A/N The main notice that's important for everyone to read is that updates may or may not be coming weekly anymore. They will be kept withen 2 week intervals of each other. The reason being is that school life is hectic over here right now and that I want to spend more time writing my own original stuff. -shrugs- This is just informing you for now.
Disclaimer: JP owns canon
Claimer: Everything else is mine
I sat there on the dirt ground and looked up at the moon
I sat there on the ground and looked up at the moon. I looked on as it was hidden behind the clouds and as it wandered back in full view. Don't get me wrong, I was still concentrating on watch. I knew when one of the Flock woke up, heard all those little animals scrambling around in the night. I was watching, listening, alert. And I was jumpy.
The slightest noise made my head swivel around, peering into the dark where it came from. The hoots of the owls, small scuttling feet, all of it set me on edge. It was worst while the moon was hidden. Everything, absolutely everything was thrust into a darkness so murky that I couldn't see beyond my hands.
"Max?" I was immediately on my feet, hands up in a defensive position before I recognized the voice. "You alright?"
I sighed and relaxed. "Sorry," I whispered, "jumpy is all."
Fang chuckled lightly and hugged me from behind. "I noticed that. Worried about the whole Itex thing?" I nodded and leaned back into him, sighing, enjoying his company. "Well there's not much we can do except to be prepared for the worst. Go and get some sleep, okay? I'm on watch now."
I nodded, not even bothering to check the time, and crawled back into the cave. Instead of lying down on my own bed, I moved over to Fang's and collapsed on his. Still nice and warm. Sighing, I buried my face in the makeshift pillow. His scent still lingered and I took a couple deep breaths, my eyelids closing as I did so and a smile tugging at my lips.
--
No sounds, pure silence, not even my breathing was audible. Light. What light? There was no light. Only darkness and silence. Nothing more, nothing less. The only colour in this place was me.
"Where am I?" my voice echoed in the blackness around me. "Hello? Is this a dream?"
"Hello there Max." I turned around in circles trying to locate the voice. "There's no need to yell, you know. My hearing is good enough . . . better than you've got anyways, though I'm not so sure about that blind bird of yours. He's quite a looker as well, but nowhere near Fang. Very good taste there Max, very good taste."
I chuckled. "Too bad you won't be getting either of them then. Such a shame."
The voice's laughter echoed mine. "Max, Max, Max, I've always wanted to talk to you, but never gotten the chance. You're everything I thought you would be."
I took a deep bow in no particular direction. "Why thank you, though I would appreciate it if I knew who it was I was talking to."
Soft footsteps came from behind me. Turning, I stepped back and held my arms ready in case anything happened. My eyes darted from side to side, seeing nothing further than the darkness, ears straining to pick up any sounds that might indicate more than one person.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Really, Max, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so already." The person stepped out of the darkness. No, it wasn't a person, it was an Eraser. I held my arms up higher as muscles tensed up. "As it stands, all I want to do is meet you. Nothing more, nothing less."
She held out a hand but I spat at her feet, replying, "You believe I'll trust you? Just like that?"
She chuckled. "Good old Max. That's exactly the sort of response I expected from you. This meeting has definitely been worth the wait."
"Where am I and who the hell are you?"
A smile parted her lips. "Who am I?" She seemed amused; I was just itching to wipe that smirk off her face. "I suppose it has been a long time. A year at least. I expected you to remember me, but alas, it seems I've been forgotten. Woe with me, oh woe with me, the mighty Max has forgotten who I am. Whatever shall I do? Shall I—"
"Just tell me your name!"
Her muzzle parted as she smiled broader, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "My name is of no worth. It's what I shall do that will change this world. Call me what you wish; names hold no real importance to me."
--
I jerked awake with a soft gasp. In an instant, Fang was by my side, checking my pulse. Concern was written all over his face. I rolled my eyes and endured the medical session.
