The Fire Child: Chapter 3
The Fire Child: Chapter 3
It was darker than midnight. In the darkness, Draden could feel the soft fur of his mother as she held him in a tight embrace. She was slowly rocking him back and forth as she cradled him. He could feel her chest vibrating with gentle murrs of affection as he nuzzled her. A warm orange glow engulfed the little wolf. He was happy, the happiest he had been in his whole life. It was heaven.
The rocking slowly stopped and the feeling of her soft fur against his disappeared. Had she let go of the wolf pup? The warm glow surrounding him slowly faded away as he noticed that she had let him go. Pinpricks of light started to show through the darkness. Were they stars? What happened, where was he? More importantly... where was his mother?
The small wolf pup peered out into a dark alley. Near the end of the alley there was a streetlight, illuminating the distant city streets. Where he was wasn't illuminated. It was concealed in darkness.
Draden had been running through those brightly lit streets throughout the night. He quickly darted from anybody that got close to him. He was sure they were chasing him. How could they not want to catch him after what he had done? Who was chasing him? He was not sure, but somebody had to be after him. It seemed like he had been on the run for days, but for all he knew it could have been just a matter of hours. It was all such a frantic blur, nowhere had really seemed safe.
The wolf pup whimpered at the thought of being caught. What would they do to him? He couldn't imagine, but it was sure to be bad. This was the first place he had been that seemed to have any form of safety at all. The lack of light in the alley made it easy for the black wolf pup to hide; he blended right in with darkness.
Not only did he seem to blend in, but he had found a shelter of sorts. It was a large coat that had been discarded in the alley. The previous owner had worn holes into the sleeves and the seams were torn, clearly why it was left in the alley to begin with. The holes didn't bother Draden, the coat was far too big for the small wolf pup to wear, not to mention he wasn't shaped right to wear clothes like that. No, Draden used it more like it was a blanket. It was big enough for the pup to hide his whole body under, which he had done. It kept him dry, warm, and hidden. A perfect shelter for a pup in need.
Draden saw a shadowy figure come from the brightly lit streets into the alley. He retreated under the large coat; only his dark gold eyes were visible as he watched the newcomer cautiously. The wolf pup was poised to flee, leaving behind the safety and comfort of the coat forever, if need be.
The shadowy stranger had started sniffing at the walls, seeming to search the alley. The streetlights from outside the alley were causing too much contrast for Draden to make out much more than a vague shape of the shadowy stranger. The stranger was coming closer; Draden retreated further under the large coat. His heart had started racing, hoping that the stranger wouldn't find him and would just leave. He knew this must have been who was searching for him; they would most likely punish him when they found him.
A blast of cold air burst into the alley, hitting Draden directly in the face. The wolf pup closed his eyes tight for the moment that the wind rushed against him. He shivered, slowly opening his eyes to look at the stranger. The shadowy figure was looking directly at him. Draden's heart was going a million miles every second as he realized that the wind had blown the coat clear off of him. A familiar voice came from the shadow covered stranger, "Draden?"
Draden's eyes snapped wide open. The wolf pup immediately jumped to his feet, engulfed in bright orange flames. He heard the voice call out from behind him, "Draden?" The wolf pup ran forward until he came to a wall. He quickly turned, cowering low and whimpering as he stared across the cellar in fear.
He was staring directly at Ketch, who was standing on top of a crate next to an open window. A cold gust of wind came in through the window, hitting Draden directly in the face. The fire that engulfed him died out almost immediately as he realized what was happening. The white wolf pup climbed down off of the wooden crate and approached Draden, "Another bad dream?" Draden slowly nodded. His heart had slowed down and he took a few deep breaths, calming himself some more.
Ketch had woken up before Draden and had opened the window. He had called out to Draden in an effort to wake him up and was about to go get him when the smaller pup leapt up in flames and ran across the room. Luckily, the floor was made of cement and relatively unharmed by the fire.
Ketch went back to the crate and climbed onto it again. He turned around to look at Draden and said, "Come on, we should get going before somebody comes down and finds us." The black wolf nodded and padded over to the crate. Ketch had a bag that he must have found in the cellar and stuffed with some goods. The white wolf pup carefully put the bag outside the window and climbed out, turning around to face Draden.
