MagiStream

“Run!” Reeku growled at us. A shiver of fear ran through my spine at the though of being caught by Bone, but I didn’t want to leave Reeku.
“But-” I started to protest.
“Ghost! GO!” Reeku snarled, turning around just in time to tackle a Dark One. I glanced at Shade and he nodded at me before taking off running. I glanced at Reeku one last time before taking off after him. The silvery colored Dark One was running fast after us. Shade was setting a fast pace, but he didn’t know the tunnels like Reeku did. He had to think before he turned and that gave our enemy time to get closer and closer. I swallowed hard.
I could hear my paws thudding on the bottom of the cavers and tried to focus on that. Reeku and I had been at odds with each other the entire rest of the mission and I hadn’t even gotten to apologize. Now Bone had him and I’d probably never see him again. The thought of never seeing Reeku again brought tears to my eyes; I forced them back. Now was no time for tears.
“Hurry!” Shade yelled back at me. He was a few paces ahead of me and the silvery Kitsune was gaining on us fast. By now a brownish colored Kitsune had joined her in the chase. We weren’t going to make it. By the time we’d made it out of the caverns The Dark Ones were close enough to nip at our tails.
I pushed myself to run as fast as I possibly could. My blood was racing and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. Although I wasn’t as afraid of these Kitsune as I was of Bone, I was still burning with fear. I was consumed by the fear. I was easily catching up to Shade and coming close to passing him.
And this entire time, I was only half focusing on what was going on. My thoughts were wandering about how I missed Reeku running next to me like he usually did. No! I couldn’t think of that now. I couldn’t cry now… Be strong, Ghost. Be strong. One of the Kitsune caught Shade’s tail in her jaws and yanked. Shade let out a snarl. Before he could whip around to hit his attacker, I’d spun around and swiped my claws hard across the silver Kitsune’s face. She turned to look at me with blazing eyes. My own eyes blazed back.
As I looked at this Kitsune I was thinking of how Bone had leapt to save her and ripped open Lunea’s throat. About how she was indirectly the cause of my best friend’s death. Now Bone had Reeku and I’d probably be loosing him too. Bone had taken too many Kitsune that I loved. It was obvious he loved this Kitsune and I was determined to leave my own mark in his bloody, blackened soul.
I heard and loud growl and saw Shade tackling over the other Kitsune out of the corner of my eye. I could handle this Kitsune. I hoped. I swallowed hard and I readied myself and faced my opponent. She growled and let out a lash of water towards me. Training with Reeku had taught me exactly how to counter a water attack. Although my air attack wasn’t as powerful, it was enough to turn the water into droplets that hardly stung as the rained down onto my face. The silver Kitsune looked at me with an unreadable expression as blood from my claw mark poured down into her eyes.
I lunged out with my paws aimed at my opponents legs to trip her. Just before my claws hit she reared up on her hind legs and caused my claws to swipe through nothing. I stumbled a bit and she took the chance to slam down on top of me. I crashed to the ground under her weight as the air was forced from my lungs. I struggled to get up, but I was pinned.
“What cha’ going to do now?” the Kitsune growled. I squirmed to no avail. Just as the Kitsune’s jaws went to sink into my throat I had an Idea. I swirled my tail and caused a jet of air to billow into my opponent. Her weight was lessened for just a split second and I took the opportunity to throw her off me and jump to my feet, panting all the while.
“This,” I spat out through clenched teeth as I finally regained my footing. I lashed out my claws towards the Kitsune, but she dodged to the side. This time I was ready and ducked when she lunged for my face. Her claws just struck the top of my ears and ripped them open slightly. I could feel the warm, red liquid trickling from my ears and down the side of my face. I swallowed again and pushed myself to ignore the pain. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and the fear was beginning to dissolve. I needed to win for Reeku’s sake. I hoped Lunea would be proud of me.
The Kitsune ran at me again and this time she tackled me over. I sliced my hind claws along her stomach. Blood dripped down from the scratches as my opponent sunk her jaws into my shoulder. I snarled uncontrollably and pushed up with my hind paws. As the silvery Kitsune was thrown off of me her jaws tore the flesh of my shoulder and caused pain to ripple through me. I was bleeding heavily and limping, but the would probably wasn’t fatal. I hope.
