took a deep breath and blew a huge spout of flame on the wood. I guess it startled him.

"Woa!" he gasped when I had finished. "Why didn't you warn me!"

"I tried…" I shrugged.

Rinoa had returned. Pagasis and I were lying on the blanket I had brought. The fire was warm and well under control. The idea seemed to please Rinoa.

"Whatcha' got there Rinoa?" I asked her. I noticed that she had something in her mouth. I couldn't quite see it because she wasn't standing in the firelight and whatever she had was covered in shadow.

I could see Rinoa's white teeth as she grinned. She stepped into the fire light and dropped a bloody heap at my feet.

Unable to move with shock, I studied it. It looked like a deer of some sort. I couldn't quite tell because it's head was gone. I figured that Rinoa had bitten it off to quickly kill the creature.

Pagasis stood up and backed away.

I felt kind of sorry for him. I knew that horses didn't like meat, but unlike a regular horse, Pagasis had common sense and knew what the creature was.

"So," said Rinoa. "Go on and try some. It's not as bad as it looks."

I did like meat, but the thought of eating it raw kind of made my stomach churn in a sick way. I wanted to cook the meat, but Rinoa talked me out of it.

"Just try it." she said.

As an excuse, I told her it was too big for me to bite, but that didn't work. She just ripped me off a bite size piece with her teeth and handed it too me. I just decided to go for it. I reluctantly took it with my claws and popped it in my mouth. I closed my eyes and began to chew. At first it was rather chewy and tasteless, but then it turned tender then… delicious. Apparently, my mouth was so hot that it was being cooked as I chewed. Also, my sharp teeth made it easier to chew it. It seemed like a natural thing to eat raw, bloody meat. Just like when I was licking myself clean. As a sphinx, my human nature was nonexistent. When I swallowed, I looked up at Rinoa with a grin.

"Judging by your countenance, I expect that you want more." she said, giving me that "I-told-you-so" look.

I nodded.

Rinoa nudged the meat with her nose. "Dig in." she said.

"But don't you want any?" I asked with a frown.

"Don't worry. You eat your fill." she said. She then laid down.

Pagasis stood up. "I'll be right back…" he said as he turned and walked away.

I sadly watched him leave. Rinoa knew what I was thinking.

"Don't worry." she said. "That has always been the hard thing about being friends when you are of different race. He knew that you ate meat. He just doesn't like to watch. Especially when I am eating. I expect that he is searching for something for himself to eat."

I decided to agree with her. I couldn't let that bother me. It was true. Pagasis and I were friends, but we also had our differences too. That was always the hardship of having friends. That is how I lost most of my friends during the school year. I didn't mind not having so many friends. I usually preferred to be alone. I didn't want to loose Pagasis though. Unlike my old friends, Pagasis and I had more in common. He was also loyal. I could probably trust him with my biggest secrets if I told him them. I didn't want anything to come between us.

I continued to eat. I decided not to let it get to me. I ate until I couldn't eat anymore, and when I was done, I licked my paw and rubbed my face clean.

"Done?" Rinoa asked. She had been wondrously watching me eat.

I nodded.

She walked over to what was left of the meat. Witch was quite a lot because the animal was so large, and I couldn't had possibly eaten it all.

"You eat like a cat." she said. "Watch how it's really done…" And with that, she picked up the meat in her jaws, threw it up and caught it in her open mouth.

I watched with astonishment as she chewed a couple times and swallowed it whole. She then licked her black lips and grinned at me.

"Yummy…" she softly growled. She then looked over to the trees. "You can come out now." she said.

Pagasis stepped out from the trees. He had a large red apple in his mouth. Apparently, he had found an apple tree not too far from our camp, and had been eating them while Rinoa and I had been eating our meal. He looked at me and smiled. Right then I knew that he and I had an understanding. We were different, that was a fact, but the way he looked at me was still the same as

before.

The Firelight Story

I laid on my back and looked up at the night sky. The fire was still strongly burning. It kept it's warm glow, and kept us warm. It made me feel safe and relaxed for some reason. It also kept me thinking, witch also kept me awake. This had been my first day in the Dream world. On the island Esthenia. I couldn't stop thinking about what the next day would bring. Pagasis' scar would surly be larger by morning. I judged that it would be covering his whole neck by then. I turned over on my stomach. Pagasis was lying beside me.

He heard me stir. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No." I said. I then spitefully looked at Rinoa whom was fast asleep.

Pagasis did the same. "She can sleep through anything." he snorted. "Even if this island were to be taken over by demons and blown up, it still wouldn't wake her."

I giggled a little. The thought of Rinoa never waking up to something like that amused me for some reason. I guess I was so tired that I would haven't even noticed if I had mom's cauldron creations in my mouth, let alone laugh at something stupid.

Pagasis looked up at the night sky. He seemed to be in deep thought about something. His head was barely visible in the firelight. All I could see were his blue eyes.

"What ya thinking about?" I asked him.

He took his eyes off the sky and looked at me. "On noting… Hay, you remember when I told you that I would tell you the story someday?" he asked.

"Yeah, about the gods?"

Pagasis nodded. "I suppose since neither you or I cannot sleep, now would be a good time to tell you it." he said.

"A long time ago, in ancient times, the mythical creatures and man lived together in peace and harmony. They had shared the growing world for centuries, even before the time of man had dawned, they loved the land the people so much they had vowed to protect them always thrugh hard times.

For years their lives went on, protecting and serving the humans that they cared so much about. The people repaid them for their burden with respect. Centuries later in ancient Greece the people started to battle and fight with greed, their wicked evil had spread and captured everyone like a plague. The creature's tried to stop this new disease and save those who hadn't got it. They were too late and soon man had started killing off the beasts that loved them so.

Wondering what had gone wrong all the mystical animals gathered in a forest thicket, they had failed in keeping the peace and were in despair because of it.

"Later they agreed to send a small single fairy into the soul of the most ruthless person, figuring the evil came within. A day later the fairy returned, she was battered, bruised and had a large black scar. She exclaimed that it was a world like ours but it was dark and freighting place, she had described it to be like hell with ice. She had also told of large monsters that dwelt on the millions of islands and that they had attacked her. She told of her discovery until the scar had spread like the plague of evil, moments later she had fallen to the ground, assuredly dead.

"Pegasus, who had been born that year, admired the fairy's bravery. Young and naive, he decided to go into the evil world himself to see if it were true. He came back nearly and hour later, he had seen the dark world and the monsters. He had thought of how they effected the people's minds, and then he remembered when he went to sleep for the first time. He had seen beautiful pictures in his head, bright and wonderful.

Once again the creatures gathered in the same spot on Pegasus' demand to tell them what he had learned. He told them that in order to save the people they had to destroy the demon monsters. Most of them hesitated, they had seen what happened to the fairy, but they also remembered their vow.

When they got there, they had a tremendous battle. With Pegasus in the lead, they charged at the demons. Suffering a terrible loss, the demons fled.

"All the creatures were proud of themselves; they had won the land over so instead of returning to earth they stayed there to protect the humans' dreams. There weren't enough islands for everyone so Pegasus shared one with a dragon, unicorn and a wolf. Then after prosperous years of protecting their island fell into the sea, they moved to another island as it rose out of the water. They had learned that when someone dies an island sinks into the sea, but when someone is born another rises.

"They had also learned that time goes slower here, Pegasus lived to be a thousand years old in our time, but his children and decedents were known as guardians. Centuries later the Dragonwolf and the guardian traveled in search of a new island, there journey had ended when the island of Esthenia rose out of the water."

"Wow…" I murmured. I had no idea that the Dream world was related to mythology.

"So all of that is true?" I asked.

"As far as I know." Pagasis replied. "There is more than just that…"

I felt my eyes grow wide.

"What? You mean there's more!"

Pagasis nodded.

"Yes, but do you actually want to hear it all…"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe that he would have thought of that. "Of course I want to hear it. That is if you don't want to…"

"Sure I do." said Pagasis with a smile. "I'll tell you everything I want to know."

I smiled back.

"A while after this happened, Pegasus was said to become the god of all dreams. He fell in love with a mortal unicorn. They had a foul and named her Simone.

"Simone was a demigoddess. She was immortal like her father but possessed her power from her mother. Soon after Agushia was born, her mother was killed by a demon. This angered Pegasus so he sentenced the demon to do his bidding.

"The demon became the god of death. Pegasus' bidding was for the demon to carry the souls of the dead to him and judge them. If they were an evil demon, they would be thrown into hell. If they were good, they would be reincarnated into Guardians. Good souls with wings.

"Some of the good souls were turned into gods themselves. A wolf pack leader named Tswuki Maro, died to save her pack. Her soul was carried up to Pegasus and this inspired him. He decided to make her the goddess of our moon. That is why wolves howl at the moon.

"Another god that was created was a lion named Karoku. Karoku was another hero who saved his parents from a raging volcano on his island. He was burned alive. His soul was then taken up to Pegasus. Pegasus decided to make him the god of the sun. That is why cats worship the sun.

"There is also the god of life. A dragon named Magadareth. He loved to plant things and fly to dead islands and make them look beautiful. However, he was killed by a demon. Demons hate all beauty. Magadareth became the god of life. Soon after, he fell in love with Tswuki Maro. They had a daughter named Agushia, the first Dragonwolf.

