FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 16

They walked steadily across the halls and corridors, looking for their goal, determination from their earlier conversation boiling in their veins. It was good to feel purpose, to know what you came here to do, having a mission in a completely ominous environment is impossibly relaxing for sanity.

You didn't think about the surrounding dangers, the intimidating atmosphere, basically avoided succumbing to despair, practically presenting yourself to the fate the Unknown had weaved for you.

Nobody liked facing dangerous, life threatening situations, especially if they could not be reasonably explained.

Determination meant setting your mind on something, blocking your thoughts from wandering in unpleasant territory of thinking about horrors and consequences, determination meant focus.

Focus in a place ruled by Fear was what both of them needed right now.

Having a strict goal however had also its downsides, one such big disadvantage was called planning, being extremely disastrous in situations where you had more questions running through your skull than answers.

And they were hanging on the border of a disaster, the goal they set for themselves was noble and really motivating, both of them lacking any hesitation, certain that this is what they have to be doing. However this entire pursuit wasn't as beautiful as a heroic soul would wish.

One question boggled their minds, rattling inside the skull, echoing with the sound of hundreds of beating bee wings in a hive.

How are they going to do it?

The possibility of meeting the Guardians confused, probably aggressive wasn't as scary as the fact that they approached one of the most important living dragons without any clue on how to actually cure them.

How did they manage to free themselves from the clutches of Fear?

How did he do it?

Hunter extended his hands in front of him, blue eyes looking down at the opened feline palms as if expecting them to hold all the answers as if they would be some sorts of ancient tablets covered with writing he just now began to understand.

Sadly there was no text to be found there.

Only wounded hands.

Hands that carried almost the same amount of blood and wounds like in the day when he traveled through Dante's Freezer and found Danox. Ears flattened on the skull at the depressing comparison, Warfang should never be known for blood and wounds, after the war with Malefor disasters like this should be things of the past.

Warfang should be the paradise od safety it was meant to be.

Wrinkles appeared on his forehead, eyes squinted as they focused on the opened palms more intently, spotting the flickering frame of his head on one of the hands, the other surprisingly was empty.

What else did he bring besides blood with him to these walls?

His sight shifted to the hand that seemed to discard blame and guilt, sharp, feline eyes dug into the palm, running over it fervently. Fur, flesh, cuts, spots where naked skin pulsed, a hand of a warrior. Blue eyes rose up, trailing the fingers, from the pinky to the thumb.

Besides small cuts, his fingers were relatively fine, all of them expect one, the thumb. Fur was seared on it, showing no mercy to sensitive skin underneath, skin that was red like a recently scratched itch and in some places even scorched, dots as black as the ringlets on his fur.

Speaking of fur, his eyes grew at the sight of its ruined state, especially at the sight of the burn marks, he heard about traction irritations, especially visible after holding the rough wood of a bow for too long, but reaching this kind of state was impossible, no matter how tight one's grip could be.

There was also nothing around him hot enough to cause such damage, yet some of those marks weren't fresh as if there would be a tiny torch irritating his hands with its flame for a while now.

How come he never noticed it before?

Was there really so much stress that he failed to notice the obvious deviations from normality?

It never happened to him before.

Not when he became a scout, as a scout you are not allowed to ignore even the tiniest change, a little rustle there, or a barely audible thump, while it might have been only the wind knocking something over, there was always a risk that a predator's claw has slipped. You simply couldn't ignore swings from the norm, it was always a matter of life and death.

He ignored the scorch marks though.

A change like that could only escape his sensitive perception when he knew that what he just encountered was familiar and friendly.

What can be friendly in unexplained burn marks?

If you would only judge the wounds then the answer was clear, but if you put into consideration also what exactly caused these injuries then it all changes.

At least in his case.

The marks were drawing black lines on his palm in a circular fashion, exactly like the size of the symbol he was wearing.

Young feminine fur.

He reached for the medallion, unhatched it from his coat and gazed upon it with his even wider eyes, lying it softly on his palm like you would your tired wife on the bed sheets. The edges of the medallion perfectly matched the form of the burns.

"Hope?" he mumbled, his voice a muffled whisper as if he would be choking, closing on the border of bursting into tears

The yin-yang stared back at him with its unmoving surface, like usually and yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that he felt eyes looking back at him from the two dots.

A pair of young, lively eyes of a young, flirty cheetah girl with raven hair and a beautiful tiara on her head.

"Hope?" he mumbled once more, this time however his tone wasn't a whisper of shock to a deity of Fate beyond anyone's control, this time his tone carried the power of attention, this time he was calling a name and expecting a response

There was none, nevertheless he simply knew that she heard him.

"What have you done?" the words that came out of his mouth weren't filled with surprise or blame,, voice as normal as can be, like that of an narrator

The colors of the medallion faded and blurred, thoughts being thrown down the memory lane. In between the shifting colors he could see scenery being formed, indistinct like a mist. He was back in the village, crushing the floor of his house underneath the boots, hand extended forward, greeted by another moment's later, a feminine, soft one that placed a familiar yin-yang symbol upon it.

For a brief second the whole image pulsed like a restarting heart, a powerful sense of clarity washed over him, the surface of the medallion pleasant, breathing, smelling of young fur and-

And warm.

