FSE

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When I was just a young fox cub, some kids used to bully me. They think it's funny, picking on me, teasing me, making me feel weak and inferior. I hated it when they did that. Not just because it hurts but also because it's true. I was weak. I really was compared to them. They hurt me a lot. That's when my dad came. Every time those kids would bully me, my dad comes in to make them go away and protect me. This kept going on and on until the day my dad told me something. It wasn't something that I'd expect; after all, I was still just a young cub back then.

"Silver," he started. "I know how hard it is for you getting bullied a lot."

"I know, but that's okay, daddy. That's why you're here to protect me."

"Yes, but, you have to understand that I can't always be there to protect you."

At first, I didn't know what he meant by that. "What do you mean, daddy?"

"Someday, you're gonna grow up and chances are, I won't be there for you anymore."

"But why? Where are you going?"

He didn't say anything.

"You have to be there. You can't leave me. You can't leave mom and the rest of us 'cause you're my dad, right?"

Still no answer.

I started to cry. What did he mean by that? He's my dad. He can't leave us. He has to stay here. With me. With us and the rest of the village.

"Silver, please understand. Someday, you have get stronger and protect your mother and two sisters when I..."

He didn't finish. I cried even more and hugged him tight. He can't leave. He shouldn't leave. And I know he'll never leave, but he's right about one thing. I really do have to get stronger. To help my dad protect us.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Can you teach me how to get stronger?"

He smiled. "Sure."

And he did. It turns out my dad was an expert in martial arts. It's weird I never noticed it until that time. Then again, he never brought it up before. He started teaching me about self-defense and all the other basic stuff. I started to get it eventually. I'm still no expert in it, but at least now I know a thing or two. The bullies left me alone soon after that little "accident" I did to one of them. I was getting eager to learn more and more. But then, it happened. The day he was talking about came true. The wolves came in and just...killed him.

Those were the memories. But now I have to let them go. I have to keep moving forward and forget about it all. All the sadness. All the grief. Just flush them out of my mind. The sun's rising from the east (or maybe it's the west) and a new day starts. I've been walking in these fields for who knows how long. I got out of the forest and I'm probably far away from the village already. By now, the wolves must have noticed that I'm missing, unless of course they're still hungover from last night. But if they haven't noticed, then I'm sure my mom has. I wonder what she's thinking. I wonder what my sisters are thinking. Are they worried? Are they looking for me right now? Who knows?

The field's filled with nothing but grass and some flowers. There's a gentle breeze blowing behind me and the weather is sunny, with a few clouds in the sky. I breathe in the fresh air and start to relax a little. I could smell the flowers, the trees, everything. I never got to enjoy the smell of nature back at the village. All I could smell was, ugh, never mind.

I continue my way when I start to think. If the wolves do find out that I'm gone, what's gonna happen to mom? And my sisters, what are they gonna do to them? Are they gonna punish them? Torture them and force them to tell me where I was? No, they can't do that. They have no idea where I am. The thought of them getting beaten up makes me stop a moment and I start to worry. Are they going to kill them? Maybe, it's better off if they did just die. At least they don't have to deal with any more pain. Then again, what difference does it make? My mother goes through hell just to keep my sisters and me alive. They could have done horrible things to them even if I was there. The thing is, now they have an excuse.

I continue walking through the fields and start to feel like I've been here before. I don't know why. Have I really gone to this place before? I doubt it. I don't remember coming here before. Unless... unless it was with my family. But the last time we all went outside the village was years ago. Then, I remembered. No wonder it all looks so familiar. The grass, the flowers, the scenery. I remember now.

We used to come here. My mom, dad, my two sisters and I used to have picnics around this area. It was such a peaceful place. Very few furs ever come by here so we have the whole place to ourselves. We used to play here a lot. Sometimes my dad would tell us stories about nature and how the world works while my sisters and I just listened. Those were happy times.

