Author's Note: Sorry about the recent chapters taking so long, but I have writer's block all the time, so it's pretty hard to get inspirations. So, to make up for it, I made this chapter very, very long, complete with it's own Prologue and Epilogue, even though the story isn't over yet. Enjoy…
Nocturne's Sword
By: biacebaolck
PrologueBacklash kicked a stoat in the stomach, her gut still reeling from being slashed there with a cutlass. She had gotten used to cutlass strikes from building up a resistance to them because her late Master had always used it whenever his whip never worked.
She wielded the dirk in her hand expertly, but as she pinned the vermin to the dusty ground, she thought of Master Kagroo and her grip on him slackened. That pause was all the stoat needed, because before she knew it, she was on her back, the cutlass to her throat.
"Die!" the stoat hissed, slicing her throat open. Well, at least he tried. He was struck by a thrown spear and killed on the spot, before he could make a fatal wound that would've killed her. But, he did slice a bit of her throat. The pain was absolute and her vision went hazy as her body shut down, to heal.
'Wake. Up.'Something hissed in her mind. She was too groggy to open her mouth. But, as the voice pestered, she gradually opened her eyes. And she blinked. She wasn't on the ground anymore, bleeding to death because of a throat wound. In fact, she wasn't even bleeding at all. Her throat had healed of the cut, but the scar remained. She could tell this as she ran her paw over it multiple times, trying to get used to it.
'Where am I?' She wanted to ask, but she was too tired to open her mouth and talk.
'Get. Up.'The voice hissed again, in her mind.
'I don't want to.' She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to get off the ground, wanting to lie down and rest, forever.
'If you don't get up, I will.'She felt her body get up on its own and tried to stop it. It didn't work. She was helpless as her body walked outside the tent she had been resting in. She couldn't even see in the pitch darkness of the night, but her body kept on walking.
'Where…are you taking me?' she thought.
'We're going to someplace very important to me. You only have a dirk and a sling as weapons. A sling is useful from a distance, and a dirk is only useful when you are in very close combat. You need a sword, one that you can use, one that will help you defeat opponents that wield cutlasses and such. You are WEAK against cutlass strikes to your stomach, you know.'
'Shut up.' She thought, trying to clench her teeth together in anger. It didn't work. She still couldn't move on her own.
'We're nearly there. See that sword?' She saw a sword sticking out of the cracked ground. 'I stuck it in there a long time ago as I prepared for suicide.'
Backlash felt cold all over. 'Sui-Suicide?' she thought meekly.
'Yes, suicide. It was the only way I could get free from this world and its horrors and rejoin with my mother. But for some reason, I'm in you now, part of your consciousness. So, I might as well help you while I can. I can't have a pathetic weakling for a descendant.'
'You mean you're actually related to me?'
'Yes. Now pull out the sword.' She found herself able to move of her own free will again. Somehow, she felt drawn to the sword and curled her left paw around the hilt. She yanked it, expecting it to stay stuck in the ground. It did. 'Pull harder.' She did.
This time, the sword came out, its blade without a dent. 'Good.' Backlash heard her ancestor sigh. 'Not dented. I wouldn't have expected any less from Maui's blacksmithing.'
'So what's your story? How did you get into my consciousness? What is going on here?' Backlash bombed her ancestor's consciousness with countless questions.
'It'll be difficult to explain, so I'll just show you. First, let's get back. See that scabbard over there?' She looked and saw a scabbard, shaped to hold the sword's blade in her paw. 'Slide the sword in, and take off your belt and attach it to the scabbard. There should be slits for it, if I remember correctly.'
There was, and Backlash unbuckled her belt, sliding it into the two slits. She buckled it on, from the top of her left shoulder to the right of her waist. Then, she found herself walking back to camp. She leaned back against a rotted trunk of a fallen tree, closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
CUT
Commercial start
Announcer: BUY BUCKEY'S SUPERCALAFRAGILISTICEXPIALADOCIOUSLY WONDERFUL BUCKET OF BAGELS! THEY CAN BE BOUGHT AT A BUCKEY'S SUPERCALAFRAGILISTICEXPIALADOCIOUS BAGEL STORE! BUY THEM NOW!
Commercial end
Backlash: (blinks) What…was that?
Nocturne: (twitching) Trust me…you SO do NOT want to know!
Backlash: (turns to Nocturne) Is that REALLY how you spell supercalaf- that long word thing?
Nocturne: (starting to stop twitching) Of course. The author looked it up on the Internet, PERSONALLY.
Backlash: (stares) So…it's really spelled s-u-p-e-r-c-a-l-a-f—(looks at the commercial script, reading off it) –r-a-g-i-l-i-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-a-d-o-c-i-o-u-s…right?
Author's Note: Did you really think that this was going to be TOO serious? (laughs)
AND…ACTION
Age: 1 season
Chapter one
She opened her eyes. And immediately closed them again. She had seen…just seen…a big. Scary. Mwonther! She was scared. So naturally, she cried.
"Neji! Get away from your baby sister at once!" a stern female voice rapped out.
"But mo-om!" a young male voice complained. "She has GREY eyes! And BLACK fur! She HAS to be a Ragnarok! She isn't a Torquoi like us, mom, she's a RAGNAROK!" At this, something stirred in her mind. Ragnarok? Ragnarok…
Somehow, she felt as though she knew that word, very well. As though she had once been one. She had not been one at all…had she? Curiously, she opened one eye, and then bravely opened the other and watched a female brown furred mother and a brown furred son argue it out, both hares with strange markings on their bodies and faces.
"I will have no talk of Ragnaroks under this roof. Now go outside and play with your friends." Despite her son's protests, the female haremaid finally drove him out of the house. She turned to her. "Hello," she said sweetly.
She felt as though she would throw up. This…was not right… This…was not…was not…was not her mother… It couldn't be…
But apparently to the Torquoi, she was her daughter. And to the Torquoi mother, she was NOT…was definitely NOT…a Ragnarok…at all…not at all, not matter what anybeast said. Was she a Ragnarok, or a Torquoi like her mother?
