im so bored
i cant focus on anything but my boredom.
also
i claim to be out of inspiration
do you know what i did next?
i went and drew a picture with a forest background
and I cant tree
-_-
so yeah is this a wip?
you bet.
am i actually doing what im supposed to be doing?
hELL NO
ghost wolf and blind wolf are mine
ghost cat and one eye cat are aspen's
mask wolf and kangaroo wolf thing are candy's
also i'm going to throw this in here really fast until i can get a proper topic set up -
Fritz was laying on a hilltop with his head on his paws and face turned toward the sky he couldn't see, but judging by the breeze and lack of sunlight he presumed it was nighttime. It didn't really matter to him anyways, it was always dark for him now. Nirvana was standing invisible at the beginning of the trees, watching to be sure nothing snuck up on Fritz in the dark. He may still be able to hear and smell surprisingly well, but that didn't mean he'd always notice danger. The ghostly she-wolf sighed as she glanced around, rustling her wings and sitting down.
Krystal sat in a tree, fast asleep. Small light flickered on and off all around her, to any normal person, they where fireflies. As she waved her tail side from side, Emma slowly walked towards the little hill.
Nirvana stood up and craned her neck to see who was approaching Fritz. She relaxed when she realized it was just Emma, but she still took a few steps nearer to them. Fritz's ears twitched and he raised his head slightly, thinking he'd heard someone or something approaching.
Aspen walked around in the dark forest and exhaled peacefully. It was nice to not have anyone around except her brother who walked beside her, at least 4 inches taller. But something felt wrong. Aspen inhaled deeply and smelled...she couldn't figure out what it was. Aspen stopped walking and looked up at Thunder and mouthed, "What is that smell?" Thunder looked back down and shrugged and then his eyes flitted upwards towards a tree and he flinched. Aspen looked up and saw a grey kangaroo looking thing sitting in a tree. Thunder looked back down at Aspen. "Aspen we need to leave. Now!" Aspen looked back to Thunder. "Why?" "That thing is too dangerous. Come on." Thunder muttered angrily as he went into his physical, yet still invisible to living, form and pushed Aspen forward. Aspen started walking a bit quicker and she looked forward at Thunder who was walking too fast. "Thunder wait up! I can't move that fast!"
Krystal jumped as she heard the voices, falling out of the tree And landing on her back. She rolled over some, the lights following her, glowing even brighter.
Nirvana glanced around at the sound of voices and a soft thud. Looking behind her, she spotted two cats, one who seemed to be a ghost, and a creature resembling a kangaroo. Somewhat hesitantly, she decided that this was probably more important than Emma and she stepped back into the woods, briefly showing herself to mortal eyes and staying visible to other ghosts. Fritz caught the sound of voices from somewhere behind him and pushed himself up into a sitting position, calling out, "Who's there?"
Thunder started to slow down and suddenly just stopped walking. He inhaled deeply as he sensed at least three other life forms and hissed at the voice. Whispering quickly he heard the...thing behind them fall and quickly looked at Aspen. "Crap. We have a problem." Aspen looked behind them at the dark figure and ahead at the brown wolf in front of them. Thunder growled under his voice. "It looks like there's 2 ghosts with him and hopefully he's friendly because we obviously can't go back. And hopefully this wolf isn't hungry and thinks you're dinner." Aspen winced and started slowly walking forwards. "Um...we're friendly! Don't worry!" She said in her soft but cold voice.
Krystal looked over at thunder, slowly getting up. She took a few steps forward then stepped back, looking over at Fritz. She slowly started walking towards him, the little lights fading.
Thunder heard footsteps and whipped around and silently snarled at Krystal as Aspen stopped moving forward and waited for a response from the wolf. Thunder backed up to Aspen and wrapped his tail around hers and squeezed it, comforting her as she started to shiver at the silent wolf. {He's going to kill me...} Aspen thought and backed up a step.
Krystal jumped and whipped around as she heard the snarl, the lights now glowing bright red, and seem to fly around faster.
Fritz was beginning to panic a bit. Flattening his ears, he twisted around to face behind him, where he thought the voices were coming from. "Friendly who?" he questioned, then picking up footsteps slightly to the right of the first voices he added, "And how many of you are there?" Nirvana saw that they were all approaching Fritz, and he seemed agitated. With a silent growl, the ghost spread her wings and leaped into the air, gliding a short distance and dropping down silently behind Fritz. Ears pressed flat and a snarl on her face, she passed Fritz, letting her wing brush his side as she went to stand in front of him.
Krystal lied down and covered her eyes, a faint glow now coming from around her as the lights swarmed around her. Emma kept watching from afar, rolling her eyes.
"Um friendly..." Aspen began as Fritz snarled at her and she stopped. "What does it matter?!" She growled as she felt the mature side of her take over. Thunder looked back at Nirvana and spoke in the ghost world so Aspen couldn't hear. "You guys hostile? Because I will rip out your little brown wolf's throat is he lays a paw on my sister!" He snarled, always going straight to violence, or at least close to it. Thunder knew that he would die a second time just to protect his sister and once he died two more times, he would be permanently gone into the final layer of death to where he, and his soul, would be terminated forever. Aspen looked at her brother and saw that his lips weren't moving but he was following something with his head and thought that there was an owl he was watching. Thunder went to flap his wings to travel quickly to the wolf but quietly growled as he remembered that if you die in battle and take down another living soul, you don't get your wings. Only if you were murdered without your own retaliation or by suicide or by an illness is when you get your wings. He quickly looked back at the kangaroo looking thing before looking back at the ghost wolf.
Fritz had stood up and taken a half step backwards, away from the angry voices. "It matters because I can't see!" his voice cracked on the last two words. Nirvana glared at the grey cat, realizing he was indeed a ghost. "I'm only hostile if you are, and I would love to see you try to harm my brother, because its not going to happen!" Growling, the she wolf flared her wings out to the sides, shielding Fritz and becoming visible to the mortal realm.
Krystal started chanting something in rift, the lights becoming even more wild, trying to protect their commander.
Thunder started to speak through the ghost world again. "If your wolf even dares to touch Aspen, I'll kill him. I've killed before, that's how I got here, in the ghost world without my wings." Thunder studied the pinkish wolf and noticed the clean scars on her body, not the jagged battle scars most animals had and realized that the reason this wolf had wings was because of...suicide. That was a topic he was extremely harsh on because he couldn't even imagine leaving his little sister to die. Thunder growled and glared at her. "At least I died protecting someone I love and not running from myself."
Krystal looked over at Fritz, and started slowly walking towards him again, the once wild lights now fading, as if they aren't there anymore. She would stop every step, to make sure no one was going to attack her.
Aspen turned her head to watch the kangaroo creature walk towards the wolf and she half smiled, hoping they would take each other down and leave Thunder and her to continue the look for their parents. After Aspen's eye was torn out carefully my the rabid cats, Thunder started to attack them and was easily slaughtered but it gave Aspen enough time to run and hide where they couldn't reach her. Later the cats left but Aspen was left bleeding out and Thunder gave at least 8 death layer lives to heal it so he could only die 2 more times before fading into oblivion instead of the 10 he would have had.
Things had suddenly gotten quiet and Fritz was confused. Frightened, he whispered, "Nirvana what the hell is going on?" Nirvana twitched her ears as Fritz spoke and hissed back quietly, "This ghost cat is threatening to kill you if you touch his sister." Glaring at the grey cat again she hissed, "You have no idea how hard it was for me. Ever since that day I have never left his side, and I would gladly die again to save him." She had noticed the kangaroo like animal approaching but was more worried about the cat, he seemed hostile.
Krystal jumped when she heard the voice, and laid down, ear flattened against her head. Emma had started to walk towards Thunder "Oi, mean act is over, you don't need to go threaten people who are clearly harmless." she said looking over at Nirvana, "Most i guess? I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do any REAL harm." she said rolling her eyes.
