FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Are we there yet?" Larka called up from behind him. Draxuz merely rolled his eyes as he kept looking around for the brush that hid his things.

"You know, you didn't have to come with me if you didn't want to. I -can- make my way around in the woods." Draxuz called back over his shoulder. Larka merely smirked.

"Yeah right. You know as well as I that you wouldn't make it out here without me."

Draxuz looked back over his shoulder at her as she was picking her way along the trail, holding her dress up some to keep from stepping on it. When she saw him looking back at her, she simply stuck her tongue out at him as she closed her eyes. Draxuz merely chuckled and started to turn back, but caught the sound of a yelp as Larka, still having her eyes closed as she tried to take another step, tripped over a root sticking up high into the ground. Draxuz burst into laughter as he walked back to help her back up, getting a glare and a huff as she pushed herself back onto her feet. Draxuz just continued to chuckle.

"What was that about not being able to make it out here without you?"

"Oh, shut up." Larka said as she pushed passed Draxuz to continue up the hill. Draxuz chuckled a bit more as he turned to follow her, idly keeping a link to the stone in his pack. It still hadn't moved at all, and from what he could tell, there was no one around. Anyone dangerous in the woods would have caused the birds and bugs to have fallen silent. But they were far from it, happily making their noises as they called out for mates, or to challenge for territory.

"Hey now, watch where you are keeping your eyes back there~." Larka called back teasingly. Draxuz snapped out of his thoughts and realized he had been staring, quite intently and unintentionally, at her rear.

His eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously. He glared up at her as she started to laugh at his discomfort. "For your information, I was just trying to feel out the woods to see if we had any unexpected company, and to make sure the pack was staying stationary."

Larka winked at him and said "Uh huh, sure, I believe you."

Draxuz grumbled something that she couldn't hear, causing her to giggle and turn back to the path and began to skip a little as the ground leveled. Draxuz shook his head again at the fates for giving him such a strange friend.

He turned his head back and forth as he caught the sounds of twigs being crushed. Draxuz froze and hissed for Larka to do the same. They both looked around and heard another crunch a few seconds later directly ahead of them. Larka pulled her staff around and set herself in a defensive stance. Draxuz called upon his powers and began to pull energy around him.

A white feline burst through the underbrush, spinning through with her sword as she cutting through the foliage. She stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the two intruders, her long black hair swirling about her small form. She instantly put herself into a fighting stance, narrowing her golden yellow eyes as she studied the two. Draxuz and Larka looked to each other and then turned back to her. Draxuz kept a tight lock on his power, ready to unleash it if she attacked.

"Can we help you?" He called out cautiously. The feline continued to stare at him silently, her slightly curved blade not wavering in the slightest as she held it out in front of her. Her eyes twitched from side to side, looking to see if anyone else were around.

"No, I don't think you can. And if you are an enemy of the Emperor, I would suggest you leave this place quickly, they were not too far beh-"

She stopped talking as a figure came out from behind a tree that Draxuz and Larka had just come up from. Both whirled around to face the new threat. As the the figure stepped out of the shadows, Draxuz felt himself weaken and his control on his power slip. At the figure's belt, a ruby colored crystal began to shine brightly. Draxuz closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to refocus his thoughts and regain control. He snapped them open as the figure stepped completely into the light. He was a large canine, covered in patches of browns and black fur. But what stood out from him the most was that as Draxuz watched him, he could see two figures, as if one were imposing itself on the other. Just trying to see it and understand it caused him to have a severe headache. Larka looked at him concerned.

"Are you ok? You look like something just beat the life out of you." Larka said to Draxuz, sounding worried as she continued watching the imposing canine walk closer.

The canine looked down at his belt curiously, shocked to see it shining so brightly. "Well well well. Someone here has a great deal of power, and I know it isn't that pretty little cat."

His eyes looked over the two wolves in front of him, taking a keen interest in Draxuz. He stared at him for a moment, before recognition lit his face. "You! I know you! You are the little bastard that has caused me so many problems for the last 6 years! I will so enjoy paying you back some of the torture I have had to suffer because of you."

Upon hearing his remarks, Larka jumped between the two, her staff held at the ready in front of her in a defensive stance. Draxuz vaguely heard the sound of something hissing. Realizing it was the feline, he turned his head to look in her direction, to see 3 more hunters coming out of the trees facing her. She pulled her sword up close, preparing to fight them all. He heard the sound of a sword clearing its scabbard behind him, and turned back to face the more imposing threat.

