No, I'm not dead… (:D)
Sigh, I had quite a nice little start to this chapter, all my thank you's, quirky little spiels and all that and what does my computer do?
Shuts down the word program just as I was saving it.
Damn this computer to hell.
And because I can't really remember all that I wrote previous (and I really can't be bothered writing it all down) I'll just make this short and sweet.
THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH! to all of you who reviewed and will review ( ~_^, gotta stay optimistic) for this story. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this one up and actually written so my wonderful editor bunni (who deserves extra special thanks for all the extra effort she put in to get this chapter edited for me) but it's up now, and all's well.
Once again to everyone who reviewed and of course to my editor TTTTTTTTHHHHHHHAAAANNNNKKKK YYYOOOOOUUUU!!
Anyway, let's get on with it shall we? (You all should know by now that I own squat…)
Chapter Nine: By the Light of the Silvery Moon…
~~~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV
"You!"
Feyfox glanced frantically around then back up past the tooth-bared snout into the angry glaring eyes of Syaoran the wolf. She crinkled her eyebrows in an expression that she hoped looked innocently confused and pointed to herself. "Me?"
"Yes, you!"
"Umm…err…right…I am Feyfox…err…were you…looking for me?"
A muscle twitched next to his eye. "Yes Feyfox, I was looking for you, Feyfox, and do you want to know why I was looking for you, Feyfox?"
There was something very discomforting and really quite frightening about the amount of emphasis he was using on her name. She considered for a minute whether she should just go really big and perhaps sit on him or something, but there was the nagging little voice of doubt that pointed out that going big removed the flying advantage and besides, going big just gives him something bigger to chew.
"Err, because you want to go have a nice cup of tea and needed some company?"
That didn't seem to go down very well. The muscle in his face twitched again and he leaned closer so his nose was practically touching her forehead. "You…you…" His head jerked to the side like he was trying to bite back words that really wanted to be said and, by the way he kept twitching and grimacing like that, were quite sharp and pointy. "house fly-"
"-Hey, now that's a little harsh-"
" -Do you have any idea how you have ruined my life?"
"Ruined your life…how did I do that?"
Syaroan tossed his head back and snorted in exasperation before he started to pace irritably back and forth. "You gave my sisters that tape"
"…" There was a blank expression on her face. "What tape?"
He seemed to be biting down harsh words again. "That tape of Sakura and I-…when they all left to go home," His nostrils flared and shot her a very potent murderous expression "You showed my sisters a tape of me kissing Sakura!"
This proclamation didn't have the desired effect in the fairy. Her head tipped slightly to the side."…So?"
"SO?!? Is being that size limiting the amount of oxygen reaching your brain or are you just stupid? or insane…or both. Really, I'd like to know."
"Look, they're just your sisters, it can't be that bad…"
"Just my sisters…" He seemed to be addressing someone only he could see. "She says, 'it's only just my sisters'. I'm just overreacting because it's 'just my sisters'…" He rounded on her, practically spitting in his rage. "THEY ARE MORE THAN JUST MY SISTERS; THEY ARE A PACK OF RABID GIGGLING BLOOD-SUCKING DEMONS WHOSE SOUL EXISTENCE IS TO TORTURE ME! AND YOU JUST GAVE THEM SOMETHING ELSE TO TORTURE ME WITH!" He started to pace again. "Of all the people you had to give it to…I think I'd have actually preferred it if you'd just given it to Tomoyo or Eriol…"
"Oh, well it's okay then, because I gave them a copy as well."
"WHAT?"
"Well, I had to, they were the ones that put me up to it…"
"Oh God, my life is officially over…"
"What, I thought you said that you'd rather they ha-"
"Yes, but only them. It's just too much if all my sisters, Eriol, Tomoyo, and my mother…oh God…my mother…oh no…if she sees it, then the elders will see it and then…oh God Sakura is going to hate me."
"err…how did you come to that conclusion?"
If fur could blush, Syaoran would probably be crimson by now. "It's…complicated clan business stuff…"
"What are they going to do, marry you off? How's that such a bad thing? I mean, you do love Sakura, don't you?"
This seemed to catch him off guard. He blinked as the fairy continued. "Think about it," she reasoned, glad that she'd gotten onto a subject that made him think of anything other than biting her head off "you'd be living together, seeing each other everyday. She can take you for walkies along the beach, just you and her, hand in paw…"
"That's not funny, you know."
She frowned, confused, "Err, it wasn't supposed to be…"
The wolf shook his head, before flopping heavily to the ground and rubbed the side of his face with his paw; the closest thing to rubbing his temples that he could manage. "It's just…it's just…"
"It's just what?"
"It's just…complicated…look can you just drop it okay?"
She fluttered her wings and alighted on the grass just in front of him to pat him lightly on the snout. "Okay okay I'll drop it. Look, don't worry yourself so much about it Syaoran. I'm sure whatever it is that's worrying you it will all work out in the end." She smiled reassuringly and gave his snout another affectionate pat.
Syaoran let out a small grumbling growl, sighed and looked at the grass. "You're probably right. Thank you…" Sighing again, he got to his feet and looked around. "I better head back to the castle…see if Master Felix is around." Then suddenly he spun towards her so fast that you'd have expected him to get tangled up in all his limbs and was in her face and growling in voice that could level a forest, "But if I so much as sniff one of your little homegrown cameras anywhere near me again, I will not hesitate to do something unpleasant and you had better wish on each and every one of your lucky stars that you aren't anywhere nearby!!"
Syoaran froze mid-menacing-growl.
Feyfox froze, mid-leaning-back-in-abject-terror.
Both pair of eyes watched fixated as a tiny, very much organic looking camera floated over and hovered in the air between the two.
Syaoran's eye's narrowed to slits at about the same time Feyfoxs' got a whole lot wider.
"Err…eh hehehe…?"
"ggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…"
There was a blurring of movement, the sound of snapping jaws far too close to Feyfoxs' ears for her comfort, then the unpleasant sound of something small go 'snap'.
Syaoran, considering it wasn't really hard for him to do so in his case, smirked wolfishly and deposited the remains of a much chewed up but still vaguely recognizable miniature organic video camera. Feyfox looked from the mortal remains to Syaoran's narrowed eyes, to the remains, to his nose, to the side, to the grass, then anywhere else that didn't involve seeing the look he was giving her and said. "Err…that's not mine…"
Syaoran seemed to be picking something from between his teeth with his tongue. He spat the obstruction onto the ground.
On it, though small and somewhat mangled, was a small orange fox logo.
"Eep" Feyfox disappeared in a swirl of orange coloured smoke.
Syaoran watched the smoke disperse for a minute or two before smirking. "Eh heh heh heh…" Unnerving the fairy had improved his mood somewhat. Still, there was other pressing things to attend to, namely finding Master Felix to get changed back.
Hopefully more permanently this time.
Syaoran sniffed the air and had a look at his surroundings. He wasn't entirely sure where he was but his nose wasn't just for decoration. He turned on the spot, trying to find a scent trail that would lead him back to the castle. A little unsuccessful at first, all he could smell was flowers, grass and trees, the occasional bird or forest dwelling animal arising briefly through the mix. There was a brief gust of wind and his nostrils twitched as he caught onto something faint…and well, floral to be precise. But it was distinguishable from the flowers around him. His highly accurate nose was telling him that this particular floral scent was manufactured. His tail thumped the ground in irritation as he cautiously sniffed the air again.
