Chapter 25: Dragons of Stone

MIDNIGHT

    "Whoop! Rocks!" cried Blaze happily. Midnight has never seen anyone happier to see rocks. Midnight hopped from one large, firm stone to another.

    Apparently, Pi was fine to turn into a mountain goat, her fur gleaming white, eyes deep red. She was ahead of them. Her horns camouflaged among the rocks. "Are we close?" asked Midnight.

    "Just a bit more," bleated Pi.

    After a few meters hike, the three managed to walk down a flat surface, large trees towering them. "Cool! Rocks!" Blaze cried.

    "It seems like your friend Blaze is a rock enthusiast," joked Pi as she shimmered, turning back into a fox.

    "Am not!" cried Blaze.

    Pi chuckled and strode forwards. "Come, we shall see the dragons."

    Midnight felt a little light headed. Dragons!

    They then reached a clearing, golden light shining down. The clearing was in a shape of a rough circle, dry grass beneath their paws. Four great stones stood around them. One was at the north, another in the east, one on the west side and the other standing in the south, all facing inwards of the clearing.

    "Whoa, cool," Blaze commented.

    There was a feeling of serenity and wisdom, but Midnight was not satisfied. "Are these... real?" she inquired.

    "They are not, but these stones once were normal stones," said Pi. "Four dragon souls has entered each stone, as they were allowed to escape the fate of death."

    "Ugh, it gets better- it's more nonsense," Midnight groaned.

    "Go ahead and listen to their heart beat," said Pi. "Ask them a question."

    Midnight gulped and approached the one in the south. It has very faint features, it's snout long, eyes shut, two drill-like horns and four wings emerged as jagged ovals on it's back. The dragon was standing on four legs, and two in the air- it has six legs, and a long tail.

    "Good decision. She is Scayela," Pi informed, "the Dragon of the South. She shall give you wisdom, even if little in value, but great luck in voyages."

    Midnight then placed her ears against the stone. To her surprise, it was warm. She heard a distant drumming that sounded faintly like buzzing. Midnight swallowed and asked, "Oh, Scayela, dragon of the south, tell me, who is Shadow?"

    A soft breeze passed. In Midnight's head, an answer echoed. You cannot trust him, for he is Beta. Beta has been the main reason for corruption. Beta has been the main reason for the dragon's death- it was not Omega's. It was not Epsilon's.

    The words repeated, and Midnight howled, pushing away from Scayela. "What is this? Is this a joke?" she howled.

    Pi took no notice, she was communicating with the Dragon of the North. Blaze was questioning the Dragon of the East.

    Scayela was no help.

    Midnight strode over to the Dragon of the West. This dragon had a stub-like shout, eyes fearsome, it has four claws on each of it's arms, and talons as legs. It has huge wings, with fingers at the ends. The tail was longer than Scayela's. Much longer.

    "Oh, dragon, do tell," whispered Midnight. "What is Shadow's intention?"

     Shadow is not a shadow, he is a puppet master. He pulls the strings, he needs to use the puppets- he wishes to rise and burn his toys.

    "Please!" Midnight cried as the answer repeated in her head. "No metaphors!"

    Blaze took notice and ran to Midnight. "Sister, what's wrong?"

    "I can't get a straight answer!" Midnight cried.

    "Lives are never in a straight line, so are answers," said Blaze. "Talk to them, don't just question them. They're lonely."

    Blaze then sauntered towards Scayela.

    Pft, lonely, oh, please, sighed Midnight, dropping on the floor.

Author's Note: Yep, merry late Christmas and a happy new year! I'm not feeling particularly well, so I'm sorry about this short chapter! Gah!

Chapter 24: Late Night Thoughts

DUSK

    Ada and Kimi sat before Dusk, yawning. "So, how was your day?" Ada inquired.

    There was fire burning in the fireplace as Dusk answered, "Kenny told me a story."

    "A story?" Ada asked. "He once told me the story of The Greedy Dog. What did he tell you?"

    "Little Red Riding Hood. Oh, stars, that thing is a forest of flaws!" cried Dusk.

    Kimi nodded. "He told me the tale of The Lion and the Mouse. I must say, it's quite pleasing to see Kenny grow up so fast, and so bold."

    "I fear he turns into a hunter," Ada snorted.

    Kimi sighed, and laid down. Her golden fur yellow in the fire light. "Those sheep in the morning, though," groaned Kimi. "They need a shepherd dog."

    Ada shrugged. "They had one before he ran away," she reminded.

    "Say," Dusk piped up, "I'm wondering if anyone can help me?"

    "Depends," Kimi said. The atmosphere was tense as Dusk shuffled in her spot.