"Like Simone, Agushia was also a demigoddess. She and Simone were the first Guardians on the island Esthenia. All the Guardians here on this island today are descended from them."

Pagasis took a deep breath. He looked at my interested face and smiled.

"So you see, that is the leagend of where our guardians came from. There are many more gods than that, but I only know of the stories that my mother told me."

I murmured again.

"So, what does the sun god have anything to do with this island?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Well," said Pagasis. "Esthenia's sister island is ruled by cats."

"My sister island?" I awed. "You mean Cassie!"

Pagasis nodded.

"Her island is called Ceair. It is directly to the east of us. It is quite unusual that two sister islands are close to one another."

"But, isn't everyone's?" I asked.

"Nope," said Pagasis as he shook his head. "Sometimes, a family island, like a mother or father, can be on the other side of the world."

We stayed up for quite a while before we fell asleep. We had a lot to say to each other. I told him about my school year and he told me about his family. It hurt us both to talk about them, but when we were together, it was comforting.

The Fire Fox

Suddenly I was awoken from a comfortable, good sleep. Something large and furry had brushed across my face. Causing me to wake up. I opened my eyes. I couldn't see much. It was still dark. I could just barley see two figures standing in the dull firelight. It took me a couple seconds to realize that it was Pagasis and Rinoa. They had there backs to me and seemed to be staring at something near the fire. I rolled over and sat up. I then realized that I had my blanket had been draped over me while I was sleeping. Rinoa's tail was flailing about. Swishing this way and that and hitting me again. I stood up and walked up to them. I stopped in between them and looked up at Pagasis.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Shhhh." he hushed. He nodded at the fire.

I looked to where he was looking. Something was sleeping within the coals of the dying fire. It somewhat resembled a large cat.

"Is that a…"

"Fire fox." Rinoa interrupted me in a whisper.

"Don't wake it up." Pagasis whispered.

Suddenly the fox's eyes opened. They were identical to the ones I had seen earlier. It jumped out. I could barely describe it before it took off. It had a large fluffy tail and long, erect ears.

Rinoa tore after it.

Pagasis began to follow, but he stopped and looked at me. "I'll follow her and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble." he said.

"Okay." I said. "Hurry back."

Pagasis turned and galloped through the trees.

I could hear his hoof beats slowly fade away. Then I was in complete silence. I kicked dirt into the fire until it was fully extinguished. I figured that since it was only an hour before sunup, I didn't need the fire anymore. I knew of this because I went into my bag and looked at the watch I had brought with me. I then waited for them to return. I decided to put the pack on my back in case I needed to leave in a hurry. I found out that I could see in the dark pretty well. I supposed that was another one of those advantages that being a sphinx gave me. It was pretty neat. I amused myself for a moment by looking around. Moments had passed, and I had began to get worried. Pagasis and Rinoa still hadn't gotten back. I wondered what was keeping them. I wondered if they had gotten in trouble and they needed me, or they got attacked, or… Suddenly a sound took me from my thoughts. Frightened, I looked every witch way for what made the sounds. I almost wet myself when Rinoa's huge head popped out of the bushes.

She was panting as if she had been running for some time. "Follow me!" she said urgently between her deep, labored breaths.

"What's going on?" I asked. I was terrified. My worst thought at that time was: what if something happened to…

"Pagasis," said Rinoa. "They've got Pagasis."

The Surprise Attack

I followed Rinoa as best as I could. It was hard to keep up with her long, hurried strides. I kept on thinking the worst. I didn't want nothing to happen to Pagasis. He had been through enough already. I wasn't quite sure where Rinoa was taking me to. Like before, the scene seemed the same as before. We walked for quite a while. My feet were beginning to get tired again when suddenly, Rinoa stopped. I nearly bumped into her back foot because she stopped so fast without any warning. I looked up at her in concern. I could see that she had gone rigid.

Her fur was standing high down her back. It made her appear larger than she already was. She had her teeth bared, and her black ears stood erect.

"Something is out there…" she growled.

I looked around as best as I could. There was brush all around us as well as trees. I couldn't see much past them, but I could hear and smell, and at that moment I could hear and smell something. Something different. It was coming from all around us. I wasn't sure if Rinoa knew of this.

"Rinoa," I whispered. "Something…"

Suddenly a stick broke. Like someone had stepped on it. It made a loud snapping noise that made my right ear twitch again. I then realized that we were being ambushed. I began to back up away from the bushes and bumped into Rinoa's foot again. Rinoa growled. Her appearance was frightening from my point of view. I have never seen Rinoa act this way before.

Suddenly, about twenty people stepped out of the bushes. They were hidden beneath a shadow so I couldn't quite make out what they looked like at that time, but one thing was for sure: They were holding spears and pointing them at us!

I noticed that a strange thing happened. I could feel a strong force underneath my paws and right next to me. I looked up at Rinoa and gasped. Her eyes weren't red anymore. They were a bright, flashing blue. I didn't have time to inform her of this. I was then focusing on the "people's" heads. They had finally stepped out of the shadows as they were closing in on us, and I could see that they weren't people at all.

They stood up straight like people, but they had padded feet like a dog's, clawed hands, long, bushy tails, and large, wolfish heads. Their bodies were covered in fur that varied many different colors between brown and tan. They all wore lion cloths, and many of them had feathers and beads in their black hair. Then one of them stepped forward. Unlike the rest who had brown or tan fur, this one was a silver-white with black marks around his eyes and on his ears, and speaking of his ears, they were very long indeed. He leaned over to a tan one and said something I couldn't understand. The tan one nodded. He then prodded us with his spear to make us move.

Rinoa just stood there and growled. She knew better not to attack them because they had spears. She was still pretty stubborn though.

I then figured that these were the ones who took Pagasis. So I had an idea. "Rinoa, calm down." I said to her. "They could take us to Pagasis and we could escape together."

Her eyes weren't blue anymore when I told her this. She relaxed a little and decided to follow the plan. Although she still quietly growled, and her ears were stubbornly pressed back.

The long eared one, whom I expected now was the leader, let the way. I studied him a little more as we walked. He was pretty tall and muscular. I also noticed that his feet were kind of larger than the others. He wore a small headdress with red feathers on his head. He had no hair, unlike the others, it was just plain white fur. His eyes were yellow and alert. He wasn't that bad looking. If I were one of them, I would have considered him pretty handsome.

We kept on walking. The sun was beginning to rise and the shadows began to fade. Red sunbeams appeared through the trees, giving everything an orange glow. This time, the scene looked different. Like we weren't walking in circles anymore. Like usual, my feet were beginning to hurt. I supposed that I would never get used to all the waking.

Rinoa was still hot. She didn't like the fact of being led so she snapped at the ones who were making her move, and walked herself. She stepped over half of us and walked behind the leader. To my surprise, the others allowed this. They were probably intimidated by her size.

The one who was leading me, was the tan one that the leader was talking to earlier. I looked over my shoulder at him. He wasn't pointing the spear at me anymore. He just grinned at me when I looked at him.

Like the others, he had black hair. It was short and was drawn back into a small ponytail. He had uneven bangs, but it suited him just fine. He had a strong looking upper body, and had silver cuffs around his upper arms. His brown eyes were friendly and cheerful. I knew he had no intention of hurting me.

The others walked in a line behind us. We appeared to be following a path. The white one appeared to know where he was going so I didn't worry about getting lost. I was more worried about Pagasis. If he was all right. I didn't know what I would do if something bad ever happened to him. I held on to the thought of him being all right and this whole thing was just some sort of a misunderstanding. We walked until we reached a clearing. The orange light of the rising sun blinded me for a moment. When my blindness subsided I could see that we were walking toward a small village in the clearing. I then realized that it was the village of the Omogoa tribe.

Wotan

We entered the village and were now walking through it. There were large, wooden structures that stood around the edge of the clearing.

There were natives bustling around. Some appeared to be working and others playing. The whole scene was like an Indian village. I could see the females crafting things with their hands. They were slightly different from the males. They had tops on and had much longer hair. It flowed freely down their backs with the presence of beads and feathers. Most of them stopped what they were doing and wondrously watched us as we passed.

I could see inside of some of the wooden structures as I passed by. One of them appeared to be a metal smith shop. There were natives inside of it making banging and clanging sounds. I could see the hot medal being poured into molds. This made me cereous about what was inside of all the structures. I stopped looking off to the sides and peered straight ahead. I could see that we were being led to the center of the camp where there was a huge fire burning in the very center, and off to the side was…

"Pagasis…" I silently groaned.

Pagasis was tied up to a pole. More warriors surrounded him. He couldn't move because he had medal shackles on his front and hind legs. There was a leather rope tied around his neck. The other end of the rope was tethered to the pole.

Rinoa and I were led to the spots next to him. We didn't say a word as they shackled my feet too and tied my neck to the pole.

They scratched their heads when it came to tying Rinoa up. Their shackles weren't big enough for her. So eventually, they got a long, leather rope and tied her feet and mouth shut.

I could tell that she had an urge to break free and wreak havoc on those who tied her up, but to my surprise, she stayed calm and collected.

