MagiStream

I woke up with a groan the next morning. Thoughts of The Auras still swam in my mind, but I was determined not to cry. I supposed I’d better get moving, just in case they were still looking for. Great. My paws were still really sore from last night and all that running.

I crawled out from under the bush to find it was mid-afternoon. The bright sunlight caused me to squint until my eyes adjusted. My stomach rumbled, but I didn’t have time to hunt now. I had to keep going, away from The Auras and into unclaimed territory. I couldn’t let them catch me; I knew if that happened I would end up going back. Right now, going back was not an option.

I started walking the other direction, ignoring the pain in my paws. They’d probably torn open yesterday, but I couldn’t stop now. I’d come too far to give up because of sore paws. The sun was extremely hot on this spring day and I soon started panting a bit. I couldn’t go any faster that I already was without collapsing.

This was miserable. I was starting to regret leaving, but again, I was thinking of how easy it would be back with The Auras. I was so weak, always taking the easy way out of things. I was pathetic really. The thought of turning myself in to the Dark Ones crossed my mind. However, that idea was quickly shut out. Bone wouldn’t just kill me; he’d torture me. It would only cause pain to the Kitsune I still loved.

“Why me?” I wondered out loud. If I’d never been chosen by the spirits, this would have never even happened to me. I would still be living the life of solitude I’d had for so long. I would never have never known what it means to feel love or have a family. Either way, mourning wasn’t going to accomplish anything. I had made my choices and now I had to stick by them.

A breeze blew by, but it was warm and humid. I groaned, wishing it would go away. Then I picked up the smell of squirrel in the breeze. Instinctively my head turned in the direction of the smell. Thankfully, it was still in a direction away from The Auras. I dropped into a hunter’s crouch with my ears flat on my head and my tail close to the ground.

I spotted the squirrel and moved silently across the ground. Please don’t see me, please don’t see me. I was about to make my strike forward when the squirrel looked over. Of course, I must have stood out because of my fur or something. Either way, the furry rodent scampered up a tree.

I was too tired to even chase after it. I suddenly felt like something was watching me, but instead of just being there, it was laughing. It had the same feeling as the mysterious presence I used to feel, only much harsher.

“Shut up,” I snarled my ears flat against my head. I ignored the presence, let out a sigh, and continued tromping along. Each step seemed to make my paws heavier and heavier. All I really wanted was to flop over and die.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head and continuing to trudge. I had to keep going, at least for a little while longer.

I don’t know how much longer I walked, but it was sunset when I stopped and bothered to take in my surroundings. I was in a thin forest with ferns and bushes growing on the ground. A few dried leaves from the winter were left on the ground and the trees were covered in new leaves. I found a tree with roots that rose from the ground a bit and crawled underneath.

Under the tree roots it was cool and shaded. I closed my eyes, happy to be out of the beating sun and to have stopped walking. I was starving and exhausted. I again regretted leaving The Auras, but promised myself things would get better. No more battles and pain.

I sighed deeply, just waiting for sleep to consume me. I needed the rest; I was still panting front walking all this way in the heat. I don’t know how long I sat there, but sleep never came. I was uneasy and restless. My stomach grumbled and I thought of the squirrel I’d lost earlier. I grumbled under my breath and dragged myself to my paws.

I stepped out from under the tree roots and groaned at the sweltering heat. My hunger drove me on, however. I scented the air, but all I smelt was forest. I looked up to the sky and sent out a silent prayer to the spirits, inhaling again. I wandered forward, desperately searching for something to soothe my rumbling stomach.

I don’t know how long it was before I finally smelt mouse. I instinctively crouched down with my ears flat against my head, scanning the forest floor for the little creature. I spotted it scurrying through the underbrush and my mouth began to water.

I stalked closer, not making a single sound. I was about to lunge forward with my claws stretched when a growl startled me and caused me to jump back. A white paw shot from the brush and pinned my mouse to the ground.

“Hey!” I exclaimed as a scowl spread across my face. “That was mine!” I looked up to find myself staring into dancing brown eyes.

“I guess you’re a little slow, hmm?” the two-tailed Kitsune before me smirked. I scowled wider, my blue eyes narrowing as my stomach rumbled again.

“Who are you anyways?” I huffed, my mouth still watering at the smell of mouse.

“That depends,” the Kitsune replied. “Who are you?”

“Oh, here we go,” I grumbled, sitting back on my haunches in annoyance because of the conversation that I knew was about to come.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” I snarled furiously, dark shadows spiraling up from the floor and lashing around the room. Scar ducked his head and narrowly avoided being hit in the face with one. My red eyes narrowed into slits and I growled. My ears were flat on my head and my teeth barred back as I waited for an answer.