But that was a long time ago. About two or three years have passed, and I can tell this place has changed. Some of the flowers have died and turned brownish gray, the grass has grown taller, and the place just looks so different, and yet seems so familiar.

I continue walking, hoping it would still be here. And it still is. Not too far away from our usual picnic spot is a church. We used to come here to pray. Well, I'm not really the religious type, but if God really is there... Never mind, that's not important.

This place looks like it hasn't been touched for awhile. The metal door's is all covered in rust; grass is taller than it usually is; there are some cracks on the walls showing that this place is really old and is close to breaking down (which I hope not). I wonder if it's still same inside. I open the rusty doors and step inside. I was wrong.

This place has changed. The church benches are all out of place, and slightly broken. Most of the pillars have broken down. And there's a huge gaping hole or two on the ceiling. What happened here?

Then, I remembered, the Wolves. Surely they must have passed by here on the way to our village. And I guess they did this. But why? Are they against religion or something? Do they have something against God? I don't know.

I take a few steps inside and scan my surroundings. It must have been a long time ago when they got here. This place doesn't look like it's been touched for over two years. Maybe, I wonder...

I walk across the hall and notice that each step seems to let out a small creak on the floor. That can't be good. I walk towards the altar and see. It's still here.

When we first visited the church, there were some flowers growing around the altar. My parents couldn't explain how this happened, and neither did anyone else. The flowers just grew here, right out of the church floor. It's crazy, I know. But the flowers looked nice. Each one either has the color of yellow or white, or maybe even both. They smelled pretty too. This brings back so many memories.

I came closer to the patch of flowers surrounding the altar and crouched to get closer. I was going to pick one out but, that doesn't seem like a good idea. Instead, I kneel down, and started to pray.

Why am I doing this? I'm not quite sure myself. To be honest, up until now, I really don't know what to do. I'm lost. I don't know where to go. I don't know who to go to. I come here to see if it's still here and then what? Go back out there to go somewhere I don't even know? Maybe...

'Please, if you're really there; tell me, what should I do?'

I'm starting to get desperate and praying to God doesn't sound much of an option, but it's worth a try.

'I don't know where to go. I'm lost. I'm alone. Should I go back? Or should I go somewhere else?'

This is silly. If God really is there, then where is he? Why isn't he answering?

'Please, give me a sign. Give me a sign that you're there. Tell me where I should go!'

Nothing. Just silence. This was stupid. God isn't there. He never was. But just as I was about to stand up, I felt a breeze.

I looked up to see that the hole on the ceiling is letting in a gentle breeze. The wind gently blows my fur and the flowers around me- wait a minute. The flowers.

I look back down and inspect the flowers again. They seem perfectly healthy. But how? They can't grow on their own. Back then, the pastor took care of them. He's probably dead by now. Then who tended to the flowers? Someone has to take care of them. If that's true, then who did?

"Well, well, well, look at what I have here."

The long silence gets broken by a voice. Reflexively, I stood up and looked around for the sound. I look back to the doorway to find a wolf. Oh crap... They found me.

"What's a little fox doing all by himself out here, hm?" the wolf says.

He takes a few steps towards me and I take a few back. I carefully scan the wolf and realize that he's not the same ones from "StarHound". He doesn't have that strange mark on him. Then again, I could be wrong. He has some similarities with the wolves from the village. He's tall, about 6'3 feet. His fur looks black but has a little blue in it. He looks really strong and he could probably break me if he could. All of his features are just so intimidating and scary. The one that has my attention the most is his eyes. They're light blue, the same color as the deep ocean.

What should I do? I'm scared as hell right now with this stranger looking at me. Okay Silver, calm down. Remember you're not entirely defenseless. That's right. My dad taught me how to defend myself. But I doubt that's going to keep me alive for long. What else can I do? Stand my ground? Make myself look like I'm not a pushover? That could work...