Thunder growled again. "Why the hell would you leave your brother to face the world alone?! That is the worst thing you could ever do!" Thunder was furious now and he started walking towards the two wolves. Aspen's eyes widened as she realized that was going on and she saw the wolf's scars on her body and she ran up and grabbed Thunder's tail with her teeth. "Thunder don't!" She growled and he flinched as Thunder whipped around and glared at her, his eyes emitting the blue smoke as he did when he got mad and Aspen, frightened, let go and backed away. her tail between her leg. Thunder whipped around and saw that it was 2 against 3-4....or maybe only 1 against 2-3, if it got into a fight, Thunder didn't know if they would try to attack Aspen.
Emma simply stared, she stomped one of her paws down, a small flash of light came from the ground. She has back up if they really needed it, she then looked over at Fritz and Krystal, she didn't know who this was, but she honestly didn't care at the moment.
Nirvana was about to respond to Emma when she heard Thunder. Growling deep in her throat, she snarled, "I had no idea things would get so bad for him! At any rate he had his brother and friends to help him!" Nirvana took a few steps toward the cat, ready for a fight. Fritz had flinched when Emma had shouted, and backed up a few paces. Laying down, he flattened his ears and covered his head with his paws, trying to hide from all the anger. He had come out here to escape the chaos, but of course not. Chaos seemed to follow him wherever he went.
Thunder unsheathed his claws and Aspen snarled at him. "Thunder stop. They aren't hostile." Thunder took another step forward and Aspen realized that she was about to lose him again. Small flames burst from her paws, burning the grass where she stood, but didn't spread. Dark, thick, black smoke started to rise and blood started to slide down her cheek where her eye had been torn out and Thunder froze up, his eye twitching as he whipped around and saw Aspen's remaining pupil grow extremely tiny and her head twitched. "Aspen..." He began and Aspen slammed her paw down, shooting a line of fire towards Thunder and he jumped to the side. Thunder starting to feel darkness ebbing out of Aspen and he sat down quickly, not wanting to get Aspen hurt. Suddenly Aspen's pupils went back to normal and she collapsed, her energy torn out.
Nirvana growled one last time at the two cats before returning to stand by Fritz, glaring at everyone and silently daring them to approach. Fritz heard a quiet thump and smelled blood and fire. Confused, he moved his paws slightly and asked worriedly, "What just happened? That didn't sound good."
Thunder gasped and ran over to Aspen and prodded her with his paw and when she didn't wake up he felt her chest and felt her breathing. He sighed in relief as she came to and Thunder looked once more at the wolves and pushed Aspen up. "Come on. We're leaving." He said gruffly as he started walking back into the forest and he wiped the blood from her eye socket and brushed his tail against her cheek. Aspen quickly followed and after they got into the line of trees, they started to run and try to find their..."home." After about a minute they found the thickly covered brush and saw the large rock with the small entrance. Aspen quickly dove inside and Thunder squeezed his way through. {Dammit why can't I faze through walls like the others ghosts} He growled to himself and saw Aspen curled into a ball and he lie down next to her and curled his talk around her body. He wished he could give her some warmth but to Aspen, his presence was warm enough. Very soon after, her chest slowly rose and fell and Thunder, not being able to sleep, kept his ears alert and listened for any disturbance of the forest. He knew that the leave was quite abrupt and awkward but he didn't care. One, he needed to get Aspen away. Two...what the hell even happened.
Nirvana watched the cats leave and flicked her tail. Glancing over at Emma she finally responded. "I guess that's true, but I'd rather not have him die." Fritz was starting to get a bit annoyed. Standing up, he turned to face where he thought Nirvana and Emma were standing and said, "Guys I'm serious, what the hell just happened?"
Emma rolled her eyes "Honestly, i have NO idea, but now that's over, who the HELL is that, thing" She said, turning around to look at Krystal, who was sitting up, the little lights fading back in, seeming to be angry.
"Who's who, Emma? I can't see a damn thing," Fritz snapped, still a bit frightened. Nirvana turned again to face the greenish wolf and said a bit sarcastically, "I don't know who that is, maybe you should ask them?"
"Oi, you, who the hell are you and why are you here?" she said in a nasty tone. Krystal looked over at the nanogenes for a moment then looked back, at the moment they where doing what they where programmed too, so she wasn't able to have them spell out her name at the moment.
As Thunder lie with his sister he saw some sorta ghost rise out of Aspen and he started to panic and he took hist physical form, hurting him, and he prodded her. Aspen's eye quickly snapped open. The ghost was colored pure black with red eyes and Thunder watched as it vanished in a shadow, leaving dark streaks on the walls. Aspen looked around confused and inhaled quickly as the tendrils of darkness started to reach toward her. "Aspen get out of here!" Thunder growled and he swatted the tendrils back, leaving a dark burn on his paw and he followed Aspen out. His paw throbbed only a little bit and he saw the dark mark set in and he shrugged it off. "Come on. Let's find a tree or something for you to sleep in. The ground is too dangerous." Aspen sleepily nodded and followed him up a tree and she nestled in between a thick knot of branches. Thunder felt safer up here since he could see more and if there was a predator, they wouldn't be cornered.
Mike was trotting through the forest, but he paused, thinking he'd heard shouting up ahead. Deciding he didn't want to find out what it was about, he turned and walked back through the forest and passed directly under the tree Aspen and Thunder were in. Nirvana chuckled a bit, saying, "I don't think you need to be quite that rude, Emma." Fritz had heard something from the woods, and the wind had shifted bringing with it a strangely familiar scent. Confused, he asked, "Guys is there something in the forest? I swear I just heard something and it sounded too heavy the be the cats."
Thunder looked down at the ground as the brown wolf passed underneath them and Thunder raised an eyebrow as he recognized it as the same as the one in the clearing but as the wolf turned his head, Thunder caught a glimpse of his eyes which weren't purple. He didn't want to start another fight because unlike the wolf in the clearing, this one could obviously see and he didn't want to risk anything. Aspen woke up early and looked to her right and saw that Thunder was gone. [Huh. Probably exploring the territory or something] She though as she hopped down out of the tree and thought back to that one dark tendril of darkness that struck Thunder's pawn and raised an eyebrow. Her mouth was dry and she started going to the clearing where the small pond, hoping that no-one would be there. As she left the tree, she failed to notice the note scratched into the tree. It read, {Aspen don't leave. I'll be right back. Don't leave. There's something else that we failed to notice before. DON'T LEAVE!}
Slowing his pace, Mike paused, realizing how tired he was and late at night it was. Glancing around, he spotted three boulders, a fallen tree, and some bushes creating a kinda of den. Approaching it wearily, he ducked inside. The interior space was dark and sort of small, but that was fine with him. Turning in a circle three times, he laid down with his head on his paws and watched the forest for a few minutes before dropping off to sleep.
Nirvana had been uncomfortable out in the open with all the strange people around, and had herded Fritz back into the forest and made him stay in a small grassy clearing. After a few minutes, he had settled down to sleep while Nirvana kept watch nearby. In the morning however, Nirvana seemed to be gone and Fritz hadn't felt like waiting for her to return from wherever she'd gone off to, so he'd carefully made his way back to the site of yesterday's encounter, hoping to get a quick drink before beginning the now-arduous trip back to his "house".
Aspen stepped into the clearing and didn't see anyone at first and she sat down to drink, the feeling of her brother's presence gone. She lapped up a few drops of water before her head whipped up to see Fritz walking towards her. Without thinking, she called out. "Hey it's okay. It's just me. My brother isn't here. You can get a drink, I won't push ya in." She got a goofy smile and was glad that Fritz was blind so he couldn't see the empty socket.
Fritz jumped slightly when he heard the voice. Again, he hadn't been paying attention and hadn't noticed the cat's scent as he had approached. Somewhat warily he nodded and approached the pond, taking care to not bump into her. After getting a quick drink, he sat down and turned to face the cat, saying, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't your name Aspen?"
"That's correct. So sorry about my brother's behavior. He can be a bit..." She trailed off and looked back at him. "Ahem. Anyways, what's your name?"
