Raven’s Arrow
I awoke with a start as the final bell rung, signaling that school has come to an end. Students were already filing out the door, their bags packed way before it rung. I sat there in a stupor as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the bright lights. "Addy," My name was called from behind me."Dude come on, I won't wait for you any longer!" Yawning I stood, and turned around to see Tanner, my best friend since second grade. When he saw me, he frowned, "I'm really going to start leaving you if you don't learn how to hustle." I groaned, "'S not my fault, have you tried staying up through 90 minutes of an extremely boring, crone drone on and on about dead dudes?" He chuckled, "Yeah, I have, and I succeeded. You just need to go to sleep earlier 'stead of playing that freaking game all night." "It isn't as easy as you make it sound Tanner, it's my addiction. Besides I told you to try it so you could see what I'm talking about." I said as I pushed open the double doors that lead to the bus lot. "I did, I don't even see what's so addicting about it, it isn't even fun." "Basketball isn't fun" I retorted. He grinned mockingly at me as he shrugged, "Your opinion, not mine." "Whatever," I added sheepishly, which caused Tanner to laugh. We stood in awkward silence as we waited for our bus to arrive, the summer's sun beaming down on us. "Tanner, uh, want to try out the new game I got yesterday?" I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, afraid of the answer. Tanner grimaced, "Sorry man, you know I would, but I'm going on a date with Veronica later." I nodded, of course he did, he always did. Ever since she showed up, it's been Veronica this, Veronica that, but he doesn't realize that they won't be together forever. I know that sounds kind of selfish of me, but it's true. And when she breaks his heart, I'll be there to clean up the mess, just like always. "Don't worry 'bout it. . . I'll just find something else to do." He groaned, clearly aggravated. "Adrian, don't be like that. You're my friend and she's just a current goal." "Yeah, I know the difference, you've told me before," Then I turned to look him in the face, Tanner's dull blues eyeing me curiously. "But here's what I don't get, if they're just goals, then why do you give it all you got?" Tanner raised his eyebrow inquisitively, "What are you rambling on about?" I was about to answer when the bus pulled up, but I just shook my head, before going up the steps. I ignored Tanner's questions the whole time, each one I didn't answer only aggravating him more and more. By the time we got to my stop, I had a headache and I was beginning to get annoyed. Just a few more minutes then, I'd be able to escape into my own world. A world that wasn't filled with ignorant friends, one that wasn't filled with manipulative girlfriends, one that wasn't filled with the problems of real life. I crawled up the stairs that led to my room, my mind on only one thing, Raven's Arrow, an Rpg based on Furs. I was just itching to play it, since I wasn't allowed to play the games during weekdays, dumb parents. But today was Friday, and that meant that I could play as long as I want, just waste the day away, just submerse myself in another life, getting away. My book bag hit the floor with a padded thud, my shoes bumped against the wall as I kicked them off, my hoodie sailed through the air and landed haphazardly on the bed, but none of those mattered, not one bit, because I was minutes away from happiness. I grabbed the black wireless 360 controller from my dresser and pressed the green X in the middle. The machine hummed to life, waking up the TV in turn, showing an all black title screen with a "press start" fading in and out. I was practically oozing with anticipation, I've waited 32+ hours for this, and I hope it's worth it. My thumb hit the start button, and I knew I had made the right decision. Mind-numbing game play went on for hours, and I don't even think I did anything, other than run around in circles to get a feel of the game better. Life-like graphics, real-time elements, npc that actually seemed real, like I really knew them, but the clap of thunder yanked me from my world. I almost yelled, but I regained my composure, stopped the game, and checked the digital clock that sat on my dresser. It read 9:50 P.M., man time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? My parents should be back by now, well my mom should anyway. The crack of lightening light ups my dark room, and I noticed Nangiro, my two year old border collie, curled up at the foot of my bed. Stupid thunderstorm, I flopped on the bed, bouncing Nangiro, who turned to look at me with momentary disdain, before lazily moving to a different spot on my bed. "Lazy dog . . ." I mumbled before turning my attention back to my game. Thunder boomed in somewhere off in the distance, and the lights flickered. I cursed under my breath, I would fucking flip if this thunderstorm took out the power, but I saved it anyway, just in case. Then everything seemed to slow down, almost pause. My body went numb as the lights started to flicker again, Nangiro sprang off the bed, and the tips of my fingers exploded in bright, searing pain that traveled up my body, then everything went black, the last thing I heard was my mother franticly screaming my name, but even that seemed to fade off. "Tosuke," That wasn't my name, but somehow, somehow