The Wind
Aura circled the sky over the clearing at the edge of the woods. The sun was just rising and she was hoping for an early breakfast before she had to go to school. The clearing was still and motionless, except for the wind rustling the grass and flowers. She circled once more and finally saw what she had been hoping for. A little nose poked out fro one of the burrows and sniffed the air hesitantly. Aura closed her circle as a small rabbit hoped into the open. She tensed up as she locked onto her prey. It hopped out of the burrow completely and went over to a small patch of grass. Aura closed her wings to her side and fell from the sky. Her tail feathers closed to gather for speed and she made small adjustments to aim at the rabbit. She flexed her claws and tensed her arms up. The rabbit saw her and bolted for its hole just in time. Aura flared her wings and flapped back into the sky with a hiss of disappointment.
Harriss sighed with her. "So close. It's too bad they don't give many air hunting tips in the books you read, huh?" She said. Aura nodded glumly. "Yeah, but at least thanks to them, I can at actually stay in the air." She responded. Harriss nodded. "Too true."
Aura landed on the tree branch next to her room window. "Kero, I'm back." She said sliding into the room. Kero smiled and floated over. "Hey, bad hunting though, right?" He asked seeing Aura return with empty jaws.
"No, I thought I'd eat the whole thing by myself so in the hour I was gone hunted, skinned, roasted and ate the whole entire thing. Of course the hunting went badly." She snapped. Kero backed off. "Whoa, sorry, I was just making sure. You have a tendency to hoard your food if I don't after all." He said. Aura grinned and ruffled the fur in her little companion's head. "Yeah, good point." She admitted with a yawn. She brushed her human hair a few times and dusted of her cloths. Kero landed on aura's shoulder as she reached for the doorknob.
Aura sat on the low brick fence that lined the house near her bus stop. Other children were talking and chattering among themselves about fifty feet away from where she sat. She was sketching a frog in the grass that sat a few dozen feet away from her in the dawn light. Kero gave a quiet low whistle as he saw the finished drawing. "You're pretty good at that." He said. Aura grinned. "Well, I am almost as old as you are, and I was actually awake most of that time." She said. Her head swiveled the street as she heard the low rumbling sound of her bus. The pair walked over as the yellow machine pulled to a stop.
Aura snarled to herself as another kid sat next to her, taking most of the seat. Aura shifted and pressed herself against the wall, trying to avoid any contact at all with the other human. The human turned to face her. "Hey there, how ya doin'?" she asked. It was one of those popular kids that were always bugging her. Aura's slight ridge of tiger fur bristled in annoyance as the girl scooted closer. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, voice sounding like she couldn't care less, but was only trying to provoke the 'human' next to her into a fight. Aura's eyelid began to twitch and her claws grew slightly sharper. Kero noticed it though. "Aura, cool the shifting!" He said very quietly into her ear. Aura forced the fur on her back to lie smooth again as the bus pulled up to the school.
She walked off, balancing on the low stones that lined the flower box of the school, and well away from the other school kids. She sighed and looked longingly back to the direction of the woods as a soft wing brushed her face. Aura sniffed the air.
"Aura, I sense a card." Kero said.
Aura nodded slightly. "I can smell it on the wind." Aura trotted into the breeze, sniffing as she went. A teacher patrolling the grounds stopped her and told her to go wait for the bell with the other kids near the cafeteria. Aura turned with a small inaudible growl. She sighed. "Until it acts up or school gets out, we have to-" She didn't get a chance to finish as the girl from the bus sat next to her. Aura ignored her a moment, until the irritating human scooted closer, actually making contact with Aura. Aura snarled and scooted farther down the bench, but it scooted after her. Aura scooted to the very edge, and then the idiotic pup crossed the line and actually sat on Aura's lap. Aura hissed and pushed it off, standing with a snarl. The human tried again and Aura lashed out faster than any of the human's eyes could follow. Her paw changed to that of her tiger form, with the tiny but razor sharp meat hooks out. The claws slashed the human's cheek and left five long gashes. Aura hissed and struck with her other paw. The human screeched and tried to fight back. Aura ducked her head and curled her large paw into a fist, slamming it into the human's gut. One of the morons from Devin's gang tried to take a swing at her.
Aura whipped around, snapping at last. Her tail flew out of her belt and struck a hard blow to his head, sending him staggering back from the blow. Aura roared as her fangs extended, sinking into the girls arm as she tried to attack again. Aura swung blows until she saw a gap in the herd of humans. She coiled her muscles and sprang through it. Her claws came out and gave her traction as she dropped to all fours. She turned around a corner, and hidden by the library building summoned her wings. She beat her blue and grey wings as she took to the sky. She circled behind the building once for altitude before disappearing into the early morning fog. The teacher ran around the corner looking for her, but she was already snarling at the heads of the humans below.