It was much stronger this time.
He felt his blood drain from his face. "Oh God no…"
A beam of light shot through the trees and earthed itself onto his chest. Syaroan looked at it a little bewildered but his head shot up at the sound of hoof beats. Another waft of breeze brought with it the smell of horse, leather, people…and far too much perfume.
A shriek caused a flock of birds to noisily vacate a nearby tree. "Little brother!"
"We found you at last!"
Syaoran whimpered and would have slunk off if it wasn't for the fact that his mother, sitting side-saddle on a pale steed, had reached him and her horse was circling around him looking nervous. His mother was a commanding presence but even she would have trouble oppressing thousands of year's instinct that said giant brown wolves tended to see horses, or any other animal for that matter, as the next meal. Her horse wouldn't stay put and was trying to get as far away from Syaroan as possible, despite her best efforts. Yelan slipped the lasin board into her robes as Garret steered his horse beside her. He waved and said cheerfully. "Hey Syaoran! Have a nice run?"
Syaroan eyed the boy. There was a definite smirk in that grin. Syaroan's face fell. "Oh God…it's the tape isn't it?"
The smirk overtook the grin completely. "Whatever would give you that idea?"
"It's the look. That's exactly the same look Eriol gets right before he does something that would result in me being humiliated."
The smirk got a little bigger. "Oh I wouldn't do anything like that…it's probably Leo and Hallanna that you should be worried about. They're the ones with the tape…"
"Oh God…"
"Ahh it's not that bad. They won't show too many people."
"Oh God…"
Garret grinned as his horse started to shift around. "You certainly gave the castle something to talk about!"
"Oh God…Is there anyone who actually hasn't seen this tape?"
"…You mean just in the castle?"
Syaoran looked a little taken aback and blinked. "Yes, just in the castle!"
"Umm…" Garret looked up and started to chew on his lip. "Err…probably not many…"
"Oh God…"
Yelan steered her skittish horse towards her daughters, who had been admiring the scenery and chatting amiably with each other about God only knows what, and turned in the saddle to address her son once more. "Master Felix is waiting for you back at the castle Xiao Lang. We should get going."
Syaoran let out a whimper, another 'oh God' for good measure and slunk off after the retreating party. Maybe he should just leave. Join a wolf-pack somewhere and spend his days…doing whatever it is wolves generally did all day. It would certainly be a less-humiliating life than his was at the moment. Everyone seemed to get great pleasure out of humiliating him. Actually, the only person he really knew well that didn't try to actively humiliate him…was Sakura. Syaoran sighed. Oh for a less complicated life.
It was an hour or so later that Syaoran entered the castle once again flanked by four far-too-happy women, his benignly smiling mother in the lead, and one apprentice knight enjoying the whole situation far too much. Master Felix and his associate Neeko were waiting patiently in the courtyard and lead them all (besides Garret who said he had something to do) up into the study once everyone had dismounted.
"Hmmm…very interesting…very interesting indeed…" Syaroan's sisters, who had spent most of the time torturing Neeko with there attention simultaneously looked up. "What's interesting?"
Master Felix tilted Syaroan's head to one side, then to the other and replied slightly distant. "I believe your brother has the ability to control the transformations…"
"Really?"
"Does that mean little brother is werewolf?"
"Ooh! Make him change! I wanna see!"
"…Does that mean he's going to liberate young women of they're earthly bounds and make them his unholy creatures of the night by seducing them in they're beds by the light of a full moon?"
The whole room gave Xiefa a very strange look. After a brief silence Fuutie spoke up. "…Isn't that vampires?"
"What? 'Liberating young woman by the light of the full moon?'"
"I thought vampires did that regardless of the moon phase?"
"I think what she meant was the 'seducing young women in they're beds is a vampire thing, not a werewolf thing…werewolves tend to just bite old people and small children and that makes them his unholy creatures of the night"
"Oh no, they bite other age groups too."
"Really? Well, fancy that…" All four sisters nodded in general understanding. Syaroan's lip was curled in a disbelieving expression. "Are you four actually listening to what you are saying? I AM NOT GOING TO LIBERATE YOUNG WOMAN IN THEIR BEDS!!"
Fuutie gave him a sly look. "Are you sure little brother…what about that little…'tete-a-tete' you had with Sakura the other day…"
Syaoran's eyebrow, still twitching, arched, "'Tete-a-tete'?"
"Well, she uses that term quite lightly…"
"After-all, actions do speak louder than words..." His sisters looked at his horrified expression and burst into gales of girlish giggling.
There was a slight warning tone I Yelan's otherwise amused voice. "Ladies…"
The sisters stopped giggling and pouted as the look on their mothers face clearly meant for them to end their teasing, but went back to torturing Neeko who had tried to escape while the attention had been shifted from her.
Yelan moved forward to kneel next to her son. She glanced up at Master Felix. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. He kept mumbling things like 'amazing', 'never seen such control like this ever before'. Syaroan just looked confused. "Wait…you mean I can change from a wolf to a human whenever I want to?"
Felix tapped his chin thoughtfully and observed Syaroan. "It seems like it, which is very unusual. Normally it takes up too much energy to change, not to mention it's very painful, but from what I could establish from your aura, you seem to have made it part of your normal self…like you were born with it." He crossed his arms on his chest and leant against the desk. "And the other thing that's strange is that you didn't feel any pain last time you changed. I mean the time before that you were heavily sedated so that doesn't count, but from what you told me, you just got angry and changed as easy as it is to change clothes. It's really very fascinating…"
"Err, right…fascinating…umm I don't suppose you know how to make me change back do you?"
He shrugged. "It should just be a simple matter of concentrating and finding whatever mental switch changed you to a wolf before and…flick it to 'human'."
Syaroan's expression was somewhat disbelieving. "Right…simple as that…"
"I want to watch this closely, maybe we'll be able to figure out why you don't feel pain when changing anymore."
There was a quiet knock at the door and after a brief pause Garret walked in carrying something metallic. "Hi!" He walked over to Syaoran and held out the metallic object that looked suspiciously like a collar. "I thought you could use this, after what I was told happened last time you changed back…" He knelt down by the bewildered and overall once again embarrassed wolf and clipped it around his neck.
Syaoran stretched his neck to the side so he could see it out of one eye. "Err…okay…umm…thanks…" His eye rolled back up and fixed itself back onto Garret. "What does it do?"
"Well, it's just a collar I whipped up for you in the forge but" he held up a forefinger to emphasize his point "I put a spell on it so that it can store things for you. Whatever you were wearing before you change to a wolf will be stored in the collar until you need them again. Oh, I also added in a spot for you to hold your sword in its jewel form so that will be handy to…"Garret looked back up to Yelan. "Do you have the jewel?"
She nodded and pulled it from the depths of her long sleeves, then handed it wordlessly to Garret. He turned the collar around to the section that was wider than the rest and had a small concave part in the middle. The jewel sunk into metal when it was placed in the dip and the red chord and tassels whipped around the rest of the band and sunk in, leaving an intricate pattern branching out from the now imbedded jewel. "There, all done."
