FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 11

He sat down on the nearby rise, his butt dropping heavy onto the greenish ground, puffing gravel up in the air as it made contact with the earth. He let out a deep sigh, the breath vibrated so heavily that his spotted tail stretched out with jerks as if pushing through thick jelly.

His heavy eyes looked upon the village stretching out in the not far distance, gentle smoke rising from the chimneys. Ears were pressed so tightly against the skull that he could feel them digging into the bone, grinding it into dust.

The air became cooler, the season of lower temperatures was approaching and yet despite the general notion of starting up the heat in every settlement he traveled light, throwing away his ruined jacket and coat, wearing only a long sleeved shirt.

Despite his scarce outfit he felt warmer than ever before.

His thumb digging into the palm of his once pierced hand, irritating the deep scar there.

He traveled light and yet still felt like he would be lifting an entire city on his shoulders.

It was only one day, or one night, hard to tell with the artificial night enveloping Warfang not so long ago, in any case however it felt short, very short and yet he felt as if his entire life was thrown upside down.

Whenever he licked his lips, tongue grazing over the fangs, he could taste the blood of his confused allies on them, each touch of the tongue rekindling images of the fighting where he remembered with great detail of the mortal blow he was forced to commit.

While holding the coldest blade possible in his hand, morphed there by no one else but a dragon, he did not blame Cyril though, the magical sword was just a tool, it was still his hand that committed the atrocities.

He however won't be able to look the Ice Guardian in the eyes anymore. Just like he can't look into the mirror, his own reflection making him sick.

And to think it all could be avoided if only truth could be said in the right moment.

Hunter growled angrily, shredding the already wounded bandages completely, claws thrusting into the chest, clicking over a medallion that should not be there, the blades sinking into the flesh, curling, sending a rippling bolt of pain.

He screamed, hand pushing away, the bloodied fingers clenching into a fist, pounding at the earth again and again until his shoulder started to ache unbearably.

A colony o ants scattering aside in fear.

Droplets of blood trickling upon the grass from the recently irritated wound.

He panted heavily, absorbing the pulsing pain radiating from his chest where the yin yang symbol burned itself into his flesh, the area around it red and swollen from the many attempts of removing it.

She knew, she knew it all along and did nothing to stop it.

To think she had enough audacity to demand titling herself milady.

There was no more foul, undeserving word leaving his mouth ever before.

Blessed Ones.

If this was the boon his people look up to it would be better if all of them would be forgotten and burned to the ground, this would be the only way to be finally free from the shackles of the delusional past.

He spat on the ground.

Blessed Ones.

Hope.

What a cruel irony to hold such motivating names while being the complete opposite of the trait you were supposed to represent.

Following false symbols, basing your entire society upon them, it all was more treacherous than betrayal during war. And now this false symbol is basically stitched into his chest, a symbol that was supposed to be the anchor protecting you against the impossible, now serving as an unending taunt laughing about his naivety.

Even more painful to accept now as time passes and rumors reach the people, he could already see the sparks of revelation in some of the eyes gazing his way. Some already seeing him like some sort of a messiah.

The most depressing part is that he couldn't protest, if he did people would just justify it with pressure, after all holding onto the spark of divinity can render the mind of someone mundane chaotic and confused. The protests would only stir the worship even further, turning the people more bold and less respectful, at least for the time being the shyness comes from their uncertainty and a general cultural behavior when you respect someone's personal space.

After all if people believe that he was a magical creature from the start then they would be able to somehow explain to themselves why he didn't reveal himself from the beginning. Anger would only rip that barricade apart.

He was trapped in a bubble from which there was no escape.

It was all Hope's fault.

She was the one who put him here and Ancestor's be damned she will be the one who will pull him out. The bad news for her was that he absolutely did not care for symbols nor the Blessed Ones, he won't have regrets about forcing her to free him if she won't do it willingly.

The worst part about it though was that even if Hope will do as he wants, the medallion was already a part of him, no magic will remove it without harm and even if it loses its magical touch, the general idea will remain with him for the rest of his days.

Hope will always be with him now.

A sickening perspective if there was one.

Life can be so unfair, you live your days as best as you can, actions and rules set up by your morality that is considered good will, you do everything to help others, or at the very least don't get in their way, simply acting as a decent, sentient creature and you still get punished for it. The hit feeling far worse than the one you would receive if you were bad.

He should have listened to his teacher when she said that expecting life to treat you good is foolish as hoping that a boar won't strike you because you don't eat meat.

He struck the ground with his fist for the final time and lifted himself up, fur bristled making his stiff tail double in size. He walked towards his home village, sliding a hand under his clothes, pressing a gauze to the swollen area he withdrew from the bag on his belt.

He heard a delicate hum in his skull that back in the good days he would take only for a gentle breeze of wind passing through his ears, today however it might as well be Hope's sigh of relief.

He did not approach his former home close, staying in the woods so the guards won't recognize him, he could see the figures stopping on the palisades, clearly noticing him and then continuing on their way. Seeing travelers around the village was nothing special, people cross the Realms on a daily basis so no one is surprised by a sight of some lone cheetah in the distance. The reputation of his home village is known, following basic rules, if you don't have business here stay away, the gates will remain closed to you.

