OoO( 5 )OoO
Darkness began to cover the entire forest as the sun sank from the sky and vanished over the horizon. Birds in their nests settled after feeding their young, then fell asleep as the forests spell was casted over them. A quiet stillness lay over the woodland.
But the quietness was broken by the sound of running paws. Two creatures ran through the trees in a rush, their footpaws barely touching the ground at the speed they were running. One was a tall ferret warrior, holding a long pike over his back with a dark cloak fluttering behind him. The second was a small fox, wearing a small tunic with a rope wrapped tightly around her waist to act as a belt for her supplies. Together, they seemed like ghosts travelling in the darkness.
Finally, they arrived at the meeting spot indicated by the fox. Cloud stopped and looked around. "Zango, where are you?" he asked silently. Suddenly, the black fox melded from the shadows and appeared in front of the pair. Cloud looked at his friend and smiled. "Is Ivan alright?" he asked. The fox nodded. "Good, we need to think of a plan for their escape. I've told Songcrest to wait for me on a path we found, so she won't be in any danger." he said.
The fox nodded again, then waved for them to follow him. The ferret did as he was told and followed the fox until they came to the camp of the tiny vermin. Cloud stared in awe at the little beasts as they sat lazily around fires, preparing for dinner. The vermin closest to the again boiling pot were eyeing their next meal hungrily.
Looking up, the ferret noticed the two figures hovering above the cauldron, only an arm length above the boiling surface. Turning back to the fox, he asked. "So, do you have a plan?" Zango nodded with a confident smile. Reaching inside his cloak, he pulled out a flask of fresh water that they had gotten from the otter family. He silently poured a beaker half full, then took a drink from the flask. "So, whats this plan of yours?" asked the ferret. Setting the beaker down, he started drawing in the dirt.
Cloud looked at the drawing trying to figure out what his friend had depicted. Liska immediately knew what it was. "Its one of those tiny creatures!" she said. Cloud nodded as he noticed the...not so great resemblance. Zango nodded, then knocked the beaker over with his paw. Water sloshed from the glass and wiped the picture of the vermin clean from the ground.
The ferret smiled approvingly. "Good plan mate. Lets get to work." he said, then turned to the little fox. "I think we will be needing your belt there." he said.
"Alright, but remember to give it back." she said, then untied the rope. Taking all her supply pouches off the tightly bound rope, she handed it over.
"Thanks. You stay here and wait for us. We'll be getting out of here in a hurry, so stuff those pouches in your pack. You won't have time to put them back on your belt until we are clear away from this place." he said. Nodding, she did as suggested and slipped her pouches into the top of her pack.
Zango and Cloud walked silently towards the cauldron, still keeping out of view of the wild looking beasts.
Beovar had almost nodded off when he caught sight of the approaching pair. He only saw Cloud for a moment, but the shape of Zango had become audible enough to know he was there. "I say, your friend is back with a ferret! Is this who is supposed to rescue us?" asked the hare.
"That's Cloud. I owe him my life, so don't be makin' no rude remarks because of what he is." said Ivan roughly.
"Alright alright. If he manages to save us, he fine in my book. No need to be snippy." he said. The ferret and fox finally stopped in front of the cauldron and looked up at the two prisoners.
"We'll get you out of here quick. But as soon as we get you down, you need to run with us and keep up. Or those vermin will have us all!" said the ferret in a hushed whisper. The hare nodded, then the pair went to work. Zango took one end of the rope, and Cloud took the other. "On the count of three." he said. The fox nodded, and Cloud began to count. "One...two...three!" he said. They both took the rope ends tightly and ran on either side of the cauldron, clothslining it. The rope slid up the smooth side, but was caught on the top edge of it. They strained against the rope and the giant pot started to slowly tip over.
Then, one of the vermin looked over to take another glance at their meal, when he spotted the two. Jumping up and grabbing his sharpened wooden lance, he yelled at the top of his tiny lungs. "Intruda! Intruda! Get dem quik quik!" The others grabbed their weapons and charged at the pair. But, they didn't get far before the entire army of them was stopped by a large tidal wave. The cauldron had finally tipped over and scalding water immediately paralyzed and killed the front ranks, then severely burned the followers.