My mind snaps back into reality and I see the wolf coming closer, smiling. Why's he smiling? Does he enjoy the fact that I'm scared right now? Does he even know I'm scared? Well, I'm backing away. That's something.

"What do you want from me?" I said bravely. I stop backing up and stand where I am.

He chuckles, "You're money, you're stuff, everything." He reaches out his paw. "Give it to me, now!"

His voice is threatening and powerful. So he wants my things? Of all the bad luck, it had to happen now. Okay, I guess I have no choice.

I slip off my backpack and drop it next to me. I have to defend myself.

"If you want it, come and get it yourself!"

I put up a defense stance, the kind that looks like you're trying to make it look like you're strong.

His smile changes to a frown. "Alright then..."

The second he starts moving, I charge right at him and strike his face. But instead, he catches my paw. A little irritated, I send another blow followed by another and he staggers back. I then land a kick on him. I was expecting him to go flying out, but instead, he catches my foot and throws me at the wall. Ouch, that hurt. I land on my back on the wall but I was still standing, a little dizzy, but still standing. I look back at him and he comes running towards me and sends a punch at me. I duck and he hits the wall. I heard a crack behind and I looked behind me. Yikes, this guy IS strong. He just cracked the wall. I run to the side and try to pull myself together. But he comes back at me and sends blow after blow of punches. I block some of them but he landed a few to my chest and I stagger back. He sends another punch at me but I catch his hand and drive a kick to his side. He backs away as I land another kick on him but he caught my foot and he threw me right across the altar. Luckily, I was able to stick the landing unharmed.

"Oooh, you're a tough little brat, aren't you?" he teased.

That tears it. I run towards him and grabbed his neck and threw him away towards the door and into a pile of church benches.

"Holy crap..." I gasped for air. "H-how did I even d-do that?"

It's surprising enough that I was able to defend myself to a wolf this big, but being able to pull off something like that. That's different. I know that I'm not THAT strong. So how did I do it? Maybe it's just the adrenaline thing. Yeah, that's probably it.

I sat down on the ground to get some air. Well, it's good to know my father's training didn't go to waste. I'm just glad it's over now. At least, that's what I thought. A few seconds pass when I suddenly hear someone clapping. I stand up again and look around to see who it is. I look back to the door and see. No way, that's not possible.

I look back in shock and see him still standing, his evil grin right across his face.

"You fight well. For a fox." He teased again.

How did he do that? Maybe he just got back up on his feet faster than I thought. After all, he's really strong. But, he doesn't even look like he broke a sweat. Despite all that fighting, how could he remain unscathed?

"What? Surprised to see someone knows how to make a clone?"

What is he talking about? A clone? I look down to his side to see what he meant. And then I saw him. A body that looks exactly like his. Well, not exactly but, it looks just like him. So, this whole time, I was actually fighting his clone.

"H-how did you d-do that?" I stuttered.

He chuckles. "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

I look back down to his clone and watch it slowly fade away. It's like it turned into black smoke and flew away.

"Alright then..." he takes a step closer. "Where were we?"

Damnit, this is bad. This is really bad. I could barely keep up with his clone, what chance do I have against him? I'm tired, exhausted. Not to mention that size advantage he has. If I'm lucky enough, maybe I'll survive this.

I take a deep breath, swallowed my fear and put up my defense stance.

Not a second even passes when he kicks a wooden chair towards me. Fortunately, despite being surprised, I was able to smash the chair with my backpaw. I look back at him only to find him gone.

"Hey! How did you?!"

I look around frantically searching for the wolf, only to get caught off guard as I feel his breath behind my neck.

"Peek-a-boo..." he whispers.

Before I even had the chance to react, he grabs the back of my shirt and throws me right into a pillar. His strength was so incredible; he threw me hard enough to break the pillar. I fall to the ground on my back in pain.

'Damn, he's too strong. And fast too...'