Today he thought this rules to be perfect, he had no will to speak to the Chief or any other cheetahs he once lived with. However he would like to know why do they tolerate Hope in their midst and how it is possible that no one noticed that she is no ordinary feline.

He would believe that they simply accepted her companionship if his village was only occupied by males, Hope was an attractive woman and she said herself, even if it might have been a joke, that her physical assets save her a lot of trouble. His village had also women and he sincerely doubt that the ones mated would allow their partners to simply leave them alone for some young tail.

There was some sorcery at play here and he had a hunch that the citizens are as much manipulated as he was to the point that he wouldn't learn anything from them even if they wanted to tell him.

He opted for another approach, when he met Hope she said she wanted to invite wolves into her home, and if wolves would enter a fortified city unnoticed they had to do so underground and that meant a spot without guards and a hole allowing you to dig under the palisade.

A weak spot in the fortification.

Something he will make sure that the Chief knows about before he leaves.

He walked along the walls, never leaving the line of trees, watching the walls closely, it was enough to investigate the path of the guards to realize that there was something unnatural going on here. The defenders never patrolled the wall near his home, turning around as if there would be some barrier in front of them.

This sight had Hope's claws marks all over it.

He sneaked up to the wall from the unguarded area, remaining silent out of habit even though he believed that walking straight up to the palisade would have the same effect. His nose was immediately invaded by the smell of fur and wild animals, undoubtedly canine.

Wolves managed to get inside.

He crouched next to the wall, removing a dagger from his belt he kept thrusting it into the earth near the wooden wall while sidestepping, looking for a spot where the earth did not mend completely yet, being far more softer than anywhere else.

It did not take long for his dagger to sink into the ground like into a cake. He immediately started to dig, it only took several swipes to clear out the earth that was only here to cover up the hole, a sign that the wolves are frequent travelers between here and the wilderness.

He bit onto the dagger and crawled into the hole, pushing to the other side of the dug up entrance, the smell of fur was getting stronger, the hole clearly led to the canine's lair that undoubtedly is one of the rooms of his previous home, luckily he heard no sounds, there was a high chance that he won't need to face the inhabitants.

He reached the other side of the dug up hole with ease, many would complain that the space here was limited and very uncomfortable, yet he had no such issues, as a scout for Warfang he traveled the wilderness far and wide, this tight space was a breeze compared to the frozen mountains of Dante's Freezer.

He spat out the dagger onto his hand as he climbed out, the lair was empty as predicted and he was sneaking in many would think that there was no reason to arm yourself when you got the element of surprise.

The element of surprise was exactly the reason why he armed himself, one of his hands reaching back, fingers dancing on the darts there.

He knew that Hope was expecting him, after everything that happened in Warfang she had to know he will come after her, she was here somewhere, he could feel it and he wouldn't be surprised to find the hungry wolves at her side.

His medallion burned, he could feel her gaze radiating from it, she was watching him, there was no doubt about that.

As he climbed out he came face to bark with the tree that was still basically a sapling when he was last here, now however it was old and massive, adult in a period of time that excluded total control of Nature over its growth, it was assisted by magical means. Its branches stretching out above the cracked roof, as if on purpose avoiding the already weakened structure, his ears flattened at the sight of the bark of one such branch.

It had an arrow carved in it with a heart at the tip and a head of a smiling cheetah girl with hearts for eyes next to it.

All the suspense was gone, his chest heaved at the realization of the certainty that Hope knew he was coming.

Good. He never liked the unpredictable anyway, a scout's fetish.

He gripped the dagger tightly and hugged the nearby wall, ears standing straight in attention, focused on catching even the tiniest sound. The arrow pointed outside, even if he could feel that the house was empty he still cut each corner carefully, making sure that there is no beast or trap waiting for him behind the corner.

He reached the exit door stopping right in front of them for a moment, noticing that there was absolutely no furniture around. An unimportant detail one might think, but he still remembered the rumbling, dropping sound when he left the house last time he was here. The memory relaxed the clench on the dagger's handle when he realized with all certainty that it wasn't the sound of falling furniture he heard, it was Hope dropping on the floor as she slid against the wall in depression.

That would explain her strange behavior.

Her strange behavior right after she touched the medallion.

Did she not want anything for this to happen?

Or perhaps it surprised her just as much as it did them?

Did it really matter however? People died, many by his own hand, is being shocked and scared really a sound justification for indifference? Even if it was not what you expected, Hope knew what was coming, she could have stopped it if she wanted to. She was a Blessed One, her title alone implies special stature, divinity or heroism, both match the state of being anointed with power over Fate.

No, there was no justification for her actions.

He opened the door to the streets, charging through with confident, arrogant step, feeling the massive branch of the tree stretching above him, thinking about nothing else but the incoming confrontation with Hope and her beasts.

The smell of cinder filled his nostrils.

Chimneys.

He stopped immediately, smacked by the sensation like a torture's whip, he balked, stiff as a log, one thought pounding inside his skull.

He went outside into the city, blinded by rage he could not realize where he was going.