"Yeah it's fine, I get yelled at and threatened a lot. Normally Nirvana isn't that aggressive either. My name's Fritz, and it's nice to meet you Aspen." Fritz responded.
"Nice to meet you as well." She replied and gave a smile but then stopped as she realized that he couldn't see it. "So...where is Nirvana? Because I don't see her and...Thunder wasn't with me this morning."
Fritz lowered his ears slightly, confused. "I actually have no idea where she is right now. I don't think she was there when I woke up, but then again I'm not paying attention as much as I should right now. I seriously they aren't off fighting somewhere, they didn't seem to get along terribly well last night."
"Thunder is a bit too protective. He also can't get his anger out to easily so he tries to pick fights." She lapped up some more water and looked the to edge of the forest where she heard a noise. Without even realizing, she backed up closer to Fritz and sat next to him. Hopefully whatever was there would see the large wolf and leave her alone. She slightly moved her head and whispered, "There's something over there."
Fritz laughed slightly. "He's a bit too protective? Then you should've seen me when I was younger, I was extremely bad about that as well." He gave a small sigh and whispered back, "Over where? And if you want me to tell you what it is I'm afraid you're out of luck." Mike had woken up, and feeling thirsty, had wandered through the forest until he found a small clearing with a pond in it, but he paused when he heard voices. One of them sounded familiar, and he mentally kicked himself for not knowing who it was. He was usually excellent at remembering people, but this one he just couldn't place. Pausing again at the edge of the clearing and hidden from view by the bushes, he peered around the bushes to see who was there and had to do a double take when he thought he saw himself sitting there, but then he remembered Fritz. Somewhat worried, he backed up a pace, bumping into another bush and causing it to rustle. Wincing, he crouched there, hoping to go unnoticed.
Aspen arched her back when she saw another Fritz standing on the edge of the grass and she wondered if it was a shapeshifter or just a hallucination but when Fritz noticed it too she realized that it was real. "Who the hell are you?" She hissed, not even wondering why she was trying to protect this...wolf. An enemy, as Thunder always put it. She unsheathed her claws as she waited for an answer.
Fritz recognized Mike's scent a split second before the other wolf spoke, and interrupted him. "Mike what the hell are you doing here?" Fritz sighed. Mike stood up, a slightly worried expression on his face as he responded, "I could ask the same thing of you, you know." Fritz sighed again and turned to face his brother, also standing up. "Now you could, but where'd be the fun in that?" Nirvana had returned to the clearing where she had left Fritz and nearly had a heart attack when he wasn't there, but she heard voices and followed them. She found him, Mike, and the red cat from last night in the clearing with the pond. Invisible, she came up beside Fritz. Though she disliked it, she would defend Fritz from their own brother if Mike proved to be hostile.
Aspen backed up as Nirvana came into view, Thunder no-where to be seen. "Um...what's going on?"
"I don't know," the ghost replied softly. She had no quarrel with Aspen, it was only the cat's brother that got under he skin. Fritz twitched his ear at Nirvana, but kept facing the place he assumed Mike was. Mike jumped backwards in surprise as Nirvana appeared, ears flattened and a confused look on his face. "Wait a moment, what the hell is going on?"
Somewhere deep in the forest, Thunder felt darkness overtaking him. He had to get himself away from Aspen in case he attacked her and he saw the dark burn caused by the smoke tendril start to grow up his leg in dark streaks. Every 5 minutes an overwhelming shock of pain would bolt through him, sending him doubling over in pain as he gasped for air. Thick black liquid slowly seeped out of his mouth and Thunder wiped it away with a paw. He wondered if this was revenge for the harsh words he said to Nirvana and he watched at the dark tendrils reached his shoulders. Sighing, a single tear dripped down his face as he hoped Aspen was alright. Aspen tilted her head as she took notice of the brown wolf's blue eyes, similar to her remaining eye. She could sense fear from Mike but no real anger and for some reason she immediately trusted him. In some ways she could sense when an animal was trustworthy, that's how she stayed alive all this time with Thunder guiding her. With memories rushing back, she thought back to her mother's death and when she realized that Thunder and her were more like half siblings. Thornheart, Thunder's father, fell in love with Dapple, both our mother, and they had Thunder. About 2 days later they had Aspen who was late and dead as she was born but a miracle brought her back. Dapple was murdered by Thorn after he realized that she cheated on him and took the kits away. Then in one of his days of anger, he lost his his mind and pinned down Aspen and lifted a claw to her eye. He blamed this kit for his insanity and wanted to scar her like he was scarred so long ago. Thunder didn't wake up until the first scream but by that time, it was too late. Aspen remembered seeing only red and figures beyond her vision fighting and she ran when Thunder yelled at her to do so but then was cut off by a loud gurgle. Aspen ran for her life, tears staining her cheeks, mixing with the blood. 2 days later, Thunder returned to her as a ghost and they've been trying to just get away from their father ever since.
Unamused, Fritz huffed, "Dude, Aspen just asked that question. Find something else to ask, please." Nirvana merely flicked her tail, waiting to see how this would play out at first. Confused, Mike stared at Nirvana. She was almost exactly the same as she had always been, except she seemed older and more mature. Quietly, he said, "I thought you'd died." Nirvana raised an eyebrow, saying, "Technically I'm a ghost, so yes I'm still dead."
Since Aspen didn't hear Thunder yelling about the suicide she tilted her head. "How did you die? Did you die protecting Fritz like my big brother?"
Mike was offended when the cat, who he thought was named Aspen, asked how Nirvana had died. Growling quietly he stepped into the clearing and asked, "When did that become any of your business?" Fritz in all honesty considered Aspen something of a friend, at the very least an ally, and had heard Mike move out of the bushes and growl. Considering it a threat, he flattened his ears and stepped forward, growling back, "When it became her business is none of your business and I may be blind but I'll still kick your butt if you dare threaten Aspen again!" Nirvana moved away from Fritz to stand by Aspen, chuckling, "See? Protective. And to answer your question, it was actually a suicide. I got too overwhelmed with all the hate and didn't want to deal with any of it anymore. Not the smartest decision ever made, but what's done is done."
Aspen's hair rose up and she wished Thunder was here. She always felt so much safer when he was around. For some weird reason, she still trusted Mike and only thought of this as a misunderstanding. "Guys don't fight. You're siblings. You're supposed to protect and help each other!" She said and stepped forward and looked back and forth between them. "And Mike wasn't threatening me. It's just a very personal question I asked." She dipped her head down. "Apologies. I would act the same way if someone I just met asked me how my brother died."
Nirvana sighed. "This is really only to be expected, I don't think they've seen each other for nearly 40 years now. And you shouldn't be sorry, it was a legitimate question and I suppose it honestly wasn't that much of a secret to begin with, although I do understand where he's coming from," Nirvana murmured. Mike stepped back slightly, shaking his head gently. "No, it's fine. I don't know when I got so touchy about that, but I guess I shouldn't be. I'm sorry for snapping at you," he apologized. "I've done nothing but try to protect people my entire life," Fritz said quietly. "I tried to protect Nirvana from her problems, I tried to protect my family by removing myself from their presence, and I tried to protect Josie from a world that would've torn her apart, but all that worked out so freaking great didn't it?" he continued slightly louder, the pain in his voice apparent. "I helped them with their problems even when they wouldn't help me with mine, and I still try to even though there's only four people currently in this world who will even speak civilly to me because of something that isn't even my fault," Fritz was trembling slightly now, and seemed to be fighting back tears. Nirvana recognized this tone of voice, and glanced nervously around, hoping she was just overreacting but deep down knowing she wasn't. She'd thought he'd gotten over It, but it didn't sound like it. Sure enough, she spied a faint purple glow in the trees. Even as she watched, It solidified into a ghostly form, though It remained invisible to all except other ghosts. "Uh, guys?" she said nervously, watching It to see what It's next move would be. "I think now would be a great time to get the hell out of here." Fritz hadn't even heard what Nirvana said, he currently had his own problems to deal with. Crouching down and pressing his paws over his head, he'd realized too late that he'd let his emotions get the best of him and now had an extremely bad headache. He knew what followed this, but was in too much pain to warn them. He winced as an especially painful jolt shot through his head, flattening his ears even further.