Cloud let go of the rope and pulled his spear from his back. He jumped up and severed the rope holding the two prisoners after Zango had covered the fire with plenty of earth he had dug up while waiting for Cloud and Liska. Both creatures fell some twenty feet before they landed hard on their tails. But, they ignored the pain and stood up. Beovar looked at Zango who had raised his sword.
The hare quickly closed his eyes, thinking that the fox was going to slay him. Then, he felt the ropes around him go flacid and fall off. Opening his eyes, he smiled at the friendly fox. "Thanks chum, I owe you one." he said. The fox nodded, then motioned for them to run. But the hare turned back towards the screaming vermin. "Sorry lad, but they got me saber. A chap can't go on fighting without his weapon doncha know." he said, then made a dash for them.
"There's no time! We have to run now!" he shouted, but the hare ignored him and flew like the wind towards the army. Cloud's eyes widened at the hares speed. "Well, he won't have any trouble getting away if he can run like that." he said.
Suddenly, a sharp wooden spear embedded itself in the ground right at Cloud's footpaws. He looked up and saw that the vermin at the very rear of the camp had only sustained minor burns and had recovered sufficiently. Another was about to raise his spear and throw it, but a flying stone smashed into his forehead, making him fall to the ground limply.
Both warriors turned to see Liska holding a slingshot made of the same hardened wood as Cloud's spear handle. The ferret glared at her. "I thought I told you to stay back there!" he said.
She mearly smiled and loaded another stone into the slingshot. "You're welcome." she said smartly, then let the stone fly and take out a charging vermin.
Cloud turned back to see Beovar carving a path through the tiny creatures with a glittering saber in his left paw. When he got the final stretch, he jumped into the air and flew over the rest of the small camps heads, then landed quickly on the other side. By the time the army had recovered its composure, the creatures were all gone, without a trace of where they went. Angrily, the largest of them took his small axe, although it was big to him, and swung it around injuring his own comrades.
"You letta food food gerraway! You be punished good good!" he shouted harshly.
OoOoO
When they had finally made it to the path, all four creatures had to drop to their knees in exhaustion. They sat panting as Songcrest checked on her brother to see if he was okay. Naturally, she began to make up injuries so that she could fix him up.
"Look at this! You're bruised!" she shouted.
He attempted to hold her back, but failed. "That's just dirt on me fur. Leave me be! The only medicine I need is sleep." he said.
But she pressed the matter further. "And look at these burn marks on your arm! What happened?"
"I was tied up and tried to wiggle out! Now please, let me sleep!" he shouted.
She snorted dejectedly. "Fine, if you don't want my help you just have to say so." she said, then stood up to tend to the others instead.
Cloud turned to the hare sitting next to him. After catching his breath, he started a coversation. "So, what's your name?" he asked in a friendly tone.
The hare looked back at Cloud and smiled. "Sergent Beovar Tamora Vermandala of the Long Patrol." he said still breathing heavily. Holding out his paw, he said, "What about you friend?"
Cloud smiled and shook the hares paw. "Cloud Longspear. It's good to meet you, but what is this Long Patrol?" he asked curiously.
Beovar's eyes widened considerably. "You've never heard of the famous Long Patrol?" he asked astonished.
Cloud shook his head. "And with good reason. We aren't from these lands, we just arrived about ten days ago. So there is much about this land and its creatures that I have yet to find out." he said.
"From afar eh? Well, stands to reason." he said. Cloud looked at him as if he was insulted. Beovar held up his paws in defense. "No disrespect intended friend..." he said.
The ferret looked away. "Don't worry, its not the first time we've heard it." he said.
"What do you mean?" asked the hare.
"We travelled this land for many days before we met the otter family on the coast. And in that time, we met many creatures that didn't think too highly of a ferret and two foxes in their homes. They treated us as if we had kidnapped their children, though until recently I couldn't figure out why they would treat complete strangers that way. At first I thought that they treated warriors like that, but when we ran into warriors, we were treated no differently." he said.
"This country is harsh on creatures it thinks are of an evil heart." said Beovar in a depressive manner.