Draden climbed up onto the crate and placed his paws on the window sill. The wolf pup kicked with his hind legs, pushing himself up to the window. Ketch grabbed onto him and pulled him the rest of the way through.
As soon as Draden had gone through the window and was sitting on the outside sidewalk, Ketch was whisked up into the air by a pair of black hands. A voice came down, saying, "Gotcha, ya little thief!"
A black cat had grabbed Ketch, holding him up off the ground, facing him away from him. Draden lowered himself into attack position and began snarling at the cat. He was ready to pounce and tear into the feline if he had to. Ketch started wriggling violently in the cat's grasp, making it hard for him to hold on, but the cat had too good of a grasp on the white wolf pup. Ketch growled and shouted, "Let go of me!" He kicked behind him, hitting the cat in the stomach. Instantly, the cat let go of Ketch and doubled over, groaning.
Ketch ran over to Draden and turned around, letting out a snarl and balling his fists, ready to fight. "Nice kick, Ketch..." the cat groaned out as he took a glance up at the two wolves. Ketch and Draden both stopped and blinked, staring dumbfounded at the cat. How did he know Ketch's name? Ketch suddenly started laughing and said, "You almost scared the shit out of me, Snail!" Draden tilted his head, staring at Ketch in confusion. He knew this cat? Draden didn't understand what was going on.
Ketch looked over to Draden, smiling, "It's alright, Draden. This is Snail, he's harmless. It was just a joke." Draden gave Ketch a hesitant smile, still not sure about this Snail person. The black cat stood up, groaning again, "I regret that joke... you could have broke a rIB: "
Ketch nodded, "You bet I could have, but I didn't, so quit whining. Besides, that ought to teach you for messing with me." Snail rolled his eyes at the last comment and looked over to Draden. He grinned and said, "Taking care of ferals, Ketch? I have trouble seeing you as the type that would be able to keep a pet alive."
Ketch glared at Snail, "He is not a feral. Even if he was, I would do just fine taking care of him." Snail nodded his head and said sarcastically, "Uh huh, right." He looked Draden up and down then said, "He looks like a feral to me." Ketch glanced over to Draden, and then shouted at Snail, "He is not a feral! He just has some sort of disease or something." Draden whimpered and looked up at the older wolf. He didn't know that he was sick. He felt fine, what was wrong with him? Ketch smiled at Draden as the younger pup stared up at him. He patted the little black wolf on the head and said, "Its okay. You're going to be fine."
Draden gave Ketch an unsure smile and looked over to Snail as the cat spoke, "I think he is just a feral." Ketch glared at Snail again and shouted, "No he isn't! He can talk and think! Ferals suck at that." Snail grinned, "Yeah, I don't see many ferals talking or inventing things. And I haven't seen him do either of those either!" Ketch let out a sigh and looked over at Draden, "Draden, say hello to Snail so I can prove that I am right."
Draden looked at the cat and shivered. It had started snowing and the wind was blowing against his backside. The cat and white wolf pup were staring anxiously at Draden, waiting for him to speak. Draden's eyes moved hesitantly from Snail to Ketch, who nodded eagerly for Draden to continue. "Go on, Draden, you can do it..." Ketch said in a slightly encouraging, perhaps a little mocking, way. The smaller wolf pup looked directly at Snail and stuttered out quietly, "H-h-hi.... C-can we go inside?" Ketch gave a triumphant grin towards Snail and said, "See? He isn't a feral!" Snail nodded his head in agreement, "Alright, I suppose he ain't a feral. You're right this time, Ketch." Draden whimpered and the black cat looked down at him saying, "Ketch, I think your friend is cold."
Ketch looked down at the smaller wolf pup. There were white flakes of snow sticking in his fur. The wind blew another gust, ruffling the pup's fur and causing him to shiver and whimper again. Ketch looked over to Snail, "Yeah, I guess so. He does look a little cold." The white wolf pup looked over to the building they had just crawled out of, "Is this place open yet?" Snail nodded, "Yep, just opened a little while ago. You two got out just in the nick of time."
Ketch went over to the cellar window that they had climbed through and pulled it shut. He picked his bag up out of the snow and walked over to Draden. Snail had gone to the entrance of the building and was holding the door open for them, "Shall we go in?" the cat said grinning over to the two wolf pups. Draden quickly darted into the room and stood a little distance from the entrance. Ketch and Snail followed the black wolf in, letting the door swing shut behind them.
