AN: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter.
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Chapter 6
Wolves of the Full Moon
Malik cursed, wrenching his ankle free of the strangling vines that attempted to pull him to the ground. There was only one path into the Forbidden Lands and it was profusely overgrown. Thick, sticky, rope-like tendrils sought to capture the unsuspecting and random tree roots stuck up through the carpet of centuries of fallen leaves, seeking to trip unwary passers by.
An air of murky gloom pervaded the atmosphere beneath its thick canopy and the eerie calls of mysterious creatures echoed among the trees. All in all, even the Tomb Robber was edgy. And when they spoke, more often than not, it came out as a whisper whether intentional or not.
Malik liked the thrill of the unknown and the excited fear caused by the undeniable tones of danger under the web of silence. On the other hand, the tangle of vegetation was most unappealing.
"Our first target," Marik declared, "or, I should say, the first 'prison' is marked by a pyramid within a circle. Keep your eyes out."
"We will not come across it so soon," Yami replied. "I am sure there is a long way to go."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Yami," the assassin shot back, though he had to agree.
There startled yelp and they spun in its direction. Yami reacted quickly, seizing Yugi by the back of the jacket and pulling him back from the edge of a wide chasm.
"Sorry," Yugi mumbled. "I was watching something."
"You should have been 'watching' your step," Bakura told him grumpily. He was beginning to question what had made him come on this retched journey in the first place.
Yugi, being who he was, took no offense at the ill-tempered remark. "There are people following us."
"So I wasn't imagining things," Malik muttered. He ignored the others' stares. "Go on, Yugi, what did you see?"
"Not much," he confessed. "They keep darting from tree to tree and disappearing now and then behind bushes and so on. They seem normal enough, though."
"As we are,"
They turned, all save the two brothers reaching for their weapons, to face a tall man garbed in gray with a spear taller than himself held easily in his right hand. From the woods, five more of these strange people materialized, all carrying rather primitive though effective weapons. Their eyes were varrying shades of gleaming yellow and green. Yami and Marik exchanged frowns. Neither of them knew of any communities existing here. They could be mistaken, but there was definitely a feeling of wrongness about them.
The man who had spoken, obviously the leader, bowed deeply. "I'm T'lesk, head of the Moonfang clan. It is so very rare for us to receive any visitors."
Yami assumed the role of authority instinctively and not even Bakura was inclined to argue. ""We were not aware we were trespassing."
"Oh no, not trespassing. We will be more than happy if you will accompany us back to our camp. It is almost nightfall and this place can be very dangerous in the hours just after dark."
Yami, Bakura, and Marik conversed quickly and the pharaoh graciously accepted their offer.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Malik threw his pack onto the ground and sat down heavily. Dinner with their strange hosts had been strange to say the least. First, almost all the dishes-though very delicious-consisted of carnivorous courses. He wasn't complaining, but some piece of knowledge tugged at the back of his mind, nagging yet just beyond his grasp. This made him irritable and nervous.
Ryou fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, biting his lower lip in uneasy contemplation. He felt like he should know something about these people, but how could he? For all his life, he had never been anywhere but home.
Yugi, being more curious than afraid at the moment, had gone with the other three to a meeting with T'lesk and the clan shaman.
Malk stood with a stretch and headed for the tent flap. "I'm going to see what they're up to."
The night was mildly warm and the campfires had burned low till they were barely more than glowing coals. Halfway across the encampment, he came upon a tent from which there came a scuffling sound. To the rogue, it sounded like someone was in trouble. Malik paused and opened the flap, meaning to ask if there was any need of assistance, and stood frozen with a mixture of shock and horror.
The occupant of the tent was hunched over in the middle of the bare floor and an astonishing amount of gray hair covered his hands and the back of his neck. As Malik watched, the entire form of the man began to shift, melting and reforming till it distinctly resembled a very large and wild wolf.
Slowly, cautiously the rogue began to back away. Just before the flap closed completely, the creature turned and stared straight at him with inhuman, slitted yellow eyes.
Malik turned and ran without another thought, shouting at the top of his lungs as a haunting chorus of howls sprang up around him.
"Ryou! Grab our packs and run! Yugi, Yami, Marik, Bakura! Werewolves!"
Rushing into their tent, he was greeted by the sight of his new friends, all looking harried.
"Everyone," Yami hissed, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "We have to hurry, now."
A huge, furred form barreled into their midst, snarling with bared ivory teeth. It lunged at the nearest target, which happened to be Malik, snapping viciously. A slender blade was in his hand in a flash and he slashed it across the snout. Tossing its head back, it half-howled and half- snarled, tearing at him with its ebony claws. Malik dodged aside and plunged his dirk into its eye to the hilt.
"Go!" Yami ordered, fending off another beast with his sword.
Bakura tore a sizable hole in the back wall and shoved them through it with one hand while flinging daggers in rapid succession with the other. "Move!"