“They’re not worth this, come on,” the silver Kitsune growled to Shade’s opponent. “We’d better get back.” Shade’s opponent, a brown Kitsune, looked over and nodded her head. The silvery Kitsune turned back to us with sheer anger in her eyes. I shivered. “If your not back in your own territory by sundown, we’ll be after you.” And with that, she turned and walked away.
“You alright?” Shade asked, breathing heavily.
“Fine,” I replied, taking a moment to look over Shade. His black fur was bloody, but it wasn’t too bad. He had a gash on his side and a bite mark in his tail. Claws marks on the side of his face dripped blood down onto the ground.
“You sure?” Shade sounded worried. He sort of reminded me of Rose when he used that worried tone. “Your shoulder looks pretty torn up.” Now that he’d pointed it out, the pain in my shoulder was becoming more noticeable. Blood ran down from it and stained my bright white fur. I winced slightly.
“Yeah,” I sighed, sitting back down and trying to catch my breath. We needed to get back… without Reeku. I could feel my eyes sting with tears not that the adrenalin was wearing off; I could cry now. Reeku had been my best friend, and now he was gone. Lost in the clutches of Bone much like Lunea was. I could feel the teardrops welling in my eyes and feel their warmth as the streamed down my face.
“Ghost?” Shade asked, concern flooding in his eyes as he took a step closer to me, glancing over my wounds again and obviously thinking that was the problem. I stared at my paws for a moment, which were stained a bloody red, before I looked up at him. My vision was clouded with tears and I could hardly make out his figure.
“R-Reeku,” I chocked out the name. Saying it aloud only brought on more tears to the point where I couldn’t see anymore. My wounds were throbbing, but I was completely oblivious to the blood that stained me. More importantly, I was focused on the pain and hollow feeling in my chest. Every time I thought of Reeku in pain, tears in his green eyes… I heard Bone’s heart-stopping laugh ringing in my ears and I sobbed harder. I gasped aloud as I struggled to breath I was crying so hard. This couldn’t be happening.
“It’s okay,” Shade cooed softly, coming over to me and curling his tails around me comfortingly. It made me think of how he’d done this before and Reeku had gotten upset… and I didn’t even know why. “Reeku is strong, he’ll be okay. I promise.”
“He’s… m-my best friend,” I choked out, not wanting to loose someone else and Bone’s dirty paws. He deserved to die. I was going to kill him. I hated him so much.
“I know,” Shade whispered softly, and I could hardly hear him over my sobs. As much as I appreciated his comfort, I still felt so alone. “I know.” 

Shade and I returned to camp that day with very grim faces. Tears still stained my eyes, but my wounds had stopped bleeding. I didn’t notice though, I was too busy crying.
“What happened?” Rose gushed as we walked into camp, her beautiful eyes going wide as she took one look at us. Her eyes focused on my teary ones before realization hit her. “Reeku…”
“I’ll explain in a moment,” Shade promised, using his tails to guide me over to my den. “Get some rest, Ghost. Everything will be okay.” he promised. I could only nod in response as I blinked the tears away; it was no use, more of them followed. I walked inside my den and curled up, waiting for sleep. It never came.
“Is Reeku…,” I heard Rose outside, my ears pricked up to listen. I knew Shade would respond in a hushed tone, but I would still be able to hear part of the conversation.
“I don’t know,” Shade admitted softly. “Bone got him.” I heard Rose gasp and start speaking softer so their conversation was drowned out. I closed my eyes and the tears began to seep out from underneath my eyelids. Great.
I gave up listening to Shade and Rose’s conversation. The fact was that the Dark Ones were too strong. The Auras were losing numbers quickly, too quickly. We needed to recruit more members or something before it was too late. I knew Bone was planning something big, really big, but I didn’t know what it was. All I knew was that I was in danger. We all were.
Eventually I felt a slightly dizzying wave of sleep come rushing at me out of nowhere. I was being sucked into a nightmare, only this wasn’t one of Bone’s. This one was real, and I didn’t even realize it was a nightmare. Terror coursed through my veins and wrapped its icy arms around me as I found myself sitting in the caverns of the Dark Ones.
I saw bloody paw prints walking along the floor of the caverns, although I didn’t know how I could see so well in the dark. The sharp, metallic smell of blood struck my nose like lightning and caused it to wrinkle. I didn’t even realize I was making a mistake when I started following the paw prints along the ground, wondering where they’d come from. Then I heard his voice, and I started to burn with panic. It was Reeku and he was screaming. I had to help him somehow!
