FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 1

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The first two days of the journey up the mountains was full of nerves and suspicion, we didn't dare to stop and rest lest a pack of wolves would catch up to us. We were tired, hungry and running on empty. Aceh stayed behind while we travelled for another couple of hours up the mountain, we stopped and waited for him, we used the last of our food to make a decent meal. The mountain air was already cold but the further we travelled up the narrow mountain roads the colder it got, just a couple hundred feet above us the rocky slopes were white with snow, and according to Eric we were going to be much higher by the time we reached Zangar*.

"Is Aceh going to be okay?" Cody asked with a worried tone as he looked back down the mountain path we had travelled. His ears were flat against his head in worry, occasionally perking when he thought he heard a noise.

"He'll be fine!" Michael assured him.

"Yeah! We all know that Aceh can handle himself, it will take more than a pack of wolves to take him down!" A sharp elbow from Michael made Jason continue his statement after a moment of fast thinking. "But... uh... I'm sure he'll be back with word that we're not being followed!"

"You should eat Cody, you won't be helping Aceh if you get weak from not eating." Eric said as he handed Cody a bowl of some stew he had just finished preparing. Cody hesitated before taking it and silently began to eat his stew, his ears still flat in worry.

I sat next to Cody and watched him, it made me feel bad seeing him that worried, but then again he was probably that sick with worry when I was unconscious in Rengilar*. Cody's biggest fault was how much he cares for his friends.

Eric finished handing out the stew to everyone and we all ate in silence, keeping an eye out for Aceh or potentially a pack of wolves hunting us down. After four hours it was getting dark and the temperature was dropping rapidly. We busied ourselves with finding every available scrap of cloth we could find and strapped them to the Fooshnar* that pulled our wagons. As we travelled further up the mountains it would only get colder and like me the Fooshnar* weren't particularly fond of the cold.

As the sun set between the peaks of the mountains Cody stood watching the road, looking on with a pain expression as he waited for Aceh to return. He had stayed behind to find out if the wolves were in fact following us, if he wasn't back by sunrise we were to go on without him, a thought that was becoming more an more real as the minutes ticked by. I had my doubts that Aceh would be taken down by the wolves, but he would sacrifice himself to stop them getting to us. That was just who Aceh was, loyal and fierce, a good friend. Trying to imagine my life without him was painful to think about, I was beginning to understand what Cody was going through, but he had known Aceh for years in comparison to the mere months that I had known him. Life without Aceh, life without any one of my friends was a thought I didn't want to linger on. I had spent most of my life without friends and family but now that I had it, if I was to go back to my old life, I don't know if I could bear it.

I walked up to Cody and put my arm round his shoulders, he leaned into me and let out a quiet whimper. We stood there until the sun completely disappeared and the darkness of night washed over us, staring down the dark road hoping that our friend would appear any minute, but he never did. I carried Cody back to the wagons and curled up on the sleeping mat with him to keep him warm, a thin blanket to pull over us since everything else had been used to keep the Fooshnar* warm over the next few days. I listened to Cody's steady breathing and slowly drifted off to sleep, knowing that this would be one of the last chance's I was going to get a decent nights sleep for the next while.

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"Cody?" I mumbled as I roused from my sleep, Cody wasn't next to me, where was I? I looked round and after a few moments my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I wasn't in the wagon, I was laying in the middle of the mountain road, alone and no sign of the wagons or my friends. "Cody? Eric?" I began to panic, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I looked up and down the road, unable to see very far due to the darkness. A cold wind washed over me and I shivered. "Michael, Jason?" I cold barely keep a whimper from my voice. "Aceh?" My voice broke. Where was everyone?

I got back onto my foot-paws and began to run up the mountain trail, the way we had been heading, I ran for what seemed like hours. The physical exertion the only thing stopping me from breaking down. I staggered to a stop, my lungs burning and my eyes streaming with tears. I looked up to the moon as it appeared from behind the clouds, illuminating the mountains. I would have considered it a beautiful moment if it wasn't for the circumstances. I let out a stifled sob and from that point the dam broke, I couldn't hold it in any more, I cried my heart out. I had been abandoned, the furs I had considered family had left me behind. Had I finally proven to be too much hassle to keep around?

"You've caused nothing but trouble since we picked you up!" I looked up and saw Eric standing there, his eyes glowing red as he pointed his talon at me accusingly.

"You forced us to run!" Michael yelled from my right.

"You tried to kill us!" Jason yelled from my left.

"We would have been better off without you!" Cody snarled appearing next to Eric. All of their eyes glowing a fiery red. I looked up and the moon had changed from its usual pale white to a fiery red eye hanging high in the sky. The eye stared down at me, the mountains faded away into darkness. My friends images also melted away until I was standing in a dark void with that single eye staring at me. Those eyes had haunted my dreams now for weeks, invading my dreams and changing them into nightmares. What ever those eyes were they unnerved me, sparking off a primal fear deep within me, but I couldn't run from a dream any more than I could fight it; I was helpless.