Syaoran tilted his head to the side trying to get a better look at his new accessory. "…I-well…thank you very much…"
Garret shrugged and stood up, brushing the dust off his knees. "Ahh, think nothing of it, it's a pretty simple spell…but I figured you'd be happier if I did it instead of Eriol. He's the one who came up with the idea in the first place." Garret stepped back and looked thoughtful. "He always looks like he's up to something that guy…"
"Really…thank you."
Garret smiled slightly then expelled a breath. "No problem. Umm…I better go. I promised I'd go speak to Leo after I gave you the collar…She was a little…mad when she found out that I could use magic so well and never told her and umm…" He looked guilty and stepped towards the door. "I better not make her any angrier by being late…." And after a hasty goodbye, he slipped out the door.
Master Felix clapped his hands together. "Right, now that that's settled, why don't we get on with things then?"
~~~~~~17 minutes and 45 seconds later~~~~~
"It's…not…working…"
"Are you sure you're digging down deep enough?"
Syoaran peaked open an eye to glare at Felix as he replied in a low voice sounding like he was only just holding onto his anger by the skin of his teeth. "How am I supposed to know that if I'm only digging in a purely metaphorical sense…"
"Look just close your eyes and concentrate…"
"That's what I have been doing for the last 20 minutes and look what good that's done…"
"Hmm…maybe deep down you don't really want to change back…"
"OF COURSE I WANT TO CHANGE BACK!!" Except for that one time when he had found that unnerving Feyfox was so much easier with all the pointy teeth, he would want nothing more than to have his good old human body back. "DO YOU REALLY THINK I WANT TO BE STUCK LIKE THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?!?"
There was a flash of green light, followed by a brief light flash of pink and a completely bewildered but nevertheless human looking Syaoran blinked and looked down. He looked at his hands. He plucked at his clothes, the ones that Garret had provided for him in the collar (which had changed into a fairly thick silver neck-chain) and wiggled his toes in his leather boots. He blinked again. "Well…would you look at that."
His sisters squealed and pounced. "Yay! Little brother is human again!!"
"Acck! Gerroff you pack of weirdos!" Syaoran was sorely tempted to call upon his sword (which, in its' jewel form, was now nestled safely in his pocket) to dislodge the pack of monkeys but didn't need to. Master Felix shoed them aside and stared to fiddle with the gems on his staff. "Absolutely incredible. It seems to be activated by anger…or perhaps you can do it with any emotion if it's strong enough…Hmmm I bet with a bit of practice you won't even have to be highly emotional…why don't you try it again?"
Syaoran brushed his clothes off as he shot his giggling sisters a dirty look before closing his eyes again and concentrating. It wasn't as hard this time. He was already angry enough and the fact that he could hear his sisters giggling in the background was enough of an irritant to make him switch again.
Green flash, pink flash…
"Excellent, was it easier this time?"
Syaoran shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose a little…"
"Wonderful…do it again!"
Syaoran sighed…
He ended up doing it so many times that Syaoran was thoroughly exhausted by the time Elizabeth called everyone to the evening meal. However, he now seemed to have complete control of the transformations. This seemed to brighten his mood considerably. Though there was still the nagging question of why there was that flash of pink and why he didn't feel any pain whatsoever. Afterall, if your body had to completely re-arrange it's internal and external structures, wouldn't that just be a wee bit excruciating? It did it the first times…why not now?
He pondered this during dinner while the rest of the table buzzed with conversation.
~~~~~~~
"Are you okay, Sakura?"
She looked up from the magazine she had been flicking through and blinked sleepily. "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine, Kero…why do you ask?"
Kero frowned and flew over to sit on Sakura's stomach. "It's just your aura keeps dipping all the time…"
"'Dipping'?"
"Yeah, like something's eating away at it…don't you feel it?"
Sakura frowned and closed her eyes to concentrate. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a little funny…" She shrugged and went back to her magazine. "It's probably that roll I had for lunch…thought it smelt a little funky..."
Kero hovered into the air, scratching his chin. "Hmmm…maybe you're right. The last time you were sick your aura went all weird and helped you get better quicker." He shrugged and floated over to his video game. "Tell me if you notice anything else, k?"
Not really paying attention, Sakura replied a distant. "Mmmm-hmmm…"
~~~~~~~
There was what appeared to be four dark adult figures in and equally dark room. Each was clad in heavy looking robes that covered them from head to foot. Dark shadows covered they're faces, so it would be near impossible to establish whether the wearers where male or female.
They were male.
They were always male.
It's been like that for as long as memory can recall, and we should know.
We never forget.
The room itself was difficult, for the most part, to establish just how big it was. The light of the few candles scattered on the centre table did little to dispel the darkness and so the area behind the four seated elders was shrouded in darkness. The table in the centre glowed faintly in it's own light. It was something like a map a general of an army uses to plan strikes, where to position his troops and so on but the scene itself changed every 30 seconds or so to another random image. The four cloaked figures each sat in over-stuffed high back chairs, one on each edge of the square, scene-shifting table.
Dark clad elder no. 1 sat back and steepled a pair of aged hands. He deep voice rumbled from somewhere within the dark hood.
"Fellow elders, have we come to an agreement?"
Elder no. 2 nodded slowly and replied in an equally deep voice. "Yes, it seems we have no choice. People have become suspicious."
Elder no.1, 2 and 3 turned to look at the silent and still elder no. 4. There was a collective weary sigh from the other 3. Elder no. 1, being on the opposite side of the table to the as of yet unmoving elder no. 4 untucked a foot from under the chair and kicked out, successfully knocking No. 4 in the near vicinity of the crotch. Normally this sort of behaviour would then be followed by something of an impression of a convulsing chipmunk. There should at least have been a lot of swearing. Instead, No. 4 slid off the chair and fell to the ground in a heap.
No. 4s head rolled off.
No. 4 was a mannequin.
The three remaining elders turned to watch as the head rolled away out of sight into the shadows, before turning back to the table.
"Now, back to business. Is the candidate ready to assume his role as the new elder, Elder Crum Pe?"
Elder Crum Pe, or Elder no. 3 replied after some thought. "He is too young to have children or find a wife. And he is impressionable enough to learn our ways. That is all I am aware off."
"…I heard he likes cats."
Elder Crum Pe and as of yet unamed No. 1 turned to look at No. 2 who's hood had the decency to look embarrassed. " 's just what I heard…"
"We are not concerned with his pet preferences Elder Shi Yar, really…now, if we can get on with things. Summon the new elder through the Sacred Artifact of Communion please."
Elder Shi Yar nodded solemnly and shifted in his seat slightly to get comfortable. He raised his arms and shook them a bit so that the sleeves slid to his elbows and freed his hands. There was the sound of bones cracking softly as he cracked his knuckles. He leaned forward and, using his index finger pressed a small button on the edge of the desk and leant forward so that his mouth was barely an inch or so from the tabletop.
"Liika, be a dear and send in the gentleman. We are ready for him."
There was an answering conformation from the stereotypical bubbly secretary voice and the sound of a door opening could be heard from the darkness.
