Yes. I know. The last chapter was pitifully short. Even for me…… No comment from the peanut gallery. So, I'm attempting to make this chapter longer. (Fat chance.) Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Who said that!? Glaaaaaaaaaare…
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Neither does Bakura. Because he's in Yu-Gi-Oh! Though, if you ask me, he should. Though I really wouldn't be surprised if KaibaCorp owned Yu-Gi-Oh! 'Cause I mean, Kaiba owns everything. It's insane. Really, it is. Ok, I'll stop ranting now.
Silthran.
The name struck terror into the hearts of many.
Silthran.
None could stand against him.
Silthran.
He was the Lord of Scaled Beasts.
"My lord," hissed a monstrous cobra, silently gliding toward the throne shrouded in darkness, "We've just received word. There is another of the Hærhwit—" It suddenly stopped and gurgled in pain.
"How many times must I remind you not to mention that name in my presence?" whispered a voice from the darkness, dripping with hatred. The snake bowed its head apologetically.
"I am sorry, my lord."
"Mm. Now, what's this about another of the hundlings? The old ones are dead, and their two whelps are in my dungeons."
"That's the thing, lord. There is a third child—Aguahhh!" The snake doubled over as pain coursed through its body.
"What!?" screeched the dark form now standing from its throne. "Why have I not heard of this child before!? Find him and kill him!" Two flaming eyes shone from the darkness of the figure.
"What is his name?"
The cobra shuddered and managed to lift its head.
"His name is—"
- - - - -
"Ryano!"
"Glah!"
WHUMP!
Ryano Kuarten stared at the twinkling grey eyes of Mokkena, his younger half-brother, panting heavily. He had been sound asleep when his name had been yelled in his ear, causing the young fox demon to jump up from his bed with a yell and fall flat on the floor. He blinked.
"Hello, Mokke." he said simply, using the boy's nickname.
The boy grinned impishly.
"You have to get up in five hours!"
Ryano groaned. He got up, scratching his head.
"Haha!" Mokke laughed, "Fooled ya! It's late, Ryano, everyone's up 'cept you!" He scampered off, leaving his brother alone again to sort this new information out in his muddled head.
Ryano sighed, stretched, and swished his fluffy white tail. He was nearly fourteen now—his body was not as strong as most, but his mind was keener than a razor. From his youth he had had white ears and tail: characteristics of a fox demon, but the long white locks of hair were something entirely uncommon.
He sniffed the air, and his warm brown eyes lit up. Smiling, he breathed in the delicious scent of freshly cooked bacon. The boy pulled his home-spun brown tunic over his head and ran to the table.
"Hallo," he greeted cheerfully. His two older brothers, Kadar and Jokonara, were already at the table, wolfing down oatmeal and bacon strips.
"You moron, that's my bacon!"
"No it's not! It was on my side of the plate!"
"That's because you moved it there!"
"I haven't touched it!"
Ryano sighed and smiled at the two bickering brothers. Kadar was the taller of the two as well as the oldest, nearly six feet, with dark brown hair and clear, flashing blue eyes. Jokonara, on the other hand, was shorter with messy blonde hair and brown eyes. The two were inseparable, despite all their squabbles. Mokkena, the youngest of the four Kuarten boys, was a different story altogether. He was shorter than most his age, but surprisingly quick and agile. He also had a magnetic attraction to trouble, and had had to be rescued more than once by his elder siblings.
"Where's Mother this fine morning?" Ryano asked, picking up the strip of bacon in question and setting it down next to his bowl of oatmeal.
Momentarily distracted from their quarrel, Jokonara and Kadar turned.
"Mother? Oh, she went to the market already." the taller boy explained. His brother, however, was interested in something different.
"Oy, Kad! Ryano took the last piece of bacon!"
"He did? He did! Hey! Who gave you the right to eat my bacon?"
"I tell you, Kad, it's my bacon!"
The fox demon boy chuckled mischievously and licked the bacon. Joko and Kad glared at him. Mokkena, putting his own bowl down, grinned.
"Well, Ryano, it seems you've finally managed to leave them speechless," he laughed. The other smiled back, and downed the strip.
"'Ello, boys!" came the welcoming voice of Mrs. Kuarten down the hall. Soon she came, plunking her heavy bags of food on the table. She was middle-aged, a bit plump, with rosy cheeks and thick brown hair in natural curls. This was the woman who had taken in a young fox demon, many years ago.
