FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 8

The city, it sprawled before them, every known street, every house and any other building, it was all here, surrounding them like always, like usually.

Like normally.

Warfang was like Hunter always remembered.

Brownstone buildings with active people all around them, people that were going on about their daily lives like always. Warfang was as it always was, if not for the dark aura they saw hanging above it Hunter would never believe the stories about the city being invaded by strange magic.

Speaking of strange magic.

He tilted his head up towards the sky, ears immediately flattening on his head, tip of the tail making a nervous flick.

The sky was clear.

At first he thought that the tendrils of darkness might have his behind one of the bigger buildings, after all they were at the bottom and Warfang is a three leveled city, not to mention the draconic inhabitants that require more space for their oriented constructions than any other race.

Then he came to a conclusion that the buildings cannot be the problem, the tower of black magic stretched far higher than Warfang's massive towers and walls, it was not possible that its presence would elude them here.

It simply wasn't here.

Did it hid?

Or this whole black tower of magic was some kind of illusion wrapped around the city?

Impossible.

There is no one in the whole world who can wield such confusing magic, there might be a possibility that their adult black companion could be potent enough to do such a thing, but he was with them all the time, in a entirely different world no less.

No.

His fur bristled.

It was something else.

And it was powerful.

"May gale take me!" Cloudas exclaimed loudly, mouth agape as his widened eyes took the weird yet fascinating construction into their sight.

"This city is huuuge!"

Everyone in front of them froze at the sound, people that seemed not to notice them at first turned in their direction, not one, not two, but all of them, all in the same time, all turning in the same direction.

They noticed the wind dragon.

Their surprise was understandable, what Hunter didn't get though was the fact that absolutely no one from the nearby crowd of people ignored them. Seeing a wind dragon is fascinating, yes, he had been through the same shock, yet life in a big city for some has its own rules. Rules that demand your attention, making you and your business the most important thing in the universe.

Usually the moles served as such examples, their heads always filled with technological ideas and ways to improve all sorts of constructions and such. Everyone got used to the moles being lost in the worlds inside their heads.

Everyone expected it to tell the truth.

Yet even them turned their nearly blind eyes in their direction in perfect unison with the rest of the crowd.

The dreamy expression vanished from Cloudas' snout when it occurred to him that he is the reason behind all this attention. After so much time he forgot how being interesting used to feel like, this unexpected attention startled him, he would probably pick his tail up and speed away if not for Hunter.

Shaming yourself in front of the Shaper's friend wasn't the best course of action to put mildly.

"A wind dragon!" someone from the crowd exclaimed

This random call served as a sign, in a moment no more coherent words were heard since from the looks of it all of the people started to yell at the same time, silencing and blocking each other. The already big thunder of noises empowered only by the noise of footsteps that echoed throughout the lower area of Warfang as the crowd poured towards them like an earthquake.

"How is this possible?"

"From where did you come from?"

"Are you real?"

"Can I touch you?"

"Look at the feathers!"

Hunter groaned, pulling at the corners of his pointy ears to drag them down and protect himself from the horrid havoc of shouts. He loved the city, but truth be told he never was comfortable with the noises surrounding it, it always took him time to adjust.

Before Cloudas could answer any of the questions that he by some miracle managed to put together hands and paws already stretched out towards him, grasping the wings, poking his scales, ruffling his feathers, whatever these people saw in him clearly made them ignore any restrictions about personal space.

He felt like a toy that was liked by the same group of children, getting pulled and jerked, ordered to land in the grasp of the one most deserving of it.

"Hey, hey!" he squeaked, dropping his head and shaking his entire body, as if the hands and paws were streams of water glued to his body "Watch for the feathers! They're sensitive!" someone pulled him to the left, making him bounce on his legs, the crowd prevented him from toppling down however.

The relief was short lived since the other side of the people didn't like that their object od admiration was moved away from them and immediately jerked him back in their direction. The pull was strong enough and the grip of some so unlucky that they managed to pluck one of the feathers from the right wing.

"Ouch!" Cloudas howled and began thrashing around fiercely "Leave me alone! Bugger off!" he opened up his wings, the sting from the torn feather pulsating throughout the whole right joint

People gasped, jumping back, noises of confusion rumbled between the crowd, voices demanding respect, others demanding serenity.

Hunter took advantage of the space and jumped in front of the wind dragon, hands raised in the air, his frail frame though was not enough to protect the drake. If the crowd of people wanted to grope the wind drake he would not be able to stop them.

