Fall of 2001

"Vani, 'm hung'y," complained the smaller pup, holding his arms as the autumn breeze blew against them, causing a chill to go through them. Sora sniffled as he followed his brother slowly through a stone path over a stream. "An' cold..."

Vanitas grunted softly, reaching the other side of the water flow and turning around to help his little brother across. "I know, Sora. I am too, but we gotta find somewhere safe to stay first, 'kay? Then we can find food and get all warm and stuff, okay?"

Taking the wolf's hand and pulling himself up, Sora nodded, his ears folded back. "M'kay."

With a sigh, Vanitas pulled the smaller boy close to him, rubbing his arms a bit to warm him up. "We're almost there, alright?" Sora nodded, still holding his hand. Both their stomachs whined pitifully.

Emotion bubbled up in Sora, tears welling up and threatening to spill over but Sora rubbed them away— however, it hardly did anything since more just seemed to fall after one another. The brunet stopped, causing the older brother to pause, turning around to see him sobbing softly. Vanitas let a small gasp escape from him, coming close to Sora and lowering himself a little.

"Sora? Sora, what's wrong?" he inquired, even though he knew what was wrong. heck, if he wasn't trying to be strong for Sora, he'd be blubbering too. The younger pup's lip quivered and he pulled at the edge of his shirt as tears fell freely.

"I don' like this!" he cried, burying his face into the raven's stomach, wrapping his arms around him and sobbing into his shirt. Vanitas hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace, petting Sora's hair down while hushing him softly.

"I-I know..." he replied gently. "Wh-why don't we just... Find a place to rest and- and I'll find something to eat and then we- we can sleep, alright?" They didn't part yet, even when Sora nodded with a muffled sound of agreement. After a moment of staying there, Sora calmed, the two began walking again, their hands holding each other.

They walked nearly two miles before Sora's legs were trembling from fatigue. The air began to feel thick, the scent of rain carrying through the breeze. Vanitas ended up having to carry the lighter boy on his furry back, seeing as how the youth looked just about to faint. With tiny arms wrapped around his neck, Vanitas trudged on, hurrying to find somewhere to rest before it began to rain.

Ten minutes passed, sprinkles of water finally reaching the ground. Fortunately Vanitas found an abandoned den, really just a small hole between two rocks. The scent of wolf was stale; it seemed as though it was abandoned many, many moons ago... It should be safe enough for them, just for the night at least.

Sora was already curled up in the back of the small sanctuary, sleeping in silence yet he twitched once or twice unconsciously. Outside it seemed like someone was pouring buckets of water out; Vanitas found it puzzling how quickly a gentle drizzle could turn into ruthless, cold rain. He sat in silence, simply watching the water descend and listening to its steady trickling and thumping on the ground.

An hour passed and the rain let down a little, but it was still very wet outside. Vanitas couldn't afford to go out in search of food now; what if Sora woke up and went searching for him? That boy would follow him to the ends of the earth, and he was already very tired. What if he caught a cold and couldn't take care of Sora anymore? A sick body did no good for anyone.

The raven sighed after his stomach rumbled sadly, seemingly trying to eat itself. Holding his stomach with a grunt, he crawled back into the hole to curl next to Sora, to give him more warmth. As he laid by him, his tail curled around the smaller boy, Vanitas paused, holding his breath to listen more closely. ... Okay, good, he was still breathing...

Sighing in relief, he wrapped his arms around him and slowly fell asleep to the trickling of rain on the probably-mushy ground.


There was a bang that echoed through the air. Vanitas' heart shot itself into his throat and he scrambled up straight, nearly slamming his head into the rocky ceiling. A yelp sounded from him and he held his head, hissing loudly in pain.

"Sora?!" He called before he even had the chance to look around for him.

"'M right 'ere," Sora groggily answered, raising his head and rubbing his eye. "Vani, wha's wrong?" Now he stared up with curious, blue eyes.

Vanitas blinked, laying his lower body down hesitantly. His heart was pounding in his ears. Rubbing his head, he inhaled and exhaled, attempting to calm himself. The raven swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. "N-Nothin', Sor... I-I was just spooked is all."

Sora's gaze remained on his brother for a moment more, studying him before wordlessly shuffling over and curling himself against his dark fur. Vanitas curled his tail around him in response. Turning his head, the wolf stared at the raging storm outside. Thunder. That must be why he woke up...

How long had it been raining? How long had they been sleeping? Vanitas was famished, and he was sure Sora was too, but he couldn't go out there. On top of the risk of getting a cold, apparently there was the chance of getting electrocuted as well. Heck no. Better to play it safe.

Another sigh and Vanitas finally felt calm enough to return to sleep. Laying his upper body down, he maneuvered his body onto his side and pulled Sora in closer with his paws. Vanitas continued to flinch at the crackling and banging of the sky, but soon enough, he too fell asleep.