Cloud nodded. "We only truly found out why they treated us like this when we found a band of roaming vermin. There were many kinds of them, including ferrets and foxes. But none of the kind that kept us out of their homes. So, it wasn't hard to piece the rest together...most ferrets and foxes in this country are not friendly and honorable, so creatures have no respect or pity for them, even if they seem good." he said.
The hare lay down on the ground and yawned. "Well, keep up saving everybeast and they will change their minds. But until then, there isn't much we can do, is there?" he asked. When he recieved no answer, he rolled over. "Well chum, I'm tuckered. I'll see you at first light." he said.
Cloud smiled and pulled his cloak off. "Here, use this." he said.
"Won't you be needing it?"
"Nah, cold never bothered me." he said, then threw the cloak to the hare.
"If you say so." Beovar took the cloak and covered his entire form with it, leaving only his footpaws and ears sticking out the top and bottom of the cloak. "Good night to all of you." he said, then began to snore loudly. Cloud too closed his eyes and went to sleep from his tiredness, letting the night air wash over him like a wave.
OoOoO
The black wildcat was in a fair mood that day. So far this country was peaceful and quiet, making it a suitable place to take over. His men were well fed from the fish from the river and many kinds of birds from the trees, as well as the occasional vegetable or fruit. The weather was great, the food was plentiful, and the horde was happy. It seemed nothing could go wrong.
He sat in his tent as his advisor Scorch gave him the list of most likely to betray him. But, he soon grew very bored and began to drift off into slumber. He found himself in a dark place, unrecognizable to him. Looking around, he noticed something moving in front of him. Preparing his metal claws, he crouched slightly to pounce the spectre incase it was hostile. But it just approached him without fear or hesitation.
OoOoO
Cloud began to walk forward into the darkness of slumber. He couldn't see exactly where he was going, but he didn't really care as long as he got out of there. Suddenly, he stopped at seeing a crouched shape in the darkness. He immediately knew what it was due to the two amber spheres that seemed to pierce him like arrows.
Glaring visciously at the dark figure, he growled, "Ironclaw! You will pay for what you did to my family and village!" Running forward, he swung his long pike horizontally, but the wildcat ducked and threw himself forward, tackling the ferret and knocking him from his paws. Cloud shoved his spear shaft up as the cats claws aimed for the kill, stopping them from stabbing through his chest. Pushing harder, he forced the lynx off him and they both began to push with their weapons, trying to pin the other and finish them off. But, Cloud was the quicker thinker at the moment.
Taking the spear shaft, he swung the end of it at Dregg's footpaws. Caught off guard, the cat tripped and landed hard on his back. Cloud raised the pike to finish the battle and swung with every ounce of rage within him. Dregg was stunned momentarily, and when he opened his eyes, he was immediately cleaved by the bladed weapon.
OoOoO
Dregg shouted in horror and jumped from his makeshift throne, grabbing Scorch by the throat and slamming him to the ground hard. The weasel went rigid with fear as Dregg's claw came within an hairs breath from his throat, with both eyes locked onto the advisor.
Dregg shook his head and took a long look at the weasel before letting him up. When he stood up, Scorch's fur was sticking up from fear. Grabbing his head, Dregg began to talk to himself. "It...It must have been a dream, but it was so real!" he said to himself.
"S-S-Sire?" said the weasel shakenly.
Dregg looked at him and glared. "Get out!" he shouted, making the terrified weasel fly out of the tent like an arrow. The wildcat sat in his chair again rubbing his temple with his paw. "Who?" he asked. "Who was that beast?"
OoOoO
RiverFox237: :eats pizza greedily: Hehehe, I love pizza. No! My biggest fan is leaving!...Oh well, as long as you come back. You are coming back...right::ties rope around her: Bwehehehe! Gotta hate 'em alright.
Willowisp: Hehehe, then my ruse has worked. If you think the plot has been shown fair one, then you are gravely mistaken. This is only the sugar for the icing on the cake. Oh, and how should they be developed if I may ask?
Now then, back to Kuno!
Tatewaki Kuno: Oh hearken for she is a cruel beauty! Forsake me not for I am but a lowly love slave!