Alas My Brother

"Huh, I always thought the hybrid would be a male," Lief said openly. Both Uchawi and Raven glared at the now sweating lion. "Just thinking," he nervously said.

"Who is this Hybrid?"

"The Hybrid is supposed to be this legendary warrior that posses all the powers of the Animalists. To give peace and justice everywhere he... or in this case, she goes." Lief replied.

"That's nice, but I need to get home," Raven answered. "Why can't I form a portal to go back home?"

"Because your destiny is here for now!" Uchawi said excitedly, "Oh! I thought I would never live to see the arrival of the Hybrid!"

"I am not a hybrid," Raven denied, "I don't know anything about animals. My friend..." She was thinking of Beast Boy, "My friend knows more about animals than I do."

"But you were chosen to be here," Uchawi reiterated.

"It would explain why she wasn't frightened by my Cackle," Verloor muttered. This caught Uchawi's attention.

"No, it doesn't," She said a bit concerned. Verloor looked confused. "Your powers should still be able to work on her. If the Hybrid were to ever go rogue, the other animalists could take her down." The mandrill placed her hand on Raven's head and closed her eyes. Uchawi jumped back in fear. "You have much fear inside of you. Much brokenness."

"Thank you for revealing my mental health," Raven mumbled.

"Her fears are already overwhelming as it is. That's why your Cackle didn't work," Uchawi replied to the hyena. Verloor laughed mockingly.

"The mighty Hybrid is a sniveling coward. Oh! We're saved HAHAHAHA!"

"SHUT UP!" Lief shouted, slapping Verloor across the face. "If it weren't for our former ties, I would already murder you."

"Ah, but your conscience wouldn't allow that, would it, brother," Verloor snarked.

"You'll have to excuse those two. They were the closest of brothers until this war broke out," Uchawi counseled Raven.

"How do I get back home?" Raven restated.

"I saw an amulet in your mind. I believe that amulet is the key to getting your powers back. Although, I'm not entirely sure," Uchawi said, rubbing her hairy chin as the lion and the hyena continued to argue. Uchawi whacked both of the arguing animals on the heads.

"Hey!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Uchawi shouted, hearing the mystical windchimes in the air. "Something's wrong," Uchawi said, setting Verloor free. "Why were you sent here, Verloor?" Verloor looked away from his former teacher. "Something is very wrong here and we need to know."

"I don't know," Verloor finally answered. "The leader sent me to do patrol in an area that wasn't even of value to either side. I thought he just wanted to find a secret base. He sent me out and then told me to come back after five days. I don't know why." Suddenly, Raven felt a major unease.

"Something's... not right," She mentioned. Soon Verloor, Uchawi, and Lief all smelled smoke. They looked out the door of the tree and saw smoke. "What's that?" Verloor's face paled.

"That's... that's the direction of my village," Verloor replied, greatly terrified.

"Come on! Let's get going!" Lief shouted as he practically threw Raven onto his back. Verloor and Lief ran on all fours to the scene. After what seemed like an eternity to Verloor, they finally got to the village where a smoldering ruin of hut houses remained. Charred corpses and burning bodies laid on the ground.

"No, no, no, NO!" Verloor cried, seeing his own house burned. He suddenly heard a small noise from the rubble, "Quick Help me!" Without another thought, Lief and Raven struggled to get the rubble off of the noise. They finally uncovered a smallish female hyena clutching a young toddler boy. "My love! My son!" Verloor exclaimed, hugging them tightly, but something was wrong with his wife. She weakly gave him his son. Her eyes were dimming while her coughs grew more violent and then weaker. "No, no, no! Please!" Verloor pleaded, wiping the dust from her head. "Don't leave me, my love." Lief took the scared crying little hyena into his arms while Verloor cared for his wife.

"Take... care of... our son..." His wife struggled to say, clutching her side that had a deep gash. "Please... please be... the great Animalist... I know you are..."

"I didn't mean for this to happen to you!" Verloor pleaded and wept, tears dripping down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" He shook tremendously. Then his wife caressed his face with a weak smile.

