THE FIRE
THE FIRE
By
Illumanati Blackpaw
2313
Swan Valley
The small hermaphrodite kit padded along the path towards hir home, excited, holding hir report card from the teachers. It read A+ on it. Shi also was wearing a badge for hard worker. Reaching the cabin, shi raced through the front door, to find hir mom in the kitchen, busy preparing the evenings supper.
"Momma, I'm home." Shi replied, in the sweet angelic voice, hir tail wagging with happiness.
Sylvia turned too greet her daughter, smiling when she saw the badge and report card, obviously good news, from her daughters behaviour.
"Hello sweety, I gather you had a good day at school?" The adult arctic vixen queried, hugging her kit, giving a kisslick on hir cheek.
"Yes momma." Shi replied, returning the kisslick as shi handed the report card to hir mom to read.
"Daddy home?" Illumanati asked, hir tail wagging.
"Yes dear, he's in the basement. Why don't you go show him your badge? I bet he'll be pleased. Plus, it's also time for your lessons as well." She replied, placing the report card on the fridge with a magnet. Then she returned too the cooking.
"Babysitting night?" the kit asked hopefully.
"Yes sweety, Stephan will be here for dinner in 20 minutes, so you had better hurry with your lessons."
"Ok" shi chirped, hir tail wagging with excitement. Shi love spending time with Stephan, he is so cool and friendly. He always played cool and interesting games.
Illumanati opened the door that lead down too the basement, and found hir father, a skunktaur, busy working at hys desk. Hy stopped work and smiled when shi came bounding over too hym, nuzzling and murring with happiness.
<So how was school?> hy asked, using hys telepathy ability.
<Great> shi replied, struggling too use hir new ability, a trait shi inherited from hir father. Illumanati looked at hir father with hir duel coloured irises, one bright green left eye and a gold coloured right eye. Hir jet black hair shined with majestic grace as it flowed over hir pure white arctic fur. Shi absentmindedly rubbed hir pattern on hir right chest, it was a green paw print on a red circle. Cherrypaw was amazed and curious about the unique mark. Hys pattern was a red paw print on hys right chest, a sign that hy was a telepath of House of Red Paw.
"So, lessons tonight before Stephan gets here?" hys asked, crouching down in front of hys daughter, getting ready to teach hir some basic telepathic powers.
<Yes Daddy> Nati replied, setting hirself ready for the first lesson of the evening.
"Ok, I am thinking of something, concentrate, hard. Can you see what I am thinking of?" hy asked, looking at hys child.
Illumanati concentrated, probing hir father's thoughts, and located one image.
"Yes daddy." Shi replied with a smile.
"Well? What was I thinking about?"
"Bunnies." Shi replied with a giggle.
"Very good." Cherrypaw replied, and then hy thought of something else.
"Ok, what am I thinking of now?" hy asked.
Illumanati probed yet again, located hir fathers thoughts and what hy was thinking now.
"Ice-cream" shi replied, smiling.
"Oh very good, yes. Ice-cream. Ok, now what am I thinking about?" hy asked again.
Illumanati probed, and concentrated, but couldn't envision hir fathers thoughts clearly. So shi concentrated harder, and got a strong powerful emotional image. One that made hir blushes and look away.
"Well? What did you see?" hy asked, knowing that shi will say nothing.
"Ummm you wanna mate with momma?" shi asked, startling him and making hym blush profusely.
"Aah umm ooo wow, how did you know that?" hy asked, embarrassed.
"I probed. Couldn't see anything. So probed harder, and saw you humping momma." Shi replied, also blushing.
Sex within the household was an open topic, and Illumanati was told that if shi needed to know anything about sex, then shi can asked. And shi knew what hir parents did on their nights out together. But the image of hir father rutting hir momma was very strong and emotionally charged for hir young mind.
Cherrypaw coughed and smiled and placed a pawhand on hir shoulder.
"Yes sweety, but that was deep within my conscious, and for you too pick that up without me sensing it, is amazing." Hy replied scritching hir ear and making hir murr.
"Ok, ready for the next lesson?" hy asked.
"Yes daddy." Illumanati replied, and then shi frowned and looked distracted.
"What is it hun?" hy asked, curious.