"What took you guys?" Pagasis whispered to me.

"Yeah right…" I hissed. "As you can tell, we were a bit tied up…"

"We're already tied up." said Pagasis. "Now it's just the matter of escaping."

I looked around at the warriors. They seemed to be guarding us pretty heavily. I wondered how we could ever escape. I could see the long eared one in the corner of my eye. I could see he was wondrously looking at me. I wondered about what he was thinking at that moment. I then saw him look up at Rinoa.

Rinoa glared back at him.

I turned my head and looked at them more directly. I could see a slight resemblance in them. I supposed that it was just the markings around their eyes. They looked almost identical.

I was then taken out of my thoughts when I saw the long eared one turn his head. His ears stood erect and his attention was on a structure in the far corner. The other warriors did the same. I looked too.

An important looking native stepped out of the structure. Followed by a young woman and a tall, dark male, he walked over to us. He had a noble posture. His chest was held high and his ears stood erect.

I noticed that the warrior's ears dropped as he approached. They all submitted to him.

He wore a large headdress with green feathers. He also had silver cuffs on his upper arms. He didn't have any black hair like the others. There were a few green marks on his cheeks just below his brown eyes. Right then I knew he was the chief.

The woman that followed him was pretty tall herself. She was pretty dark but had these large, green eyes that made her look bright and spirited. Her hair was long, shiny and black. She wore a green headband with a blue jewel in the middle, and on her right upper arm was a gold wrap cuff.

The tall, dark male did the same as the chief did when he walked. It was as if he thought he were the leader too. He had long greasy hair and brown eyes with red markings on his cheeks. He wore silver cuffs on his upper arms too.

The three of them approached us. I noticed that the long eared one stare at the female with compassion as she strode past him.

The female didn't pay much attention though. She was too busy staring at the dark one with a cold look. It was as if she had some sort of deep grudge against him.

The chief walked right up to me. His nose was close to my face. I didn't move at all. I was still thinking of some way to escape. He had a calm look on his face. He seemed to be the type to easily reason with, but then he backed up, looked at the white one and said, "Awoan." And gave him a hand signal across his throat. The warriors raised their spears at us. Right away I knew what was going on.

"No! Stop!" I cried.

The chief looked at me in astonishment. The warriors had the same look on them, but they backed away while the chief stood his ground.

"Demon," he said to me in perfect English. "You speak Guardian?"

It took me a moment to remember what Guardian meant. "Oh, yeah. I do." I said.

"Excuse me?" Pagasis snorted. "Demons? That is the worst insult I have ever gotten in my life!" Apparently, he wasn't going for the civilized manner of speaking. "I just so happen to be the last Dream Guardian left, and I don't want to die a more pathetic death than the disease I already have!" he paused to take a breath.

I decided to fill in less aggressively, "But we didn't do anything wrong, and we aren't demons."

"Ah," said the chief. "But I can't untie you unless we know that you or your companions are safe. We cannot afford no more disasters to our clan."

I guess he was as wise as he looked.

Rinoa however, handled the situation the same way Pagasis did. She didn't really care about manners in her rage of being tied up. The ropes around her mouth snapped like tissue paper and fell to the ground when she snapped her huge jaws. I noticed that her nails were thicker than the rope that bound her. She could have escaped anytime she wanted, but of course, no matter how thick the ropes were, nothing could ever keep her mouth shut.

"I am the forest Guardian!" she roared. "Release me and my friends or I will rip you to shreds!"

The warriors backed up even further. They were still pretty intimidated by Rinoa's size. The chief however, didn't move. He still looked calm.

"Yes, rip as you must…" he remarked. "But that wouldn't help your chances of us trusting you now would it?"

Then the dark one stepped forward. "Yes, I agree." he said. Unlike the chief's smooth and quiet voice. The dark one's was gruff and as slick as his hair. "Nobody she talk to our great leader that way. Not even outsiders. We should dispose of them at once!"

"Yes, but you still have much more to learn my young apprentice." the chief said to him. "It's not right to kill. Especially those who have done nothing wrong." The chief paused for a moment. He then turned and looked at us. "But we still aren't sure what to do with you ." he said to us. "We will need proof of your whereabouts and why you are here. Talking nicer will be more approval."

The whole pack looked at us waiting for a response. I couldn't think of any thing to say. The leader seemed to know everything. So why didn't he just guess?

"Father." said the woman. She had finally spoke. She had been studying us the whole time. "I don't think they mean us any harm…"

"Oh, but Neara my pet." the dark one interrupted. "Don't forget about what has been happening recently. We shouldn't be trusting strangers. Especially if they're black." he looked at Rinoa with a scowl.

Rinoa growled in return.

"What we need is outside help. This island has already been taken over. We need more Guardians to protect the island." the one called Neara said. She scowled at the dark one again.

"Why do you think that they haven't taken over the forest yet? We are safe in here." the dark one told her.

I could hear Rinoa silently growl, "Because of me…"

"My wise daughter." the chief said in a soft voice. "I respect your warm hart, but Hons is right. We cannot take any more chances. We need to start fighting back."

The woman was silent.

"Now." said the chief. He turned to us again. "We need to know. Who are you and why are you here? We may be able to help you if you say who you are."

"Well." I said. I tried to sound a bit more optimistic as I spoke. Like the chief said: they may be able to help us. We knew who we were. So that wasn't a problem. "I am Christy. This is Pagasis, and she is Rinoa." I said while pointing to my two friends. " We are here because Pagasis is the last Dream Guardian left. The demons had taken his horn, and he will die if we don't get some help. He heard a rumor about the Misia bird being here…"

"I see." the chief interrupted. "It was we who reported the sightings of it. They are true. One of our warriors has seen it. So you and your companions say you want to capture the bird?"

I nodded.

The chief laughed. "Wow, you are pretty determined. My name is Wotan. In case you didn't know, I am the leader of this clan. We have lived here in the forest for a long time, barricaded from the outside world. So, where do you come from little sphinx?"

I didn't like the taught of being laughed at. Or called "little sphinx". I was only as tall as his chest when standing on all fours, but if I were standing on two legs… I'd show him.

"Uh, I'm not really a sphinx…" I said.

"Cheh?" said Wotan. "But…"

"She is indeed a sphinx." said a voice.

We all looked back to the building where Wotan, Neara, and Hons came from. The door flap opened. A beautiful, young native woman stepped out. She had long, shiny, black, flowing hair that went all the way down to her knees. She was more petite and majestic looking than Neara. There was no jewelry in sight on her body. Something about her made my hair stand on end…

"Indeed she is the sphinx Esthenia, but she is also the human Christy… The mind of this island…" she said. She was now standing next to Wotan.

Wotan looked at me. Then back at her. "You sure?" he asked.

The woman nodded. "They are more than what they seem… All of them. They can save us all from the terror the future brings us." she said.

Maybe it was her eyes…

"And you seen this in a vision?" Wotan asked.

The woman nodded again, "I have."

Wotan looked thoughtful. He looked more wise as he did so.

I wondered to myself about the same thing. How did she know? How much did she know? The answer was unclear to me at this time. I still couldn't stop staring at her eyes. I didn't know why my attention was on them so much. It seemed like I was drawn into them when she looked at me. Like she was looking through me and reading my every thought.

"Well…" said Wotan after a short period of time. He turned to the long eared one. "Please, order your warriors to release them. Clearly, they are our honorable guests." he said to him.

The white one nodded. He turned to the warriors.

"Deoa ael wodua!!" he said.

I couldn't understand exactly what that meant, but I soon figured it out.

Right after he said that, the warriors dropped their spears and took the shackles off our legs.

I smiled at the tan one who took mine off. He smiled back, and hung the shackles over his shoulder. They made a dull clanking sound as he turned and walked away. I moved my limbs a bit. They were all cramped up from the tight shackles. It felt good to be free.

A few went up to Rinoa to take the ropes off of her, but she wouldn't let them.

"I can do it myself." she said. With that she lifted her right front leg up. The ropes snapped right off. She then did the same with her hind legs.

The warriors were once again in shock. I wondered if they would ever get over the fact that Rinoa was bigger and stronger than them.

After freeing us, the warriors lined up. Apparently, they did this every time their leader commanded them to do something. Their ears were straight up and waiting for another command.

"Ined!" said the white one.

The warriors bowed to him. They then picked up their spears and jogged to the closest wooden structure.

The white one turned to Wotan for any further instructions.

"That is all." was all Wotan said.

The white one bowed to him and Hons. He then turned to Neara and smiled. He bowed to her also, kissed her hand, and walked to the warriors hut.

My Sixth Sense

Most people know what the color red id. If you don't, then let me define it for you in the way that I saw it at this time. Red is the color that Neara's face was. Never in my life had I seen someone blush so hard. She was staring at the white native as he walked away. She had this look in her eyes.

Another definition of red is the color of Hon's face. Full of anger and jealousy. I could tell of this by the way he looked at the white one with cold eyes. The expression on his face was mangled with hate.