Footsteps echoed in the room. Tap…tap…tap…tap…tatitap-SHITTHADUNK!-ticka-ticka-ticka…
The mannequins head rolled back out of the shadows and came to a stop by the Grand Elders (Elder no. 1) feet. He watched it for a second before turning to look at the man coming out of the shadows. He was scowling unpleasantly and rubbing his head. "You know, if you're going to sit around in the dark all day, the least you could do is pick up after yourselves. Ow…" Unable to see their faces properly, the newcomer gazed at each of the shrouded figures with an apprehensive look on his face. "Right…so….what is it you wanted me for…uhh" He bowed stiffly, "honourable elders" His gaze landed briefly on the empty seat. "Hey, what happened to Elder Wa Tei?" He frowned. "You didn't turn him into that mannequin did you?"
Grand Elders hood gave the impression that he was scowling at the new comer.
"Elder Wa Tei has since passed from the physical world…"
The newcomer looked mildly surprised. "Really? You Elder boys always gave everyone the impression that you were immortal. Course, no one really believed that. Well, I didn't, but it was something interesting to tell the kids."
The Grand Elder snapped. "Be that as it may insolent man, but we must still keep up appearances. We work in secret, we exist in shadow."
The newcomer cocked an eyebrow. "Do you dress in black?"
The Grand Elders hood tilted to the side, then down as if to take in what it was currently wearing. "We dress in the ceremonial robes passed down from elder to elder. Every colour has a meaning. Black is not one of them. Surely you can see that?"
The newcomer seemed to be getting a headache and was pinching his temples as he avoided the hooded gazes. "Don't worry, it's …nothing…do go on…"
"We are the elders of a powerful magical clan. The most powerful in Hong Kong, we might even be the most powerful in the world. We may not have found immortality yet, but we must give the impression that have if we are to keep our high social standing! Now," His voice returned to the normal calm tone. "Since the former Wa Tei has departed this life, we must find a living replacement to take his place. His temporary replacement…" He gestured dismissively to the crumpled lump of headless mannequin on the floor, "has become redundant…" The hood moved up to indicate that the Grand Elder was once again focused on the new comer. "Someone must take his place."
The newcomer, who had been watching the changing images on the tabletop looked up. "Wait…you're talking about me right?"
All three Elders thought collectively
…Idiot…
"You have no family. No next of kin. You're job is getting you nowhere and your ties to the Li clan, though by blood, are distant. We would have preferred a more direct member of the bloodline, but the Li men are scarce and we had no other choice. You are our last resort."
"Gee, way to make a guy feel special…"
"This is an honour, one of which is only ever, up until our recent circumstances, been bestowed to the direct descendants of Clow Reed. Consider yourself honoured."
The newcomer raised his hands in defense. "Okay Okay…but isn't Xiao Lang a direct descendant? Why don't you use him?"
"Xiao Lang is to be the leader of the clan. He is not to serve as Elder for many many years…if he ever serves as Elder…that boy is far too stubborn to be a good Elder. He is far more useful to us if he takes his place as leader. Now, do you take your place as the new Elder Wa Tei, or do you leave? Keep in mind that you do not have much of a choice as the stability of the Li clan rests on our shoulders and yours until the time in which Xiao Lang can take some of the pressure off of us. If you decline we will erase this meeting from your memory and let you get back to your dreary life." Grand Elder rested his hands on the table. "However, if you agree, there are certain 'rules that you must abide by."
"Such as..?"
"You will conform to the identity we give you. You will eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way." At this, the newcomers' increasingly skeptical look moved slightly to take in the elaborate robes the three elders were dressed in as the Grand Elder continued unaware of the look the newcomer was giving him. "You're current identity will cease to exist. You were never born. You will only be and always will be known as Wa Tei."
The still skeptical looking newcomer spoke up. "You know, I think you ripped that whole spiel off of 'Men In Black'. You don't have any secret alien societies you want to mention at this point do you?"
An aura of raw anger seemed to build around the Grand Elder. Unconscious or not, the other two elders started to edge their chairs away. "INSOLENT MAN! YOU ARE NOT IN THE POSITION TO MAKE JOKES! NOW, DO YOU TAKE YOUR PLACE AS ELDER WA TEI OR DO YOU NOT!"
The man, somewhat taken aback by the outburst, coughed pointedly and muttered something under his breathe that sounded distinctly like 'sheesh, someone needs an afternoon nap' at which point Elder Shi Yar, the Elder closest to the newcomer, had a coughing fit. The newcomer shrugged after he had time to think. "Well, since you put it like that, sure why not. I mean, as you so accurately felt to point out, I basically have no life in your opinion…"
Grand Elder sat back and gestured a weathered hand to the pile of robes on the ground. The mannequin disappeared in a puff of greasy grey smoke. "Then take the Sacred Robes and your place on the Seat of Power, Elder Wa Tei."
The new 'Elder Wa Tei' shrugged on his robes and plomped down on the last remaining seat. He wiggled around, seemingly to get comfortable. "Wow, do you sit in these things all day? They're a bit uncomfortable…and you should really get some air conditioning. Or if you want to stick to tradition, I know this really great wind spell that would do just the trick."
Grand Elder shot the recently appointed Elder Wa Tei a glare and not-too-subtly changed the subject. "If we can discuss something of more importance, Wa Tei, there is the matter concerning the future leader that we must attend."
Wa Tei, seemingly more interested in getting his sleeves under control, answered a bit distractedly. "Xiao Lang, right? Don't you think you owe that kid a break? I mean, from what I've heard, you've been on his back since the day he could walk and speak at the same time."
"He must be trained properly if he is to be a worthy leader of this clan."
Wa Tei snorted and rested his arms on the table. "He's not going to be a very good leader if he has a nervous breakdown at the age of 21."
Elder Crum Pe, possibly speaking up for the first time since the newcomer had arrived, replied after a short silence. "Perhaps Elder Wa Tei has a point Grand Elder. Xiao Lang has been exhibiting signs of high stress for some time now. And though we thought allowing him to stay on that other world for a time would help him relax a little, it seems to only have added to his stress. I told you sending his sisters along with Yelan was a bad idea."
"Hmm, maybe you are right.
~~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV
Syaoran was standing off to the side with his characteristic arms-crossed, face-scowled pose whilst the various other occupants of the room milled about and chatted.
About him.
And Sakura.
And grandchildren.
Comments such as 'Oh, I think they'll be adorable! Can you just imagine a little chibi-Syaoran with Sakura's eyes?' were flying around the room, usually followed by what can only be described as 'titters'.
Syaoran personally hated tittering, and giggling, and any of that girlish sort of laughing that his sisters used in their everyday conversations.
It did something to his nerves.
His mother finally strode into the room, effectively ending the circulating conversations. "Are you ready Xiao Lang?'
Extremely tempted to quip something along the lines of 'Does a bear crap in the woods?' Syaoran uncrossed his arms and walked into the thick of people, who parted as he approached. Once he had reached the centre, and the surrounding people had given him a wide enough birth, Yelan called up the portal that would take Syaroan to Tomoeda. The apartment where he usually stays could be seen in the background, as well as the cloudless night sky. Syaoran, not one for tearful good-byes (omitting that one time when Sakura had to leave of course…but then again, on second thought, that wasn't exactly tearful) said a quick goodbye to his mother, his sisters and other acquaintances from the castle and turned to step through the portal.
"Have fun with Sakura!"
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
"Don't forget to invite us to the wedding!!"
