FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Raven Wolf - The Warriors - Chapter Twelve

Lumia lets out a sigh as she looks up at the clock on her wall. "Dolly and that team of Super Soldiers should be on their mission to try and capture Raven Wolf's leader by now..." She frowns leaning back in her chair annoyed. "She never did get back to me after I gave her that information. I wonder if she even bothered to go through all of it... probably not if she's still working for the military."

"-I suppose you should be thankful, so far there's no information in the military computers on her handing in information over to them, she's probably still up on the fence about what it is she should be doing-"

Lumia hangs her head. "If she would only read what I gave her she would have a much clearer idea on what she should do. Gosh..." She looks back to the small robot that was right now zipping about the room as it cleaned it. "So what do you think the outcome of this mission is going to be? Do you think the military or Raven Wolf is going to win this fight?"

"-It doesn't matter to me, either way you've prepared to handle both scenarios. So why worry about who's going to win?-"

*******

A loud cheer fills the air as two warriors fight with a large open circle, wilds surrounding them as they watch and cheer on the one they would want to win.

Kitchi stands among the sidelines, he standing with the warriors who right now waited for their fight even though he was not participating in the trials, he looking over to Teddy and speaking to him, a nervous look on his friend's face. "You're not scared are you?"

Teddy shakes his head no. "Of course not. I'm just can't believe that I'm finally doing this." He winces when he watches one of the two fighters hit the ground hard. "Of all the traditions that wilds have... this is just one that I never thought I would take part in."

Kitchi continues to question him, he wanting to make sure that he was ready despite this. "You managed to get to sleep last night I hope."

Teddy nods his head, though it felt like he would never fall asleep he was eventually able to. "Don't worry about me, butterflies may be turning in my stomach but I'm still ready."

A winner of the current round is announced, the next two warriors that were to fight one another now entering the clearing the wilds right now surrounded, one of them Maigan, Kitchi's older brother. The fight starts, and ends soon after, Maigan taking out his opponent as if it were no effort at all.

At this moment Teddy can feel himself getting a little bit scared, he not sure if he could handle an opponent like that. "Your brother is amazing..."

Kitchi frowns looking away from the fight. "He's not THAT great. Don't worry about him you can kick his self-absorbed butt no problem."

Maigan leaves the fighting stage the next two opponents now replacing him. Kitchi sighing as he watches them start. "Not to praise him or anything but I wish everyone was able to finish their fights as fast as my brother. I want this to be done with so that I can get home already."

Teddy looks from the fighters and back to him. "I can't help but notice you've been impatient to get home ever since we started out to do the trials."

Kitchi nods his head there no denying that. "Yeah... I never wanted to come at all, but Tahki and Shiya are pretty worried that something was going to happen at the trials so they wanted all of their available warriors to be here."

Teddy seems surprised, though he knew that Kitchi wasn't bothering to take part in the trials he had never thought that he would want nothing to do with them, "Really? Why would you want to stay behind, you never had a problem fighting for and representing Raven Wolf before?"

Kitchi sighs to himself. "Because of Alawa..."

Teddy laughs at the answer, Alawa the name of Kitchi's new baby sister, Kitchi quickly becoming hopelessly attached to her not only from being so happy to finally not be the youngest of the family, but because he thought that she was just the most adorable little thing in the world.

Kitchi frowns as he stares back at Teddy bitterly. "Don't make fun of me! It's not my fault that she's the most cutest thing in the whole entire universe!" He smiles looking up at the sky as he dazes off. "The day I was getting ready to leave for Iuana's trials she laughed for the first time, it was the most adorable thing that I have ever heard! Sooooo cute!!! It was so hard leaving her behind after hearing that!"

Teddy shakes his head he not really getting it, of course he grew up with his sister always being the same age as him, and he never had any other siblings older or younger, so he didn't really know what it was like to be a big brother. "You'll be back home in no time I'm sure."

Kitchi looks over to Teddy, speaking in a stern voice. "The faster you win this the sooner I can get home. So hurry up and win it already!"

*******

Shiya watches the warriors, he as usual when outside of his village, wearing the headdress that hid his features, he having to wear it every time he left the village.