Things like this happened at school all the time. It always was the same story. One guy gets jealous of another guy who is flirting with the girl he likes. Leaving the poor girl trapped in the middle… I stopped. Thinking of things like this made my stomach churn. I had my reasons. I then began to think about the color red again. The whole thing that was going on at the time wasn't like the petty school jealousy, but it was love jealously. I could smell it. It was strong, so strong in fact, I could taste it. My mind drifted away. I didn't know what was happening to me. I felt like I was in my own little world. Where only one thought concerned me…

A hoof came out of nowhere.

It was waving in front of my face. Springing from my trance I looked up at Pagasis' concerned face.

"You okay?" he asked me.

I nodded with a smile.

"All this talking gives me an appetite. How about a feast in honor of our guests?" said Wotan.

Rinoa's eyes got wide. "Food?"

"Of course. I mean, you guys must be pretty hungry. I bet you haven't eaten anything since sunup." Wotan chuckled. He then turned to Neara, and beckoned her over. "My daughter will show you where to go in the meantime."

Neara, hadn't spoken in a while. In fact, her nor Hons had spoken at all since the white warrior left. I supposed that's why they weren't talking. Neara appeared to be glad to get away from Hons when she walked over to us.

She looked at her father and bowed. She then motioned us to follow.

Once again, we strode through the village. I gazed around more as Neara led us to a very large hut at the edge of the village. The hut was surrounded by large trees. I couldn't believe how large this hut was. It was higher than Rinoa!

Neara walked up to the large entrance that had a wooden frame and a piece of hide for the door. It was large enough for even Rinoa to walk through.

She opened the door flap. "Right this way." she said.

The Dream Catcher

One by one, we stepped inside. Rinoa first, then Pagasis, and then finally myself followed by Neara. My eyes met a brightly lit room. All around the walls there were shelves lined with little ornaments and trinkets. Furs and feathers hung on the walls in pretty, quilt-like patterns. In the middle was a glowing fire and a hole directly above it in the tall ceiling where the smoke went out. The place had a sweet, incense smell to it. I soon learned that the smell was coming from the fire.

Neara looked at me. "You like that do you?" she asked.

I suspected that she was talking about the smell. I nodded.

Neara walked over to the far wall and picked up a metal poker that had been leaning against it. "It's a special wood." she said as she stirred the fire with the poker, making the flames dance higher. "It lets of a wonderful smell when it is burned."

"Neat…" I murmured.

"It's called a sudatan tree." said Rinoa. She and Pagasis were looking around also.

Pagasis seemed fascinated with what looked to me like a dream catcher. Similar to the ones human Indians make.

"That's right." said Neara. "In our language sudatan means: sweet scent."

"So, you know Guardian and Native language?" I asked her while sitting next to the fire.

Pagasis and Rinoa joined me and listened in.

"Yes." said Neara. "I have to learn everything I can before I become the alpha of this tribe. Allot of us still don't know the Guardian language…"

This made me think of what Pagasis had told me about a pure Guardian having to learn everything. Neara couldn't have been a pure Guardian though. She didn't have wings, and that apparently, was an important characteristic.

"What is this place?" Pagasis finally asked.

"This is a shrine made to show respect for the gods and spirits." she said. "The people come here to pay tribute and bring gifts for the gods and passed away loved ones."

"What's that?" Pagasis asked. He pointed his nose to the dream catcher on the wall. I was wondering when he would ask about it. Before, he seemed really interested in it. I, myself wanted to know. What I wanted to know the most was if it was for a different propose than the ones in my world.

"It is called a dream catcher." Neara replied.

I knew it…

"It is a trinket that is said to bring dreams to the island so it would be well and prosperous. I made that one myself."

Pagasis seemed pretty amazed about this. I couldn't quite explain his attraction to the dream catcher. I knew how to make them myself also…

"Well then." said Neara. "Before we go to the feast there are some things you must learn about our culture. Lets begin with the things you shouldn't do. First: never make eye contact without blinking. The people here are nuts and they might attack you. Second: Don puff up or press your ears back. Usually it's the same outcome as the first, but this one means that you want to fight. And third: Never, NEVER show your teeth at the Alpha or beta."

We all stared at her for a moment.

"Why not?" I asked.

"That means that you challenge his dominance." said Rinoa.

"Yes! That's right." said Neara. She seemed pretty impressed by Rinoa's knowledge. "Hons is our beta. He's all right I guess. My father is the strongest and bravest of the clan. He is the alpha. No one dares to challenge him. I hope to be like him someday. He says that I'm like my mother who he admits is far greater than he as a warrior and leader." she paused for a moment and heaved a sigh. She looked kind of sad as she spoke. "Her name was Tswuki Mona. She was great, you know. One of the best alpha females this clan has ever seen."

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"She was killed by one of our own fellow clan members many years back. The hunting pack found them in the woods. She dead and him standing over her with a knife… soaked in her blood."

Chelle

Neara lowered her head when she got done speaking. I could tell that she was fighting back her tears. Her hair draped a shadow over her eyes. Only the swelling tears could be seen.

Once again, I could smell it. Her sadness smelled kind of sweet, and bitter all at once. I wasn't quite sure what this meant at first. I thought it was just the sudatan wood in the fire, but soon I figured it out. I could smell people's emotions. I didn't pay much attention to it before. It appeared that it was all around me. From the sweet smell of happiness, to the sour smell of hate. I could also smell it off from Pagasis and Rinoa. They too had the same smell as Neara coming off of them. They too were sad about the terrible outcome of what happened to Tswuki Mona. I felt the worst. I was the one who asked about it.

At that moment, the door flap opened. A tiny yellow animal hopped inside. It scampered across the floor until it reached Neara's feet where it stopped and looked up at her with it's big black eyes. It was really small, about a quarter of a foot tall. It had large ears and a big fluffy tail like a fox, or a cat, or something…

Neara looked down at it with a smile. "Yes, Chelle come on up." she said.

Chelle took a big step back. She then ran forward as such a great speed that I could hardly see her as she jumped all the way up onto Neara's right shoulder. Neara scratched Chelle's small head.

"What is she?" I asked. I had this feeling that Pagasis and Rinoa were wondering the same thing. So I asked for all of us.

"What do you mean?" Chelle asked. "I'm the cutest thing in the whole world!"

"She… just… spoke…" I blinked.

"You wish…" Neara said to Chelle. She then turned to us. "Chelle here is what they call a mini Kib fox. A Kib fox is a fox-like creature with multiple talents in each species. The mini Kib fox can speak and translate all languages. They are small and convenient too."

"Like the fire fox." said Pagasis.

"Yes." said Neara. "Some of the Kib fox species are very rare. The mini and the fire foxes are two of the rarest. There are probably even more different types here on the island."

"But only one me!" Chelle cheered.

We all laughed. Chelle was so cute. It made me wish that I had one as a pet.

"By the way…" said Chelle. "Your father would like to know when you are joining the feast."

"Soon." Neara replied.

"Okie-doki! I will tell his alpha ship!" said Chelle as she hopped off Neara's shoulder.

We all watched as she scampered out of the hut. Then we looked at each other and chuckled.

"It must be great to have such a cute pet. Especially if it can talk!" I said.

"Yeah right!" Neara sighed. "She is cute, but when it comes to talking she never shuts up!"

Aslynn's Gifts

After we all got done laughing at Neara's remark about Chelle, the door opened again. This time, it was the beautiful female that we had seen earlier. She was holding a leather bag with beads on it. She wore a strapless dress with a long hooded cloak. Her eyes, once again, caught my attention right away. This time I could see their color in the firelight. They were purple, green, and blue all swirled together. They still seemed like they were looking through me when ever she glanced over at me.

"Hi Aslynn." said Neara. She didn't sound to enthusiastic.

Aslynn walked up to her and bowed. "Hello yourself Neara." she replied. She then turned to us and bowed again. "Hello esteemed travelers. My propose here is to bring you these. A gift from me to you."

I then noticed that every time she moved her head, her eyes would change colors. Green, blue, and purple. I could have sworn that I had also seen them turn pink. They seemed like reflectors in the firelight.

"My name is Aslynn. I am the clan priestess." said Aslynn.

I bowed. "My name is…"

Aslynn held out her hand to silence me. "No need to show respect for me. I only do what I can. It is of no importance now." she said. "I already know who you are. You and your companions. I see a great destiny before you. One in witch will result in sorrow…"

I gasped. This made me think of Pagasis and his deadly scar. It was already beginning to grow down his front legs and shoulders to his wings.

"Lighten up." said Neara. "Don't make them worry with your visions and spooky stuff…"

Aslynn nodded. "I am sorry if I have frightened you. I have brought something for you…" she opened the pouch and pulled out a large, red, beaded necklace.

It was enormous! The red beads were almost as large as my head. There were large, white teeth descending in a pattern all the way down. They were as large as Rinoa's own teeth.

Aslynn walked up to Rinoa with the necklace held tightly in her arms. "For you." she said.

Rinoa lowered her large head level to Aslynn.

Aslynn draped it over her head. When she was finished, she watched Rinoa pick her head back up and stare down at her gift.

"Thank you." said Rinoa.

"Jamais bohique." said Aslynn. "It means: thank you. In our language."

"Jamais bohique." said Rinoa with a smile.

Aslynn turned to Pagasis next. She reached into the pouch, witch was a lot lighter now, and pulled out another necklace.

