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Shalashka woke with a start, the sounds of screaming filled his ears. The lithe coyote sat up in his oversized and plush bed, the room dancing with orange and red light. Sometimes shadows broke up the lighting. He stood up from the bed and started out the smoky windows and saw what exactly was causing the patterns on the walls.

Silhouettes of both men and women ran passed his windows, the screaming was beginning to become mingled with the sounds of steel ringing. The smell of smoke nauseated the young coyote. With a cough, he backed away from the windows just seconds before he heard a loud crack sounding from the double doors. Shalashka yipped as he nearly jumped out of his skin as he clambered to gather up a black and red kimono to cover his nude body.

Just as he tied the sash around his waist before a second crack sounded and the door splintered and swung open, the sounds and smells amplified now. Shal gave a bark and stepped back, trying to hide in the shadows as a tall, muscular basilisk stepped into the room, followed by a large bellied crocodile. He pressed against a dresser that stood against one of the walls as they came forward.

The reptiles eyes glowed in the fire, and teeth shined as they grinned. "Looks Like 'im." The croc chuckled deeply and walked forward. "Grab 'im so we can get out of here." He growled lightly at the small canine. The Basilisk growled and stepped forward, his clawed hand reaching out for Shal.

Reaching behind him, Shalashka felt his paws touch a candlestick. Gripping it tightly, he swung it around and managed to smash the reptile's fingers which made him step back a couple. This brought him within range for a heavy blow to his head. With a sickening crack, the basilisk felt onto his ally, blood staining the rug under the pair.

"Come on, We've got to get you out of here." a tall wolf spoke, his armor glowing red in the fire light. Shal followed the knight out of the cabin and onto the deck of the ship. The fires on the ship were quickly spreading across the wood of the deck. Many furs fought against each other; large brutish reptiles striking against the swords of the canine knights. On the lower deck, he could see a tall, middle aged coyote with a long rapier. He was pinned against the railing by a large group of reptiles. Behind him was a smaller female coyote cowered as the pirates crept closer, laughing heavily.

"Kriss! Help my father." Shal barked at the knot, pointing down towards the pair.

The wolf growled softly before pushing the young coyote firmly against a wall. "Stay here, prince." He said before jumping over the railing and striking one pirate in the back with a heavy swing of his sword. Shalahka's heart froze in his chest as he watched the fight grow. The two canines fighting hard, but the nearly endless waves of pirates soon took both their lives. the young coyote closed his eyes tightly as his mother began screaming.

He opened his eyes quickly and took a few long strides toward her, a dull thud sounding out in the night skies. brief seconds later, an explosion sent the coyote flying. His ears rang, and splinters cut into his hide as he sailed over the rail and down into the freezing water. Shalashka popped above the surfaces and gasped for breath as he looked back at the ship. It was entirely consumed by flames and sounds of laughter could barely be heard over the blaze. He pulled himself onto a piece of debris. With his head on the wood, he looked up out over the ocean, watching it grow darker as he closed his eyes and fell out of consciousness.

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A large komodo dragon stood above the cowering canine, claws digging into his chest. He stood seemingly miles tall, the only real definition Shalashka could make out was the piercing red eyes that bore into him. He closed his eyes and let out a struggling bark as pressure was added to his chest, the claws digging into him more, a light chuckling sounding out. Upon opening his eyes once more, his eyes saw his mother and father dangling from the monitor lizard's claws; blood coating his scales and the coyotes' fur. Shal breathed in as much of the freezing air as the komodo dragon lifted his foot and a darker laughter that came not from the reptile above him, but from another that stood behind the shadow. He whimpered and tried to move back but not before the large clawed foot came down. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shalashka bolted up with a loud bark, kicking and trying to protect himself from the remainder of his dreams. Night had turned into day, the blue sky speckled with high, wispy clouds. He blinked in the noon sunlight and began to look around. The coyote sat next to a dead, but still smoking fire in the side. His kimono hung next to the pin, obviously put there to dry.

Shaking off the last remnants of the previous night, he wrapped the thick blanket around his body before standing up on shaking paws. Once he grabbed his kimono, he heard the crunching of sand not to far away from him. He whine and tossed the blanket from his nude form.

Shalashka Stood about 5.5 foot tall, and had a thick silver/brown fur base that covered much of his body, over his front and down the middle of his tail was blueish-silver silver fur, both bordered by a red ribbon of fur about an inch wide. On his waist was a pair of large, black paw prints, as though someone had held his hips from behind. On his thighs there were another set just on the inside of them. He had long, black hair that hung down nearly to his tailbase. Right now it was unkempt and hanging freely, though normally he would tie it back in a loose braid.

He had barely tied the sash around his waist before a tall tiger stepped out from around a rock, looking up at the canine. "Oh, You're up." He spoke in a deep, rumbling voice as he set a large bag down. "How are you feeling?" He asked in a somewhat friendly voice.