"I sense, bad feelings." Shi replied, shivering.
"Really? Let me see." He replied, searching with his own powers, and physically shook with fear at the intense hatred coming from somewhere. Somewhere close.
Just then, there came a knock on the door.
"Stephan!" Illumanati chirped excitedly, about too dash up the stairs, but hir father stopped hir.
Looking up at hir father confused, shi saw the worried expression on hys face.
"What daddy?" shi asked, shivering as well, sensing hir father's fear.
Looking at hys daughter with a stern glace, hy placed both hands on hir shoulders and looked hir in the eyes.
"Now hunni, I want you too stay here and lock the cellar door behind me. Ok?" hy said
"Ok" shi replied, nodding.
"And don't come out until me or mommy says so." Hir father said with a stern voice.
"Yes Daddy."
"Good, I'll be right back." Hy said, going up the stairs and closed the door behind hym. Illumanati did as hir father told hir, shi bolted the door with sliding latch, then shi pressed hir ear too the door to hear what was going on in the house.
Shi picked out hir moms voice, raised and frightened, then hir father's voice bellowing. Then shi heard a grunt, and felt a sickening dread that hir daddy was hurt. Then shi heard hir momma scream, which was followed by a yelp, then a whimper.
Then silence, and shi trembled with fear. Shi wanted to open the door and go too momma and daddy, too see if they're alright, but shi remember what hir daddy said.
Then the handle on the door turned, as someone on the other side tried too open the door.
"WHO'S IN THERE?" growled a voice, and Illumanati whimpered and backed away, tail between hir hind legs.
"OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!" growled the voice again, and something banged against it, as if someone slammed against it.
Then another voice spoke.
"Phillip, never mind who's down there, let's torch this place and go, before anyone turns up."
"Fine, whoever it is down there, they'll go up with the rest of the freaks." Replied the first voice.
Despite being scared, Illumanati stayed calm and concentrate on the thoughts and emotions of the two unseen intruders, sensing hatred and contempt towards furs, and the words Humans First came through as well.
Being at school for humans and furs, Illumanati had heard of these bad people, the way they hurt and killed furs, because they were considered inferior to humans.
Now Illumanati was scared and shivering, and shi ran too the other exit from the basement. The stairs that lead outside through the double doors on the side of the house. But shi found them closed, and locked from the outside.
"No..." shi whimpered, banging against the doors, but hir small frame was no match too the heavy wooden doors.
Then shi smelled smoke, coming from above, and shi panicked and ran too the door that leads to the kitchen. Shi grabbed the latch and snatched hir paw away, yelping in pain as it was hot. And smoke was coming through the cracks under the door, slowly filling the room that shi was in. "Momma" shi cried. "Daddy"
Then shi coughed, as the smoke became thicker, and hir eyes watered as it stung. Closing hir eyes, shi backed away and crawled under hir daddy's desk, away from the smoke and the heat of the fire.
"Momma" shi whimpered, curling up into a ball, hugging hirself.
"Daddy" shi wheezed, as the roar of the flames and the smoke thickened until shi couldn't see anything. But hir senses were still strong, and shi sensed lots of emotions, worry, fear, desperation. And shi knew that they were the villagers.
But one stood out, sorrow, panic, frustration.
It was Stephan, hir friend, hir babysitter.
Shi tried calling out too him, but all that emerge was a cough and a wheeze, as shi suck in more smoke and heat. Flames ate through the timber above hir. So shi did the only thing shi could do, shi reached out with hir mind.
<STEPHAN> shi screeched telepathically.
No response, but shi sensed that he heard hir, so shi called again.
<HELP ME STEPHAN!>
Flames and smoke and heat made hir drowsy, shi slowly started too drift off to sleep, and then shi heard a cracking sound, followed by warm loving hands on hir fur, then nothing as shi passed out.
Voices, soft and serious. Cool sheets. Lime scented room. That was the first things Illumanati senses picked up when shi awoke. Shi was in the hospital. Shi also felt a human hand holding hir pawhand. Dark skinned and gentle. Shi turned hir head and winced in pain, but ignored it too look at the young 13 year old human boy, resting his head on hir chest, holding hir hand, obviously asleep. Shi opened hir mouth to speak, but all that came out was a cough. That woke him up.