Mother… That word felt wrong in her mind. The Torquoi wasn't her mother…was she?
Nine seasons pass… Age: 10 seasons
Chapter two
"Are you done fixing that sword of yours yet?" She asked. Her big brother, Neji, glared at her, his hands expertly melting the metal of the sword together, his paws firm against the tongs.
"Fixing a broken sword takes time."
"No, it doesn't, and you know it. You're just taking your sweet little time aren't you; just to spite me, right? Oh come on, finish up quickly and train me. I need the training. Please?" she begged.
"No. Don't you have chores to do? Once you're finished them, you can have the forge or whatever." Neji said, not really paying attention what she had said.
"Chores!" She groaned. "Don't remind me! I STILL have to make lunch, even though mom knows I practically burn everything I try to cook!"
"Come on now, your salad wasn't bad!" She snorted.
"Wasn't bad? Yeah, right. If bad was burnt salad, then mine is the worst of all bad!"
"Uh-oh." She looked at the distance and gulped. He looked around her to see what she was so nervous about.
"Uh-oh is right. Here comes the snoop. Nocturne, better get going before she comes around, snooping, and discovers where your secret hiding place is and tells mom. Snoopy should have been named Tattle-taler." She laughed.
"Don't let Roseflower hear you or she'll tattle on you. And I wonder what secret the oh-so-macho big brother has that the snoop will find out and reveal… Ooo, I know! Your secret is that when you were younger, you were known as the Flower hare because you loved to pick flowers!" she teased. "Like a girl!" Then, she snickered.
Neji scowled. "That's not funny, Ragnarok." She stopped snickering. She was NOT a Ragnarok! How many times did her brother need to be reminded? Oh well, two could play at this game.
"You want to make something of it, Torquoi?" she spat out.
"Yeah! Stinking Ragnaroks like you shouldn't be allowed in this tribe at all! It's only because mom bossed everyone into letting you stay that you're here now."
"I'm a Torquoi, you dimly lit candle!"
"Look whose talking." He retorted. "It's a miracle you managed to survive this long before we Torquoi will decide to kick you out of the tribe. There will be more than enough paws up to prove that Ragnaroks aren't welcome in the tribe!"
She looked away from Roseflower, who was still snooping around, searching for Nocturne's hideout. "Sorry, did you say something?"
"What!" he exclaimed, as angry as ever. Nocturne's ignorance really ticked Neji off. One thing was for certain. Neji hated being ignored, when he was talking.
"Why I outta-" He pinned her down on the ground.
"Outta what?" She said, struggling under him, trying to get out of his hold.
"Stupid amateur!" He said, punching her on the head. She grit her teeth.
"Stupid amateur, indeed!" she yelled, bringing her clenched paw back and hitting her brother in the stomach. He clutched it, obviously in pain. She kicked him off her body and stood up, in a fighting stance.
He grabbed his sword from out of the fire with his tongs and dumped it into the water in the barrel, steam sizzling. His grip on the tongs never slackened as he grabbed his sword by the hilt and prepared to fight.
"Get a weapon." He said, his eyes cold. "I'll fight you right here and now."
"I'M TELLING!"
The two of them jumped and turned around. Roseflower the snoop was already halfway back home. "WE GOTTA STOP HER!" they yelled to each other in unison, before scrambling off to catch her.
Neji, having stronger limbs, caught up to the snoop first, leapt on her and pinned her down. Nocturne helped him tie the snoop up and she knocked Roseflower unconscious. "Where," she puffed. "Are we going to put her THIS time?"
"Bring her back to her house. That way, her mother won't have any reason to blame us anymore. I'm sick and tired of hearing," he changed his voice to a higher one. " 'And you couldn't leave her with a cloak on? Barbarians! My baby could've have froze to death!'" his voice changed back to its original. "Sick. Not to mention it's stupid because it's been warm for like, nearly all my lifetime."
"I know," she agreed, as they plopped the unconscious snoop in front of her house before walking off. "Imagine, having your own mother fight for you. Definitely unhonourable as a warrior."
"Warrior?" Neji gave her a stunned look. "Who put THAT silly idea in your mind? Females don't become warriors. They become healers. The Ragnaroks are the ones who make their females become healers AND warriors." He looked suspiciously at her. "Don't tell me you've been talking to a Ragnarok."
"Of course not!" she said quickly. It was a lie. A few days ago, she had come face to face with a Ragnarok, who thought she was one of them. After the two began getting tired of babbling their respective languages, they reverted to the original language, that everybeast knew. Then, after a talk, the Ragnarok left and she never saw him again.
"You two are filthy!" They jumped and sheepishly turned to their mother. "Clean yourselves up. After you two have a bath, I'd like a word with you."
"Who?" Stone was softer than their mother's glare.
"Both of you." They gulped simultaneously. Their mother was rarely in a bad mood. Whatever had happened MUST have been bad.
As their mother turned to go, Nocturne whispered, "For a peace-loving Torquoi, mother looks downright murderous." Neji shushed her.
"Not now, Nocturne. Not now."
CUT
Commercial start
Announcer #1: There once was three brothers, by the names of: Manners, Poo and Shut up. One day, Poo fell into a ditch. While Manners tried to help his brother get back up from the deep ditch, Shut up ran into the police station which was just in front of them.
Policeman: Can I help you?
Shut up: This is an emergency! I need your help!
Policeman: Okay. First, (takes out a form) give me your name.
Shut up: Anything if it'll get you to come hurry up! Shut up.
Policeman: Pardon! I didn't ask for rudeness, young man. Now, what's your name?
Shut up: (truthfully) Shut up.
Policeman: (enraged) Where are your manners, young man!
Shut up: (truthfully) Manners is outside, trying to pick Poo out.
Announcer #2: That's all, folks!
