The Fox and the Hound

[Kitan]

The impact of the tackle shocked Kitan as powerful werewolf arms wrapped around his legs. The momentum circled downwards and drove his face right into the rooftop’s rough stone surface. He spat dust and blood from his lips and twisted around and smacked Shade on the nose, though there was not much force behind the blow. “You jerk!” He sputtered. “How was that supposed to help?” He gave Shade’s nose another brief backhand and wormed his way from the bigger shifter’s grasp.

He put the sleeve of his shirt on his nose to catch up the small trickle of blood. He thought back a little bit and realized “And now I have to deal with two delusions... though I guess that was basically all my fault.” He glowered over at Shade. “How did you even know which one was me?” He winced as his preening sleeve caught itself uncomfortably on his scratched up skin. He quickly disentangled the offending attire, the crossed his arms and sniffed with the rising sun at his back; it would have been quite the lovely view, had Kitan not had his focus on more practical events in the opposite direction.

[Shade]

Shade wagged his tail as he panted, sitting down on his haunches and watching as the other shifter huffed. The couple smacks to his nose made him wince but he didn't growl or protest. He just laid back and watched as Kitan fumed at him. If anything it just amused him so any sore spots he received were understood. Oh well, he'd be pretty pissed too.

"Woof." He barked unapologetically. In fact, with the narrowed eyes and quirked ears he looked almost unimpressed. Snorting he flopped his head between his paws and cocked an eyebrow at him. I can't talk in this form dumb ass.

Getting onto all four paws again, he barked again and trotted back the way they had come. Already the spell was fading and he could make out actually buildings not just blurred shapes. Relieved slightly he ran to the edge of the building, turned and barked before leaping back the way he came. Clammoring down he peered up and waited, curious to see if the boy would run or follow.

[Kitan]

Kitan wasn’t really sure what else he was supposed to do, so he just wandered after his werewolf mentor. His feet lacked the hard soles of shoes as well as the claws of a fully half shifted form, so even on the tough industrial rooftop they made little more than a faint patter. He watched the werewolf drop off the side they had climbed, descending downwards beside the chain which had been such an aid to their ascent.

Kitan wondered if when he learned to shift, he wouldn’t be able to talk either. A little part of him assured him that such was not the case for kitsune; the reading materials he had struggled through had suggested otherwise, even if they were mere legends. He sniffed up some the remaining blood about his nose and stepped off the edge of the roof. Immediately beneath his foot was the crane of the pully.

He didn’t know why, but he rather enjoyed high places. Rather than immediately following Shade back to the earth, he simply sat down on the edge and stared somewhat suspiciously at the other shifter beneath him. “If you can’t talk.” He called down. “Why don’t you just change back for a second?” Maybe it had something to do with the werewolf’s collar. Maybe Shade had to get permission for every single shift into that form. Or maybe he was just trying to set Kitan up for another attack, it was difficult to tell.

The little shifter weighed his options before grudgingly slinking down the chain. He simply dropped before catching himself twice, then with inhuman grace simply fell the rest of the distance, landing in a smooth crouch which prompted Kitan to crawl forwards for a moment before languidly switching to an upright position. This encounter probably wasn’t going to progress much unless he played to Shade’s expectations, anyways. Still, he did hope there was more to this ‘lesson’ than getting mauled.

He kept such thoughts to himself as he openly wondered, “So what’s next?”

[Shade]

Shade blinked as he peered up at the boy, remaining on all fours in an attempt to settle what suspicion the boy may still have of him. Hearing his question he paused in his panting and cocked his head, letting loose a low whine as he thought. Glancing him over he pondered how to tell him.

Charades was too big a pain in the ass and the message might not get clearly through to him. Glancing at his clawed hands he frowned, curious if maybe the boy could read. Deciding to take the chance he dug his nails into the dirt, scribbling out letters to the best of his clawed abilities.

'Hurts too damn much to shift. Takes too long too. he scrawled out as he kept glancing up at the boy. What's next, is we're gonna play chicken. You've got to learn to play ahead if you're going to run. If I was after your hide I could've killed you. You cornered yourself. Next time, try to plan how to get away and always have a plan B. So, whenever you're finished reading this start runnin' cause if you thought that last tackle hurt wait till I really play rough.

Shade leaped back about two steps and braced himself on all fours, baring his teeth as his tail wagged almost tauntingly. Ears pulled back he let out a low growl, ready now for another round to begin.

[Kitan]

As soon as he read “start runnin'” Kitan was off. Turning on a dime, he rounded the corner of the building; just like last time, he hit the wall at an angle and started running up it. He had to think of something different.

