A/N: Okay, here's another fan fiction for you all, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with all four of these stories at once! Wish me luck, and enjoy, everyone! Also, I'm using the term, "dobutsu" as the term for anyone like Axel or Roxas. It's the half-animal term, just so you know. I got the idea of using the term from KairiMcEwin, and I hope that that's okay. Okay, on to the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.
Neko Love
Chapter 1
"Roxas, come on, faster!"
"I'm running as fast as I can, Night! It's hard to keep up with you!"
We ran as fast as we could, away from the town we had called home for a long time, and away from the angry mob that had declared us as freaks. We had long since entered the forest that surrounded the town, but knew we were still being pursued. How did we know we were still being chased? My keen sense of hearing and Roxas's cat-like hearing could still detect the crunching of the underbrush as the mob followed us. We couldn't stop running unless we knew for sure they were gone, but even I didn't know if or when they would give up.
Suddenly, while running, Roxas tripped, sprawling into the dirt and tangling his tail with his legs. I skid to a stop and quickly darted back to my blonde friend and helped him to his feet, untangling his tail from his legs at the same time. The honey-gold tail twitched nervously as I helped him up, and his golden ears flattened against his skull in fear. I listened carefully; the villagers were getting closer, which meant we were running out of time. We took off running again, but before long, the sounds of our pursuers were starting to become louder. I could hear shouting not too far off, and I began to panic in my mind. I looked at Roxas as we ran, and he looked as terrified as I felt.
Out of nowhere, though, someone jumped out and stopped us. I growled low in my throat, shifting in front of Roxas in order to protect him if need be, and flaring my silver wings slightly to make myself look bigger. The blonde stared at the person who stopped us, who appeared to be another dobutsu. His hair was like a mane, bright red and spiked back, spilling down his back until the middle of it. I had to strain my neck back just to look at his face, he was so tall. His emerald eyes glinted with amusement at my attempt to block Roxas from him, and the upside down teardrop tattoo he had under each eye made his eyes stand out that much more. I noticed he had a fox tail and ears, the ears hard to notice through that thick mane of hair he had, and the fur color matching his hair. He laughed when my growl increased to a snarl and I bared my fangs, but otherwise remained where he was.
"Night, we don't have time for this," Roxas reminded me quietly. "We need to keep running." I glanced at him, but nodded in agreement and started to try and push past the redhead. He grabbed each of us by the arm, stopping us in our tracks.
"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, still amused, but his tone was anything but. I bristled angrily, knowing we were all going to get caught if he didn't let go of us. He noticed this, however, and knew what was going on, too, it seemed. "Listen, just follow me; we can all lose them through here."
I gave him a suspicious look, but Roxas didn't question it. He quickly ran after the redheaded fox dobutsu, and after a split second of consideration, I raced after them through the brush. I caught up to them easily, my great speed meaning I could run much faster, but I needed to keep my pace with them. I slowed down to match their pace when I caught up, but allowed the fox to take the lead. His feline-like eyes seemed to be searching for something when we finally stopped, and I watched with interest as Roxas panted, trying to catch his breath. He was bent over; hands on his knees as he breathed heavily, and some of his golden blonde locks had started to stick to his forehead from the sweat due to our running. The redheaded fox, however, had hardly broken a sweat as he continued to search the rock wall we had stopped by. After a few more minutes of this, however, he pressed something, and a portion of rock slid out of the way. He turned to us and motioned for us to follow.
"Come on, we don't have much more time," he warned. "Once we get through here, they won't be able to find us." I cast a doubtful glance at him, and then looked to Roxas, who eagerly straightened up again and darted inside after the redhead. Upon my entering, the rock wall slid shut behind us, hiding our vanishing act from the townsfolk that were trying to kill Roxas and me. My silver armor started to glow slightly in the darkness, providing a small amount of illumination for us as we trekked along the tunnel. The redhead's vision in the dark must have been quite good, though, because little to no light from my armor reached him, and yet he walked down the path with ease. Poor Roxas, on the other hand, stumbled occasionally, but otherwise managed. I guessed it was from exhaustion that he wasn't fairing as well in here, because normally he does perfectly fine in darkness. I suddenly realized we didn't even know the fox's name, so I decided to ask.
