Disclaimer: I don't really want to write this one.... I'm getting lazy..... zzzzzz


A/N: Chappie 12! Who else expected it to be this long eh? I didn't think it would get past Chapter 2! By the way, Fyi, Yuri is called Yuri for a reason.


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Chapter 12: Wercikin


"Yuri, wake up!"

The pixie hybrid woke to find Red standing in front of her.

"What do you want runt?" she asked, getting up slowly. The others were still asleep and Genki was snoring loudly.

"It's my watch. The snow's letting up," he said, turning away.

"Really?" she asked running towards the cave's entrance. The snow storm had ebbed to a little sprinkle.

"This is great! I'm going to go now. Come soon ok?"

"I'll wake them up a couple of minutes after you leave, ok?"

"That's good with me. I'll see you soon," Yuri replied, flapping away hastily.

"See you soon."


***


Achika sat cozily in Lord Ginta's den. She was mad that Lord Ginta had stopped her from going with the others to find her brother. He was her brother wasn't he?

Holly sat across the den from her, playing with some Tiger cubs that were being fathered by Lord Ginta. She was playfully wrestling with them and chasing them around every once in a while. All the others that had helped them defeat Garrone were busy with their own tasks and burdens.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?!" Achika yelled. Everyone in the room paused as they stared at Achika.

"They will be back soon. Don't worry about Achika. Tiger will be back with Genki soon," Holly replied, as the little puppies tackled her. They swarmed over her like hungry locusts at a wheat field. She giggled and laughed as they tackled her. She hit the cave floor and began to play with them happily. They yipped and barked happily as they jumped and pounced everywhere.

Achika pouted in the corner. They should've been back all ready. Where were they?

"Hello? Achika, Holly?!" a voice called from the Main Hall. Achika knew immediately that it was Yuri. She skated into the Main Hall and glomped Yuri. They both fell to the floor.

"Achika! We were worried about you. Where is Holly?" Yuri asked as she tried to get up. Achika hugged her furiously.

"We were so worried about you! Where have you been?" Achika asked with a worried look.

"Answer my question first."

"Holly's-"

"Hello Yuri," Holly said as she walked into the Main Hall. One of the Tiger pups was resting on her shoulder.

"You guys are ok! That's great. We were so worried about you. We thought Garrone had gotten to you."

"He nearly did. Lord Ginta and some of the others on the council saved us... It's so great to see you. Where's Genki and the others?"

"We got caught in an avalanche. Don't worry. They're okay. Tiger, Lord Ginta, and Lord Youji are all with Genki and Red. They're coming soon, they're waiting for the storm to lighten a bit more. We were so worried about you!" Yuri replied quickly, hugging Achika close.

"Can't breathe!" Achika said, laughing. Holly smiled as a low howl was picked up off the raging wind. Yuri looked over at the exit to the outside world.

"They will be here soon. I think they're going to see whether or not any of the packs got caught in the avalanche as well."

"You found out all that information from one howl?" Achika asked, her head resting gently against Yuri's chest.

"A Tiger's howl is simple. One note can mean many things. You just have to listen to the whole string of notes."

"That's fascinating. Why are you back so soon though?" Holly asked, walking towards them.

Yuri brought her wings forward, enveloping the little human girl.

"I can fly pretty fast. Plus, these things are made of fire. They melt the snow, making it easier for me to fly."

Achika laughed then pushed Yuri gently away. She looked around for a second, then walked over to Holly and grabbed the pup that was sitting on her left shoulder. She threw it gently into the air and caught it, hiding the blush that was creeping across her face. Why had she stayed in Yuri's arms for so long?

"Those Tigers are fast though. I had a few minutes head start and they're all ready close enough for us to catch their howls," Yuri said, walking up to Achika and petting her head. Achika's cheeks turned a brighter pink. She used the little Tiger to hide her face. Holly smiled, knowing exactly what Achika was thinking. The girl may have not known Achika for long, but she knew enough to know what was going through her head.

A loud howl within the hallways caught the girls' attention. They all turned to see one of the packs with a very large prey. Most of the hide had been torn a part beyond recognition. The leader, a Jagged Hound, walked up to Yuri.

"Do you know where any member of the council is?"

"Uh... I think that Achika would know," Yuri replied, looking down at her.