“She ran away,” Moon whispered. The silvery Kitsune’s ears were flat against her head and her tails tucked close to her so she didn’t get struck by the randomly flaring shadows. Then, all the sudden, the shadows stopped. My ears perked up and a malicious smile made its way onto my face.

“She left The Auras?” I asked with eager interest. My mind was already formulating all the evil possibilities this opened up.

“Yes, sir,” Scar confirmed. He and Moon had begun to relax, considering I’d finished my fit of rage and wasn’t about to claw someone’s eyes out.

“Well this is perfect,” I almost purred. “We have to find her, hunt her down, and kill her. This is so… so easy. Then, with her out of the way, we annihilate The Auras and destroy the human race.”

“Sounds perfect,” Scar’s wide grin matched mine. His bright yellow eyes glowed with excitement. Moon looked a bit more unconvinced, but at least she was in on the plan.

“Shall I fetch Thorin?” Moon asked in that sweet voice of hers. I almost forgot to answer, but remembered right before it got awkward.

“Yes,” I growled out, sinking back onto my haunches and curling my tails around my paws. I was so excited. This is all too easy.

“When do we strike?” Scar asked. The dark grey Kitsune’s tails were swishing against the hard den floor behind him. I appreciated Scar’s support more than I’d probably ever tell him. I would, but then I would look week. In the Dark Ones, we had no room for weakness.

“Soon, any guesses who are first target will be?” I smiled venomously and showed my white teeth. The Auras would be dropping in numbers; soon enough they wouldn’t even be a threat to us at all.

“Reeku?” Scar asked with an excited expression. I shook my head in disagreement even though I completely understood his guess. Reeku had learned a lot in his time being tortured, but I wanted to drag out his life as long as possible. I wanted to make him suffer as he watched the blood of his friends and family spill at the blow of my claws.

“I wish, my dear friend,” I admitted. I would have loved to see the creamy-furred Kitsune fall dead. “But, our next target is bigger. Kill this Kitsune and The Auras will fall apart at the seams.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, realization shined in Scar’s eyes. I didn’t even need to say who was at the top of my death list.

“You rang?” a sharp voice asked. I smiled, recognizing the voice of the warrior Thorin. She too had a hostile tongue, but not like Jay. That Kitsune was just annoying and obnoxious; Thorin was smart and witty. She was as silent as a mouse and sly as a fox.

“I need your help,” I came out with it straightforward. I wasn’t one to ask for help, but Thorin was different. She hadn’t been born a Dark One. In fact, she hardly had interest in anything about the war. I had requested Thorin come join us because I met her in the forest once and recognized the value she held. So much potential…

“Oh?” the rusty brown Kitsune raised her eyebrows. Her three brown tails twitched behind her and her golden amber eyes looked at me expectantly. Of course, she didn’t dare look me in the eye. Not even Scar looked me in the eyes.

“The chosen one has left The Auras and gone off on her own,” I informed in an alluring voice, urging Thorin to figure out what I wanted on her own. She was a smart Kitsune, I was sure she would get it.
“Heh,” Thorin scoffed, most likely at Ghost’s stupidity. “Do you want her dead or alive?” I grinned and let out a slight sigh.

“As much as it pains me to say this,” I began to say, “you may just get the honors of killing her. If you can get her back here with the guarantee that she won’t escape, that would be best. Then we could do a public execution. However, if she proves to be difficult, eliminate her on the spot.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Thorin replied smoothly, her expression calm. Her tails still twitched back and forth slowly, showing that she was a big eager, perhaps. “When do you want me to leave?”

“As soon as possible,” I informed. The sooner Ghost was out of the way, the easier this was. She was denying her destiny, and sometimes that can be a grave mistake. In Ghost’s case, this made it all too easy to end her life.

“I’ll be gone before nightfall,” and with that, Thorin slunk from the den without a sound. I saw Scar watching her as she walked out and rolled my eyes. Everyone knew he had a little crush on her, but he would never admit it.

“So, do you think I should give Ghost a little warning?” I chuckled, glancing from Scar and over to Moon. When I glanced at her I felt emotions swell inside of my chest. I swallowed them away; I didn’t have time for petty things such as love. It was just another thing that made The Auras weak. They bothered to have mates. Of course, if any of my Dark Ones wanted to be mates, I would allow it. It was simply that I would never fall for such a stupid idea.

“A scary one?” Moon asked. Her emerald eyes lit up and they met mine for a moment. I almost gasped, but I held it in. The silvery Kitsune quickly looked down at the floor like it had never happened in the first place. Good, it was better that way.

