Beyond the Invisible

[demin]

(( ....harsh <.<....sorry, had to say something >.>))

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna halted sharply in her tracks, she felt her bristles rising. She turned around and faced him, her own tail high in the air, her muzzle slightly crinkled.

" You're only a freak to yourself! There's nothing wrong with you! Only reason you are mad is because you can't accept the fact that I like you for who and what you are and not see anything wrong! Everyone sees you as a freak because you believe you are one already. I was wrong about you... foolish enough to believe that maybe..."

She choked down a sob, her eyes beginning to shimmer more that usual as tears began to pull at her eyes, yet she held them. She turned her face away and began to run away.

[Aveilthé]

The moment he finished speaking, he realized that he was too late.
A pained expression crossed his features as he felt all his legs
buckle beneath him with the weight of guilt pressuring his entire
body.

"I... I didn't mean that...," he stuttered, looking at his front paws
in a mixture of revulsion and scorn at his own unnecessary
behavior. He knew that even now he was lying to her, for he
knew that he meant it, and he felt terribly sorry indeed. It was
like being shot in the heart.

"Yuna," he said gently, gingerly attempting to piece
back their friendship; "It isn't about me... I should have realized
that... please, don't go, I do enjoy your company, and honestly
I am thrilled that you enjoy mine also. My outburst was stupid...
I'm... I'm sorry." He tried to move, but the shock of even his own
stupidity forced him rooted to the spot. A picture blossomed in
his mind, one of which he visualized himself running wildly up
to Yuna and making her stop so that he could embrace her.
It was too late. Would she leave him? Tenebrous had once
thought of entering Shinkou Ookami and completing their
journey together. He couldn't finish the journey now, at least
not without Yuna.

Because of him, he lost the one thing that mattered to him most
more than anybody. She offered him friendship, and he should
have seen that. It didn't matter if he loved her or not - she
befriended him!

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna closed her eyes and ran faster, her heart burning. She heard his words of apology, but was too hurt to turn around. She raced out of the mountains and into Shinkou blindly, oblivious to the lands and dangers around her.

Meanwhile A large beige figure lay in the tall grass waiting, her 600 lb body hidden under the tall yellow grass. Her coat was dappled with spots, her ears round and short that gave way to large golden yellow eyes, and a mouth in which two dagger-like teeth rested. Her hungry eyes caught the fleeing Wolfess, her light build ensured an easy prey item. All she need do was intercept her, which would be easy. Afeena moved directly into Yuna's path, hiding in the grass still as the wolfess came ever closer. So close that with just one...

A loud, sudden yelp broke the silence of the plains, and after it ended abruptly, an eerie silence flooded the grasslands.

[Aveilthé]

"Damn it, Ten!" he cursed himself, clawing at his own head to feel
the rage that was burning in his heart. Regaining his self-control,
he looked up to find that Yuna was long gone. This caused
something ugly to stir uncomfortably in his stomach, like an invisible
fist punching him continuously there.

"Yuna," he cried, his throat burning with hot tears. "Yuna!"
He shouted her name several times, frantically searching for her
scent on the ground. She left so abruptly, that her scent hardly
lingered.

The labyrinthine rocks and boulders blinded him into a frenzied
panic. Losing a friend tore him into pieces. A friend that he knew
he loved, regardless of how long he knew her.

As various thoughts swirled in his weary head of Yuna's angry
face, a harsh, stomach-clenching yelp was issued ahead. As his
brain was registering the noise, a red flag began waving as he
realized that it was none other than Yuna's own voice.

Releasing an alarmed cry, he raced headstrong down the sloping
mountain, leaping over large boulders with all the strength he
could muster. It was as if his very paws sprouted large wings.
Like a spring, he was; his flight down the mountain was smooth
and flawless. In no time at all, he reached the blissful bottom,
only taking one grand leap from another promontory before
landing easily on the soft, grassy surface. His paws were
sighing with delight upon feeling the grass. It had been days since
they whisked through something soft. Alas, there was no time
for pleasantries.

"Yuna!" he shouted angrilly, saliva dripping rhythmically from his
opened mouth. His eyes searched the open plain, but it was
difficult to see. The tall grass whipped his face. To his horror,
there was complete silence. His heart dropped to his stomach
as he thought of her wellbeing. The only sound was the noise of
legs tearing through lush grass, and his ragged breath shortening.
His ears were erect, listening for any noise. Nostrils were wide
and flared, much like a horse, so that he could perhaps find
Yuna with his nose. He simply had to find her. He would forever
be enveloped in darkness if he found out something terrible
occurred to her wellbeing.

[Eternal-Moon]

Afeena rose, her form towering over the grass. There stood a huge smilodon, her steel canines shining in the suns rays. Her ears perked to the cries of the frustrated male. She growled at him and proceeded to bite into Yuna, but hissed and pulled her head back, her eyes fixed on Yuna, her expression surprised.

Yuna lay under the massive bear paw of the feline beast, her figure limp and sprawled out on the floor. Her legs were spread out, her body littered with dirt, and her mane moving slowly in the wind, a pair of feathers tied to a portion of her mane. She made no movements and no sounds, her body seemed lifeless.

[Aveilthé]

An ominous scent in the air forced Tenebrous's many fine hairs
along his hackles to stand on end. Though he wasn't able to trace
the scent exactly, he could tell that the source was definitely
not up to any good.

Suddenly, through the tall grass, Tenebrous saw a towering
creature. The ominous scent emitted from it. It was a smilodon.

"Excuse me," he called, galloping towards it. "I'm looking for
someone... have you--"

As he approached closer, he spotted a wolf lying at the smilodon's
paws. Registering what was unfolding before him, Tenebrous
ejected a despairing cry once he skidded to a halt. "YUNA!" he
shouted. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Believing Yuna to be
dead, he thoughtlessly leaped at full speed at the smilodon.