Iuana sits right by his side as she watches the event while Tahki, Eleven and Hasson all stand by him and Iuana with their warriors masks dawned, it their job to keep Shiya and Iuana safe should someone try to attack.

Iuana lifts her hand covering her mouth as she yawns, they had already gone through a lot of fights, the whole ordeal just felt so long, she wanting it to be over and done with already.

Her uninterested mood changes when she sees Teddy walk into the center of the ring with his opponent, a smile crossing her face as she sits up leaning forward to watch.

Shiya smiles at her reaction, it clear to anyone who she favoured in this fight.

The two warriors begin to fight, Teddy quickly over powering his opponent and taking him out, Hasson letting out an impressed grunt as he looks over to Tahki. "He's beat him almost as fast as my son Maigan defeated his opponent."

Tahki smiles proudly, she always happy when her students did well.

Iuana lets out a sigh as Teddy leaves and the next pair walks toward the center. "Just how many do we have to go through?"

Shiya shakes his head at Iuana's impatience, he looking back out towards the crowds that were right now watching the fighters, his eyes stopping upon a wolf with fur as black as night.

Tahki notices that Shiya's attention has been taken from the fights he was supposed to be watching, she questioning him about this. "What's wrong Shiya? Do you see something that concerns you?"

Shiya looks back to her, a little surprised that she had noticed anything. "No, I just..." He looks back to the figure. "It's nothing really... it's just that she seems familiar."

Tahki stares of in the direction that Shiya is staring in, spotting the person in question but not seeing the familiarity that Shiya did. "Familiar? How?"

Shiya shakes his head unable to place her. "I don't know... just... familiar..."

*******

Dolly stands among the wilds that were right now watching the event, no one even giving her a second glace as she didn't look out of place at all, her now black fur also keeping anyone from easy recognizing her as Teddy's sister. She watches as Teddy talks among the warriors, he waiting for his turn in the fights to come up once again, Dolly shaking her head and whispering lowly under her breath. "Teddy what are you doing...?"

Zack's voice can be heard over a radio system that is hidden underneath Dolly's traditional clothing. "I told you he would be all over this."

A disappointed tone can be heard in Dolly's voice, she still mumbling to herself as to not to be heard by the cheering wilds around her, but loud enough so that her radio could pick her up. "He has the mark on him now... the cured mark..."

"So? Don't tell me you're the type that believes in stuff like that."

Dolly doesn't say anything, she not wanting to openly admit to Zack and the other Super Soldiers that she indeed believed in both the spirits and curses, as that would only make them laugh at her and in turn her angry at them for mocking her about it, she setting the comment aside as she gets back to the business at hand. "How are things on everyone else's end?"

Chase's voice answers her first. "I can see you from where I am, and Raven Wolf's leader. Security around him is really tight, just like you predicted."

*******

Chase is laying down on the ground on a high ledge that overlooked the area the trials were taking place in, he looking at their target through the scope of a sniper rifle, he taking a moment to move his view off of him and look over each of the people that surrounded him. "I can't tell which ones are the super soldiers though... they all have those mask things on their head so I can't see if any of them have a tattoo in their ear."

Vaan sits down on the ground a few feet back from him, he working on a laptop that had been brought with him, the feed from the sniper rifle displaying on his screen as well. "Chase is right, I can't see their faces either, and the clothes they're wearing make it hard to even distinguish any part of their figure that might be used to help identify them."

Chase lets out a sigh as he takes his eye from the scope of the sniper rifle. "So we're basically not going to know who they are until we have to start fighting them."

*******

Kane, Alistair and Zack all sit inside of a plane that flies high hidden behind the clouds, they also watching the feed through Chase's sniper rifle on a monitor they had with them. Kane looking over the figures that Chase was going over. "Looks like it, I can't pick them out either."

A look of recognition suddenly fills Alistair's face. "Get me a close up on the left arm of the one that's standing right beside the target."

The screen changes as Chase moves the scope toward the area Alistair has told them to go to, a wide grin filling the coyote's face as he begins to nod his head, he recognizing this person without a doubt. "Batch twelve seventeen, number Forty Nine."

Zack looks surprised, he remembering the group that went by that number. "The mice?"

Kane seems impressed. "How could you have possibly recognized her?"