Blue eyes looked around hectically, jumping around from one side of the eyeball to the other, there was no possibility that the villagers didn't see him by now, he will be caught and the Chief will throw him out, blocking the passage to get inside here unnoticed and barring him from ever returning here.

He wasted his only chance.

The feeling only intensified by the sight of Meadow in front of him, the cheetah's eyed were big and seemed to look straight through him.

It was over, he was seen.

Hunter's mouth opened numbly, tongue flipping inside, forming incoherent words of explanation and apology, of plea, of warning, of everything, never realizing that the flood of desired words was too much for the poor tongue, making it only slurp and gurgle like that of a child learning to speak.

And then Meadow turned around, walking off down the street with a slow, thoughtful step.

The furry mouth clamped shut, body not even reacting when the teeth nipped the still flying tongue as it slid inside.

His confused blue eyes spotted more villagers nearby, many of them were looking his way, their looks different than that of Meadow, they were completely natural, focused on the tasks of their daily lives and nothing else.

He did not exist for them.

How?

"They can't see you"

His ears perked up at the sound of the soft, feminine voice coming from behind him.

Hope.

He spun around with a snarl, fingers tightly clenching the dagger, he was prepared for everything.

Or so he thought.

She did not stand before him.

He only saw a barefooted, slender and long furry leg hanging down from above, slightly swaying up and down. He trailed its voluptuous shape to the owner, Hope was sitting on the big branch, leaning against a protruding, smaller twig. The kicked down leg stretched out her round shapes, folding her shorts a tiny bit, exposing a piece of the round butt cheek.

She was not looking at him, staring into the distance, his instinct screaming at him that she was doing it on purpose. Allowing herself to be explored just to distract him and loose his guard, using her young body as bait before she finally strikes.

He heard sailors that survived the crash of a ship sometimes saying that they heard beautiful singing in the waves of the sea, saw glimpses of beautiful creatures in the depths, waving them over to join them in the underwater depths. Each story a little different, each sailor describing the creature with different words, each betraying their subjective view on beauty.

The only thing each story had in common was the fact that it were those charming creatures that made the ship to sink.

Hope was exactly like one of those creatures in the stories, beautiful beyond imagination, a dream come true, yet the moment you turn around she rips your throat out. A deadly devil with angelic wings.

He reacted as every male would to her figure, it caught his attention, but his pained heart was stronger than lust, it did not allow him to be charmed by her feminine curves.

"The guy that gave you a heart attack" Hope polished her clawed nails, sliding a stick wrapped in suede back and forth "He senses something, keeps poking around way too much for my liking"

"What did you do to them witch?" Hunter growled, his fingers drumming against the darts tucked in the belt

"Compliments so soon?" she purred sensually, a predatory smile stretching her lips "I knew you were a flatterer stiff boy" she jumped down from the tree, plump breasts making an attention stealing juggle as she straightened "Let's skip the formalities then and go at it" she blew the mane out of her eyes, the sapphires on her tiara glowing, emphasizing the grin that stretched her lips "A tree can be a good leverage you can pin me against"

"I didn't come here to indulge into your frivolities"

"That's a pity, you look stressed and in need of relief" she leaned forward, bending over, presenting her tightly squished cleavage to him "I have a remedy for that"

He glanced where she wanted him to, but a snarl was enough to drag his eyes up and made them narrow on the girl's face.

"No"

"Your loss" she straightened back up with a nonchalant shrug "You won't mind if I keep satisfying my own small frivolity, yes?" she looked her claws over, giving them another polish "Dragon scales are really sticky, they get into all sorts of places and it's very hard to get them out, stubborn as their owners I tell you. REALLY frustrating" she bit her lip, sliding the covered up stick with more intensity

The floating dust of claws was occasionally accompanied by a tiny piece of black scale.

She giggled to herself.

"The very hard getting out part can be quite fun at times, if you catch my meaning" she wiggled her eyebrows at him

Hunter growled.

Hope folded her arms on her chest.

"You came here with a tornado of thoughts in your head and all you do now is grunting and short sentences. Come on Hunter, talk to me" arms locked themselves behind the furry back, shoulders began to wiggle, swaying softly, one leg curled shyly, claws on which tiptoed the earth "I really missed your voice" she purred

He wasn't the one to freely display emotions, it was the habit of a scout that taught him to remain cold blooded and do not betray his intentions. Right now however all of that was forgotten, his blood was boiling to the point that he could hear steam hissing in his ears, many people died, she knew about it all along and she still acts like a spoiled brat.

This is the symbol his people follow.

"You make me sick" a deep snarl wavered his lips, blue eyes burning, hand gripping the darts, arm shaking, holding itself back with the last strands of will

Hope's eyes widened, her seductive sway stopping.

"To think my people treat you as a symbol that they build their lives around, that they look upon you as a guiding light. It makes me want to vomit, if they only knew how much of a callous fake you are, that you toy with everyone like the typical arrogant creature of supposed divinity. If my people would only know the truth, that you have their lives for nothing, ready to throw them away for your own amusement, they would treat you as thrash, never again you would be called a Blessed One"

"Oooohhhhh" her ears flattened on her skull "That Blessed part" she scratched the back of her head "I'm starting to understand the confusion now, really sucks"

"Show some respect!" he roared at her, fur bristling

Hope whined, startled.

