Beyond the Invisible

[Aveilthé]

"AAGH!" came an echoing cry through the mountain's side. Tenebrous
had slipped and slid while fastidiously leaping down a very
perilous slope, but was doing so clumsily. The small bits of smooth
rock did not help him at all. His paws were digging into earth that
was hardly there, so that all he scraped was pebble and stone.

"Blasted rock!" he shouted, knowing well that nobody could hear
him but himself as he swore profusely. There was not a soul in
sight. Besides, a bunch of giant boulders blocked his way. It was a
tedious job climbing over them. Not to mention, he was desirous
for any tasty morsel his many paws could grab.

Tenebrous was an odd creature. A hybrid of a maned-wolf and
dire, he was large, with a bulky and broad dire-wolf's face. However,
his appearance was strange and peculiar, strikingly different than
the rest of the wolves. Perhaps an individual would call him special.
He possessed six legs. Four fore-legs helped keep his physique
standing tall, whilst his hindlegs looked normal. An uncanny
maned-wolf ancestral hair ridge stood erected from his head down
to the base of his neck. His entire body was as black as shadow.
So black, in fact, that in the light his fur looked navy blue.

His eyes were perhaps another peculiar thing set upon him next
to his bizarre six legs. A steely silver color glowed like hot metal
on those organs of sight. On one of his eyes, however, a sliver
of hazy blue seared like an immobile shooting star just above
his pupil.

After moments of climbing over and trudging around grayish-white
rock, Tenebrous sighed dolefully. "If only to fly," he muttered,
looking up at the sky. "If only my extra legs were born with wings
along with me. And that they'd be large enough to lift me into the
air... and I wouldn't have any more problems with climbing down
a mountain like a foolish, crippled..."

He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he let his bushy dark tail
droop sadly. The sky above looked dark and menacing, like the
very hairs on the wolf's body, and he was sure that it would rain
soon because he could smell the humidity in the air.

[Eternal-Moon]

A fuzzy figure scrambled up the side of a large white boulder, long ears held back as a young female maned wolf tried to climb upwards. Her long legs were a soft orange at the shoulders, but slipped into a dip of black at the middle of her forelegs and hinds, all the way down to her toes. Her tail was even sized, and very bushy, colored from head to tail with a soft orange. Her eyes, were a rich gold color, that shone with irritation as she struggled. She was trying to climb the mountain for a better view of the landscape, having no real idea where she was. Her long mane rippled in the strong gust of wind as it passed her, all the while trying to haul her frame over the boulder.
"Ugh, I hate this stupid rock!!! Why cant it be a little more rugged, why is it so darn smooth?! I feel like a duck trying to climb a tree!!!"
She growled in irritation, her claws starting to hurt from all the scratching on the rock, which was wearing them down. She knew no one was here, and that her complaints were meaningless, but she felt better to shout something out to vent her annoyance.

[Aveilthé]

Not too far off, a femenine voice rang out into the rather chilled
air. The voice abruptly caught Tenebrous's attention. Halting, he lifted
his head; his short, fuzzy ears swiveling forward; leathery black
nostrils dillating curiously.

He then heard an exhasperated cry of how terrible the rocks were.
Tenebrous chuckled to himself, for he felt exactly the same way. But why
was this wolf journeying through the mountains at all? Surely this
creature was not just another new member to Shinkou Ookami?
Regardless, he carefully stepped forward, but he couldn't see
a soul in front of him as there were too many boulders blocking
his view.

"Careful, there," he called out loud enough so that he could
be heard to the other mountain-climber. "Though these rocks are
smooth, some have sharp edges. They're bad enough to cut
your paws to pieces. One of my paws have already been cut, it's
a bit swollen... at least there are smooth ones that won't cut, but
the smooth ones will slide beneath you... so be careful..." He
paused, thinking. "I'll try and come 'round to help ya, just wait
there and we can help eachother... Are you climbing up or down?"

With a ton of effort involved, Tenebrous ambled slowly towards the
direction of the other that was apparently making as much noise as
he had earlier.

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna's large ears perked at the voice of the male, she wondered who and what he was, and why he was here. She thought no one else was here...

"Uhh....I don't believe I thought that others would be here!...I-I was just trying to get up to see the land!...I, uh!....I'm kinda lost!..."

She yelled it upwards to the male, hoping he would hear, she continued to try to climb up the boulder, using her forelegs to try to haul herself up.
Her mouth opened as she began to pant, growing tired from struggling. Her ribs rising and falling abruptly, she halted momentarily to catch her breath before attempting again. She then grunted and tried to haul herself up again and one of her back legs slipped, and the rest of her body slipped with it.
She screamed as she slipped off, landing a short ways under the rock as dust and debris clouded the spot where she landed.
She grunted and hacked on the debris, too exhausted to move at the moment.