This one was similar to Rinoa's, except it was allot smaller. It had navy blue beads and four white teeth. There were spaces between each bead and tooth where you could see that they were held on a black, leather twine. In the vary center, was a tiny dream catcher.

Aslynn walked up to Pagasis with it. He held still so she could tie it around his neck. Aslynn put both arms around him to tie it in the back.

I could see Pagasis' face turn slightly red. When Aslynn released him he looked down at his gift. He smiled when he saw the dream catcher there. He sill had a fetish for them.

"Jamais bohique." he said. He was still blushing.

Aslynn then turned to me. She pulled out an orange feather with a black tip.

I realized right away that it was one of mine. I wondered where she had gotten it. I didn't ask though.

There were also yellow beads hanging from the feather. Aslynn strung it in my hair. She backed up and looked at it.

I was still staring at her eyes.

"It looks great on you." she said.

"Oh, jamais bohique." I said.

Aslynn just smiled. "Each of these have a propose in your future."

"Our future?" I asked.

Pagasis and Rinoa just stared at each other. They seemed pretty confused.

Neara just stood quietly and let Aslynn get on with it.

"I cannot tell you your future as an oracle. You will learn of your fate. You cannot escape it, you cannot change it… Only live it."

With that. She turned and left. Her long hair flowed behind her. Something shiny was streaming down her cheek. They fell as she opened the door. When she was gone, they hit the ground. I then realized that they had been tears.

We stood in silence for a moment. Only the crackling and popping of the burning fire could be heard. Pagasis and Rinoa were staring down at their necklaces. Both of them had a questioned look on their faces. I looked at my own gift. I began to wonder how she gad gotten a hold of one of my feathers. I wondered if I was molting or something. I spread my right wing. Nope, all still there.

"Well, I suppose I'd better get back to my hut. I must get changed for the feast." said Neara, finally breaking the silence. "You may come out anytime you want to. Don't be a stranger." She then turned and walked out of the hut.

Pagasis, Rinoa, and I all looked at each other. Then at our gifts.

"How did she know…?" Pagasis wondered out loud.

"Know what?" I asked. Rinoa and I turned our attention to him.

"That I liked the dream catchers. I do like them… but how did she know?" he replied.

"I don't know," said Rinoa. "But where in the world did she get these teeth? They are almost as big as my own. They are definitely that of a wolf."

"Yes." I said. "I wondered about the same thing. This is clearly one of my feathers. Do you remember me dropping one?" I asked them.

They shook their heads.

"She is a crafty one. I'll grant you that." I said. "Remember when she said that these have to do with our future? What do you suppose that meant?"

Pagasis and Rinoa both looked thoughtful.

"It is kind of creepy isn't it?" said Pagasis. "Let's just stay on our guard. Something isn't right here. I can sense it. I hope it's not Aslynn. She wiggs me out too, but I'm glad she's on our side. She seems to know everything."

"Yeah." said Rinoa. "Did you guys take a look at her eyes?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Those were the first things I noticed."

"I did too. I don't know. There's just something about her. We should keep an eye one her." said Pagasis.

"Yeah right." said Rinoa. She suddenly had a grin on her face. "You mean that you want to keep an eye on her. Sorry, but I don't think she's your type."

"Cheh? What the heck do you mean!?" Pagasis exclaimed. He was blushing again. His eyes were wide with embarrassment. "Don't you start that with me…"

The two kept at it. I didn't pay much attention though. The vision of Aslynn walking out and her tears made me wonder. I couldn't smell sorrow on her when she was leaving. Clearly, she was weeping. Even before then, I still couldn't smell her joy or happiness. It was as if she had some kind of barrier around her. Keeping my special sense away from her. The whole time I was trying to smell her emotions. I could pick up Pagasis' bashfulness when she had put her arms around his neck. I could smell Rinoa's pride when she received her gift. My friends still didn't know of my sixth sense. I still didn't know if I was going to tell them or not. In the end though, I just decided to keep it a secret.

The Secret is Revealed

We all walked out of the hut at the same time, and were greeted by a bunch of natives in festive clothing. It was already beginning to get dark out. The huge fire glazed in the middle. There were dancing natives all around it. Others were beating drums and chanting in the language. I looked around allot. There were females dressed in white that carried large, wicker baskets. I couldn't see what was in them because they had lids on them, but I could smell it. Food. It made my stomach growl just my the smell. It smelled really good. We walked around a bit. I noticed that were blankets laid out all over the place. On each one there were natives eating and talking. They all appeared to be having a good time and waved to us as we walked by.

Rinoa tried her hardiest not to step on anyone. Although once, she nearly squashed a warrior when she stepped over the warrior's blanket. Half of them, she was pleased to see, were still afraid of her.

We walked around until we found Wotan.

He was sitting on a very large blanket on in the outside of the large fire. He, Hons, and Aslynn were all there. He saw us and beckoned us to come over.

We approached the blanket. I then stopped and sank into a bow.

Pagasis and Rinoa did the same.

Wotan's ears went erect. He smiled and gave us a trustworthy look of love.

"Please, sit." he said.

I sat between Aslynn and Pagasis.

Rinoa's paws were the only parts of her body that could fit on the blanket.

I noticed Hons look up at her and gulped when she sat next to him. I tried not to laugh at his cowardice. I then saw one of the females dressed in white came over to our blanket with a huge basket. I couldn't wait to see what was inside.

She bowed to us and sat the basket onto the middle of our blanket. She then opened it and began to take the best looking food I had ever laid eyes on out of it.

Wotan smiled.

"I see that our food has arrived." he said. He then chuckled at Rinoa, who had her tongue hanging out and staring at the food.

I saw so many different things that we could eat and everyone of them looked delicious. They even smelled great. There were stews, meats, fruits… Rinoa was in a trance. I admitted that I was too.

We had already started to dig in when Neara arrived. She was no longer wearing her loin cloth and tank shirt. Instead she wore a long frilled skirt and a top with long frilled sleeves that completely showed her stomach. I knew that my father wouldn't let me wear such a thing. She also wore a matching hair band with green feathers and beads.

Rinoa moved over a bit so she could sit.

Neara smiled at her, shrugged and sat down.

Hons stared at her when she did so.

Just then, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. I looked into the fire and saw the strangest thing. I tapped Pagasis on the shoulder. He looked at me as I pointed to the fire so he could see what I was looking at.

He then looked too. Soon enough, everyone was looking into the fire.

Wotan noticed that we were looking at the same thing so he looked too.

"Checos!" he said. "Get out of there."

The fire fox jumped out and landed in front of our blanket. I then realized that it was the same one as before.

"So he belongs to you!" Rinoa laughed. "He has caused me a lot of grief but he is so cute!!"

"Yes, he is mine." Wotan laughed back. He then stroked Checos' head.

Checos purred and snuggled Wotan's hand.

"Without him, this clan would be dark and cold without fires. He has helped us a lot. I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble. He is not aloud past our boarders, but he has been cooped up here so long. I suppose he just wanted to get out for a bit."

Suddenly, Checos slipped from Wotan's grasp and bolted into the crowd.

Wotan was expressionless for a moment.

"Uh, he doesn't like strangers very much…" he chuckled.

"You said boarders." said Rinoa. "Why haven't I detected this boarder? I am the forest Guardian. I have been in every nook and cranny of this forest but never seen or smelled this village. How do you do that?"

"I suppose since you are here now I should tell you." he said. "There is a barrier that is right on our boarder. You cannot smell it, you cannot see it. If you walk into the barrier, you will keep going back to the place where you started. It takes you in circles. It has kept us hidden for years."

"I knew we were walking in circles!" I suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone stared at me for a moment.

"You sure are an observant kid, aren't you?" Aslynn giggled.

My right ear twitched.

"So, you have isolated yourselves from the outside world?" Rinoa asked. She seemed pretty into the subject. Most of her questions had been answered, and she wanted to know more.

"Well," Wotan sighed. "We aren't pure Guardians, and we possess no magic. We are still weak, no matter how big our numbers get. I suppose that we did need outside help… It was only a matter of time before we would be discovered by the wrong kind… I'm just glad that you aren't that kind."

Aquita, the Fire Dancer

We continued to eat and have a good time. We didn't bring up the subject any more. The mystery was solved. The village wasn't hidden anymore.

I liked to watch the natives dance around the fire in their neat costumes. Suddenly the crowd parted a bit and the dancers cleared off.

"Oh, this should be spectacular tonight." said Wotan as we watched a tan native walk into the middle.

He was wearing a fancy loin cloth with these long, grassy things around his knees. They hung clear to his ankles. It reminded me of Pagasis' blue leg hair. Only these were like grass.

I realized right away that he was the warrior that I had seen earlier. He was the one who had led me through the forest at his spear point. He seemed pretty nice to me.

The crowd became silent as they sat back and waited for something to happen.

"That's Aquita." Aslynn whispered in my ear. "He's amazing."

"Oh." I murmured. This made me anxious to know about what he was about to do.

Aquita held out a long stick. He then held it up above his head as a drum beat started. He made a war cry that sounded like a howl.