"Nati, oh Nati. Thank goodness you're alive." He cried, hugging hir tightly, rubbing hir back. Nati murred, hugging back. Then memories returned, and shi struggled, letting go.
Shi tried to speak, but all that came out was a cough, then shi couldn't breath. Nurses came in to give hir a sedative to help calm hir down. Soon shi was asleep again.
When shi woke up a second time, shi just lay there, stroking Stephan's head of hair as he slept.
Soon, the doctor came in for a physical, checking hir vitals, breathing, blood pressure, vision, hearing and vocal.
Stephan left, but came back with a card and balloons. The card was a get well card, but shi noticed other cards as well. Condolences. Reading one, shi suddenly burst into tears, as shi found out that hir momma and daddy was dead. Gone. Never to come back again. Killed. Shi tried too scream, to cry, to make any sound. But all that emerged from hir throat was a wheeze.
Shi hugged hir pillow and buried hir muzzle into the soft fabric, tears soaking it as shi rocked back and forth. Stephan snuggled up with hir, wrapping his arms around hir small quivering body, stroking hir fur and murring soft sounds of support.
<momma, daddy> shi cried, using hir telepathy.
"Hush sweet princess." Stephan murmured, stroking hir ears and cheek, feeling hir tail wrap around his waist.
<I want mommy and daddy back.> shi whimpered in his mind, projecting hir emotions and making him also cry.
"So do I, I want them back as well." He sniffled.
Just then, the doctor came in. Shi was a lovely chakat called Snowpaw, and sensing the two youngsters sorrow, shi used hir ability too calm them both down.
"Ok, so this must be the hero then?" shi asked, looking at the human, who suddenly blushed.
<Hero?> Illumanati queried, looking at Stephan.
"Yes, didn't anyone tell you? Stephan here, smashed opened the door leading into the basement and pulled you out."
<Really?> Illumanati asked, clearly impressed.
"Umm yeah, I did." Stephan replied, slightly embarrassed.
"Yeah, and if it wasn't for Shir Sunset, you both would have died."
"Sunset?" Stephan asked, confused.
"Yeah, our regular nurse. Shi has telekinesis. Shi followed you into the basement and used hir powers too hold back the explosion."
<Explosion?> Nati asked, clearly shocked.
"Yes, the fire must have reached the fuel for the generator, and it ignited."
"Wow... It seems that we both owe Shir Sunset a huge thanks." Stephan replied, hugging his young charge.
<Doctor, can I ask a question?> Illumanati asked, directing the question too hir alone.
<Sure hun, what is it?> the chakat replied.
<Why can't I speak?>
Snowpaw sighed and rest a paw on Illumanati's shoulders.
"I'm afraid that you suffered smoke damage to your lungs." Shi replied, massaging the foxtaur's shoulders gently.
<So I can't speak?>
"Not verbally, no. But it seems you have found another way to communicate." Snowpaw answered.
"Oh dear sweet Nati" Stephan replied, shocked and dismayed at hearing this bit of news.
After the check up, the doctor left Stephan and Illumanati alone and made hir rounds. Nati and Stephan both cuddled and soon fell asleep together. Normally, Hospital policy wouldn't allow visitors to stay with patients, but Stephan wouldn't leave Nati's side. He only left too attend personal business, then he was right back at hir side. And it seemed like the young foxtaur wanted him there as well.
A few days later, Illumanati was well enough to be discharged, and Blacktail and Christine, Stephan's foster parents, were there to pick them both up. It was agreed by the village elders that Illumanati would be adopted by them. Illumanati was more than ecstatic to move in, as shi had develop a bond with Stephan.
A month later, they had the memorial for Illumanati's parents, at the site of the blackened charred remains of hir old home. A yearly occurrence that shi partake on the anniversary of hir parents death.
The trial for the arson was 3 month's later, and thanks to Illumanati's testimony, Philip and Gavin Shore, both brothers, and apparent Human First sympathisers, both got 4 years probation due too them being delinquents and unable to be tried as adults.
Although the punishment was not too the villagers liking, they knew that justice in the humans courts were flawed, and resented any outside human interference in the future.