[Aveilthé]

Patiently, Tenebrous sidled until he found his way over the rubble
of rock. For the first time, he gazed upon the wolf, but his stomach
felt like it had dropped like a heavy stone in water as the wolf slide
and fell on the large pebbles. He understood at that moment that
she had attempted to leap onto a steady large boulder.

"Aww, geez!" he cried, leaping from that very boulder she had tried
to jump on, bounding automatically towards the fallen wolf. He was
gritting his teeth, for he was terribly frightened that the fall might
have hurt her badly.

With great care yet unavoidable clumsiness, the six-legged wolf
took a few steps where she was lying and spoke roughly. "Good
grief, next time don't try to leap on that rock, it's too dangerous,"
he shouted, slightly vexed by the wolf's ingeniusness. He tried
to help her back up, only if she'd allow it.

"You're going up? What on earth for?" he growled, but it was not
a threat. He was looking up to see the perilous path the she-wolf
was attempting to make. Oh, how horrible it would have been if
he would have been unfortunate enough to witness the she-wolf's
fall of death.

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna hacked again, and slowly rose with the males help, she shook all the dust off her fur and sat down. Her gold eyes met his and widened in curiosity and interest.

"Thanks...but, I was trying to get to higher ground to see where I am, I have no idea what this place is... I just wanna get out of here, but I don't know how to...Thats why I was going up, rather than down..."

She got up and shook again, her long mane flowing in every direction, showing a black rust on the back of her neck and shoulders. She then licked her lips and settled on her haunches again, she then thoughtfully roamed over his frame with her golden eyes.

"So...What brings YOU here? If I may ask...uh...What's your name? Mine is Yuna..."

She smiled a cheery smile, feeling somewhat relieved to be in another's company.

[Aveilthé]

Tenebrous sighed, pleased to see that the she-wolf was unharmed.
"I see...," he replied wearisomely. "No point in doing that, the slope
is too dangerous. I've only just climbed to the top and tried to climb
back down. If only there was a way to journey around the mountains!
But I've tried looking for a way. There are no ways around; it seems
like the land abroad is barricaded with mountains. Well... follow
me... I'll take us down."

He ceased speaking for a small moment of silence while considering
the she-wolf named Yuna. "The name's Tenebrous. I'm here
because I know there is a land beyond this mountain that will
welcome the two of us. And I know precisely where you're at.
You're about to enter Shinkou Ookami."

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna tilted her head at the thought of his name Tenebrous. Seemed fitting to such a large...uhh....thing..
What exactly was he? She wondered for a moment, then shook the thought off her mind, feeling it was better to ask later.

"Shinkou Ookami? Sounds nice...So, there's something beyond this mountain? I wonder what it is, must really be a sight to behold I'll bet. It's been so hard living around here, hardly no game, and wolves really don't take nicely to my kind... More competition I bet, cause I'll out match those clumsy wolves any old day...hah.."

She gingerly trotted behind him, full of spunk and confidence. Her slender frame effortlessly bouncing behind his. She then trotted to his side and looked to him, her gold eyes full of curiosity.

"So, eh... you know any good places to hunt around here? I'm starving, haven't had a bite in days... i could sure go for some good meat, but I'm afraid I'm much too light to bring down anything large..."

She laughed softly and trotted a little ways ahead of him, sniffing the rocks and rubble for signs of anything.

[Aveilthé]

"Once we get down this mountain," Tenebrous replied calmly,
"then perhaps we could snatch a meal from the lands... that is,
if the family doesn't reject us. But... I've only heard of this place, and
I do not know much of what it looks like, but I've heard it is the
richest land, spanning for thousands of miles with giant, ancient
forests and rolling hills with red poppies. Yeah. Sounds like paradise."

Tenebrous normally felt conscious about his six legs. Usually, others
either sneered, jeered, or shunned him because of his extra
pair of fore-legs. Yuna seemed unaware of them, or perhaps she
was aware, but too embarassed to say anything? He pushed
those thoughts away; he felt uncomfortable thinking about such
a thing. As long as she didn't make a snide remark... albeit he was
used to insults being thrown at him.

He took only fragments of what Yuna was saying to him, but it was
not intentional that he ignored her, as his mind was full of the
aforementioned dark thoughts. But he nodded blithely in response,
smiling; "there will be no game here, except for the occasional
goats that roam the mountain. Best not to get in their way, though.
They've got horns from hell. Trust me, I've ran into one on my way
up the mountain way back there." He gestered behind him.
"I ran away. I don't like to fight if I can't help it..."

Pausing once more, he added quietly, "You alright after that fall?"

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna halted and stared at him, her eyes glowed thoughtfully.

"I guess I'm alright...I mean, it hurts a little, but nothing I can't handle."
She studied his figure again, and an admirable smile touched her face.
"Wow, you really are something, I wish I could be like you, you look so cool, heh... Like a guardian beast straight out a myth, how awesome. You must be super strong, and super mean in combat too. I mean, even if you don't like to fight, I doubt others would want to fight you! But I'm not scared of you, In fact I like it."