Syaoran was once again sorely tempted to say something impolite and perhaps throw in a rude gesture or two but was unable to do so as the portal closed up behind him, cutting off any further catcalls and giggling. Syaoran sighed, then turned to the sky and gazed at the full moon now visable above the apartment building.
~~~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV
A small boy, probably about the age of five, dressed in fire-engine pajamas was sitting on his bed staring out the window of the 2nd-from-the-top-floor of the apartment building in which he and his parents lived.
The soft click announced that his bedroom door had been opened as soft light flooded from the hall. "Sweety, what are you doing up so late? You are supposed to be sleeping."
The little boy turned to look at his mother as she quietly entered the room and sat on the edge of his bed. "I was asleep mummy, but a noise woke me up."
His mother frowned. "What kind of noise?"
The boy turned and pointed out the window. "I think it was that."
The mother leaned forward and gazed out the window as her sons' voice whispered next to her ear. "I think it's crazy coz it keeps banging it's head against that tree…" There was a short pause, followed by a hopeful, "Can we keep it?" The mother frowned, ignoring the hopeful request and leaned a little closer to the window, unable to see what her son was talking about. Then she saw it. Then she turned and said in a loud, slightly panicky voice. "Honey! I think you better get the park ranger on the phone!"
~~~~~~~~~
Syaoran's POV:
I was well away from the apartment when the van belonging to the park ranger pulled up and the ranger himself stepped out carrying a tranquilizer gun and a net. In fact, I had run so far that for a moment I had no clue where I was until I stopped amongst the bushes, and caught the familiar whiff of chalk, paper and gym shoes that I recognised as Tomoeda Elementary. I sat down and absentmindedly scratched a stubborn itch behind my ear with my hind paw.
Yep, I was a wolf again.
Whoop-dee-freakin' doo.
I had barely even stepped out of the portal for more than a second when poof! I had changed. A nagging voice kept telling me Eriol was somehow connected. He always was. But never mind that. The small amount of belongings, including the key to the apartment, had been sucked inside the collar and there was no point getting them out because paws aren't as adapt at opening doors as hands are.
Oh yeah, did I mention that I couldn't change back too?
Even after all that 'practice' I had done for Master Felix, I couldn't do it now. Something was stopping me. I kept hitting a sort of 'wall' each time I tried to change.
So that left me with only a few options. I could a) stay outside all night and for however long it takes me to change back,
b) Find someone else to stay with until I change back.
Obviosuly b) was the better option, but then that opens up a whole new list of options. Mainly who to stay with.
After a bit of thought, I headed off to Eriol's place. Possibly the least liked option, but I needed to ask him a few questions and the possibility of making his life a living hell for a few days had its' appeal.
Upon arriving I instantly regretted my decision.
"WWWAAAAAAAAAIIIII!! #glomp# Syaoran wolf-chan is so adorable!!"
"Ack! Nakuru, get offa me." The far too hyper guardian let go and smiled something freakishly similar to my sisters as Suppi floated out of the house and regarded me with a bored expression. "Well, those plastic surgeons sure do work wonders nowadays don't they Nakuru…"
I scowled at him, but chose not to reply to the quip. "Is your baka master home? We need to have a little chat."
Nakuru and Suppi exchanged glances at the obvious growl underlying my tone and Suppi answered after some hesitation. "Master is sleeping right now, but he expected that you'd come looking for him, so he asked that we give this to you." Suppi nudged Nakuru in the ribs, causing her to jolt out of whatever fairyland she had ventured into and reach into her bunny rabbit pajamas to produce a scroll. She held it out so I could read it. Then stepped away as I started to growl.
It took both guardians in their true forms to hold me back.
"WOULD YOU TWO LET GO OF ME, I NEED TO GO MAIM YOUR MASTER!"
"Sssssssshhhh!!! Not so loud, he's trying to sleep"
"SO? HE'LL GET PLENTY OF SLEEP IN INTENSIVE CARE ONCE I GET THROUGH WITH HIM!"
Ruby moon, a crazed look on her face, grabbed Suppi by the scruff of his neck and pulled something out of her pajamas with her free hand and held it out in Suppi's face like it was a live grenade about to go off. "I'VE GOT JELLY BEANS! THEY'RE FULL OF SUGAR!! DON'T MAKE ME USE THEM!"
I paused and eyed the purple winged panther as he started to salivate. "Umm…I-I-I think I'll talk to him tomorrow then umm…err…goodnight."
The resulting bolt brought me to Tomoyo's lavish dwelling. It took a few tries to jump the high fence and the resulting somewhat ungraceful landing into the garden left me with a few choice bruises, but I made it unnoticed by the security cameras hidden through out the garden. I used a lawn chair to jump up onto Tomoyo's balcony and nudged the unlocked sliding door open with my snout.
Only to find the room empty.
"Shit."
A scribbled note containing a few words and times by the phone was enough of a clue that Tomoyo was at Sakura's. I sighed and padded silently out the door, jumped off the balcony, got a few more bruises jumping the fence and headed for Sakura's.
This was sure going to be interesting. Sakura's place was the smallest when compared to Tomoyo's and Eriol's which meant it would be that much harder to hide a giant brown wolf. And then there was Kero.
And Touya.
It didn't matter that he didn't live there anymore, that man had the uncanny ability to pop out of nowhere at any given time and jump to whatever conclusion seems right at the time. And of course, throwing Tomoyo into the occasion really livens' things up. I envisioned that it would be something like throwing a bucket of fish guts into a tank full of ravenous sharks.
It was fairly late in the night by the time I reached Sakura's house but despite this there was still a light on in one of the rooms. Apparently she had moved into Touya's old room when he moved out, probably because it was bigger, but you could tell by the cheerful curtains and the hint of lilac paint that she had changed it to suit her tastes. I glanced around and considered my options. There wasn't any handy balcony for me to get on and the window was closed, so yelling wasn't really an option unless I wanted to wake up the whole neighborhood. I trotted around the yard until I spotted a few lose branches on the ground.
"Hmmmm…"
~~~~~~
Tomoyo's POV
Sakura and I were halfway through the third movie in what was planned to be an all night movie marathon when something hit the window. I glanced at the window, then turned to Sakura, who had paused halfway through eating a hand full of popcorn. "Did you hear that?"
She nodded, causing more than a few pieces of popcorn to fall and replied. "Yeah, I did…I think something hit the window. It was probably a bug or something." Turning her attention back to the screen, she grabbed another handful and mumbled. "I see heaps around this time of year."
"Oh, okay then." I turned back to the movie then made a grab for the bowl. "Hey, leave some for me, you guts." She stuck her tongue out at me, but gave up the bowl none the less, before turning her attention back to the movie.
…
…tap…
…
…tap…
I glanced at the window slightly irritated, then paused and blinked when I finally saw one of the 'bugs' hit the window.
"Uhh Sakura…"
"mmm?"
"Are those bugs you mentioned sort of brown…long and noticeably stick-like?"
Barely dragging her eyes from the screen she mumbled, "No…I meant bugs as in beetles…" She turned to me, looking slightly confused. "Why?"
Another stick hit the window but this time it was followed by a barely audible voice muttering, 'Oh come on, I know you're awake…"
We both looked at each other.
