FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Rites"

"Hnn come on. Come on..." Akela said as he tried to hold his shoulder pad in place, stretching the buckle across his chest to clasp it with his other pad. He groaned in frustration as the buckle slipped a bit almost missing the catch completely, and then sighed as it hung together long enough for him to regrip it. He clicked the piece into place, polishing off the old Silver Fang sect symbol that was emblazoned upon it. "Finally..." He whispered as he glanced around.

The young wolf was just a cub to the tribe. He hadn't gone through his rites yet, and he felt like the rest of his tribe was preventing him from doing so. He'd show them, he would prove himself if it was the last thing he'd do. "Ouch!" He winced as he jabbed his ear with a tribal earring, narrowly missing the piercing the first time before slipping it in. He inhaled sharply and looked around again, the rest of them were asleep, a dull flicker of fire still illuminated the main square of the camp as he quietly prepared.

It was high summer, the night was humid and the wolf was sweating under his fur, he hadn't really attained his crinos form for long yet, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from taming a behemoth as a mount. Long gone were the days of automobiles and other forms of travel, the only way a werewolf traveled now if not on their own paws was on the back of a beast they formed a partnership with. His eyes fell to the headdress, the only part left to his wardrobe that he hadn't tried on yet. He sighed as he plucked it from its stand and he placed it on his head, it drooped down somewhat forward, the head dipping just a little bit into Akela's line of vision, but he could still see in front of him. He'd underestimated the heft of the headdress, but it felt good to wear, looking at his reflection in a mirror he pondered how he looked for a moment before realizing how late it had gotten. He had to get out of there and find his own destiny before everyone woke to find him gone. He still had hours to go until dawn, he had plenty of time to find the behemoth cave and claim his right to adulthood.

Shouldering a satchel on his back, Akela slid through the tent flap and quickly stepped across the grounds, headed toward the moonlit open field just beyond. As he made his way onto the field and started to cross, he began to move from a quick walk to a run. Feeling the night air push back against his fangs, Akela began to run harder and faster to make his way toward the treeline. Once he ran past that, he was home free. Pausing a moment to look behind him at the tents, now barely visible in the night, he began to breathe a little easier. Now he did it, now he was on his own.

The forest trail had disappeared no more than half a mile into the woods, Akela sniffed the air, the anthro wolf having to recognize his location by scent. The behemoths lived in a cave in the northern mountain, the trek was half a day's hike for any garou, and for Akela it was about double that. He hadn't been out on his own since he'd awakened. But he couldn't wait, he didn't want to wait for his chance encounter... he knew he had to prove himself to them.

The moonglow broke through the trees above, sending shafts of light through the woods as Akela jogged further and further into the darkness, his nose picked up the subtle hints of the atmosphere, he could almost smell what it must have been like before the Apocalypse happened, but being hundreds of years ago, he could only read books on it. Slipping past the tree line and hopping over a small running stream, Akela moved along swiftly and silently, glancing over his shoulder at every small sound, becoming worried that his absence would be noticed long before he could reach the foothills. But if he could make them before sunrise without being caught, he'd be able to slip in for his prey. Take the beast down and claim it as his own, it was a simple matter of overpowering one of the great behemoths...

Akela's gait slowed a little. He looked around again and rubbed the back of his neck, putting his arm down, he felt it brush across the thick bladed sword that jutted from his belt and he looked down at it. Was he really willing to risk himself for the sake of being an adult, at least in the eyes of his tribe?

A soft rumble from a great distance turned the wolf's ears toward it. He looked up and felt his ears subtly turn toward the source of the baying. It sounded like the behemoth were out in force tonight, hunting by the sounds of it. He ducked down slightly and quickly crept over to the thick trunk of a tree nearby. *CRASH! BANG!* Akela felt his chest shake as something struck the ground. Quickly, the wolf grabbed the trunk of the tree with his claws and thrust himself up the tree and slid out onto the first level of branches to gain a better vantage. The beasts were massive, two legged creatures. Probably the last of Gaia's changing kin. He could barely make them out in the low light, he could see at least four though, there were possibly more moving toward the area. They were more shadowy than visible, but he could see one of them a bit better than the rest with a pelt of snow white fur he looked like a moving iceberg that was creeping slowly toward him. Akela was sure they hadn't spotted him and quickly he moved higher up the tree. A slight skid as his claws slipped on the wood, Akela nearly fell clean off the branch, but caught himself at the last second. Hoisting himself onto the highest branch he could reach, he peered down and watched the beasts. Their eyes glowed slightly in the dark, an ambient feel to their gaze that glowed off the surfaces they looked at, he didn't want to risk it, the wolf slipped behind the tree trunk, trying to make himself invisible to the approaching creatures as they approached the lower branches, brushing them aside and making the tree wobble. Akela gasped and then exhaled slowly as he nearly fell from the tree in their wake. He couldn't be seen now, he'd be as good as dead.

