It's Wednesday, So another chapter, I've started releasing them one at a time rather than 2-3 for two reasons, First, for the most part, the chapters are getting a little bigger (The most recent one I finished was a whopping 15k, yeah it got split up. Second reason, the final chapters I'm working on are a little slow, due to RL stuff, A death in the family, Flu, Wife slipping a disk, yeah last month has been pretty crappy, That's why I've been releasing it at a steady rate, As soon as I actually finish this story the whole lot will be going up day to day, But even with two chapters a week, it gives me two months to get the last bit done, I WILL finish this story.

Anyway ya not here to hear my crap, you wanna know what happened to Max, our cute little Ahri that's only really a few days old...WELL

Enjoy

Courtship

Max awoke the next day feeling well rested, having no idea what the time was. Only thing she knew was it was time for a drink. Her meal of rich meat from the previous day seemed to have worked wonders. Climbing off the sofa, the first thing she noticed was her shoulder was only sore now. Craning her neck to inspect it, she saw the wounds had almost completely closed up now, and after a few experimental licks over where her previous meal had scratched her, she found that too felt much the same.

'Huh, guess I got faster healing.' She shrugged, thinking those wounds should have still been very raw. They would've if she were normal. She scoffed lightly at the word 'normal' as she made her way outside, what was normal about any of this.

The midday sun was high in the sky as she made her way into the clearing. A warm breeze blew gently through the trees as she gave herself a stretch. Physically, she felt better than she had since this whole thing started. In fact, better than ok, she felt incredible. Setting off for the river, it wasn't long before she found herself breaking out into a full-on run. Trees, bushes, flowers and even the odd squirrel blurred past her as her legs propelled her through the forest at a dizzying speed. Even with how fast her eyes were now, she found it difficult to keep track of everything, instead focusing on just where she was going. Last thing she wanted was crashing into something. Akira would have a field day with that.

Getting to the river in record time, she laid herself down on the dirt bank and lazily began to drink as she listened to the marinade of birds calling each other and happily singing away. Trying to use the reflection in the water to see if the side of her face had indeed healed, she caught sight of a small blue round object behind her reflection. Spinning around to look behind her a little too quickly, she caught sight of a football-sized pulsing blue ball sticking to one of her tails. A little startled at its sudden appearance, she tried backing off from it only to slip off the bank into the river. 'Shit that's cold', she thought as she waded back to the bank to climb out. After slipping on the bank a few times, she finally managed it.

Giving herself a shake to get most of the water out of her fur, she found herself a small clearing and sat herself down to finish drying out in the sun while inspecting the blue orb that seemed to effortlessly stick to one of her tails. Looking at it, it kind of reminded her of one of those plasma orbs, except instead of different shades of purple and pink, this was a gentle pulsing electric blue color, completely weightless. She couldn't even feel it, but somehow she knew it was there even when not looking at it, just like a limb. Pawing at it, she found her paw just went straight through it, sending small goosebumps up her paw. Remembering how her mom was able to throw her orb around, she gave her tail an experimental flick. To her disappointment, it only traveled a few inches away before zipping back to its resting spot on her tail. Trying again with a little more force, it went a little further, but not by much. Her mom made it look so easy.

After playing around for what she assumed a few hours, she had managed to sling the blue orb a good ten or so feet. It was definitely related to how much force she put behind it but appeared to be affected by something else too, what she wasn't sure. She'd have to ask Akira. Speaking of, she hadn't heard from her passenger all day. While it was nice to have a little peace, it was a little concerning to the young Ahri. She had also discovered how to switch the tail it was on, a gentle flick and simply thinking what tail she wanted it on and it obeyed. She wondered if it would work the same as a human with her hands. Another thing to ask Akira. She was so getting an earful when she got back.

Wandering around the woods, Max pondered when she would need to eat again. She didn't feel hungry per se. Well, her stomach wasn't complaining at every sound she identified as potential food anyways, but she wouldn't turn down a meal if it fell in her lap. Momentarily, she had a mental image of a rabbit walking up to her and putting itself on a plate. Shaking her head to get the ridiculous image out of her head, she chuckled to herself. 'Only in cartoons, and then it's usually a trap.'