Commercial end
Nocturne: (blinks) But that wasn't a commercial.
Neji: (shrugs) So? Authors nowadays will do ANYTHING for reviews.
Nocturne: Really?
Neji: Really.
Nocturne: Are they really THAT desperate?
Neji: For nice and polite reviews? Of course.
AND…ACTION
Chapter three
"The Ragnaroks are coming."
"WHAT?" exclaimed Nocturne and Neji in unison.
There was no need to explain anything. Ragnaroks were the eternal enemies of Torquoi. While Torquoi specialized in healing and some magic and some fighting, Ragnaroks were foul experts at the art of combat, no matter if it was close combat or long-range. Nothing could keep the warrior part of the Ragnaroks within them once a battle or fight had started.
"Nocturne, go to bed." Their mother ordered.
"But mom-"
"No buts. Please, Nocturne. You need to be at full strength for what you are about to endure tomorrow. Sleep and rest while you can, because near the future, sleep will be a luxury that you cannot afford."
Nocturne nodded once and walked up the stairs, into her room and onto the bed, where she pulled the covers over her, closing her eyes. But she wasn't sleeping. She was trying to listen; hard.
But her mother and Neji spoke in such hushed tones that she could not hear what they were saying. Pretty soon, she fell asleep.
Chapter four
"But mom!" Neji's voice yelled. Nocturne snapped awake and listened hard. Maybe NOW she could find out what was going on between her mother and her brother.
"No buts, Neji!" Their mother's sharp voice sounded.
"I don't care! I'm going to go do it, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Please, don't yell," Nocturne heard her mother's sharp voice grow softer. "You'll wake Nocturne up."
'Nah. Really? I'm still asleep after Neji's yelling? Wow. I MUST be a sound-sleeper.' she thought sarcastically.
"I'm not yelling." Neji insisted, his voice now softer. "I'm just telling you, we don't have any choice. We NEED the weapons to defend ourselves. You KNOW the Ragnaroks are coming and it's important to get plenty of defense while we have time."
"I'm not arguing about the fact that we don't need weapons. But we need you more than we need the weapons to defend ourselves. Nocturne looks up to you, Neji. You're her big brother. If you just go off and…and get killed, she'll get upset…and I will too..."
"Mother," Nocturne heard Neji sigh. "I'm not a little babe anymore. You can't talk me out of my decisions. I'm doing this for both you and Nocturne. I promised dad I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I'm determined to keep that promise."
A silence. Nocturne soon got bored of waiting and pushed the covers off her body and yawned silently, and stretched. "Mom, we'll speak later, okay? I'm going out to get the weapons. Don't do anything dangerous while I'm gone!" Neji's voice said.
She heard the opening and closing creaks of the wooden door and knew at once he was gone. She heard her mother's pawsteps on the creaky stairway and hopped into bed, pulling the covers back on and feigned sleep.
"Oh, Nocturne," her mother whispered, walking in and stroking Nocturne's forehead. "What should I do? Your father's gone, and pretty soon, Neji will be too…" For once, Nocturne felt as though her mother was talking to somebeast else. Who was her father? Did she look like him? And more importantly, what was his personality like and did she inherit any of his traits…at all?
Chapter five
"Well," Neji said, after the Ragnarok warning proved false after hearing some rumors and whispers about it. "That was a waste of time, wasn't it?"
"I would certainly think so." Their mother said.
"Now, now, Celandine," the village elder, Mea, said, trying to sooth the temper of the haremaid. "Neji was just doing what he thought was right." Celandine harrumphed but didn't argue. Secretly, Nocturne thought that her mother was relieved that Neji had come back, unharmed.
They were gathered in a council, with the other hares and haremaids of the Northern Torquoi tribe, every hare marked with paint markings except Nocturne and several young babes.
"What's going to happen?" Nocturne whispered excitedly to Neji. She had never been to a council before, because only important ones were shared with the Northern Torquoi tribe. This was her first, so she didn't know what do expect.
Neji, like always, had been to a council at least twice. "It's nothing much. First, the tribe leader will go into the center where the stairs slope upwards. He'll be high up enough for you to see, don't worry, Shorty." He smirked. Nocturne was short for her age and very touchy about it.
"What are you implying?" she glared. He held up his paws defensively.
"Nothing, nothing." He snickered, before turning back to the center. "Be quiet, it's about to start. You wouldn't want to miss your first council, would you?" She shook her head and watched.
"As you all know, we've had a false alarm about a Ragnarok invasion." The chieftain, Manitou, exclaimed in a loud voice for every Torquoi to hear. "But that doesn't mean we should let our guard down. An invasion could take place anytime, so keep your eyes and ears open for sightings and news of any suspicious activities."
The second-in-command stepped up beside Manitou and whispered something to him, in his ear, before departing. "There is some disturbing news." Ears of many different sizes perked up at this. "The Southern, the Northern and the Eastern Torquoi tribes have just sent us a message. They need us to aid them in the fight against the Ragnaroks. Obviously, the Northern, the Southern and the Eastern Ragnaroks must have likewise sent a message to the Western Ragnaroks, so we need as many Western tribe Torquoi fighters available as possible. That is all."
Manitou stepped out of the center and left. Whispers began. "I heard that the Torquoi got them Ragnaroks beat."
"Well, whichever beast you heard it from must be an idiot. Ragnaroks are strong. Even their females are either stronger or of equal strength than the males."
"Preposterous!"
"Believe it. It's true. Heard it myself from one of those messenger birds from far south."
"What d'you think will happen now?"
"What else, mush-for-brains? Our toughest fighters will go and help fight against the Ragnaroks!"
"But, we'd lose, right?"
"What do you mean, you old scallywag? Spit it out, already!"
"Yeah!"
"I agree with Elise."
"We'd lose, because Ragnarok are far stronger and more superior than Torquoi in fighting."
"But aren't we better at healing?"
"Yes, but we don't have much of an advantage."