Thunder slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his paws. Black smoke rose from them and he smiled. "Aspen I'm coming for you..." His voice was extremely deeper and he looked around. "Your mother already payed, now it's your turn." Thunder twitched as he walked alone, insanity brewing through him and he unsheathed his claws. "Oh how afraid you will be when your own brother's claws rip through your throat..." Thunder walked to the edge of the forest and saw the wolf from earlier along with Aspen and the ghost wolf. He smiled evilly as he saw the purple ghost and felt it's anger pointed towards Fritz. (Heh. As they're distracted from that thing...Aspen will be all alone.) Thunder thought and his head snapped to the side.
Mike had backed up, extremely confused and terrified. Nirvana seemed worried and was staring at a spot near the trees, though he couldn't see whatever she saw. "Guys...j-just go... run," Fritz gasped as the headache worsened. He knew he would soon black out and there'd be nothing be could do to help them as It took full control of his body. Nirvana growled helplessly, for she knew there was nothing she could do to help Fritz and she hated to see him in so much pain, but she could save the others if she got them away fast enough. Turning to Mike, she hissed, "Run you idiot!" Mike didn't need to be told twice. He turned around and ran back through the forest, crashing through bushes and swerving around trees until he was certain he was a safe distance away. Only then did he pause, gasping for air and glance back over his shoulder. He was curious about whatever had made Nirvana tell him to run, but wasn't about to go back and ask. Now that Mike was out of the way, Nirvana turned to Aspen but stopped when she noticed Thunder in the forest, though he seemed much much different. She couldn't figure out why, but she sensed that at that moment he was not right in the head. Gesturing with her muzzle in the direction of the trees away from the crazed Thunder, she muttered to Aspen, "Go quickly, climb a tree somewhere. I'll stay with you until this passes."
Aspen quickly nodded, realizing the dark smoke and her eye grew small. "Holy crap. It's..." She squeezed her eye shut, a single tear dripping down her face and she turned and bolted up the nearest tree and looked down at Thunder. Thunder watched as Fritz's body twisted and contorted on the ground and flashed the purple ghost an evil smile. He slowly started walking towards the wolf and watched as a crazed look came into his eyes. "Hey. I'll help you get that brother of yours if you help me kill the traitor in the tree."
Fritz gave one last cry of pain as the pain became unbearable and he blacked out. Laughing evilly, It seemed to vanish from sight in a purple flash as a purple glow came from around Fritz's eyes for a few moments. It opened It's eyes, the blue completely gone from them. Instead they were black with a purple iris and a golden pupil. In the very center of the pupil was a small white spot and his eyes glowed both purple and gold simultaneously. Chuckling darkly, his voice slightly deeper than before, It said, "Sounds good, then. Red cat, right?" Grinning a crazed smile, It scanned the nearby trees in search of his target. Nirvana had turned invisible to everything except Aspen and watched, horror-struck as this all went down. She had promised Aspen she would defend her, but now it looked as if Mike were in trouble too and she couldn't just leave her brother to die. Giving a short growl of indecision, she decided that she would guard Aspen until Fritz was back to normal and then go help Mike. These attacks usually only lasted ten minutes tops.
"Nirvana take Mike away. I can cover myself." She yelled down and breathed deeply and opened her eye in a flash of blue. She studied the trees around her and smiled. (Just like the old days of running away from wolf packs. Just have to keep jumping from tree to tree) She though and watched the two crazed animals walk towards her and she braced herself for the first jump...then she would go.
"If you're sure, alright," Nirvana responded, watching anxiously for a few more seconds before leaping off through the trees in the direction Mike had gone. As It spotted the cat, Aspen he recalled from Fritz's memories, It began singing softly as it approached the tree. "It's true the real story, now everyone knows who I am, don't stop the music or you will see what I can do with your soul. I didn't come here to tease you, I didn't come here to hear you cry, need somebody to load up that box that keeps me blind. I'm the guilty one behind, those children look happy inside, let me set your place around the others, you'll be alright!"
Aspen looked down an hissed at Fritz or...what was Fritz and jumped as Thunder leaped all the way up to her branch in one easy go and Aspen gasped. The expression on Thunder's face was one of pure evil but he was crying and his eyes were filled of pain. "Thunder break through!" She yelled as she left to the next tree and she kept leaping over and over until she was halfway around the clearing. She turned around to see Thunder halfway to her and dark tendrils shot out and wrapped around Aspen, and pulled her all the way back to Thunder. Suddenly he threw her down and she hit the ground with a sickening thud. She slowly got to her feet and shook as she tried to stay up but then an overwhelming sense of pain came over her and she collapsed, the only thought in her brain was to breathe. Tears ran from her eye as she recognized...Thornheart in her brother. He already killed Dapple and Aspen was the only thing left that had to do with the cheater that took Dapple from him.
Nirvana heard a yell and a thud come from the clearing and skidded to a stop, realizing Aspen was in big trouble. Twisting around she reentered the clearing at top speed and in her mostly physical form, howling a battle cry as she leaped into Fritz, knocking him aside as he lunged for Aspen. It growled as It was knocked to the ground by Nirvana, and It struggled back up, snarling at the scarred ghost wolf. Teeth bared, It lunged for her neck but was sent sprawling with a solid smack from Nirvana's wing. Momentarily dazed, It hissed and sat up again, regaining It's breath as It glared at Nirvana, who was now standing protectively over Aspen and snarling up at Thunder.
Thunder was long gone. He knew that. There was no way he could escape from Thornheart. His father knew all his weaknesses and used them against him. He tried to fight the power but felt his body doing whatever his father wished. Aspen lie on the ground, blood dripping from her head as she looked up at her brother and wished she knew how to help him. Suddenly a burst of light lit up the entire forest as a shimmery white and orange cat stepped out with large wings on her back. Aspen suddenly realized her as...Dapple...their mother. Dapple sprang up into the air and Aspen watched as Thornheart exited Thunder's body, leaving Thunder weak and Aspen watched as he fell of the branch and hit the ground. Without any noise the two cats started to fight. Light would enter Thorn's body and push away some of the dark and vice versa with Dapple. Suddenly with another burst of light, Thorn was flooded with light and exploded into drops of shadow. Aspen watched as Dapple walked over to Thunder and she looked down at her son. Suddenly a wail of pain came out of her mouth and Aspen slowly got to her feet and walked over and gasped. Thunder wasn't moving or breathing and Aspen saw his already ghost form start to fade. Aspen cried out and she watched Dapple breath in deeply and she turned to Aspen. With a voice as sweet and smooth as silk she spoke. "Aspen remember that a mother's love is the most important. I won't be able to see you again ever because once I do this, I'll be gone forever." Dapple smiled and touched noses to her vanishing son and tears rolled down Aspen's cheek as she watched Thunder grow brighter and Dapple faded. With a horrified look, Aspen realized that she had just given up all of her remaining lives to Thunder and now he had all 8 again.