"Get out of the way, girl, and you might just leave this place alive. My only interest is that wolf." He said as he licked his lips, eager to draw blood. Draxuz got even weaker, his power being drained from him by the crystal, fell to his knees and his head sank. He was barely aware of Larka growling menacingly at the much larger canine, baring her teeth at him in warning. He ignored her and charged in, sword swinging.

Larka spun around with her staff, making contact with his sword arm. He yelped in pain and dropped his sword, but before Larka could turn to deal more damage, he caught her with his other arm around her neck and pulled her tightly against his body, determined to choke her to death.

Draxuz caught the sounds of her choking, and forced himself to look up. Once he saw her struggling desperately against his tight grip to get air with her feet kicking helplessly in the air, his anger flared. He forced himself to stand up and call his power to him fully, without any focus.

"LET. HER. GO." he growled loudly through gritted teeth as he fought to maintain his link on his power, his body visibly shaking with the strain of the power. Wind began to swirl about his feet, small pebbles bounced across the ground, and small arcs of lightning randomly arced about his body. The canine glanced up and grinned to him. Draxuz, immersed completely in his magic, finally was able to see the canine for who he was. The figure from his past glared at him, overshadowing the body.

"What's the matter boy? I remember what I did to your mother, how it felt to take her life. Do you think you are fast enough to stop me from killing this purple bitch?" He then became aware of something heating up at his waist. Frantically he tossed his captive to the side and began clawing at his belt to get it off. The crystal began to go from a bright red to a dark brown as it received too much power for it to absorb. The smell of burned flesh and hair started to permeate the air. The crystal cracked once, then exploded, taking a large chunk of flesh and muscle out of the canine's leg. He crashed to the ground in a howl of pain and passed out.

Draxuz looked down to Larka, who was up on her hands and knees, coughing as she tried to catch her breath. His anger still raging and needing release, he turned his attention to the other three hunters. They were all attacking the feline, and she was doing her best simply to defend against their blades, but she was quickly losing the battle. Draxuz turned his head toward the sword that lay on the ground. The ground seemed to shift around a bit before launching upwards, sending the sword flying. Draxuz watched as it arced gracefully in the air and landed hilt first into his open palm. Turning his attention to the nearest hunter, he charged into the battle.

The hunter barely caught sight of him in time to block the first attack, but was too slow to block the second that took his sword arm off just below the elbow. He howled in agony as he stumbled back and grasped at his stump of an arm. The other two froze at their comrade's sudden cry, and was quickly dispatched by the feline, each a slash to the throat. Their bodies fell backwards gurgling blood out of their wounded necks.

Seeing the threats ended, Draxuz's grip on his power slipped, his eyes returned to normal and lost their glow. He stood panting, looking back over to Larka who was just getting back up. She called to her staff, which floated from the ground and made its way to her out stretched hand. Looking over to where Draxuz stood, she saw the bodies and quickly looked away, saddened at the sight, her pacifistic views on life toiling with her instincts that told her their deaths were necessary for survival.

Draxuz turned back to the new comer in time to catch her as she fell backwards from exhaustion, her sword clattering to the ground. He eased her down and quickly scanned her for injuries but saw none. He placed the back of his hand near her open mouth and saw his fur move slightly as she breathed softly.

He heard a rustle behind him and spun around with his sword, just catching the other soldier's sword enough to slow the swing, but not enough to keep it from hitting him. The sword tip caught his face just above his left eye near his temple, and drug what felt like for hours down and toward his muzzle, ripping his face open. He howled in pain and rage, his good eye focusing on the soldier. He tossed his sword to the side and launched himself at the soldier, his right hand tightly grasping his neck. The soldier's eyes bulged out in surprise as he started to arch back. Draxuz growled in anger, his eye lighting up brightly, and slammed the wounded soldier into the ground.

He was vaguely aware of the sounds of wet twigs snapping. His eyes continued to glow as the ground gave way beneath the soldier and rolled up around his body, pulling him down and underneath the surface.

Larka came running up, her expression one of horror. "Oh gods, what did he do?! Let me see Draxuz, we need to stop the bleeding."

His attention faltered again as he finally realized he couldn't see out his left eye. Panic set in as his hands roamed around the injury, his breathing coming in short pants as his heart raced.