Warm with her touch.

He blinked.

Reality returned to him, eyes remaining stuck on the symbol, symbol that suddenly became far more heavy, not as a burden, but a charm. For the first time in his life he sensed it having power, real power instead of a symbolic one.

This was no accident, the loss of the symbol was intentional, she took it away from him and held it for much longer than a fair gesture of giving back to the owner what you found would take. She held to it for a purpose.

What have you done?

He gulped.

Isn't this dilemma enough of an answer?

Many people in this city were stripped of such an option.

He licked his suddenly dry lips.

She charmed the medallion, somehow made it capable of withstanding Darkness, but then again she was a cheetah, a young one in fact, she could not know much about the surrounding world and its rules. That and as a feline she was incapable of wielding any sort of magic, even the tiniest spark.

But something changed after that meeting, didn't it Hunter?

He ran his wounded thumb over the surface of the symbol, delicately grazing it over as if he would be touching the hair of someone dear to him. It was warm and cooling at the same time.

He never wielded any sorts of elemental powers, yet his fascination with dragons made him aware when magic was present, and this medallion was something more than just a lucky charm.

It was truly magical.

Who are you Hope?

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cloudas hissed, eyes fixed on him intently "I mean, this is not the first time you catch a freeze like this"

"Come closer Cloudas" he mumbled, placing a hand below the one on which the symbol lied, adding additional support as if expecting it to get heavy very soon

"Huh?"

He turned, directing the extended hands towards the wind dragon, eyes remaining locked on the palm.

"Come"

A single draconic brow raised in surprise, green eyes jumping between the hands and face of the feline. Frown of distress deepening the wrinkles on the forehead.

"You want to feed me or something? I'm not a chicken"

"I need you to take a look" he approached the drake, extending his arms a bit farther so his hands hang directly below the snout

Reluctantly Cloudas looked down, the frown giving away his bewilderment now completely.

"What is it?"

"A gift passed onto me. A symbol of hope"

"Okay, cool" draconic snout titled up, green eyes shone with nervousness and irritation as they gazed upon the face of the cat "And?"

"Do you sense anything special about it? As a dragon, creature born from magic, you possess traits I don't. Your perception is more advanced than mine"

"Have you slept when I was saying that I have some quiet days with my elemental powers?"

Hunter shook his head, discarding the protests and illogical thoughts about the request.

"Just examine it please"

Despite his hesitation Cloudas did what he was asked to do, spotting nothing out of the ordinary about the medallion, a jewelry like any other.

"I see nothing" he sighed, pulling at the chain around his neck, presenting his attached toy star to the cheetah "Look, it's pointless, this is just random stuff, like my necklace here. It's only material, nothing else, a toy, I feel something towards it because it reminds me of something, but there is no power of it, only sentiments. Same thing with that thing in your hand" he let go off the chain, it smacked against his chest, giving a cue for the rumble of irritation to leave his throat in form of a muffled snarl

"I can't believe I have to explain such things to you. It's making me worried, are you sure you're up to the task? We are going after some Guardians, don't know who these guys are, but they sound serious, we need your head back in the game"

"I have never left it" he clenched his fingers around the memento, veins pulsed on his wrist when the pleasant warmth from the medallion spread inside his palm

"I believe I have discovered the reason for my immunity"

Cloudas' feathers stood on end, eyes widening in joyful surprise.

"Really? What is it?"

Hunter pressed the clenched fist against his heart.

"Hope"

In an instant the bristled feathers titled down as if they were cut like trees, the joyful expression evaporating like steam from a pot, opening the door to sourness.

The more time he spent with the hunter, the more he believed that he was delusional. What's worst he began to think that getting outside was less suicidal than sticking with the feline.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that" he intoned coldly

Hunter opened his palm, once more showing the yin-yang to the feline.

"I speak the truth, this is-"

"Whatever" the dragon thrust his paw in the air, silencing the cheetah "I don't want to hear it, if you think it's going to work, cool, better than nothing I guess. But don't explain why you feel like it, I rather hold on to the last strands of personal determination than listen to motivation. Speeches can ruin the morale too you know? Insane even more so, no offense"

Hunter opened his mouth, ready to defend his arguments, but in the end deciding that speaking out loud was not worth it, the echo of his own words finally reaching his consciousness and he couldn't deny the fact that he sounded rather insane, especially in a place like this.

By the Ancestors.

He might even really be loosing his mind here, attaching and treating the amulet he wore for years as some special warding charm? Blessed by some unknown girl in the village, believing all of it to be true no less? Insanity written with bold letters right here, no one in his sane mind would accept such a thing, he couldn't blame Cloudas for having second thoughts.

He should be dropping this idea, every sign in the world was pointing to a conclusion like that, and yet he couldn't force himself to simply leave the symbol somewhere on the ground.

Insanity, false hope, or just wishful thinking, did it really matter in a place like this? They are surrounded by the unexplainable and truth be told there is only one way to find out what is really true here.

They need to find the Guardians.

If they really manage to open their eyes, then everything will become clear and if his thoughts about the medallion being magical turn out to be true, then Hope will have a lot of explaining to do.

Who would believe that life after the end of Malefor's terror would become so complicated.

A groan moaned from the inside of one of the rooms, sounding like a scratch of a creaking door.