Alistair approaches the monitor, lifting his hand an pointing to a small scar that was hidden by the warrior tattoos she had on her arm, it really only standing out if you were looking for it. "Batch twelve seventeen had self regeneration issues, unlike the rest of us it would take a very long time for their wounds to heal, and when they did heal they would always be left with scars, no matter how light the wound." He smiles tapping his finger against the scar. "I only ever got into a fight with one of them, number Forty Nine. This scar is from me."

*******

Vaan begins looking through some files on his computer. "Batch Twelve Seventeen excelled in melee and close quarters combat, number Forty-Nine specifically was noted for taking risks despite how the odds against her might be. If that's indeed her like you think then you'll have to take care when dealing with her."

Chase lets out an annoyed grunt. "That's not fair! Raven Wolf got a girl? All the Super Soldiers in the domestic military are all guys, how did they end up with a girl?"

Vaan looks back to Chase. "Is that really important right now?"

"Of course it is! There's seven of us known to be left, the military has five and we're all guys, Raven Wolf has two and one of them turns out to be a girl!?"

Kane's voice speaks up through the radio. "Focus on your mission Chase."

Chase looks away from the scope once more when the sunlight shines on him, the brightness from him forcing him to turn away, Chase blinking for a moment when he sees something else, he rubbing his eyes and taking a second glace, whatever it was that he had thought to have seen in the corner of his eye now gone.

Vaan looks over to Chase when he notices that he's stopped surveying the wilds below them. "You better not be falling asleep."

Chase frowns as he looks back to him. "I'm not falling asleep! I already took my medication for this mission, I'm wide awake." He looks back out to the sky, there nothing there. "I just thought... that I saw something."

Vaan frowns at the comment. "It was probably a bird, they've been known to do stuff like that you know, fly in and out of sight. Now get back to what you're supposed to be doing."

Chase nods his head, looking back through the sniper rifle at his targets below. "So how much longer do you think this is going to take?"

*******

Dolly looks the group over, the warriors that had won their first trail all gathered around the Shaman of Raven Wolf as he spoke to them. "It looks like they're all done their first rounds, and are about ready to starts their second. Just be patent."

She looks from them and back to the ledge that Raven Wolf's leader watches the fights from, she taking into account the markings and clothing each of them wore to try and distinguish their positions in the pack. "It looks like the elders and anyone that's not a warrior are not here."

Kane gives a deep growl over the radio. "They're being cautious, it seems that they've been expecting that the military might act during the trials. That may make things a little more difficult for us."

Dolly watches as the group that had gathered around Raven Wolf's Shaman break up after being put into pairs to fight, the first two warriors for this round of the trials stepping forward, soon starting their bout.

Dolly sighs to herself, today was going to be a long day... and not because of all of the fights she would have to watch, but because when this competition came to an end she and her companions would be fighting against her brother.

The first time it had happened was one thing, it had been just her and Magellan, and Teddy had been confused and undecided, unable to make up his mind on what side he should be on. It though was now clear whose side he had decided to take, and it was now more than just her and Magellan dealing with him.

As much as Dolly didn't want her brother to get hurt it was going to be very hard to avoid.

*******

Maigan sits in wait for his turn to come up, he looking over to Teddy who was right now talking to Kitchi, he also waiting. The fight in which Teddy and Maigan would been faced up against one another rather early in the trials, they having to fight on another when their turn came up during this round of fights.

Teddy looks back to him when he notices that Maigan is staring down at him. "What?"

Maigan sighs to himself as he shakes his head. "Nothing... I just didn't expect that I would be fighting you so soon in the trials. I was expecting it to be much later, perhaps as even one of the last fights."

Kitchi laughs at the comment. "We'll you're going to have to complain to Achak about that one now aren't you."

Maigan folds his arms as he looks over to Teddy. "How much do you want to win this?"

Iuana's image immediately fills Teddy's head, there no way that he was going to lose her to anyone else. "More than anything in the world."

Maigan closes his eyes nodding his head. "You think the same as I do. It's sure to be a good fight then."

Achak bounds past the three of them, running up to a warrior that had been wounded during the trials and quickly starting to tend to his wounds. Teddy watches him as he works, a tone of concern in his voice. "So what do you think about what Tahki told everyone, that Shiya suspects that the domestic military may attack us during the trails."