The morning came with the happy whistling of the forest birds. The chirping had woken Sora first— he had a fascination with sounds of all sorts. Although he was still exhausted and starving, Sora had found the energy to play outside while his brother continued to sleep. He must have been really sleepy to still be napping.

Sora played with the mud and the rocks and leaves until he was tired again, soon growing cranky while his stomach attempted to eat itself. He didn't want to wake Vanitas up, but he knew he'd be super grumpy if he found out he went to look for food on his own. Vanitas didn't like it when Sora did that. Using his better judgement, the hybrid pup opted to wake him up, albeit reluctantly.

"Vani?" Sora had begun, shaking the older wolf slightly. "Vani! 'M hungry! The rain stopped a long time ago; can we find somethin' ta eat?" Vanitas stirred at this, grunting and rolling over in a lame attempt to stay asleep. Sora pouted at this and shook him more. "Vani! You slept for a long time! 'M hungry, let's go eat!"

After a moment or so of staring at the wolf, he slowly sat up with one hand holding himself up, making his body in the strange shape of an 'L' while finally acknowledging his brother and his own rumbling stomach. His hair was a mess— messier than it usually is. Yawning with a stretch, Vanitas opened his eyes and gave Sora a look. "What..?" he groggily inquired, rubbing his eye.

"'M hungry!" Sora repeated, upset that he had to say it thrice already. He bounced a bit, crossing his arms. "I wan' food!"

Vanitas stared for a moment before he cracked a grin and chuckled, rolling over to stand up and crawl out of the rocky den. "Alright, alright." Coming outside, he stretched his furry limbs out and cracked his upper back backwards and then forwards. When he got his stretches done, he flicked his back tail, beckoning Sora to follow him. "Let's get some food."

Joyfully, the smaller male beamed and bounced on after his brother.


Brunch was almost a success. They had managed to scare off a badger and attempted to feast on its meal, but it came back with another badger, in turn scaring them away. Though, on the way back to the den, they did find a fairly nice berry patch— raspberries. They ate nearly two hand-fulls of the berries before a mother bear came strolling along, scaring them away too.

Despite the obvious fail, Sora was happy. They ate berries and had a taste of a... Whatever that badger had, Sora honestly couldn't tell what it was, but it tasted funny for sure...

Vanitas, on the other hand, was both pleased and upset. Pleased because the boy holding his hand was at least mostly satisfied with finally eating something but upset because some berries and a fifth of a piece of funny meat was not his definition of an ideal breakfast. What was in that meat, anyway? Vanitas shook his head, grateful the taste had been long washed out by the wild berries.

As the two walked back to the den, they decided to play a small game to pass the time. They played I Spy, in which Vanitas kept making it easy for Sora, always saying "I spy something.. green!" only for Sora to exclaim "Tree!" It was dumb, but Sora enjoyed it so that's all that mattered.

Reaching the den finally, Sora had stopped and held himself, giving a whine. Vanitas raised his ears before lowering them and coming closer to his brother. "Sora? Sora, what's the matter?"

"M...my tummy hurts..." the four-year-old softly explained with a grunt. "Really bad..."

"Oh.. W-well, why don't we go and-" he paused before groaning as well, feeling a twist in his stomach as well. "Wh-what..?" What was happening? Vanitas kneeled down on his front paws and suppressed a whine.

He glanced to Sora, whose face grew sickly. He looked about to pass out, his face cringed so painfully— then he fell over.

"Sora!" Vanitas gasped and quickly bent down to roll him over, lift him up— but something inside him lurched and his sight suddenly disoriented, double of the same thing in his vision. "What..?" He stumbled forward and tried to catch himself before he lost his balance and followed his brother to the ground.

Laying on the ground, seemingly paralyzed, Vanitas gazed at Sora, golden eyes wide and fearful. Sora was unconscious. Why was this happening?! A memory floated up then. The meat. He knew it smelled funny, and it tasted strange too. Oh no... was it poisoned? No, no, no, he did not let them both eat POISONED FOOD!

His sight was beginning to grow fuzzier and fuzzier, colors blending together strangely. He tried to scream, make a noise, call for help, do something, but he couldn't move or make a sound. So the raven laid there, staring at what he assumed to be Sora— Wait, there was a brown figure in the distance… he couldn't tell who it was but… everything was darkening… was it a human? They were growing bigger… Oh, they were goners…

Sora, I'm sorry…

Everything went black.


Vanitas' eyes shot open when the sound of crying reached his ears. Scurrying up on all fours, the wolf spun around, golden eyes frantically searching the area. "Sora?!" he called, not seeing his brother anywhere. Where was he? It was dark.. Was this some sort of cave? Vanitas extended his hand to feel the wall— rock. Before, he noticed he was laying on some sort of straw nest. There was another nest right next to it and by that nest, there was a hole full of water in the ground. He didn't bother to inspect it. "Sora?!" he called out again.