"The day I visited you, you became scared after our meeting, enhanced my medallion to shield it against the Dark and you said nothing! I had to figure it out on my own, I had to kill my own people to do it, one stupid word was enough to prevent it all and you told me NOTHING! You butchered those people and you act like nothing has happened!"

"Don't put your incompetence on me Hunter!" she pointed a claw at him, eyes bursting with blue flames, she threw her hands up, presenting them to the cheetah from both sides "My hands are clean, the only blood I see here can be found on yours!"

"You could have stopped it! Admit your fault!"

"I won't admit shit! You came to my doorstep with a tainted hand! I wanted to have nothing to do with it but you barged into my home, bringing the curse to me, ending my dreams of peace. It all started from you! Not me!"

His eyes wailed up in tears, heart aching with guilt, he was furious at her but her words struck true, spreading the hate also on himself, wrapping him in a strangling cocoon where he was in the center of everything that happened. The idea of Hope being right bled him like the sharpest of swords.

"That's not true! I'm just a simple cat, you are divinity! You knew what was going on!"

"I did not know!" Hope roared at him, gems exploding with fierce flames, her eyes gleaming with tears as well

"Neither did I!" he roared back, withdrawing the darts, the arm however never rising to fling them

They both panted, staring into each other's pained eyes.

Hope felt her strength waning, of all the creatures of this world Hunter was the only one she did not wish to hurt, not after everything he had done for her, he kept her safe for so many years, even though his heart was ruled by skepticism.

While she turned her back on him the first moment she got, the fog of unknown was no excuse. His hurt, guilty eyes were enough for her to understand that at least he deserved to know what was going on, to somehow prepare him for the dangers ahead even if she didn't quite know where he was headed. In his case withholding information might as well be a solid evidence of her being guilty of murder.

After all she could have intervened when she finally found out.

Her arms fell flat at her sides, head dropping down, all the bursting magical energy puffing away.

"I'm sorry, I really am. If it's worth anything I really didn't want to harm you in any way, I only wanted to protect you" she sighed deeply "But I still didn't move my ass when I found out, I'm a coward and I'm sorry for that, but I guess that's not an excuse for you" she raised her head, looking sadly at the darts "So if you want to stuff me with those things and you know it would make you feel better, go ahead" she made two steps forward, shortening the distance between them "There, from here I won't be able to dodge them"

His fur shrunk, no longer stiff like blades, even if still slightly raised.

He did not know what to expect when he came here, he was so angry that he wasn't thinking straight, all he knew that he was going against a magical creature with divine stature, arrogance and pride coming from Hope was a safe bet.

He did not believe he would hear genuine regret in her words. He was prepared to hear protests, cockiness even blame, anything that would turn his aggression on himself, like a manipulative trick, something he for a moment thought she was doing by twisting his anger to find another target.

But she did not do it to manipulate him.

She was honestly pinpointing the steps that led them where they are right now and truth be told could he really deny her words that he wasn't the one that started it in the first place, after all he was the one who fell a strange urge to return to his birthplace. Probably it wasn't a goof explanation for Hope's lack of action, but it didn't paint her in guilt completely, he had his own share in this.

And in the end it was still his hand that made the killing blows, nobody else's.

He unclenched his fists, both the dagger and the darts fell on the ground.

Hope's chest shrunk in anxiety, tail making a shy, happy swing, ears pumping, trying to decide if they should stand up or remain sprawled flat.

"It is not worth it" his chin bumped against the chest "I hurt too many of my own already"

"Thank you"

The tender gratitude didn't cheer him up, in fact it only enlarged the already gaping void eating away his spirit. If not for his hand there would be many more who would whisper their gratitude.

Hope bit her lip, flattened ears stretching her scalp, one hand sliding over the strap of her shirt that strangely became very uncomfortable on her shoulder.

"They meant a lot to you, I understand in an ideal world everyone would be immortal and always happy, but then people would not develop symbols to guide their lives. It's an irony of the universe that we learn by our mistakes, only to commit more and learn again, but before our lives are over most of the time the schooling didn't go to waste, we leave this world better than when we had met it. It will be better Hunter, I promise, never forget that there is always..." she smiled softly "...hope"

He glared at her, eyes speaking volumes, telling her that she must be joking saying pretentious things like that after what had happened.

"Sorry" she balked, tail stiffening, claws drummed against each other "Force of habit"

Hunter sat down with a heavy sigh, curling up his knees and wrapping his arms around them as if he was a scared child ready to cry.

She looked upon him with gleaming eyes, each second making her heart drum louder and louder, each beat pulling her towards the void she so hard wanted to push away. Seeing him locked in depressed silence rendered even the touch of nature on her exposed flesh almost worthless.

She growled, pulling at her raven hair, the mane stretched, covering both of her eyes.

