Chapter 5

A Weak In Another World

 

Come morning, I felt myself moving, though I knew I had only just woke up and couldn’t remember going in the caravan. Opening my eyes, I saw the canopy of the caravan. Being completely confused I tried to put my hands by my side, but they didn’t move. ‘What’s going on?’ Looking around I saw Kyumi and Tiara just sitting with their backs to me, the cold treatment from Tiara felt worse since she had been by my side since I met her.

“Hey, Kyumi, Where are we going? Who’s driving?” I asked, hoping for an answer. Looking down I could see my hands and feet were tied up. ‘Eh? I don’t remember this happening.’ “Kyumi-” I was cut off by the carriage hitting a hole, snapping my mouth shut.

“Look here you,” Kyumi turned, showing she was also bound, “I’m amazed you don’t remember what happened, but also not surprised since you were out cold.” She looked sad as I tried so hard to remember what happened. Almost as if she was waiting for me to remember, she sat quietly staring at me.

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t remember…” Looking back at her I felt as if this was somehow my fault. Still not sure how it could be my fault though. Suddenly the caravan stopped making me slide.

“Alright you guys, we’re here, now get out.” A kind of familiar voice called. “Ah shoot, right, we tied you up.” Footsteps came closer to the back and the screen flew open as a man of a rather large stature stood there in armor that was shining in the sunlight. The closer I looked at him the more he looked normal. Crawling into the carriage he untied us, only enough so we could crawl out ourselves.

“Umm, I’m sorry, but who are you?” I asked as I felt a smack across the back of my head. “Oww…” I turned to see Kyumi wide eyed and ears back, but she didn’t move. Tiara stood in the caravan fluffed up. As I was about to ask her why she hit me, I saw her hands were still tied. ‘Then who hit me?’ Turning a bit more I saw a woman, taller than Kyumi, her skin a darker shade and  her eyes a bright yellow. She had long black hair and just like the guy, she had armor on. ‘Did she hit me?’ Looking at the guy and taking the time to properly look at him. He had deep blue eyes, white hair and was overall very large. The clothing they wore was different greys and blues; this was very different from what I saw in Sanoul.

“Who are we? Is he for real?” The female spoke. ‘I guess she’s the one who hit me.’ “We are the protectors of the territory of Rivoston.” She sounded aggressive and demanding. “We caught you on our territory camping out. Then your little fox friend here says you’re going to see Boulder? What a joke! The Fox-shifters haven’t asked for our help in a long time. Not that they’ve been able to after what they did.” She seemed very annoyed looking at Kyumi.

“But it’s the truth! You have to believe me!” Kyumi said, finally finding her voice. “Amari isn’t from around here and we need to see if Boulder can help us out.” She sounded small next to these two people. “Why do you Wolf-shifters have to be so stubborn?!” She yelled, making the tension between us all, much worse. Her gaze landed on the man for a moment. Suddenly a dark wolf flew by me, jumping at Kyumi who yelled and turned into a fox, her ears lying flat on her head and her tail puffing out. As she curled up in fear, the wolf went down to bite her.

“Enough!” The man bellowed. Turning to him I could see he was now a wolf. ‘Oh… Wolf-shifters…’ His grey and white fur bristling as a snarl slowly crept across his face. “Ember, I will have none of this.” He said, sounding like a leader. “We were sent out to bring the intruders back to Boulder, unharmed, might I add.” His snarling continued as he walked closer to them. “Back down Ember, free the poor Fox-shifter.” Bowing her head with a snarl she backed down. Kyumi lied where she was, shaking. Tiara stood father back, her back arched, wings spread, standing on her toes, trying to seem threatening.

“You of all people should hate Fox-shifters.” The she-wolf, who’s name I guessed to be Ember, snarled out. “Phoenix! Don’t you ignore me!” Her anger was very clear, but she seemed to calm down as the one she called Phoenix turned to face her.

“Fox-shifters are not all responsible for history. And those responsible have long been forgiven.” The more he spoke the more he sounded in control of the situation. His gaze landed on Kyumi with a hint of softness.

“Say, guys, now that the fighting is done can we maybe rest?” I let myself speak slowly so as not to stir more anger. They all looked at me, almost forgetting I was even there. My heart pounding in my chest, my discomfort with this situation becoming apparent.

“Alright fine, but don’t expect me to be nice to you.” Ember said glaring at me now. Feeling relieved that they all calmed down, I flopped to the floor, completely ignoring the glaring she-wolf.

 

Once they took the time to sit quietly and talk, things felt more relaxed. Tiara on the other hand refused to let the Wolf-shifters near me or Kyumi, remaining on guard the rest of the night and hissing whenever they stepped too close for her liking. Remembering back, Phoenix had said we were here… ‘I wonder what he means if we’re camping out for the night?’ In the distance I saw Spits just casually eating grass alongside two other animals. The longer I stared the more my eyes adjusted to the dark, Spits’s light helping, and I could make out the shapes of horses. ‘So that’s how they moved so fast to us. But why are these shifters using other animals to get around? Wouldn’t they be fast enough of their own?’ I felt relieved that things calmed down for the time being. But couldn’t help but feel extremely uneasy for the future to come. I curled up ready to sleep.

“Pst.” I heard a quiet voice call me. “Hey!” Trying to remain asleep, I did my best to ignore the voice. “I know you can hear me.” Finally turning over annoyed, I saw Kyumi in her fox form close to my face, startled at her being so close. “When we get there tomorrow I need to make sure you don’t say anything that will make them any more suspicious of us.” She looked around and I saw something shimmering in the distance. Brining her attention back to me, she came closer. “Please just try to stay quiet, I’ll do the talking.” Feeling saddened by not being trusted, I also understood that I was out of line no matter where I was.