Ryano's large brown eyes narrowed a bit. His mother was beaming as usual, but there was something in her normally cheerful hazel eyes that worried him. A suspicious fear lingered in them, something entirely uncommon. The other three Kuartens dug into the bags for hidden surprises, evidently unaware of their mother's distress.
"What's bothering you, Mother?" the fox boy asked in concern. Mrs. Kuarten turned, apparently caught unprepared
"Bothering me?" she stuttered, but quickly regained her merry composure, "Oh, nothing's bothering me, dear, just some rumors going around the town."
But her adopted son was not to be dismissed so easily.
"Rumors, Mother?"
He could tell she was uncomfortable about the subject, which was why he was concerned and pressed it.
"Just some rumors about Old Mr. Nunshant's dogs getting into a fight, that's all. Nothing for you to worry your little white head about, Ryano."
But that wasn't all, Ryano knew. His mother would not get so uneasy over a simple dog fight. There had to be more. But he obviously would get no more from his mother. It was time to investigate.
Ryano got up from the table.
"Hey!" Joko called, "Where are you going?"
Ryano turned and flashed him an innocent smile.
"Just going over to Mr. Nunshant's house for a bit to see if his dogs are fine."
He caught one last suspicious look from his mother as he opened the door and left.
- - - - -
Thirty minutes later, Ryano slowly opened his front door and walked in quietly.
"Hey, Ryano!" called Mokke, coming down the hallway. Ryano started and turned, looking shaken.
"Were Mr. Nunshant's dogs alright?" the younger boy asked slowly. The other's face was pale as he answered,
"No, no . . . they're not."
Mokke waited for him to go on.
"One had been ripped to shreds, another bitten in two, the third flung against the wall. Only one survived, but without one of its hind legs. This was no dog fight, Mokke. I talked to Mr. Nunshant too. He said there were monsters: lizards nearly six feet tall walking on two legs. There were four, maybe five of them. The dogs attacked them and were killed by all but one. That one went to the house. It opened the door and came in. Mr. Nunshant said it looked him straight in the eye, sniffed the air, looked around, then left. It made a croaking noise to the others; they followed the first into the darkness."
His younger brother looked confused.
"But what does this mean, brother?"
Ryano looked at him; there was fear in his eyes.
"They were hunting, hunting for something . . . or someone. I have this feeling, Mokke, a feeling that it's me they're hunting for. I don't know why. I'm probably just paranoid."
Mokke shrugged.
"Maybe. But then again, it also may be someone on the other side of town, maybe even the other side of the world! How do we know if those things even know where they are?"
Ryano's face brightened hopefully.
"Perhaps you're right, Mokke. Perhaps you're right."
By the end of the day, Ryano had forgotten about Mr. Nunshant and his dogs, and even the monsters themselves. It was only when he had crawled into bed and drifted into sleep that he remembered.
- - - - -
He was surrounded. All around him were creatures more terrible than anything he had seen. Long sharp teeth dripping with poison, vicious claws like knives, huge leathery wings the color of death. Fear consumed him and he ran. But the farther he ran, the closer they came. He could not get away. He could not escape. A monster reared up before him and—
"Ryano! Ryano! Are you okay?"
Kadar's voice snapped him awake. His half brother stared at him wildly, the horrifying visions still before his eyes. His brow was wet from sweating and his heart was pumping violently.
"No! G-get away!" he yelled, sitting up and starting to scoot away. Kadar quickly clapped a hand over his mouth and said softly,
"Ryano, it's okay. It's me, Kad, your brother."
The boy was beginning to calm down, but the panic had not yet left his eyes.
"Look at me, Ryano. It's okay."
Slowly the fox demon's breathing came back down to a normal pace, and the fear left his eyes.
Then Jokonara gave his say from his crouched position under Ryano's window.
"That must've been one doozie of a nightmare. Too bad we've gotta put you back in one." he whispered.
Kad nodded regrettably to Ryano, took his place beside Joko, and motioned the third to follow. He did so, wondering what this new threat was. At a nod from Jokonara, he took a peek over the window sill, then quickly ducked back down.
The monsters from his dream . . . were outside! He fought the terror welling up in his heart, but it was rapidly overpowering him and soon would control him again. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and the fright fled. It was Jokonara, who flashed him a quick grin and turned back to the window. Sure he had his fear under control, Ryano chanced another look. His sharp eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. There were four of the beasts, sniffing about on the ground. They were hunting. A shiver went down Ryano's back.
