8
When Harumi comes to fetch them later, she is joined by two new people: a man with grey-green eyes and a woman with hair dyed violet. Harumi clears her throat before introducing them as Ryan and Serena, caretakers of another Cluster. "You're going to get some time with the Fang Cluster today," she informs them as blindfolds slip over their faces again. No handcuffs for him today though, Kai realizes cheerfully as he moves his fingers freely. As he's steered through the hallways, he can hear Lloyd warbling loudly behind him. "Guys, what's going on?" he hisses to the others.
"The new folks don't want Nya carrying Lloyd," Jay murmurs back, and it sounds like he's messing with his tail tip again. "She isn't too happy about it."
Kai grins, feeling the familiar points of his fangs poke at his bottom lip. "I bet she isn't," he says quietly as Nya's loud protests echo around them.
"You do realize that you're going to get in trouble for this?" Harumi mutters in his ear, pushing him forward a little more sharply than necessary. "Cryptor's going to hear about it." Kai shrugs and she sighs before clicking open a door, and he knows that they're back in that wonderful outside-like room because he can smell pine again. There's something new too, a dustier smell that makes his lip curl. The blindfold comes away and he turns to the others. He can just see the outline of the door in the wall, which is painted to look like it's part of the forest.
"Wow," Lloyd whispers, evidently feeling the need to share this moment with them in human language. He puts one of his tiny hands on a rough tree trunk before flopping on his back and rolling around on the ground, chirping wildly in what might be his form of giggling.
"Where do you think the Fang Cluster is?" Cole wonders, looking around them with narrowed eyes. "Kind of an ominous name, isn't it."
"Yeah," Nya agrees, sniffing the air. "I bet they've all got something to do with teeth, like how the Pearl Cluster is all water animals."
"I think they're that way," Jay says, pointing to a break in the trees on their left, closer to the coastline. "That weird scent gets stronger over there."
Kai nods before picking Lloyd up and leading the others toward the smell. Lloyd begins trilling with protest, batting his small wings in Kai's face. "Cut it out, kid!" he says, annoyed. "We're supposed to go this way."
"No!" Lloyd shouts. Evidently, it's a word he knows well because he repeats it with growing volume until Kai groans.
"Stop it! You're making my ears hurt!" Jay makes several clicking noises, apparently translating his sentence so that Lloyd can understand it. The dregon hybrid frowns but quiets down, still muttering in his own language under his breath.
"This is where the scent is strongest," Nya remarks, sending a few leaves flying with her tail. "Think it's where they are?"
"Correct," a new voice growls from overhead. Kai looks up just in time to see four people jump from the trees above and land neatly in the soft ground. The speaker appears to be a girl who has to be at least two years older than him, because she towers over him, a sneering look on her face revealing pointed silver teeth. She shakes back her mane of vivid golden hair before speaking again. "I'm Machia, lioness hybrid, leader of the Fang Cluster. And you gnats must be the Ivory Cluster."
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Kai growls, flattening his ears defensively. He can sense a prickling energy in the air as Nya copies his motion. Lloyd is quiet as he sets him on the ground.
Machia clicks her tongue, a malicious gleam in her yellow eyes. "That's no way to speak to your elders, little boy." Her tail slides over the leaves behind her, creating an ominous slithering sound. As the two Clusters glare at each other, Kai studies the rest of the Fang group. All seem to be around 16, with pointed canines as expected. One, a boy with long black hair with a green streak in the front has dark green flame-like shadows around his eyes that Kai decides must be bruises or tattoos and black panther ears and tail. The other boy is older and has bright red hair and matching shades hiding his eyes. Spotted ears with pale scars poke out and his tail flicks energetically, like he's ready to fight. The last member is a girl with dark auburn hair and coppery skin with a deep scar running across the bridge of her nose. Her hybrid ears are striped orange and black and twitch constantly in time with her matching tail. Overall, they seem to be tough and battle-eager, eyes glowing eerily. Kai notes that there are four, not five, and wonders where the other person is hiding.