Suddenly Checos jumped into the scene. He ran around Aquita's legs for a moment then jumped up very high. A jet of fire flew from his open mouth and lit the end of the stick that was in Aquita's hand. He did the same thing for the other end of the stick. He then jumped back out of the scene and let Aquita get on with it.

With the stick lit, Aquita threw it up into the air.

The stick spun in a bright circle until it landed back into Aquita's hand.

He then began to spin the stick in all directions. The fire created circles of light as they spun in his hands. He kept in the rhythm of the beat with his hands and feet. Suddenly he held up the fire stick and separated it into two. With both in hand, he spun them all around his body.

I had never seen such a spectacular sight. He was great. I had never seen such a thing performed up close in my life. Even seeing the fire made me feel comfortable.

Suddenly, Aquita tossed up both sticks. They crossed in mid air and landed back in his hands.

The crow murmured in awe.

I did too.

Then, Aquita picked up a small flask off from the ground. He drank it, but didn't swallow. He held one of the fire sticks in front of his mouth.

Right away I knew what he was going to do.

He grinned and blew the liquid from his mouth. The fire blazed out as if he were breathing fire.

The crowd cheered and whooped as the rhythm of the beat stopped and Aquita took his bow.

Something about him told me that he had done many things like this before. Maybe it was the courageous grin on his face, or the look of complete confidence.

"That was great!" Pagasis exclaimed. He indeed looked impressed.

"It was!" said Neara.

"That boy," said Wotan. "He is mighty skilled for his age. In fighting and dancing."

"They say he's part fox." said Aslynn. "He is pretty foxy."

Her and Neara both giggled.

Hons was not impressed.

"One of these days, that crazy fool is going to hurt himself." he snorted.

"Oh, Hons…" Neara scowled.

Aslynn leaned over to me again.

"He isn't afraid of anything." she whispered. "I bet if you dared him to swim in the ocean he'd do it."

"Dang…" I murmured. "He is crazy!"

"Yes." said Aslynn. "But you gotta admit: Crazy is nice…"

Kovu's Story

We continued to sit around and joke about things. I learned that everyone's attitudes were quite different.

Hons was pretty snobby to me. His words and actions told me this.

Wotan seemed pretty easy going and had a pretty good sense of humor for a chief.

Aslynn was pretty cool to me. At first she kind of creeped me out. I wondered how old she was. She seemed to be like a teenager to me.

Neara was almost the same way as Aslynn, only she was more hyper. She seemed pretty tense around Hons though. I could smell the hatred coming off of her whenever she looked at him. This made me wonder…

"Oh, yeah!" Pagasis suddenly exclaimed.

We all looked at him.

"The bird. You told us earlier that someone here saw the Misia bird." Pagasis said to Wotan.

Wotan smiled.

"I did, didn't I." he said. He began to look around. "Now let me see…"

He continued to look until… "Hey, Kovu!" he shouted.

I looked to where he was calling, and saw the white native.

He was carrying a bundle of wood to the fire. His long ears sprang up and looked around to see who was calling him. Right when he saw Wotan beacon him over to our blanket his ears dropped. He approached us slowly.

"Whatever it was sir, I didn't do it!" he said a he bowed when he reached the blanket.

"Of course you did…" said Wotan with a grin.

Kovu's ears went up.

"I did?"

"Certainly!" said Wotan. "You saw the bird. So now you have to tell them about it."

"Oh." Kovu blinked. "I thought I was in trouble there for a minute."

"So the fool was finally fooled." Hons scoffed.

"You maybe correct…" Kovu shrugged. "But it was more like the fool was fooled by the bigger fool who said the fool was fooled. Or was that a trick question?"

Hons scowled. He stayed silent while everyone else laughed. Especially me. I gave Kovu a ton of credit for coming up with such a witty comment in such short time.

"Ah, I do love your sense of humor." Wotan chuckled. "Now, you must tell them the story."

Kovu clapped his hands together and took a deep breath.

"It wasn't too long ago." he began as he sat down the fire wood and himself. "I had an order to circle the boarder. I had roamed far and began to get thirsty. I was about to turn back when I ran into this huge marsh at the edge of our boarder. I've never seen this marsh before."

"I have." said Rinoa. "The forest creatures told me that it was called Simone's marsh. I've been there many times. It's a beautiful place."

Kovu smiled up at her.

"You are pretty knowledgeable." he said. "You are pretty smart for an orphan."

Rinoa puffed up her chest with pride.

"I am a fast learner." she said.

"Anyway, I went over to the lake shore and drank from it. The water was so pure that it cleared my very mind." said Kovu. "Just then I heard something. I looked over to the opposite shore and there it was. The Misia bird. It's shiny plumage was blue, green, and purple. They were like the colors of a rainbow. Anyway, It took off very quickly into the forest. I still think it may be there. I don't think it left the island yet."

Everyone murmured.

"I think you had lost your sanity when you drank that water." Hons snorted.

We all looked at him. He had totally ruined the moment.

Kovu looked at him and grinned.

I knew what was coming next, and sure enough…

"Oh really?" Kovu smirked. "I recall that time when you swore you saw Wotan dancing naked on a wigwam roof. Now was that before or after the peace pipe?"

Wotan, who was eating a piece of jerky at this time, nearly choked on it when he heard this. When he finally swallowed he looked at Hons with astonishment.

Hons looked pretty nervous about this. His ears went back and his eyes got big.

"It was after… I… I don't recall ever telling him that!"

Wotan glared at him for a moment. He then snorted and started to laugh.

We all laughed with him.

Poor Hons looked mortified. His ears were pressed back and he didn't look at anyone in the face. He just crossed his arms and huffed.

Kovu lifted his head and howled as we continued to laugh harder.

I liked Kovu a lot. He seemed to be the clan jester. He was pretty funny. I have always liked a person that made me laugh. He seemed to be in his early twenties. He was pretty young.

Pagasis and Rinoa seemed to like him too.

I figured that Pagasis liked him because he had made fun of Hons. To me, I didn't think that Pagasis liked Hons very much. Rinoa on the other hand, seemed to respect Hons, but she was apparently more dominant than him. I had figured as a beta he'd be stronger. Instead, he submitted to Rinoa a lot. Even if he looked at her funny, she's show him who's boss by showing her teeth or giving him an evil glare, and he wouldn't object to it. Rinoa and Kovu seemed to have a lot in common. I knew that Rinoa liked Kovu too for his fun attitude, but there was something else. I couldn't put my paw on it. They seemed to look a lot alike.

Kovu finally stood up. He collected his wood.

"I'd better get back to work. Aquita and I gotta keep this fire going or we're all gonna' freeze!" he said while bowing. He then turned and walked away.

At this moment, the world seemed to move in slow motion again. I knew that my sixth sense was going to work again. I saw that as Kovu looked back over his shoulder at us he met Hon's eyes. The smell of hatred met my nose again. I then realized that the two were rivals that would probably do anything to get what they wanted. I knew that they were both after one thing, and that was Princess Neara's heart.

The Midnight Fight

That whole time I tried to have a good time, but the vision of Hons' and Kovu's hate for each other kept creeping back into my mind. I had this feeling that something bad would happen, but what? I wasn't sure. A hoof waved in front of my face.

"Huh?"

I looked at Pagasis' concerned face.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah." I yawned. "I'm just tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep now."

Pagasis smiled.

"Yeah, you do look tired. Okay then. Aslynn told me that we are sleeping in the shrine tonight."

I sleepily smiled back.

"Okay, good night." I said as I turned and began to head to the shrine.

"Good night!" I heard Pagasis call behind me.

I stopped. I thought for a second, then I turned and faced Pagasis again. I could see in the fire light that his front legs were completely covered in the black scar. It made me think about him dying again. I didn't want him to die. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. He seemed pretty humble about the matter, but I could smell the sadness coming off of him whenever he talked about it. I blinked. I then ran back up to him and threw my arms around his neck.

Pagasis looked confused for a moment. He didn't even see me coming.

I let him go, turned, and left him still standing there bewildered. I ran the whole way to the shrine.

Rinoa, Neara, Wotan and Hons all said good night to me as I ran past them. They and a few others were still awake and talking, dancing, and having fun.

I kept on thinking about Pagasis to much to really notice anything else. I knew that I had surprised him. I was embarrassed a little, but I was also happier then ever. I didn't want to face the guilt of finding him dead the next morning because I didn't give him a hug good night. It seemed like a silly thing to worry about, and I wondered what came over me while I walked inside.

A few coals glowed from the dying fire. The room was covered in shadow. I couldn't really see the knickknacks on the shelves. The only things that I could see were three beds that had been made for each of us. There was an incredibly large one for Rinoa, a middle sized one for Pagasis and a smaller one for me. They each had layers of furs on them. It looked really comfortable. I walked up to mine and laid down on my stomach. I tucked my front paws under my chest and rested my head on the leather pillow. It was comfortable! I felt like I was lying on a bed of clouds. I had so much on my mind that it was hard to keep my eyes closed, but eventually I fell into an uneasy sleep. It wasn't too long before I woke up to a strange sound that was coming from the corner of the shrine. Very irritated I rose my head and looked around. I could see that Pagasis and Rinoa still weren't inside yet. I wanted to go back to sleep after a moment of silence, but I heard the sounds again, making my ears twitch. It was kind of strange how they did that every time I heard a quiet sound. They did it automatically and it drove me nuts. I listened again. I soon learned that the sounds were voices and they were from outside. At first I thought it was just somebody still partying but then I began to think.