Time seemed to slow for him as he examined his surroundings. The building’s construction was consistent—just as there was at the original wall, there was a window. The sole difference he saw he could exploit was fortuitously obvious—the window was open.

Kitan grappled through and swung around, doing an acrobatic spin before landing with arms outstretched on a crate. A whimsical thought was all it took to create an image of a closed window where the open one sat open. Kitan winced, immediately regretting his impulsive decision. Three delusions was entirely too many to deal with, and though the window would look closed, he could not disguise its real image. The window would appear to have an abnormal number of panes.

Spring-boarding from the surface launched Kitan upwards. It made a loud snapping sound and Kitan immediately knew what cover he had was blown. His ears picked out Shade’s reactive movement outside, and it would be moments before he discovered the odd looking window.

Kitan leapt and twirled around, over and under the various chains, crates, and bizarre gnomish inventions. Shade might have been able to outspeed him in a dead sprint while half shifted, but Kitan was willing to bet that he would have more trouble navigating the tight corners of an interior setting. By moving quickly and quietly around, he expected to throw off his scent and keep himself from being detected too quickly while he stalled for time to think of a better plan.

[Shade]

Shade watched as the boy's eyes widened and he bolted away, growling in amusement while he sat back on his haunches. It was clear the boy was thinking this time, not running blindly but just moving with actual thought. He watched as the boy turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Distantly he heard the patter of feet against the wall and Shade felt his eye twitch. So, he ran upwards did he? Back to the roof? He grunted a bit in irritation as he got back onto all fours, trotting around the corner and peering upwards where he last heard noise. What he found however was nothing. Emptiness. Blinking in surprise Shade frowned before following suite, taking a gallop at the wall and bounding off it while digging his claws in to get grip. The heavy groan from his weight made him wince but he climbed to the roof none the less. Leaping up he felt himself still once more as he stared around him in confusion.

Where was the boy? Sniffing the roof proved pointless, he couldn't smell anything with this wind. So, he forced himself to look and listen as he wandered around the rooftop looking for clues. For nearly a minute he wandered around stumped, finding the only odd thing was the random window with too many panels. Then again, gnomes and dwarfs constantly wandered the building so who said one of them didn't make the design for it? Though, come to think of it the other windows didn't look the same as that at all...

Deciding it couldn't hurt to take a look Shade made for the window. He was about to leap when a loud noise from within startled him into pausing, ears pricked and head raised as he stared at the window in shock. The boy wouldn't go in there, would he? No, he couldn't be that crazy. After all, tons of screwed up inventions laid inside and half of them Shade bet exploded. And the window! It was closed so how could he have-

Magic. Shade didn't hesitate now as he backed up and bound towards the window, ears back and eyes wide. He used illusion again! Dammit! He's going to get us caught!

True to his hunch, he slipped easily through the 'glass' and landed heavily on the other side. A quick glance around told him the fox had fled this particular spot and was probably hiding. In his mind he freaked, wishing more then ever that he could yell in this form. After all, he'd heard some of the stories about what laid in here and half of them involved 'backfiring'.

Letting out a loud series of howling barks he thundered onwards after the boy's scent, sliding into corners as his paws slipped across the floor. He had to find that boy before something happened. He needed to find the boy and beat the crap out of him for being stupid enough to run into this place.

Come to think of it, he didn't put any borders around either so the boy wasn't technically breaking any rules. Shade let out a low groan as he nearly headbutted a crate. Damn these tight corners! He was nearly too wide to fit in half of them and that little bastard was no doubt getting a giggle fit at seeing him squeeze.

That's it. After this I'm moving this damn training somewhere else. Somewhere where he can't get into trouble and I don''t have to worry about getting my bulk stuck. With that Shade turned another corner and accidentally rammed his head into a box. Yelping he pulled back and fumed at it before resuming to sniff out the fox. That is, he thought he would until he noticed something else.What....? I can't.... He covered his scent!

[Kitan]

Kitan was, naturally, perched atop the rafters, watching the werewolf struggle. He dropped the illusion around the window, figuring it to be unneeded. Besides, he didn’t want his attention divided any more than necessary.

He slid along the beams and around the poles of the roof while keeping an eye on Shade’s position. Though he didn’t know exactly where the werewolf was, the occasional movement as Shade shoved his way past boxes made is fairly easy to track his progress.