Shal blushed as he looked over the tiger's huge form. He stood at about seven foot tall, his striped fur was the usual deep orange with black. His long tail flicked back and forth, the tip had been split to make it appear rather fluffy, Shal could only guess that it was from an injury the tiger had endured some time ago. His broad shoulders and well muscled body gave the feline a great sense of being much closer to his feral relatives. He wore a black, sleeveless vest, the top open to reveal most of his scarred chest. His legs were covered in a pair of tattered cloth pants with a sash around his middle, draping down behind his legs. Over the male's massive paws were a pair of leather gloves, a glint of silver suggested they were something for offence and not just looks. "Um..Yeah, I'm Fine." Shalashka mumbled, still starting over the large feline. "Who...Who are you?" He asked and stepped back as the tiger turned and approached him with long strides.

"My name's Tygon." He said and crouched down to gather the blankets at the canine's feet. "Glad to see you're doing fine." Tygon said as he stood back up. "I found you passed out, I'm surprised you weren't dead from the ocean water." He waved his paw vaguely as they spoke. "Where'd you come from?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

Shalashka shook his head, trying to push out any fog that remained in his mind. "I-I came from Seppa, It's a city to the north." He hesitated. He looked over the tiger's form again, this time catching a glint of silver that dangled from his belt. Shal clasped a paw to his neck and felt only the bare fur. "Hey, Give that back." The coyote barked and walked over to the huge feline.

Tygon growled lowly. "Listen, you spoiled brat! Just because you're some prine, does NOT mean that the world is yours to command." The tiger snarled at Shal. The canine lowered his ears at the warning and stepped back, giving off a submissive whine. "Acting like that is only going to get you killed out here. Especially if you're of royal blood." He finished with another stern growl. He tugged the pendant off his belt and tossed it at Shal.

The young prince clambered to keep a hold of it. He looked at it for a few moments before he placed it back around his neck. "I can handle myself." Shalashka spoke weakly and turned to walk down the beach away from the tiger. Barely making a step, he felt sharp claws around his neck, digging gently into his pelt. As the canine had thought, the gloves were designed for fighting, sets of retractable claws came from the knuckles and curled lightly to look closer to claws than blades.

"Can you young pup?" Tygon quickly yanked on the Shal's scruff which caused him to his the sand with a loud thump. The coyote groaned and looked up to see the tiger retracting the claws. "You keep acting like that, you will end up dead." He growled in warning and gathered up the blankets and bag, "Now get up and moving, we'll be leaving shortly." he finished and walked away from the beach.

Shalashka followed Tygon close, his pointed ears pressed against his skull, "Where are we going?" He asked. The pair came to the edge of a shallow patch of woods, a small wagon and a large horse attached to it. He bit his lip and came up behind the carriage, seeing it was loaded with an assortment of food bags, crates and a very small collection of what had to be the feline's personal assets. He turned his head and stepped back to the front as the large tiger climbed up into the seat at the front.

"I have a delivery in the next town over, Then we'll get you back to your kingdom." He huffed out and tossed the bag into the back just behind them. "It shouldn't take much more than a fortnight." He said and looked down at the small pup. "Come on now, I'm falling behind." He said in a much more gentle voice than before.

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Shalashka curled his tail and legs close to his body as the carriage rolled down the dirt road. His thoughts raced over last night's events. He shivered and tried to block out what had happened.

The ride was taken primarily in silence, save the clopping of the horse's hooves on the hard dirt. After a long while, Tygon looked over at the coyote, "How'd you end up on that beach anyway?" He asked and watched the younger male uncurl. He listened to Shal's story, although it sounded like he wasn't in the mood to tell about it. The tiger lowered his ears and frowned. "Well, That's no good..." he said in a whisper. "I'm sorry for your loss." he finished and looked back forward. After another few moments of silence, he spoke again: "So that mean you're going to be king when you get back?"

The coyote lowered his ears once again and nodded weakly, He turned his head towards the tiger for the first time since they had begun the journey. "Yeah, but I don't know if I can do it...on my own." He hesitated. "But I'm sure my uncle will be able to help when I'll need it." He mumbled. Watching the large cat nod, he relaxed and uncurled his body. "So what is it you do?" He asked. "Are you some kind of merchant?" He pointed to the cargo behind them.

Tygon gave a light hearted Chuckle. "No, I'm a mercenary of sorts." He said and flicked the round ears back. "I do whatever I'm paid to do. Speaking of such, MY fee is fifteen-hundred gold a day. Plus expenses." He told the young coyote.

"That's....nice?" Shal questioned, his ears lifting up as his bluish-purple eyes met Tygon's red eyes "But why are you telling me this?"

The feline grinned. "Well, I'm going to be acting as your bodyguard to get you home. and I'll be expecting some compensation." He chuckled and twitched his long tail. "You seriously didn't expect me to work for free?" Tygon's grin broadened as he looked at the canine.