Maigan shrugs his shoulders, he really not knowing much about any of that. "You would know better than me, you're the one that used to be in the Domestic Military not me."

Teddy nods his head that indeed true, and if he thought about it he could clearly see what the answer was. The military was trying to capture Shiya, but couldn't easily do it because they were unable to locate the Raven Wolf village. This event though was outside of Raven Wolf, and was known among many tribes in the country, heck even his own father who wasn't even a wild anymore had known about it, there was no doubt that the military would have caught wind of this and use it to their advantage.

Kitchi looks over to Teddy. "From what I hear Yula had some kind of vision about the trials... but it didn't make any sense to anyone that heard it, Shiya's pretty certain that it's a warning though, so it really doesn't hurt for us to be cautious."

Teddy seems confused. "No one could understand it? That's weird... I wonder what his dream was like... Shiya's been pretty good up until now at deciphering them."

Kitchi shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know... the chieftain is the only one that Yula can tell the dreams to, and then if the chieftain cannot understand it he is only permitted to go over the details of it with the tribe's shaman, but even Achak couldn't make any sense of it."

Teddy frowns as he looks over to Achak who is right now spinning in circles as he chases his own tail. "Yeah... well Achak isn't exactly the type that's good at making sense out of things that might be confusing."

Maigan gets to his feet. "It's our turn." He begins walking forward to the clearing.

Teddy gets to his feet to follow him, Kitchi smiling at him before he leaves. "Good luck Teddy."

Maigan and Teddy both stop at the center of the clearing, Teddy looking over to his opponent, Maigan much larger and intimidating than him, that though not bothering Teddy, it didn't matter who he had to fight, he was going to win this competition.

Maigan stares at Teddy, he hated to admit it to himself but we was defiantly jealous of Teddy, after all Maigan had done so many things and gained a reputation, while Teddy had done nowhere near as much as him, but still managed to garner more attention than him from Iuana, and it wasn't only her, many members of Raven Wolf were hoping that Teddy would win, Tahki, Shiya, even Kitchi his own little brother!

Maigan and Teddy both draw their weapons, this moment would be the deciding factor between the two of them, the duel that would prove once and for all who was more worthy for the position of Iuana's suitor and the future title of chieftain of the Raven Wolf tribe.

Maigan lets out an angered snarl as he moves forward, his hand gripped tightly on the hilt of his blade as he runs forward, swinging the weapon at his opponent, Teddy jumping back to avoid being cut into and readying the spear that he had, his footing quick as he lunged forward to attack after Maigan's blade is swung past him. Maigan moving out of the way as Teddy's weapon barely grazes his skin.

The two pass by the other ending up back to back, the two both turning back around to face one another, their weapons meeting and clashing as they held each other's figures in place, Teddy and Maigan both baring their fangs as they push against the other in an attempt to overpower their opponent, Teddy's much smaller figure the one to get pushed back, Maigan not only larger but also stronger than he was.

Teddy breaks himself free before Maigan is able to completely overpower him, taking several steps back as he prepared himself to attack in a different way, brute force obviously not going to play in his favour in this round. Teddy dashes forward once again, this time circling around Maigan and swinging his weapon at him, hitting Maigan and forcing him back, the large wolf letting out a painful grunt before retaliating against Teddy, taking the blade he held and slicing it at him, cutting a deep gash in Teddy's right arm.

Teddy grinds his teeth in pain but does not allow that to force him back, he instead catching his spear around Maigan's arm, locking it under his shoulder and then using it to forcefully throw him to the ground, Maigan hitting it hard.

Teddy takes several steps back while holding his hand over the deep cut in his right arm, that not only going to make this fight more difficult but every fight he would have after it as well.

Maigan pushes himself back to his feet, though Teddy had not drawn much blood from him his body was still aching from his attacks, Teddy a lot better than he had first given him credit for. He looks back to Teddy reading his weapons once again, Teddy returning the gesture it clear that he was not done this fight yet.