In the days to come, Yugi would wonder at the terror he felt then. He stumbled through the dark with his brother on his heels, running from the sounds of fighting. He wanted to help but they knew nothing about how to fight, not like this. In the back of his mind, he vowed that if they lived, he would learn.
It felt like an eternity. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and the pounding of his feet as they hit the ground was starting to give him a headache. He couldn't see where he was going. He just ran.
Ryou was fainting from exhaustion when Yami, who had caught up with them soon after they left the boundaries of the camp along with the remaining three members of their party, declared a halt. He had collapsed against a tree and Yugi plopped down beside him. They were tired but Ryou had to know something before he could sleep.
Turning to his brother he asked, "What happened?"
"We were just coming up to the chief's tent when Bakura noticed that there were far more guards hanging around that was acceptable for politeness sake. We had to go in though. Yami wanted to know if they knew anything of the place we're looking for and described the place. He did a wonderful job of hiding why we were looking for the place; it sounded more like we were just some curious adventurers. Well, the chief made a great show of considering, pacing around the tent. Finally, he said simply that he knew something except he doubted we would get that far. Marik wanted to know why and he just looked at us with this evil glint in his eyes."
He paused, taking a sip from the canteen Ryou handed him, then continued. "The pupils of his eyes narrowed to slits and he began to changed. He sprouted a coat of dappled gray fur and his face sort of bulged out into a snout full of long, yellowish teeth. Yami drew his sword, Bakura produced his daggers, Marik got his blades and we fought our way out of there and hurried back to you. You know the rest."
Ryou shuddered. "I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to us if we hadn't gotten away."
"Don't," Marik advised. "Get some sleep. We'll being leaving at dawn."
Despite the nagging worry that the werewolves might of followed them, it didn't take long before the soothing darkness of sleep claimed them all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Yami woke to the smell of breakfast and the sound of loud, arguing voices. Apparently, Malik was cooking and Marik was crossing verbal swords with the Tomb Robber.
"What is it, Marik?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, which had been resting on a rock.
"I am sure this is the first sign leading to the seal of the Tormentor, there are three each, but Bakura here refuses on going any farther without preparation, by which he means a fair arsenal of weapons that we have not the time to recollect."
"I've told you," Bakura snapped. "It's just a rudimentary spell. Five minutes of your precious time won't cost you."
The assassin rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm sick of arguing with you."
The matter settled, the six settled down to the early morning meal in relative peace.
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AN: I am free to any requests. Thanks for reading and please review!
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Chapter 6
Wolves of the Full Moon
Malik cursed, wrenching his ankle free of the strangling vines that attempted to pull him to the ground. There was only one path into the Forbidden Lands and it was profusely overgrown. Thick, sticky, rope-like tendrils sought to capture the unsuspecting and random tree roots stuck up through the carpet of centuries of fallen leaves, seeking to trip unwary passers by.
An air of murky gloom pervaded the atmosphere beneath its thick canopy and the eerie calls of mysterious creatures echoed among the trees. All in all, even the Tomb Robber was edgy. And when they spoke, more often than not, it came out as a whisper whether intentional or not.
Malik liked the thrill of the unknown and the excited fear caused by the undeniable tones of danger under the web of silence. On the other hand, the tangle of vegetation was most unappealing.
"Our first target," Marik declared, "or, I should say, the first 'prison' is marked by a pyramid within a circle. Keep your eyes out."
"We will not come across it so soon," Yami replied. "I am sure there is a long way to go."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Yami," the assassin shot back, though he had to agree.
There startled yelp and they spun in its direction. Yami reacted quickly, seizing Yugi by the back of the jacket and pulling him back from the edge of a wide chasm.
"Sorry," Yugi mumbled. "I was watching something."
"You should have been 'watching' your step," Bakura told him grumpily. He was beginning to question what had made him come on this retched journey in the first place.
Yugi, being who he was, took no offense at the ill-tempered remark. "There are people following us."
"So I wasn't imagining things," Malik muttered. He ignored the others' stares. "Go on, Yugi, what did you see?"
"Not much," he confessed. "They keep darting from tree to tree and disappearing now and then behind bushes and so on. They seem normal enough, though."
"As we are,"
They turned, all save the two brothers reaching for their weapons, to face a tall man garbed in gray with a spear taller than himself held easily in his right hand. From the woods, five more of these strange people materialized, all carrying rather primitive though effective weapons. Their eyes were varrying shades of gleaming yellow and green. Yami and Marik exchanged frowns. Neither of them knew of any communities existing here. They could be mistaken, but there was definitely a feeling of wrongness about them.
The man who had spoken, obviously the leader, bowed deeply. "I'm T'lesk, head of the Moonfang clan. It is so very rare for us to receive any visitors."
Yami assumed the role of authority instinctively and not even Bakura was inclined to argue. ""We were not aware we were trespassing."