It had stood up again, and had slowly come up behind Nirvana. Nirvana had backed away from the cats, sensing they may need some time alone. It growled again as It watched, before turning back ready to attack Nirvana when seemingly out of nowhere, Nirvana whacked It hard on Its head with her paw, again sending It staggering back. Stunned, It collapsed as It exited Fritz's body, hissing viciously as it vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Coughing slightly, Fritz groaned and half-opened his eyes again into the now-familiar darkness. Nirvana watched with a scowl as It hissed at her one last time, before seeing that Fritz's eyes were the blue and purple they normally were. Sighing, she sat down with a huff, slightly worn out by all the fighting. She felt guilty about hitting Fritz so hard on the head, but at least It was now gone. Fritz, who was now scared and stressed in addition to still having a pretty bad headache, again covered his face in his paws, shaking slightly.
i cant focus on anything but my boredom.
also
i claim to be out of inspiration
do you know what i did next?
i went and drew a picture with a forest background
and I cant tree
-_-
so yeah is this a wip?
you bet.
am i actually doing what im supposed to be doing?
hELL NO
ghost wolf and blind wolf are mine
ghost cat and one eye cat are aspen's
mask wolf and kangaroo wolf thing are candy's
also i'm going to throw this in here really fast until i can get a proper topic set up -
Fritz was laying on a hilltop with his head on his paws and face turned toward the sky he couldn't see, but judging by the breeze and lack of sunlight he presumed it was nighttime. It didn't really matter to him anyways, it was always dark for him now. Nirvana was standing invisible at the beginning of the trees, watching to be sure nothing snuck up on Fritz in the dark. He may still be able to hear and smell surprisingly well, but that didn't mean he'd always notice danger. The ghostly she-wolf sighed as she glanced around, rustling her wings and sitting down.
Krystal sat in a tree, fast asleep. Small light flickered on and off all around her, to any normal person, they where fireflies. As she waved her tail side from side, Emma slowly walked towards the little hill.
Nirvana stood up and craned her neck to see who was approaching Fritz. She relaxed when she realized it was just Emma, but she still took a few steps nearer to them. Fritz's ears twitched and he raised his head slightly, thinking he'd heard someone or something approaching.
Aspen walked around in the dark forest and exhaled peacefully. It was nice to not have anyone around except her brother who walked beside her, at least 4 inches taller. But something felt wrong. Aspen inhaled deeply and smelled...she couldn't figure out what it was. Aspen stopped walking and looked up at Thunder and mouthed, "What is that smell?" Thunder looked back down and shrugged and then his eyes flitted upwards towards a tree and he flinched. Aspen looked up and saw a grey kangaroo looking thing sitting in a tree. Thunder looked back down at Aspen. "Aspen we need to leave. Now!" Aspen looked back to Thunder. "Why?" "That thing is too dangerous. Come on." Thunder muttered angrily as he went into his physical, yet still invisible to living, form and pushed Aspen forward. Aspen started walking a bit quicker and she looked forward at Thunder who was walking too fast. "Thunder wait up! I can't move that fast!"
Krystal jumped as she heard the voices, falling out of the tree And landing on her back. She rolled over some, the lights following her, glowing even brighter.
Nirvana glanced around at the sound of voices and a soft thud. Looking behind her, she spotted two cats, one who seemed to be a ghost, and a creature resembling a kangaroo. Somewhat hesitantly, she decided that this was probably more important than Emma and she stepped back into the woods, briefly showing herself to mortal eyes and staying visible to other ghosts. Fritz caught the sound of voices from somewhere behind him and pushed himself up into a sitting position, calling out, "Who's there?"
Thunder started to slow down and suddenly just stopped walking. He inhaled deeply as he sensed at least three other life forms and hissed at the voice. Whispering quickly he heard the...thing behind them fall and quickly looked at Aspen. "Crap. We have a problem." Aspen looked behind them at the dark figure and ahead at the brown wolf in front of them. Thunder growled under his voice. "It looks like there's 2 ghosts with him and hopefully he's friendly because we obviously can't go back. And hopefully this wolf isn't hungry and thinks you're dinner." Aspen winced and started slowly walking forwards. "Um...we're friendly! Don't worry!" She said in her soft but cold voice.
Krystal looked over at thunder, slowly getting up. She took a few steps forward then stepped back, looking over at Fritz. She slowly started walking towards him, the little lights fading.
Thunder heard footsteps and whipped around and silently snarled at Krystal as Aspen stopped moving forward and waited for a response from the wolf. Thunder backed up to Aspen and wrapped his tail around hers and squeezed it, comforting her as she started to shiver at the silent wolf. {He's going to kill me...} Aspen thought and backed up a step.
Krystal jumped and whipped around as she heard the snarl, the lights now glowing bright red, and seem to fly around faster.
Fritz was beginning to panic a bit. Flattening his ears, he twisted around to face behind him, where he thought the voices were coming from. "Friendly who?" he questioned, then picking up footsteps slightly to the right of the first voices he added, "And how many of you are there?" Nirvana saw that they were all approaching Fritz, and he seemed agitated. With a silent growl, the ghost spread her wings and leaped into the air, gliding a short distance and dropping down silently behind Fritz. Ears pressed flat and a snarl on her face, she passed Fritz, letting her wing brush his side as she went to stand in front of him.
Krystal lied down and covered her eyes, a faint glow now coming from around her as the lights swarmed around her. Emma kept watching from afar, rolling her eyes.
"Um friendly..." Aspen began as Fritz snarled at her and she stopped. "What does it matter?!" She growled as she felt the mature side of her take over. Thunder looked back at Nirvana and spoke in the ghost world so Aspen couldn't hear. "You guys hostile? Because I will rip out your little brown wolf's throat is he lays a paw on my sister!" He snarled, always going straight to violence, or at least close to it. Thunder knew that he would die a second time just to protect his sister and once he died two more times, he would be permanently gone into the final layer of death to where he, and his soul, would be terminated forever. Aspen looked at her brother and saw that his lips weren't moving but he was following something with his head and thought that there was an owl he was watching. Thunder went to flap his wings to travel quickly to the wolf but quietly growled as he remembered that if you die in battle and take down another living soul, you don't get your wings. Only if you were murdered without your own retaliation or by suicide or by an illness is when you get your wings. He quickly looked back at the kangaroo looking thing before looking back at the ghost wolf.
Fritz had stood up and taken a half step backwards, away from the angry voices. "It matters because I can't see!" his voice cracked on the last two words. Nirvana glared at the grey cat, realizing he was indeed a ghost. "I'm only hostile if you are, and I would love to see you try to harm my brother, because its not going to happen!" Growling, the she wolf flared her wings out to the sides, shielding Fritz and becoming visible to the mortal realm.
Krystal started chanting something in rift, the lights becoming even more wild, trying to protect their commander.
Thunder started to speak through the ghost world again. "If your wolf even dares to touch Aspen, I'll kill him. I've killed before, that's how I got here, in the ghost world without my wings." Thunder studied the pinkish wolf and noticed the clean scars on her body, not the jagged battle scars most animals had and realized that the reason this wolf had wings was because of...suicide. That was a topic he was extremely harsh on because he couldn't even imagine leaving his little sister to die. Thunder growled and glared at her. "At least I died protecting someone I love and not running from myself."
Krystal looked over at Fritz, and started slowly walking towards him again, the once wild lights now fading, as if they aren't there anymore. She would stop every step, to make sure no one was going to attack her.
Aspen turned her head to watch the kangaroo creature walk towards the wolf and she half smiled, hoping they would take each other down and leave Thunder and her to continue the look for their parents. After Aspen's eye was torn out carefully my the rabid cats, Thunder started to attack them and was easily slaughtered but it gave Aspen enough time to run and hide where they couldn't reach her. Later the cats left but Aspen was left bleeding out and Thunder gave at least 8 death layer lives to heal it so he could only die 2 more times before fading into oblivion instead of the 10 he would have had.
Things had suddenly gotten quiet and Fritz was confused. Frightened, he whispered, "Nirvana what the hell is going on?" Nirvana twitched her ears as Fritz spoke and hissed back quietly, "This ghost cat is threatening to kill you if you touch his sister." Glaring at the grey cat again she hissed, "You have no idea how hard it was for me. Ever since that day I have never left his side, and I would gladly die again to save him." She had noticed the kangaroo like animal approaching but was more worried about the cat, he seemed hostile.
Krystal jumped when she heard the voice, and laid down, ear flattened against her head. Emma had started to walk towards Thunder "Oi, mean act is over, you don't need to go threaten people who are clearly harmless." she said looking over at Nirvana, "Most i guess? I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do any REAL harm." she said rolling her eyes.