My feet started to move a bit faster and my ears pricked so they could follow the sound of his wails… pain-filled, desperate wails. I could hear the echoing sound of psychotic laughter, which caused me to pause. If that was Bone, I really didn’t want to go anywhere near him. He scared me to death, even in dream. I swallowed hard and told myself over and over that I needed to help Reeku. Slowly, but steadily, my feet began to make their way forward and towards the sounds of the screams. The noise was going louder, and the blood was now not only in paw prints but also splatters on the walls of the caverns.
“Ghost! Help me!” it was Reeku’s voice, calling from a chamber at the end of the tunnels ahead
“I’m coming!” I yelled back, desperately trying to let him know that help was on the way. Hang on Reeku… please. I pushed myself to run faster and I was sure I was about to reach the tunnel that held Reeku. I burst into the cavern only to find it empty.
“Ghost!” Reeku’s voice came from a different direction this time… this didn’t make sense. However, my dreaming self still couldn’t put the pieces together and turned around to run the other direction. I was just about to exit the chamber when I voice stopped me.
“Going somewhere?” a voice purred. I froze, petrified. I slowly turned around, my muscles tense and fear prickling in the pit of my stomach. My glance was met with a pair of piercingly yellow eyes staring from the darkness… Scar.
I couldn’t do anything but scream as the fear bubbled over and consumed my body. My eyes went wide and I just stood there, unable to run, unable to defend myself. I only looked at Scar’s scary figure, standing in the darkness with a malicious grin.
“Why, you’re just in time to have a little fun,” Scar smiled and took a step closer, his tails spreading out behind him. I shivered as wisps of flames spiraled from behind him and billowed towards me. I tucked and they passed right over my head, just hitting the tips of my ears. The fur on the tips of my ears singed and burning pain seared through them. I winced, forcing myself to my feet.
“Ghost…,” came Reeku’s voice again, only this time it was fading and a lot more distant.
“Where is he?” I whispered softly, unable to raise my voice as concern shot through me. It grew immensely when the laughter echoed back, bouncing off the walls of the caverns and haunting my ears.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Scar said coolly. “Reeku’s just fine. He and Bone are having a wonderful time.” Scar’s voice was light, easy.
“Fun for you,” I growled weakly, desperately wanting to do something. I tried to move forward, but quickly found my feet were nailed to the floor of the cave with some sort of invisible glue. I tried to scream to Reeku again, but as my jaws opened not a single sound came out.
“Fun for a lot of Kitsune, really,” Scar replied, sitting back on his haunches and yawning with boredom. He stretched his claws out in front of them, and my eyes locked on the sharp claws as they glinted in the darkness. I shivered. “Scared?” Scar raised an eyebrow.
“No,” I whispered, but we both knew it was a lie. I was a terrible liar, and it was obvious I was scared to death. My limps almost shook where I stood, freezing cold shills of fear rushing down my spine and chilling me to the bone.
“Or course not,” Scar mumbled sarcastically, getting to his paws and walking around me. Every time he passed behind me I flinched, waiting for the attack to happen and unable to turn around.
“Ghost…,” Reeku’s voice was extremely faint now. When the sound struck my ears I could hardly hear it. However, Bone’s laughter that followed seemed to be getting louder and louder. The sound of it seemed to be ringing inside my head, making me wince. A soul teardrop dripped down my face and fell through the darkness, splashing on the cave floor without a sound.
“Don’t be sad,” Scar smirked toothily as he came around in front of me. “In fact, if it would make you feel better, you could join him!” I swallowed hard as two figures began to slowly mesmerize from the darkness. At first they were hard to make out, but they slowly became clearer and clearer.
“REEKU!” I cried, going to dash forward, but I was still immobile. Reeku didn’t turn; it was like he couldn’t hear me at all. His white fur was completely matted and stained with dirt and blood. Scratches covered his body, some small, some large, and his green eyes were clouded with pain. Shadows were linked around his feet, holding him to the ground and burning into his flesh. Tears began to roll from my eyes.
“You asked,” Scar assured, coming to sit next to me as the scene in front of me unfolded further. Reeku turned to look in my direction, but his eyes seemed to stare past me. He couldn’t see me; he was alone in the darkness. Abandoned.