"But we have magic."
"Yes, we do, but not every Torquoi can use it, or even summon it all or at least a bit of it."
"We all have it, right?"
"From what I've been reading from the ancient scrolls, yes. But, the secret to using it and summoning it was lost long ago in a great fire, and nobeast survived to tell the secret to other Torquoi."
"What about Nocturne? You know, Celandine's daughter?"
"What about her? She died right after she was born. Poor thing didn't have enough strength to live for more than a few moments."
"No, not that Nocturne. The one living right now. She looks a lot like a Ragnarok, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes. It's possible that she may even be one."
"What do you mean, old crone?"
"Watch your manners, son. What have you seen, Mia?"
"Well, I think it was 9 seasons ago, a few days after the real Nocturne died. Celandine was heartbroken, for both her dead husband and her dead babe. Neji was really the only one she had left. Her family died of a disease from the Ragnaroks a long time ago."
"Oh, how dreadful!"
"Yes, quite. Goes to show that you can never be too careful with Ragnaroks around. Anyway, several haremaids and I managed to persuade her for a walk in the woods. You know how much she loves that place." Mia said. "I was no spring bud then, but I was still young, about Celandine's age right now."
"So, what happened?"
"We trekked a few moments before hearing the crying of a babe. Celandine rushed to the source of that crying and when the rest of us caught up, she was rocking a black-furred female babe, back and forth, soothing it with gentle words. It stopped crying and fell asleep. Of course, just by looking at it, we could tell it was only a season old. A season old and abandoned in the woods? What has this life come to? I thought. And when she looked up, I saw her smile. It was such a wonderful smile. You could tell she was truly happy."
"Elder Mia, how come Nocturne doesn't have markings like me and my friends do?"
"Mike! Seize your questions at once!"
"It's quite alright. You see, Mike, Torquoi are marked when they have been in a Torquoi tribe for at least 10 seasons. You're 10 seasons already, but Nocturne has only been in this tribe for 9 seasons."
"But she's MY age!"
"So? She has one more season before she can finally have her tribal markings."
"So why does-"
"Mike, that's enough questions asked of Elder Mia. Come now, it is time for bed."
"But I don't wanna go to bed, mamma! You know I don't like going early!"
"I know, but pretty soon, you'll wish you could sleep early. EVERYDAY."
"What do you mean by that, mamma?"
"You'll find out, or maybe you won't."
"Hey, Nocturne." Neji tapped her shoulder. She snapped awake from her daze. What she had heard…was it really true? "Come on, we're going back home. Hey," he said, noticing her dazed expression. "Something wrong?"
"Neji," she said softly. "I feel like…everything's not normal anymore."
"What can you expect?" He asked. "Will it ever be? Is that what you're thinking?"
"No." she hugged her knees to her chest, looking straight out into the distance. "What I'm thinking is this: Has everything ever been normal in the first place?"
Neji had no answers. Nocturne wondered if he'd ever will.
CUT
Commercial start
Announcer: (stomps to the stage, waving his lines around) WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE! YOU EXPECT ME TO FOLLOW THIS!
Audience: Yes.
Announcer: (throws lines on the ground, stomps on them, takes out cigarette lighter and BURNS the lines all up, including the stage) (realizes what he's doing and runs off, stage left, his pant legs burning) GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Audience: Oooo… Pretty…
ANNOUNCER'S BOSS: Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry to say, but we are missing an announcer, who has run out, stage left. Please catch him so I can fire and sue him $900,000,000,000 for burning down my theatre stage. The reward is $1,000,000. Thank you.
Audience: (scramble out of their seats and runs off, trying to catch the runaway announcer) GEEEEEEET HIIIIIIIIIIM!
Announcer: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Commercial end
Nocturne: (Blinks) Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay… (runs back into the story) My break's over, SEEEEEE YAAAAAAAAAA!
AND…ACTION
Chapter six
It was night now and Nocturne was watching the remains of the sunset. She heard a couple of pawsteps behind her.
"Nocturne?" She looked up at her big brother, standing behind her. He sat down beside her. "Nocturne…the truth is…you're not really my little sister." Her head snapped up.
"I heard that from rumors and whispers, but I never believed it. You're saying it's true!" she exclaimed. He shifted uncomfortably.
"You see, after dad died, my real little sister, Nocturne, died as well. She was too weak to survive in this world, so after a few moments, she was gone, forever. Mother was heartbroken. Then, she found you in the woods, and she took you home. I thought you were a Ragnarok, but mom made me keep it quiet from my friends. I think mom wanted to believe that Nocturne was still alive and living…through you…as you…"
"So…I'm not really a Torquoi…am I?" she asked.
"No. You're a Ragnarok."
Seven seasons pass… Age: 17 seasons
Chapter seven
She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. Her friend, Scar, a fellow Ragnarok, stood anxiously behind her. "You hurt?"
"Nah. I'm fine. Just out of breath. Man, those Torquoi can run."
"I know. And it was just 7 seasons ago you were banished from the Torquoi tribe you were living in for being a Ragnarok."
"I know." She growled. "Talk about being just plain mean. And I didn't do anything bad. Soooo…" she looked him up and down. "Tell me again why you're still so much bigger than me."
"Number one: You are short." At the glare she gave him, he added hurriedly, "But you're growing." They began walking back to their Ragnarok village. "Number two: I was born big. Number three: I grow faster than you. Number four: Just because."
"Just because what?" she asked.
"Just because you're female." He snickered. She stuck out her footpaw and the hare toppled over it.
"You wanna repeat that?" she grinned in his face.
"Yep. Number one: You are short. Number two: You're very short. Number three: You're very, very short. Number four: You're a midget. Number five: You're tiny. Number six: You're a dwarf. And the last one, number-"
She whapped him over the head. "Just shaddup." He raised an eyebrow.
" 'Shaddup'? I hardly think that's a proper word." She scowled her usual scowl at him.