Thunder growled again. "Why the hell would you leave your brother to face the world alone?! That is the worst thing you could ever do!" Thunder was furious now and he started walking towards the two wolves. Aspen's eyes widened as she realized that was going on and she saw the wolf's scars on her body and she ran up and grabbed Thunder's tail with her teeth. "Thunder don't!" She growled and he flinched as Thunder whipped around and glared at her, his eyes emitting the blue smoke as he did when he got mad and Aspen, frightened, let go and backed away. her tail between her leg. Thunder whipped around and saw that it was 2 against 3-4....or maybe only 1 against 2-3, if it got into a fight, Thunder didn't know if they would try to attack Aspen.
Emma simply stared, she stomped one of her paws down, a small flash of light came from the ground. She has back up if they really needed it, she then looked over at Fritz and Krystal, she didn't know who this was, but she honestly didn't care at the moment.
Nirvana was about to respond to Emma when she heard Thunder. Growling deep in her throat, she snarled, "I had no idea things would get so bad for him! At any rate he had his brother and friends to help him!" Nirvana took a few steps toward the cat, ready for a fight. Fritz had flinched when Emma had shouted, and backed up a few paces. Laying down, he flattened his ears and covered his head with his paws, trying to hide from all the anger. He had come out here to escape the chaos, but of course not. Chaos seemed to follow him wherever he went.
Thunder unsheathed his claws and Aspen snarled at him. "Thunder stop. They aren't hostile." Thunder took another step forward and Aspen realized that she was about to lose him again. Small flames burst from her paws, burning the grass where she stood, but didn't spread. Dark, thick, black smoke started to rise and blood started to slide down her cheek where her eye had been torn out and Thunder froze up, his eye twitching as he whipped around and saw Aspen's remaining pupil grow extremely tiny and her head twitched. "Aspen..." He began and Aspen slammed her paw down, shooting a line of fire towards Thunder and he jumped to the side. Thunder starting to feel darkness ebbing out of Aspen and he sat down quickly, not wanting to get Aspen hurt. Suddenly Aspen's pupils went back to normal and she collapsed, her energy torn out.
Nirvana growled one last time at the two cats before returning to stand by Fritz, glaring at everyone and silently daring them to approach. Fritz heard a quiet thump and smelled blood and fire. Confused, he moved his paws slightly and asked worriedly, "What just happened? That didn't sound good."
Thunder gasped and ran over to Aspen and prodded her with his paw and when she didn't wake up he felt her chest and felt her breathing. He sighed in relief as she came to and Thunder looked once more at the wolves and pushed Aspen up. "Come on. We're leaving." He said gruffly as he started walking back into the forest and he wiped the blood from her eye socket and brushed his tail against her cheek. Aspen quickly followed and after they got into the line of trees, they started to run and try to find their..."home." After about a minute they found the thickly covered brush and saw the large rock with the small entrance. Aspen quickly dove inside and Thunder squeezed his way through. {Dammit why can't I faze through walls like the others ghosts} He growled to himself and saw Aspen curled into a ball and he lie down next to her and curled his talk around her body. He wished he could give her some warmth but to Aspen, his presence was warm enough. Very soon after, her chest slowly rose and fell and Thunder, not being able to sleep, kept his ears alert and listened for any disturbance of the forest. He knew that the leave was quite abrupt and awkward but he didn't care. One, he needed to get Aspen away. Two...what the hell even happened.
Nirvana watched the cats leave and flicked her tail. Glancing over at Emma she finally responded. "I guess that's true, but I'd rather not have him die." Fritz was starting to get a bit annoyed. Standing up, he turned to face where he thought Nirvana and Emma were standing and said, "Guys I'm serious, what the hell just happened?"
Emma rolled her eyes "Honestly, i have NO idea, but now that's over, who the HELL is that, thing" She said, turning around to look at Krystal, who was sitting up, the little lights fading back in, seeming to be angry.
"Who's who, Emma? I can't see a damn thing," Fritz snapped, still a bit frightened. Nirvana turned again to face the greenish wolf and said a bit sarcastically, "I don't know who that is, maybe you should ask them?"
"Oi, you, who the hell are you and why are you here?" she said in a nasty tone. Krystal looked over at the nanogenes for a moment then looked back, at the moment they where doing what they where programmed too, so she wasn't able to have them spell out her name at the moment.
As Thunder lie with his sister he saw some sorta ghost rise out of Aspen and he started to panic and he took hist physical form, hurting him, and he prodded her. Aspen's eye quickly snapped open. The ghost was colored pure black with red eyes and Thunder watched as it vanished in a shadow, leaving dark streaks on the walls. Aspen looked around confused and inhaled quickly as the tendrils of darkness started to reach toward her. "Aspen get out of here!" Thunder growled and he swatted the tendrils back, leaving a dark burn on his paw and he followed Aspen out. His paw throbbed only a little bit and he saw the dark mark set in and he shrugged it off. "Come on. Let's find a tree or something for you to sleep in. The ground is too dangerous." Aspen sleepily nodded and followed him up a tree and she nestled in between a thick knot of branches. Thunder felt safer up here since he could see more and if there was a predator, they wouldn't be cornered.
Mike was trotting through the forest, but he paused, thinking he'd heard shouting up ahead. Deciding he didn't want to find out what it was about, he turned and walked back through the forest and passed directly under the tree Aspen and Thunder were in. Nirvana chuckled a bit, saying, "I don't think you need to be quite that rude, Emma." Fritz had heard something from the woods, and the wind had shifted bringing with it a strangely familiar scent. Confused, he asked, "Guys is there something in the forest? I swear I just heard something and it sounded too heavy the be the cats."
Thunder looked down at the ground as the brown wolf passed underneath them and Thunder raised an eyebrow as he recognized it as the same as the one in the clearing but as the wolf turned his head, Thunder caught a glimpse of his eyes which weren't purple. He didn't want to start another fight because unlike the wolf in the clearing, this one could obviously see and he didn't want to risk anything. Aspen woke up early and looked to her right and saw that Thunder was gone. [Huh. Probably exploring the territory or something] She though as she hopped down out of the tree and thought back to that one dark tendril of darkness that struck Thunder's pawn and raised an eyebrow. Her mouth was dry and she started going to the clearing where the small pond, hoping that no-one would be there. As she left the tree, she failed to notice the note scratched into the tree. It read, {Aspen don't leave. I'll be right back. Don't leave. There's something else that we failed to notice before. DON'T LEAVE!}
Slowing his pace, Mike paused, realizing how tired he was and late at night it was. Glancing around, he spotted three boulders, a fallen tree, and some bushes creating a kinda of den. Approaching it wearily, he ducked inside. The interior space was dark and sort of small, but that was fine with him. Turning in a circle three times, he laid down with his head on his paws and watched the forest for a few minutes before dropping off to sleep.
Nirvana had been uncomfortable out in the open with all the strange people around, and had herded Fritz back into the forest and made him stay in a small grassy clearing. After a few minutes, he had settled down to sleep while Nirvana kept watch nearby. In the morning however, Nirvana seemed to be gone and Fritz hadn't felt like waiting for her to return from wherever she'd gone off to, so he'd carefully made his way back to the site of yesterday's encounter, hoping to get a quick drink before beginning the now-arduous trip back to his "house".
Aspen stepped into the clearing and didn't see anyone at first and she sat down to drink, the feeling of her brother's presence gone. She lapped up a few drops of water before her head whipped up to see Fritz walking towards her. Without thinking, she called out. "Hey it's okay. It's just me. My brother isn't here. You can get a drink, I won't push ya in." She got a goofy smile and was glad that Fritz was blind so he couldn't see the empty socket.
Fritz jumped slightly when he heard the voice. Again, he hadn't been paying attention and hadn't noticed the cat's scent as he had approached. Somewhat warily he nodded and approached the pond, taking care to not bump into her. After getting a quick drink, he sat down and turned to face the cat, saying, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't your name Aspen?"
"That's correct. So sorry about my brother's behavior. He can be a bit..." She trailed off and looked back at him. "Ahem. Anyways, what's your name?"