“Understood, I’ll listen.” Looking back over to where I saw the shimmer, I could see it was gone. ‘Does everyone here sleep in their natural form? What exactly IS the natural form here?’ Before I could look around and check I closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep.

 

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“We leave once it gets up.” I could hear a voice. “I’m not sure what to call it, it looks like a shifter, just the ears are strange and it doesn’t have a tail. It can’t even be an elf.” The voice sounded like Phoenix. ‘I guess to them I'm the weird creature.’

“We can strap it to the horses and drag it back.” This voice was most likely Ember. Suddenly there was a screech in my ears and my eyes flew open to see Tiara’s body blocking my view of anything, only the underside of her wings were visible to me. Then the next thing I heard was snarling.

“I’m up!” I yelled wanting to stop any fighting from breaking out. “Let’s go!” I jumped up grabbing Tiara, trying to calm her down and walking off in any direction to get away from all of this.

“Where are you going?” Kyumi called, sounding tired and defeated. Spinning around I saw her holding Spits on a lead. “We’re going this way.” She pointed to where I could see Phoenix and Ember sitting on their horses. The horses were both patched white and some other color in shades of brown or black, with long tails and manes, some armor covering their faces. Heading back to stand with Kyumi, we walked on foot for some reason she chose not to ride the caravan. Then I realised they must’ve untied us before we woke up and while Tiara was still asleep.

 

Recalling what Kyumi told me, I kept my mouth shut as they walked us into the mountain. Nobody spoke as tensions were high. Kyumi gave me the lead to Spits, who sort of just walked behind me calmly, blissfully unaware of the situation. Tiara sat on his back, still fluffy and on guard. Phoenix took the lead when the path started to get narrow, with Ember falling back to the rear making me feel like a prisoner. Not once did they get off their horses, which still felt odd to me. Glancing around I saw, here and there, a wolf somewhere on the cliffs. Two colors caught my attention as they watched us, one pure white while the other was a nice shade of brown. ‘Well they definitely know we’re here.’ I could feel myself get more and more anxious. Then suddenly we stopped.

“We have returned with the intruders.” Phoenix called out. Peaking around I could see, in a large clearing of the mountains, a little village. “They wish to have an audience with Boulder.” With this he dismounted his horse, handing the reins to someone off to the side, who bowed their head while taking it. Ember too, soon got off her horse, doing the same as Phoenix. Then someone came to get Spits’s lead, holding onto the lead tightly, until Kyumi motioned to let go. Tiara flew off onto my shoulder, not wanting to be carried away with Spits. “Is Boulder present?” Phoenix asked half to himself.

“I am present.” A harsh voice came from further up. “Do you doubt me child?” The voice snarled. Turning my attention from watching Spits being led away, to this commanding voice, I examined it carefully. The source of the voice was a wolf of a dark grey with deep blue eyes, the tip of his left ear was missing. “Phoenix, why do you bring them here untied?” he snarled again, taking a step forward.

“My apologies fathe- I-I mean Boulder.” He stammered out the last part. ‘Father?’ Phoenix changed into a wolf and bowed his head. “My deepest apologies.” The one he called Boulder snarled again, seeming ready to attack, before being interrupted by a short bark. Approaching us swiftly, I could see a light grey she-wolf with bright blue eyes.

“Boulder, that’s enough.” The she-wolf called. “He returned with what seem like harmless beings. Treat him with respect, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. He would never do something that would endanger us.” She walked up to Phoenix, nuzzling his neck with her head. “Oh my son, I fear for you everytime you set out.” She his face, then sat where she stopped.

“Sapphire, you’re to light on him.” Boulder addressed the one who had stopped the fight from breaking out. “This gets us nowhere, speak Fox-shifter. What brings you here?” I could feel Tiara tense up, Kyumi who looked nervous, lightly flinching at the mention of her. My own body ready to run.

“Boulder, I come to you with a request for your help.” She started, peaking the Wolf-shifters interest. “My friend,” she pointed to me, “is not from here as you may guess by his appearance,” hushed whispers swept across the clearing, “I have tried to find what brought him here but alone I failed.” She turned into a fox and bowed. “So if you may be so kind as to provide me advice, or help, to bring him home. I come alone, no other Fox-shifter knows of my being here. I took the caravan as a cover to avoid suspicions.”She remained bowed. ‘But Lillianne knows.’ Suddenly the Wolf-shifter called Boulder transformed into a mature looking man.

“Is that all?” He asked as Kyumi nodded. “I would have thought a young Fox-shifter like yourself would have come here with more defenses than that.” He gestured towards me then stood in silence for a moment.

“I promise you I didn’t bring him for defense.” Kyumi spoke a little bit more normally though she still looked uneasy.

“Then let it be so.” Boulder bellowed, making the words echo through the clearing, so everyone could hear. “They will now be seen as visitors, and I will gladly help out. Since you are already acquainted with the two of them,” he motioned to Phoenix and Ember, “I will lend them to you, use them as you see fit.” And almost as if nothing had happened we were greeted with friendly calls from around the clearing. “Take the time to rest before you head out.” Boulder called out as he walked away. Looking around at the people surrounding us I noticed they also wore some shades of blue and grey, a few greens and browns scattered throughout.

“We have to help?!” I heard Ember protest behind me. “This is all because Sapphire in!” She walked away muttering to herself. I couldn’t figure out why she was so upset.

“Ignore her.” A hand rested on my shoulder. Turning to look and see who it was, I was surprised to see Sapphire in her human form. “She’s sweet once you give her time.” The woman before me was beautiful, fair skin with silver hair cut short. Just being around her I could see she was gentle and motherly, reminding me of my own mother.

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Soneforever2
51 streak #1
Chapter 7: Good story author^^
I like the concept of it.