He heard voices. A male's voice. It was soothing something, or.. someone. A sobbing sound accompanied the voice. Ears pricked up, he followed the voice quickly through a hall connected to his room. He soon saw a fireplace, and the crying and gentle shushing grew louder, clearer. Entering another room, Vanitas' ears pointed up in alarm as he saw his little brother crouched over a bucket, crying and throwing up.

Next to him, there knelt a man, rubbing Sora's back soothingly and hushing him gently. He was muscular and had dark brown hair— there were large antlers that sprouted from his head and his lower body was that of a deer. A deer-man? What was he doing to his brother?!

Standing paralyzed, thinking of what to do, Vanitas spotted a stack of firewood waiting to be used against the wall to his left. Holding his breath and keeping himself close to calm, he made his way to the pile and grabbed one of the blocks of wood. It was heavy, though. It weighed his arms down and he wondered if he could really lift it? Holding his breath again, he lifted it high enough to where it wouldn't drag but it took a lot out of him— especially as he was now.

Sora's choked sobbing tore his heart to shreds and it made it even harder for him to keep calm and concentrate. Clearing his throat, Vanitas started, "Wh-what did you do to him?!" The man's ears pointed up in alarm and he turned his head around. He seemed happy, seeing the boy awake and well.

"Ah, you're awake," the deer-man stated cheerfully, his hand still on Sora's back, moving in circular motions to help calm him. Vanitas stared for a moment more, conflicted. Why was this man doing that? He shook his head and brought the piece of wood up with all his strength, his arms shaking.

"I-I asked you a question!" he yelled, his voice cracking before he repeated his inquiry, "What did- what are you doing to him?! Wh-why is he throwing up?!"

The man didn't seem phased by this, his soft smile still remaining. That caught Vanitas ever more off guard. What game was this guy playing at?

The deer-man continued casually, ignoring the obvious "threat" the boy held to him, "I saw you two eating that piece of meat earlier, but you didn't seem to notice it was drugged… Probably by some punk human kid. I was worried so I followed you both, in case you got sick and, well, sure enough…" He motioned to Sora who had mostly calmed down. He was sitting by Terra, eyes downcast and still wet, but he looked so small… "I gave you both some berries to help you throw that stuff up. You were so out of it, you fell asleep right after so I left you sleeping in that room."

Vanitas' arms had already gave out from holding the piece of wood. He seemed lost— no, confused is the word, perhaps? Yes, confused. He looked to Sora, who now seemed about ready to pass out and go to sleep. Guilt swelled up in him. Well, they didn't eat any poison per say, but it was close to it… still, how did his scents fail him so terribly? Was he really that hungry he would ignore the obvious clues of tampered food? He hadn't realized he was so close to crying until the man gave him a gentle look.

"Well," the brunet began, trying to change the subject. "I think Sora here's okay now.. You both must be starving after all that. My mate should be returning with fish soon, if you'd like to stay—"

"You-your mate?" Vanitas echoed, worry bubbling up. There were more of them?

The adult's gentle look wavered to that of confusion before it returned to a soft yet flustered smile. He must be a newly wed. "Ah, yes. She's nice, though, so you don't have to worry about—" Vanitas shook his head quickly, making up his mind.

"I-It's okay," the raven interrupted again, dropping the piece of wood completely. "No, I.. think we should be leaving now… I-I don't even know where we are, who- who you are. I mean, for all I know, you could have drugged us too, and—"

"But I didn't."

The wolf blinked, pausing. "Wh… what?"

The man straightened, standing up. He suddenly looked much bigger than he was before— but he still retained that gentle look on his face, patience. It was patience. He continued, his blue eyes hardening however, "If I had the wrong intentions, I would have done it to you already, would I not? I could have left your brother to die, but I didn't. I took both of you and helped you. Why would I do that if I wanted to hurt you?"

Vanitas hesitated, staring at him with large, golden eyes. They darted to Sora, who was holding onto the deer's hand while dozing off. He bit his lip and shook his head, stepping back. "I-I don't know, I.. I'm… Sorry… I just… wanna protect my- my brother… I-I don't even know you..!" The last bit was added in a whisper, but the man caught it anyway. His eyes softened and he knelt down, his front lowering before his end followed.

"My name is Terra," he finally introduced himself, a smile drawing his lips up. "This is where I live with my mate, Aqua. I am here to help you. Both you and Sora… Now, would you please tell me your name?"

The wolf hesitated once more, astonished by the man's straightforwardness and kindness. Was he serious? He looked to Sora again and was even more surprised when he saw the man— Terra— pulling him into his arms and cradling him as he slept, dry tears marking his face. Swallowing, he fought back his protective nature, trying to convince himself that this man was nice, he was here to help, he was good. Finally, the nine-year-old nodded.

"Vanitas.. My.. My name's Vanitas," he answered. "And.. We'd- we'd like to stay for a little while."


Not much to say atm, other than fanfic or something messed up the coding on this doc... eugh.. anyway, hope you liked!