His eyes were getting more used to the dark now; it seemed almost clear as daylight. He started. Was it his imagination, or did the nearest creature just change form? He squinted. It wasn't! In a flash of a second, the monster had reverted to the bipedal lizard described by Mr. Nunshant. It looked practically bright as day to his eyes . . . Could it be? The creatures changed in night and daylight?
"Ryano, what do you see?"
Ryano sat back down.
"I think . . . I think those things change shape in night and day."
"What did they look like when they changed?"
"They were six feet tall, or about that. Something similar to lizards, only with larger, stronger hind legs and smaller forelegs. There was also something else different from normal lizards. These looked . . . smart, clever."
Kad and Joko exchanged glances.
"There's something we've never told you, Ryano," the older said slowly, "About your family, the day we found you."
Ryano cocked his head, waiting for him to continue.
"We saw those things," Kadar went on, "Joko and I were playing in the snow, until these two kids, fox demons like you, appeared. One of them looked like you and was apparently older, and the younger was a little blonde girl. The older handed you to me, told me your name, and then they were gone. That's when we saw those lizard things. They were chasing the kids."
The fox demon looked at the wall.
"So it is me that they're hunting…" he murmured listlessly. His face hardened, as if he had made a decision. He snuck toward the door, but was stopped by Joko.
"What are you doing?!" Joko whispered harshly.
Ryano's reply was blunt.
"I'm leaving."
"You're what?!"
"I have to leave. I can't risk putting the rest of you in danger."
"Now? You can't leave now, moron! Those things'll rip you to pieces!"
The younger looked up at his brother with a sort of bitter regret.
"If I go, so will they."
"No. I can't let you."
Kadar joined them.
"Joko's right, for once. We can't just let you go out there and get killed."
"You're family. And family doesn't let family let the family member of the family get killed when the family who let the family get killed knew about the family…"
Kad and Ryano blinked at Joko, who slowly trailed off.
"Anyway," the oldest said, "the point is… If you must go, at least go in the morning when it's safer."
Ryano was about to give another excuse, but instead smiled wryly.
"Alright," he relented, "You win. But I leave tomorrow and you must not follow me. Deal?"
Joko and Kad grinned.
"Deal."
"Deal. Now, you go back to sleep and we'll take shifts and make sure those things don't get you for tonight. Ok?"
The fox boy didn't like his older brothers doing all the work for him, but the truth was that he was very tired. He yawned, and nodded, crawling back to his bed.
But he didn't see the knowing look passed between his two older siblings.
- - - - -
Kadar slowly blinked awake to the sun shining warmly on his face. He wondering only for a moment why he was leaned against the wall in Ryano's room before the last night's events came back to him. He quickly sat up. Joko was nowhere in sight, probably in his bedroom, sound asleep. But that wasn't what alarmed Kad. What alarmed him was what was in Ryano's bed.
Nothing.
Kad scrambled to his feet and hurried to the bed. Something laid on the neatly folded sheets caught his eye. It was a note, written in Ryano's neat script, reading:
Dear Mother, Kadar, Jokonara, and Mokkena,
Please forgive me for not waking you. Couldn't risk having you follow me. Don't have time to go into detail.
Farewell,
Ryano
Kadar stared at the letter, then broke for Jokonara's room.
"Joko! Joko!" he yelled, shaking his younger brother roughly. Joko groaned, but would not be roused. Drat you and your ability to sleep like a rock, Kad thought. Fortunately, he knew what would work…
"Joko," he said softly in his brother's ear, "Breakfast is ready."
Jokonara bolted upright.
"Where! Whe—" Kadar cupped a hand over Joko's mouth.
"Ssh. Ryano's gone."
The brown eyes blinked.
"Gone?"
Kad shoved Ryano's letter in the other boy's face. Joko blinked more.
"This is not good…"
See? That was 8 whole pages. That's gotta be a record, or something. And now, review replies…. if They will allow it.
B/k: Silvia is sneaky… And scary… and demonic…. And trying to take over the world!!!! (Um…Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…) MWAHAHAHA!!! REEVOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Yes… Sob. Poor Hærwhits… Whyfor does what-ness be of scaring you? Moo?
Ethelflaed: CHOPPY SENTENCES!!! G'rr… Kaiba ish not perfection… PERFECTION LIES IN THE BAKURAKINS!!!!! KUKUKUUKUKUKU!!!! Um. Yeah. Ok, I'm good.
You complimented my writing………. (Ego swells.) You said I have a vocabulary…… (Ego swells more.) You said you didn't……. (Ego swells still more.) You gave examples…….. (Ego is now twice the size of Godzilla.) I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!!! I shall now hug you to death.