"What is going on here?!" a deep rumble came from the sky, several, draconic figures wearing flapping cloaks descended from the sky, landing in between the two groups and all around the crowd, their legs loudly thudding against the ground, noise alone sending first shivers of intimidation as the strong legs gave first impressions of their power

The City Guard.

People immediately pushed back, every citizen of Warfang taught and reminded in daily life about the Guard and the respect the profession demands. Inhabitants were hardly criminals, so usually the presence alone of a protector of order was enough to calm the situation down, this is how the city prospered for all this time.

If that wouldn't work Hunter was certain that the City Guard had other means of pacifying the troublemakers, one glance at the dragons wearing the cloaks was enough to tell that they did take their job seriously and were more than capable of showing that to the insubordinate. Male and female, both sexes belonging to the Guard were in their prime, living muses for statues surrounding the city, bodies sculpted, raw, muscular and powerful, radiating nothing but aura of respect, brilliant examples of draconic superiority.

It required regime.

But dragons weren't the only representatives belonging to the City Guard, soon the wingless members also joined the action, all of them cheetahs, as strong and proud as their draconic companions. As a member of the cheetah family gifted with a rather perceptive sight, Hunter noticed the smoothness in the movements of his furry brethren, their fluent poses and dexterous shifts proving quite clearly that they were capable fighters, with many, many years of training behind their belts.

As expected, the space between the two of them and the mob enlarged in a matter of seconds, while the intervention of the City Guard was not always a desired outcome, especially in a strange situation that had befallen on Warfang currently, the space managed to steal breaths of reliefs from the two of them nevertheless.

"Go home people! Return to your lives! There is nothing to see here!" a female guard let out a pleasant, yet demanding growl, her wings flushing under the cloak

"A wind dragon is nothing to see?!" a cheetah yelled from the mob, pointing a claw towards Cloudas

Every eye turned towards them once more, the guards included, stopping right in the same moment, the combined weight of the stares making Cloudas step back from the pressure.

Hunter couldn't shake of the feeling that the people seemed like marionettes with loose strings that occasionally get jerked in place.

By one massive hand hanging above the entire city.

"This is for the Guardians to decide" a cheetah member of the guard said, while his voice remained steady and raw, eyes betrayed fascination, after all it is not often that you get a chance to see a member of a draconic kind that was proved extinct

Grumbles from the crowd echoed throughout the streets, while the respect for the decisions of the authority of law was embroidered into their culture, that didn't mean they accepted it with smiles on their faces.

A green member of the guard approached the two of them, his muscular, huge, scaly frame blocked the sun.

"Your case is unexpected" he glanced towards Cloudas "It demands the Guardian's attention immediately. You will be given an escort until you reach the City Hall, it will save all of us a lot of headache"

Before they could answer the massive dragon sent a signal to his group, muttering series of weird clicks with his tongue, something at the border of whistle and a snort.

Four dragons approached them, three females and a single male, their frames smaller than the green dragon in charge, but nevertheless still impressive.

"Your privacy will be ensured" the green dragon nodded and turned towards the crowd "Await information from the City Hall, if there will be an announcement to share you will be informed!"

"Before we go" Hunter intoned, bowing respectfully "May I ask one question?"

There was no answer, only shrugs, the guards while not really interested in hearing questions their profession didn't openly allowed them to announce their indifference to the matter, after all law is there to serve the people.

"What is happening to Warfang?"

Once again this strange notion of a puppeteer's whim, his question was soft, tone of voice in a normal, reasonable range, words impossible to hear by anyone except those nearby and yet once more every head turned in their direction, in a perfect unison as always.

It was creepy.

For the first time in his life he preferred to be in a dark, unknown forest surrounded by scary monsters than here. At least then he would have his scouting skills to rely upon

In this civilized jungle he was defenseless.

"Life" a blue female guard replied, her brilliant yellow scales radiating under the sun "We invite, we feed, we live. Like always"

"Like forever" the entire nearby population concluded, the guards included

Both Hunter and Cloudas balked, hearts stopping in their chests at the sound of the scary chorus, while they had their doubts and even began to accept the possibility that they might have imagined the entire problem, this chorus of voices brought them back on the right track again. Whatever is going on here, it wrapped its influence around the whole city, what they couldn't decide upon was the fact if the people were aware of this parasitic touch.