"Go dunk your head in the river where the pike lives. That'll be one less talkative head to worry about."
"Harr, harr, very funny." Scar rolled his eyes. "Now, who else do you know is as talkative as me?"
"Well, Roseflower is. She always tattles- I mean, she always tattled on my former big brother, Neji and I."
"Another Torquoi you still hold a grudge against that's NOT your big brother?"
"What do you think?"
"That the question still remains unanswered. And that I'm starving."
"You always are." She scowled again, whapping him over the head yet again.
"Oww…" he rubbed the sore spot. "Hey, I'm a growing hare. I can't help it if I consume lots of grub each day." She snorted.
"Serves you right." She walked off.
"Hey!" He called after her. "So what happened really? How did you get kicked out of the Western Torquoi tribe?" He ran after her. "Come on, Nocturne! Tell me!"
Chapter eight
Crash! Nocturne sent another one of those stupid lovesick males flying. "Idiots. They're all idiots." she snorted, crossing her arms.
"A-men." Mari agreed, sending another male toppling over. It was spring, the season for LOVE, and Ragnarok females did NOT appreciate being loved. War was no time to have romances.
"So, just leave me alone, you dunce." she glared at a pure-white Ragnarok who looked away sheepishly.
"So let me get this straight." An amused Scar said, ignoring all the riff-raff going around. "You got kicked out of the Western Torquoi tribe just for being a Ragnarok. They had a council and you were voted to 'be banished from the tribe forevermore' and you didn't do anything wrong!" He slapped his thigh and hooted with laughter.
Nocturne scowled at him. "It's not MY fault that they realized, 'Oh, we have a Ragnarok amidst us!' after 9 seasons of me living there!"
"Sooo," a bemused Scar smiled. "What happened next?"
"Yeah!" Maui, another one of her fellow Ragnarok friends, piped up. "What else happened?" Mari, Maui's twin sister, rolled her eyes at the eagerness of her twin brother.
"Males." She muttered. "No common sense at all."
"Hey!" Almost all the males in the area shouted. "I resent that!"
"You resent what!" Mari yelled back at them. "Being male?" All the females in the area snickered.
"Not. Funny." Scar huffed angrily.
"Yeah!" Maui said.
"So tell us what happened next!" Scar suddenly said eagerly.
"Yeah!"
"You ran away from the tribal grounds as fast as you could, right? I remember that from last time. Then what? Tell us what happened next!"
"Yeah!" Maui said, eagerly. Mari rolled her eyes.
"Is 'yeah' all you can say, jerk face?"
"Yeah!" Maui said, out of habit. Then, he realized his mistake and his face turned beet red as the females within earshot giggled. "I mean, NO!"
"Too late." Mari smirked. "By the time the day's over, the whole population of females will know that's the only word you can say."
"Come on, Mari, don't be mean." Nocturne scolded. But she was smiling too. "Anyway," she said, trying to change the subject. "After they kicked me out, I was like, 'I gotta get away!' so I ran, like a coward. Then, I crashed right into Scar."
"I remember that," Scar winced, gingerly touching the scar on his head. "That's how I got the scar on my head."
"And then, you came to our village, joined the Ragnarok clan, and now-" Maui started.
"-you're here, telling us what happened." Mari said, finishing. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm beat. See you guys tomorrow." She got up from her spot on the grass and headed for home.
"Looks like I gotta go home too. Later." Maui waved and ran off to catch up with his twin sister.
"Now what?" Nocturne wondered. Scar yawned a big yawn. He stayed sitting up on the ground.
"Now, I go to sleep." He mumbled, falling asleep, still in sitting position. Within moments, he was sound asleep. Nocturne had to smile. She curled up on the ground and closed her eyes.
She thought of when her mother used to sing her to sleep when she was younger and smiled again. She longed to go back and see her mother's wonderful smile and hear her mother's wonderful singing voice, but she knew she couldn't. She was, after all, banished.
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Mom…"she whispered, sadly. It seemed like forever, before she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, filled with a horrible and never-ending nightmare.
CUT
Commercial starts
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Commercial end
Scar: Nocturne, what're you doing?
Nocturne: (who is covering her ears) Bad grammar… HEY! WHAT AM I SAYING? I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT GRAMMER! THE THING I CARE ABOUT IT THE WAY THEY SOUND SO DAMN HORRIBLE!
Scar: (winces) Warn me next time before you start yelling…
QUIET ON THE SET. AND…ACTION
A season passes… Age: 18 seasons
Chapter nine
She woke up, early. It was way before the sun came out and Nocturne knew it was time. She checked once more than the message was still there. It was. She threaded the scabbard's slits with her belt and buckled it on. She sheathed the balanced sword in the scabbard and, taking a huge breath, she set out.
As she walked, she remembered about the sword. Maui, an apprentice in blacksmithing, had forged it for her, from a meteorite that had crashed in the village countless seasons ago.
She remembered about his twin sister, Mari, an excellent healer and a fighter who was able to hold her own grounds in a fight. She remembered Scar, the first Ragnarok she had met. On that faithful day, when she was still part of the Western Torquoi tribe, when she met him, something had stirred inside her. Now she knew what it was.
It was her Ragnarok blood. It did not want to be Torquoi. It had pride. Now, as she ran across the grassy ground, she wondered. Why had she been with the Torquoi in the first place? When she was found by her mother- no, not her mother, her adopted-mother…
Who had left her there? Did she have parents? Of course she did. So what did they look like? What were their personalities? And why…why was she left in those woods, where Torquoi would surely find her?
So many questions, but she had no answers. She slowed down to a quick walk, breathing heavily. She looked back. She had run so far… Should she turn back? Or should she keep on going before the journey got dangerous?
NO! She must not think of going back! Her Ragnarok pride would not allow her to do so. She wasn't a coward. She never was. And she never was going to be one. Not if her pride could do anything about it.
Chapter ten"You ok?" The lone haremaid, looked up into the face of a black-furred Ragnarok hare.