She finally entered a clearing surrounded by trees and bushes. It seemed like as good a place as any to find a quick snack. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. Tensing up, she sharply turned towards the rustling. Nothing… maybe just some animal shuffling around in the undergrowth. Then again, it was best to be safe. Not all animals were cute and cuddly as she had seen recently. That and she had a bad feeling about this. Preparing herself for another mountain lion she narrowed her eyes, bared her teeth and growled threateningly as she approached the spot. If it was something harmless, it would probably run off. Since she wasn't too hungry at the minute, she could afford to skip a small meal. If it was something larger, she could give chase now she had energy. She was much faster now. If it was something dangerous… well, she hoped that wasn't the case.

Slowly edging towards the zigzag line of thick-trunked trees, her ears pricked up and alert, she finally reached the area. Circling the small patch of trees, she found the coast clear. Still, the feeling of unease didn't leave. When she felt something jump up onto her back and a jaw lock onto the scruff of her neck, she realized her suspicions had been correct. Slamming her back into the nearest tree, she heard a pained yelp as whatever had been holding onto her fur released. Quickly swiveling around and backing away, she growled lowly when she saw the crumpled heap on the ground. After a few seconds the creature rose, rugged gray fur, its stance crouched ready to pounce, teeth bared and a low growl. A wolf.

Feeling her hackles rise along her back, she lowered herself ready to pounce. She wasn't about to back down. If she could take a mountain lion, a wolf shouldn't be an issue. In an instant, the wolf lunged at her and Max met it head on colliding mid-air, both snapping and snarling at each other. Several times the wolf tried going for Max's neck, only to find her shoulder instead as she shifted at the last second.

After several tussles, and more than one failed attempt by the young Ahri at pinning her opponent, Max found herself pinned by the wolf instead, his jaws locked tight on her scruff, his full body weight on top of her.

'Should I leave you two alone?' Akira asked, entertained by the sight she had come back to.

'Where the hell…?' Max began, realizing that it didn't matter where her unreliable passenger had been right now. Priorities. 'Nevermind… A little help?'

'Not sure I should if I'm honest, I mean...' Akira let the sentence hang unfinished, trying her best to stifle the amusement.

'Thought you were supposed to be helping,' Max grunted as she threw the wolf off her only for it dive at her, knocking her down and grabbing her scruff again.

'If you were in danger I would,' Akira observed. She had seen this kind of scuffle countless times so, unlike Max, she knew what was happening here. Nothing for her to worry about at all.

'It's attacking me," Max stated incredulously, trying to get a good grip with her feet to push him off again.

Akira chuckled at her jumped conclusion. Max had much to learn about her wolf side. 'No HE is not. He hasn't actually hurt you yet, has he?'

Max thought about this for a moment and realized for all the teeth and snarling, there really wasn't any pain. 'Then, what's his problem?'

For a moment, Akira gathered her thoughts as she tried to think of the best way to put this, settling on, 'Can't really blame him, I guess. Young werewolves are all hormones and instinct.'

'Wait, what?' Max asked confused, and by now getting seriously irritated with the young wolf, let loose a deep growl as tried again to snap at him, missing again.

'Well, let's just say, he's trying to… subdue you, I guess…' Her sentence was interrupted by Max's confusion.

'What do you mean subdue…?' Max's eyes went wide with realization as her brain raced to a conclusion the young Ahri really wasn't prepared for. 'He's trying to MATE with me… Oh, hell no!'

Before Akira could either confirm or deny this, Max frowned and a low, threatening growl erupted from her throat. This new found realization sent a rush of mixed emotions through her body. Anger for him trying, confusion, she clearly wasn't a normal wolf, or werewolf, HELLO TWO TAILS BLUE BALL OF... STUFF, and fear, she was SO not ready for… that. She was only thirteen, or was it fourteen. It didn't matter, either way, she was too young for crying out loud.

This in itself gave her cause to start the fight anew, letting out a much deeper growl as she once again attempted to get her head around to bite... anything she could reach, barely missing the werewolf's front leg. 'Gha, I just wanna punch him.'

In that instant, there was a sharp yelp followed by the sound of something hitting a nearby tree, causing the branches to sway, as she felt the weight of the wolf on her suddenly removed. Looking over to the sound of the impact, she was surprised at what she saw. The first was the wolf crumpled against the foot of the tree, the second was her orb zipping back to her, turning from a solid black back to its static blue color as it came to rest on one of her tails.

