MagiStream

Another breeze whipped through my fur as I stood again in the ghostly clearing. I’d been here be, this was were the strange Kitsune had visited me. I knew now that he was probably a dark one, and that’s why he wanted me dead.
“Come out come out!” I hear a voice calling in the distance. It was that same voice, the one that belong to the Kitsune with the reddish eyes. I shivered. I didn’t want him to find me, I was afraid of what he would do to me.
So I ran. The ground was hard beneath my paws, the grass pale and dead. The trees never changed, they all had the same leafless branches that looked like the hands of a skeleton reaching out to grab me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
I don’t know how long I ran for, but it seemed like it was forever. My paws had torn open, bleeding from running so hard. Great. Now I was leaving a trail of blood for him to follow.
I heard the rushing of water in the distance, so I kept going. If there was water, then I could wash this blood and hopefully my scent. The rusty smell of blood was filling my nose, but I figured it was just my paws.
I came in site of the river and gasped. It wasn’t a normal river, it was a river of blood. The sticky red liquid lapped up against the banks of the river, leaving the rocks stained red. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the rusty smell.
“You can’t hide from me,” came the very distant voice of the Kitsune that was hunting me. It sent shivers snaking up my spine. It was face him, or jump into the bloody river. Oh what to do…
“Ghost,” I voice suddenly whispered my name. I knew that voice! It was my mom!
“Mom?” I called out, glancing around for any sight of the pretty young fox who was my mother. I spotted her poking from behind a boney tree. Her warm amber eyes were glinting happily. She looked a bit like Rose in fur colors. I smiled when I saw her.
“Come with me!” Mom yipped excitedly, turning around and dashing off down the river. I hesitated for a moment.
“Wait up!” I called, racing after my mom’s figure. I wasn’t going to let go of her this time. I wouldn’t let her get away from me. I’d made that mistake the day she got shot. I was pushing myself to go faster, but I couldn’t seem to catch up. I was panting heavily, my paws torn open further.
“Mom!” I yelled again, running. Suddenly I didn’t see her. She was gone. I hadn’t… Imagined her, had I?
“You thought you could run from me,” came a snarl. I turned slowly towards the blood river, practically shaking. There stood the Kitsune, only this time he was not hidden by shadows. I could see him perfectly clear. He was large, very large. His fur was black like a moon-less sky. And his eyes… They were a red amber. It struck fear through every vein in my body. And there, dangling from his jaws, was my mother.
“Mom!” I yelled, my ears flattened against my head. The Kitsune had her by the scruff, and she was limp in his jaws. The Kitsune laughed, his voice not at all muffled by her fur.
“Your mom is weak,” he growled, dropping her. She let out a startled yip and looked up at me with her eyes wide. I gasped. The Kitsune placed a paw on her back, digging his claws in deep. My mom let out a hiss of pain.
“You’re hurting her!” I snarled, my protective instinct taking over. That was my mother. I narrowed my eyes, growling.
“And who’s going to stop me? Certainly not her… Or you,” He trailed off for a moment, looking at me. His eyes just dared me to do something, but I knew I couldn’t. I stepped back, petrified.
“That’s what I thought,” The Kitsune chuckled, slowly slicing his claws across my mom’s neck. I gasped again, feeling tears begin to sting their way to my eyes. Mom coughed, choking. She spit up a mouthful of blood.
“Monster!” I snarled at him, making him laugh and roll his eyes. My mom collapsed on the ground in front of him.
“Help… They need you,” Mom whispered, looking up at me with her wide amber eyes. I nodded. Then, she vanish. It was like she was never there.
“Pity,” The Kitsune shook his head. I growled, the tears brimming my eyes. I couldn’t stop them as they fell. But they felt warm and sticky as they ran down my cheeks. One dripped on my paw and I looked at it. It was red, warm. I was crying tears of blood.
“W-Who are you?” I asked, finally finding my voice. He just killed my mother… And I didn’t even know who I am.
“I’m your worst nightmare,” The Kitsune smirked. Oh, well that was an original response.
“But, I do suppose I should introduce myself. My name’s Bone,” he growled, looking me over for a moment. “But, don’t worry. I know who you are.”
“H-how?” I asked, fear prickling through me. It seemed to be holding me back in its icy arms.
“Oh, I’ve been watching you,” Bone said darkly. “And I don’t plan on stopping.” And then he was gone.
I jolted awake in my den, panting. That was some heck of a dream. I sighed, trying to calm myself. I was practically shaking. It was just a dream. Just a dream.
I padded from my den silently, not wanting to wake anyone. It was night time. The stars were twinkling beautifully in the sky, the moon half full. Moonlight spilled into the clearing, it took my breath away. I could see my breath in the cool air as I breathed. Everything was so silent. So still.
I sat down, just watching my breath spill into the air. I was surprised I was breathing. The night just seemed perfect. Like it was another world. I didn’t know why I was so shocked by it. I guess I just wasn’t out at night very often. Especially on a cool night like this one.
A breeze ruffled by and I shivered a bit. It was a cool breeze. The leaves of the trees gently swayed in the wind. They were beginning to change color because of the season, and a few of them blew of in the wind.
“Ghost? Are you alright?” it was Reeku who spoke, interrupting the beauty of the moment. I’d forgotten he’d be on guard tonight. I looked over at him. He was a bit hard to see, but his green eyes were shining through the dark.
“Just, had a nightmare,” I whispered, unsure. The thought of it made me shiver again, my eyes brimming with tears.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Reeku asked, coming to sit next to me. I think this is the nicest he’s ever been to me. I was honestly a bit surprised. Maybe he’d had his fair share of nightmares. I shrugged, curling my two tails over my paws.