Finally, he watched them pass and make their way further along the dark tree line. He could see them wave and tip as the beasts made their way along, giving a good indication to their direction. The wolf came down from the tree with a light thud and bolted toward their movement, using the sounds of their feet striking the ground as a way to guide him to them.

Several hundred yards separated Akela from the hunting party. From that far away he could hear the grizzly cries of their attack, and the screeching death throes of whatever they'd caught. His skin crawled, he needed to keep up with them, but Akela hadn't noticed that the moonlight that had been helping him see had slowly begun to fade away. As he turned and found a small trail of stone leading past the shallow stream, it had begun raining hard. A torrent of cold water ran down the back of Akela's headdress, making him shiver. But he couldn't stop to look for shelter, he needed to keep moving, he needed to find the behemoth's cave.

After another slippery few miles, Akela realized he had lost the band in the rain. Their strides were too long compared to his. He tried to pick up the pace, but instead he reached another stream and as he tried to cross it, he slipped and fell headlong into a thick pool of mud. He cried out in frustration as he pulled himself from the pool and wiped his face off, trying to clean off the mud with the aid of the rain, which was just now beginning to ebb off.

Akela climbed from the stream, soaked to the bone, his outfit seemed no worse for the wear though, much to his surprise. He realized by that moment that the sky had already begun to slowly illuminate with the morning light. He frowned as he moved toward a line of trees. Had he failed? Had he really lost sight of a group of giant behemoth before he could find one to tame and mount for himself? He groaned and leaned past the tree line, pausing more out of shock than actual surprise, he saw the foot of a massive mountain only about a mile or so away from where he stood. The behemoth would be in a network of caves near the base of the mountain. But he needed to be quiet about it. These beasts were fiercely territorial, and they wouldn't hesitate to smash Akela into a pulp if he wasn't careful.

Akela's legs were already hurting after the mile and a half took him to the mountainside. He sniffed the air for the familiar smell of the behemoths as he crept along, trying to make sure he avoided the traps and the guards that seemed to consistently cordon the place off. "C'mon... I know you're here." Akela whispered to himself as he continued past a crag and spotted the cave only a few meters away. He smiled. "Perfect..." He whispered as he checked around and slipped inside, avoiding the only seeming guard on duty who was busy snoozing by the entrance to pay him any mind.

The cave seemed smaller on the inside than its mouth led Akela to believe. Slowly, he unsheathed his sword, hearing its song of metal echo. The walls were dank, and smelled heavily of mildew. The sound of dripping water at some unseen source made him realize that it was a wet cave, very much alive. Unlike many others he'd see that had already been dry for over a hundred years. The behemoth here worked to keep the cave sysystem alive and thriving. He found himself in a larger room now, this one with many workers flooding the various sides of it, chipping at the stone with small instruments, directing the water which they obviously used to drink. These hulking behemoth moved back and forth like clockwork around a central figure, but who it was he couldn't see. He stepped into the main room and crept along the wall, though he began to wonder if they even cared he was there at all. He just needed to find an opponent worthy of becoming his mount...

There was a whipping noise of something swinging through the air, then a massive club swung into Akela's front. "HUAHHH!" He cried out as the blunt force struck him like a fist and sent him flying back. Akela felt the sword drop from his hand and slide somewhere in the darkness as a massive behemoth rose from the darkness.

He was enormous, this stark white and gray behemoth towered over Kiba by at the very least twelve feet in height. His yellowed eyes stared down at him, and he noticed one of them had gone silver in color, likely from blindness. A long slash through his left eye likely happened from another great battle. But he seemed to bear it well as he raised his massive club again and brought it down to strike the wolf who rolled out of the way, avoiding the shattering shrapnel as the club hit.