Feathers and fur bristled at the noise, the ominous atmosphere of this place still strongly holding clutch over their consciousness, despite the determination boiling in their blood. No amount of motivation will help if they wind up dead after all.

"Did you hear that?" Cloudas hissed through clenched teeth, bending on his legs, belly scales petting the ground below as he instinctively made himself as small as possible

Hunter silently shifted his body towards the nearby wall, sliding along it as he moved slowly forward, one hand raises in the air, signaling for the drake to remain in place. He held his breath, placing his foot right next to each other, making tiny and entirely silent steps.

Of all the floors in the world, it was easiest to move undetected in buildings.

Something rustled, a delicate, barely audible bump could be sensed from behind the wall he was hugging as if someone would just throw a pile of wet clothes at it.

The hand that touched the wall fell inside slightly, fingers trailing a more rougher surface, with engravings and rather unsteady shape.

Door.

The hand that held the dragon in place gave him permission to move, making slow pumping motions in the air, giving away calming signals.

He could easily read from Cloudas' eyes and stiff movement that he was regretting that he opened his mouth and let all those ideas to be heard. While wilderness raised his resistance to random, unknown noises that could stir fear in any heart, he still felt the presence of intimidation and dread knocking at the barricade experience constructed in his soul.

Despite everything Cloudas held his heart in check, seems like he meant it when he said that consorting with demons empowered his psyche.

Hunter nodded, hand wrapping itself around the handle, eyes locked on the drake who kept staring at his hand as if it would wither soon.

He gently cleared his throat.

The wind dragon's head snapped up, big shining eyes meeting his stare, he heard the drake gulping, even saw the bulge of saliva moving down and stretching the scaly throat.

He repeated the gesture, giving another nod.

Cloudas didn't react instantly, keeping his eyes locked on him for a few seconds in total silence, the drake even seemed to stop breathing for a while.

He finally nodded after this short pause.

He put pressure onto the handle, the door opened easily, despite their size, due to this darkness he could even see how high they went, but they stretched far higher than his ears. If not for the stress he would praise once more the mole's ingenuity.

You don't need magic to create wonders. Creativity sometimes is all what it takes.

Something shook in the doorstep, sliding down from the ceiling like a huge spider.

Cloudas yelped, silencing the rest of the scream by smacking a paw against the mouth.

Hunter jumped backwards, hand automatically unsheathing the dagger from the belt, fingers preparing it for a battle in a matter of seconds.

Eyes perked in attention.

Eyes squinting on the presence in the doorstep.

Only to notice that it was a paper bird hanging on a long string.

The artificial avian floated in the air, delicately swaying back and forth.

"The fuck?" Cloudas mumbled through the spaces between his toes

Hunter carefully returned to the position near the door, keeping his back pressed against the wall and forcing the ears to lie down on the skull he craned his neck ever so slightly, just enough to be able to glance into the room with one eye.

Darkness.

There wasn't even a tiniest light lit in the room, the only source of illumination was the light coming from the corridor they were in, it was weak however, just barely reaching past the doorstep. The illumination however allowed him to catch some shadows, shadows of many more paper animals hanging from the ceiling. Just like the bird they were rocking gently in the air like soundless bells.

The unusual sight was enough to tell that whoever is inside is struggling with the magical pressure of this force ruling over Warfang.

"You said this are the Guardian's Quarters" the wind drake whispered "This rooms looks like it's for kids, close to the door and let's start with a more brighter one"

"Reinforcement do not receive the privilege of choice" the cheetah ended the conversation, popping the entire shape of his head from the cover, trying to spot something else in the shades of the room

The dangling artificial animals were too distracting however, the swaying motions of the paper wildlife successfully fooled the eyes. There could be no one there, as well as a whole barrack of soldiers.

"Shit" Hunter hissed, returning back to his original position, letting out a deep breath when his back touched the wall

"No one is jumping on us" Cloudas swallowed hard, eyes focused on the dark room ahead "So I guess it's empty?"

"Stalking and trap setting is a part of the art of hunting"

"Then screw this room, let's leave it and continue forward"

Hunter sighed deeply, pressing the back of his head against the cold wall.

"Leaving a predator behind is reckless, a proper hunter will take advantage of the confusion that another strange event would trigger shock in us" he rubbed the medallion on his coat fervently "We cannot leave this room unexplored, a sound came from it that is too risky to ignore"

"That's what I wanted to hear" Cloudas would roll his eyes if the dread that clutched his heart would allow it

With one final breath Hunter slipped into the room, the dagger he held for the last time reflected the hue of the light from the corridor before it sunk into the embrace of shadow. In this darkness the paper animals and long, dangling ropes felt like spiders lowering themselves onto his shoulders.

His palms immediately began to sweat, while he kept calming his mind that the things he feel are artificial and safe, there was always that single, short thought slipping past his defense.

What if there would be really something bad touching him and he will take it for a paper?

He moved forward on bent knees, muscles flexed and body lowered down, silencing the steps and shrinking the possible area where he could get hit. Ears were standing at attention, stretched so far that he could feel them tugging at the skin of his skull.

Rustle of paper and gentle click of claws, too loud to belong to anyone, but Cloudas.

It was like moving through a jungle.