"Hey, we never got your name," I called quietly to him. The sound of my voice, even quiet, seemed to shatter the silence and managed to sound deafening. Roxas shivered, so I used my fire magic a bit to warm him by providing soft warmth over his body. Once he stopped shivering, I noticed the redhead staring at me.
"You can use fire?" he asked, shocked. I huffed indignantly.
"Of course!" I snapped. "I'm a dragon after all!" And to prove my point, I flared my wings again and snorted, releasing a bit of smoke. He nodded, getting the point I was trying to prove.
"Name's Axel, got it memorized?" he finally said with a smirk after watching me for a few more moments. Roxas nodded, as did I.
I'm Roxas, and this is Night," Roxas introduced us, gesturing first to himself, and then me.
"Well, now that names are known, can we please hurry? I'm tired, and I'm sure Roxas is, too," I said impatiently, looking at my blonde best friend and noting the slight darkness forming under his eyes and the way his eyelids drooped. Axel nodded and quickly continued further along the tunnel until there was some moonlight at the end. We ran towards the light, bursting out in an unfamiliar forested area. I looked around, inhaling the scent of the forest and its inhabitants as I did so. I didn't recognize any scents other than prey and a bit of fruit, maybe some medicinal herbs, but otherwise I had no idea where we were. I looked to the starry sky for some guidance, but not even reading the stars could tell me where we were. It was a beautiful place, though, and I could hear the faint rush of water from a river off in the distance, and I relished in the sound. I hadn't been anywhere near clean, fresh water sources in years, not since I found Roxas, and that was somewhere around 18 years ago. I had always been drinking from the well water, or from a dirty pond that I would purify what I drank.
"Axel…where are we?" Roxas asked in wonder. His ocean blue eyes scanned the forest, marveling at its beauty, and I followed suit. It really was pretty, with all of the fruit trees, exotic-looking flowers, you name it. Even though the flowers were closed during the night, I was certain they'd be even more amazing in the daytime.
"This, Roxas and Night, is my home, plus home to many others," Axel answered. I cast him a confused look, to which he sighed.
"There's many others like us," he started. "Many other dobutsu, the ones who haven't been driven from their homes yet or saved from being killed, live here. You're both welcome here, but we need to see the tribe leader before we can go to my place and get you settled in." He began to lead the way, tracing a path I couldn't detect, his bushy, red, fluffy fox tail swishing occasionally. Roxas's cat ears twitched slightly at times, detecting sounds that I wasn't paying enough attention to listen for. I noticed the blonde's claws extend a bit here and there, and then he would sheath them. This was a sign he was nervous, seeing as he only did that when nervous, stressed, or something along those lines. Eventually, I could hear voices, and they got closer as we approached. Soon enough, Axel led us to a clear entrance of the village; or at least, that's what it seemed like to me. When we entered and the others saw us, I tensed up greatly, my muscles almost wanting to lock into place, but I kept up with Axel and Roxas, ignoring the stares I was getting. I could even hear faint voices whispering to each other.
"Why is there a dragon here?"
"That's what that is? I thought he was a weird-looking lizard."
"Well, he has wings, doesn't he?"
"Why would Axel bring a dragon to the village?"
"A dragon shouldn't be here…"
I scowled slightly at the whispers and mutters of the villagers, but remained focused on keeping up with my friend and the redheaded fox. Once we got to what I guessed to be the center of the village, Axel had us wait outside while he went into a rather large hut. It was larger than the ones we had passed by, so I assumed that this must be the tribe leader's home. Roxas and I stayed close together, nervous because of the stares we were receiving. After a few minutes, Axel returned outside, this time an older dobutsu following. The older one was a tiger dobutsu, judging by his gold and black striped tail and matching, slightly rounded ears. He approached us, but when I jumped onto Roxas's shoulder to have some more height, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I wanted to shred this old fool, seeing as he was judging me before he even knew me. I restrained myself, though, and was thankful I did. He looked the pair of us over, his eyes widening at something when he got close to our chests, and then backed away, seeming quite satisfied. Finally, he spoke.
"My name is Ansem the Wise, the leader of this village and tribe," he began. I sighed internally; here goes the infinite monologue…He yapped on and on, talking about the tribe itself, how it began and was founded, yadda, yadda, yadda. Eventually he stopped, asking us for our names and what we were exactly.