"King destroy intruder!" The beast bellowed, making the rest of the behemoth cringe, even some faint as they fell back against the walls.

King was the name of the behemoth leader. A massive and foul tempered beast who was much stronger than most of his kind put together. Finding his courage, and his sword, Akela charged at King, letting out a long battle cry as he dragged the metal against the ground, lighting up the darker tunnel with the sparks flying from his sword. He roared and threw himself into the air, but King swung his weapon and swatted Akela away like he was swatting a fly. Akela barely managed to dodge the attack and bounced off the beast's arm. "HAHHH!" He cried as he threw himself into the air and swung his weapon. It barely nicked the behemoth's shoulder and he saw a small trail of blood drain from it.. But still, the monster swatted him like he was nothing more than a mosquito. Chuckling deeply as he tried to catch him.

"You cannot hurt me, little one. I am too big!" He announced before bringing his massive club back into the air and bringing it hard down to the ground. Again Akela leaped from the end of the club and tried to slice into King's stomach, but the beast merely chuckled and stepped aside before snatching up the wolf in his hands and lifting him off the ground. "You wear the garb of an ancient tribe." He said as he peered at the sigil across the wolf's chest. "And with their tenacity, you would continue to fight me, why is this?"

Akela's expression changed slightly. This beast was actually much more intelligent than his kind had given them credence for. "I wear it to be strong like them." He said. "To fight with the strength they had, when Gaia first fell."

"But you are not them. You are different."

Akela nodded. "Yes. My tribe lives now, not hundreds of years ago when the Silver Fangs ruled. But I still strive to be like them."

"Hmm." The beast nodded, putting Akela on the ground. "I understand this, this plight to be different. Come with me."

The beast lumbered away slowly, allowing Akela to follow him, the wolf was surprised as they entered a smaller antechamber to the main room, which held a deep pit. King stopped at the edge of the pit and pointed down. "This is our purpose..." He said. Looking down, Akela could only recognize some of the equipment from ancient history books; telephones, VCRs, records and record players; it was a treasure trove of ancient technology that the Behemoth stored in their mountain. "Our purpose... to learn the past, to live in the present. It is our greatest treasure. Why have you come here?"

"I've come to..." Akela frowned and slid his sword back into his belt. "I'd come to battle with you, to claim you as my mount and to ride you back to my tribe as a full fledged adult and not just a cub..."

"Your... Rite of Passage?" King asked.

Akela's ears drooped. "That's right." Unknown to him for a few moments, Akela looked up to see King staring directly into the gaze of the beast's head on his own headdress. He paused and glanced up to see that the eyes were glowing a distinctive green color, a magical incantation that was sealed in the armament that seemed to quell the hearts of the beast. "King? Are you okay?" He asked.

King smiled a bit and nodded. "Akela, I have an idea; a truce, if you care to hear it."

"What is it?"

"We bond as partners." The beast said. "I will be your mount, you will be my rider. Each equal and an integral part of each others' tribes. Surely you must be some great warrior to your people for them to trust you with such a dangerous task."

"Well..." His voice trailed off slightly. "I suppose we could."

King smiled broadly. "I would be proud to have you as my rider." He said putting his hands onto the ground, then lowering himself almost until he was lying face down on the stone floor. The rest of the behemoth stared at him, then stared at Akela who blushed, then smiled in a pleasant surprise.

"You would do this?" He asked. "If so, then I would be proud to have you as my mount, King."

King smiled and nodded, and Akela quickly straddled the behemoth's neck, allowing him to stand back up, almost to full height. "HEY! Watch it!" Akela stifled a laugh as his head almost hit the cave's ceiling. "Wow... this is incredible." He said, his headdress giving a flash before returning to its original look.

"We are now bonded as Rider and Mount." King said. "I suppose you best tell me in what direction lies your camp."

"To the south." Akela said as the beast began to march forward. "I will return." He said with a nod to most of the behemoth who appeared to watch the spectacle. "And with me shall be my rider Akela; the master of behemoth and great warrior of the ancient Silver Fangs tribe."

As they left, the cheering could be heard for several hundred yards outside the cave before King stopped. "Y'know... I'm not really a Silver Fang, King."

"Heh." King chuckled a bit. "You know, I am not really a 'King' either... but I do look the part, don't I?"

THE END