"YOU KILLED HER! I'LL KILL YOU!"

It was very, very rare for the maned-dire wolf to be this brave.
Amazing how under certain circumstances, even the most whimpy
bring out the best of themselves.

[Eternal-Moon]

Afenna roared at Tenebrous, her eyes fixed on him. She swatted a warning swipe at him, not aiming to hit him.

"She's not dead you fool! I would never kill a Shaman Dog! All animals are forbidden to kill them, or shall grave consequences fall upon them..."

Afeena nudged Yuna's head lightly, trying to awaken her.

"These feathers are the mark of the shaman, it is how they mark them."

Affena nudged her again, and Yuna stirred slightly.

[Aveilthé]

Out of nowhere, a paw had successfully swiped at him, hitting
him clearly across the muzzle. A sharp yelp issued from his lips
as he backed away, rubbing his nose with his paw. He growled
deeply. "How do I know I can trust you?" he retorted, watching the
large cat nudge the stirring Yuna. Tenebrous shuddered as his
heart began to race.

"Yuna, oh goodness Yuna, are you alright?" He crawled onto his
belly and inched towards her, whimpering. A glare flashed in his
eyes as he looked up at the smilodon. "If you harm her, I'll be the
consequence of your demise, cat."

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna slowly came to, everything distorted and hazy. She shook her head softly, hearing Tenebrous voice in the distance.

"Ugh......Tenebrous?"

She looked at him, his head much like a big ball of fuzz.

Once she could see again, she turned her eyes to the smilodon, her gaze curious.

"Oh....hi, I'm Yuna, who are you?"

Afeena bowed her head low, her ears pressed back.

"My apologies, I did not mean to harm you. I did not know you were a Spirit Dog, had I known I would not have even attempted Yuna..."

She leered Tenebrous while bowing her head, flashing him a quick cold glare.

"I'd tear you apart before you'd get the chance to...."

She growled the remark under her breath.

[Aveilthé]

Tenebrous's muzzle wrinkled in response. "You should toss out more
of your funny remarks; that's all they're good for," said he, showing
his ivory fangs. He kept an eye on Afeena as he trotted over to
help Yuna. "Can you stand? Oh Yuna... Yuna, I am so sorry for
everything I have said to you. Come, let us be away. Disregard that
fat feline." Preparing to walk away, his ears tilted back as he heard
Yuna speak to the smilodon.

Annoyance and jealousy filled his heart as he turned around
with great difficulty and defiance. Tenebrous was this way simply
because Yuna was giving all her attention to Afeena.

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna sat up, her tail wagging slightly as Afeena spoke to her. Her expression stilled slightly as Afeena apologized, she then threw on that trademark smile.

"Oh, It's alright, It's not the first time thats happened, you are forgiven, please take care."

She got up and trotted towards Tenebrous and her expression grew serious.

Afeena bowed her head as a curtsy, and got up and proceeded to walk away.

"The gods favor you today mongrel..."

She then turned her head and walked away.

[Aveilthé]

The dark maned-dire wolf watched impassively as the smilodon
walked away, wishing them farewell albeit giving him a dire
good-bye. Shivering some, he turned his head to the horizon,
heaving a huge sigh. He realized that Yuna hadn't spoken, thus
he decided to break the cold silence.

"I thought you were dead," he said softly, not looking at Yuna.
Perhaps it could be difficult to tell the expression in Tenebrous's
voice, but perhaps one might assume that his voice was full
of guilt. He did not want to tell Yuna that he practically flew down
to her rescue; perhaps she knew that already. Holding his breath,
he'd wait for Yuna's response. He wanted to know her reaction
to anything before telling her that he was prepared to kill that
large feline because he thought it had murdered her.

[Eternal-Moon]

Yuna stood silent, her eyes trailing away from him. Obviously she was still somewhat upset, but once again, it clashed with her natural friendly demeanor.

"I'd certainly die of natural causes, not off another animal..."

She felt uncomfortable in the thick-aired atmosphere enveloping them, she felt as if she'd suffocate.

".....So this is Shinkou?...Not bad...seems almost as nice as you described it..."

She couldn't look at him still, then she felt something stirring in her gut as her stomach grumbled out of hunger. Her ears went back in slight embarrassment.

[Aveilthé]

Tenebrous was silent himself for a while, pondering the events
that had since unfolded since their journey down this morning.
Finally, he spoke, this time looking upon her. "I admit I was scared
and frightened when you left," said he. "When I heard you scream...
I felt like I was about to die myself. So I raced down that mountain...
without falling. And then, I saw that smilodon. At first I didn't know
you were at its paws, but as I came closer, I saw you... I thought
you were dead." He paused for a time. "I was prepared to fight
that smilodon to the death for you."

Once he said this, he felt a little better, but noticed that Yuna was
still upset. The cold air quickly diminished once he heard her
tummy rumble. He wanted to laugh, but he held it.

"Still hungry?" said he, lofting a brow at her. "My my, you've got
a bottomless pit. Don't worry, wait here. I smell a family of
rabbits that will perhaps satiate you."

As he prepared to trot closer into the field of tall grass to hunt once
more, he heard her speak of Shinkou Ookami and how nice it was.

"There's someone who is tons more becomming than this territory,"
he responded softly. With these words, he suddenly harrumphed
gruffly as he heard the pattering noise of a large hare racing
away from him. He did not realize it, but a tan hare
was grazing very close to him, but was too unnerved by being
close to a predator and had promptly decided to flee.

"Be right back!" he shouted frantically, then instantly gave
chase to the hare all over the field.