"I'm Roxas, a cat dobutsu," Roxas told him. I sighed mentally again; might as well get it done and over with…
"My name is Night, and I'm the only silver armored dragon to exist in the Dragon Realms, my old home," I said, but I saw no negative reactions from Ansem. In fact, he seemed pleasantly surprised about what I was. I was relieved, but who was to say the others would care? I was still a dragon, silver armored or not. The older man nodded, and then replied.
"Very good to meet you both. It's not often we've seen a dragon in the village, and when we do, they've always caused us problems," he said. "In fact, I'm surprised you haven't done anything yet." I grimaced, making my dislike for the stereotype obvious.
"Well, I'm not like those scaled beasts that are so distant in blood, I'm not even in the same species as them anymore," I retorted. "My kind is actually what saved your world from certain destruction back about…I dunno…20, maybe 30 years back?" The villagers gasped when I said this, and I had no idea why. "Is there something I missed here?" I asked, getting annoyed. Axel just stared at me, mouth slightly agape. Ansem then explained.
"Well, it was 23 years ago that on the day of the solar eclipse, there was the usual darkness that came from the moon blocking the sun," Ansem began. "But right after the darkness started, a dark light and energy poured out of some strange portal from the moon. The eclipse lasted longer than usual, but right before it ended, there was a massive roar of agony, and the dark light and energy vanished, and the eclipse ended."
I was stunned; I hadn't expected for the human world to even know anything about what had happened, let alone witness anything. I sighed, knowing I would have to explain my side of the story, but then my legs almost gave out while I was perched on Roxas's shoulder. Ansem took notice of this and decided to stop interrogating us. "Axel, take them with you to your home, and make sure they both sleep well. I'm sure, from what you've told me, they've both had a long day." Axel nodded once, and approached us. I jumped down from Roxas's shoulder, and Axel helped the blonde keep on his feet. I followed them closely as he took us to his home, which was a hut that was almost as large as Ansem's hut. He helped Roxas inside, where I aided in positioning my best friend on the bed in the guest room. I tucked him under the blankets, seeing and feeling him shiver before he was covered. I looked to Axel, who was staring at Roxas as though entranced. When the redhead realized I was watching him, he flushed slightly, seeming embarrassed. I cleared my throat before speaking.
"Axel, thank you…for everything," I mumbled. "For saving us and bringing us here when we had nowhere else to go or run to." Axel smiled warmly at me in reply.
"It's no problem," he assured me. When I cocked my head sideways, confused, he chuckled and added, "Don't worry about the other villagers. Once you tell your story tomorrow, I'm sure you'll be okay." I nodded, but suddenly realized something.
"Wait, do you know anything about what happened?" I demanded, quickly getting suspicious.
"No, I don't know anything about what happened that day," he answered smoothly. "I was too young, anyway. I was only two years old, after all. But I have heard some people tell about what they think happened, and whatever your story is, I'm certain you'll be fine." My suspicions died down after he said that, and I felt a bit better about living here. I looked at Roxas, who was sound asleep on the couch still, and sighed. I knew he would have a hard time trying to adjust, but maybe, just maybe, the kind redheaded fox dobutsu would make it easier on the blonde.
I looked back to Axel and asked, "Do you have any furs and feathers?"
"Yeah, why?" he asked, seeming confused.
"Just get me a few furs and a handful of feathers," I told him. He still seemed confused, but got me what I had asked for. I began setting up a makeshift nest at the end of the couch, and when I finished, I stepped back to admire my work. It looked comfortable enough, so I crawled under the top fur, curling up underneath and sighing with bliss at the softness of the nest. I looked to Axel, and he was watching me with clearly written surprise on his face. "What?"
"I just thought you would need to sleep on something…higher quality? I dunno," he said, shrugging. I wrinkled my nose at the stereotype.
"Well, my kind prefers the softness of feathers and furs rather than sleeping on piles of gold and silver," I told him coolly. He nodded, knowing what I meant, and bade me goodnight. I replied in kind, and then snuggled deeper into the nest, burrowing under the furs. Once comfortable, I began to drift off to sleep, my last thought being, Things should hopefully go better from here…
A/N: Okay, newest story's chapter, complete! I'll now be working on four different stories at once, so please have some patience with me, please! Anyway…ENJOY!