I struggle to get myself back up, but my backside hurts too much. I can't get up. I lay there gasping for air. I'm so exhausted and hurt. I lay there for a few seconds and hear footsteps coming towards me. I look up and see the wolf coming closer, and closer. I inch away from him in fear. He laughs.

"What's the matter? Can't get up?" He crouches down next to me. "What happened to the little fox that just beat the crap out of my clone? Not so tough now, are you?"

He lifts me up from the ground effortlessly. "This is what happens when little bitches like you bite off more than they can chew."

Before I can even say a word, he tosses me back at the altar. At least the flowers broke my fall, but that didn't help the pain I was feeling on my body. I must have hit that pillar really hard. I still can't get up. I'm out of breath. Out of strength. I can't even sit up. I lift my head up a little bit and see the wolf checking my backpack.

"Hey!" I try to yell at him but I only let out a yelp instead. I tried again and I guess he heard me now.

He turns towards me. "What?"

"That... That's not yours!"

"Hmph, whatever." He tosses my bag back to where it was. "You don't have that much anyways."

He walks towards me and pulls out a knife from his pocket. I whimper in pain as I try to inch away from him again. But he pulls me back and lifts me up.

"Alright then..." he places the knife close to my throat. "Before I cut your guts out, would you mind telling me what's a little fox like you doing out here all by yourself?"

I couldn't speak. My throat is a little dry and I'm fighting for breath. I just stare into his light blue eyes, begging for him to let me go.

He brings me closer to his face. "Well? Aren't you gonna talk?"

I try to open my mouth and talk. "I r-ran away..." I whimper out.

"And why did you run away? Did you want to see the world or something? Or are you just sick and tired of living under your parent's roof?"

Hearing him say that makes me mad. I try to lift my arms and force him to let me go. But, like I said, I'm too tired and in pain to even do anything.

"N-no..." I managed to whimper. "M-my village... It got... C-captured... B-by a bunch of wolves... Like you!" I snap back at him at my last words. Fury and rage fills up my body, not like it helped much.

I was expecting him to force his knife into me. But instead, he lets me go. He releases his tight grip on me and I fall back down to the flowers. I look back up to see him walking away.

"Hey!" I yell at him.

He turns to me. "What?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from here..." he replies and turns back.

What did he just say? He's just gonna walk away? Just like that? That makes me so...

Angry. Anger fills me up and I get up on to my feet, just barely, and snap back at him. "So is that it? You come here, beat the crap out of me, try to take my things, and then just leave?!"

There was a short silence and then he said. "It looks like it." He replies, coldly and proceeds to walk away.

"I hate you!" I yell again. "I HATE you! And your kind!"

All that anger starts to dissipate and turns to sadness. I fall back down onto my knees and begin to- no. Not now Silver. Don't you dare. Crying's not gonna help you. It won't do anything but to make you feel worse. I keep telling myself that. After all those months under the wolves I always try to hold my tears in. Because I knew that, crying will only make my mother and sisters even sadder. But, I just can't hold it in anymore. For so long I kept it in. Now, I just can't do it.

My tears start to fall from my eyes and I begin to cry. I cry, and cry, and cry even more. Who am I kidding? Coming out here? Thinking I can keep myself alive and safe. But I guess the world proved me wrong because I just got my ass kicked and I'm pretty sure I broke a bone or two somewhere. This is it for me. I should just go back.

I continue to cry and suddenly hear footsteps coming towards me. I look up to see him again.

"Hey there, don't cry. I hate seeing a cute face like yours get ruined by tears." He says in a calming voice.

Cute? Cute?! He just kicked my ass! He shouldn't come back here and start complimenting me!

"Go away..." I turn my head away from him. Then, I feel his paw on my face, wiping away the tears on my eyes.

"Come on, let's get you up."

I hesitate a little bit. But I accept his help anyway. He lets my arm on his shoulder and he helps me on to a church bench. Why am I accepting his offer to help me? Why is he even helping me? He almost killed me just awhile ago. Is there something wrong in his head or something?