Ignoring the orb for the moment, she advanced on the downed wolf her teeth bared and a low growl coming from her chest, intent on giving the werewolf a solid and affirmative 'NO' only to feel Akira stopping her.

'Akira… what the hell'?' Max asked incredulously, feeling instantly betrayed.

'You've won, Max,' Akira commented, still chuckling as the werewolf scrambled to its feet and bolted away through the trees, whimpering.

'He was trying too... I'm only fourteen,' Max trailed, she couldn't believe it. She had barely stepped foot outside and was already getting attacked like this. Not only that, but she WASN'T a wolf. She was HUMAN.

'He wasn't, Max... well, maybe later he might have, and numerically yes, you're fourteen, but biologically, as far as nature in concerned…' Akira stopped, realizing that the point was irrelevant for what she was trying to explain, 'but that wasn't what he was trying to do.'

'Then what?' Max's frustration was only rising with each exasperating cryptic response. She wanted clean cut answers, not riddles.

'Well… he was TRYING, to get you to submit to him.' Akira began carefully, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

'That sounds a lot like...' she stopped herself again, still unable to bring herself to actually think it. She felt gross even considering the possibility, age aside.

Slightly annoyed at the constant interruptions, Akira stated simply, 'He wanted you to submit to him being Alpha. He wanted to make a pack with you.'

'Wait… he wanted to be MY ALPHA?' She only knew a little about wolves and that was because Chloe had a fascination with them in her youth. Anything dangerous, she was in. That thought was bittersweet now.

'That's what it looked like,' Akira confirmed before continuing. 'Wouldn't have lasted long anyway, not now you figured your orb out.'

'No thanks to you,' Max muttered bitterly.

'Hey, I helped.' Akira pointed out, feeling a little offended at the insinuation.

Still angry at the whole situation, Max took out her frustrations on Akira. 'Oh really, you disappeared yesterday evening, were nowhere to be seen this morning when it appeared, arrive AFTER I get into a… courtship with a WEREWOLF, and just laughed while I'm panicking. Remind me how you helped.'

'I told you that you had to eat properly and you were still growing and changing. Your orb takes a lot of energy to kickstart, nothing to do but eat and wait. As for your...' stifling a laugh, she pressed ahead. '…"courtship", I figure once you realized what he was trying, you'd find a way out… I woulda stepped in if you REALLY needed the help.'

'You lied to me?' Max asked, feeling hurt by the lack of support and lies. There were very few people she could trust now, and most of them she couldn't even talk to now. Not that she had really trusted Akira in the first place, but it still made her feel disappointed. Was everything else her companion had told her a lie too?

'No, I said I would help you with your orb,' Akira corrected swiftly. 'Yes, I left out the bit about you needing to eat a lot to get it, I just wanted you to get comfortable… well, killing and eating something.'

Max didn't know what to say to that. She was grateful for Akira's help in that regard, she'd have probably starved herself near death before taking the plunge herself. Sitting down and failing an attempt at a sulk her orb caught her eye resting on her tail. Giving her tail a flick she sent the orb a few feet away, feeling disappointed when it failed to turn black like before.

'Um, Max…'

'I did it on my own before, I can do it again,' Max snapped, trying to maintain her annoyance. After several more failed attempts she slumped herself down on the dirt in a huff scowling at the blue orb on her tail.

'If I may.' When Max didn't respond, Akira carried on. 'What were you thinking when you did it before?'

Max sighed, thinking it over. 'I dunno, lots of things, namely I wasn't ready to be… ya know.'

Chuckling again, Akira encouraged her. 'Try to think, state change is a thought, or more of a visualization I guess.'

'I wanted him off me, I thought… I wanted to... Oooh.'

Without finishing her sentence Max got to her feet. Eyeing up a nearby tree, she gave her tail a flick in its direction and imagined herself punching it. To her surprise, the orb shifted to black just before hitting the tree with a light thud before zipping back to her tail, returning to its blue state.

'There you go,' Akira added smugly.

'Huh, kinda counter intuitive. I imagined punching it, only I don't have hands.' She glanced down at her furry paws, still not used to recognizing them as her own.