"I must hear your voice, you can't be silent like that, it's driving me mad" she sat down in front of him, hand reaching out towards his hand, but stopping in midair, clenching into a fist

"Look, I know it sucks, but there was nothing you could have done, in all honesty you did awesome work considering what you were dealing with, you pieced the puzzle correctly even if it was not what I have planned" the hand pulled back, rubbing the back of the feminine neck "Then again I'm a disappointment to everyone so it's good you managed to pull it off, I'm a bad role model to follow and I perfectly understand your anger, you aren't the first one to know the truth, but you did good Hunter considering everyone else that lost their...hope. You did really good, perfection doesn't exist, but if there would be a cheetah deserving the title of a Blessed One, then it would be you"

Hunter bit his sleeve, rubbing his teeth against the material.

Hope watched him impatiently, of course he needed some time to process her words and sort it all out, he wasn't taking his time either, after all she finished her monologue just a moment ago, yet to her the seconds of silence already stretched out to unbearable infinity.

"Please say something" she begged him, claws of the rubbing hand digging into the neck

He unglued his fangs from his arm, his sense of honor did not allow him to act arrogant in the face of an honest plea and ignore it, neither did his honor allow to rub his ego with the begs of a female, especially if this female was supposed to be an icon of worship.

"What are you?" he let out a low rumble

Hope shivered, finger rising to twirl the strand of a mane hanging between her eyes into a seductive lock.

"You sound so sexy when you grumble like that"

Hunter buried his blue eyes into her, mouth clapping shut silently.

With the eye of her imagination she could see his lips being locked by a padlock.

"Okay, sorry!" she hissed through clenched teeth, shrugging innocently "Another habit" she rubbed her arms, her fur feeling warm and numb alternately "Instead of what you should use _who_in your question because I'm not some otherworldly being or anything. I'm a simple cat just like you"

"You wrap illusions around you, you live in a village where people can't see you even if looking your way. This is anything but simple"

"Fair enough, so let's put it this way, I was a simple cheetah in my time at the start, believe it or not but we wielded magic back then, it was nothing spectacular, almost everyone else had magic in their veins, potential was different like in today's dragons, but in the end it was nothing special, dragons were a rarity in my time believe it or not, guess magic had to sip from something if the perfect wells weren't there yet. The illusion part came later and as a cruel joke like the rest of my sad existence"

Hunter's ears perked up, he looked the girl over as if she was a sculpture, his eyes glowing shyly in fascination.

"What magic you wielded, is it possible for us to wield some as well?"

Hope smiled, her eyes burning with blue flames, she stretched out her hand, three magical, yellow blades pushed from between her knuckles.

Hunter's eyes widened.

"Light was my domain, no shadow could stand in my way" she looked her blades over, indifference visible in her burning eyes, the blue mist pushing from their corners twirling around like a too long strands of fur "As it turned out I was the only wielder, after my time dragons took over the spotlight and there was no more magic for little creatures as us" she hid her blades, eyes returning to normal as she gazed back at her companion "I'm not sure if it's good or bad, all I know is that when we got the chance we messed things up, so maybe it's only fair for someone else to get the chance now?"

She smiled.

"Of course this no longer applies to you"

"What do you mean?"

"Na-ah" she shook her finger at him "We get to that part later"

"You have a very disconcerting way of avoiding the topic" Hunter nodded bluntly

Hope giggled.

You're so polite! I didn't know there was a nice way of saying that I'm an annoying bitch" she shrugged "Can't help it"

"Habit" the cheetah concluded for her

She winked at him, the more he spoke, the more Nature felt wonderful on her fur.

"Exactly. The habit came when I dropped the simplicity and opened a door to a place you call Dark Realms now, I unleashed something very bad on the world that should never be here as it turned out, I did not know that at the start of course, the force was grateful and turned me into the being that sits before you now. My powers evolved beyond the normal aspects and with those powers came fame, our times weren't peaceful, many creatures roamed the world, many hostile and strong, we weren't faring well, of course all of it changed when I opened the door"

She leaned back, looking into the sky, her shirt rolling up as she took a deep breath, exposing the underside of her curved breasts to him.

Hunter allowed himself only a single, trialing glance over the fit, seductive belly and the piece of breasts batting their metaphorical eyelashes at him before he turned his gaze away, cheeks burning slightly.

"This is how the legend of the Blessed Ones came to be. As in every such story it was great, me and several others with potential were gifted tremendous power by the force I let out. Each enemy stomped rose our reputation, I became the symbol of better times, my words and actions lifting the spirits of my allies to the point that they named me their idol. They named me Kiva"

"It means Hope" Hunter huffed, eyes darting from side to side, processing hectic thoughts

She clapped her hands in appraise.

"You know the Old Tongue"

"Only a few words" he looked at the outcropping looming over the village and the leaning, massive tree there "Avalar is also familiar to me"

"Future" she sat back up, following Hunter's gaze back to the tree

"Was he..." he licked his lips, unable to continue

"Alive? Yes. Just like me he was a Blessed One. He had a talent for nurturing, he could make flowers grow on magma they said, I never saw it however, but he had a talent for rebuilding that's a fact. Under his watch every desolate place we won, eventually grew back, be it grass or people, life always returned to the place he touched. With him around people never felt that there can be an end, that everything can live on, so they named him Avalar. They named him their Future"

Hunter lifted himself up with a shocked expression, he observed Hope, his huge pupils looking straight through her as if she would be a wraith that manifested from his deepest nightmares. Then those eyes turned to the looming tree on the outcropping.

