The Wolf and the Lion
#7 of Tail Underground
It was late and the darkness rolled in unexpectantly on the Lion-morph working on his documents. He hadn't realized it but the sun had already gone down as he slowly decided to take a stroll through his garden before he went to bed. He smiled gently looking around in the complete darkness, but able to make out the sillouettes of the plants that were planted earlier that day. But for some reason, something didn't sit write with him, like something was a miss, not a miss exactly, but something was there that didn't belong. The king slowly looked around but saw no one, but suddenly heard a voice coming from behind him.
"Don't turn around... just stand exactly like you are..." the voice growled.
Arca stood in attention, listening to the sound as he shook his ear, "So, you assassin's come to finish the job you started earlier... you're going to finally kill me..." he said sternly with a hint of aggitation.
"Now now Arca... If I were here to kill you... I would have done that already... at least three times..." the voice said gently.
Arca looked puzzled "Three times? you must be an excellent assassin to sneak by these defences..."
The voice chuckled as a wolven figure stood behind him veiled in shadow, "Not assassin dear King... Ninja..."
Arca was familiar with the word after learning from the now Emperor Xing of his lands, "Ninja?! so you are from Han-Ma then..."
The figure leaned against a tree, his side to the king, "Not exactly Arca... though I did learn everything I know from there..." the figure said gruffly.
Arca closed his eyes softly as he wanted to turn around, but knew he couldn't, "What is it you want? Money? a possition of power? what?" the King demanded.
The figure stood behind him, almost dead behind him, "I merely have three demands king... three easy to follow and simple demands... one, My master is a fine man, he did not send me to you, no... I'm here for... different reasons, you may not agree with some of his ideals..."
Arca interupted and growled gently, "You mean Tail Raising..."
Suddenly, from the darkness a ninja-to appeared out of no where and across his throat, "Watch your tongue Arca... you wouldn't want this Dragon's Tooth to taste your blood do you?!"
Arca almost immediately knew what the weapon was made of "Orichalcum?! but... where'd you get such a metal..."
The Figure did not move the blade from his neck, "Never you mind Arca... the First demand is no harm will come to my new home-land's leader... GOT THAT?!?!"
Arca growled softly, "What's the second demand?"
He looked to him with utmost disdain, "Two... Sir Ian shall not be harmed either... Sir Ian means a lot to my leader, considering that Sir Ian has saved his life several times..."
Arca nodded "Fine then... what is the Final Demand..."
The figure slowly pulled his blade away and quickly resheithed it, "Last But not least... I want you to stop all this foolish non-sence about Tail Raisers being weak... You Hear me arca?!"
Arca growled audiably and clenched his fist, "so this is a tail raising issue, you're a terrorist aren't you?"
The Figure chuckled slightly, "are you filled with terror?" Arca turned around quickly to where the figure was, but found he was screaming at nothing, "OF COURSE NOT!!!!"
The Figure then reappeared behind him, slowly pacing back and forth behind him, "Then I'm not a terrorist..."
Arca grew quite aggitated at his antics and quickly went for his sword, only to be met with the blade at his neck again, "No, no king... we wouldn't want this sword to get to anxious..." said the figure, as he then pulled the blade away and slaped the sword away from the kings hand, sliding it away from the two.
Arca growled loudly again, "Who the hell do you think you are demanding such things from me?! Are you a Tail Raiser?!?!"
The figure replaced his sword and stared at the king, "once, years ago... but my carnal desires have been destroyed because of the likes of you... I have no love, no desire... just the darkness... just hatred for you... and all that you've done to me when I was younger..."
Arca snaped up, "so... you've come to exact your revenge on me..."
The figure started getting angry and placed the blade beside his neck, "TWENTY YEARS ARCA!!!! TWENTY GRUELING, HARSH, AND GOD FORSAKEN YEARS!!!!!!"
Arca didn't flinch what so ever, not faultering, "what ever you've done you've brought upon yourself..."
The Figure the put the cold metalic blade against his throat, so he could feel the sharpness of the blade, "You were the one who casted me out... you were the one who left me for dead... Turn around arca..." The King was hesitant, as he slowly closed his eyes and turned. After facing the figure he opened them to see a young wolven figure with a scar over one of his eyes, blue as sapphires, burning brightly with hatred, almost piercing the king's soul, yet a mask covered his muzzle so his true identy wouldn't be revealed. "Stare into thise Azure portals of mine so-Called King... stare into the eyes of the boy who's life you ruined twenty years ago... the boy whom you banished to the desert to the east..."
With that, the King suddenly fell backwards in utter horror, "Y... YOU?!?!?! IT... IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!" the king stuttered in terror.
"That's right Arca..." the wolf said, "STARE INTO THE EYES OF THE GHOST OF HUNTER VALE!!!!!" With that the wolf lunged at the king, intending to bury his blade into the King's heart, then suddenly, he stopped, the King stared on as the blade was mere inches away from piercing his flesh.
Suddenly, the figure closed his eyes, "Twenty years.... Twenty god forsaken years of suffering.... agony, the pain you had caused me Arca... the fury you embued into me..." then the figure pulled his blade away from the leader's chest and slowly replaced it into the sheith on his back, "and I still can't do it..."
Arca stared on as the young wolf obviously had pain in his eyes "Why?!" asked the king, "why can't you kill me?"
The wolf closed his eyes and said nothing, just simply turning away. "DAMNIT HUNTER!!!" he screamed loudly as he stood up, as if chasing after him, "If you can't tell me why you can't kill me... then just go ahead and slit my throat!!!!! TELL ME!!!!!"
With that the young wolf turned his head as he stopped, "Death isn't the appropriate fate for a misguided leader..." and with that, the young wolf vanished into the shadows.
It was at this time the guards finally came around, hearing the noice, "King Arca?! King Arca are you alright?!"
The king stood there for a moment and then looked to his Guards, "Yes... I'm fine... there's nothing to worry about... I was merely... merely reciting a play I saw recently..."
As the guards walked away obviously confused, Arca narrowed his eyes, he didn't know why he covered for the young ninja wolf, perhaps because he knew he would possibly never find who he really was, it was already impossible to find out if he was really Hunter Vale... the Young king slowly began walking back towards his quarters, it was late, and he had much to do tomarrow...