“Ghost,” he whispered, calling me again. His voice was weak and full of pain, but I couldn’t do anything.
“I’m here… can’t you hear me?” I asked, desperate. My vision was clouded and it was hard to see through all the tears. My focus then trained on the figure next to Reeku, who had somehow evaded my attention until now.
“Bone,” I whispered softly, my eyes blazing with anger and hate. He was torturing Reeku… it was so hard to watch. There was one thing I didn’t expect. Unlike Reeku, Bone could hear me. He turned to meet me with his smothering, red gaze, and then it all went black.

A dizzying blackness surrounded me, pulling at the edges of my mind. I fought against it, tearing at it inside my brain. I wasn’t going to let Bone overpower me, no matter what he did. I pulled at the blackness, fighting to open my eyes. It would take every ounce of strength I had left, but I would do it. I knew Bone was just using me to get at Ghost; I also knew that he wanted to hurt me. He hated me. I just couldn't give him the satisfaction of my death.
My eyes forced themselves open, but my vision was completely blurred. I saw a speck of red and knew it was Bone’s eyes. Instantly I growled without a thought and I heard Bone chuckle loudly. He’d been waiting for me to regain my consciousness. Hate bubbled up within me and I tried to stand.
“Oh, Reeku, it’s no use. You’re too weak,” Bone laughed lightly as my vision began to become more focused. I snarled at him and attempted to stand again. My legs wobbled as I struggled to haul myself up. Pain shot through my entire body, but hate was the only thing in my eyes. I had to get up, I had to keep fighting, and I had to survive. Ghost needed me.
“I won’t surrender to you,” I growled, managing to stand up on my feet. I was shaking and in a lot of pain, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it. I looked up from the ground, and my heart ached with hate as I saw Bone again. I couldn’t believe I’d made the mistake of ever following him. I swallowed down my regret, trying to keep my face a mask of hate.
“You will. Isn’t it so tempting? To just surrender to death and live with the spirits? No more pain, all peaceful. You’d even get to see Lunea again,” Bone chuckled with a glint in his eyes. At the mention of Lunea, images of her death flashed through my mind. Pain grabbed at my heart and I thought of Ghost’s tears. I thought of how the last day I’d probably ever spend with her was full of her tears.
“No,” I choked out, pain consuming my voice. I doubted I was recognizable. Burn marks covered my entire body and I was still bleeding from cut after cut. “You won’t kill me.” Bone smirked.
“Smart,” he replied. “Your right, then I couldn’t use you to get to her.” He chuckled again, his signature sound. I felt so angry my pain disappeared and I lunged forward, claws sharp, and clawed deep across Bone’s eye. Not expecting it, the black Kitsune let out a screech of pain and staggered back. I took the change to attack again and locked my jaws around his throat.
“Don’t touch her,” I growled through a mouthful of flesh. Bone snarled and shook, easily throwing my weak body to the ground. He laughed the sound echoing. Blood poured from his neck and eye wound, and there was a chance I’d blinded him. He didn’t look like he cared; he in fact looked like he was having a lot of fun. I scowled at him, my muscles aching and the wind knocked from my lungs.
“Protective, are we?” Bone chimed as he took a step closer to me. I inhaled a deep breath before responding, feeling my lungs fill back up with air.
“No more than you are of Moon,” I glared at him and almost laughed at his flabbergasted expression. “Yes, I remember.” Bone had always liked Moon, but I would never torture her to get at him. Despite the fact that we were now enemies, the silvery Kitsune had once been my friend.
“Ghost will die, I promise,” Bone growled. The thought of her death almost brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn’t let him kill her. I loved her.
“Don’t even try,” I snarled. My body hurt so much, was surprised I wasn’t dead. I’m sure it was the spirits keeping me alive… or maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t leave Ghost alone. No matter what happened. I needed her too.
“Try and stop me,” Bone smiled, showing his pointed teeth as he did so. I struggled again to get to my paws, but I sunk back to the floor. My paws and legs ached from the effort I’d make when I clawed Bone. He deserved to die.
I deserved to die. After all the mistakes I’d made, I had no idea why the spirits let me live. Why Ghost was even my friend, why any of The Auras valued me. I was determined now to not die because I had to make it right. I had to make up for the mistakes somehow, and I decided that I was going to help Ghost. I was going to make it right by doing everything I possibly could for her. I didn’t want her to make mistakes like me. I wanted her to be safe from this monster.