Aura turned to Kero as he flew beside her a few minuets later and asked him, "Kero, you said once that captors were chosen by you, on whether they would be could masters or not, right?" she asked. Kero nodded. "So, why did you choose me of all people? I mean, I'm a just short tempered mutt with no cash or snacks, I hang out with wolves more than the species I was built to blend with most, and on days like this, I just want to lay back and let the cards have their way with things as far as the humans are concerned. Just, sit back and let it go, laugh for the woods and watch the city burn. Watch the mighty humans crumble by their own species creation, and watch it with my pack, just laughing and letting go. Why the H did you pick me to be master?" She asked. Kero thought for a moment.
"Ya' know, looking back, I have no idea at all!" He said cheerfully. "But maybe it has something to do with the fact that as tempting as the idea is to you, and I can understand it would be, you don't actually let the cards do any real damage." Ha said. Aura smiled as she dropped onto the tree branch and opened her window. " Lock?" she asked quietly as she felt the window empty of the card. She saw the doorknob wiggle and turn. Aura stowed her wings as Kero turned back to his true form as aura grabbed the Sakura book in her paws. Kero also saw her pick up a black cloth with a gold chain and red jewel on it, and that all the cards that normally hung around in her room all day had reverted to cards in the book. The door opened and Devon strode in. He jumped as Kero roared at him, wings stowed, but still taking up most of the room.
"S What the F Is that!" He screamed hopping back out of the room in a panic. Kero rushed and slammed the door shut, using his weight to hold it that way as the scumbag tried to barge back in. Aura grabbed her few positions and bundled them in the black fabric. She opened the window and flew out, and once Kero was sure she was clear, sprang out into the air after her. The thugs barged in with a few shots just as they reached the rising fog line. Aura panted and cringed as her keen tiger ears picked up a string of cussing. The two flew to the woods as Aura landed and began counting the cards. "They all returned, even if they don't stay in my room. How did they all know to get back in the book?" she asked aloud, as she walked through the woods. Aura sat down in the wolves cave, digging a pi tin it and burying most of her stuff. Kero tilted his head to the side.
"It's because this will be too much weight to travel wit, all I'm bringing are the cards and my cloak." She said, putting on the black fabric. The cloth was shiny, like silk, but had a more cotton like feel. The gold chain held it around her neck and a red stone, smooth and transparent sat embedded in the gold. The jewel was almost fist sized and Kero jumped when Aura put it on. Aura smirked. "Let me guess, you just felt a huge power surge once this stone touched me, right?" S he asked. Kero nodded. "That's cause it amplifies my natural alchemic power, the type of alchemy from my home world, not the type here. Mine is almost like magic, but it has to obey a few natural laws." She explained.
Kero and Aura walked out of the cave as Aura floated into the air. She perked up. "Before we go, let's catch the card from earlier, shall we?" she asked flying to where she sensed it the strongest. Aura hovered in the air as it stirred; a small whirlwind blew around her. Kero perched on her shoulder. "It's the Wind card. Be careful, she's one of the four elements." Kero said. Aura rolled her eyes. "Be careful, gee I think I'd rather be blown around and get myself killed instead, of course I'm always careful!" she said. Kero sighed.
Wind began to swirl in a tighter circle, and revealed herself. Aura drew out her staff as wind floated there. Aura sealed the card and signed her name. "Wow, that was easy, she didn't even try to fight!" aura said in surprise. Kero nodded. "Wind is one of the gentlest cards in the deck, she hates fighting and would never try to hurt anything. I'm not surprised at all." Kero said. Aura nodded and released Wind. She turned to Kero.
"So, if you have any ideas where to go to hide from the local humans, I'm all ears, otherwise we have to move elsewhere, and far too, they can't find me." Aura said.
Kero nodded. "We can leave, I didn't tell you, but I haven't been able to sense any cards except Silent around here, they're all farther west, much farther west. It's as if they all returned to Asia or something it's so far west." He rambled. Aura shrugged. "Suits me." She said.
" So, Aura, how do you plan to cross the ocean if you plan to go west?" Kero asked. Aura grinned and held up the book. Wind flew under her wings, making her able to glide and hardly ever flap. "My friend, I have Earth, Freeze, Fly and Float, why would I need to worry? I can rest a bit on any of them! What I'm worried about is food and water; it's a deep ocean with few fish, no food and all. The water's all too salty to drink salty. I do have rain though, and does Wood by any chance make trees with fruit? I hate not having meat, but survival is survival." Aura rambled. Kero thought a moment. "No, I don't think wood gives fruit, but rain can give water and you do have places to rest." He admitted. Aura grinned as the first whiffs of sea air tickled her nose. "Well, let's go eat something before we leave then, okay?" she asked with a grin Kero grinned too.
"Oh yeah!"