"Look, we're supposed to get along," Cole says placatingly, holding out his hands. "Can't we just sit down and talk? You don't have to be friendly, but we do have an assignment."
Machia's smile curls larger. "Eh, we never care much about assignments. I'll talk though. Maybe it'll be good to get to know you all." Kai doesn't like the sound of that but listens attentively as she introduces the Fang Cluster. "This is Morro Gale, panther hybrid," she begins, nodding to the boy with the shadows around his eyes. "Griffin Turner who goes by his last name only, cheetah hybrid." The redhead growls almost eagerly at them. "And Chamille Forester, tiger hybrid." One of the striped ears on the other girl's head quivers in acknowledgment. "Now you know all our people. How about yours?"
Cole's eyes narrow, but he runs down the list, pointing to each of them in turn. "I'm Cole, wolf hybrid. That's Jay, Tamarin monkey hybrid. Those two are Kai and Nya, fox hybrids. And this is Lloyd."
Morro twitches strangely but Kai is too busy watching Machia's eyebrows rise as she stares at Lloyd, evidently not noticing that Cole didn't bring up his hybrid side. "What is that?" she sneers. "A tiny bug that you adopted? It's pathetic!" Her long nails twitch toward Lloyd and Kai snarls involuntarily. Machia's smile widens again. "Ooh, touchy, aren't we?" She twitches her tail and her Cluster strides forward, matching sneers on their faces.
"Look -" Cole begins, but Turner lunges for him before he can finish. Instantly, the clearing erupts in chaos. Snarls and yells, fur and claws fly around him as Kai swipes at his opponent, the teen with the green stripe in his hair.
"That kid you care so much about? He's a freak," Morro spits as they both drop on all fours and begin circling each other. "Cryptor's very interested in him. He likes monsters a lot."
"Shut up," Kai snarls, ears pressed flat against his head and tail raising furiously.
"Your little 'kid' is less human than any of us," Morro continues, a gleeful expression on his face. He's clearly enjoying baiting Kai with everything in him. "I bet that's why Cryptor went to all that work to get him. Ripping him away from his family, from any freedom he'll ever have..."
"I'm warning you-"
"He probably won't make it through the year. Cryptor's been known to use specimens he likes till they drop," Morro grins. "So I guess you won't have to worry about the little freak for much longer."
"SHUT UP!" Kai yowls, launching himself at the teen and swiping furiously at his leering face. He feels something wet and hot on his fingertips, but he can't see anything but his target as battle fury stains his vision scarlet. Morro squirms and manages to get away before Kai can do more damage, panting heavily. Kai tries to leap at him again, but Morro catches him mid-jump and pins his hands to the ground with one of his own, raising another clawed hand for a vicious strike, a triumphant look on his face despite the bleeding scratches across the length of it. The redness in Kai's eyes begins to fade as fear grips at him, as he wriggles to try and free himself from Morro's iron grip.
"Kai!" It's Nya's voice, and it snaps his confidence back easily as she dives clean into Morro, knocking him away and pinning him instead.
"Thanks, sis!" he shouts to her over the babble. She nods, a grim expression of exhilaration on her face as she rakes her claw-like nails over Morro's ear.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek rings through the clearing, slicing the commotion like a knife. Everyone freezes, staring at the center of the forest floor where Lloyd is struggling under Machia's gripping hand. He looks so tiny as she leans over him, a terrifying grin on her face. "Get off him," the lioness hybrid hisses at Nya, her long fingernails flexing toward Lloyd's neck. "Or the little freak gets it." Very slowly, Nya moves away and gets to her feet, raising her hands in surrender. Machia whistles and a shadow moves above them, falling softly to the ground on all fours.
A dark-skinned girl with shockingly pale brown eyes glances around at them, her cloudy grey and black leopard ears fluttering gently. "You called, Machia?" she asks in a high voice, and Kai realizes she must be the youngest in the group, probably around Jay's age.
"Yes, I did, Olive," the golden-haired girl says with a hint of a growl in her voice that lets Kai know that Olive gets on Machia's nerves. "I'm surprised you didn't jump out when we all attacked."