    "I want to go back to my pack. I have a sister and I'm pretty important in coordination, so I left a lot behind," Dusk said, "and I want to continue. Continue with my pack."

    "First of all, we can't leave. If we do, well, it means we abandon our duty and family," said Ada. "Secondly, we don't know where they went."

    "Still!" protested Dusk. "I can't just abandon my family!"

    "The only wolf we've seen is you, Dusk," Kimi said.

    "The advisor wolf told me my chief went down to the watering hole earlier before I came," Dusk said, hoping to get clues.

    Ada frowned. "We've been at it for three hours as Gareth fixed the fences. No one came, Dusk, I can assure you."

    "Then-! How did he get injured?" cried Dusk. 

    "Injured?" Kimi cried, and silence dominated them as the fire crackled. "What happened?"

    "Now, I'm not sure. It was said he got attacked at the watering hole," Dusk repeated.

    Ada frowned. "What injuries does he bear?"

    "Scratches, as if has gotten into a fight."

    "A fight? I didn't hear any commotion."

    Kimi spoke, "Still! If he did appear, I'm scared of wolves appearing suddenly! You can't expect me to fight him!"

    Dusk knew she was right the moment she met her. "Then... Shadow lied to me," Dusk mused.

    "Who?"

    Dusk blinked. "In the wolf pack, my chief has an advisor. His name is Shadow."

    "A shadow of the chief, heeheee," giggled Kimi. Dusk frowned in return.

    "Dear, this... Shadow, what use does he have if he lied about that the chief was attacked? What will that do to us? Or them?" Ada inquired.

    "I don't know, but I'm starting to not liking it," Dusk growled. Sasha entered the room and shook her fur.

    "Hey," she greeted. Her brown and black fur stuck up. She then laid down and licked her fur down. "How's your day, Dusk?"

    "We went over this already, Sasha," Kimi said.

    Sasha shrugged and licked her back. "Where's Thala?" she inquired.

    "Eh, Thala? Thala's with Kenny," Kimi said. "Kenny said he had a nightmare and Thala decided to stay with him."

    "Awww," Dusk cooed. "What's a nightmare?"

    "It's what the humans call a bad dream," said Sasha. "Still, I wonder why it's a mare? What about a b-"

    "You've asked that too many times!" cried Kimi. "Don't ask again!"

    Sasha shrugged once more. "How's that wound coming along, Dusk?"

    Dusk looked at her bandaged paw. "Gareth told me it might heal in a little while by the end of three nights," she replied.

    "The one on your side."

    "Oh stars," said Dusk, sighing, "I dare not to touch it."

    Sasha was quite. "It looks more... furry than usual," she said. "More fur patched up there."

   Dusk leaned in towards it and licked it, wincing slightly. The pain reduced drastically, but what Sasha said was true.

    "What wound?" asked Ada.

    As Sasha filled them in, Dusk studied the cluster of fur. It was white, sticking out like her muzzle. It looked quite odd, but Dusk decided it was alright.

    "Sleep," said Ada. "We have a day ahead of us tomorrow."

    As the other dogs huddled up together and started to drift off, Dusk laid by the fire, thinking about her pack members, especially Shadow.

    Why did he lie to me? What's his purpose? Is he hiding a plan?

    Dusk sighed. In the distance, she heard a howl. A howl of a patrolling dog. It made her even more homesick than she ever could.

    She decided to slip outside, but seeing a pack of dogs together eating on their game made her retreat. What am I going to do...?

Author's note:  Giving Dusk love and things to think about. So, with the raise of this question, Dusk will finally have a progression with her story plot! Holidays make me lazy to type.

Chapter 23: Magical Issues

MIDNIGHT

    A distant squeak welcomed her into Lambda's territory. Looking against the brown and green, the silvery-light in her eyes, a spot of orange caught her eye. There was a young fox.

    "Sunrise," said Midnight, smiling slightly. The fox ran towards Midnight, rubbing herself against black-grey paws.

    "That's saying she loves you," said a motherly voice. Raising her head, Midnight saw Pi. A feeling rose that Pi might be a little suspicious, being the only non-wolf in Lambda's territory that she knows of.

    Midnight hunched her back and licked Sunrise. "Love you too."

    "Hello," Blaze said shyly, causing Pi to smile. "I'm Blaze."

    Pi grinned. "Another wolf?"

    Midnight shrugged. "Well, he has been here as Theta's close... friend."

    "I see," said Pi. "Funny were accepting so many animals this year."

    She laughed, her voice clear and gentle. "Although, talking about Theta, where is she?"