He held his breath when suddenly something bumped against his nose, eyes squinted and neck jerked back. When blue orbs once more opened fully to the outside world, the pupils inside them were no longer round, but shifted into slits, fixed on the target.

Between his eyes dangled a thin, papery silhouette of a cheetah holding a tiny sword, tip of which poked the end of his nose with each sway in the air.

While emotionless and really childlike he couldn't shake off the feeling that this was a caricature of himself that was taunting him.

He swat the obstacle away, it made such a strange turn that he could feel it poking the back of his head several times as if sensing his annoyance. He greeted his teeth and forced himself to not let get emotions in the way, it was better not to give in to distraction in an unknown, very likely dangerous place.

"Is it me?" he froze at the sound of Cloudas' whisper, he turned, ready to scold the dragon but his mouth let no sound

The wind dragon was looking at a caricature of a specimen of his kind, nothing odd would be about the paper doll if not for the fact that it had several cuts that sliced the paper into thin, short lines. They surrounded the artificial drake, when the figure swayed the lines rustled in the air, gently swaying in the soft wind the movement created.

Just like feathers.

This might be only his brain making the most unnatural and scary of connections, the mind always works in such ways, but even though that he was aware that this might be stretching it too far, this two caricatures really looked like them.

Who needs monsters when well placed paper was enough to cause fear?

"Focus" he snarled quietly, swatting the fake dragon away, its even more fake feathers kept beating at the air, the noise they were making sounded like laughter.

They snuck to the part of the room where it was now impossible to discern any shapes, the light from the corridor didn't reach so far. Hunter extended his free hand forwards, gritted teeth rubbing against each other nervously, he felt as if he would be sticking his hand into a mouth of a sleeping Death Hound.

More ropes and more paper dolls touched his hand.

He moved towards the edge of the room, at least he hoped so, he managed to spot what he thought was a frame of a window, somewhere around there should be some shelves or any other furniture where some kind of light could be found.

Rooms of the most important people didn't have much candles, at least not those kind that would make for a main source of light. Buildings like this were illuminated by braziers and all sorts of torches, a combination of magic and mole's genius. A simple touch of one specific stone found on every source of light started the complicated mechanism hidden within the walls and lit the entire room.

Technology he believed could be found in every room of royalty.

And royalty likes to read and what's a better place to read if not a spot right next to a window? Everyone is being drawn to nature, one way or the other.

The shuffling of the paper animals as they were sneaking through the room felt after a while as if they would be rubbing against blunt claws. Darkness and sentient mind morphs everything into the horrific when intoxicated by fear.

Even Hunter who knew what nights spent among predators in unknown wilderness felt like had to struggle to remain calm and not sprint to the exit in panic.

His extended hand eventually touched a wall.

He patted the surface blindly for a short while, sanity demanding certainty that the thing he is touching is not some rough body of a monster. He exhaled in relief when there was no suspicious bump there, everything being straight and stable. Eventually his hand found a different surface, yet he immediately recognized it as wood and when his fingers ran over a soft cloth like material he knew he was feeling a painting.

He instinctively clung to the frame like it would be a drifting board keeping him from drowning.

While holding to the painting he reached out to one side, blindly feeling the terrain ahead, finding nothing that would remind him of a torch or a brazier. He changed directions, a shiver ran through his spine which bristled the fur on his back, when his hand touched a roundish surface he immediately knew he found what he was looking for.

His fingers trailed the object automatically after that, muscles remembering the motion he already repeated many times. It took him seconds to locate the soft indentation, even shorter took the time to press it.

Bright light filled the room in an instant, the light was so strong that both of them had to shield their eyes.

"Holy crap!" Cloudas barked

Hunter looked past the protection of his eyes, ears flattened on the skull while the blue eyes widened.

The room was turned a jungle of paper animals, there so many of them that it was difficult to count, it would take forever to make such a jungle. What was strange though was the fact that the corners of the room seemed to be empty, the bells of paper reached through mostly the middle of the study as if someone would make a pathway out of them.

"Plenty" Hunter huffed, acknowledging the discovery with a nearly breathtaking whisper

"Look up!" Cloudas backed away with neck tilted uncomfortably up, rump pressing against the wall behind so strong that his tail bent and slid in between the hind legs

He threw his head up, the sight stealing a gasp from his throat and forcing his legs to bend, body immediately pushing itself into a position where dodging would be easier executed.

Above them, under the high ceilings ran thick, wooden boards that supported the whole construction, their formidable shapes enforced by metallic objects, he lacked proper technical knowledge to identify them. The supports ran almost over the entire length of the ceiling, forming a spider-web like pattern, leaving considerable sized free space in between the planks. The formation did not stretch through the entire ceiling though, going mainly through the middle as if forming a path, the edges without almost completely devoid of any sort of support, with only single boards running here and there.

On top of those supports stretched out a long figure of a blue dragon.

Cyril was lying below the ceiling on top of the planks.

The Guardian was on his belly, eyes closed and chest barely breathing, the boards despite their rough surfaces didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, with his snout resting directly above them.

They found from where all those strings were coming from.

Every single artificial animal was hanging from a part of Cyril's draconic body, the dragon was covered in the ropes, a one of a kind chandelier. The strings embraced his scales so tightly that one could believe that the drake was trying to become a mummy, even the snout was invaded by the paper animals, leaving barely any space for scales to shine through on the frame of the dragon.