"Are you…one of the reinforcements?" she asked.
"Sorry, but I'm just a messenger."
"A messenger." The haremaid laughed weakly. "Messengers only need combat skills for minor defenses. Your skills surpass them all."
"Do you know where I can find the Northern Ragnaroks?" she asked.
"Oh, sure." The haremaid beamed. "I'm only out here to get some herbs for my mother, but I'm from there. Come on," she scrambled up, and grabbed Nocturne's paw. "I'll bring you there!"
The haremaid ran, surprisingly fast for a creature her size, and even Nocturne had trouble keeping up. She barely managed not to fall flat on her face.
'Please tell me that I won't have to run this much later.' She thought, desperately.
Chapter eleven"I. Am. Soooo tired!" Nocturne moaned, plopping right down onto the ground. The haremaid smiled, apparently amused.
"HALT! WHO GOES THERE?" a voice boomed out.
"Only me, Hake! And a messenger from the West!"
A brown-furred hare peeked out from the battlements. "You sure about that? Remember LAST time?"
"Oh come on!" She stomped her footpaw angrily. "That was an accident!"
Hake snorted. "Yeah. If one Torquoi died each time it was an 'accident', all the Torquoi would be DEAD by now!"
"Stop teasing her, Hake." An older, male voice sounded out. Nocturne looked up, tiredly. A black-furred hare appeared on the battlements. Her grey eyes widened. He…looked and sounded…familiar somehow… And he looked JUST like her! "What's this?" he peered down. "You have a new friend, Sarah?"
Sarah beamed. "Yep. Her name is…is…" she whispered out of the side of her mouth. "What's your name again?"
"Nocturne. My name is Nocturne." She said aloud.
"Nocturne. Isn't that a Torquoi name?" He peered even more closely at her. "But you look like a Ragnarok…"
"Look like a Ragnarok?" Hake laughed. "She looks JUST like you, Wolf!"
"No…really?" he smiled.
"WOLF, LET SARAH IN THIS INSTANT OR I'LL WRING YOUR NECK IF SHE DIES OF HER DEATH COLD!" a harsh, loud female voice snapped out. Everyone, including Nocturne clapped their paws over their ears as the female voice continued yelling out. "I SWEAR, IF SHE DIES, I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Alright, alright!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Sheesh, you don't need to get all angry about it, Madeline. I'm opening the doors, I'm opening them." He jogged down the stairs and out of sight.
The wooden doors creaked open, and a female haremaid, rushed over and hugged Sarah furiously. "Oh, I was so worried about you! What if those nasty Torquoi had gotten you?"
"Oh shut up, mom." Sarah tried to wriggle out of her mother's grasp but to no avail. "I'm fine now. No use worrying about the past." She added.
"And who's this?" her mother turned to Nocturne.
"I'm Nocturne, ma'm. I'm from the Western Ragnarok village and I-"
"The WESTERN RAGNAROK VILLAGE!" the haremaid shrieked. Everybeast with good sense winced at the volume. "YOU CAME FROM ALL THE WAY THERE!" She nodded. "And what kind of name is Nocturne? That sounds Torquoi."
Nocturne said nothing. She only narrowed her eyes and her lips tightened. "What is a Western Ragnarok doing here?" Hake asked, from the battlements.
"I've come to deliver a message to your leader."
"That's not going to be easy." Wolf smiled. "Huron doesn't see just anybeast. You have to prove yourself worthy. You have to take the test."
"Then can I take the test right now. I'm kind of in a hurry." Nocturne said.
Sarah, Wolf, Madeline and Hake (who had just come down) shared a look. "Alright." Wolf said, turning to the rocky cliffs away from the village. "Follow me." Nocturne followed, not sure why the rest of them were backing away slowly.
CUT
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Announcer: A man takes his dog to the vet and says, "My dog is cross-eyed. Can you do anything for him?" "Well," the veterinarian says. "Let's have a look at him." He picks up the dog and looks into his eyes, examining them. Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "Because he's cross-eyed?" "No. Because he's really, REALLY heavy and the weight is killing me."
COMMERCIAL END
Wolf: (grins like a wolf) Heheheh…
Nocturne: I can see how you came by that name.
Wolf: Really?(smiles) I try not to make it TOO obvious, though.
Sarah: Riiiiight…
Hake: Like we believe THAT.
AND…ACTION
Chapter twelve
"You have to last up here, until midday tomorrow. When you're done, you come back to the village. Simple. Do you remember how to get back?" Wolf asked.
"Wolf…I can SEE the village from here."
"Excellent!" he beamed, turning to go. "Good luck!"
"WOLF!" Nocturne yelled after him. "What's going on here?"
"Nocturne…" Wolf turned around and looked into her eyes. "In order to have a word with our leader, you have to face the toughest of tests. Survive out here, and not become wolf food."
"You're…you're joking right?" Nocturne gulped.She knew what a wolf was. Everybeast knew. To some, it was a legend, but in this region, if you ever met up with a wolf, you could be sure, that death would come quite soon.
"No. I'm not." He left Nocturne trembling.
Chapter thirteen
She heard another wolf howl. That made 7 wolves. She shuddered and hugged herself. She was scared. How could she tell them off? By howling them away? Hey, that didn't sound like a bad idea…
"Owrruuuuu…" she howled, her voice soft and pure. Her eyes widened. She never knew she could have done this! It was fun! "Owrruuuuuu…" she howled again.
Satisfied, she curled up on the ground and fell asleep. This is a gooood day.
Chapter fourteen
"Wolfso- I mean, Nocturne!" Wolf laughed."You survived!" the wooden doors creaked open. He gestured for her to follow. "Come on! Huron has GOT to hear about how you managed to escape the wolves unscathed!"
They entered Huron's home and the Ragnarok leader's eyes twinkled. "You escaped the wolves' wrath? Then you must be an able warrior. I hear you have a message for me. What is it, young one?"