"Show me where it hurts." He tells me.

I point at my legs, and then at my arms, and then at my shoulders, and pretty much everywhere else.

"So, I hurt you pretty bad then." He smiles, not the evil kind.

I know it's a pretty dark kind of joke, but I couldn't resist smiling a little bit. I stop crying and wipe away the tears left on my face.

He reaches at his back pocket and takes out a bottle. "Stay still..." he says to me as he pulls out the cap of the bottle and pours the liquid all over me. In almost a few seconds, the pain all over my body slowly disappeared. How did that happen?

Wait, I've heard about these. The elders call them "Potions" or something. They were said to heal injuries or sicknesses. But, why does he have one? And why did he use it on me?

"Feeling better?" he asks.

I nod.

"So, uh..." he starts to talk but looks like he's lost in his words. "Sorry for almost killing you."

It was a weird apology. But, at least he means it, I hope.

"It's alright. I'm okay now." I don't really know what else to say. Should I thank him for using his potion on me? Then again, he is the one who got me hurt in the first place. So, what should I say?

"So, uh, what are you doing here?" I ask.

He thinks for a moment and answers, "Well, I saw you come in here. I thought you were easy prey so I, um..." he gets lost in his words.

"You were gonna try to mug me, right?" I say bluntly.

"Yeah..." he replies.

This is a really awkward situation. The wolf that almost killed me is apologizing and conversing with me. What else am I to talk about?

I was about to say something when he breaks the silence. "So what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Well, like I said, I ran away from home."

"Yeah but, of all the places to go, why come here?"

"I don't know." I shake my head. "I just don't know anymore. I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do. I'm starting to regret about my decision leaving my village."

I was about to continue when he sighs and stands up. "Alright, come with me."

"Huh?" I look at him, puzzled.

"The nearest town is about 200 miles from here. I'll take you there."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, as a sign of my apology. I'll take you there."

Should I accept his offer? He's a total stranger and I don't think I can trust him. And if he's lying, what's he gonna do to me? I don't have the slightest idea what, but there's nothing else I can do but take a chance and see where he's going with this.

"Alright then, let's go." I stand up slowly; making sure every part of my body is still okay.

I follow him across the hall when he stops halfway. "I just realized we haven't properly introduced ourselves."

I smile a little bit. "I'm Silver. Silver Estheim."

"Damien Shadowclaw."

I follow him outside but stop by the doorway for a minute and look back at the church.

'I hope this place stays the way it is. I hope...'

I close the door behind me and follow Damien.

"So, we're just gonna walk all the way there?" I ask.

He chuckles. "Only if you want to. But it may be faster if we ride on my motorbike."

His what? Motorbike? I've heard that name before. I heard some furs ride on it like a car. Only it's a little smaller.

"Here it is." He directs me to a giant set of wheels he calls a "Motorbike".

"Wow..." I stare at awe.

"Is this your first time seeing one?"

I nod. "We don't usually see these back at my village. They drive trucks instead of these."

I watch Damien turn on the engine and sit down on the motorbike.

"Well don't be shy, come on." He gestures me as I sit down behind him. "You should probably hold on, seeing as this is your first time."

What does he mean by that? Hold on to what? The roars of the engines scare me a bit and I hold on to him. Oh, so this is what he meant. The engine gets louder and louder and soon, we start moving. We get faster and faster. I look back at the church to see it get farther and farther away.

So here I am. In the hands of someone I just met. Still unsure of where I'm supposed to go. As I hold on to him, I began to think. What am I going to do? He's taking me to a town, and then what? And why is he even helping me? He almost killed me just a few minutes ago and now he's acting all friendly and helpful all of a sudden. Then again, why did I even accept his offer for help? He's just a stranger and I barely know him. What am I gonna do?

All these questions are gonna have to wait as I my eyes start to get heavy. I hold on tight to him, making sure I don't fall off, and then I close my eyes, and went to sleep.