Teddy rushes forward to attack, Maigan preparing himself for the advance as he lunges forward and swings his blade at Teddy before he can attack, Teddy instead of swinging his weapon back at him leaping over Maigan's blade, landing on his large arm and using it to propel him behind Maigan, Teddy swinging the spear he held over his head and gathering momentum in the weapon before swinging it at Maigan and hitting him hard on the back of the head, Maigan hitting the ground, he not getting up as quickly this time.

Maigan slowly pushes himself back up, lifting his hand and holding the back of his head in pain, he opening his eyes and looking up to find the blade of Teddy's spear pointed at his neck, Maigan letting out a deep growl, it clear what the outcome of this battle was, he though not approving of it.

Maigan hangs his head in defeat, Teddy pulling his spear back and holding it at his side, the winner of this round having been decided with the gesture that Maigan had just displayed. Teddy looks away from his defeated opponent and up to where Iuana right now sat, her wide smile able to be seen by him even from this distance, Teddy smiling back at her, if he could best Maigan in this competition than he could beat anyone.

*******

Shiya gives an impressed nod as he looks back to Tahki. "I didn't think he would be able to defeat Maigan so quickly. That's impressive."

Iuana seems completely thrilled over the turn of events. "I was so worried, I'm glad that he was able to beat him."

Hasson lets out a disappointed sigh, he more worried about how this would play out when he got home rather than how it was turning out now. "Teddy gave Maigan a small cut during the fight... I'm not going to hear the end of it..."

Iuana looks back to Hasson, his wife always getting angry and blaming him whenever one of their sons managed to get hurt in any way. "She must know that there's nothing that you could have done, it was the trails he got hurt in after all."

Hasson shakes his head logic not a factor when it concerned the health of their sons, it not that simple with his wife. "That would mean very little to her..."

*******

Teddy walks back to Kitchi letting out a relived sigh, his body slightly trembling from the fight, facing Maigan having made him unbelievably nervous. "I can't believe how intimidating your brother is!" He looks down at his trembling hands. "I was ready to fight him right up until I actually had to face him, I was terrified that I was just going to freeze on spot or something."

Kitchi laughs at Teddy's comment. "Don't feel bad about it, you're not required to be perfect to complete the trials, all you have to do is win."

Teddy nods his head sitting on the ground next to Kitchi, Achak bounding up next to him and looking over the wound he had received from the fight. "Maigan got you pretty good didn't he?"

Teddy quickly pulls away from Achak before he is able to even start putting any kind of ointment on it, Teddy having had nothing but bad experiences when Achak dealt with his wounds. "Don't even think about it!!"

Achak grabs onto Teddy's arm trying to get him to keep still. "You want to win the trials don't you!? You can't do it with an open wound like that."

Kitchi nods his head as he looks back to Teddy. "He's right you know."

Teddy pulls his arm back from Achak, the shaman giving him an annoyed frown, he looking over to Kitchi while pointing to Teddy. "Hold him down for me."

Kitchi nods his head as he gets to his feet approaching Teddy and grabbing onto his arm holding him down, Teddy struggling to get away from him. "Stop it! Let go!!"

Achak takes the ointment he has with him placing it on the wound. "Relax, Shiya helped me with and double checked the mixture, you'll live through it I promise." He takes a cloth once he is done placing the ointment on the open wound, wrapping it over the wound and then tying it on Teddy's arm to help stop the bleeding, he looking back up to Teddy once he is done. "There, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Teddy stops his struggling as he looks back to his now covered wound, it actually for once not being a nightmare.

Achak frowns when Teddy doesn't say anything in thanks to his help, he crossing his arms and staring at him crossly. "You're welcome."

Teddy looks from his wound and back to Achak. "Oh... sorry... or I mean, thanks."

*******

The trials continue and the warriors that had gathered continue to fight on another in an attempt to impress both Raven Wolf's chieftain and the spirits, the number of suitors diminishing with each round, Iuana's heart beating faster and faster as Teddy continued to progressed.

Tahki and the other warriors grow more apprehensive as the battles continue, they all waiting and ready for if the Domestic Military were to attack, the fact that there had been absolutely no signs of them not relaxing like one would think it would make them, it in fact making them more worried and cautious.