"Why are they standing on this side of the shrine? The clearing is on the other side and whoever is out there, is in the trees." I thought to myself. I stood up and stretched. I felt my back pop as I did so. I then walked slowly and quietly over to the back wall to where the voices were coming from. I pressed my ear to the wall and listened.

"I'm tired of your games!" came Hons' voice. He sounded angry. "The princess is to be my mate. It's the clan rule. I am the beta so she is mine, and if I catch you near her again I will kill you!"

"Oh my gosh!" I said to myself. "Hon's and Neara? Who'd a thunk? Wait… who is that…"

I heard another voice so I stayed quiet so I could hear who it was.

"Yes sir…"

"That's Kovu!"

"Good. I mean it…" Hons growled. I then heard his leaving footsteps.

Kovu still stood there for a moment.

I could still hear his hard breathing. I admit that I was breathing hard too. I never would have thought that Hons and Neara were getting married. Neara seemed to hate Hons. I knew that Kovu had a thing for Neara since the first time I could smell it. I felt kind of sorry for him. He loved someone, but somebody stood in his way. I could smell his sadness coming through the wall. I then heard him leave. I, myself turned and went back to my bed with a fuller mind then before. I could still hear their voices inside my head. Hons' angry one and Kovu's sad one. I couldn't sleep, so I stayed awake until Pagasis and Rinoa came inside. They must have thought that I was asleep because they walked quietly so they wouldn't wake me. The room was dark so they couldn't see that I had my eyes opened and staring. I thought about what I had heard and if I should tell them about it, but Moments passed, and I didn't say a word.

The Third Day

Sunlight shone through the smoke hole in the ceiling. I was shining right into my eyes, causing me to wake up. I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. "This is the third day…" I thought to myself. I then turned over and looked at Pagasis.

He was still fast asleep, without a worry in the world.

I began to worry though when I looked at his scar. It had grown onto his wings and covered his entire torso. I tried not to let it bother me so much, but the thought of him dying creeped back into my head again. Tying to get my mind of it, I looked over at Rinoa. She was still asleep too. I tried to keep quiet so I wouldn't wake them up as I walked over to the door. I figured that since they weren't awake yet I would have a peek outside. I opened the door flap and walked outside. It was a beautiful morning. The red sunlight shone through the trees, lighting up the village and making it look bright and cheery. I had thought of a plan to find the Misia bird the night before when I couldn't sleep. I could find Kovu and maybe talk him into showing us where he had seen the bird. So, I began to search for him. First, I found Wotan, whom was walking around and supervising the other natives while they did their daily work.

He would snap his jaws at those where were lazing about, and commenting the ones who were doing what they were supposed to do. He seemed to have everything and everyone under control.

I strode up to him.

He must have heard my approach because he turned to greet me when I stopped in front of him.

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully.

"Good morning to you too." I said while bowing. "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

He smiled at me.

"Not at all."

"Have you seen Kovu?" I asked.

Wotan looked thoughtful. He paced his hand on his chin.

"You know what? I haven't seen him, but I bet he's at the Warrior's hut over there." he said while pointing over his shoulder to the closest wooden hut. It wasn't as large as the shrine, but it was pretty big.

"Okay, thank you very much!" I said to Wotan as I bowed and walked away.

A group of native warriors were sitting on the outside of the hut sharpening their knifes and comparing the sizes of their spears. Then they all began to stare at me as I approached them.

I felt rather okward. I didn't know if any of them spoke Guardian. I also didn't think that I knew any of them either. That is until I noticed that one of them was Aquita.

He was leaning against the wall with his spear over his shoulder and talking with the others in the native language.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I strode up to him and sat up on my back legs when I stopped in front of him.

He looked down at me with an unblinking stare. He then glanced over at his buddies with a grin.

They grinned too and it made me feel more nervous. Trying not to blush, I tried to communicate with him. I still wasn't sure if he spoke Guardian so I just said Kovu's name in question. I figured that they would know what I was talking about if I did this.

Instead, Aquita still stared at me for a second. He and his buddies were silent for a moment.

"Kovu!" he shouted as he held out his spear. He then began to laugh with his buddies joining in.

I felt my face turning hot. I was pretty mad that they laughed at me for not understanding their language. Kovu was just a name, right? I then had enough. I dropped to my front paws and walked stiff legged up to Aquita.

He and the others stopped laughing as I stopped at his feet and glared up at him. He then snorted and laughed even harder.

That was it… I was so angry that I sat up again and stood up on my back legs. I was as tall as Pagasis when I did this so I was well over Aquita's height.

He stopped laughing and looked up at me with astonishment.

I grinned. I then held out my paw to his face. Claws sprang out.

"Now look!" I hissed. "I didn't come over here to be laughed at by the likes of you. I am looking for Kovu. That's all!!"

Aquita's ears were pressed back. He just looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. He then closed his eyes and said, "Kovu isn't here."

I sank back down feeling really stupid.

"Why didn't you tell me that you spoke Guardian?" I yelped.

"You never asked." he said.

My face went scarlet. I could see all the other warriors looking at me with grins on their faces.

"Why were you laughing?" I suddenly laughed.

Aquita began to laugh again, but when he seen the look I gave him he stifled it.

"You said the word "kovu". We didn't think you were talking about the captain at first. We thought you were talking about my spear." he chuckled.

I crossed my arms.

"What makes you think that?" I asked with a frown.

"Kovu means the word "long" in our language." he chuckled. "Kovu is short for KovuTaka, our captain. That's his full name. It means long ears, and you gotta admit… the name fits!"

He and his buddies began to laugh again.

I sighed.

"Right, so have you seen him?" I asked.

"Not since the sun came up." Aquita said.

I sighed and sat down on one of the logs that surrounded the big fire in the middle of the village. For about two hours I had been wandering around the village searching for Kovu and for those who might of known where he was. I felt discouraged. I knew that I was wasting time. Time was running out. Especially for Pagasis and his deadly scar. At that time, I was looking for Neara. I thought that maybe she would have known of Kovu's whereabouts, but I couldn't find her either!

Just then, Chelle hopped up onto the log next to me. She smiled up at me.

"Good morning to you miss." she said.

"Good morning Chelle." I replied. "Hay, have you seen Neara?"

Chelle shook her head.

"I woke up this morning and the miss was gone."

"Oh." I sighed.

We then sat and talked for a while. Or at least Chelle talked and I had to listen. Then finally, I spotted Neara walking into the village. She was alone. Chelle and I raced up to her. As I got closer I noticed that Neara had an uncomfortable look on her face. My smile faded when I noticed this.

"Neara, what's wrong?" I asked when I stopped in front of her.

"Nothing, just nothing…" she stammered trying to smile.

I figured that I wouldn't go into her business and so I asked her if she had seen Kovu anywhere.

When I asked her this she looked at the ground. The uncomfortable look was present again. She suddenly grinned.

"Yes…" she whispered as she walked away before I could even ask her "Where?".

An hour later, I met Pagasis and Rinoa outside our wigwam. They were standing there and talking to one another.

"Hey, look who's here." said Pagasis as he saw me approach them. "What's going on?"

"You guys, listen to this…" I said when I got over to them. I told them about Neara's odd behavior.

"I see." said Rinoa. "It's pretty obvious."

Pagasis and I were confused.

"Get what?" we asked.

Rinoa then frowned.

"No, I don't think I should say anything. I don't want Neara to get into trouble."

Suddenly, somebody howled.

Rinoa's ears perked up. She and the rest of us looked over to the center and saw a bunch of natives gathering.

"Come on!"

We looked over to where the voice came from. It was Aslynn. She was walking with Neara over to the crowd.

"Breakfast!" she shouted to us.

Rinoa's ears sprang up.

"Breakfast!?"

She then jumped over the top of us and joined the others.

Pagasis and I hung back for a moment.

"I wonder why she wouldn't tell us?" I wondered out loud.

"I don't know." said Pagasis. "She must be very loyal to Neara if she won't even tell her friends what is going on."

"Oh well," Pagasis shrugged. "Let's go eat."

"Okay!" I smiled. I was pretty hungry. I was always hungry!

We all sat down on the blankets and ate again. This time it was Aslynn, Neara, Aquita, Pagasis, Rinoa and myself. Kovu was still gone. Hons and Wotan were too. I asked Neara where they were.

"Don't worry." she said. "He and Hons are probably out exploring something."

I continued to eat. I wasn't going to bother asking were Kovu was, then again, I didn't need to because at that moment I saw him. He was carrying firewood again over to the pit.

"Excuse me!" I said to the others as I hopped off the blanket and made my way toward him. I was almost there when a terrible cry came from nowhere. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard it.

Like me, the villagers stopped what they were doing and listened for the source of the sound.

My ears directed me towards the forest. I then saw Hons come trudging out of the bushes on the other side of the village. I could see that he was walking slowly with something in his arms. As he got closer I could see that it was a someone. It was Wotan!

