FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER 2

A couple days later, the couple was walking down a path that eventually led to the Temple, the title the Wols gave to their home. Firus was thinking over the strange knife they had found and what it might mean, when he heard a branch snapping behind them, and realized that they were being followed. He waited a few seconds then looked over to Sayuri, seeing that she had noticed the noise as well he asked, "How long have they been following us?"

"For about an hour or so, you didn't seem troubled by it so I let it slide," She replied.

"Not being troubled by something and not noticing it in the first place are two totally different things," he explained. "Next time, please at least whisper in my ear to make sure I noticed."

"Sure thing," she said, blushing slightly as she realized that had their stalker wanted to, he or she could have killed one of them because of her mistake. She licked his cheek, "Sorry, I should have known better."

"It's alright, just let me know in the future. But this time I actually think I know who's following us," he told her with a smile.

"And who would that be?" She asked, curious as to how a familiar step could actually escape his notice.

"I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting my half-brother, have you?" He asked her starting to smile even wider.

"No, but I've heard a few stories, even some that said he could actually use magic." She shuddered at the thought. Simply thinking of magic made her a little uncomfortable.

"Well, he can't. He's a shaman, not a spell caster, the spirits he communicates with grant him access to their powers when he wishes, as long as he follows a few rules." She started to relax as he explained this. "In any case, I believe it's finally time the two of you met." He then put his fingers to his lips and gave a high whistle, changing to a lower tone and back to a higher one in quick succession. He then turned around quickly with his arms wide open as what seemed to be nothing more than a gray blur shot from the forest as if from a bow.

"FIRUS!!!" The blur seemed to shout in a slightly high voice, as it collided solidly with his chest, causing him to stagger back a little as he closed his arms tightly around it.

"Kanto! How are you little guy? Better yet, what are you doing here, and how did you find us?" Firus said to the thing he gripped tightly in his arms.

As she looked closer, Sayuri could see that what looked like a gray blur at first, was in fact a wolf. And not a Lupanos like Firus and herself as she had expected, but a full-blooded quadruped wolf.

"I'm great now that I've found you. I've been looking for you for two days I'll have you know." Kanto said indignantly.

"And you never would have found us if we had cared to not be found. But that doesn't answer my question. What are you doing here, and HOW did you know where to look for us?"

"Actually I came looking specifically for you, and in reality, I was just starting to look for you. There had been anonymous reports made of sightings of you from Gryma. After that, I knew that all I had to do was follow the road and I'd find you eventually. So I left the Temple and started off. By the way, who's your mate?"

"She's not my ma--" Firus started to answer, but was cut off mid-sentence by an elbow firmly lodged in his ribs, causing him to drop Kanto who landed lightly on his feet. "Sorry, hold habit from the Academy. Kanto, this is Sayuri. Sayuri, this is my half-brother Kanto."

Kanto held out his paw and Sayuri realized that he was actually much larger than any other wolf she'd seen, he was almost up to her waist. She took his paw and shook it with her own. "I'm sorry, but I don't really see the resemblance. You're a full-blooded wolf aren't you?"

"Full-blooded Great Wolf," he corrected, sounding slightly offended. "Firus' father was a Lupanos, my father wasn't. But while I tended to take after my father, he tended to take after our mother (at least in his manner), due to the fact that his father was killed shortly after he was born. Our mother always told us it was Highwaymen that killed him, but Firus figured out the truth. He had been working for the Wols, back then they were still hated with a passion almost everywhere. When one of the town officials heard what he was doing for them, he ordered his personal assassin to kill him. I never understood why that actually pushed him to become an assassin himself though."

"So what did his father do for the Wols?" Sayuri asked, completely enthralled with this insight into Firus' past.

"He was collecting the wild magic." Firus answered her himself. "And I became an assassin so I could kill that man that robbed me of my chance to know my father, as well as carry on his work."

"And did you?"

"Kill the man? Oh yes, I did. And I made it as slow and painful as I could, I made sure the bastard knew how much pain he had caused me. Kanto said it happened shortly after I was born, but in fact I was four years old when my father was taken from me. Four damn years old! I knew my father by that point, and I knew I loved him." At this point he had to pause to wipe a tear away. "And you're damn right I killed him, but I had him in my hands for two weeks before then. And I made sure those two weeks were a living hell for him." Firus said these words without any kind of emotion showing on his face. In fact he almost seemed... serene, peaceful, almost happy that he had done it, but absolutely no fear or shame, remorse or regret showed itself in any measure.

Sayuri found it hard to believe that he could torture a man for two days let alone two weeks, but as she looked into his eyes, she found that he was telling the truth. Realizing what kind of hell it must have been for him, she put her arms around him, hugging him close. He responded in kind, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You know, I hate to break up the tender moment..." said Kanto "But if we don't get back to the temple in two days, then Tabol is going to be really mad. He told me that the message you received said it was urgent that you come back as soon as possible, apparently his "as soon as possible" and your's are completely different. He said he expected you back three days ago."

"And what may I ask is so important that I was expected to run myself to death for it?" asked Firus.

"He said that there was someone you really needed to meet, and that you wouldn't be sorry at all."

"And who is that?"

"He said it was someone that could actually use wild magic."