Hunter's heart skipped a bit, sudden dread pushing out any instinct of self control, his mind already accepting that one of the Guardians was dead.

"Cyril!" the cheetah roared, hands clenching into fists.

"What are you doing?!" Cloudas squealed, springing at the feline, front paws patting at the neck and face with the intention to cover the mouth

Hunter snatched one of the forelegs turning at the drake, eyes burning, despite everything Cloudas managed to keep his balance on two back legs even if he leaned past the his center of gravity.

"This is one of the Guardians!" he shook the held leg "Can you imagine what it would mean for the Realms if we would lose any of them?"

"It won't be our problem for long if you won't keep your voice down!" the drake snarled quietly, meeting the fiery gaze of his companion

One of the furry hands shot up.

"Can't you see that he is in a dire state? Barely alive? With no connection to reality?"

"If you w-" the dragon's voice ended abruptly when he tilted his head up, Hunter could his body stiffening, the paralyzing impulse traveling to his nerves

He swallowed, with racing heart he followed Cloudas' wild stare, tilting his head up.

Aiming his sight directly at the snout of the big dragon above.

Dragon who had his somewhat milky eyes aimed at them in turn.

Cyril slithered swiftly along the planks, in a second finding a spot where he dropped onto the ground, paws thumping against the floor, causing a small earthquake to run along the tiles, the noise of his smacking paws muffled by the sound of rustling paper when the fake animals splattered on the ground.

With all those strings dangling from his body he looked like a convict released from his cell.

Automatically the two companions pressed their bodies harder against the wall behind them.

"Cyril?" Hunter managed to mutter, each word so rough though that he sounded as if he would be grinding stones between the teeth

"Lesser races threatening my majesty?!" the dragon growled,

They both groaned, wrinkling their noses, the stench that wafted from the mouth hit them like a golem's fist, it was like there would be something rotting inside the room maw.

Cloudas began to choke.

Blue paw rose in the air.

Hunter pushed the wind drake with all his might, making him fall on the ground when he lost his balance while he himself threw his body in the opposite direction, keeping low to the ground, both of them in time avoiding the big, blue fist that crashed into the wall.

The impact cracked the wall, sending two of the nearby paintings onto the floor, the moan that the wall emitted was enough to tell that the strike was a powerful one.

Despite the obvious miss Cyril showed no signs that the strike would bother him.

With a yelp Cloudas gathered himself from the floor, immediately sprinting away.

On the other side Hunter also gained more ground.

All this time the Guardian didn't move, with his paw still embedded into the surface of the room, it was only his head that moved, following the feline. The dragon almost as sluggish as the group that attacked them in the main hall.

"Let's get out of here!" the wind drake roared, dashing towards the door

Hunter just felt that it won't be so easy.

"Not so fast!"

In an instant the room went freezing cold, temperature dropping so low that they could see their own breaths puffing in the air. A quick, beaming with energy ice bolt was shot from the dragon's tail tip. It struck the frame of the entrance, colliding with it directly into the middle, above the entrance.

In a moment's notice a tremendous block of ice manifested in the doorstep, steaming and blocking off the exit completely. Seconds later it grew long spikes, spikes that freed themselves from the block with loud snapping cracks by bursting forward, splitting equally as they shot towards the dragon and the cheetah that recently entered the massive room.

They both jumped forward, with little to no amortization letting themselves hit the floor, their jaws ringing from the clatter of their teeth, Hunter accidently bit his tongue, blood began trickling down his mouth.

The hurled bolts smashed into the furniture and walls right next to them, shattering on impact, leaving a icy splotch on the objects they hit, some they even managed to destroy. The projectiles broke, sending many sharp shards flying everywhere, Hunter pulled the coat over his head while Cloudas made a protective umbrella from his wings, neither hectic shield was perfect, the shards managing to find spots where they cut and impaled themselves.

There was barely any pain, despite the size and intimidating look the projectiles were silent killers, they barely felt any pain due to the powerful effect of numbing ice magic. Several pinches were all they felt, followed by a strangling effect of having your body squeezed when the projectiles irritated more accurately some nerves. In the end though, they lied there with wounds bleeding tears of blood, without realizing just how serious the ice lances touched them.

A more accurate and bigger missile and they wouldn't even be aware that they would be dying.

A perfect case of entropy.

Cyril finally turned towards them, his massive frame spinning slowly, the move slow and taxing, just like the many paper shapes dangling from his body were as heavy as a prisoner's chains.

"You don't decide in my presence!" the ice guardian roared, even if he was aware that the two of them were here his eyes jumped around as if he would be seeing ghosts

"I hold you by the throats with my power!" the dragon opened his wings sharply, the sight making Hunter gasp

There was something absolutely fascinating, in the most dreadful of ways, seeing a big dragon spreading his wings on full display, it really made you feel hopeless and somewhat accept the harsh words od being a nobody compared to creatures like the Guardian.

Not even the swaying in every direction paper animals, most of which was already crushed, ruined the impression. Right now it even added to the image of horror, making him feel like he would be looking at charms of a powerful magician or trophies of a bloodthirsty predator.

