Origins - Eon
#2 of Origins
The arctic wolf felt the darkness surround him. His floating body soon went down and was a foot away from the dark flooring.
'Where... Am I?' He thought. 'Is this where the dead go after they die? But it's strange. It feels so warm and comforting.'
He slowly blinked his eyes and found himself lying on a bed.
"Wha..." He managed to say before he coughed out loud. He grunted as he felt his entire body jolted in pain.
"Don't move," a voice on his left side rang. He turned his head to see a gray young mouse, younger than his age, sitting on a chair beside him. His blue eyes gazed his own. He wore a maroon shirt with a long pair of brown pants.
"D-do I know you?" He whispered in his sore throat.
"Take it easy," the mouse smiled. "You really need to take your rest."
"M-my bag..."
"Oh. That belt bag? Mom's been trying to open it for the last few weeks."
"Few weeks?" Nil's eyes were shot open.
"You've been asleep for almost a month. I think this is the second day, fourth week."
"Ela, who are you talking to?" A female voice from outside rang.
"Mom!! The wolf's awake!!"
"He is!?"
Footsteps were heard and Nil's ears pinpointed its location. He turned his head towards the door in front of his bed and saw a brown wooden door suddenly being opened. A white mouse, probably in her early thirties, smiled as she saw him. She straightens her green dress and walked over to his right side.
"Thank goodness!! I thought you'd never wake up!!" She smiled.
"Forgive me, but do I know any of you?" Nil apologized.
"Ah! How rude of me! I'm Zumi. That is my son, Ela."
"Nil," he nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Nil."
"What happened? I remember floating in the darkness and..."
Slowly, he remembered a few pieces of event that happened on that dreaded night. The torture, the rape, and his final electrical blast. As he was about to hit the ground below, he felt the wind surround his body. He then felt two strong arms holding him tightly. It felt so warm and gentle, yet strong and tough. His muscle soon relaxed and he heard a voice. A male's voice.
'Master Nil! Please, open your eyes,' he said. It sounded awfully familiar. He felt some kind of cloth wrapped around him before he passed out for good. He turned his head towards the mouse and stared at her. He held his breath when he saw a small insignia on her right shoulder. It's small, but it was no doubt that it was the insignia of the Galeriver.
"W-why did you help me?"
"What? Can't a person help others that are in need?" Zumi smiled.
"Y-you know that I'm your enemy, right? I was ordered to destroy one of your people's village."
"But you didn't."
"How'd you know if I did or not?"
"You're not the kind of kid to do that."
Nil looked at her confusingly. The mouse smiled and patted his head.
"You jumped off a cliff to save a little boy," she chuckled. "No person like that will want to destroy a village."
Nil's eyes widen as he heard the woman's reason. He remembered that there was once a time when he saved a small mouse years ago. When he looked back to Ela, he noticed several similar features between the two. He looked back to the woman with his mouth gaping.
"T-that was your son?" He asked.
"I know you wouldn't be able to destroy a village, let alone let a child die, without feeling guilt," she smiled softly. "Now, do you want to tell me how did you become so injured?"
Nil looked back up to the ceiling and sighed deeply.
"It was a week before I went back to my hometown," he started. "I was ordered to go to a village and destroy it by my master. He told me to absorb all their power and give it to him through the necklace."
"Necklace? You mean a Tosul contract necklace?"
Nil just nodded as he continued his story. "I never wanted to harm anyone, so all I did was enter the place and collect some information about their power. My master, of course, does not tolerate this. So I went back empty handed, with only the information in my bag.
"When I arrived at his study tower, I noticed that he was bringing his crystal ball along. I knew I couldn't lie about my failure of annihilating the village, so I didn't say anything about my report.
"After that... He was trying to destroy my contract."
"Oh...".
"I couldn't let him, so he..." Tears started to form in his eyes as the painful memory returned to him.
"I understand," she smiled as she rested her paw on the canine's arm. "You don't have to tell me the details."