Draden cautiously looked around the room, taking in the scenery. It was a large room with a good portion full of tables and chairs. Along the walls were couches and end tables. Some of the end tables held candles and some held plants. The walls were decorated with paintings of many different people and places. There was even a large fireplace with a big comfortable looking rug in front of it and a few armchairs. There was also a bar along a portion of one of the walls. Standing behind the bar was a female wolf. She had snowy white fur and was wearing a big brown apron. She smiled at them as they entered.
Snail walked over to a table, setting down a large backpack that he had been carrying the whole time. Ketch headed over to him and climbed onto a chair. Draden slowly padded over to the table, still marveling at the room. It had to have been the nicest place he had ever been in. He climbed up onto one of the chairs and continued to look around the room.
The wolfess came out from behind the bar and over to their table. Draden just took notice of her as she stopped at the table and smiled saying, "Can I get you three anything?" The two wolf pups turned their heads and stared at Snail. They clearly didn't have any money, but maybe the older black cat did. Snail nodded his head and said, "Yah, get us some tea, please? Oh, and some honey with it." She nodded her head and asked, "Is that it then?" Snail nodded back saying, "For now, yah." She grinned and said, "M'kay, I'll be back with your tea then."
Draden watched the wolf as she walked off to the bar again. He smiled and wagged his tail as he watched her. Ketch made a strange face at Snail and said, "Tea? Aw... I was hoping for something.... Stronger." The cat laughed and said, "It's too early for that, pup." Ketch snickered, "Is not. It's never too early for a bit of fun, Snail." The cat nodded his head in agreement with the pup, saying, "Yah, that is true. But it ain't no fun to drink so early in the morning." Ketch rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever."
The wolfess returned to their table carrying a metal tray. She set a tea cup and spoon in front of each of them, and then placed a jar of honey in the center of the table. Draden smiled at her, wagging his tail as he watched her pick up the tea kettle and fill each of their cups with the hot brownish gold liquid. He leaned forward as she poured it into his cup, happily watching it fill the small cup. He looked up at her as she set the kettle on the table for them to use later, and gave her a big smile. She smiled back and turned around, taking the tray back to the bar. Draden watched her eagerly as she walked away, wagging his tail and smiling. He had forgotten about the tea.
Snail looked over to Draden and smiled, saying, "Ketch, I think your friend likes the waitress." Ketch looked over to the white wolfess, then at Draden who was still watching her excitedly and snickered, "She's too old for you, Draden." Draden looked over to Ketch as he heard his name and tilted his head, not sure what Ketch meant.
Snail reached into the middle of the table, getting some honey with his spoon and stirring it into his drink. The black cat looked over to Draden and said, "Aren't you going to have any tea?" The small wolf pup blinked and looked down at his forgotten cup of tea. "Would you like me to put some honey in it?" Snail offered. Draden nodded his head eagerly. The cat got another spoonful of honey and stirred it into Draden's cup. "There yah go." Draden smiled in appreciation at the cat and reached out to the cup with his paws. Even though they were shaped more like a feral paw than a hand, they were far more flexible than a feral paw. It still took both paws to hold the cup, but he was able to do so without spilling it. The wolf pup took a sip of tea; it had cooled down enough for him to drink without problem. He drained the cup and set it back down on the table smiling.
The cat looked over to Draden and said, "Good, huh?" Draden nodded his head in agreement. He enjoyed the sweet tea. The cat refilled Draden's cup and added some more honey. Draden only took sips of the fresh tea; he had gone back to watching the waitress cleaning behind the bar. After a while she disappeared behind a door and Draden had to find something else to do.
Ketch had begun having a conversation with Snail about something that Draden wasn't interested in. However, Draden had found himself interested in the cat. Why was he called Snail? He was clearly a cat, not a snail. Perhaps it was what he was wearing that had earned him the name? Draden took this time to examine the black cat. He was tall and slender with black fur and those stereotypical green cat eyes. Snail was wearing all brown, maybe leather? He had a thick jacket on that went down to his knees. He was wearing a hat; Draden believed he had heard it called a beret before. It had two metal springs in it that sort of bounced as the cat talked. Draden snickered, finding this to be quite ridiculous looking. There was no point for the springs that Draden could think of, other than to look like antennae. Perhaps that was why he was called Snail?