And if they weren't, was it safe to remind them of it?

"I want them to get back to plucking my feathers" Cloudas hissed through clenched teeth, feathers bristling in fear on his entire body "Anything than this freakshow of some mental patients who forgot to take their medicine"

Hunter whistled, automatically and then cleared his throat immediately, the noise he created will be enough for the one he desired to arrive.

No cry filled the air.

"Come" the guards began their walk, surrounding them from all sides and blocking them from the eyes of the mob

They looked at each other for a second before their heads tilted up towards the sky, towards the empty blue sky.

No falcon circled in between the clouds.

Hunter swallowed, exchanging worried glance with his companion.

Whatever happened to his feathery companion bode them nothing good, the bird just disappeared as if it never entered the city, as if it entrance was blocked.

What good can be said about a place that doesn't allow nature in?

"What now?" Cloudas mumbled, his tongue tripping over some of the letters

"As I said" the dragon who gave the command sighed, trying to sound polite, yet the tone of irritation in his voice was clear "Your case will be presented to the Guardians, what to do next if for the leaders to decide"

The guard clearly unaware that the question wasn't directed at him, routine of his profession kicking in.

"Please don't tarry" the guard that was behind them said, legs stopping mere inches away from their tails, urging them politely to move together with the formation

Something they didn't do from the start.

Something they weren't sure they should do.

After several seconds they came to a silent agreement that it would be best to allow themselves to be escorted by the City Guard. Neither of them knew if running away from the guard in this situation would be considered a crime, they are not criminals after all but people that were offered assistance.

Still, considering what is happening in the city remaining with the guard was probably the safest option, Cloudas' presence among the common folk would draw to much attention. While distraction is a welcome tactic, you need to be careful to not overdo it.

And Hunter had a strange feeling that if he would try using the wind dragon as bait right now it would mean that he would never see the white dragon again. A strange wave of protective force tied his heart, the thought of abandoning his companion was always an unwelcome one in his head, yet the consideration to leave a wind dragon to his fate felt almost as betrayal.

Of the entire world no less.

He preferred to stay away from political matters and the decisions of the ruling caste, don't look for deeper motivation for the tasks he was given, focusing merely on the job at hand. Yet even he couldn't deny that Cloudas demanded special care, after all he is the only wind dragon after years of known extinction that appeared in the Realms. If the Veil idea wouldn't work, he is the only chance of bringing the wind dragon race back into the mix of the draconic species.

They were escorted to the City Hall in complete silence and peace, if the things they experienced at the bottom and saw before they entered Warfang never happened, this day would play out like any other day, with little different odds and ends here and there.

The door to the Hall opened before them, the guard that was leading the formation stepped out of their way and with a slight bow invited them inside with a royal swipe of the paw.

Cloudas didn't really had the head for taking the architecture of the city into consideration, his mind struggling between fear and worry. Yet the rumbling door of the City Hall they were led to managed to steal a piece of his focus, the rumbling of the mechanical hinges alone telling him that they reached a very important spot.

Mechanical hinges.

All he managed to notice before his legs started to carry his forward again was the overall construction of the door. He wasn't an expert in architecture or any other technical stuff that some dragons in his town specialized in, but even he had to admit that this mechanical construction was a work of art. Precise and with care for details.

Tiny mechanism put together with such care that it would put nurturing houses to shame. He impulsively glanced towards his paws, examining his toes and the green claws attached to them. While flexible, his toes allowed for a good climbing grip, but there was no way they were nimble enough to put such mechanism together. Not even an expert in his town would be able to do that, paws unfortunately grow with age as does experience in a specific field.

Whoever did this deserved all the praise he could get, maybe one of these weird people he saw in the city was responsible for it?

He would really want to know.

If he wasn't shitting himself from fear right now.

The City Hall was gloom, the braziers barely giving any light as if the shadows of this place would be too thick to handle and were slowly feeding on the fire. The statues adorning the Hall in this dark atmosphere looked like shadows of crippled elders skulking around in the night.

Not to mention the smell that made them both groan in disgust, it was a foul stench of dirt, sweat and unwashed bodies, something that you smell whenever you walk to close to a garbage pit. The floor was sticky, making Cloudas grunt when the scales of his paws touched the uncomfortable ground.

There were many prints in the dust covering the ground, many people walked here before them and yet it seemed like no one bothered to bend their knee and clean the dirt away. The floor was forgotten.