The material beneath Kitan began to shift, but Kitan caught on with unprecedented speed that this was a delusion. The wood of the pillar morphed into the shapes of strange and alien birds, forming a flock which swarmed around him. Kitan’s progress was halted with his tail dangling from the side

The kistune tiptoed about another pillar, before dropping once more to the various crates and boxes of the storage warehouse. He flicked his ears outwards, confirming the Shade’s location. A green feathered illusion with four red eyes, larger than the rest of the pack, flew down to land beside him while the rest remained airborne. He looked at it. It mimed a screech at him before silently lifting off again. Kitan bit his lip. More time wasted, and Shade was on the way. Kitan wasn’t an expert on the subject, but he guessed that his previous movements could only mask his scent for so long.

Kitan looked around wildly, but the birds were blocking his vision. He scampered backwards a bit and nearly fell into the top of an open box.

Kitan looked down inside it with the birds flitting about above him. It appeared to be full of some weird sort of lantern, but filled with a faintly luminescent liquid. He tapped the glass, and it lit up much more brightly. Kitan tossed his ears backwards to listen in on Shade’s footsteps; the werewolf was approaching, he heard him struggling to shove through the narrow areas.

Kitan reached down and grabbed one of the lamps, setting it on the very edge of the box then sprinting away. If a slight tap made it light up slightly, a sudden impact on the ground beneath it should make it light up very brightly; with luck, as Shade bumped the box the liquid might even spill and light him up.

The trap set, Kitan turned to sprint off. The instant he turned around, a bird swooped low and flew right into his face. Though he had been ignoring the birds, the sudden movements made him stumble backwards and bump the crate he had set the precarious lantern atop. The inevitable response of the improvised trap was to fall wobble nervously about the edge.

Immediately realizing the danger Kitan leapt atop the box to reach out and save the lantern from the imminent leap, but he was too late. The lantern teetered off the edge and hit the floor beneath, whereupon it released a great gaseous boom as the green-brown liquid rapidly expanded into a yellow-tinged translucent gas and lit up a good portion of the warehouse.

Kitan cringed at the remains of the contraption, taking steps back to avoid inhaling the strange substance. Oops.

[Shade]

Shade had just rounded a corner when he heard the smash and saw a poof of luminance. Startled he paused in his shoving to stare at it in disbelief before howling loudly. Screw the boxes, he charged up them and ran across their tops. He spotted the fox with little difficulty, barking out a sharp warning as thundered forward.

Run you dipshit! Don't breath it in! He wanted to scream as he stared in horror at the upcoming gas. Who knew what kind of toxin was in that let alone what it was actually meant for. No, he needed to get the boy out of there and out in the fresh air. Barking he leapt the barrel and scrambled to the boy's side. He gave him a sharp butt with his head before turning his nose towards the window, hoping he'd get the hint.

MOVE IT BOY!

[Gia Rilan]

Gia had entered the city only a few hours before. It was strange, wandering streets that she had seen before, ducking her head when guards past, and smelling old familiar scents. She usually traveled away from places she'd been before. She inhaled deeply, hoping for a whiff of a memory, but got nothing among the layer of city-scent that hung over everything in a muddy shade of grey. She went to the ruins first and while the air was cleaner, she still didn't find what she was looking for. Not that she had had much hope of finding him in the first place, but there was always just a scrap of her that desperately wished and prayed for things to go back to the way they were.

After wandering around the ancient ruins for a while she took to the streets again. She knew that she would probably have to talk to someone in order to find anything out, but from what she remembered of the shadow priest, he wasn't the kind to hang about in taverns. Or really... talk to people at all. Gia sighed, knowing the chance of finding him again was slim. But he had been good to her, and kind, and gentle, and it was worth a shot.

She stopped stock still outside an alley. Fear-scent overpowered nearly everything, coloring her scent-sight a sickly yellow. Below the fear-scent, tinged orange and white and silver, was fox-magic-human-scent. A shifter? She could smell a werewolf as well - her own kind stuck out to her like smoke signals in a clear sky. There were humans, and some blood, but Gia recognized that in the middle of a human city there would always be humans and blood. Was the werewolf hunting the fox shifter? If he was, Gia could see that he hadn't caught his prey. But they traveled together - sweat and blood and fear mixed together and she couldn't tell if one was running and one was chasing or not.

Either way, Gia tracked them. If there was a werewolf giving her kind a bad name she would stop him. Fear-scent still colored the trail, making it very easy to follow. She tracked them through the city and then to a power plant along the river where the wolf had... changed. She smelled a hint of pain in the air - did it hurt the wolf to change? she had only met two others who hurt - and then saw running marks in the dirt. She bared a few teeth silently. Did the wolf bring the fox here for a game? Was he hunting the fox down like prey?