As he carried out his examination of me, I conducted my own. My hands trailed up his thighs, caressing him through the thin fabric. Moving slowly, I slid them up and under his shirt, grinning at the skin-on-skin contact, feeling a tremor pass through Fang's body. Removing one hand, I used it to support my weight, leaning up to kiss him sweetly on the lips, tracing his abs with my other hand. Disengaging from the kiss, I looked him lovingly in the eye before licking his nose—
"Will you two stop making out?" demanded Iggy. "There are children here you know. Plus, I can't concentrate enough to make breakfast with you two in each others pan—"
Fang and I sprung apart, blushing. I glanced over at Iggy, sending a death glare that was lost in transmission. However, the shoe that struck Iggy's head wasn't lost. In fact, it was dead on, smacking him directly in the back of the head.
"Ow! That hurt." Iggy rubbed the back of his head, throwing the shoe out the cave. "Now you have to run after it."
"That wasn't my shoe. It's not like I'm that stupid." I could hear Fang rolling his eyes at Iggy. "It's yours."
Iggy merely tilted his head towards us, grinning. "Well, either you can get my shoe for me and eat breakfast, or I can get my shoe and listen as breakfast burns to a cinder."
I chuckled and Iggy paled. "Or you could fetch the shoe yourself, after you've finished cooking."
"Or give it to Gazzy to cook. After all, he needs the practise," Fang added from beside me.
Iggy growled something unintelligible, woke Gazzy up, and went outside to find his shoe. I glanced over at Fang and raised an eyebrow.
He winked at me and answered my silent question, "Yes, that wasn't his shoe." I laughed, Gazzy chuckled half-asleep, and Fang smiled in that special way of his.
"What? What's so funny?" demanded Iggy from the cave entrance. We cracked up even more when Iggy's face broke into one of complete horror. "You mean . . . this isn't my . . . shoe . . .?" Disgusted, he threw it back out.
Fang smiled broader and replied casually, "Nope, it's Nudge's."
There was a moment's silence from Iggy as he computed what Fang had said while Gazzy and I doubled over laughing. By the time I wiped the tears from my eyes, Iggy had vanished. I gestured for Gazzy to start cooking, but he was . . . indisposed, so Fang stepped in. Perhaps not as good as Iggy or Gazzy, but not that bad all the same.
"What's going on?" mumbled Total. "Can't a dog get some peace and quiet around here?"
Before we could reply, Iggy fell back into the cave, panting. "Okay . . . I'm back . . . has . . . Nudge . . . woken up . . . yet?"
Total strolled over to the collapsed Iggy and nudged him a couple of times with his snout before declaring, "He's dead."
Gazzy and I collapsed to the ground as Iggy raised a finger into the air and mumbled, "Give me five more minutes and I will be."
By this time we were rolling around laughing, waking up Angel and Nudge who demanded to know what was going on. Fang told them in a calm and collected voice and Angel collapsed onto the ground with us, Nudge walking over to kill Iggy for the mistreatment of her shoe. We only truly stopped laughing when Fang brought food around to each of us.
"Okay people," I told them once we were finished eating, "we're going to New York."
"Back to New York?" asked Total. "Can't we go back to France instead?"
"I vote for going to France," seconded Iggy.
"So do I," agreed Gazzy, "it's not like I've been there before you know . . ."
I shot a quick glare at Fang, but he wisely kept his mouth shut as I replied, "We'll go to France after New York, okay? How's that for a plan?"
"Great," they chorused as one.
Rolling my eyes, I turned to the girls. "What about you two? Got any suggestions?"
They shook their heads. "That's fine with us," Angel said.
"Okay, New York then France. After that the girls can choose the next place to go," I said and walked outside, unfurling my wings. It was cloudy, absolutely no sun. I hoped for no rain and called to the rest of the Flock. "Come on people, the sooner we get to New York the sooner we get to France."
Punching their fists into the air, they leapt into the sky. Fang placed a hand on my shoulder. "They won't be going to France, will they?"
I sighed and glanced back at him. "If we're lucky, we will be," was all I said before leaping into the sky after them.