The thing was though, that when it comes to dragons, the first doesn't exclude the other.

The intimidating wings made a flap, in the same time Cyril craned his neck forward sharply, mouth parting as if readying itself for a roar. Instead of a rumbling blare, white, icy pushed out from his mouth, mist that was immediately gathered up by the membranes and shoved forward.

Magic tingled in the air.

The little steam immediately grew to a size of a sandstorm, completely matching the high of the room. The icy storm was pushed by the wings, the glimmering steam burst forward, clicking like poked with a claw gem. In one flap the entire room was covered in frost,

The touch of the freezing magic made both of them jump onto their legs, the ground and walls no longer being as welcoming, the cold aura emanating from them irritating their bodies, even more so than the thin layers of snow Cyril's attack covered them with.

Hunter's teeth clattered audibly.

"My will is your life!" the Guardian stomped his paw, faint blue light illuminated the area around his leg before shooting forward down the frozen floor, the frost there immediately taking on brighter colors and especially empowering the tingling of magic that hung in the air.

The glowing spiral twisting in their directions, separating into two equal lines, one for each of them. Cloudas yelled, when suddenly the illuminated frozen ground exploded right where the stretched out line ended, sending a wave of freezing nova that turned out to be only the beginning.

The ice from the floor grew sharply, sprouting thick, sharp spines, gaining a shape similar to a jaw full of sharp teeth, a similar jaw erupted from the nearby wall, both mouths pushing towards each other.

Magic or not, draconic resistance was still there and this might be the thing that really decided about life or death. Cloudas was already up on his paws when the ring hit him, he tried to block what he could with his wings, but some of the freezing wave managed to push through anyway. The amount of frost that quickly began to wrap his scales in ice clearly a sign that the nova's goal was to slow him down.

Luckily though his wings were big enough for some of his feathery membrane to beat against the ground as he yanked them in defense, the floor's slippery surface actually being of assistance here, allowing his wings to make a clean swing that gave him the right amount of momentum to push away from the magical jaws before they crushed him.

The artificial mouths clamped over each other, without nothing to bite into the force with which they closed was too big, the impact shattering both maws into pieces on impact, the noise of cracking ice deafening, the echo ringing in his head for a long while, even after the shards of the mouths lied calmly on the floor.

Hunter was served the same treatment, he however in contrary to his companion was an experienced warrior and could recognize danger before it came to full fruition, the trained perception also allowing him to come with a idea to defend himself before the main strike reached its potential.

He already had his bow in hand, even before the glowing line reached him, he used the hard wood as a cane, pushing himself into a slide across the ice covered floor. He was already in motion before the ice exploded, the small shaking the burst caused though made him lose his balance for a short while, he recovered his bearings quickly, yet the struggle slowed him down.

Slowed him down enough for a piece of the magical ring to touch him, hitting him in the stretched out back, right leg, right in front the knee, that part of the leg immediately being encased in ice. It was a particularly specific sensation, it was like that part of the leg was non existent anymore, cut off like a piece of paper from a bigger page, the odd thing was that he felt his leg, the thigh as well as the ankle, the knee what was connecting both was unresponsive however, it was like moving two separate limbs.

He didn't panic though, this wasn't his first contact with magic, especially ice, the block that formed around his knee was like a chain, it did not kill the muscles since it did not pierce the flesh, it just held that particular piece of his leg in its grasp. A best example of impairing magic, something Ice is known for.

He noticed the Guardian preparing another strike.

He removed an arrow, notching it, the crippled leg struck the floor, without the full control of the limb he lost his balance, body already thrown into the motion of falling, yet his feline's reflex was faster than the natural process of clumsiness. He sent the arrow flying moment's before his body fell onto the slippery ground.

Cyril's head recoiled to the side when the arrow struck him, the parted mouth shut itself, cutting off the stream of ice, the last mists dispersing in the air in front of the blue snout. With an angered growl the Guardian reached to his cheek, grabbing the wood protruding from there and with one swift pull removing the arrow from his cheek, blood gushing from the puncture, the sharp edges of the arrow slicing the scales on the way out.

The Guardian turned the arrow around in his paw, observing the dripping blood from the tip as if they would be petals of a flower he used to a guessing game with. The eyes squinted after a while, muscles on the foreleg flexed and the paw clenched, the wooden projectile snapping in half under the pressure.

"You dare to raise your hand against me weaklings?!" the dragon growled audibly

"What's your plan here Hunter?" Cloudas yelled at the top of his lungs, stress and recent exertion making his voice very squeaky "He's going to kill us if we don't do something!"

Hunter clenched his hand over the medallion, all of this was crazy, recent thoughts about Hope were crazy, but somehow it all felt right.

"I need to free myself and get close, we will save Cyril"

"How? You're going to punch him like me? He will bite your head off first"

He titled his head up, watching the broad planks above, their supposedly unregulated construction to him seemed like the and only ladder leading to a treasure.

Getting to the dragon from up front was perhaps impossible, wilderness taught him however the most obvious path is not always the only one.

"I need you to distract him"

"Me?! And what I'm supposed to do?! Spit at him?!"

"Use your ungraceful tongue with purpose rather than letting it disobediently protest with no tact"

"What does that even mean?!"