"I forgive you. Just... Promise me... that you will be... where you belong," She asked. Verloor shut his eyes tightly, sobbing bitterly. He looked into his wife's eyes and gently grabbed her hand.

"I promise. I promise," Verloor replied, sorrowfully kissing her head. "Goodbye, my love." She died with a small smile on her face. By this time, Verloor's son was quiet. Suddenly, Verloor emitted a strange sound. It sounded too short and brief for a wolf's howl, but it sounded like it.

"He's howling. It's a way of mourning among the hyenas," Lief explained to Raven. The purple teen watched on in silence at the hyena's pain. Without her powers, she couldn't take away pain and hurt like she used to. But... it also meant her powers didn't limit her to show true emotions. She carefully walked to Verloor, knelt beside him, and tried her best to emit the same sound that he was. Verloor, still clutching his wife, through tear-streaked eyes looked at her amazed. It sounded different from his and it wasn't on the pitch, but the fact she was trying meant the world to him. They continued howling into the nighttime.

Lief was playing paddy-cake with the small happy toddler. He was too young to understand what happened. They had made a fire and while Lief was entertaining the child, Raven looked at them with a thoughtful stare. She then turned to Verloor, who was gazing at the ruins of his former village. But his gaze suggested he was staring at something else. Raven walked up to his side. "I know exactly why he did this. He sent me on this path away from the village and then he attacked it.

"The leader? What makes you think he did it?" Raven asked.

"Because I could only find hyena tracks. It would explain why he didn't tell me anything about it. He wanted me to take vengeance on the lions," Verloor explained. "Or he wanted me to get killed by Lief. The Code of Honor says we can kill any Animalist that has gone so far astray. He wasn't counting on Lief to be merciful." He pointed off to the horizon. "That's where the leader is. His name is Kwaad. And though I don't know if you are or aren't the Hybrid, I'm willing to take the chance." He looked at his own son playing with the lion. "It's time to end this war."

"I'm not-"

"You may not think you're a mythical legend or something, but you're all we have. And whatever forces of nature brought you here, put you here for a reason," Verloor argued. "Please," He said, facing Raven directly. His red-rimmed eyes still stung with the tears he shed. "I know it's daunting, but... for this world... I need you to be my hero." Raven gazed at the sorrowful dog's face, creased with sadness... and pleading.

"I'll try," Raven answered honestly. The hyena nodded as he went back to the fire. "Verloor? I'm sorry."

"I thank you greatly for empathizing. What was your power before you lost it?" Verloor asked curiously.

"I was a sorceress and empath," Raven revealed. Verloor chuckled so slightly, Raven thought it was the sound of the wind.

"Figures," Verloor smiled as they neared the fire. "We start first thing tomorrow, but first things first. Lose the cape."

"It's a cloak," Raven glaringly uttered. Verloor rolled his eyes, grabbed the cloak from her, and threw it into the fire. "HEY!"

"NO CAPES!" Verloor shouted, pointing his clawed index finger at her. "If you're going into war, you'll get choked and strangled with your own cape. And I could see that you used that thing as a safety blanket."

"I'm not a child," Raven grumbled.

"Then why do you have the cloak? Is it for historical reasons?" Verloor asked. Raven couldn't answer that. Though Azarath was her home, the cloak didn't serve as a reminder of where she was from. Honestly, she just felt more comfortable with it.

"It helps me concentrate with my powers," Raven answered sternly.

"Which you don't have anymore," Verloor replied. Raven watched as the cloak burned in the fire. "You're going to have to get out of your comfort zone if you're going to be of any... good at real fighting," Verloor answered bluntly. Lief stepped up from the ground and walked over to Raven.

"He's right, Raven," He replied, "In a place like this, we can't afford to have hazards. Plus, that thing was making you sweat profusely. I could smell your scent all the way from the rock when Verloor jumped us."

"Thanks," Raven muttered in her deadpanned voice, irritated by the fact Lief pointed out she smelled.

"Tomorrow, we train," Verloor firmly announced.

Continued...