Nocturne handed him the scroll. "Here it is, sir."
Huron unraveled the scroll and read it aloud. "'Reinforcements are coming, but we are being held back at the south by the Torquoi. It will take at least a few days to defeat them all. Please have patience. Nocturne will aid you if needed. She is one of our best and she will aid you if it is needed.'"
"Wow…" Wolf laughed. "Seems like you got some admirers back west."
She smiled, but said nothing.
Half a season passes… Age: 18½ seasons
Chapter fifteen
"What?" she stood stunned. "When you spied on the Western Torquoi tribe…my brother…was crying?"
"Yep." Said a sad looking Mari. "I'm sorry, Nocturne."
"Actually…my name isn't Nocturne," she said softly. All eyes were on her. Wolf only smiled at her encouragingly. "It's Wolfsong…"
"Wolfsong…" Scar whispered. "That's a beautiful name…" She turned red.
"Thanks…" she said softly. A silence.
"Scar and Noctu- I mean, Wolfsong, sitting in a tree, K-I—" Maui started before Mari glared at him to shut up.
"You should go back to your village…" Wolf said softly, touching her on her arm. "Even though he's a Torquoi, he was your big brother, and that's what matters."
"You don't need to say anything else." She looked up, determined, into the distance. "I'm going back home."
Inside, she felt as though she was crying. She was going to leave her father… And she had just found out that he was her father a few days ago… He squeezed her shoulder. "Do what your heart tells you." He whispered. She nodded slowly.
CUT
BREAK TIME
Nocturne: So am I now Wolfsong, or Nocturne?
Wolfsong: You're not Wolfsong. I'm Wolfsong!
Wolf: Whoa…
Scar: Got that right…
Hake: Talk about a major case of déjà vu!
Wolf: I think, technically, you're still Nocturne, but Wolfsong is just your real name. You'll just be Nocturne.
Nocturne: Got it…I think…
Scar: HEY, HAKE! WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE! YOU'RE NOT EVEN IN THIS CHAPTER!"
Hake: (waves) BYE! (runs)
Everybeast: (anime sweat drop)
AND…ACTION
Chapter sixteen
"Let me speak to my brother!" she pleaded.
"Why should I?" Roseflower smirked. Wolfsong- Nocturne glowered. "After all, you've been kicked out." It had been eight and a half seasons since the Ragnarok had last seen the snoop and the snoopy Roseflower was more obnoxious than ever.
"What's going on?" Neji's voice rang out. "Nocturne? What're you doing here?" His face-hardened. "You're banished."
"I have every right to visit my mother!" she yelled.
"She is NOT your mother, RAGNAROK!" he yelled back.
"IS TOO!"
"IS NOT!"
"IS TOO!"
"IS NOT!"
"IS TOO!"
"IS NOT!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Roseflower yelled. She had a surprisingly loud voice. "Ragnarok, get out. You do not belong here."
"Even if I don't, I have a right to visit the one who raised me." Nocturne kept her chin up.
"She has a point, Torquoi!" Scar yelled.
"Fine." Neji sighed.
"But Neji dearest—" Nocturne nearly gagged. 'Neji dearest'? WHAT SORT OF SICKO WAS ROSEFLOWER BECOMING!
"No." Neji sighed. "Let her in. She deserves…to know what happened…"
Something snapped in Nocturne. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MOTHER!" she yelled. "NEJI, WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Mother," Neji said, softly, tears pouring down his face. "Is dead." Nocturne froze, her eyes stunned yet emotionless. What? Mother…was dead? "Nocturne, we buried her next to the woods, her favorite place."
"I know," she whispered. "That's where she found…" She didn't continue. 'That's where she found me…' she thought sadly.
Chapter seventeen
"She died…heartbroken… She lost you and…" Neji lowered his head, his paw resting on the top of Celandine's tombstone. "We shouldn't have banished you. It broke Mother's heart."
Nocturne wasn't listening. The usual scowl on her face was gone. She didn't look angry anymore…not even happy. Just…sad… An emotion she had thought she'd never feel again.
Nocturne traced the letters on the tombstone with her paw and her eyes began to well up with tears. "Mommy…" she chocked out softly, like a little child, before bursting into tears, crying her heart out.
Maui, Mari, Scar and Wolf stood behind her, helplessly watching. Neji was standing beside her, solemn, his eyes refusing to cry anymore. His heart did, though. Everybeast's heart did.
Chapter eighteen
Maui, Mari, Scar and Wolf soon found out that without her mother being alive, Nocturne seemed to not know what to do. She seemed empty without her usual attitude. Even Neji hated to admit that he missed that smug and arrogant personality of hers.
She grasped the sword in her paws, and tried to chop off her neck. She tried. She never got to finish what she started, because her father pinned her down, prying the sword from her paws.
"NOCTURNE, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" he roared. "YOU'LL KILL YOUSELF!"
"I know," she said quietly. "That's what I was trying to do…" A stunned silence. Wolf got off of his daughter, staring at her in disbelief.
"Nocturne," Neji broke the silence, helping his sister up. "Mother would've done anything she thought would have been good for both of us, Nocturne." Neji said sternly. "What would she say if you just killed yourself?"
"Nothing. She'd say nothing. She'd only sigh and hug me. Like she always did when I was being difficult."
"True…" Neji admitted. "That would be her reaction to almost EVERYTHING you did." She said nothing. "Nocturne, you have to eat. I don't care whether you want to commit suicide or not right now, but you're going to eat and get your strength up. No excuses." He said sternly.
Chapter nineteen
She wandered outside the Torquoi tribal grounds and into the woods. She had evaded everybeast for now, but Neji had forced a plate of food in her paws. She had no intention of eating. She didn't want to. But that stupid brother of hers couldn't take the hint. Like everybeast else.
"Nocturne. I want to see that plate empty. No buts."
