Chapter 35

Last Embrace

The light of the stars had waned and the eastern horizon glowed a pink color. The last day of the convention was starting, and families and friends said their good-byes to one another. But a little ways off, lying in the long grass, were two sleeping foxes yet to be disturbed by the morning. The long blades hung over them like a roof, keeping their warm breath from escaping. Youko and Gabriel were curled up in each other's arms, sleeping deeply.

A small breeze rustled a particular blade of grass laden with a large dewdrop. The small orb of cold water fell from its ledge and struck the fox on his ear. He jerked, flicking his ears. Raising his head, he saw the pink sky above and smelled the morning air. He yawned lazily, and then nudged his mate. "Gabe, its morning," he said softly, petting her hair, still too grand for her face. Said vixen twitched her nose and sighed but did not move. He didn't want to disturb her adorable state, but he feared Red and Blu would come hunt them down. 'They're so embarrassing, but hey, we grew up together.' He nudged her again, "Gabe, wake up, I don't want to run into Red and Blu."

"Red…" she muttered, "mmm, Youko." she latched onto his arms. 'Stubborn,' he chuckled to himself. He sat up, forcing her up with him. The disturbed blades of grass released the drops of dew on them and fell on her. "Brrrrrr! Oh, that's cold!"

"Morning dew usually is." The fox picked her up and carried her. "Huntian attaquer unti destruire." She muttered stiffly. Youko stopped dead.

"What did you say?" She blinked, "I don't know…"

"You were speaking in old tongues again. 'Hunters attack and destroy.'"

"Something bad is going to ha-." Her words were cut shot by a scream of terror. Their eyes followed the source of the scream and saw a small cloud of smoke coming from the convention area. "Hunters." The fox hissed.

"Hunters? You mean, like poachers?"

"Yes, they are low ranking demons who sell the exotic hides of other beings for profit."

"That's just sick…well, lets go! We have to help!" Youko looked at her incredulously. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm part of the Vixen Guard." She held up her badge, then yanked on his arm, "C'mon!"

The night was very cool; the band of demons had wanted to build a fire, but their leader sharply admonished them. Flames would give off light and smoke and give away their position to the vulpine company, which they stalked.

So they sat.

In the dark.

In the cold dark.

With out heat.

Or light.

And bitched. A scuffle had almost broken out between them, had the leader not slain the troublemaker with his long pale blade. It was a low ranking and equally low classed demon anyway. Goblins came easy, for this elfin man. His long pointed ears twitching to every grunt and movement his team made. His short black hair stood on end in their vile presence, but his piercing green gaze was enough to scare them to a tolerable distance. They made him sick, but they were quick and strong (though not as much as himself), and many enjoyed killing.

The plan of these poachers was to capture as many young foxes as possible, so that their fur could be cultivated before harvested. Any one who fought back would be killed; and those who were careless enough to get themselves wounded would be left to die. Like I said, workers came easy for this man. Poaching was illegal on accounts of manslaughter, but it was a profitable trade, and he had been able to get away with it for many years. The sun was rising; it was time to move.

Red sat up from her place in a grassy knoll, scratched her ear and stood to kick her brother in the butt. "Blu, hey, Blu." She whispered.

"Wha'?" he said sleepily. Red clamped a hand over his mouth, "Shh! Something is up. I thought I heard voices."

"What else is new?"

"Not those voices jerk! Goblin speech." Blu sat up, more alert. "Goblins? Are you sure?" a breeze ruffled his hair, the same breeze that had awoken Youko from his sleep, carried the faint, but unmistakable smell of a goblin. Several goblins. "Poachers?"

"Probably." Red muttered, "Go wake the Vixen Guard, I'll try and get the women with children to a safe place." Blu nodded and scampered silently to the other side of the camping grounds in his fox form. Red padded over to the medical tents; most women stayed there with children of all ages, just in case their precious young were injured.

The lightened sky began to wake many of the foxes by nature, they smelled the air, but something wasn't right. Red and Blu's warning spread through them like a plague. Able-bodied men and the Vixen Guard gathered in the center of the camp ground and waited. A total of five hundred and eighty-three foxes were present, and only half of them could fight, reducing their number to two hundred and fifty. Against an unknown number of goblin poachers, the odds were not good.