“Does the name Bone mean anything to you?” I asked quietly, looking down at my feet. He was going to think I was crazy, I just new it. But, what he said surprised me.
“How do you know that name?” Reeku asked, his body going stiff and his ears flattening on the top of his head. I wasn’t expecting that.
“In my dream… This Kitsune. He comes to me,” I said, shivering at the memory. I didn’t want to cry though. I was afraid the tears would be of blood. “His name is Bone.”
“He sends you illusions? That demon!” Reeku snarled, a low growl ripping from his throat and echoing through the silent air.
“W-What?” I stuttered, a bit afraid. I knew Kitsune had the power of illusions, but he could send them to me? I don’t think Reeku had ever been this mad. Tears began to slowly drip the more I thought about it.
“Its okay,” Reeku whispered. “Bone… We have a history,” Reeku was snarling again. “I’m going to tell Oak.” He got to his paws.
“W-wait,” My voice came out as a whisper. Reeku turned back to look at me. “Don’t wake him.” I didn’t think it would be right to wake him, just because of me.
“Fine,” Reeku growled, coming back to site.
“Can you tell me? About you and Bone, I mean,” I was a bit sure if it was to personal of a thing to be asking.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Reeku muttered, looking at his paws. He looked really unsure. Like, he wanted to tell me but wasn’t sure if he should.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I whispered, looking up at the stars. They were so beautiful. I know I’ve thought this about a million times, but there’s just something about them. Like they’re watching over me.
“Ghost… I-I have past that I’m not very proud of,” Reeku admitted, not looking up. He really did look disappointed in himself.
“Its okay,” I told him, urging Reeku to go on. “Everyone has made mistakes, and they’re in the past. That’s why they don’t matter anymore.”
“Thank you,” Reeku whispered, looking back up at me. I was yet again compelled to stare into those green eyes of his. Like they’d captured me in their arms.
“No problem,” I grinned, flicking my tail a bit as it began to chill in the night air.
“I think I should just say it,” Reeku looked down again. Wow, this must be really hard for him to talk about. “Ghost I… I used to be a Dark One.” Okay, I did not see that one coming. I looked at him, my eyes wide. I blinked away the shock.
“W-why’d you join The Auras then?” I asked. Stupid Ghost! Now you’re going to make him feel bad about his past even more.
“I met a human,” Reeku looked up at me, a bit surprised. Probably because I wasn’t mad at him or anything like that. The past is the past, and no one can change it.
“Really? How?” I asked. Now I’m probably just bothering him… Stupid me.
“For a Dark One’s mission, I had to take the form of a human,” Reeku began explaining. I listened intently. “Her name was Sasha. She was so nice to me and I realized… Not all humans are bad.”
“So you realized you didn’t want them all dead then? That they too deserve to live on this earth?” I asked him. That’s the way I took his explanation.
“Yeah,” Reeku muttered. “Glad you understand.”
“Well, its easy to see you feel bad about your past, so there’s no reason to hold it against you,” I replied, shrugging. Reeku beamed at me.
“Thank you Ghost. Now, you should probably get some sleep,” he suggested.
“Um… I don’t really want to sleep again,” I admitted, fear creeping back into my like a shadow in the dark. I shivered.
“Oh,” Reeku said. “So what are you going to do?”
“I guess I’ll go for a walk,” I shrugged. Anything to keep me awake. Anything to keep me out of the horrible place of nightmares.
“Okay. I’d come with you, but I can’t leave my post,” Reeku sounded a bit disappointed. “Sorry.”
“Its not problem,” I assured him, getting to my paws. I was about to leave the clearing when I turned back. “Oh, and Reeku, thanks.”
I didn’t wait to see what his reply was. I think, honestly, that’s the nicest I’ve ever seen him be to anyone. Maybe because he understood what it was like to have night mares, or be harassed by Bone. I shivered. I didn’t ever want to see Bone again. But, the more I thought about it, the more I knew I would.
I was walking in the way of the training clearing, enjoying the feel of the night air. I came to the clearing and stopped, sitting down for a moment. I could still see my breath in the still night air, the stars twinkling in the night.
I closed my eyes, sitting under the stars. I felt peaceful. I listened to the crickets chirp, the gentle hooting of an owl in the distance. I was somewhere else. I didn’t have to deal with all this prophecy crap anymore.
In a few minutes I started to get cold, so I got to my paws. I shivered, walking past the training hollow. I’d never been this far back in out territory before, and I wondered why.
Perhaps this was the part of the territory that The Dark Ones bordered. I didn’t exactly know where their territory was, but if Rose and Shade had been patrolling their border it obviously couldn’t have been very far.
I kept walking until a came to the river. It was wide, and it was obvious you couldn’t jump over it easily. Perhaps this was the border. I sat by the edge and the water lapped at the shore by my paws.
Flashbacks of the sticky blood river flooded my mind and I gasped, jumping a back from the river. Its just water. That’s what I kept telling myself. I couldn’t be afraid of the dreams forever. I had to stop this nonsense.
I stepped back up to the water and let it wash against my paws, making them feel cold in the chilly night air. I shivered. I looked up at the moon, still bright. It would be morning soon, however. I was thankful for that. Although, I knew I would be tired in the morning.
I looked over at the forest across the border. The forest was slowly turning into mostly pine trees the further it went on. Then something caught my eyes.
I looked across the river and saw a pair of bright yellow eyes looking back at me. I studied them for a moment, until I heard a growl. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I ran.