“Would you expect anything less from him?” Scar asked as he looked in my direction to assure that I was the one he was talking about.

“Nope, never,” Moon laughed, her voice chiming through the den and ringing in my ears. I chuckled as well, grinning at how well they understood me.

“What should it be? Oh wait, I know!” I gasped as an idea formed in my mind. I’d never given her an illusion about Reeku before, had I?

“What are you thinking?” Scar smirked at me.

“Reeku,” I pronounced, quite proud of my idea. “Poor little Ghost won’t know how to react when she sees Reeku in pain. Of course, I’ll throw in some of the other Auras as a little warning. She’ll never understand it as one, though.”

“You evil thing,” Moon chastised me playfully. I knew she thought the idea was brilliant. It was brilliant.

“Of course, the day is still young,” I grumbled in dismay. “We have hours to wait before I can actually send her the illusion.”

“Do you think The Auras ever even work on their illusion skills?” Scar pondered. “I mean, if they knew our malicious plans, they certainly would.”

“I hope not,” I replied. “If The Auras knew we planned to destroy the human race using the power of illusion to create reality, they certainly would be practicing their illusions.”

“But… they don’t know that,” Moon chuckled, swishing her tails across the floor of the cave. Scar yawned and dragged his golden eyes across the room for a moment.

“Does anyone else want breakfast?” the gray Kitsune asked with a toothy grin. I shook my head at him, fighting a slight smile.

“I do!” Moon chirped excitedly, looking to Scar with an expression of agreement. I stretched my paws out in front of me.

“I’d like to go for a bit of a walk first,” I disagreed. “Moon, would you like to tag along? We could catch breakfast while we’re out.” Moon turned to me and her bright green eyes met my smothering red ones.

“I’d love too,” she grinned. “Sorry Scar, but you’ll have to eat by yourself.”

“Darn,” Scar grumbled, his face falling into a pretend sulk. He sent me a knowing look out of the corner of his eye. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as best as I could. My trusted General grumbled something under his breathed and turned to walk into the tunnels and out into our territory. I turned my full attention to the beautiful silvery Kitsune before me.

“Shall we?” I asked, climbing to my paws with a smile. I rarely actually smiled, but this one was genuine. It wasn’t a smirk or a grin; it was just a smile.

“We shall,” Moon replied, mirroring me and getting to her paws. She must have noticed my smile because she shot me one in return. Inside my mind, I was chastising myself. I shouldn’t be letting a single soul bring me this much happiness. I shouldn’t care too much, it was just a weakness; a weakness that would someday bring me down to the ground.

Moon and I walked out the tunnels together and into the mostly pine forest, chatting about various things. The weather had been awfully warm lately and I was resisting the urge to pant. My striking black fur captured the light and made me even hotter than the average Kitsune would be. Moon and I just talked, nothing complex. It was just a regular old conversation.

I swallowed my nervousness –yes, even I got nervous- and decided to bring up an awkward topic while we were sharing a rather fat rabbit. I looked up to find Moon watching me with her beautiful green eyes. When she saw me meeting her glance, she smiled. I returned it.

“You… uh… like me, don’t you?” I mumbled softly, not taking my glance from hers. Moon’s eyes went wide and she looked a bit flabbergasted. For a moment I thought she was going to say no, or she was going to walk away.

“Yes,” the silvery Kitsune admitted. “Very much. And, you like me?” I felt a wider smile spreading its way onto my face and warm feelings seeping into my body. I finally understood the meaning of the feeling ‘warm and fuzzy’ all because of this moment.

“Yeah,” I looked down at my paws, unable to look at her because I knew what was coming.

“Well this is great news! We can-“Moon began, and I could imagine the happy look on her face; the light that would be in her green eyes at this moment. I interrupted her, looking up.

“No,” I shook my head, trying to hide the sorrow that was in my eyes. I had to look like I really didn’t care… or this would never work.

“No?” Moon asked with a puzzled expression. I could see the slight gloss of tears beginning to form in her eyes. Pain stabbed me in the chest like a knife and I wanted to go to her. I wanted to apologize and tell her I hadn’t meant it. But, I had meant it. I couldn’t be with any other Kitsune. I couldn’t have someone depending on me and I couldn’t care about someone more than anyone else. I needed couldn’t have anything in my way if I wanted to accomplish my desires.

“Yes, I said no.” I kept my voice flat and emotionless. “We can never be together.” I saw tears spill over from Moon’s eyes, but I ignored them. I got to my paws and walked into the trees with a heavy heart. What had I just done?