Snail noticed the little black wolf staring at him and grinned, "I bet you're wondering why they call me Snail." Draden nodded his head; the thought had come across his mind once, maybe twice. The cat grabbed the large back pack that was sitting next to him and shook it a little. There was the sound of clanking metal as he shook the pack. Draden looked the pack up and down. It had a metal frame to hold it all together, and had multiple bags and pots and pans strapped to it. "It's because I carry my home on my back, just like a snail. Everything I need is in this back pack." The cat said. Ketch piped in as well, "And because you are so slow." The two wolf pups laughed as Snail rolled his eyes.
The waitress came up to their table carrying the metal tray again. She pulled a large plate of scones off the tray and sat it in the middle of the table, saying, "These are on the house, for the pups." Draden wagged his tail happily and smiled up at her. She smiled at him and patted him on the head. Ketch reached to the plate and grabbed a scone, wolfing it down as the waitress addressed Snail, "Need anything else?" Snail shook his head, "No, I think we're good. Thank you miss." She smiled and said, "You're welcome." Draden watched her walk back to the bar, wagging his tail happily and grinning at her as Ketch grabbed another scone.
Ketch looked over to Draden and said, "I think she likes you." Draden looked over to Ketch, whose face was stuffed with the scone, and said excitedly, "I like her too. She's so beautiful." Ketch gulped down the scone and grinned at Draden, "You should go tell her that. Maybe you'll get lucky." Draden gave the other pup a bashful look and whispered, "Y-you th-think s-so?" Ketches nodded eagerly, "Yeah, go tell her." Draden looked nervously to the waitress who was working behind the bar. He wasn't really sure what Ketch had meant by getting lucky, perhaps he meant they would get more scones. The wolf pup looked over to Ketch again who gave him more encouraging looks.
Draden climbed down from his chair and slowly approached the bar. Ketch and Snail watched him with great interest as he crossed the room all alone. Draden heard the door open and stopped where he was. He looked over to the door and saw that a fox had entered the room. The fox was wearing baggy blue jeans and a black dress shirt with fancy wings painted on it. He was wearing a pinstriped fedora, and was about half a foot shorter than Snail. He had a warm laid back attitude as he glanced casually around the room then took a seat on a couch.
The waitress walked over to the fox and spoke with him for a short while, writing something down on a notepad and going back behind the bar. Draden padded up to the bar and sat on the floor looking up at her. She leaned over the bar and smiled at him, "Can I do anything for you?" He gave her a bashful look and shivered, then quietly said, "Th-thank's for th-the sc-scones." She beamed at him and said, "You're welcome, sweetie." He gave her another bashful look and whispered, "Y-you're b-beautiful." She gave him a big grin and exclaimed, "Aww... that's so sweet."
She reached down and picked him up, his tail was wagging excitedly and he was surrounded in a faint orange glow. She leaned forward and gave the wolf pup a kiss on his forehead, then set him down. Draden almost melted on the spot. As soon as she had set him back down, he burst into bright orange flames. The waitress stood still, somewhat shocked by what had just happened. Behind him he could hear the fox come to his feet immediately and Ketch leap off of his chair shouting, "Shit! Shit! SHIT!!!" Draden suddenly realized that he was surrounded by fire and let out a loud yelp. He ran out of the room into the snow.
The fiery wolf pup leapt into a pile of snow, melting it instantly. The flames, however, stayed where they were. Not long after, Ketch came running outside and crouched down by Draden saying quickly, "its okay, Draden. It's okay. Everything's okay." Draden quivered violently and whimpered loudly. He didn't believe Ketch, or even really pay attention to what the wolf was saying. He was terrified. He had ruined everything by catching fire. She wouldn't like him now; he had probably burned down the building. Oh, god... she wasn't going to end up like his mother, was she? He whimpered loudly at the thought. Snail and the fox had come outside too, staring at him intently. Where was she? Was she okay?
Finally, the white furred wolfess came out of the building. Draden's fire died down almost immediately as relief washed over the pup. He looked over at Ketch who was still trying to assure him that everything was going to be okay. Draden hugged the other pup, who hugged him back. After a while, Ketch looked Draden in the eye and said, "I'm so sorry, Draden. I really shouldn't have made you do that... I should have known...." Draden gave Ketch a reassuring hug and let go. Ketch got up and took a few steps back.