"I-I can't see out of my left eye!" Draxuz said looking up to her, fear getting a solid grasp on him.

Larka pulled his hand away from the wound and had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from being sick. She quickly pulled a pouch off her belt and sifted through the smaller pouches inside until she found the one she wanted. Pulling out a few of the leaves, she shoved them into his mouth.

"Here. Chew on these, but do NOT swallow them. Now lay back, and let me see what I can do."

Draxuz nodded, and began chewing the leaves. He turned to spit them out but she quickly reached down and clamped her hand over his muzzle. "I know they taste bad, but you have to keep chewing on them. They will help, I promise." She said soothingly. Draxuz simply nodded and continued chewing as he layed back.

He slowly began to feel the effects of the leaves. His face around his injury went numb, his breathing slowed and he could feel his heart return to a normal pace again. Larka placed her left hand on his muzzle and her right near his temple and began to concentrate at the task presented to her. Her eyes began to glow a soft yellow as she slowly started to heal his wound enough to stop the bleeding. Once she was satisfied that he wouldn't bleed out on her, she focused her attention on his torn open eye.

She closed her eyes and pulled herself deeper into her powers, a bright glow showing through her eye lids as his eye began to mend. After a few minutes, Larka's eyes returned to normal as she slumped forward, her left hand quickly moving to his chest to steady herself. Draxuz felt the sudden movement and it was enough to snap him back to reality. He noticed he could clearly see Larka. With both eyes.

"Thank you." he whispered, his mouth dry and burning from the leaves. Larka simply nodded before her left arm folded and she collapsed against him. Draxuz looked up at her inquisitively, and saw her small form moving slightly, indicating she was still breathing and just merely asleep. He dropped his head back against the ground for a moment to clear his mind. His body ached and he felt extremely tired again. He still hadn't fully healed from his magic use the last time. He smiled to himself as he thought of how funny it was that now she was the one passed out from over using her magic. His smile wilted though, because she had done it for him.

He gently lifted her up and slid out from under her, laying her softly to the ground as he got to his feet. He knew his pack was still around and he was going to need it to make a small camp until one of the two females managed to wake up so he didn't have to carry both back to the cave. He looked over to the two bodies the feline had dealt with, and decided that he should probably get rid of them. He called on his power and realized it took a great deal of concentration to get it to do his wishes. After a few minutes the ground began grinding and pulling them underneath like the first soldier he had eliminated. That only left the commander. He narrowed his eyes as he walked over to where the fallen canine lay.

The tan furred canine whined pitifully as he grabbed at the wound in his leg. Blood ran steadily out of the wound and around his fingers and Draxuz could see that he was shaking. He knew that he didn't have much time left to live. As soon as Draxuz stood over him, the canine turned his head toward him, an expression of agony and fear on his face.

"Please. What's happened? Where am I? Where is my little Jenna..?" he blurted out, breaking down into sobs. Draxuz's hardened expression softened immediately, knowing that whatever happened to the commander, he wasn't here now and that an innocent soul was suffering.

"I am so sorry. You were possessed by someone. You were hurt when we tried to stop him. Do you not remember any of it?" Draxuz asked softly.

"No-" He gasped out before giving out one long gurgling wheeze and lay still. Draxuz reached down and closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to whatever god might be listening to guide his soul to a peaceful rest. Draxuz got up and mentally sought out the stone that was still in his pack. He felt it only a few feet away and retrieved his pack. He started looking for a place that he could bring the two females to where they could be safe, and found a small outcropping of rock stuck into the side of the hill. He called on his magic and drug out a great deal of rock and dirt to give them a shelter.

When he returned to the two females, he found Larka still completely unconscious, mostly sprawled out across the ground. The feline, however, was curled up in a ball, shivering. Draxuz pulled out the blanket he kept in his pack and wrapped it around her and picked her up. As he carried her towards Larka, she stopped shivering and nuzzled up into his chest. He paused and looked down at her curiously, not entirely sure what to do. He could tell by the way she was breathing that she was deeply asleep, and must not be aware of what she was doing. Shrugging it off, he stooped down to check on Larka and make her a bit more comfortable until he could get back.