She smiled again and wagged her tail slightly. Turning her head she sniffed the air, taking in all the new smells.

"Goats from hell huh? Sounds vicious, I doubt I'd stand a chance, but I'll bet I can outrun them. I haven't met a single animal thats faster than ME."

She struck a proud pose, trying to look cool, she then hopped around and came to a halt, her shoulder feeling a bit sore now. She then stared at him, and threw a big smile.

[Aveilthé]

Tenebrous felt his face becomming red, if that was at all possible with
wolf behaviour. "Please... I'm not strong at all. That is why I avoid
conflict... I guess you could say I'm passive... but... I've never had
any real combat training..." He didn't look at Yuna as he said this.
Never was Tenebrous the kind of wolf that would hide secrets; he
had nothing to hide, let alone lie; but he couldn't look at her, afraid
that he'd see dissapointment etched in her eyes.

"For one, I can't fly. You have no idea how badly I dreamt of
my extra legs transforming into wings so that I could fly me over
the mountain. This rugged terrain is ridiculous. Secondly...
I was born with six legs, so... walking is difficult. Especially over
the rocks." He then mulled over what Yuna said about escaping
goats easily. "If you're going to escape goats on a mountain, then
I'd hope you were trained to be an excellent climber," said he,
meaning his words to be playful. "Their horns'll knock you straight
to the moon."

Ambling over a particularly funky-looking boulder, Tenebrous
grunted as he halted. "I'm sorry Yuna... I understand you are
hurt. Lets rest for a moment."

The dark clouds, which had so threatened the earth beneath them
to soak their rain upon them, all ready started spitting small
bits of drops. Tenebrous felt a drop land on his ear, thus flicking it
away in a reflexive manner as if it was nothing more than a bee.
"Oh, great, just what we need... it's going to pour down on us
soon, Yuna."

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna laughed heartily at his remarks, amused at his pure honesty.

"Please Tenebrous, who needs wings? The feeling of the warm soil beneath your feet, the caress of the grass when you walk through it, and the wind that races through your fur, thats the best feeling in the world. To feel WILD, free, and alive, you can feel that anywhere."

She winked at Tenebrous, and a smile touched her face.
"You may not be able to fly in body, but you sure can fly in heart, no doubt about that. It doesn't matter if you got wings or legs, or even fins or gills, we all share this world. The same land, the same air, and the same sky. We may have different features that define us, but we are all pretty much the same. Besides, you look better with legs."

She giggled at the thought, she then felt the oncoming rain. She shook herself and searched around, she spotted a crevice in some rocks that looked just right for them. She jumped at the thought.

"Hey, Tenebrous, over there, looks as if we can squeeze in there till the rain passes, come on."

She trotted over to the mouth and awaited him to follow.

[Aveilthé]

Tenebrous followed Yuna's gaze towards the crevice in the
mountain. "S'pose that will do...," he responded fastidiously,
following behind the maned-wolf to the crack opening.

The rain had steadily augmented. Thick, fat drops were splattering
onto the ground, and Tenebrous's dark coat. He grumpily shook
out his fur, but to no avail.

In all the while, he thought of how Yuna said that he looked
better with his legs. 'Well that's a first,' he thought dryly,
grinning in spite of himself as he prepared to enter the fissure.

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna waited for him to enter and she then went in after him, shaking the water from her body and sitting next to him. She was glad it was dry inside, she hated having to pick mud from her paws. She shivered slightly, her wet fur making her cold, and the cold air, not very helpful either. She then looked outside to the land as the the rain cloaked the ground, the image was somewhat peaceful she thought. She shook herself again, hoping to shake the chills.

"Glad to have spotted this hole, would hate to get wet here...Not like its cold enough already...Heh...Well, anyways, how you faring so far Tenebrous? You seem kinda quiet..."

Her gold gaze went back to him, and settled, waiting for a reply.

[Aveilthé]

The maned-dire wolf didn't reply for the moment, but he did cast
a peculiar gaze on the she-wolf as they sat together inside of the
fissure. He didn't want to admit how embarassed he felt at the
momenet, for reasons only known to himself, but perhaps an
individual could guess easily by the meek expression he portrayed
along his features.

Tenebrous was, most of the time, a shy fellow. Being a small fissure
next to a stranger, instead of out in the open, made him feel
bashful and apprehensive, regardless of helping her only moments
ago. That was a diffferent matter; Tenebrous was always willing
to help a fellow wolf.

"It's nothing," he said quickly, looking away. "The rain is multi-
plying like bunnies, though." A short pause. "Yep. Lucky this
crevice was here, or we'd be doomed. Thanks for uh..." Another
pause. "Thanks for finding this place," he finished lamely, wishing
he had something more interesting to say.