Only to realize that it was not a tree, but a sentient creature.

Avalar.

Even from here he could see now the patterns in the bark, rough shapes, familiar shapes. What was once a random work of Nature now represented figures every being with eyes knows. This bump there was a piece of the nose, this hole over there an eyeball, the bountiful crown a long grown hair, many lianas their extensions. It was always a living creature looking after them and they couldn't see it for so long.

Avalar was their symbol, a simple object given divine purpose, nothing else.

Or so he thought until now.

The symbol actually lives.

"For so many years...my people...worshiped the living, blinded by faith we didn't see the obvious"

Hope waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't bother yourself with it. We all make the same mistakes, we follow because it makes us content it's easier than knowing the truth. We follow our own path of delusion and believe me when I tell you it's better to leave it like that"

"How many years Avalar was trapped like that?" he walked forward, clenching his fists "From beginning of our time? We worshiped him while remaining deaf to his screams"

Hope narrowed her eyes, lifting herself up slowly, tail swishing from side to side anxiously, her instinct already telling her where this was going.

"We must free him"

She dashed in front of him, folding her arms under her breasts she gave the scout a stern glare.

"That's not possible"

"Not possible?" he poked her shoulder with a snarl "You were locked in the medallion I carried and you stand here before me, how can you say it's not possible? Are you really that selfish to put your own triumph over the misery of your companions in plight?"

"Honestly? Yes"

"How can y-"

"But before you insult me" she grabbed his wrinkled in anger mouth, snapping it shut, Hunter's eyes burned with barely contained fury "Let me shed some light on your idea, okay?"

She let him go, turning around to look at the tree, completely indifferent to its fate.

"When they say that with great power comes great responsibility they don't lie, it takes character to wield magic as potent like that not many can achieve this and as it turned out we couldn't do it either. With our growing reputation and the dwindling ranks of our enemies our pride and ego rose high, to the point that each of us believed that we won thanks to our individual efforts. We started to bicker, what was worse was that the people that followed each of us started to bicker as well, before we knew it we stood on the head of a cult that believed that their idol was the most wonderful one. Then the bickering escalated to fighting and then never stopped and we always justified our actions by the symbolic value our followers characterized us with"

She rubbed her neck anxiously.

"It made us blind to the fact that the power that was inside us had its own plans, didn't help that it kept repeating that it loved us and so on. We didn't know when the world came to an end and I still don't know if it was done to protect or to taunt us, or if it was just an accident, but the force made sure that we remained true to our sickening determination for the rest of our miserable lives. So Avalar was turned into a tree, a literal sign of the Future, breathing polluted air, housing life and showing that this very life can grow. I was turned into the medallion you saw, Hope, black and white, a curse and a blessing in one. White as a blessing for the oppressed, black as a curse for the ruling"

She laughed.

"Funny thing is that I'm not mad, we deserved all of it"

"You've seen the world end and you're still here?" Hunter cocked his head "If you saw the Destroyer then that means existence was wiped out, earth purified in flames, nothing remains, then how come you're still here after all those years?"

"You know what the funniest thing about history is?" she turned to him with a sad smile, he could see that she pitied his naivety "It is written by those that survive. The Golem walks, yes, but we are the ones that it doesn't consume. This is why you must forget about Avalar, you can't free him because there is nothing left of him in there now, it's a husk, devoured by void of emptiness and loneliness. I was lucky to be sucked by one of those Veils, I survived the bonding with my trapped spirit only because I had enough life force in me" she rubbed her shoulders as if she would be freezing "You have no idea how cold it was, I was so scared, so damn scared that I could hardly breathe, you probably heard me dropping after I pushed you through the door. You have no idea how hard I cried seconds later"

Hunter's ears flattened, heart skipped a beat, he just learned two things that can change their lives, not only that but their entire lore about the universe. One, it was the news about survival of some objects, people, whatever after completion of the Belt of Fire, if Hope could survive it, then there might be something else out there with thousands years of experience under its belt, without being trapped like Hope was.

And it could be playing them as they speak.

Second, what was more frightening was the mention of the force Hope unleashed, it ended her world, if it did that it had to contain itself from the destruction somehow and if it did that means it is here with them now.

But where?

His ears peeked perked up, he snatched the girl by the shoulders, giving her a solid shake, he could hear her eyeballs rattling inside her skull.

She stiffened in his grasp like a log, holding her breath.

"Where is this force Hope? You know it is here, you wanted to protect me from it. Was it the crystal in Warfang?" he shook her again "You must tell me or it will end our world too!"

"You have really strong hands you know? Makes my knees all wobbly"

Hunter pushed away from her with a snarl, clenching his fists tightly.

"This is no time for your games!"

"If you would calm down and listen with your brain instead of your heart then you would hear that I said nothing about this force I wanted to protect your from destroying the world"

"You said this thing had a plan"

She snapped her fingers.