"Yeah it's fine, I get yelled at and threatened a lot. Normally Nirvana isn't that aggressive either. My name's Fritz, and it's nice to meet you Aspen." Fritz responded.
"Nice to meet you as well." She replied and gave a smile but then stopped as she realized that he couldn't see it. "So...where is Nirvana? Because I don't see her and...Thunder wasn't with me this morning."
Fritz lowered his ears slightly, confused. "I actually have no idea where she is right now. I don't think she was there when I woke up, but then again I'm not paying attention as much as I should right now. I seriously they aren't off fighting somewhere, they didn't seem to get along terribly well last night."
"Thunder is a bit too protective. He also can't get his anger out to easily so he tries to pick fights." She lapped up some more water and looked the to edge of the forest where she heard a noise. Without even realizing, she backed up closer to Fritz and sat next to him. Hopefully whatever was there would see the large wolf and leave her alone. She slightly moved her head and whispered, "There's something over there."
Fritz laughed slightly. "He's a bit too protective? Then you should've seen me when I was younger, I was extremely bad about that as well." He gave a small sigh and whispered back, "Over where? And if you want me to tell you what it is I'm afraid you're out of luck." Mike had woken up, and feeling thirsty, had wandered through the forest until he found a small clearing with a pond in it, but he paused when he heard voices. One of them sounded familiar, and he mentally kicked himself for not knowing who it was. He was usually excellent at remembering people, but this one he just couldn't place. Pausing again at the edge of the clearing and hidden from view by the bushes, he peered around the bushes to see who was there and had to do a double take when he thought he saw himself sitting there, but then he remembered Fritz. Somewhat worried, he backed up a pace, bumping into another bush and causing it to rustle. Wincing, he crouched there, hoping to go unnoticed.
Aspen arched her back when she saw another Fritz standing on the edge of the grass and she wondered if it was a shapeshifter or just a hallucination but when Fritz noticed it too she realized that it was real. "Who the hell are you?" She hissed, not even wondering why she was trying to protect this...wolf. An enemy, as Thunder always put it. She unsheathed her claws as she waited for an answer.
Fritz recognized Mike's scent a split second before the other wolf spoke, and interrupted him. "Mike what the hell are you doing here?" Fritz sighed. Mike stood up, a slightly worried expression on his face as he responded, "I could ask the same thing of you, you know." Fritz sighed again and turned to face his brother, also standing up. "Now you could, but where'd be the fun in that?" Nirvana had returned to the clearing where she had left Fritz and nearly had a heart attack when he wasn't there, but she heard voices and followed them. She found him, Mike, and the red cat from last night in the clearing with the pond. Invisible, she came up beside Fritz. Though she disliked it, she would defend Fritz from their own brother if Mike proved to be hostile.
Aspen backed up as Nirvana came into view, Thunder no-where to be seen. "Um...what's going on?"
"I don't know," the ghost replied softly. She had no quarrel with Aspen, it was only the cat's brother that got under he skin. Fritz twitched his ear at Nirvana, but kept facing the place he assumed Mike was. Mike jumped backwards in surprise as Nirvana appeared, ears flattened and a confused look on his face. "Wait a moment, what the hell is going on?"
Somewhere deep in the forest, Thunder felt darkness overtaking him. He had to get himself away from Aspen in case he attacked her and he saw the dark burn caused by the smoke tendril start to grow up his leg in dark streaks. Every 5 minutes an overwhelming shock of pain would bolt through him, sending him doubling over in pain as he gasped for air. Thick black liquid slowly seeped out of his mouth and Thunder wiped it away with a paw. He wondered if this was revenge for the harsh words he said to Nirvana and he watched at the dark tendrils reached his shoulders. Sighing, a single tear dripped down his face as he hoped Aspen was alright. Aspen tilted her head as she took notice of the brown wolf's blue eyes, similar to her remaining eye. She could sense fear from Mike but no real anger and for some reason she immediately trusted him. In some ways she could sense when an animal was trustworthy, that's how she stayed alive all this time with Thunder guiding her. With memories rushing back, she thought back to her mother's death and when she realized that Thunder and her were more like half siblings. Thornheart, Thunder's father, fell in love with Dapple, both our mother, and they had Thunder. About 2 days later they had Aspen who was late and dead as she was born but a miracle brought her back. Dapple was murdered by Thorn after he realized that she cheated on him and took the kits away. Then in one of his days of anger, he lost his his mind and pinned down Aspen and lifted a claw to her eye. He blamed this kit for his insanity and wanted to scar her like he was scarred so long ago. Thunder didn't wake up until the first scream but by that time, it was too late. Aspen remembered seeing only red and figures beyond her vision fighting and she ran when Thunder yelled at her to do so but then was cut off by a loud gurgle. Aspen ran for her life, tears staining her cheeks, mixing with the blood. 2 days later, Thunder returned to her as a ghost and they've been trying to just get away from their father ever since.
Unamused, Fritz huffed, "Dude, Aspen just asked that question. Find something else to ask, please." Nirvana merely flicked her tail, waiting to see how this would play out at first. Confused, Mike stared at Nirvana. She was almost exactly the same as she had always been, except she seemed older and more mature. Quietly, he said, "I thought you'd died." Nirvana raised an eyebrow, saying, "Technically I'm a ghost, so yes I'm still dead."
Since Aspen didn't hear Thunder yelling about the suicide she tilted her head. "How did you die? Did you die protecting Fritz like my big brother?"
Mike was offended when the cat, who he thought was named Aspen, asked how Nirvana had died. Growling quietly he stepped into the clearing and asked, "When did that become any of your business?" Fritz in all honesty considered Aspen something of a friend, at the very least an ally, and had heard Mike move out of the bushes and growl. Considering it a threat, he flattened his ears and stepped forward, growling back, "When it became her business is none of your business and I may be blind but I'll still kick your butt if you dare threaten Aspen again!" Nirvana moved away from Fritz to stand by Aspen, chuckling, "See? Protective. And to answer your question, it was actually a suicide. I got too overwhelmed with all the hate and didn't want to deal with any of it anymore. Not the smartest decision ever made, but what's done is done."
Aspen's hair rose up and she wished Thunder was here. She always felt so much safer when he was around. For some weird reason, she still trusted Mike and only thought of this as a misunderstanding. "Guys don't fight. You're siblings. You're supposed to protect and help each other!" She said and stepped forward and looked back and forth between them. "And Mike wasn't threatening me. It's just a very personal question I asked." She dipped her head down. "Apologies. I would act the same way if someone I just met asked me how my brother died."
Nirvana sighed. "This is really only to be expected, I don't think they've seen each other for nearly 40 years now. And you shouldn't be sorry, it was a legitimate question and I suppose it honestly wasn't that much of a secret to begin with, although I do understand where he's coming from," Nirvana murmured. Mike stepped back slightly, shaking his head gently. "No, it's fine. I don't know when I got so touchy about that, but I guess I shouldn't be. I'm sorry for snapping at you," he apologized. "I've done nothing but try to protect people my entire life," Fritz said quietly. "I tried to protect Nirvana from her problems, I tried to protect my family by removing myself from their presence, and I tried to protect Josie from a world that would've torn her apart, but all that worked out so freaking great didn't it?" he continued slightly louder, the pain in his voice apparent. "I helped them with their problems even when they wouldn't help me with mine, and I still try to even though there's only four people currently in this world who will even speak civilly to me because of something that isn't even my fault," Fritz was trembling slightly now, and seemed to be fighting back tears. Nirvana recognized this tone of voice, and glanced nervously around, hoping she was just overreacting but deep down knowing she wasn't. She'd thought he'd gotten over It, but it didn't sound like it. Sure enough, she spied a faint purple glow in the trees. Even as she watched, It solidified into a ghostly form, though It remained invisible to all except other ghosts. "Uh, guys?" she said nervously, watching It to see what It's next move would be. "I think now would be a great time to get the hell out of here." Fritz hadn't even heard what Nirvana said, he currently had his own problems to deal with. Crouching down and pressing his paws over his head, he'd realized too late that he'd let his emotions get the best of him and now had an extremely bad headache. He knew what followed this, but was in too much pain to warn them. He winced as an especially painful jolt shot through his head, flattening his ears even further.