"Oh no, not trespassing. We will be more than happy if you will accompany us back to our camp. It is almost nightfall and this place can be very dangerous in the hours just after dark."
Yami, Bakura, and Marik conversed quickly and the pharaoh graciously accepted their offer.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Malik threw his pack onto the ground and sat down heavily. Dinner with their strange hosts had been strange to say the least. First, almost all the dishes-though very delicious-consisted of carnivorous courses. He wasn't complaining, but some piece of knowledge tugged at the back of his mind, nagging yet just beyond his grasp. This made him irritable and nervous.
Ryou fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, biting his lower lip in uneasy contemplation. He felt like he should know something about these people, but how could he? For all his life, he had never been anywhere but home.
Yugi, being more curious than afraid at the moment, had gone with the other three to a meeting with T'lesk and the clan shaman.
Malk stood with a stretch and headed for the tent flap. "I'm going to see what they're up to."
The night was mildly warm and the campfires had burned low till they were barely more than glowing coals. Halfway across the encampment, he came upon a tent from which there came a scuffling sound. To the rogue, it sounded like someone was in trouble. Malik paused and opened the flap, meaning to ask if there was any need of assistance, and stood frozen with a mixture of shock and horror.
The occupant of the tent was hunched over in the middle of the bare floor and an astonishing amount of gray hair covered his hands and the back of his neck. As Malik watched, the entire form of the man began to shift, melting and reforming till it distinctly resembled a very large and wild wolf.
Slowly, cautiously the rogue began to back away. Just before the flap closed completely, the creature turned and stared straight at him with inhuman, slitted yellow eyes.
Malik turned and ran without another thought, shouting at the top of his lungs as a haunting chorus of howls sprang up around him.
"Ryou! Grab our packs and run! Yugi, Yami, Marik, Bakura! Werewolves!"
Rushing into their tent, he was greeted by the sight of his new friends, all looking harried.
"Everyone," Yami hissed, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "We have to hurry, now."
A huge, furred form barreled into their midst, snarling with bared ivory teeth. It lunged at the nearest target, which happened to be Malik, snapping viciously. A slender blade was in his hand in a flash and he slashed it across the snout. Tossing its head back, it half-howled and half- snarled, tearing at him with its ebony claws. Malik dodged aside and plunged his dirk into its eye to the hilt.
"Go!" Yami ordered, fending off another beast with his sword.
Bakura tore a sizable hole in the back wall and shoved them through it with one hand while flinging daggers in rapid succession with the other. "Move!"
In the days to come, Yugi would wonder at the terror he felt then. He stumbled through the dark with his brother on his heels, running from the sounds of fighting. He wanted to help but they knew nothing about how to fight, not like this. In the back of his mind, he vowed that if they lived, he would learn.
It felt like an eternity. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and the pounding of his feet as they hit the ground was starting to give him a headache. He couldn't see where he was going. He just ran.
Ryou was fainting from exhaustion when Yami, who had caught up with them soon after they left the boundaries of the camp along with the remaining three members of their party, declared a halt. He had collapsed against a tree and Yugi plopped down beside him. They were tired but Ryou had to know something before he could sleep.
Turning to his brother he asked, "What happened?"
"We were just coming up to the chief's tent when Bakura noticed that there were far more guards hanging around that was acceptable for politeness sake. We had to go in though. Yami wanted to know if they knew anything of the place we're looking for and described the place. He did a wonderful job of hiding why we were looking for the place; it sounded more like we were just some curious adventurers. Well, the chief made a great show of considering, pacing around the tent. Finally, he said simply that he knew something except he doubted we would get that far. Marik wanted to know why and he just looked at us with this evil glint in his eyes."
He paused, taking a sip from the canteen Ryou handed him, then continued. "The pupils of his eyes narrowed to slits and he began to changed. He sprouted a coat of dappled gray fur and his face sort of bulged out into a snout full of long, yellowish teeth. Yami drew his sword, Bakura produced his daggers, Marik got his blades and we fought our way out of there and hurried back to you. You know the rest."
Ryou shuddered. "I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to us if we hadn't gotten away."
"Don't," Marik advised. "Get some sleep. We'll being leaving at dawn."
Despite the nagging worry that the werewolves might of followed them, it didn't take long before the soothing darkness of sleep claimed them all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Yami woke to the smell of breakfast and the sound of loud, arguing voices. Apparently, Malik was cooking and Marik was crossing verbal swords with the Tomb Robber.
"What is it, Marik?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, which had been resting on a rock.
"I am sure this is the first sign leading to the seal of the Tormentor, there are three each, but Bakura here refuses on going any farther without preparation, by which he means a fair arsenal of weapons that we have not the time to recollect."
"I've told you," Bakura snapped. "It's just a rudimentary spell. Five minutes of your precious time won't cost you."
The assassin rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm sick of arguing with you."
The matter settled, the six settled down to the early morning meal in relative peace.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: I am free to any requests. Thanks for reading and please review!