I just knew that that name belonged to me. "Yo Tosuke, wake your lazy ass up," Something solid came in contact with my side, and it kind of felt like a foot, but something was off about it. I groaned and opened my eyes, my back was sore, my legs hurt, my fingers burned, and my chest ached. Sitting up, I nearly choked, something here was defiantly off. In front of me was a real life anthromorph, a wolf, with dull grey fur, brown eyes that shone with fire untamed and a scar that ran diagonally across his chest. I looked around and noticed that we were in a small room, that had one, lone, dusty, cracked window, that barely let in any light at all, and a dresser that leaned slightly to the right. "What is this?" The wolf looked at me like I was stupid, but then just shrugged, before saying, "Tosuke if you're gonna act stupid then you can just go back home, but I'm continuing." "I'm being serious," Even something was off about me, my voice sounded different, and I was beginning to smolder under this cover. I yanked the cover off of me, excited, but fearful at the same time, and was greeted by with what I expected; fur, paws, and a clump of grey and white fur sticking out from under my leg. I was kind of overjoyed, but what happened to the life that I lived before this one, my mom, my dad, my Nangiro, Tanner, something that was never mine, but one that I wanted for so long. "Jesus, Tosuke, quit being such a baby, crying won't get your way if you ain't home." I quickly wiped at my face, and felt the damp fur, "I'm not crying baka, and something just got in my eye is all, Tsukune." He chuckled, "Whatever, Manuke, but just hurry up. We have to be in Galos City before daybreak, or else we'll miss the ceremony." "Ceremony for what," I asked as I shakily stood from the mat I was sleeping on. He grinned, "The Naming Ceremony, one that tells of our fate." I resisted the urge to stretch, afraid that in doing so would only result in more pain, "Sounds retarded." Tsukune's smile faltered, he opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut in irritation, before storming off through the warped wooden door. I guess that conversation is over. ? I lagged behind my Ani as we followed a worn trail through the woods, sunlight cutting a path through the leaves. But I wasn't worried about where we were going, or how long it was going to take to get there. The only thing on my mind was about how I was going to get back home, I didn't belong here, and it isn't even logical, scratch that, it isn't possible for me to be here. People don't get transported to other dimensions, or taken from their life and thrown into another one. I mean, that only happens on Sci-Fi, right? "Tosuke, you're slowing me down," Tsukune said, but even as he said that he started to pick up speed. Who the hell does that? I started to jog to catch up with him when something glinting caught my attention. I turned my attention to it, a half covered blade, my paw stretched towards it before I even knew what I was doing. When I grabbed the hilt, it was like a jolt of electricity shooting through my body, a momentary sense of giddiness. But I wasn't able to enjoy it long, the blade, to my horror, was covered in blood, the scent still fresh, the blade glistening. Silver covered in crimson, with dark flecks of blood soaked dirt. Then the sickly sweet scent of death filled my nostrils, and I looked to where it was originating. I heard a sharp intake of breath, and everything went dark, "Don't look at it Tosuke." Even though he was supposed to be my Ani, I could tell he was worried, or scared. "Give me the dagger." I did the best I could, blindly passing the dagger behind, his warm, calloused paw touched mine, reassuring, but it won't help, damage done. A lone word swam in my jumbled thoughts, a lone word that caught my attention, one that put an unbelievably large amount of fear in me: Bandits. "Keep your eyes closed, Tosuke," I nodded and did as he told, his paw that blocked my vision was quickly removed, but I saw the body. I saw the twisted look of pain, a gaping hole in his chest, eyes, glazed, but still seeming to follow me, staring through me, but speaking of the horrors this poor creature felt. The bile seemed to rise uncontrollably, and I barely got away from Tsukune when I began to double over. My stomach heaved, the acid burning my throat as it came up, my vision blurring as tears began to well. "Tosuke, we definitely can't afford to slow down now, this kill was fresh, and I'm sure the ones who did this aren't too far off." I wiped at my mouth as I stood up, "What if we run into them?" He looked down at the blade solemnly, "If it comes to that, then I won't let them get us without a fight." Then he flashed a smile at me, before saying, "C'mon Ototo." I ran to Tsukune's side, chancing one final glance at the body, as he cleaned off the blade with leaves. We followed the rest of the trail in silence, more focused on our surroundings and the sounds that were off the path than trying to make conversation. Besides the only thing my mind kept going to was the dead fur and the thought of bandits attacking us. I should just accept the fact that if bandits were to attack us, then that'd be that, there is nothing I, or Ani, could do, to stop that from happening. Tsukune stopped abruptly, his elbow dug into my stomach as I bumped into him. "Nani Kore?" He shushed me and pointed in front of us, "Bandits. . ."