The team was moving quickly over the misty ground, the elf in the lead, making signals to the different sections. Left, flank the east; right, flank the west; the rest, surround the north and the foxes would be trapped. The stone pavilion was coming into view, the elf stopped, his infantry with him. Something wasn't right; the element of surprise was no longer on their side. A tall, silver youko stood in his path. "Turn back, poacher, or die." He called bravely. The elf sneered, "Charge!" with amazing speed, the battle begun. There were only ten scores of goblins, but they were each so heavily armored, it was hard to land an effective hit. The goblins were armed with short swords, against each of the youkos with their personal weapons of expertise.

Carina was able to stand on her own, even with her injuries, and fight with two katanas. Youko would not risk using his Death tree, but his Death plant would not endanger others around him; however, the problem of their armor arose again, so he settled for old reliable, the rose whip.

Red and Blu stood back to back, working in unison as only siblings can. With short bows and flaming arrows, the havoc they wrought was rather entertaining. Watching goblins run in circles, beating furiously at the fires on their bodies, screaming and falling down was enough to make anyone crack up. Gabe was using the grass zanbatous again. Because she could not stab or sever limbs, she settled for crushing things under the sheer force of her swings. Surprisingly, the youkos were winning. Three fourths of the enemy was dead or dying, the rest were fleeing. The elf stood amidst his dead followers, his eyes were narrowed to slits. He had spotted Gabe; she was…Gold!! If he captured no one but her, he would become richer than any lord in Makai…He had to have her. The vixen felt his cold eyes on her, she saw him, saw his sword rise in a challenge, and raised hers to accept.

The elf underestimated her as she knocked him back with one swing. He caught himself before the fall and struck back with his pale rapier. Unlike the honorable duel with Carina, the gold youko showed no mercy or sportsmanship. She wanted him to die for trying to kill foxes. She was one of them now, and she took great pride in defending those she cared about.

Their three swords clashed, making a deafening ring. Gabe pulled her swords back and out to the sides; then she swung them toward each other like the minute hand moving toward the hour hand on a clock, but one was higher than the other. If the elf was to jump and dodge the lower blade, his head would be severed, if he were to duck and dodge the upper blade, his legs would be severed at the knee. He was trapped, and die he did, but not without giving a loud, sharp whistle. From the North sprang the hidden battalion to the north. The goblins sprang out of the darkness, still clinging to night and attacked. From the back of her neck rang a loud crack as the pommel of a short sword dealt a blow. A very angry fox soon beheaded the goblin responsible. The long ranging whip cracked and returned to its master. His feet were no fast enough to rescue his fallen comrade and mate. Her body was carried away. He screamed in rage and fought against the flow of gutter-demons. He felt a white hot pain in her collarbone before he heard the deafening bang. A human firearm had shot him. He sank to his knees, and then fled away from perusing bullets. He was not dead, but he would die another day trying to find his lover; he would never see her again before death.

I love you, Youko. Her words sounded in his head, as his soul slipped away from is body. I love you too, Gabe, and I always will.

…I always will…

Amidst a scene of gore, a slim black form step from the shadow of the trees and lowered his hands from the brutal spells he cast. The poachers were dead, and spread across the field in which their prize was bound. The figure pulled back the hood of his cloak, his black hair sticking out at odd angles. 'Bah, hood hair; that's what I get for wearing a cloak 24-7.' His black eyes focused on his objective. He approached a form bound at the wrists and ankles. He knelt beside her and brushed her rose-gold hair from her face. 'I've been watching you, dear vixen. I owe you everything, my life, my home, my soul…I'll look after you now; protect you from others who want to hurt you.' Her eyes opened, twitching around in a dizzy pattern. "Who are you?" she mumbled, "Who am I?" Damn, that goblin hit her hard. The man waved his hand over her eyes and she changed. She became what she was when she was a day old, with no signs of being anything but human. He scooped the baby into his arms; he was taking her away. The precious mark on her neck vanished, along with all her memories…

To be continued in a sequel, the title of which is not yet clear to me. This story is over, but the saga will continue and Youko will be reunited with is love again one day. I want to thank every person who has ever read my story, and every one who has ever left me a kind worded review. You would never know how much you reviewers mean to me, unless you are an author/ess who has received a review. You, the people are my coif of power and I love and appreciate you all; thank you.