Shal turned his head away and grumbled quietly, "Fine, you'll get your pay." He stared out over the countryside pass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rest of the trip was in complete silence and when the town came into view, Tygon spoke up and turned and dug around in one of the bags. "Put this on, If people see you walking around like that..." He trailed off and sat back down, placing a old looking tunic and cap on the canine's lap.

Shalashka scrunched his nose as he looked down at the clothing he was told to wear. He was hesitant to even touch it, but eventually got up and crawled into the back to change. He gave disgusted face as he pulled pulled he garb on. The coyote climbed up into the seat again, "This had better not take long." He said sternly.

Tygon growled lowly in warning. "We'll be staying a night or so to resupply. After that, it'll be another couple of days before we get there. I'm sure you can handle that." He glared at the coyote firmly.

They came into the town, the dirt road turning to cobbled streets. Once they turned down an alley, Shal climbed off the cart and walked to the street and looked up and down it's length while Tygon spoke to a shopkeeper. He watched the village that stood below the castle. This one was much more chaotic though. Everywhere there were furs running about, and carrying out everything as though it was just any other day. His eyes looked over as a large group passed by, led by a large bodied shark. He looked at the coyote with a broad grin, and as he turned around a corner, Shal could have sworn he saw the shark lick his lips before disappearing around a building.

Shal pulled another disgusted face and turned around to see Tygon unloading the cart. "Pup, Get our tail over her." He called out to the coyote. He growled and grabbed a small box and followed the feline, grumbling lightly. Once they were finished, the tiger took the horse to a stable and left the cart behind the shop. "We'll go get a room at the Inn, and tomorrow the cart will be loaded, then we'll get you home." The big cat said in a calm voice. They walked down the street until they came a large building that stood high above most of the other buildings. From a metal hook hung a carved, wooden sign; a bed and the words Katani Inn sprawled across it. They walked in the door and was met with a loud laughter. In the corner there was a group of scalies and a familiar shark sat around a table, laughing and causing a ruckus. Shalashka bit his lip and turned his head, hiding his face behind the hood on his cloak.

Tygon paid for the room and they began their way up the stairs. Shalashka heard the chairs scrape against the wood and the ruckus calming down. With heavy footfalls on the stairs, Shal was glad that they got into the room. He closed the door and leaned heavily against it after locking it. He sighed and took off his cloak and listened to the footsteps and sighed as they faded passed the door. "So, we'll be back in Seppa in a few days, right?" He asked and walked to the single, large bed and sat down on the edge.

"Yeah, Three days if we don't take too many stops." The tiger said "They said that the cart will be ready by morning light." He turned away from the prince and started to remove his top.

Shalashka looked back when he heard a heavy thunk of metal against the wooden table. He blushed as he stared at the large feline's muscled body. There were a few scars on the tiger's striped pelt. When Tygon turned back around, Shal quickly turned his head back around to stare at his footpaws. "O-Oh, alright." He mumbled and thought about the tiger. He had to admit, that the Tiger was easily the most handsome fur he'd seen, although he quickly shook his head of thoughts of Tygon's body.

The pair of furs went to bed before the sun even set, Shalashka easily falling asleep. Tygon came to lay down next to the sleeping canine. He looked over at the lithe form and smiled softly. The tiger felt himself grow rather concerned about Shal, not because he was getting paid. Although he couldn't really describe where the attachment was coming from. He reached over and lightly combed a loose strand of black hair out of his face, and pulled the covers up to his shoulders before turning to face away from Shal and closed his eyes.

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Fenrir growled lightly as he awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. He yawned greatly and walked over to the door. Rubbing his eyes he opened it a crack "Yes?" His eyes started out at the innkeeper. The little beagle was pushed violently back and a large komodo dragon smashed the door back into Tygon's muzzle, knocking him back. The tiger growled and wiped blood from his nose as the reptile walked closer and kicked him hard, knocking his head down onto the floor, knocking him out.

Through the slamming, Shalashka had woken up in the bed, trying to hide under the covers. He looked up and saw only the silhouette of the komodo dragon, red piercing eyes. It came towards him quickly. Shal scurried back, slipping off the edge of the bed, landing heavily on the wooden floor. He groaned and looked up at the monitor lizard. He yelped out as the huge reptile ripped the bed away from the wall, making it smash into the table and chairs. Shalashka shuffled back and whimpered as the komodo dragon continued forward. Pressing himself into the corner, the tan tunic beginning to turn dark as fear caused him to empty his bladder. The clawed hand reached down and lifted the pup up against the wall by his throat.

The young coyote choked, clasping at the scaled paws and kicked around, his vision beginning to fade. Before blacking out, Shal saw a large bodied character step through the door and give out a hearty chuckle as he watched the male, struggle for breath. Finally darkness consumed him as he fell heavily onto the floor, his body becoming still.