He carefully picked his way down the hill while he held the feline, who's long black hair kept managing to find a way of ending up in his face. Trying to shake it out once caused him to misstep on some leaves and slip backwards on to his rear. After several more minutes he managed to make it to his makeshift camp. He placed her up against the inside wall and used his pack to place under her head for a pillow. He quickly returned to Larka, who hadn't moved at all since he had left, and gently scooped her up in his arms. She whimpered softly for a few seconds and then quieted.

Draxuz looked around the area, listening intently for anyone that could possibly be out and about. His left eye began to throb, so he decided that he should hurry and get his charge put to safety before going and getting the rest of their gear. If he was right, then they would not be safe in the other place, and as soon as at least the white feline woke, they would need to get moving.

He took a slightly different path so not to slip on the leaves. As he rounded a large oak tree, a gust of wind stirred up and blew her hair into his face. He stopped and dropped his head. While they looked nice with long hair, he was finding it to be troublesome. Shaking the hair out of his face, he continued to walk. When he reached the opening, he noticed the feline had sprawled out over the ground, tho still somehow managing to keep the blanket wrapped mostly around her. He shook his head in amazement and placed Larka gently on the ground to the opposite side of the small cave from the feline.

"Now you two get along while I am gone." Draxuz said and chuckled to himself. He walked back outside and looked up through the forest canopy. The sun was starting to set and night was not far off. His head was hurting a great deal, from the trauma of the injury and from using his powers like he had. He tried shaking it off, but that only made him dizzy. Gritting his teeth, he pushed passed the pain and started walking back towards the cave to retrieve Larka's things. He knew that Halaih was important. Something about it was important to him as well, but he wasn't certain why yet. He just knew that he needed to make sure that the staff was protected, along with Larka. He found the little creek that he knew would lead him near the trail to the cave. As he walked along it, looking for the trail his mind wandered different thoughts and memories, about texts he had read that were relevant to his power and possibly about things to come. He was so caught up in his memories he almost missed the fresh set of prints going up to the cave.

He froze, studying it intently. Water was still sitting at the bottom of the foot prints. He looked around slowly, his ears swiveling as he tried to catch sound of an intruder. He went into stalking mode, taking great care to not make any noise as he slowly made his way up the trail. After a few uneventful minutes, he was at the side of the cave entrance. He took a deep breath and spun through the opening.

There was no one there.

Breathing a sigh of relief, but not letting down his guard he quickly moved about the small cave and gathered her things. When he went to the wall to grab the staff, he realized it wasn't there. Panicking, he looked about quickly, trying to figure out where it could be. With icy realization he bolted out the entrance with her pack. His eyes darting along the ground. There were no tracks leading away from the cave.

So whoever had stolen it, had either climbed up or had flown away. He turned to the wall, and instantly dismissed the idea. The surface of the wall was too smooth. There were simply no place to climb up. And the tracks that led up were definitely feet, not claws. Turning back with sudden realization, he stepped back into the cave and scanned the walls, looking for any abnormalities.

He heard a rustle and spun around, but wasn't fast enough, taking a blow to the right side of his face. He felt the world spin as everything turned dark. When he woke up, he thought only seconds had passed and he jumped to his feet, instantly regretting so. He brought a hand up between his eyes as he closed them, groaning from the head rush. After a minute, he was able to open his eyes again and looked around. To his dismay, he had been out for what looked like hours. The sun had long since set and the animals that prowled the night were very active. Looking to the ground he tried to spy the tracks the thief had left, but he couldn't make them out very well in the dark. Sighing loudly he grabbed Larka's pack and began walking back down the path, taking care to walk up along the edges of the trail so not to ruin the prints.

He ran through in his mind what he could remember of what had happened. He was fairly certain that who ever it was was just a common thief. If it had been soldiers, there would have been more and they wouldn't have worried about hiding until they could get the jump on him. And his mind came back to Larka. He felt an immense amount of guilt for having let her down. His ears wilted and his tail hang loosely as he thought of how he was going to break the news to her. He knew she was going to be devastated.

As he rounded the small boulder that was set to help block passer-by from easily spotting their camp, his face lit up with a small smile. The white feline had somehow found her way over to Larka and had curled up against her with her blanket, seemingly seeking a source of heat. He chuckled softly before looking up at Larka and realizing that when she woke, he was going to break her heart.

Letting his head sink, he drug out another blanket and draped it around her. He sat down near the entrance of their little shelter to keep watch, but fell asleep within minutes.