That was what Wolf had said. Funny how her father was making her angrier and angrier but she had only known him for half-a-season. Even Neji had agreed. Even her friends. Traitors. The lot of them.
It didn't matter really, did it? She was planning on emptying the plate, but she wasn't going to eat anything. Pikey was. She sat down by the river, where she knew the pike that had been there forever lived.
"My friends will not allow me to touch a weapon, Neji refuses to let me kill myself, and mother is dead…" Nocturne said softly. "Here, Pikey, Pikey, Pikey…here, Pikey, Pikey, Pikey…"
The pike in the river swam up to the surface, recognizing her voice. He had always answered to her call when she was younger, so why not now? Besides, their friendship was totally secret. Only they knew.
She dropped the morsels from her plate into the water. "I'm not hungry, Pikey. You can have it all. I'll kill myself or die; one way or another." She said, her grey eyes flashing determinedly. Even Pikey whimpered. He ate all the morsels and sunk slowly back into the water.
Chapter twenty
"Nocturne. You have to hope. Hope is good. It can lift you up to the clouds." Mari tried to comfort her friend.
"Don't want to be lifted up," she muttered. "Because it makes the fall a lot harder."
"Nocturne," Mari sighed. "Just once, please, can you just hope for—" Nocturne clamped a paw over the Ragnarok's mouth.
"Shh!" she hissed. "Snake." And indeed, a snake was there, coiling around them, and around. She reached for her sword, but it wasn't there. Cursing silently at being so forgetful, she was tackled and struck by the snake's fangs. She winced at the pain.
Nocturne grabbed a stone and flung between the serpent's eyes. She grabbed another one, sharper, just in case.
The enraged snake charged towards her. Mari leapt out of the way. Without thinking, Nocturne rolled to one side, coming up kneeling. As the serpent charged past, she drove the stone straight in.
Howling in agony, the serpent tried to bite the stone out but it was lodged in too deep. Mari grabbed Nocturne's paw and yanked her away, hissing at the snake, angrily. The serpent withered under her glare and uncoiled itself from around them and tried to escape.
It died in a few moments. The stone had not only brought pain, it had hit a fatal spot, about the jaw. The stone had gone straight through the jaw, thus ensuring death for its victim.
Chapter twenty-one
"How do you feel now?" Neji asked anxiously. Nocturne was back in the village and her wounds were bound up.
"Like I could throw Roseflower all the way to Hell's Gates." She smirked, testing her arm. Roseflower backed away. "So…how do you disarm enemies with a sword, again, dad?" she asked.
"I'm not giving you a sword, Nocturne." Wolf huffed. "But I'll just tell it to you. You twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your sword so that they drop the weapon. Or, you could just fling the weapon away with your sword after you disarm them so they have no choice but to attack, empty-pawed and weaponless."
"You should go now, Ragnarok. You are no longer welcome in this tribe." Roseflower growled, finally finding the courage to speak again. Maui rolled his eyes.
"This is coming from a Torquoi that lived in the same tribe as a Ragnarok and took no action until 9 seasons later?" he smirked.
"I like your thoughts, brother." Mari smiled venomously.
"Me too." Scar smirked.
"And braccas meas viscimini!" Nocturne hissed.
"Eat…my pants?" Wolf said, raising an eyebrow.
"Shut up, dad." Nocturne scowled at him.
"Oo, I'm sooo scared." He laughed. She lunged at him and pretty soon; the two of them were wrestling on the floor. Neji's face was sad. He wished that he and his sister could fight again. He missed those unpredictable battle strategies of hers.
"Neji dearest?" Roseflower said softly, touching his arm. He shrugged her away. This was no time to be showing affection.
CUT
BREAK TIME
Nocturne: (gagging) 'Neji dearest'? How sick can Roseflower get?
Neji: (grumbling) Hey, it's not my fault she has a crush on me.
Roseflower: (voice is heard) Oh, Neji dearest!
Neji: Must go, BYE! (runs away)
Roseflower: (arriving) Nocturne, have you seen my Neji dearest?
Nocturne: (smirking) Yep.
Roseflower: Where? (looks around)
Nocturne: Running away from you.
BREAK END
AND…ACTION
Chapter twenty-two
It was quiet now. Everybeast was asleep. Good. She stole away the sword that her father had hidden from her and ran. She ran somewhere, far away. Finally, she stopped, breathing heavily. Thrusting the sword blade-first into the earth, only the hilt appeared.
Now, she headed towards the cliff. Why…were her paws trembling? She ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Water splashed against the bottom of the cliff and they were dangerously violent.
She took a deep breath and jumped. Water went into her lungs as she choked. But, she resisted the urge to swim the surface and just sunk. She needed air! No! She would stay. Too late! She ran out of air and struggled to swim back to the surface.
But, she didn't have enough energy to fight against the water currents and she had gone too deep in the water. She died, right then and there.
Epilogue
Backlash awoke, breathing heavily. It…was all a dream. Wait… She felt a scabbard on her back and her blue eyes widened. Nocturne's sword?
'Finally awake, are you?' Nocturne's voice sneered.
'Nocturne, I'm sorry for how I acted against you…now…I'm really, really—'
'Shut your thoughts. I don't want to hear another damn thought. So what if I died? I died, ok? It's over now! Everybeast dies, so don't go crying for every Tom, Hick and Harry in the world! Idiot.'
"Hey, Backlash!" she turned. Streak grinned cheerily at her. "Awake now, are you?"
"Just leave me alone." She heard herself grumble. What? She didn't say that. 'Nocturne!' she thought angrily. 'Stop it!'
"What?"
"Just leave me alone!" she got up and stomped off. 'Nocturne! CUT THAT OUT!'
'Nah. You're too fun to play with. Heheheh…'
Backlash groaned inwardly. How much more of this torture would she have to take? Until she died?
Author's Note: Whoa! 24 chapters in one chapter in total? NEW RECORD! DINGDINGDINGDING! (waves Canadian Flag and throws confetti into the air) Awright!