I watched as a second eye opened, staring down at me with unbridaled rage. I back stepped but my paws found nothing to purchase, I started to fall. I let out a silent scream, my arms flailing, trying to grab hold of something; anything. My eyes never leaving the two blood red eyes that stared down at me.

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I jumped awake, I was welcomed with the sight of Cody still sleeping soundly next to me, his slow and steady breathing helping me to steady my own. That dream was different from the others, they were normally violent, but it was no less disturbing. What the hell were these nightmares? What ever they were they were beginning to take their toll on me, weeks of disturbed sleep were beginning to catch up with me and they were becoming more and more frequent. I needed to clear my head as I wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. I carefully separated myself from Cody and climbed out of the wagon.

"Hey buddy!" I turned to see Jason sitting by a roaring fire, wearing a thick fur coat to keep him warm. "Can't sleep?" I shook my head and took a seat on a large stone across from him. I looked up to the sky and saw that there was a full moon, it reminded me of my dream and how everyone called me a hassle and a nuisance. "Something wrong?"

"No, just thinking." I replied with a shake of my head. "No sign of Aceh?"

"Naw, but don't worry bout him, if anyone can take of themselves it's that pussy cat!" I chuckled at the pussy cat reference.

"You'd better not let Aceh hear you call him a pussy cat!" I grinned.

"I won't tell him if you don't." He chuckled using a stick to prod the fire, the embers floating up into the dark night sky. "It's not like he's standing behind me or nuthin'."

I cast a casual glance behind Jason and saw a pair of ice blue eyes shimmering in the darkness. I slowly rose to my foot-paws and grabbed my knife. Jason noticed my reaction and jumped up and spun round, brandishing his stick like a weapon, the tip of it glowing hot from the fire. We both waited for our assailant to reveal themselves. They slowly stepped forward, I held my breath and unsheathed my knife, the shadowy figure finally stepped into the light of the fire. I let out a sigh of relief as Aceh stepped out of the darkness.

"Geez... don't do that to me!" Jason sighed. "You scared the shit outta me!"

"Pussy cat?" Aceh growled and furrowed his brow, his gaze fixed on Jason. Jason snickered nervously and back stepped a few paces, his hooves clopping loudly on the hard ground beneath him. After a few tense moments Aceh relaxed his glare and took a seat at the fire.

"So any sign of the wolves?" I asked.

"Safe for now." He replied while warming him paws from the heat of the fire. "We keep going up the mountain, best to rest now."

"Well if you're giving the all clear then I'm gonna go to bed. Night guys!" Jason waved as he headed to the wagon that he and Michael shared.

I took my seat again and watched Aceh in silence, the silence of the night broken only by the crackling of the fire and the deep purr emanating from Aceh. It was the first time I could remember hearing him purr, he lifted his foot-paws so that his paw pads were directly exposed to the heat of the fire and he shut his eyes in a moment of pleasure. I can only imagine how cold he was after trekking up the mountain road in the cold darkness. I looked upwards at the starry sky, the moon hidden by a cloud, memories of my earlier dream came back to me. Where would everyone be now if I had never encountered them? In some tavern somewhere celebrating another day of good trades back in Zangar*? Was I really worth all the trouble that I had caused them?

"Don't worry." Aceh grumbled, cracking one eye open to look at me. "Everything will be fine."

"How can you say that?" I exclaimed. "You are all running for your lives because of me! If you hadn't found me then you'd probably be in a warm tavern somewhere drinking, happy!"

"This not your fault."

"Yes it is! You were forced to run from Zangar* because I couldn't control myself! We got caught up in this fight with the wolves because of that! And then I lost control and tried to kill you!" I cried. "How can you say this is not my fault!?"

"Did you know the wolves would attack?"

"No!"

"Did you want to kill me?"

"NO!!" I screamed defieantly

"Then it was not your fault." Aceh was over simplifying the matter and it was frustrating me no end, why wouldn't he just admit this was all my fault?

"But it is!"

Aceh stood and walked round to stand in front of me. He knelt and grasped my shoulder in a firm grip while staring into my eyes, his pale blue eyes capturing mine so I couldn't look away, it felt like he was staring into my soul.

"No one blames you. Is not your fault. We made choice to help you. We made choice to let you stay with us." Aceh's tone was low and steady, his words echoing in my mind. "We stand by choices we made."

"He's right you know." I turned to see Eric, Cody, Michael and Jason. I must have woken them when I raised my voice. Eric stepped forward and took a seat on the rock next to me. "All of our actions have consequences and we must live by them, maybe our lives would be slightly easier if we had never found you that night." I felt a stab of pain as Eric admitted to the fact that I knew was true in my heart. "But, if we hadn't found you then we never would have had the pleasure of your company, and we would have one less friend in this world, and let me tell you this. Friends are the greatest treasure this world has to offer." I looked into Eric's eyes and knew that he was sincere in his words. "We would not trade your friendship for the chance of an easier life."