For some reason the idea about forgetfulness sent a shiver down their spines.

Without any warning the door closed behind them, the thud that reverberated throughout the hall sounded like a roar of some monster that just awoke in the depths of the Dark Realms. When the thin ray of light that was coming through the opened door shrunk to a dot and then completely disappeared their first notion was to move back until their back hit against the raw surface of the slammed shut entrance.

The Hall went almost entirely dark.

They wanted to turn around, bang at the door, scream at people to release them. A foolish notion of a child that got locked inside a dark closet as a result of a stupid joke.

There might be something wrong going with the city, but it is important that they won't give into despair, do not let primal fears get to them, this is the first rule of survival. Mind always wants to make the worst of even a good situation, the power of suggestion is immense.

Without turning Hunter began to feel the door, running his hands down the frame until his hands finally got to a hold of one of the handles. He pulled at it gently, knowing that the door open from both sides and don't have any locking mechanism. He wanted to only open them slightly, just a delicate hole to let some light in at his own wish, a thing so simple but it would calm his mind, making him aware that he is still in control of the events.

He pulled.

The door didn't budge.

His tail froze and a gulp of saliva dropped down his throat, so big and rough that it made the sensitive skin inside burn in irritation.

Come on Hunter, don't me a weakling, you might be a cheetah, but you still have enough strength to get some door to open, it was constructed by the moles for Ancestor's sake.

Another pull.

The mechanism rattled, in the darkness the clinging of gears sounded like wicked laughter.

The door remained closed.

His fingers turned blue, the stress cutting off the blood flow to them.

Cloudas shivered all over, soul already knowing that they were locked inside this creepy hall, yet eyes, big and pleading, turned towards Hunter, looking for the one thing the cheetah believed will be with them.

Hope.

Hope for the admission of guilt, hope that the feline companion will admit with embarrassment that he is weak and has no strength to open the door.

Hunter didn't look at him, staring ahead with a blank stare, forearms flexed, blue hands pulling at the handle again and again, brain not even recording the futile attempts at freedom.

The gears of the door kept on chuckling.

Cloudas was speechless, there was no point in asking, no point for any words, they were in a shitty situation without a visible exit. Something he was familiar with all too well, dead, crappy ends were his specialty. Whatever has a hold on this city, and there was definitely something whispering to the people's ears, wanted them here.

It decided that another part of its play will begin here.

Question was if their role in this story ends here.

Wind be damned, past, present, or the future, it didn't matter, it looks like no matter where he goes he still ends up like someone's or something's plaything in the end.

Hunter's hand slowly slid away from the door and rested on the handle of his bow, gripping it in a learned way that would allow him to extract it quickly when the need arises.

Arises.

The need was already here, he should arm himself, every muscle of his body demanded it. The fingers however played a silent melody on the grip of the wooden bow. The hall was scary and dark, but it is still the royal building where the Guardians conduct business, they might be here and despite everything rising a weapon against the leaders of Warfang is something his honor won't allow him to do.

Not with a good reason.

And even if reason would be there he would still have troubles committing to the act.

"Hello?" Cloudas blurted out, jumping back as if the voice he could keep no longer inside would punch him back

Furry fingers gripped the bow, tugging at it slightly, the weapon tilting from its resting place with ease.

No answer.

They both narrowed their eyes, trying to pierce the shade that enveloped the City Hall. Due to the braziers and weak light coming through the windows the hall was not entirely dark, but quite murky, like a swamp in the night. Both sources however were unable to bring any sort of comfort, the first struggled against the shadows while the windows were unable to let the shine in due to the dirt stuck to the glass, thick and sleazy as if it was night.

"Something is watching us" the wind dragon hissed through clenched teeth, leaning towards the cheetah while his eyes never left the object of fear ahead of them

Hunter glanced at the scared green eyes of his companion and trailed the ray of his sight to locate the same point of focus. He did it with ease, the stretched out bulge of shadows was easily visible, the dancing shadows playing against the shaded frame, cutting and circling over it.

A body?

Is it a body?

He blinked, craning his neck forward, observing intensely the figure ahead. The sway of the shadows was hypnotizing, it was so difficult to focus, how little the mind needs to start panic and make things that aren't there. For a moment he no longer saw a body there, he saw nothing but a thick, swirling mass made from an entire colony of worms set on devouring each other's abdomen.