A sudden howl broke her thoughts. They were close. Quickly Gia looked around, and, seeing no one, stripped off her clothes and tucked them into her small bag. She slipped into wolf form softly, feet and hands melding into paws in a blink. She picked up her bag in her mouth and tucked it behind a crate near a wall, then took off running towards the howl, half following the scent and half following her ears.

A window above her - Gia could smell the acrid tang of something noxious. She tried to breathe lightly. Her nose, already so sensitive in human form, burned at the smell. She heard noises inside of it, barks and whines, and they made sense to her as panicking noises. She stopped at the window, baring her fangs slightly, legs trembling from adrenaline and holding her wolf senses, which were screaming at her to run away from the stink, in check through sheer force of will.

[Kitan]

Kitan didn’t get the impression that the gas was harmful, just very glowy, smelly and bright. He hadn’t felt very woozy or anything when he had briefly entered the expanding cloud. Nevertheless, he felt it best not to take his chances.

Kitan leapt over the various crates, retracing his steps to the window. The gas seemed to be settling lower and spreading after its initial burst. Kitan figured it must be heavier than the air. He climbed over the boxes and escaped the luminescent fumes. Just a few sprinting leaps carried the agile shifter the rest of the distance. He slipped out the window.

Dropping to the ground, the shifter had the misfortune of landing right in front of a large wolf waiting outside. Kitan skidded to a halt and stumbled out backwards, wondering how Shade had managed to get out ahead of him. He pinned himself flat against the wall and narrowed his eyes. No, this wasn’t Shade. This was some other werewolf, who had fully shifted and had a different fur color.

Kitan flattened his heads to the side of his head and tucked his tail between his legs. He had been mauled by werewolves enough for one day. “Uh, Shade?” He called out nervously, trying to look up at the window while keeping an eye on the new arrival. Unfortunately, all he could see coming out of the window above his head was a large tide of hallucinated birds. His ears flicked back, and though the hissing noise of the gas obscured it he could here Shade clambering around the boxes. He looked back at the other wolf, hoping Shade was closer than he sounded.

[Shade]

When Shade first started running with the boy, he cursed his wolf instincts. He shouldn't have got the boy, he should have just run himself and let the boy figure it out the hard way. Yet the wolf took over his thoughts and demanded he saved the pup that wasn't his own. Why he hadn't a damnest but what concerned him was the fierce protective rage that hit him. Filing it away for thought later on he ran after Kitan, slowly losing ground but not really worried. The boy wouldn't run far and the gas was settling anyway.

He slowed his pace when he saw Kitan leap from the window. No, the boy would be fine and he felt alright as well. No harm done in this stupid mistake. He sighed as he came to, shifting his weight as he glanced behind him at the still glowing mess. He winced. No doubt Drayel would figure out who it was who blew up a warehouse with glowing yellow gas.

Turning he let out a sigh as he started to trudge back towards the windows at a slow gait. Again though, a single word uttered by Kitan in a anxious voice and he picked up the pace considerably. By itself his body bristled and charged, unaware of anything but the window. His ears pulled themselves back, his teeth revealed themselves, and even his hands dug deeper in the crate bottoms.

He wasn't as fast as Kitan but he charged with the fury of a bull, leaping high and through the window without so much as a thought. Hitting the ground with a heavy thump he leaped between Kitan and the newcomer, catching her scent and letting out a howling roar. This one wasn't friendly, this one didn't even have a hint of diplomacy. He let loose a bellow that shook only with warning threats and rage.

He pulled himself onto two legs and snarled, glancing slightly behind him to check on the boy. Nervous, not harmed. He turned his glare to the newcomer. Female, don't kill. Scare away if needed but never harm. He growled lowly, flickering his tail as his ears pulled themselves back as far as they could go. Then, he snapped his jaws in an attempt of a warning. She would understand the meaning no doubt yet if she hadn't headed it he would be forced to defend the boy. He'd given his word.

[Gia Rilan]

When the fox came scrambling through the window Gia was relieved. His fear-scent had diminished slightly but then it spiked again, probably at the sight of her. She wasn't going to hurt him, and she started to wag her tail and give a wolfy grin. Before she got in more than one wag of her tail, however, a giant werewolf came crashing through the window, roaring out a challenge.

Gia stamped down on her fear instantly. While the wolf part of her told her to cower and and ingratiate herself with this clearly alpha male, the human side of her was more resolute. If he was terrorizing the fox he had to stop. If he was trashing others perceptions of werewolves more than they already were, he had to stop. She responded immediately with a open-mouthed snarl full of menace, the ferocity surprising even herself.