"Thank you." My words were no more than a whisper I was so overcome with emotion, I was on the verge of tears. I felt three more paws come to rest on my back as everyone smiled down at me, I couldn't hold it back any longer, I cried. I cried long and hard, all the pent up stress and emotion from the past weeks poured out of me. Roses death, the nightmares, my losing control and all my guilt about the deaths I had caused; I cried for all of them. I cried until I had no tears left.

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The next day we left at the break of dawn, I felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The sun was bright but I was far from warm. The chilling wind seemed to suck the warmth from my body and at about midday we noticed that there was a thin layer of snow on the road and rocks as we continued to climb higher and higher. Everyone seemed to have some warm clothing to wear except me, I grabbed my blanket, one of the few that weren't strapped to the fooshnar*, in an attempt to keep warm. From this point on we couldn't stop moving, if we stopped then the Fooshnar* would freeze to death and us shortly after. By late afternoon I had retreated to the confines of the wagon to stay out of the wind.

As night began to fall Eric and Cody piled into the wagon with me and we huddled together to try and stay warm. Michael, Jason and Aceh stayed up to guide the Fooshnar* along the mountain paths, by this point the snow was at least ankle deep and the wind was getting colder and stronger. I was so hungry, but we had no food left. I was so cold but we couldn't stop to light a fire. Even here within the confines of the wagon I could clearly see my breath, and it was only going to get worse before the end.

I awoke with Eric and Cody laying a top me, they were the only source of heat, my foot-paws and arms felt like ice. I had never been so cold before in my life, the heat emanating from Cody and Eric felt so hot that I thought I was on fire, but the stinging pain of the cold in my extremities made me not want to move, it was likely that that burning heat was the only thing keeping me alive at this point. I felt tired, I knew it wasn't a good idea to fall asleep but I couldn't resist.

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My eyes flickered open and I heard a pleased squeak to my right, it was Cody, his tail was wagging behind him as he loomed over me.

"You're awake!"

"So cold!" I complained, my entire body felt numb. I huddled under my blanket and clung to it for dear life,I had to try and keep as much warmth as possible.

"Here, drink this!" Eric handed me a wooden mug. I sniffed at it's contents and recoiled at the strong smell of alcohol. I downed it quickly, not liking the taste in the slightest. I felt a surge of warmth explode outwards from my stomach, but it did little more than stave off the cold. The day was spent in relative silence, we were all so miserable with the cold, especially me. I felt sorry for the others out there in the elements. But they had warm clothes and fur, I had scales and a thin blanket, I wouldn't last long out there. I looked at Cody who was shivering violently under his blanket, I sighed, I hated seeing him like that. I took my blanket and threw it over him.

"Malakye... no, you need this!" Cody squeaked.

"I'll be okay." I lied. I could already feel the cold biting further into my muscles. I felt the cold grasp of fatigue grab me again, I shouldn't fall asleep, there was chance I may not wake up again. I fought against the urge to sleep, forcing my eyes to stay open, but eventually it was a fight I lost.

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"Malakye!" I heard my name and began to rouse, becoming aware that someone was shaking me. "Malakye! Malakye!"

"Ugh... I'm up!" I groaned and tried to sit up. I felt so cold, I could barely remember what it felt like to be warm, it seemed like an eternity had passed since I felt warmths comfort. Cody knelt next to me, it was becoming a habit of his, or mine, to fall unconscious and to wake up with him looking worried. I sat up and began to rub my arms, my breath visible in front of me. I had my blanket back, as well as Cody's. I pulled it up to my neck, and shivered.

"Here take this." Eric said as he reached over and handed me a mug of alcohol. I swallowed it , nearly choking as it burned my throat, I could feel a slight warmth spreading through my body.

"We're nearly there!" Cody said excitedly.

"We can see the gates just ahead, we should be there in a couple of minutes. If we are lucky then there are folks living there who will be willing to allow us food and shelter, even if their not there we should still be able to find some shelter in the caves."

"What if we're unlucky?" I asked, ever the pessimist.

"Then who ever is there will turn us away. In that case we die." Eric replied, his answer sending a cold stab of fear into my chest,

Soon we stopped and Eric headed out, Cody and I watched as he approached the tall wooden gates which barred our path. After a while they slowly creaked open and three dragons stepped out, two of them wearing outfits made of brown fur and carried spears. The other wore a white tunic with a white fur cloak, from the manner of his clothes he seemed to be someone of importance. As he spoke to Eric I looked at him more closely, he carried himself like a warrior but unlike the other dragons carried no visible weapons. He didn't seem to pleased by our presence.