"Yeah... um... Lady Ariana went to her den. I think she's still there."

"Thank you," he said coldly, turning away to one of his pack members. He growled at the other Tiger, and the underling ran off. Holly watched him run off with a bit of confusion. Why did they need to talk to one of the council members?

"Hey, little guy. What's up?" Yuri asked, walking over to the carcass. Some of the Tigers were still taking bites out of it. One of the younger Tigers thought that she was talking to them.

"We brought down a big one. We have enough meat here for a feast tonight. If the other packs bring down anything, we'll have enough food for a week. There are a lot of Tigers here, but most of them don't eat a lot. These beasts are huge, and they have plenty of meat and marrow to go around. We can't wait for the council to find out!"

"Wait a minute... you guys carried this huge monster all on your own?" Yuri asked, whistling. It was a big beast.

"Yeah. It was hard, especially when we had to go up the hill, but we got it here. For a while, we thought we wouldn't be able to get it here."

Yuri nodded as Achika walked over. She too whistled at the size of the carcass.

"Um... You guys ate a lot of the meat..."

"No. Actually we didn't... We ate mostly the skin. We cut off the fur using our horns. It was very tasty," the young Tiger said, licking his lips.

Yuri laughed, walked up to the carcass, and slashed off a piece of really bloody meat. She slurped it down and licked her lips. Nothing like bloody warm meat.

"You want any?" Yuri asked, offering a piece to both human girls. Holly shook her head. Achika walked over and took a bite. She chewed it slowly, swallowed it down, and nearly keeled over in disgust. She thought venison tasted bad.

Yuri clapped a hand on her back, "Silly! That's not how you eat it! You have to eat the piece whole! Watch!"

She grabbed another piece and slurped down again. She smacked her lips happily as all the Tigers began laughing.

"This pixie is trying to teach those humans how to eat!" one of them shouted. They all started laughing hard as the two humans looked around dumb-founded. They didn't understand why the monsters were laughing.

That's when the Jagged Hound returned with Lady Ariana and Lord Satoshi in tow. They walked straight to the remains of the creature. Lady Ariana bit off a small slice and swallowed it down. She nodded to Lord Satoshi who then growled loudly to catch everyone's attention. Everyone turned towards Lord Satoshi.

"We will have a gathering tonight. Tonight we will have a wercikin."

The Tigers began howling and yelling happily. Even the pups that were with Achika and Holly were jumping.

"A werci- what?" Achika asked Yuri as she heard a long howl that continued like a siren. Yuri turned towards her and patted her on the head.

"A wercikin. It's a type of celebration."

"Yes, it's a large gathering. Several other packs have contacted us, telling us that they too have taken down prey. We have three more of these creatures coming to us. We're going to have food for a while," Lady Ariana said, walking pass them with a smile on her face.

"When was the last time you had a wercikin?" Achika asked, following Lady Ariana. Holly and Yuri followed slowly.

"We haven't had one for a long time. The last wercikin was over a hundred years ago. We Tigers love to celebrate, but can hardly do so because of our numbers and the amount of food we can capture," Lord Satoshi explained, walking next to Achika and scaring the crap out of her. She jumped into the air and nearly dropped the pup.

"Oh Gods! Don't do that! I'm paranoid!" Achika said, twitching. Lord satoshi backed away from her and walked over to Lady Ariana.

"I do not trust this human," he said slowly, and quietly. Lady Ariana just ignored him. If Achika was paranoid, Lord Satoshi was about three times as worse. He thought all humans were trying to kill Tigers. Lady Ariana was a lot more opened minded.

"Do not mind the seer, Lord Satoshi. She is still very young. Now, as for the wercikin, you two should go back to Lord Ginta's den. We will begin in an hour."

"Will the meat be raw?" Holly asked.

"There will be a small portion cooked for you humans, but most of it will be raw. I hear word that young Achika tried to eat some earlier," Lady Ariana said, with an amused look.

"You people are mean," Achika replied with a pout.


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A/N: So..... um..... Who else thinks that this is a good story? I don't really..... Anyway, the point is, that the next chapter might be long... I don't know.... Maybe.... Well, the whole next chapter is going to be about the celebration known as the wercikin. If you want to know what it's about, review!