Hunter thrust a dagger into the block of ice that held his leg, chipping away a shard of ice.

"Taunt him you rude bastard!"

Cloudas jerked his head back.

Rude? Me?

Since when you crazy cat that puts faith in a toy?

Cyril roared.

Magic missiles were sent flying their way, the huge dragon began to stride right after them.

The wind dragon sprinted forward, putting up his wings he shot straight at Hunter, the crouched feline being in a very difficult position to do anything with his leg locked in ice. He never ran as fast before, it was still not enough to get to Hunter in time, he leapt from the floor just when he was close enough.

It was then when the magical missiles reached their goal.

Many of them flew past him, striking the area behind where he once stood, he extended his paws to grab Hunter, however all he managed to do was to clench his claws over the cheetah's shoulder before the bolts struck him, they exploded against the natural barrier of his wings, one however managed to pierce his extended foreleg.

The impact was powerful, the blow shoved him forward, the claws slipped from the shoulder, punching it roughly back, he heard something snapping before he was thrown back by the bolts crushing against his wings.

Hunter was sure that his shoulder just got dislocated, the way he was thrown back made him fall onto the floor, it was like some aura of luck was around him, since the bolts that were supposed to strike him miraculously flew past, cutting right through the area where his shoulder was a second later, if Cloudas wouldn't push him back, they would fly straight through his body.

The symbol on his coat burned through the material, now sizzling the flesh its hot surface melted it into.

This was more than simple luck, the charm was really protecting him, he had no doubts about that now, Hope was no ordinary cheetah.

He wasn't surprised when he got suddenly struck by one of the projectiles, this one however hitting him right into the block of ice around his leg, shattering it in an instant, having feeling back in his entire limb felt like getting a scratch behind the ear by your mother.

The unexplained power however seemed to have its limitations, it couldn't defend him from everything, one of the projectiles found its mark, while it looked to be clearly deflected it still cut into his thigh, the one on the free leg, slicing the skin like it would be a knife peeling an apple.

Luckily adrenaline silenced most of the pain.

Cloudas bumped into one of the cold walls at the end of the room, its previously irritating cold effect turned to be very welcoming right now.

"This is all you've got!?" he blared out at the top of his lungs, the roar shaking chips from the frost covered wall near him, the blare a mixture of true anguish and motivated purpose

Getting a beating all this time was not fun, he might at least get something out of it by irritating the ice bully.

Cyril balked as if he would just get smacked across the snout.

With a shaking paw the wind drake reached for the projectile protruding from his pierced leg, the resistant nature of his body not allowing the ice missile to ran through. He clenched his toes around the freezing bolt and pulled it out with all his might, according to the survival rules he got hammered with in his younger days.

He despised the lessons about regeneration, but only when he got older he started to notice that the lessons he so disliked taught his muscles some automatic responses, reflex that saves life, something that proved to be invaluable in his existence. As a child he never believed he would have to use the lessons about triggering regeneration.

Pain cracked inside his nerves like thunder on a cloudy day.

Yeah, this is why he didn't really like those lessons.

"You're old and weak!" he grumbled, the pulsing pain really enforcing his shout, after all he really wanted to scream anyway "Move away grandpa, your time is over!"

"You dare to question my rule?!" Cyril blared out at the top of his lungs, the furious roar was so strong that Cloudas could feel the gust of breath pushing him against the wall

Hunter in the meantime slowly started to crawl across the floor, keeping his eyes locked on the Guardian who didn't seem to pay him any heed, not even interested in the line of blood his wounded leg left behind.

What this magic over Warfang didn't understand is that life has more than one shade of control, there is far more to fear than it expected. It's a sharp blade, yes, but it has two deadly ends instead of one and Darkness was not prepared for the fact that someone would discover it, even less prepared for the idea that someone else might be able to use it.

It was fascinating to realize just how many things we take for granted and yet when a being shows unfamiliar with the environment it gets lost in the wonders of Nature.

Everyone has different parents, but life in general has only one Mother and she is there to protect us, letting only her own children to wound her.

"You call watching over this crumbling trash pit a rule? Ha!" Cloudas blurted a growl of mockery, dismissing the dragon with a wave of his paw "Get out of my way, I'll show you how it's done"

The taunting was already working, the roaring was a clear giveaway however his recent words seemed to trigger something else than jealously, the big basically turned red in front of his eyes, he could see veins boiling through his scales.

If fury was something that dictated the Guardian's actions before, he had no idea how to name the emotion that just overwhelmed the big drake and pushed him to the edge of bursting.

Cyril began to ran, sprinting right at him without a sound, even from distance he noticed that the Guardian's eyes were bloodshot red.

"Fuck me!" the wind dragon's eyes shot wide open, he immediately regretted everything, he should have never listened to Hunter's stupid idea

He found the name for the emotion that melted the Guardian from the inside.

Winddragonpulping.

He scrambled from the floor in an instant, dashing across the wall, not so long after Cyril hit the wall where he stood not so long ago ice dragon or not, running over a slippery terrain makes turning directions hard. His paw sank into the stone, the blow cracking the rock, making the whole room shake as if the ceiling was about to collapse on their heads.

How the dragon didn't break anything was a mystery.