Worms set on devouring each other's abdomen.

He saw something like that already.

"Danox?" his lips moved on their own, head leaning a bit farther, eyes adjusting to the darkness, piercing through the black veil

His hand began to burn, the freshly healed one that got pierced no so long ago, a thought about scratching the itch flashed across his mind, yet before his limbs could react to the order the idea was gone, together with the burn on his hand.

It had moved to his chest which he immediately touched, feeling not his fur under his claws, but the soft, clicking surface of his favorite medallion.

More light got into the hall all of a sudden, the sun outside had to dodge the clouds and attack with higher power since it managed to slip a stronger ray through one of the dusty windows, the light landing perfectly on the shrouded in darkness figure.

It was a body.

Rough and raw, polished, bloodless and fake.

A statue.

"A statue" Cloudas exhaled a deep breath of relief, despite the scary circumstances his voice rung with a tone of indignation, considering the architect of this place as the worst idiot in all of the possible universes

His green eyes noticed more of the stretched out shadows, yet this time the comforted mind had no troubles discerning the silhouette behind the black veil, recognizing the features of several more statues.

All of these statues blankly staring ahead, their presence not interesting to them.

They were all cramped together, squeezed together like a big family trying to fit into a painter's frame.

"Who the fuck sculpts so much? You guys have a statue fetish or something?" the irritation that pulsed in the wind dragon's veins vented out again, despite the ugly tone it was a welcome change, both of their hearts took advantage of it and took a break, anything was better than fear

Hunter's ears flattened on his skull, he wasn't sure how to respond to the accusations, he wasn't the type that pays attention to architectural changes. Still even if the answer eluded him, the big number of statues caught his attention still, if he had to guess, he would say the number of statues were smaller.

He leaned in even farther, the stretch forcing a step forward from the legs to maintain balance, in that moment his eyes noticed something else on the bases of some of the artificial dragons, the flattened ears shot straight up, black tips perking up like nipples of an excited female.

Many of the statues were covered in blood.

He was certain that this little detail was never there before.

The massive door behind them began to rattle, hard and loud, as if on the other side someone was pulling every possible handle.

The unexpected sound made them both jump, this time Hunter had no hesitations, he withdrew his bow and aimed the tip of the sharp arrow at the shaking door that rattled so much that they seemed to be at the edge of breaking apart.

Despite the fierce tempo of his heart his hands remained steady.

Something that couldn't be said about Cloudas who cringed and basically dropped onto the ground, his whole body trembling. The only thing keeping him from running away was ignorance, no matter what he would do, in this unfamiliar place, wherever he would go he would feel the same.

Terrified and lost.

"Watch our backs" Hunter hissed, bow aimed at the quaking as if in fever door, whatever was banging at them seemed to be huge, the massive entrance groaning in agony, ready to burst from its hinges

"I don't want to turn around" Cloudas uttered, pressing both forelegs against his head

A loud snap echoed throughout the hall, from the sound of it one of the gears broke.

One of the door's wing began to swing forward slightly, enough to create space in the middle through which sunlight should shine through, but the only thing that slipped inside was a long, black, tendril the size of a fat snake.

"Our backs, now!" he barked out, stench of burnt fur filling the hall, the medallion began to sizzle his flesh

He set an arrow loose, it impaled the tentacle with a rattling sound of a wooden spear piercing a bark.

Did he miss?

How when he sees the arrow protruding right from the monster's flesh.

The black snake seemed to be surprised just as well, freezing on the spot, even the door silenced their banging.

With a whine Cloudas forced himself to turn, he let out a horrified scream when his sight was blocked unexpectedly by a rough frame just centimeters from his nose.

A statue.

The shock pushed him back, yet he didn't budge much, rump stopped by something. As he turned around to check if he didn't bump into Hunter accidently, he noticed that his eyes couldn't see anything else but rough, raw frames, everything was blocked by work of sculpture.

Statue after statue.

He made a complete turn, the surroundings remained the same all the time.

Statues surrounded him from every direction.

This time his presence was not indifferent to them.

They were leaning over him, each and every lifeless snout, unfinished pieces without eyes and nostrils, blank stones leaning down over him like healers do over a patient's bed.

The statues started bleeding stony tears from the places where their eyes and mouths should be, black spots appeared on the mouth and eye sockets, growing and growing, pushing more rock out of the way.

Drilling.

Something black was drilling through the stone.

