So sorry I haven't updated in a bit. Have had quite a hectic week, and to be honest, after my day trip to Dresden last weekend, I kinda forgot about this. But don't worry! I'm still here, and coming up in one of the next chapters is a twist you most definitely won't expect, so stay tuned and REVIEW!
So panthers, Soleil thought as he followed Chaos through the jungle. His test had only been yesterday, and he already couldn't really remember his real name. But for an odd reason, he was fine with that. All he wanted now was to meet his companion, go back to the Base (which apparently wasn't actually a giant ship, just an island that moved and looked like a ship) and practice sword fighting with Madcap.
Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Chaos stopped, and ran straight into the god.
"Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his nose. "What the- oh."
Soleil's gaze had followed Chaos' to a black feline face in front of them. The panther was huge; larger than any panther (or picture of a panther) he had ever seen before. Its teeth were blazing white, razor sharp and bared at the two beings in front of it, and its menacing aura swept out in waves, practically paralyzing Soleil with fear.
Oddly though, the fear felt good to Soleil. It felt warm and welcome, almost comforting. Whereas Chaos bowed his head in respect to the panther, Soleil just slowly walked up, and looked the cat in the eye. Then, the weirdest thing happened.
Soleil felt himself get down on all fours. His head was bent up, his teeth bared slightly. He felt the power of his surroundings, felt the power within himself, and felt strong, feline senses taking over him, pushing all human (immortal or not) to the back and almost out of his brain.
He was pulled out of his trance when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around; his instincts told him to attack and kill, but the second his eyes made contact with those of Chaos, his animal instincts were replaced by those of a human, and he felt oddly ashamed, humiliated even, and stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants.
"I see why you would choose a panther for this warrior," he heard the panther's voice behind him. "Hello, cub. I am Bagheera. What is your name?"
"I am Soleil," he answered, his voice clear in the jungle. Begheera snorted, and turned to Chaos.
"Soleil? Really? Calling the Soul of Erebos Soleil? Sun? Are you mad, Chaos? Wait, don't answer that. But, still, what were you thinking?"
Chaos shrugged.
"You know me, Bagheera, I was never good with names."
"Ah yes, I know. I heard that you called that boy, Madcap, Flitterleaf at first."
If Chaos could have blushed, Soleil was sure the god would have been red as a tomato.
"Alright, alright, you have a point. Since you, as a panther, are his animal bond, I guess it would be appropriate for you to give this warrior a more suitable name," he muttered, not meeting eyes with Bagheera or Soleil.
"Okay, first off, I would like to get this straight for the boy: I am not his bond. Some other cub will be. And secondly, thank you. Now to us, cub." His eyes fixated on Soleil. "Hmm… alright, yes, okay. How about… Skelett. Or, Skeleton. Whichever you prefer, really." Soleil raised his eyebrows, and was about to respond, when he was cut off by Chaos.
"Those are absurd, Bagheera. I think Soleil suits the boy."
"You are daft, Chaos, Skeleton is the much better choice."
"Ink," came a low growl from the bushes.
"Ink?" Soleil asked, and the bushes (ferns, probably) laughed.
"Ink. It suites him."
"Err…" Soleil wanted to say, but, yet again, was cut off by Chaos.
"Show yourself, panther!"
A smaller panther than Bagheera stepped into the light. A lot smaller, as Soleil noted. Definitely very young.
"And why would you call this young cub Ink?" Bagheera asked the other panther, who shrugged (well, he sort of lowered his head and lifted his shoulder as best he could whilst Soleil wondered if panthers could even really shrug like humans could) a nonchalant shrug, like it wasn't supposed to be a shrug at all, just a symbol of indifference.
"It is a synonym for darkness. I figured it would match the boy, once you're done training him."
"Then why not just call him Darkness?" Chaos asked, and the panther chuckled.
"Well, you could do that, but Ink sounds a lot better, doesn't it? I mean, do you call your commander Sunken Forgotten City that No One Cares About?"
Chaos paused.
"I guess I don't. Very well then." He turned to Soleil, who really had no clue what was going on. "I hereby give you the name Ink. You will become your name, and forget you ever had a different one."
Ink felt an odd shiver run down his back, and a sudden emptiness in his head, like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't figure out what.
"Alright, now that's done, back to business. Ink here needs a panther."
Bagheera closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them to look at the other panther. If panthers had eyebrows, Ink was sure Bagheera's would be raised right now. The other panther sighed, though he didn't seem too unhappy. Bagheera pulled his maw into a smile, and reached a paw out to Chaos, as if they were shaking on a deal. Chaos looked doubtful, but took the paw anyway, shaking it.
It was only then that Ink noticed that the other panther was also holding out his paw, though to him. Slightly bewildered, he took it, and shook. It was the weirdest thing ever. The energy flow between them became visible, at least to Ink, and it seemed equal. So balanced, as if everything in the universe was perfect.
It only lasted for a second. Then the hands (and paws) were dropped, and the colors of reality came crashing down on Ink, momentarily blinding him.
"Awesome. Ink, meet Grant Rigby Camden of Worcestershire VII. Grant Rigby Camden of Worcestershire VII, meet Ink."
"Grant Rigby…" Ink started, but the panther raised his paw to silence him.
"Call me Tony."
Again, sorry for the long wait. I was also just in Munich for four days.
To those who may be confused, Teagan Chase Skala became Soleil, but the name apparently didn't suit him, so it got changed to Ink. His animal partner, a panther, is called Tony for short. Tell me if a different name suits him better!
There will be more Percy in the next chapter, don't worry. I will try to update more frequently.
Until then, REVIEW!