"Exactly. I never said it planned to gobble the entire earth. It might have, I'm not saying it didn't, but..." she shrugged "Experience taught me that things aren't exactly as they seem, something you learned also today, yes? I won't jump to conclusions until I see evidence with my own eyes, I advise you to do the same. There is no rush Hunter, if something ancient lived out there that had an appetite for a planet it would already swallow it up after developing the knack for it after several eras don't you think?"

He breathed heavily, thoughts were beating against his skull so frantically as if they were the pounding hands of a screaming mob trapped in a burning building. He had to admit that she was right, he was jumping to conclusions, but it didn't mean however that the being Hope unleashed wasn't here, he was certain it was, she wouldn't get so scared otherwise.

"What is this force you keep talking about? Was it the crystal?"

Hope bit her lip, her gaze running away from him.

It was clear as sun to him that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Hope, what is this force, tell me"

"I...I'm not sure anymore" hand returned to rub the back of the neck again, it was moving so fast that his nostrils were tickled by the gentle whiff of burnt fur "It was not the crystal though, worked on the same rules that's why my magic worked, but it was not it, the thing in Warfang was too...primitive"

This was hardly an answer, it definitely didn't satisfy his worries, in fact her response only worsened his fears. Her reaction was typical of someone confused, who got involved with someone she cared about, not entirely knowing all the secrets of that special someone. She found out it seems that not everything is as she expected, for better or worse.

It was undoubtedly personal and he felt wrong about pressing her on the matter, especially, whether he likes it or not, she was a living Ancestor and that alone demanded respect, let alone for someone who has the good of his specie in heart.

The connections between the otherworldly and magical were definitely out of his boundary of understanding, following different, more sophisticated rules than mere mortals, but the last events and especially his choking guilt, those two things alone were enough to demand some sort of peace of mind.

"Is it dangerous?" he pulled her tongue

Hope snorted mockingly.

"Of course it is, I wouldn't wet my pants otherwise"

"What is it?"

She squinted, burying her intense stare into the earth below as if trying to dig a hole in it with sight only.

"Don't you have anything else to ask about? I just turned your perception of the world upside down, the entire lore of your Realms can be one big delusion, why won't you focus on that?"

He leaned closer, bending, searching for her eyes.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, okay!?" she snapped at him, her tiara spitting blue sparks, her flicked mane slapping him across the nose, making him pull back "I don't know how to explain this, not so long ago I just connected with the memories of my wrecked spirit and I'm still trying to piece it up together, but I already know it won't be simple, because the force that I once cherished..." she coughed roughly "that possessed me I mean is no longer some magical cloud I inhaled, whispering sweet words I want to hear. What I believed to be manipulation might have been its own path of delusion" a finger trailed the line of her breasts, a strand of fur gently grazing over the stretching the shirt nipple "My girly heart would like that very much before it will all end"

"All end? Does it want to harm us?" he asked, despite the fact that his hand was busy scratching the chest where the medallion started to burn with pleading stings

Hope sighed, letting out an annoyed grunt into the sky.

"Thank whatever you believe in on your knees that you are my weak spot and I know what a sense of debt is" her head snapped, her eyes flashed with malicious flames "Otherwise this conversation would have taken a different turn by now"

"You wished to hear my voice, I obediently fulfill your desire even though the original reasons I came here were far different from pleasant. The only way to prolong this moment is for me to feed my curiosity with the details of your interesting self"

"My, my" she smiled, clapping her hands in appraise "Aren't you a sweet talker, who would have thought, very well, hard bargain is a hard bargain, you will have your answers, but I must say you got some serious balls there, you haven't even flinched!"

"The profession of a scout makes one hard to startle"

She reaches out, snatching his hand, she trailed her claw over the palm.

"Or perhaps you have touched Fear itself"

It was the hand where he impaled his palm on the crystal in Dante's Freezer, just before meeting Danox.

"The force was there in that gem and you survived it, so you tell me, did it harm you?"

He couldn't say, when he looks back there was definitely something gnawing at him, it all ended when he met Hope though, when she blessed his medallion. He didn't know what would have happened if he didn't meet Hope, but he didn't feel as if his life was in danger, or at least he didn't know it back then yet.

"I don't know the answer"

"Precisely" she let go off of his hand "Harm can be defined in many ways and you can put blame easily on the physical one. Would you harm yourself? Sometimes perhaps but always?" she spread her arms, making a spin, embracing the entire world "The force I opened is here and not here, it's everywhere and different in each spot, in this world each of you carry a spark of it inside, even you, for some reason it lives in each creature of this world, a tiny speck, but still there. We called it the Void in our times, from the place it came from, but I don't know if the name is fitting any longer, if it would want to hurt you it would have to hurt itself, not much of a self-preservation trait, huh?"

Hunter's ears folded down.