Teddy soon finds himself in the final battle within the suitors trials, though the expression he displayed was one of unflinching determination, on the inside he was almost stunned with both disbelief and excitement that he managed to make it this far in the trials.

He looks across from him at the red fox that had managed to reach this point just as he had. Just one more opponent, one more and everything would be over with, he would have earned the right to be together with Iuana.

The many wilds that had gathered to take part in or watch the event all stare in complete silence, everyone waiting for something to happen and not wanting to chance missing anything.

Both Teddy and his opponent react at the same time, leaping forward to attack the other.

Dolly frowns as she looks from Teddy and up to the leader of Raven Wolf, to her it didn't matter who won, in only a few minutes Raven Wolf's leader would come to acknowledge the winner of the trials and she would give the signal for the super soldiers to act in an attempt to capture him.

Kitchi sits next to his older brother Maigan as he watches the last to suitors fight, it wouldn't be much longer now and the fight would be over. He looks up to his older brother, a curious look on his face. "So are you hoping for Teddy to win? Or are you cross at him for losing and secretly hoping the other guy wins."

Maigan lets out a deep chuckle as he looks down to his brother. "It is true that I lost, but I am not cross at him for it."

Kitchi seems surprised, he not expecting a response like that from his overly proud brother who loved nothing more than to talk about himself. "Really?"

Maigan nods his head yes, the only reason he able to admit that because these trials were more than just about one's skills as a warrior. "Teddy has won this competition long before it started, these trials are more than about strength, they are about resolve, dedication and love as well. No one carries these things for Iuana stronger than him."

Kitchi looks back out toward the two fighting warriors, he kind of getting it but at the same time kind of not, all he seeing through the whole ordeal was warriors fighting other warriors over a girl, nothing more complicated than that.

Teddy throws his final opponent to the ground, pinning him down and keeping him down until his opponent finally lowers his head and gives the gesture of defeat, the trials for Iuana's suitor ending at that.

Teddy looks up from his opponent when he hears the cheers and congratulations from the wilds around him, he looking up toward Iuana who was jumping up and down in her excitement, she wrapping her arms around her father and hugging him tightly, pushing him over and flattening him against the ground by accident.

Teddy laughs when he sees this, he raising his hand and waving to Iuana.

Dolly narrows her eyes as she watches as the leader of Raven Wolf pulls himself out of his daughters grip, he now getting to his feet and moving forward, jumping down from the ledge that he had been viewing the fights from and approaching the victor of the battles.

Dolly bites the bottom of her lip as she looks back to Teddy, of the many warriors that had come why did it have to be him that won? The center where Shiya would soon be possibly the most dangerous place to be once the Super Soldiers she was with were given the signal to attack.

Tahki looks over to Hasson an Eleven, she uncomfortable with not being able to accompany Shiya at this point. "Keep your eyes open! This is when Shiya is most vulnerable."

Shiya comes to a stop in front of Teddy, he looking up to him. "You have face and completed all of the trials that have been set before you, the spirits and I have seen you as worthy to both have Iuana's hand and take my place of Raven Wolf's leader." He holds his hand out for Teddy to take. "Congratulations."

Teddy places his hand within Shiya's clutching it tightly, though he had no idea of just what he was in store for when it came to filling the requirements needed to be a chieftain he was ready and willing to take them. "Thank you."

A loud bang fills the air, startling everyone in the area, Teddy and Shiya both turning toward the noise to find a wolf with black fur standing with her right arm in the air, a small flare gun gripped tightly in her hands, the two quickly looking from the small gun and toward the air where a the bright light of a flare was quickly rising into the air.

*******

Zack is looking out the open side of the aircraft they are in, he motioning to Kane and Alistair and pointing down toward the light of the flare below him, the bright light signalling to the domestic military that was standing by that it was time to act as well as giving them the drop location.

Kane nods his head as he looks the group over. "You both know your tasks, now let's go."

The large tiger leaps out of the plane, Alistair following soon after.

Zack watches the two of them fall for a moment, this was it, the assault on Raven Wolf that both he and Dolly had been dreading. He soon follows his comrades leaping out of the side of the plane and quickly dropping down to the ground below, there was no stopping it now, all that he and Dolly could really do was hope that the people they cared about didn't get hurt, as useless as that might be.