The waitress came up to Draden and said, "You poor thing... are you okay?" Draden nodded his head. He heard Snail whispering to Ketch, "What just happened?" As Ketch explained that Draden was able to create and control fire, sort of. The fox was listening intently to Ketch talk as well. "Let's get you inside and out of the cold... Draden?" The wolfess said, questioning his name. The black pup nodded his head, assuring her that Draden was his name. She picked him up and carried him back into the building. The little black wolf pup hugged onto the tall white wolfess, murring into her fur as she carried him.
She set him down on one of the barstools. The wolf pup looked around, seeing a large scorch mark on the floor where he was standing earlier. He looked down in shame and said, "Sorry..." The wolfess smiled and gave him a quick hug, "its okay. Accidents happen, it's nobody's fault." Draden nodded, not really believing that it wasn't his fault. After all, he did it.
She stood up and looked down at him saying, "Stay here, I'm going to go get a rug to cover up this burn." Draden nodded at her as she turned and went down to the cellar. Ketch walked up Draden. The white wolf pup was carrying the bag that he had taken from the cellar. He set it on the counter and sat on the stool next to the black wolf pup. Draden glared at the bag and said, "Put it back..." Ketch blinked, looking almost offended by what Draden said. "But.... You don't even know what it is." Draden glared at Ketch and growled, "Put it back, now!" Ketch let out a sigh and said, "All right..."
The white wolf pup pulled out a large bottle of wine from the bag. He walked behind the bar and hid the wine on one of the shelves. Draden leaned over the bar, watching Ketch to make sure he didn't just take something else. The white wolf pup came back around the bar and sat next to Draden, "Happy?" Draden gave him a curt nod.
The wolfess returned with a rug rolled under her arm. She rolled the rug out over the burnt spot on the floor and smiled at Draden. "There, good as new." Draden gave her an uneasy nod, it wasn't really any better, you just couldn't see it. Snail walked up and said to the waitress, "I'll pay for the tea, but I don't think I can afford the damages...." She smiled at him, glancing at the two pups as she spoke, "I'm sure we can work something out." The cat and wolfess walked down to the other end of the bar where a cash register was. They started talking, but Draden couldn't make out what they were saying. The wolfess turned around and went through the door in the back of the bar, leaving Snail sitting on a stool waiting for her to return.
Draden heard somebody approach and turned to see who it was. The fox had walked up to the two pups at the bar, taking off his fedora and holding it over his chest as he spoke to Draden, "I see you have a gift." Draden slowly nodded his head in response to the fox. The fox grinned and said, "But you have trouble controlling it." Draden averted his eyes from the fox, ashamed of what he did. The fox continued, "Would you like it if I were to help you control it?" This caught Draden's full attention, his eyes going immediately to the fox and his ears perked up, listening. He nodded his head eagerly.
The fox took from his pocket, a piece of metal that had a string laced through a small loop on it. He ran his fingers along the piece of metal. As his fingers ran along the silver colored metal, it changed shape as if it had melted. The metal formed into a tear drop shape, changing color as well to a reflective blue. He tied the string and then put it over Draden's head, resting it on his neck like a necklace.
"As long as you are wearing this pendant, you will not burst into flames." Draden and Ketch both stared at the fox in astonishment. Draden stuttered quietly, "Th-thanks." The fox smiled, putting the fedora back on his head as he spoke, "Helping people is what I do best. I'm a saint, after all." The fox turned around and walked out the door, leaving Draden and Ketch staring mystified at the doorway. Ketch looked over to Draden and said quietly, "We should test it out..." Draden glared at Ketch who raised his hands up, "Just joking, Draden."
The waitress and Snail came back to the two pups, grinning at them. Draden and Ketch looked up at them as the waitress spoke, "Good news! We've come to an agreement. You two will help out around the bar in order to pay for the damage done!" Draden smiled and happily wagged his tail as Ketch let out a groan. Ketch absolutely hated having to do work, especially work he considered pointless. This was something he clearly thought of as a waste of his time. Draden didn't mind, however. In fact, he was happy to do it. He would feel better knowing that he got to help with the problem he had started. Plus, he would be able to see the beautiful white wolfess every day he was there. Snail turned tail and said, "I must be going, have fun working you two." Ketch glared at Snail as the cat picked up his large back pack and trudged out into the cold.