"I don't understand anything from what you just said"

"Neither do I" she shrugged "It's a total mess, but this is how evolution works, things we once knew become different and it takes a while to catch up. Even for me" she extended her hand, opening her palm to the rays of the sun, warm smile stretched her lips "Especially to me"

"For someone who just connected this Void with the word end you seem to be very relaxed about it"

"I am, because the end for me didn't come from the magic that possessed me" she tapped at her chest, right at the place where her heart hid "It came from here. This illusion, this recluse, I formed it and hid here because I'm fed up with attention, I want to stay away from the worries of the world and simply live in my own little bubble, enjoying life" she ran her fingers down her slender figure, moaning in bliss as she allowed the rays and breeze of wind to slip under every corner of her bent fur "On every part of me for as long as I can"

"The countless years spent in silence and loneliness made you crave the touch of the world, made you seek sensations, made you so...."

She grinned.

"Obtrusive?"

"Passionate" Hunter smiled warmly

Hope laughed.

"Life is Nature Hunter, this is why I have to feel it on my exposed fur, hence this" she tugged at her shorts and shirt that embraced her cleavage, showing a bit more of the feminine curves "Touches all the right places I tell you" a flirty grin spread her lips, eyes glowing invitingly

As appealing as the sight was he had enough of resolve in him to avoid staring in places where she wanted his eyes to land.

"Wouldn't it be easier just to toss clothing away altogether?"

"Of course it would but then I would lose all my charm. People get accustomed easily, no matter how sexy body I have if they would see my tits bouncing around every day and night they would get bored eventually. Besides I don't want males drooling all over me in hordes, I want them to be scared of me if they manage to spot me and nothing is more scary than a hot chick in scarce clothing, this way I save my breath, otherwise I would have to keep kicking them out forever"

She rested her hands on her hips, blowing the raven mane from the eyes.

"There is no life in mundane lust anyway, sex has to be emotional, this is why I'm reserved only for a special few, like you for example" she purred, batting an eyelash at him "And if you want to see me naked so desperately grab my boob and we'll arrange something"

Hunter smiled confidently.

"As enticing as your offer is, I must decline milady"

"Oh yes, you said it!" she squealed, pressing her hands against the cheeks in joy

Hunter giggled unexpectedly, startled by the sound he slammed a hand against his mouth, a fantastic sensation of bliss washed over his chest.

His medallion pulsed.

"I don't know why your rejection and sweet names make me feel so good but it's amazing! Another side of life I suppose"

"Y-you're welcome" he giggled through clenched teeth, cheeks blushing, one of the hands was clutching the blouse tightly

Hope cocked her head.

"What's the matter? Something's wrong?" she approached him quickly, arms folded behind her back, step full of worry

Hunter grabbed the end of his blouse, without a word pulling it through his head.

Hope's eyes widened as her sight grazed over the revealed, battered body of the cheetah.

"Me-ow" she whistled admiringly "You quickly changed your mind"

The awe was gone however the moment her eyes landed on a familiar symbol, a symbol that was not tied to any string or chain like a necklace supposed to be, nor it was locked by any pin.

The yin yang orb was burned into Hunter's flesh.

"Oopsie" she covered her mouth in shock

He ran a claw gently across the medallion.

"I believe there is still your essence inside. It keeps occasionally reflecting your emotions"

"That can happen, I like you very much and since you kept me close for so long I wanted to return the favor. I get too excited sometimes, the thing might project it" she leaned in, hissing as she wrinkled her nose at the destruction "While I have a taste for you and would sink my fangs into that warm chest I never planned to eat you that literally" her eyes trailed over the wounded area around the symbol, pieces of the flesh were already charred, but there were still many spots that seemed to fresh and definitely painful "Damn, that had to sting"

"It was uncomfortable, yes"

Blue eyes rose, gleaming in amusement.

"Should I kiss it to make it feel better?"

Hunter shook his head, pulling the shirt back on, making sure that the sleeves fall down on the intrusive feminine eyes.

"That won't be necessary"

She giggled, straightening back up.

"It should be a normal, magical necklace, but then again it worked, I will always be with you now, you will thank me later since you seem to get into the thick of things anyway" she smiled "After all you're the first cheetah wielding magic after eons, the world made a circle it seems and created our rave from the start again, with my modest help of course, but it still counts"

Hunter frowned, his heart thudding, did she just say he was wielding magic?

Hope noticed his confusion, noticed the spark of interest.

"Tell you what, stay with me this day, let's talk it all out, I will explain to you why you helped me stay invisible and then..." she wiggled her shoulders seductively "I'll offer you something in return"

"A bargain is only valid if the offer on the table is known"

She irritated her saucy lip with a claw.

"I will make your dreams come true"

Hunter sighed, speaking with Hope sometimes felt like trying to dissuade a child from the craving it had for sweets on a market stall.

"I'm not interested in your body"

"Sweet that you consider me a dream, but unfortunately I'm not a part of your wishes. I have something. I want to show you something else, you need to adjust to the new world you live in"

Her tiara and eyes exploded with fierce, blue flames, a glowing, golden light embraced her body, tugging at her fur.

Hunter gasped, tail stiffening, he had to fight really hard to not fall on his knees, all the teachings of his culture hit him right in the same time.

Hope was not a simple cat, never was.

She was an Ancestor, one of the first being that graced the Realms in its first, primitive forms.

She grinned, her glowing hand touching his face.

The medallion embedded in his chest began to sparkle.

"I will show you magic"