    "You mean she's gone?" Blaze suddenly cried.

    "Zeta and Omega went to look for her," said Pi, frowning. "They haven't returned yet."

    Midnight said, "They did go into Epsilon's territory."

    Pi looked alarmed. "Omega? Omega went in there?" she cried. "That's reckless!"

    "Whoa! Slow down! Those two said Epsilon was dangerous, but Omega?" inquired Midnight.

    "Omega and Epsilon had a long argument in the past," Pi said, standing up.

    "What did they do?" Blaze inquired.

    Pi sighed. "I don't like to talk about this, but I know that it's important for you to be alive here. Never discuss about this- never."

    Blaze and Midnight closed in towards Pi and Sunrise ran back towards her as well, snuggling underneath Pi's bushy tail. The pi symbol on her forehead shone silver. "So, a decade ago," Pi started, "Omega and Epsilon were the most active fighters of the forest."

    "Fighter?" Blaze questioned.

    "Back in the days, years and ages far back, dragons exist, young one," Pi stated.

    "They do?" Midnight cried. She heard about them as 'giant winged lizards' that breathes out the deadliest flames. They were ferocious, many men feel to them.

    Pi nodded. "They reside in the Silver Woods, with us. They guard our forest," she continued, "but they had secrets. Dragons held the worst darkness in their hearts. They grew hungry, and ate the living of the woods. The magic filled them, bitter magic overtaking their hearts."

    "What secrets do they have?" Blaze interrupted.

    "Often times, Lambda figured out it was about their heritage," Pi noted. "Like their parents, their claimed destiny."

    Midnight nodded. She knew well about herritages.

    "They began to grow hungry for power. They decided to seek Lambda, the most powerful one of the woods- that's why he's the leader," Pi said solemly.

    "Was he in another form?" asked Midnight.

    "He was as a white lion with a greyish mane," Pi replied. "He assumed it was his true power as a leader."

    "A white lion!" cried Blaze.

    Midnight then said, "Sunrise is quiet..."

    "She doesn't understand what we're saying," replied Pi. "She gets hungry as well, so I assume there's a hidden secret."

    "A hidden secret!" Midnight cried, thinking about Mari and Sunset, how a tree crashed down for them. She almost teared up.

    Pi sighed. "Young cursed ones, pity."

    Blaze puffed his chest out. "Ha! I'm not!"

    Pi smiled and continued to her tale, "They wanted to bring Lambda to an end and take his power as the leader. We feared this, but Omega sprang up and told us he has a plan. Epsilon disagreed, because Omega's plan was to end the dragon race, and Epsilon himself... He's actually a komodo dragon, a type of lizard, and he felt offended. He tried to build up a new plan, to stop the dragons but let them live.

    "Omega didn't agree to that. He protested the dragons would continue on instead. Lambda saw Omega's argument as a reasonable one and turned them into rocks. This... this is why Epsilon and Omega are in war now. Whenever they cross paths, Epsilon would start a battle. Due to this, Lambda forced Epsilon to a new form- a deer."

    "A new form? That doesn't make sense!" Blaze exclaimed.

    "Oh, no, it does," said Pi. "Every form has their own personality. They change. They differ. This is why we don't like to shape-shift much."

    The only explanation why Epsilon is regal as a deer and informal as the wolf! Midnight thought, the conclusion pleasing her.

    "Still, we didn't trust him completely. What if he turned into a komodo dragon and destroy us all? Lambda saw this and assumed to him that Epsilon was given a territory to rule. If Omega shows up at his side, we fear Epsilon would realise this, and turn into his true form once more, because, each forms have their own thoughts as well," Pi said, ending the story.

    "Wow... Dragons," said Blaze.

    "Not a myth, though?" asked Midnight.

    "You can ask Lambda, Zeta, Theta or Omega and Alpha, or mostly anyone, but there's evidence," Pi said.

    Midnight's ears perked up.

    "The Dragons of Stone."

Author's Note: Yay, exams are over and I'm running out of chapter title ideas. This is going to be a VERY USEFUL post- read it and remember the concept of magic.

Plus, I'm pretty sure you all forgot about Sunrise, hurhur. Await the "Dragons of Stone", I wish I couldn't skip Dusk's and write it next week... Ah, but Dusk needs love to.

Chapter 22: Little Red Riding Hood

DUSK

    "Hey there, wolfie," said a voice.

    Dusk opened her eyes groggily, unaware she fell asleep. She released a happy yawn as she felt a warm touch on her back, stroking her lightly, pressing her grey fur against her back.

    There was the young boy, his mushroom-like hair brown, smiling at Dusk, unafraid. "How are you?" he asked.