She looked him over quickly. He was bigger than her - much bigger than her - but she knew that meant she was probably faster than him. Of course, she could shift to match him... but it was garish, and crude, and she hated that form. She breathed in deeply, taking in his scent. Power and sureness practically dripped off of him, and she could smell magic beyond just the normal shifter magic. Something faint.

Gia lowered her head and bared all of her teeth, pinning her ears back as she did so. Leave the fox alone, she thought and growled at him, wondering if he could actually hear her or understand her. Some shifters could. If not, she'd be forced to resort to body language or to shift, and that would just be problematic.

[Kitan]

Kitan stood there blinking, a bit stunned by the feral fury of the werewolves around him. He shook it off with a slight shiver and scampered off to the side, trailed by his delusive flock of birds. The immediate situation had clearly progressed beyond his constructive involvement.

He slipped around the corner and sank against the wall, sighing deeply. He closed his eyes, breathed, and when he opened them again the strange birds had vanished. He smiled; that method almost never worked for getting rid of the hallucinations, but it was so easy it never really hurt to try.

Freed from the distraction, he turned his ears to listen to the werewolves. He heard growling and scuffling feet, but he also caught a hint of... metal?

Kitan quickly discerned that the source has not the werewolves. He moced halfway across the street and flipped his fox-ears the outwards towards the main section of the city. Yes, this was the origin of that sound. It was faint, but his hearing had proven true. The sound of men in armor and a panicked voice, to remote to detect any words or dialoge. Even so, the evidence pointed to only one possible event: the Marn guard was on its way to the werehourse.

Kitan cringed and turned back to the werewolves. He deftly sprinted back and poked his head around the corner. “Uh, Shade? I think someone heard the boom or saw you two, I can hear guards on the way. We should all get out of here.” He thought back to Drayel, who had been very scary without even trying. Kitan didn’t want to meet him when he was actually mad.

[Shade]

Shade kept his eye on the snarling wolf, as he turned his ear towards the boy. Guards? Well, that made sense. Still he needed to get the boy out of here yet the wolf ahead of him wasn't backing down. He forced his snarling into low growls, narrowing his eyes in thought. He had given his word to keep the boy out of trouble....

Grinding his teeth he stepped back, falling to all fours and forcing his head to drop. Stiffly he walked between the boy and the newcomer, eyes kept on the ground until he was completely between them. Then, flicking his eyes up he let a low rumble from his chest in a warning.

I don't want to fight but I won't let you near the boy. He tried to say as he lowered his tail and slowly backed off, pushing the boy firmly with his side towards escape. Now he could hear the guards and their yells, none of which sounded in the mood to listen. He cringed.

Turning his back on the wolf he gave Kit a firm nip and butt as he pointed his nose in the direction to run before turning to look at the she-wolf. He'd give her the choice so long as Kitan remained far ahead. Not a difficult feat for the Kitsune he knew well. Puffing out his chest and raising his head he let out a bark before turning and galloping away.

Follow me.

[Gia Rilan]

Gia flicked an ear at the shouts and sounds of metal, then snapped at the air in annoyance. This city! What she wouldn't give to be uninterrupted for five minutes! Actually, she probably wouldn't do much, but it would be so lovely if guards didn't come at every suspicious noise... though she supposed the howl of the werewolf from earlier was cause enough for concern in a city that banned magic.

The fox spoke up about the approaching guards and gave Gia half a second's pause. If the werewolf was hunting him why would he warn it? But he did say they should all get out of there - did that mean he was inviting her along? Or was he just trying to warn her because he was a shifter too and he didn't want her to get thrown under the carriage for something that wasn't her fault?

Too many thoughts, and she wasn't about to leave a werewolf to run around with a young shifter who didn't even know enough to keep his ears hidden! Gia threw a wary glance at the big werewolf when he invited her along. Shifters stuck together against the law, or at least they did where she was from... then again, the law was written by shifters there.

Too many thoughts, the wolf echoed her thinking from earlier. Too many thoughts when we must run. The noises of the guards drew closer and Gia threw herself into a run, deciding to follow the fox rather than the werewolf. She was quick and knew she could outpace him - plus a wolf was much more subtle in the city than a werewolf, and that was really saying something. Worse came to worse, the werewolf was on his own. Not true, the wolf responded as they ran. We do not leave pack.

Not pack, Gia responded grimly, furious at herself for getting drawn into an argument with the wolf. They never ended well - human and wolf were too different and could not reconcile. All beast-humans pack, the wolf responded serenely before turning away from Gia. Damn you, Gia thought at the wolf. You are of absolutely no help! She channeled her frustration into her run and passed the werewolf, trailing the fox by only two wolf-lengths.