Tongues, these are some deformed tongues pushing out to eat him.

"HELP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and momentarily began to choke, some debris fell right into his gaping throat

Hunter reacted to the scream, gazing towards Cloudas who was coughing on the ground, convulsing as his body battled for life. He spotted him lying among flickering figures, their forms so hard to discern, almost ghostlike.

Were those the statues?

The ghostlike figures adopted more solid forms, they were definitely statues, they appeared around Cloudas, silently moving through the shadows.

But it is impossible, statues don't move.

The forms flickered once more.

His chest began to hurt, he reached towards it, gripping the sizzling with heat medallion, the warmth filling his entire body, the wounded harm exploded with a powerful bolt of pain, it felt as if his hand just got amputated.

He dropped on his knee, drawing the aching hand in front of his eyes, fear gripping his heart, brain already knowing that there will be no hand there, but a stump.

He took a whizzing breath.

The hand was intact.

The breath that left his throat kicked the dust from the floor.

It was his mind playing tricks on him, the power of suggestion is undeniable..

Thud of a wood.

His eyes widened, the heated hand by the symbol on his chest gripped the bow tightly, another drew an arrow, arrow that was sent cutting through the air right at the massive tentacle still frozen between the wings of the door.

The arrow clashed with the beast with a metallic clang this time, breaking into several pieces.

The tentacle evaporated into a black mist, as it cleared a blue light flashed at him as if in irritation, a sapphire inserted into the door, it glared at him with its flawed surface, the flaw tiny, exactly the seize of a sharp tip of an arrow.

Fear.

The puppeteer is playing on their fear.

One of the shades of the Dark element.

"It's not real" his lips moved, he heard the words, yet the whispering voice did not sound like him at all, ringing with a feminine touch

Thumb fell down, grazing the symbol of hope once again, instead of hitting the smooth surface though his fingers were met by a gentle gust, a delicate blow of air.

Warm.

Anxious.

Emotional.

A breath.

"It's not real" he repeated, this time the words he spoke echoed throughout the hall, he glanced at the massive door, its solid frame unmoving and silent

Fake.

He got up from the ground, flinging the bow back in its place and dashed towards his companion, thrusting his hand forward so sharply that something jumped over in his shoulder. The frame of a figure blinked in front of his eyes, getting more solid with each second, yet when his hand touched it, the silhouette puffed, hissing away in the same form of a black mist like the tentacle.

The statues weren't here.

"It's not real!" he gripped Cloudas by the shoulder

The wind dragon screamed in horror, he didn't dare to look, but he was sure that one of the black tongues wrapped itself around his shoulder. Driven by panic, he snarled, twisting his head to bite at his tormentor, before his teeth could clamp though something pulled him, dragging him right at the statues.

He flew right through the statues.

They were eating him.

This time he clamped his teeth, the snap of his lips resonated inside his skull.

Nothing happened.

He bit empty air.

And then the world went dark, black spots filled his vision for a second, head forcefully thrown to the side, cheek beginning to burn. Blood dripping from his lower lip, the clenched together fangs slipped over the soft surface of his mouth, cutting the delicate structure there.

He got punched.

Paw slammed against the hurt cheek head momentarily shaking from side to side, flicking tears away, the world clearing in front of him, once more revealing the surroundings to his perception.

The statues were gone.

All he was looking at now was Hunter's worried and guilty expression.

"It's not real" the cheetah said, his face so close that he felt his breath on his nose, both furry hands risen in the air.

"The statues Hunter" he mumbled incoherently

"Tricks of the mind. Fear magic"

He massaged his burning snout, looking in disbelief at the now empty spot that not so long ago was his prison.

"Something hit me"

"I had to punch you, I apologize, you were unresponsive and aggressive when I dragged you out of your illusion"

"Dragged me out?" he repeated softly after the feline, restarted brain connecting the dots, if it wasn't the tongue that pulled him then he never attacked what he thought he did

His eyes shot wide open, head twisting towards Hunter.

"Did I bit you?!" he shouted at the cheetah, accidently spitting at him

"Almost" he wiggled all of his fingers at the drake "You almost took my hand off, but I managed to slip away from your jaws"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!"

"No matter. We must focus, this is definitely not over yet"

They both got up, springing on their legs in a matter of a single second. Their eyes gazing down the gloomy hall. It was Cloudas who turned his head first, looking back at the door through which they got in here.