Olive shrugs, a careless look on her face. "You didn't need my help. Yet." Her odd eyes land on the dregon hybrid and widen. "So. The rumors were true. Cryptor managed to get him." What little emotion there is in her voice is unintelligible as she tilts her head almost curiously at Lloyd. Ice forms in his stomach as Kai realizes the kid is barely struggling now, fear and hopelessness clouding his brilliant green eyes.
"Let him go!" he snarls, preparing to launch himself at Machia. The lioness raises her eyebrows and whistles again. Olive sighs and before Kai realizes what's happening, she's on top of him, teeth bared and preparing to sink into his shoulder. He kicks at her stomach, and she jumps easily away, landing perfectly. Kai tries to fight her off, but she's fast, almost invisible as she darts around the clearing, missing every attack by a hair, always with that careless expression even as he nearly slices her arm with his claws. Kai can feel himself wearing out, but he doesn't give up. He hears Nya trying to join in, but spots Morro tackle her to the ground, and he snarls at the teen with all the rage he can muster. That takes the last bit of energy he has.
Olive lands squarely on top of him, her cold claws on top of his neck. "Do you yield?" she asks coolly. When he doesn't answer, she presses her hand on him more firmly and he feels a tiny stream of warmth trickle down his skin.
"I yield," he coughs out and the pressure relaxes slightly. Every bit of him throbs, but he manages to turn his head toward Lloyd. Surprisingly, Olive doesn't try to stop him, simply pinning him unconcernedly.
Machia grins maliciously at them before leaning over her tiny captive and whispering something in his floppy green ear. Lloyd face crumbles, just like it had when Pythor had spoken to him, and his wings stop flapping wildly. Machia swipes at him and the Ivory Cluster's shouts mingle with Lloyd's as thin scarlet lines stretch across his left cheek. The lioness, evidently satisfied with the chaos she has caused, clicks her tongue. Kai feels the pressure on his chest ease as Olive gets up and follows the rest of her group into the trees.
There's hoarse breathing as the Ivory Cluster lays on the ground. Kai pulls himself up and scans them worriedly. Nya is sporting a few nicks, but nothing too serious. Jay is licking blood from a long cut on his arm but seems fine. Cole's right hand is stained scarlet from teeth marks in his wrist, but he shakes Nya off, insisting that most of it isn't his. Kai hurries over to Lloyd to find the tiny blond shaking uncontrollably. He scoops the tiny hybrid into his arms and hears a muffled sob throbbing in Lloyd's chest.
"I'm so sorry, bud," Kai whispers, stroking his fluffy hair miserably. "I'm really, really sorry."
"'s not - your fault," Lloyd whimpers, ears sagging sadly, and Kai's heart twists at the look on his face. "Me should've - fought better."
"Aw, kid..." Kai's brain runs out of words as crimson mingles with tears on the fabric of his shirt. He presses a corner of it to the bleeding cuts on Lloyd's face, but it doesn't seem to fix much. "C'mon, let's go see if Harumi has anything for that."
Several minutes later, the white-haired teen shoots them sympathetic looks as she passes out spare blindfolds as bandages before stating that she'll take them to the medic in the morning, but that there's no time right now. Kai wants to snarl furiously that they should make time, but the guilt clawing at his insides as he watches Lloyd press white to his face that is steadily dyed red prevents him from saying anything.
As they slump onto their beds back in their room, Cole lets out a long sigh, inspecting his bandaged hand. "Next time, I'm giving that Turner as good as I got." Jay is unusually silent as he nurses his wound. Lloyd is snuffling, already asleep on his bed, stained blindfold still clasped in one hand. Nya paces the floor, grinding her teeth furiously as she wipes her hands on a towel from the bathroom.
Kai remembers Morro's sneering words as he watches the tiny dregon's chest rise and fall softly. Cryptor's been known to use specimens he likes till they drop. He rolls over, the cut on his neck stinging painfully, but the worry in his stomach much worse. What was Cryptor planning for the little blond?
And...
Will I be strong enough to protect him?
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Ouch, our babies had a rough day today... ;w;
And also, Morro. So.
Yeah.