"Was it just me, or did that sound just like-"
"-Syaoran"
Sakura jumped up from the bed and went over to the window, popcorn raining from the various folds in her pajamas. She opened the window and leaned out. "Syoa-what the-why are you…Syaoran?!?"
I couldn't see past her, but I overheard Syaoran respond somewhat irritably, "Yes it's me, Sakura! Just keep it down! I've already had the park ranger called on me, I don't need anyone else!"
I frowned. Something was obviously going on. I hated being left out of anything tape worthy.
Sakura meanwhile, was trying to sort things out. "Look, just meet me at the front door okay? I'll let you in there." Not waiting for an answer, she closed the window as quietly as possible and crept towards the door. I was going to suggest she used the Silent or something, but thought better of it. Kero always got so antsy whenever she used the cards for something trivial. Not that he was anywhere nearby. He had gotten sick of watching all our movies and had gone to watch something else with Sakura's Dad. Last time we checked Kero had fallen asleep on the couch and Sakura's Dad had thought it best to leave him because he didn't want to disturb him. I shook my head and headed for the stairs, not forgetting to grab my camera from my bag as I went past.
By the time I had reached the bottom of the stairs, Sakura had already let Syaoran inside and was ushering him upstairs, so I turned around and went back up. But not before giving Syaoran a strange look and quietly saying; not that I'm usually one who often states the plainly obvious, "Err, weren't you uhhh human last time we saw you?"
Sakura put a finger to her lips as she pushed us past her father's room as Syaoran whispered in a tone that did little to mask his anger. "Yes, but it seems your little boyfriend decided to withhold a little bit of information regarding full moons and how they affect me." I tried to hide a grin as we were ushered into Sakura's bedroom and the door was closed behind us. "Oh…that."
He gave me a very dirty look.
Sakura bounced onto her bed. "Why are you a wolf again Syaoran anyway…?"
He shrugged and sat comfortably on the floor. "I'm not sure. I spent some time with Master Felix and I learnt to control it."
"What…you mean you can change at will?" She frowned. "I thought you said it hurt to change…so why would you want to do that at will if it hurts?"
"For some reason it doesn't hurt anymore…There's just this flash of green, then a flash of pink then I change…"
I looked at Syaoran. "A flash of pink?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, I think it might have something to do with why I don't feel pain…
I rubbed my chin. "A flash of pink…hey Sakura, weren't you telling me you were feeling a little weird lately?"
"Yeeaahh…what does that have to do with anything?"
I shrugged. "Well, he says there's a flash of pink and you say you're aura is doing crazy things recently…maybe they're related…"
"Are you saying that I'm the reason he doesn't feel pain when changing anymore…"
"Well, you didn't leave that weird scar on him when you where healing him before…I just think it might just be more than a coincidence…"
"I haven't been making you feel faint have I?"
Sakura shook her head. "No, it's nothing drastic, I just notice it a dip in my magic a little, that's all. Anyway, why can't you change back now?"
"There's something about the full moon that stops me…well, first it changes me to a wolf…then it stops me from being able to change back. It's strange… I hit a…a sort of wall I suppose."
"Does this mean you won't be able to change back until morning…or until the full moon cycle is over…"
He shrugged his furry shoulders. "I'm not sure…I suppose there's really only one way to find out…"
Sakura nodded and smiled. "Well, until then, I guess you'd better stay here."
"Or you can stay at my place, it might be easier that way to hide you then, but it's up to you Syaoran…" I think I might have shown a few too many teeth in my smile, because Syaoran had a slightly frightened look on his face. "Uhh, no, I really just need someone to let me in my apartment."
"And if we do that, you won't be able to feed yourself or do anything like that. Most things aren't made to be operated by paw you know."
"Well, yeah, but I don't want to be any trouble."
"Look Syaoran, it will be less trouble if you stay here."
Not really that surprising, Syaoran gave up with not much of a fight. He settled on the floor between the mattress I was sleeping on for the night and Sakura's bed as Sakura grabbed the remote. "Hmm, my boyfriend is a shape shifting sorcerer…does anyone else fell like we're living an episode of 'Passions'?"
I replied brightly, "Or an episode of Jerry Springer!"
Syaoran was not amused.
Later the next day, when we had finally woken up from our all-nighter, we stumbled down the stairs to get some food, only to bump into Sakura's Dad as he came home from work. Unfortunately we remembered too late that one member of our party wasn't quite human.
"Sakura…why is there a dog following you…and why is it eating pancakes?"
Sakura looked from me, to Syaoran, then back to her father. "Ahh…well…it's like this…"
And she explained everything.
Her father looked a little frazzled by it all at the end of the explanation. He needed to sit down and have a strong cup of coffee. "I'm sorry I lied to you Daddy, it just seemed easier to explain about a summer house than another world…you're not angry are you?"
"What? No, of course not…you had your reasons…" He took another sip of his coffee and glanced down at Syaoran. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need, Syaoran."
"Oh, umm thank you very much, sir."
~~~~~~~
Sakura's POV:
Dad took the whole thing extremely well, but he still seemed a bit frazzled. Despite all that's happened, I think he's still getting to grips with the idea that I can do magic, and the stuffed animal I had for so long is actually my guardian.
Unfortunately Touya wasn't so understanding.
Syaoran and I were going for a walk…well, technically I was taking Syaoran for a walk because the laws of the neighborhood said all dogs must be on a lead (needless to say, Syaroan wasn't very happy about that) when we bumped into Touya as we were leaving the house.
I got a better grip on the leash as I heard a small warning growl come form Syaoran, and smiled up at Touya. "Touya! What a surprise! Um, I'll just be going now, see you later!" I pushed past him out the door but only managed to go a step out the door when Touya spoke up. "Wait a minute, Sakura."
I froze and turned around, trying to make my face look innocent. Touya was looking at Syaoran with a stern but slightly confused expression. "What's up with Lassie?"
"Uhh, well actually-"
"That's a pretty big dog you've got there, Sakura…" He screwed his nose up and continued. "Pretty ugly too…what breed is it?"
I tried to step in front of Syaroan so Touya couldn't see the glare he was shooting him and got a better grip on the leash. "Uh well…you know, bit of this bit of that…"
"It's a mongrel?"
"Uhh…yeah! A mongrel…" The startled 'WHA-!' from Syaoran quickly changed into something of a doggish whimper as I tugged on the leash harshly and quickly shot Syaoran a warning look. I looked back at Touya and smiled. "That's it…it uhh, followed me home and Dad said I could look after it until we find it a new home…"
Touya still looked suspicious. "What's its' name?"
I was trying to think of a suitable name but figured Touya had a knack for finding things out in the end, so it would probably be better the less lies I spun, so I sighed and said. "Um, well, Syaoran actually."
That didn't go down to well…
"YOU NAMED IT AFTER THE BRAT?!?"
I toyed with the leash and said somewhat sheepishly, "Actually…it is the brat…"
Syaoran looked insulted "Sakura!"
"IT CAN TALK?!?"
"Hello, didn't you hear me? I said it is the brat…as in this is Syaoran…as in the guy you've stubbornly held a grudge against ever since you two met." I tugged on the leash and smiled. "Say hello, Syaoran."
He grimaced and, not bothering to look at Touya, waved a paw and said in a completely unenthusiastic voice. "Hi…"
Touya was starting to get extremely red in the face. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?"