Peaceful.

Silent.

Inviting.

"We can leave, the path to the door is free"

"No" Hunter shook his head "Whatever is ruling this city brought us here, it knows we foiled its plans, if we get out now, it will probably turn the entire city against us. We are sentenced to play its game and despite everything, staying in this tormented hall is safer than being outside"

"In the wilderness, the path that is the most inviting is most likely always a trap"

Cloudas gulped and then balked soon after when the bulge of saliva settled in his stomach with an echoing thud of a boot.

His entire body paralyzed by shock.

Another thud.

Then another and another.

It was not his saliva and restless stomach.

Those were footsteps and they were getting close.

Hunter prepared his bow, honor can wait, their opponent already proved that they need to put their survival first.

The thuds echoed with a rhythmic, slow pace.

Footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Both their instincts kicked in, demanding that they find some sort of cover, yet their legs remained in place. While finding cover would be the wisest tactical approach, they weren't sure if it would make them safer in any way.

Dark magic rules this city and it commands the shadows. The City Hall was dark as a grave, pressing their bodies against one of the shrouded in blackness columns would be like putting themselves willingly on the palate of their hungry adversary. It was no telling what can hide in all those shades.

Silhouettes began appearing from the long corridor that connected the City Hall with the Mess Hall, they were several of them, some smaller others higher, the size of an adult cheetah.

"More hallucinations?" Cloudas inquired, squinting his eyes at the materializing figures ahead

A clang of a chord resonated inside the building, fallowed by a silvery flash.

Hunter's ears twitched, recognizing the sound.

A bolt from a crossbow.

Cloudas howled in pain, shoulder exploding with heat similar to blazing fire, he reached to the shoulder, catching something stiff and solid in his grasp, warm blood trickled down onto his clenched paw.

"Not a hallucination! Not a hallucination!" he stumbled backwards, jumping out of the way of another bolt that cut through the air soon after

This was a typical mole weaponry.

With this enlightenment in mind his eyes managed to finally pierce the darkness only to find out that the figures were not figments of imagination, but real people.

His people.

With blank stares and almost mechanical moves as if their joints would be rusted like in some old machine.

Three cheetahs and two moles, one of the feline's was twisting his body backwards, preparing to throw something.

He aimed at him.

Hunter dashed swiftly to the side, bending on his legs, his timing was perfect, he avoided a hurled spear that if he stood in place would run cleanly through his throat.

"Take cover!" despite his previous worries the attackers left them without a choice, they had to use the shrouded columns as their support

"We're on your side!" Cloudas gripped the projectile tightly, toes slipping over the blood that quickly began to paint the bolt "Shit!" he removed the projectile with one, swift motion, tongue of crimson liquid poured from the hole, dirtying his white scales

Two more bolts were fired at him, chips of marble fell from the column he was hiding behind.

"They are not listening" Hunter answers desperately, hand sliding down towards his belt, the handles of the daggers never felt so heavy before

These people act like the two moles that once committed an act of terror in the hospital and tried to murder Iris for some reason.

Whatever this power is, it was here far earlier than any of them could imagine.

"What now?" Cloudas yelled from the other side

The footsteps were getting louder, it won't be long before they stop missing.

"We fight"

"You know I can't!"

"You can. You are a dragon, if you don't know how to throw a punch, charge with your horns" he swallowed, knowing precisely what consequence that would have for their enemies

"We will try subduing our opponents first, don't forget however that your survival is what matters the most. Have you killed before?"

Cloudas froze, for a second ignoring entirely another strike of a bolt against the column, as well as the chip of stone that cut him right under the eye, drawing a shallow, red mark.

They were right when they said that the consequences of a crime will follow you to the end of your days.

"Yes" he admitted bleakly, thrusting a claw into the wound, muffling the scream of his conscience under a hiss of pain

Hunter nodded without a word, as cruel as it may sound it made matters easier.

"Withstand my friend and have hope" his thumb run over the medallion, it was hot as a lava yet his finger managed to fight off the heat, cooled by the soft panting breeze that wafted from the symbol

He couldn't tell if this was another trick of the mind or not, truth be told he didn't want to know. Discarding comfort in situation like this would be tragic.

"Have hope my friend!" he yelled, poking the medallion, it seared the fur on his thumb to a crisp

Never before he felt so calm.

"Because she is with us now" he whispered reverently, the dagger in his grip felt as heavy as a feather