“I will stop you,” I growled as blackness tore at my mind again. I was going to slip into unconsciousness no matter what I did. However, I was determined to wake up. I wouldn’t give up. Ever.
“You don’t look like you could kill a mouse,” Bone sent me a look of fake pity. I glared, feeling the blackness and exhaustion that threatened to absorb me. I shook my head, trying to snap out of it. I had to keep going. I just had to.
“You won’t win this,” I glared up at Bone. It seemed like I was always saying the same thing to him. There was nothing else to say.
“I already have. The plan is set,” Bone sat back, curling his tails around his paws and watching me.
“Ghost will kill you in the end,” I promised. “She’s stronger than you know. She actually cares.” Ghost will do it. I believe in her. Bone just smirked at me widely.
“We’ll see about that,” he growled. His eyes stared into mine with a knowing look and then he left the room. I wanted to call for him to come back. To scream that he better not lay a claw on Ghost, but I was too overcome by exhaustion. My last thoughts were of her blue eyes, and then I slipped into unconsciousness.

I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all, as usual. I guess I’d have to get used to going with little sleep until we put a stop to the Dark Ones. Even then, the nightmares might never go away. They might haunt me for the rest of my life. I could never get those images out of my head; they were burned into my brain. I sighed and sat up, hitting my head on the roof of my den for the first time in a while.
“Ouch!” I exclaimed, my ears flattening. I felt extremely stupid, laughing to myself as I climbed out of the den. It seemed so empty. Lunea was gone, Reeku was gone… Shade, Rose, and I were the only warriors left in The Auras. Well, technically Shade was the new second in command. If something were to happen to Oak, it would be his job to step in place. That was really the only thing special about the general position; it mean the leader trusted you enough to take their place. Lunea would have made a great leader… I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time to think about her.
I glanced around the clearing, looking for someone. The sun was just rising up into the sky, turning it into breathtaking colors; elegant oranges, vibrant pink, even soft purple. No one was awake yet. I felt a hallow ache as I remembered that Reeku would have been here. He would have been awake. Reeku would have been here to talk to me and to watch the sunrise with me. Then, as everyone started to wake up, he would leave. Go off and spend the day on his own.
I shook my head as tears started to well in my eyes. No matter how many times I told myself now wasn’t the time to think of this, the thoughts kept popping back into my head. They bounced inside my brain, echoing and reminding me of the events that had occurred. I couldn’t stop them. A tear drop dripped down my face and splatted down onto the ground. More began to well in my eyes and I tried to blink them away, but they were relentless. Not wanting the others to see me cry I walked towards the clearing’s edge and let the forest engulf me.
I was reminded instantly of the day I first walked these forests. Not with Reeku, but with Lunea. How I’d let the forest hold in its arms and felt like I was a part of it. I hoped to recreate this feeling, to relax and feel at home out in the trees. Instead, I felt nothing but the prickle of pain, sorrow, and loneliness. I walk along slowly, tears dripping down my face and splashing onto the ground. They don’t spill thickly, rather slowly and torturously. On the bright side, my vision remains clear.
Somehow, I end up in the clearing used for training. My eyes focus on the stump where I first discovered my powers. I remember how had Reeku had forced me to train, back when I was so confused. Back when nothing seemed to make sense to me. I walked over to the stump and sat down next to it. I smiled and let myself sink into happy memories, drowning out the pain. Of course, it would be worse once I realized everyone was gone. For now, though, I was content to enjoy the only thing I had left of my friends.
Memories.
I don’t know how long I had there, just thinking. No one ever came looking for me, they must have known I’d wanted some alone time. As I came out of my thoughtful haze, I was surprised to find what I felt. More than anything, I was angry. Burned. I wanted my revenge on Bone for everything that he had done, those I loved that he had hurt. Inside me flickered a flame of something I could hardly recognize, and I think it was hate. It was strong, very strong.
Except, it was covered by a very thick layer of fear. Pricking fear that kept me from doing everything that I wanted. I knew it was a weakness, but I just couldn’t shake it. It was a constant reminder of everything that had happened. The path that had been set for me.
A constant reminder of a chosen fate I couldn’t change.