So I sighed and explained again… "And we were just going for a walk when you showed up and started making trouble. Now, if that is all, we'd like to start our walk so we can be back in time for dinner."
I tried to get past, but only managed the doorway when Touya snatched the leash out of my hand, almost choking Syaroan in the process. "Oh no you don't, I'm not having you out on those streets alone with this…this…freak. Who knows what he'd do."
I snatched the leash back. "Oh stop being so overprotective, you know very well that I can take care of myself, and even if there is anything that I can't handle, then Syaoran is probably the best person to be with!"
Touay snatched the leash back. "Oh really, did he tell you that?"
I grabbed for the leash again. "Oh, grow up Touya, I'd have thought that someone at your age would have more sense. I am perfectly capable to make my own decisions"
And he grabbed the leash... "Maybe, but I'm old enough to know that people your age are prone to making decisions that are entirely wrong."
"Oh that's rich…"
~~~~~
Syaoran's POV
I cringed when the collar bit into my neck again as Sakura snatched back the leash. It was hard to actually tell what either of them was saying. They were yelling at each other pretty much simultaneously but apparently they could understand each other. I had tried butting in before when it felt like my head was going to be tugged off but they both just turned to me red faced and yelled 'STAY OUT OF THIS!" before turning back to each other even more red faced and continuing the yelling.
I sighed and was about to try and make myself comfortable when Sakura's father slipped by the squabbling siblings and took the end of the leash without either of them realizing it. He smiled at me and walked out the door. I gratefully followed.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave those two alone? I mean, no offense to your daughter, sir…but she can be pretty-err-inventive with those cards of hers…"
Fujitaka smiled as he walked. "Yes, I know, the last time she got mad with Touya he had to wear a hat for a week because she made his hair rainbow coloured. And permed."
"She did?!"
He nodded, still smiling. "Kero thought it was pretty funny, even if he keeps telling her not to use the cards for trivial matters." By this time we had made it to the park, and Fujitaka went over to a bench and sat down. "They will be okay, It's usually best for them to let it out of their systems. I also figured that you would like to keep your head attached too."
"Yeah…uhh…thanks for that."
"There is something I wanted to talk to you about though, Syaoran."
I blinked and tried not to look too worried. "Uhh…okay…about what?"
He leaned back on the bench and looked out at the children playing on the other side of the lake. "I only found out about the cards and magic a few years ago, but by then it was all over. She had already faced all the tests. Had changed them into something that was hers. It frightened me a little to think that she was playing around with something that was so dangerous[,] but I have faith in her. She is strong and she can look after herself. But what I find most frightening is the fact that she did all this when she was so young. Tomoyo has shown me some of those tapes." He gave me a sidelong glance at this point and I began to have a sinking feeling. I started to regret even more, if that was possible, how I had treated her when we first met. "Anything could have happened to her. On any of those tapes I watched something could have gone wrong and she could have been hurt or worse. But there was always someone there to help her. Whether it was Tomoyo, Kero…or you." he smiled at me again and continued. "I am deeply grateful for you, Syaoran. You protected my daughter when I couldn't and for that I thank you. Touya is too, but I don't think he will ever come out and say it. It is reassuring to know that she has someone like you who will always be around to look after her. I just want you to know that you are always welcome to our home, and are welcome to visit whenever you like. It makes Sakura so happy whenever you're around."
I was stunned, to put it lightly, and some of that must have leaked into my expression because he smiled again and stood up. "Come on, I think they should have cooled down by now. They will probably be wondering where we are."
When we got back the both of them where preparing dinner quite cooperatively even though their faces were both still quite red. I was silent for the meal; I didn't even complain about the fact that I had to eat out of a bowl that said 'Fido' (it's a bit hard to eat food with a snout without leaving a big mess, so I suppose it's justified…even if Kero did keep snickering at me from the table). It wasn't until later that night, when Sakura had turned off the light and had gotten herself comfortable in her bed, (I was curled up on the duvet at her feet) when she spoke up. "So…what did my Dad want talk to you about today?"
"Oh…just…stuff…"
Even in the darkness, I could still see her eyebrow rise. "Oh really…'just stuff' huh…?"
I smiled slightly. "Yeah…just stuff…"
"He wasn't doing the birds and the bees talk was he? Because I will be mortified beyond belief if he was."
I started to chuckle quietly. "No! Don't worry, he wasn't. I think you'd be able to tell if he had. I would probably be hiding under a table if it had been that."
"Good point…But really, what did he want to tell you?"
I sighed and said after a bit of a pause. "He was…he was just…thanking me for helping you with the cards…and for protecting you all those times…when he couldn't…" I could see her propped up on her elbow watching me. "And he said that I was always welcome here and that I should visit more often because it…makes you happy…" The last bit was quiet but she must have heard because I was suddenly wrapped in a bear hug. She giggled and replied in a muffled voice "Now all we have to do is get through to Touya and you're practically part of the family!"
"Hmm, I think Hell would have to freeze over first before that happens."
"What…the Touya accepting you bit or becoming a part of the family bit…?"
I couldn't help but blush even though you couldn't see it. "Uhhhh…the uhh the uhh…errr Touya bit…"
She giggled and tightened the hug quickly before crawling back under the bedsheets. "Goodnight, Syaoran."
"Goodnight, Sakura…sweet dreams…"
~~~~~~
3rd person POV: Morning after the last night of the full moon…
Sakura mumbled something inaudible in her sleep and tried to roll over only to find that she was unable to do so. Blinking open her eyes, she looked at her feet in what she deducted was the source of her problem. Instead of showing surprise, she raised an eyebrow in a look that was nothing short of dry.
"Syoaran…"
…No response…
"Syaoran"
…Still no response…
She tried wiggling her foot. "Hey Syaoran, wake up…"
He stirred, but didn't wake up fully and mumbled something that can probably only be translated as 'nyum ma meerm'.
She shook her head and tried again. "Syaoran…hey Syaoran…you're hugging my foot…"
"nyum nyum nyum"
She sighed and picked up a slipper from the floor and threw it at him. It hit him on the forehead, but failed to drag him from the land of nod.
"Syaoran…"
"…Nyyeeeh?"
"You're human"
"nmmm…"
She sighed again, then counted quietly, "three…two…one-"
"-WHAT?!"
Startled, fully awake and thankfully this time fully dressed, Syaoran jumped up and fell off the bed with a thud. "Ow…"
Sakura leaned over the edge of the bed and rested her head on her hand. "Well, at least we know now how long you're stuck as a wolf!"
He rubbed his back and ran a hand through his hair. "You mean this is going to happen every month?"
She smiled (somewhat wickedly) and nodded.
Syaoran sighed and sat up but was thrown back onto his back by an over-enthusiastic hug from Sakura. "It's so good to have you back to normal, Syaoran!"
He smiled as he looked down at the girl attached to his neck and ran a hand threw her messy hair before giving her a good-morning kiss.
~~~~~meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, in a dark room, where four dark figures sit watching a not-quite-so-dark table of moving pictures…~~~~
"Oh, isn't that sweet…"
"Yes, we will let Xiao Lang have his fun for now…but when the time is right, we must have him lure the cardmistress here so that she can easily be done away with and the cards will finally be mine! MWAAA-HAA-HAA-HAA!!" The other elders, with the exception of Crum Pe who laughed a bit, but somewhat nervously, stayed silent.