Nil just nodded and stared at the ceiling, trying his best not to cry again.
"So after... That... I was thrown out of the window and I fainted. But then, I felt like I was saved by someone..."
"You were. Your savior is sleeping on the floor now."
"Huh?" Nil stared at her blankly. Zumi pointed on the floor behind her chair. She then helped the injured wolf sit up so he can see his savior. A sleeping lion wearing full body armor sat on the floor facing him. He held his great sword on his arms and hung his head low as he tried to retain his energy. His beautiful brown mane on his head covered his eyes slightly as he continued to doze off.
"He's been watching you since he brought you here," Ela explained. "He hadn't eaten anything or slept either."
"I kind of forced him to sleep for his sake," Zumi smiled.
"You mean, he's been watching me this whole time?" Nil asked.
"He did."
Nil stared at the lion and smiled softly.
"C-could you excuse us for a moment?" Nil asked. Zumi just nodded and took her son with her outside.
"Don't strain yourself," Zumi smiled.
"I wont," Nil smiled back as the mouse closed the door behind her. Slowly, he tried to move his body. He's weak, but manage to move. He turned his body to the edge and went to his knees. The white lupine crawled his way in front of the resting feline and sat there. He smiled as he held his legs together.
"You're really a stubborn one," he chuckled. His blue eyes gazed at the messy feline's golden fur and mane. Slowly, the lion began to stir.
"Wha..." his deep voice sounded as he slowly raised his head. His lovely emerald eyes are now red due to exhaustion. He gazed the lupine and his facial expression change from tiredness into shock. He dropped the great sword and knelt down.
"Master Nil! Thank Gods that you have awaken!" He said.
"Whoa! Leo, stand up," Nil smiled. "And don't call me 'master'. We're friends, right?"
"Forgive me, Ma- I mean Nil," Leo said as he stood up, "but old habits die hard."
"No problem."
"I must apologize, sir. I couldn't help you in that situation."
"Hey, at least I'm safe, thanks to you."
"I feel so useless!" Leo gazed down.
"No one can prevent that from happening anyways," Nil said as he stepped closer and rubbed the lion's cheek. "I knew I had it coming."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize."
"I do! Our contract said that I must swear that I would protect you! But I blew it! I couldn't protect you from that beast!" Leo felt the warmth of the summoner's paw on his chin as it slowly raised his head to face the small wolf's face.
"But you protect me from falling," Nil smiled at his emerald eyes. "And that's good enough for me."
"Thank you, Master Nil," Leo finally smiled at that night. His bloodshot eyes gave gentle warmth towards the white lupine.
"You haven't rested for quite a while, have you?" Nil chuckled.
"I couldn't rest well enough, knowing that you have been injured," Leo gazed at the lupine.
"Aww... Thank you for watching over me," Nil smiled softly. Leo's gaze suddenly trailed down and back up. His eyes were shot open as he looked away from the lupine, blushing.
"P-pardon me..." He stammered.
"What's wrong?" Nil tilted his head.
"You're..."
"I'm what?" Nil said as he got closer.
"You're naked..."
Nil gasped and looked down on his body. His skinny, yet well toned, body is not covered by any article of clothing. His white, furry sheathe and ball exposed to his lion. He shrieked in embarrassment and jumped back from the lion towards the bed. His white face became redder by the second.
"F-forgive me, Master!" Leo yelled as he bowed down, blushing as well.
"Nil! What's wrong!?" Zumi's voice yelled as she ran towards the room.
"Wait!! Don't..." Nil yelled as he tried to cover himself, trying to stop the host. But alas, it was too late. The gray mouse darted into the room in an instant and stopped in her tracks. Her face went red as well as Nil failed to cover his privates with the blanket on the bed. His furry sheathe was truly visible to the female and the armored lion. The three stood in awkward silence, staring at each other.
"N-noo!!" Nil shrieked once more in embarrassment, breaking the silence of the coming dawn.