Thunder slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his paws. Black smoke rose from them and he smiled. "Aspen I'm coming for you..." His voice was extremely deeper and he looked around. "Your mother already payed, now it's your turn." Thunder twitched as he walked alone, insanity brewing through him and he unsheathed his claws. "Oh how afraid you will be when your own brother's claws rip through your throat..." Thunder walked to the edge of the forest and saw the wolf from earlier along with Aspen and the ghost wolf. He smiled evilly as he saw the purple ghost and felt it's anger pointed towards Fritz. (Heh. As they're distracted from that thing...Aspen will be all alone.) Thunder thought and his head snapped to the side.
Mike had backed up, extremely confused and terrified. Nirvana seemed worried and was staring at a spot near the trees, though he couldn't see whatever she saw. "Guys...j-just go... run," Fritz gasped as the headache worsened. He knew he would soon black out and there'd be nothing be could do to help them as It took full control of his body. Nirvana growled helplessly, for she knew there was nothing she could do to help Fritz and she hated to see him in so much pain, but she could save the others if she got them away fast enough. Turning to Mike, she hissed, "Run you idiot!" Mike didn't need to be told twice. He turned around and ran back through the forest, crashing through bushes and swerving around trees until he was certain he was a safe distance away. Only then did he pause, gasping for air and glance back over his shoulder. He was curious about whatever had made Nirvana tell him to run, but wasn't about to go back and ask. Now that Mike was out of the way, Nirvana turned to Aspen but stopped when she noticed Thunder in the forest, though he seemed much much different. She couldn't figure out why, but she sensed that at that moment he was not right in the head. Gesturing with her muzzle in the direction of the trees away from the crazed Thunder, she muttered to Aspen, "Go quickly, climb a tree somewhere. I'll stay with you until this passes."
Aspen quickly nodded, realizing the dark smoke and her eye grew small. "Holy crap. It's..." She squeezed her eye shut, a single tear dripping down her face and she turned and bolted up the nearest tree and looked down at Thunder. Thunder watched as Fritz's body twisted and contorted on the ground and flashed the purple ghost an evil smile. He slowly started walking towards the wolf and watched as a crazed look came into his eyes. "Hey. I'll help you get that brother of yours if you help me kill the traitor in the tree."
Fritz gave one last cry of pain as the pain became unbearable and he blacked out. Laughing evilly, It seemed to vanish from sight in a purple flash as a purple glow came from around Fritz's eyes for a few moments. It opened It's eyes, the blue completely gone from them. Instead they were black with a purple iris and a golden pupil. In the very center of the pupil was a small white spot and his eyes glowed both purple and gold simultaneously. Chuckling darkly, his voice slightly deeper than before, It said, "Sounds good, then. Red cat, right?" Grinning a crazed smile, It scanned the nearby trees in search of his target. Nirvana had turned invisible to everything except Aspen and watched, horror-struck as this all went down. She had promised Aspen she would defend her, but now it looked as if Mike were in trouble too and she couldn't just leave her brother to die. Giving a short growl of indecision, she decided that she would guard Aspen until Fritz was back to normal and then go help Mike. These attacks usually only lasted ten minutes tops.
"Nirvana take Mike away. I can cover myself." She yelled down and breathed deeply and opened her eye in a flash of blue. She studied the trees around her and smiled. (Just like the old days of running away from wolf packs. Just have to keep jumping from tree to tree) She though and watched the two crazed animals walk towards her and she braced herself for the first jump...then she would go.
"If you're sure, alright," Nirvana responded, watching anxiously for a few more seconds before leaping off through the trees in the direction Mike had gone. As It spotted the cat, Aspen he recalled from Fritz's memories, It began singing softly as it approached the tree. "It's true the real story, now everyone knows who I am, don't stop the music or you will see what I can do with your soul. I didn't come here to tease you, I didn't come here to hear you cry, need somebody to load up that box that keeps me blind. I'm the guilty one behind, those children look happy inside, let me set your place around the others, you'll be alright!"
Aspen looked down an hissed at Fritz or...what was Fritz and jumped as Thunder leaped all the way up to her branch in one easy go and Aspen gasped. The expression on Thunder's face was one of pure evil but he was crying and his eyes were filled of pain. "Thunder break through!" She yelled as she left to the next tree and she kept leaping over and over until she was halfway around the clearing. She turned around to see Thunder halfway to her and dark tendrils shot out and wrapped around Aspen, and pulled her all the way back to Thunder. Suddenly he threw her down and she hit the ground with a sickening thud. She slowly got to her feet and shook as she tried to stay up but then an overwhelming sense of pain came over her and she collapsed, the only thought in her brain was to breathe. Tears ran from her eye as she recognized...Thornheart in her brother. He already killed Dapple and Aspen was the only thing left that had to do with the cheater that took Dapple from him.
Nirvana heard a yell and a thud come from the clearing and skidded to a stop, realizing Aspen was in big trouble. Twisting around she reentered the clearing at top speed and in her mostly physical form, howling a battle cry as she leaped into Fritz, knocking him aside as he lunged for Aspen. It growled as It was knocked to the ground by Nirvana, and It struggled back up, snarling at the scarred ghost wolf. Teeth bared, It lunged for her neck but was sent sprawling with a solid smack from Nirvana's wing. Momentarily dazed, It hissed and sat up again, regaining It's breath as It glared at Nirvana, who was now standing protectively over Aspen and snarling up at Thunder.
Thunder was long gone. He knew that. There was no way he could escape from Thornheart. His father knew all his weaknesses and used them against him. He tried to fight the power but felt his body doing whatever his father wished. Aspen lie on the ground, blood dripping from her head as she looked up at her brother and wished she knew how to help him. Suddenly a burst of light lit up the entire forest as a shimmery white and orange cat stepped out with large wings on her back. Aspen suddenly realized her as...Dapple...their mother. Dapple sprang up into the air and Aspen watched as Thornheart exited Thunder's body, leaving Thunder weak and Aspen watched as he fell of the branch and hit the ground. Without any noise the two cats started to fight. Light would enter Thorn's body and push away some of the dark and vice versa with Dapple. Suddenly with another burst of light, Thorn was flooded with light and exploded into drops of shadow. Aspen watched as Dapple walked over to Thunder and she looked down at her son. Suddenly a wail of pain came out of her mouth and Aspen slowly got to her feet and walked over and gasped. Thunder wasn't moving or breathing and Aspen saw his already ghost form start to fade. Aspen cried out and she watched Dapple breath in deeply and she turned to Aspen. With a voice as sweet and smooth as silk she spoke. "Aspen remember that a mother's love is the most important. I won't be able to see you again ever because once I do this, I'll be gone forever." Dapple smiled and touched noses to her vanishing son and tears rolled down Aspen's cheek as she watched Thunder grow brighter and Dapple faded. With a horrified look, Aspen realized that she had just given up all of her remaining lives to Thunder and now he had all 8 again.
It had stood up again, and had slowly come up behind Nirvana. Nirvana had backed away from the cats, sensing they may need some time alone. It growled again as It watched, before turning back ready to attack Nirvana when seemingly out of nowhere, Nirvana whacked It hard on Its head with her paw, again sending It staggering back. Stunned, It collapsed as It exited Fritz's body, hissing viciously as it vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Coughing slightly, Fritz groaned and half-opened his eyes again into the now-familiar darkness. Nirvana watched with a scowl as It hissed at her one last time, before seeing that Fritz's eyes were the blue and purple they normally were. Sighing, she sat down with a huff, slightly worn out by all the fighting. She felt guilty about hitting Fritz so hard on the head, but at least It was now gone. Fritz, who was now scared and stressed in addition to still having a pretty bad headache, again covered his face in his paws, shaking slightly.