"Why did you not join me? Do you not want this clan to be all-powerful? You must realize that those cards are important to the clan. We must regain possession of them!"
Wa Tei drew in a breath and took his attention away from the tabletop. "It's just…she's such a sweet girl…do we really have to…uhhh, as you put it, 'do away with her'? There are other…less…murderous ways of getting the cards you know…"
"…Other ways?"
The other three nodded slowly.
"You mean I can't have her assassinated but make it look like an accident?"
If you could have seen the other elders expressions under the hoods, you would have been able to see the grimaces each of them had on their faces.
"What about have her sent to a lost temple in a far away jungle without any hope of anyone finding her or her finding a way out?"
Elder Wa Tei shook his head. "There are other ways…"
"Such as?"
The other three looked at each other, but it was Elder Shi Yar who spoke up. "Well, it is clear to many, and you can ask Yelan's daughters, or her in fact, that Xiao Lang is quite taken with the card mistress." He waved a hand over the picture table, which was currently showing the objects of discussion sitting on the couch together eating breakfast. "It just seems to make more sense if we attain ownership of the cards…by allowing the mistress and the future leader to…uhhh…marry, perhaps?"
The grand elder was silent for a moment, then said in a slightly hopeful voice. "So…what you're saying is…that Xiao Lang leads her into a false sense of security then when the opportunity presents itself, have her done away with?"
There was a collective thought from the other three elders…
Idiot…
"We were thinking more that she marries into the clan, and because of Xiao Lang's responsibilities as leader, she comes to live here…that way no one will have to be assassinated and we still in a way have possession of the cards…"
"No…assassinations?"
"No assassinations."
"But, how will people be aware of our power, how will they respect us if we do not instill fear in there hearts, or at least give their children nightmares for a while?"
"…You give children nightmares?"
"People don't have to fear us to respect us…"
"But…how will we get people to obey us if there is no fear?"
"We have lots of money and we can always walk around and make a show of doing menial tasks with our magic. That always makes people impressed."
"I see, well, we shall bring the card mistress's father here. The marriage shall be arranged by the end of the month."
"Uhhh…actually, I think it's best that we just…let nature take it's course…"
"…but why?"
Elder Shi Yar nodded at the picture table, which was showing Xiao Lang and Sakura having a tickle fight. Sakura, who seemed to be finding it hard to breathe from all the giggling, was almost falling off the couch trying to get away from Xiao Lang, while at the same time trying to bat his hand away. Xiao Lang was just grinning and refused to relent.
Grand Elder crossed his arms and the others swore that he was pouting. "So, I can't manipulate people now..? How can you be so sure that things will turn out like we want them too?"
"Oh, I can just tell. Just have a little faith, Grand Elder"
"…Can't I manipulate them just a little?"
"No."
"You know, there was a time when the Grand Elder made all the decisions around here…"
"Oh, don't be such a big baby, you know this is for the best. At least we won't get criminal records this way!"
"Huh! We control the police!"
"Really? Well, that's handy…I've got a whole stack of parking fines I need taken care off…"
"Hey, does this table get cable?…Hey! That rhymed! Table cable…hahahaha!!"
Grand Elder rubbed his temples as the other three started to drivel on about things that he found awfully trivial. Young people…bah…what do they know. But suppose they have a point…yes, I will let Xiao Lang marry this Sakura girl…then maybe everyone will start treating me with some respect. The title 'Grand Elder' doesn't carry enough merit anymore. **Sigh**
The Grand Elder sighed outwardly this time and looked at the table top for a second before waving a hand over the top of it. It showed Sakura and Xiao Lang sitting on the couch, looking at each other in a gaze that was nothing short of loving as the table top went black…
~~~~~~~
The orange-haired fairy known to many as Feyfox snapped the large leather bound book shut with a thud, sending clouds of dust into the air. FeyFox blinked, coughed, eyed the publication date and wondered briefly why all 'end-of-story' book closings had to include dust regardless of the actual book age and smiled to the various people gathered around. "And so the handsome demi-wolf and the beautiful Cherry Blossom lived happily ever after in the magical apartment where the little boy in fire-engine pajamas cleaned toilets and did all the menial chores. So! As a special treat for all you super wonderful listeners, I'm selling copies of the story on DVD and video for only $24.99!! That's right, get your copy now while stocks last! The DVD contains extras like outtakes! Watch as Syoaran messes up his transformations and grows various body parts in the wrong places! Hours of laughs as they mess up there lines. Who knew Tomoyo knew so many curse words which all mean 'bottom'! Click on the picture of a treble Clef for the special 'sing-along-with-Sakura' as she belts out such favorites as 'He's got hair in all the wrong places' and 'Werewolf boogy'. That's right folks, only $24.99! Get 'em while they're magical! While stocks las-err hello Syaoran…"
"grrrrrrrrrrr…"
~~~~various noises indicating a struggle~~~
"Ha ha ha, oh look Syaoran is pretending to maul my arm off!! Which reminds me of another extra on the D-OWOWOW …ha ha ha…umm are fingers supposed to go that colour?"
~~~~more thumping and other such noises~~~
Feyfox dragged herself back to the book and picked something white that had fallen onto the cover. "Uhh…looks like I lost one of my teeth…hehehe." FeyFox pauses and looks around nervous. "Rememberbuyyuorcopytodayatthelowlowpriceofjust$24.99!" Screams and dodges the wolf that comes bolting from the shadows. "DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE SPECIAL HIDDEN FEATURETTE! 'SAKURA AND THE BIG BAD-TEMPERED WOLF' Final big adventure? Or just the beginning! Watch and see-AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGgghhhh…" Gurgles fade out as the scene fades out…
~~~~~
The End…
Or is it…?
It is actually. Well for the moment anyhow. I really haven't considered doing a sequel for this one at all. I thought I'd just leave it to your imaginations…or if someone wants to go ahead and do a sequel themselves, then by all means go ahead. As long as you tell me about it of course ^-^
Well, tis been fun, I'd just like to take the chance to once more thank all my wonderful reviewers, especially to those that have stuck by my 'story/chapter drought that seems to have occurred lately. But anyway, a big huge jiggling TTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNNNKKKKK YYYYYOOOOOUUUU!! to all of you. Go on, you all deserve a pat on the back, or at least a box of choccies for your troubles ^-^ . And lastly but certainly not least a bbbbiiiigggg glittery THANK YOU!! to bunni, my editor who was nice enough to point out all the little errors…as she put it, she went a little comma-crazy. I don't like commas that much. It's that shifty little kick at the start….yeah that's right, I'm watching you commas… (This episode has been duly noted by stardragons psychiatrists. Her medication will be immediately increased to try and stifle this problem of escalating insanity.)
Okays!! Thanks once again to everyone and ciao (that's 'bye' in Italian, as far as I'm aware {for the person who asked, sorry I can't remember who and I couldn't find the e-mail review thingy. My inbox is somewhat like my bedroom 95% of the time…that is, a big fat mess})till the next fun-filled StarDragon authored story (which, knowing me, won't be out until, like Christmas or something…)
BBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEE!!!