    If Dusk recalled right, he was Danny. Dusk made a whimpering sound that said, "Hello, Danny."

    "Aww, I love you too."

    What a misinterpretation! sighed Dusk, but she couldn't blame the boy. He looked about six years old for a human.

    Hugging Dusk as he bent forwards, he nearly touched her side where it burns. "You're so soft," Danny said, smiling.

    "Of course I am," said Dusk, grinning, exposing her fangs.

    "You have such big teeth."

    "Let's hope you won't get between them."

    "You're right, they wouldn't be tiny."

    Danny paused. "Have you heard about Little Red Riding Hood?"

    Dusk sniffed, the tangy smell of the air made her sneeze, which Danny took as a no. "Alright, I'll tell you, but only if you're brave enough. It can give you bad dreams," he said with the hint of playfulness in his voice.

    "Up to you," sighed Dusk, laying her head on the hard wooden floor. Gazing upwards at the wooden ceiling, Danny began to speak as Dusk relaxed. "Once upon a time, there was a cottage in the side of the forest, and a girl lived there. She was called 'Little Red Riding Hood' because she always uses red."

    Dusk looked at Danny with her grey eyes. "One day, her grandma is sick. So the mom of Little Red Riding Hood asked her to go to her grandma's house. She has to go through the forest."

    "That's not logical," whined Dusk. Why would someone send a little kid to the other side of the forest through the forest? They'd get eaten!

    "So Red's mom gave her a food basket," said Danny, "and she went off to the grandma's house."

    Dusk licked her lips at the mention of food. "As Red go through the forest," said Danny, shifting a bit from his position of having his chin buried into Dusk's soft back into a sitting position. "There she met a wolf. The big grey wolf."

    Dusk sighed. It was a wolf! Wouldn't a water buffalo be more aggressive?

    "The wolf saw Red, and decided to make a plan to eat her, but he see the treats, and he decided to see where she is going. The wolf asked Red, 'Young lady, where are you going alone in the middle of the forest?'

    "Red then replied, 'Why, Mr. Wolf, I am going to my grandma's house in the other side of the forest, and I have a bag of treats to give her.'

    "The wolf grinned. 'I'll show you a short cut,' the wolf said and brought her to a long road. Thanking the wolf, Red skipped ahead and the wolf took a real shortcut to the grandma house."

    A talking wolf? Yeah, right. That's when pigs fly, or so she heard Elena say that about Garreth being able to have a wolf farm.

    "Then the wolf at grandma's house pretend to be Red, and he said, 'Knock-knock, grandma, it's your granddaughter, Red, let me in,'

    "'The door's unlocked, do come in,' was grandma's reply.

    "The wolf happily entered and came in."

    Dusk was flabbergasted. Wolves attack, they don't warn their prey! Who in the name of stars would write such a terrible story?

    "Then the wolf ate grandma! Quickly, the wolf dressed in grandma's clothes and pretended to be her," Danny continued. "When Red approached, he went under the blanket. 'Knock-knock, grandma, it's you're granddaughter, Red, let me in.'

    "'The door's unlocked, do come in,' said the wolf. Red entered with the treats."

    Dusk licked her lips. Treats- taste good. Does she get any?

    "Red entered. 'Hello, grandma!' she said. 'I have some treats!'

    "The wolf licked his lips. 'Hello, Red,' he said, 'come and let's eat.'

    "Red came closer. 'Oh, grandma! What big eyes you have!' she cried. The wolf just said, 'The better you see you with.'

    "Red said again, 'Oh, grandma! What big ears you have!' The wolf replied, 'The better to hear you with!'

    "Finally, Red saw the wolf grin. 'Oh, grandma! What big teeth you have!' Red cried. The wolf grinned, 'The better to eat you with!'

    "With that, the wolf pounced on the girl. Screaming, Red tried to escape the wolf, but he was too quick. With that, the wolf almost ate her when the door open and a man came in with a big pointy axe. He looked at the wolf and cut him through the belly, opening it and grandma came out while the wolf die."

    Dusk shuddered. That doesn't even make sense, she chided.

    Danny smiled and scratched Dusk's back, and Dusk let a yawn of satisfaction. "Don't get nightmares," said Danny.

    As if, snorted Dusk.

    "Kenny! Did you lock the chicken coop?" a voice cried.

    "Oh no! I better check the chicken coop," said the boy and quickly ran off. Dusk just grinned. His name's not Danny?

Author's Note: I waste so much time- hehe. As usual, words in italics are foreign words to the wolf with perspective. Don't worry. More fun will be coming soon, I hope.