'Not when you think about it. Most Ahri learn it while human, but that's generally how it works. There are other states but that's the easiest and probably the most effective one,' Akira explained as simply as possible.

'Mom made a purple one,' Max sighed, recalling the brief glimpse of the coin-sized orb.

For a moment, her mother's final moments worked their way into her head, the pain she had buried threatening to surface. Shaking the images from her head, her whole body shook in response and she accidently sent her orb zipping across the clearing. It turned a solid black, taking out a chunk of a large tree trunk before whizzing back to her, once again settling on one of her tails and turning back to its blue color.

'Void orb,' Akira stated, ignoring Max's unprovoked attack on the tree. 'Takes a lot of concentration and energy. That was the first one your mom ever made, and she had been trying for years... took me a very long time to learn it, too.'

'It looked like it hurt,' Max muttered to herself, recalling the vampire's reaction. He had not been happy and that was a gross understatement.

'Void orbs, in the simple term, erase whatever they touch. The damage can't be healed. That mark will be with him forever... unless he loses the arm, which wouldn't be a bad thing,' Akira added as an afterthought, feeling as much hatred for the vampire as Max.

'Definitely not something to practice around anything valuable then,' Max managed semi-humorously despite the mounting feelings of anger and sadness.

'Or people you care about.' Akira added solemnly. 'Just one stray orb and… yeah, that vampire got lucky.'

Max slumped herself back down on the dirt, resting her head on her paws. As much as she tried to bury her grief, every little thing made her think of her mom, her family, friends… Chloe. 'I'm never going to have a normal life, am I?'

'Define normal?'

With a resigned sigh, Max expanded on that question. 'Going to school, making friends… a family.'

Unable to help herself, Akira made light of the situation. 'You could always chase down that werewolf. He can't be far.'

'Not sure why I expected a straight answer…' While she hadn't been expecting, it would have been nice.

'Sorry, Max, it is a little funny, though.'

'Is NOT!' The rage in that thought was so strong Max actually growled aloud.

'Ok, maybe in a day or two. To answer your question, no, at least not until HE is dealt with.' Seeing a small opening Akira tried to push her opinion. 'Running away isn't going to solve this, Max.'

Max shook her head, whimpering softly at her lack of options. 'I can't go back to Arcadia if that's what you mean. For one they wouldn't recognize me, and secondly what if he comes after me? I'd be putting them all in danger.'

'Max, Joyce KNOWS you're an Ahri. She would put two and two together... As for the other thing…' Akira hesitated for a moment, this would be treading on very fresh wounds. 'Your mom tried running, and while she wasn't exactly alone, her decision is what landed us here.'

'DON'T YOU DARE!' Max growled threateningly. She did NOT want to hear this.

Quickly rethinking her phrasing, Akira backtracked a little. 'I'm saying it how it is. You think this is easy for me?'

'She wasn't your MOM! You AREN'T an orphan at the age of fourteen! You… you…' Max's angry words fizzled away into silence, a wracking sob taking over. She couldn't keep the tears back anymore, feeling them roll down her furry cheeks. Curling herself up, she hugged herself and cried more than she ever had in her life. She hated this. 'I just… want to go home. I want my family.'

It was easy to forget that Max was so young and inexperienced, her world suddenly tipped upside down, everything she knew obliterated. 'I'm… sorry, Max. I really am. While Vanessa might not have been my mom, she was a dear friend. More than that, I was with her till the very end, felt everything she felt, heard her every thought. All she was thinking of was you, scared and guilty for leaving you alone. She loved you so much.' Akira's attempt to comfort Max seemed to help a little.

Letting out a shaky breath, Max swiped at her eyes. Right now, she wanted to be home with her parents, Joyce, William and Chloe. Like the good old days. She knew that was impossible. Her parents were dead, William was dead and Joyce and Chloe were out of her reach. She just felt empty now, alone. Would she ever be able to live like this? Adapt and survive?

'You will, Max. You will.' Those confident words from Akira gave her some small amount of comfort.

Ok so we laughed, cringed and cried, Now be honest, who feels for Max right now.

Next time On Tale of Two Lives, Akira reveals a little about herself, And something spooks Max's new little friends.

See you Saturday

Peace out

Oh if anyones interested, I actually have another Fic in the works (This one's a really short one) Again working with Olivia, It's Titled Time Loop, And should be interesting.