Neara pushed her way through the crowd.

"Let me through!" she shouted at them as she ran up to Hons with her father in his arms.

I ran up to Pagasis. I looked up at him with worry and confusion.

He looked serious, but spooked himself.

Then both of us ran jumped up and flew past the crowd. We landed next to Rinoa, who had followed Neara. That was when I smelled blood. I smelled it before on the deer that Rinoa had brought me on our first night. Only this was a little different. I looked up at Pagasis' stunned face. I was sure he could smell it too.

Meanwhile, Hons laid Wotan on the ground and stepped back while Neara kneeled next to him.

She lifted her father's motionless head up in her hands. She then pulled one of them away. She looked down at it and saw that it were covered in blood.

I then noticed that the ground around them was bloodstained. So was Hons' chest. Then I could hear Neara whisper: "No, no!" as she turned Wotan's head. She then jumped back, sobbing. From my distance I could see that his throat had been slashed.

He was dead.

The Fight For Dominance

Neara stood up. Her face was covered in tears and her father's blood when she put her hands on her face while sobbing. Her eyes seemed to be on fire with anger. She turned to Hons with her teeth bared.

"Who did this!!" she roared.

I scooted closer to Pagasis. I was in total shock. The whole scene was eerie. Nobody spoke, the wind didn't blow, it was all quiet. Only Neara's angry voice could be heard. It seemed to echo.

"Who did this!!" she shouted again.

Hons was in shock too by her forceful voice. He then found himself and pointed out into the crowd.

Everyone looked to where he was pointing. I gasped when I saw that it was Kovu.

Kovu's jaw dropped, and he finally dropped the firewood that he had been carrying. He looked hurt and confused at the same time.

I then noticed that Aquita was by his side.

He had the same expression that Kovu did.

Meanwhile, Neara backed away from Hons.

"No!"

Hons, however, took a step toward her.

"There is no other explanation my dear." he said to her. "Let's execute this killer while we have the chance!"

Neara backed away from him again.

"No…" she repeated.

Suddenly, Rinoa came out of nowhere as she jumped over the crowd and landed right in front of Hons who jumped back in surprise.

"And how did he do this?!" she growled. She then showed her teeth at him showing him that she was more dominant.

Hons looked angry. She had overpowered him and he didn't like it.

At this time I felt like cheering Rinoa on, but I stayed quiet like everyone else.

For a short moment, Hons stammered in fury and astonishment. He then found his words.

"I overheard that freak telling the alpha that he wanted to show him something in the forest. I told Wotan countless times not to listen to his crazy storied!" he said.

I could see that he was shacking all over as he spoke. I figured it was because he was afraid of Rinoa.

"I followed them into the forest and… when Wotan had his back turned…"

"Save it!" Rinoa interrupted. "You lying piece of…"

"Yes!" Hons roared. "That is the truth! That murdering bastard did it!! Where do you think he was all day?"

I could smell sheer anger coming off of both him and Rinoa. I could also smell fear come off of Neara when Hons asked about Kovu.

"No! He's lying!" Neara suddenly shouted while pointing at Hons.

Hons looked cross.

"You cannot prove that wench!" he shouted.

"Watch your tongue!" Rinoa growled.

Rinoa's anger frightened me a lot. I had never seen her act this way. I looked at Pagasis next to me. He looked as shocked as I did.

Neara was still pointing at Hons. She had a devious but frightened. Tears were beginning to form in her angry green eyes.

"No… he couldn't have done it… because… because I was with him!!"

The whole crowd murmured. The silence had been broken.

Hons turned to Kovu.

"You!!" He shouted as he drew out his knife and ran at Kovu.

The whole crowd formed a circle around the two. It was the only thing they could do.

Before, Neara had told me that if there was a fight for dominance then nobody else could interfere. It was a clan rule. I felt like torching Hons butt really good, but I couldn't. All I could do was watch.

Kovu took a step forward. Suddenly Aquita stepped out next to him and offered him his spear. Kovu smiled at him but declined.

"There is no need for that!" I heard him say as he pushed Aquita out of the way just as Hons drew near.

Hons raised the knife and aimed it at Kovu's face. He swung the blade as hard as he could.

Kovu moved his head and Hons missed.

Hons kept on coming at him while swinging the knife.

Kovu dodged and backed up every time. He was way too quick for Hons.

The crowd around Pagasis and I were cheering and jeering. I felt like I was a one of the school's basketball games, but this was more serious then that. These two were fighting to the death.

Kovu kept on dodging and when he saw his chance, he grabbed Hons by the wrist and bit down with his razor sharp teeth. He seemed to have pretty good control of things.

Hons dropped the knife as he yelped in pain. He was defenseless now.

Kovu had this advantage and grabbed Hons by the shoulders and threw him to the ground with such force that Hons got a mouthful of dirt and dust flew into the air. He then tried to get up but Kovu leaned down and gripped the back of his neck with his teeth and forced him back down again.

Hon's wriggled and yelped with pain, trying to escape.

Kovu grinned and let him go, but just as Hons was starting to get back up, Kovu kicked him in the butt so hard that Hons slid face first into the dirt again.

Kovu had won.

Some of the crowd cheered. Others like Pagasis and I were silent with shock.

Then, suddenly, a piece of wood flew out of nowhere and hit Kovu in the head. He was knocked out before he hit the ground.

Hons stood up. He was laughing maniactricly. He wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"No way!!" I suddenly shouted. I couldn't believe it. I knew that Kovu had won fair and square. "That rotten…"

Hons walked over and picked his knife up off the ground. Then with a wicked grin he charged at Kovu. Suddenly, he was attacked from the side by Neara.

She had given him a drop kick on the shoulder causing him to stumble backwards. She had her knife drawn out and was pointing it at him.

"What are you going to do?" Hons chuckled. He flailed his arms out. "Kill me!"

Neara lunged at him with the knife raised over her hand.

Hons dodged out of the way and tried to gash her arm as she flew past him.

Neara landed. She turned to him with shown teeth.

They then leapt at each other while swinging and slashing their blades. They rolled around on the ground, trying to get each other in the throat or face. Then with a gasp, Hons pinned Neara to the ground.

Rinoa tried to get to Neara and rip Hons apart but Pagasis and I held her back.

We totally contemplated her move. We both knew that she would try to help Neara.

"Rinoa…" I groaned over her weight. "You… cannot interfere!"

I then saw it again for the second time.

Rinoa's eyes had turned blue again. Her hair seemed to blow around as if there was a strong wind.

I felt like my back was going to break from her massive force. I then felt my ears twitch. They were picking up a low sound again. I looked up and saw Neara and Hons.

Hons was whispering something in Neara's ear as he held her to the ground.

"You and I could have made a lovely pair. This clan could have been all ours, but you chose to be disloyal and run off with that freak…"

Neara struggled to get free. She had been doing this for a while so she stopped from energy loss. She was panting and gasping for breath. Hons was much larger and heavier than she was so she was being crushed.

Hons leaned a little closer with an evil grin.

I adjusted my ear so I could hear them better.

"We could have ruled this clan, but only I am alpha now. You are going to die." he whispered. "And do you want to know something else? I killed your mother…"

The whole world went slow motion for me again. The smell of anger coming off of Neara was so strong that it seemed to take me to another world. I couldn't hear anyone. Just Neara's heart beat and panting.

Neara's eyes grew large. She then roared with anger and as quick as lighting, she swung her knife.

Hons' eyes got really big. He made a gagging sound as blood spilled from his throat and open mouth.

It poured all over Neara. She kicked him off of her.

He stumbled backward. His whole body was covered in blood. He then fell to his knees and then landed face first on the ground. He was dead.

The crowd murmured. Pagasis and I froze. We couldn't do anything else but just stand there and let Rinoa go.

She ran over to Neara who stood up.

She was covered in Hons' blood.

Rinoa looked down at her. Her eyes were swelling up with tears. She looked back at Pagasis and I with a sad, hurt look.

I felt a stab of guilt. The way Rinoa had looked at us told me that she was angry and sad that she couldn't help Neara.

Neara ran up to Kovu.

He was still knocked out and lying on the ground with a bloody lump on his head.

Neara lifted him and wrapped her arms around him. She held him tightly.

Rinoa leaned over to her.

"What can I do?" she asked sternly.

Neara looked up at her. Her bloodshot eyes had a look of gratitude. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Get Aslynn." she finally said. She tried to sound calm.

Rinoa nodded. She looked around and then ran and jumped over the entire crowd.

I didn't see where she went. I was too busy looking at Neara and smelling her fear and sorrow. I looked up at Pagasis. I could feel tears streaming from my eyes. I didn't want Kovu to die. I didn't want anyone to die. I leaned against Pagasis neck.

He looked down at me. He then leaned his head down and rubbed me with his cheek.

I stroked his nose with my paw. I could smell the sadness coming off of him too, but I smelled something else. It was shyness. He was shy. I looked at him and saw his flushed face. Even when it was black I could see it. I turned my head when he saw me staring at him and looked back at Neara.

She had begun to sob. She held Kovu closer to her and buried her face into his cheek. Surrounding them was blood, Hons' and Wotan's dead bodies, and a crowd who was bowing to their new alpha.