Cloudas exhaled in relief, turning his eyes away from the dragon and focusing on the path ahead, mouth dropping when he realized that a dragon has something more to his body than four limbs only.

Dragons had also a tail.

A blue one was swinging right at him.

He jumped, but it was already too late, even though he managed to jump over the moving, thick obstacle, he didn't have enough time to lift himself properly, his paws tripping over the fins while in the air.

He fell head first into the floor, teeth rattled and nose gushed a stream of blood, world becoming a teary, blurry mess.

Metallic taste filled his mouth.

A sign of a plan working well.

No matter what world, how much time has passed, once a punching bag, always a punching bag.

Fuck my life.

He collected himself to the best of his ability, pulling himself up on front legs, in the meantime forgetting about another feature of draconic natural abilities.

Tails swing.

Cyril's tail made a backwards swing, infused by winddragonpulping it returned the way it came, smacking the scrambling from the floor dragon with all its might. Cloudas was sent flying across the room, he crashed into a wall smashing furniture on the way, the impact tearing off the ice from the wall he hit, shards bouncing off of his body.

The sound of the collision made Hunter's ears drop and almost made him fall, his wounded leg barely managing to withstand the surprising shaking. If not for the furniture he clung to and the motivational guilt boiling his blood he doubted he would be able to remain standing.

He put Cloudas in serious danger and it was only a matter of time before Cyril finish what he started.

He climbed onto the furniture and from there jumped up even higher, the bleeding leg working quite well with the adrenaline pulsing in his veins. His hands clenched over one of the planks below the ceiling, with all of his equipment discarded moments before he attempted any acrobatic endeavors it was quite easy for him to pull himself up.

Cyril began walking towards the fallen drake, breathing a stream of freezing magic at him.

With last ounces of strength Cloudas lifted his wings to protect himself, his paws blindly finding pieces of rubble which he could use to prop himself up. The shield membranes was working, but he could already feel pain creeping through them, it won't be long before his defenses fall.

In moments like those he wished that he was smarter in his younger days.

Hunter removed his belt, hurling it at the big dragon while he already stood on the first plank.

"You are worth less than this!" he exclaimed, the hitting belt striking Cyril right in the nose "Who's bigger now worm?! Bow down before your master!"

Cyril's reaction was immediate, he did not expect a movement so swift when the dragon all this time was acting as if the paper animals would be restraining him. The Guardian leapt towards him, his stretched out tall body giving enough high for his swinging paw to reach the boards.

Hunter yelled, automatically jumping, trying to cling to the ceiling, yet he wasn't high enough to even graze the surface.

The board collapsed under the striking paw, the amount of strength Cyril put into the strike sliced the thick board into two pieces, if they survive this, they will remember for the rest of their lives that it is never a good idea to anger Cyril.

His foothold was gone.

He began to fall, turning in the air and blindly swiping with his arms, looking for anything to cling to, there was nothing besides the Guardian's, now falling foreleg.

He sunk his claws into the scales, he never believed that his claws could pierce scale, yet luck was again on his side, his natural blades thrust directly into the spaces between the scales, the ones he was used to hold to when Danox allowed himself to be mounted.

His body twisted in the air chaotically, whole frame slamming against the foreleg, the impact making him lose his grip.

He felt as if his entire body would burst in flames, stench of burnt skin filled the air.

He started to slide down the moving leg, clenched claws drawing shallow bloody lines along the blue scales as they looked for another chance to cling themselves to something again.

He felt as if he was melting, he could barely feel his muscles.

He fell at some point, no longer able to hold on to the scales.

Seems like he used all his luck, now he could only hope that he won't break his spine when he hits the floor from such a high.

Somehow it stopped mattering though, time seemed to slow down for him, all he could feel was the burn, everything else was a bubble, even the open air he fell through, the descent was so slow that if not for the ceiling above he would say that he was lying on a cloud.

He closed his eyes, eyeballs burning the eyelids like hot coal.

The fall kept on going and going, seemingly for no end.

Any time soon.

Still nothing.

Nothing.

And nothing.

The cloud seemed to be a stubborn lady.

He opened his eyes with difficulty, prying off the eyeballs really like melted butter from a knife, he was sure that some of the eyelashes remained glued to his face.

He looked straight into the blue eyes of Cyril.

This was no cloud.

He was lying on the Guardian's paw.

The ice dragon stared at the tired figure in his grasp, matted, sweaty fur, bleeding leg, a wreck as if someone would just pull him out from the belly of a Death Hound. This wasn't however what made his eyes go wide, something he couldn't remember doing for a long time as if the last days, hours, or who knows what other time span would be erased from his memory.

Loss of memory an unimportant distraction right now in the face of the current events.

Hunter was glowing, surrounded by an aura of yellow light, not only that, but he could see the same light traveling down his foreleg and the rest of his body, pulsing, becoming fainter and fainter with each beat.

It was magic.

He heard stories, Volteer wouldn't shut up about it, some old cheetahs also mentioned magic in their race once in a while, all his life he believed it to be fairytales and delusions of creativity and senility. Traditional cheetahs are known for their tales of grandeur.

But there it was.

A tale in flesh, real, smelling and tired.

A cheetah wielding magic in his grasp.

He couldn't believe his own eyes.

Of all the people, Hunter?

Hunter is a Blessed One?