Thanks! It's great to write again!Wrenisprobablyb0red wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:43 am It's back! Woohoo! I'm so glad you managed to push through your writer's block.
So the invisible beast was a scorpion of some kind? Interesting. Wonder what prompted it to go after Pueblo and the rest. Interesting how Ryujuro recognizes Draig as Dragon, though it sounds like he definitely has some explaining to do to the others (unless that happened offscreen.)
Overall, this chapter was genuinely fantastic and I'm so glad your story is back.
Even though they're in mortal bodies they still have celestial souls inside them. My head cannon is that the demons can tell because their souls shine "brighter" than most mortals
The time line goes:Wrenisprobablyb0red wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:43 am Ouch. Poor Joey. I mean, he kinda deserves it for posting the picture of Askal, but still. I really hope that he and Fido can mend their relationship without too much bitterness. Also, Fido hearing danger and immediately leaving Joey crying to go take care of Askal might negatively impact Joey's conscious more.
Askal runs away in the dead of night > Fido's search time searches until 1 AM > Pueblo and co notice that Askal's still missing > Go looking for him > catch the attention of demon scorpion > then get rescued by Askal/Ryujuro.
Fido made no mention of the kids going missing and knowing King, he'd definitely notice if his kids were gone. Plus the kids would've been asleep at 1am so I'm just gonna confirm they left early in the morning. The kids were trapped for like 30 mins tops and chased for maybe 10 minutes
AYO 200 posts Baby! Thanks dude!
Good to be back!
Thanks!Amazee Dayzee wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 12:56 pm This chapter has come out really nicely Krytus! Really great job on putting it together!
Actually, this inspired me to rewrite the chapter name to Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. These Kintsugi pieces can result in interesting art works.D-Rock wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:28 am Great section. It’s interesting how Askal and Ryujuro did some mental back and forth when he was deciding if it was wise to use his powers to save Draig, even if it was still technically Askal the whole time.
That moment of Fido and Joey hit pretty hard, but I guess sometimes you have to let the cracks break before you can really get to fixing it, otherwise it’s only a patch job.
And hey, confirmation that Pueblo inherited avatar powers!
Episode 06: Kintsugi
Chapter 02
Askal couldn't breathe.
The vice-like grip on his lungs made it hard even to get a gasp. Askal's vision began to blur as he kicked and struggled under the immense weight. He hallucinated memories he hadn't seen before—hours upon hours of just raising his sword with both hands and bringing it back down. At first, it was tedious work, but as the day grew older and the sun began to set, everything in his body cried out in pain for relief.
"Alright, alright, guys, break it up." Pueblo's voice broke through the monotony of the memory. "You're going to kill him."
Askal felt relief when one by one, the trio that assaulted him was pried off his body. While Askal had experience being at the bottom of a dog pile before, his fresh bruises didn't make things any easier. He would definitely need some ice when he got back to the house when this was all over.
"But I have so many questions! Not just for Askal but for you too, Pueblo!" Olive flailed her arms around in excitement.
"Do you have magic powers!?" Rook pushed aside his sister to gawk at Askal.
"Who's that larger striped dog that you turn into?" Ace asked with the only calm voice among the three.
"Can I touch those thingies on your stomach when you turn into him again? What were they called again? Uncle Fox and our mom's got them too." Olive said with an innocent smile.
Somewhat overwhelmed, Askal then resolved to answer each question in order. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm called Ryujuro in that form, and I used to be a swordsman in a faraway place called Japan. And... uh... sure?"
Once Askal made sure everyone was a safe enough distance, he stared at the palms of his hands. Askal's breathing was steady and continued to keep its pace even when embers began to consume him, starting from his fingertips. Ignoring the collective gasp of everyone nearby, Askal felt no pain as the fire traveled along his fur. He didn't feel particularly odd when his body stretched and grew in size until he returned as Ryujuro.
"Whoa," Olive gasped, being the first to dare go closer to Ryujuro in his state. "He's muscly, kinda like Uncle Fox and Uncle Mungo."
Ryujuro couldn't help himself, his tail wagged, and his leg twitched as Olive poked and prodded at his body, sometimes hitting somewhere that was particularly ticklish. Soon even Rook and Ace joined in, and soon Ryujuro was chuckling uncontrollably. Underneath the well-trained exterior of a warrior was still a young pup, after all. His chuckling came to a sudden halt when he noticed Olive's eyes getting incredibly close to his.
Once close enough, Ryujuro felt strange. His heart beat somewhat faster, and his face suddenly felt warm. He recognized these symptoms when he was with Pueblo but with Olive too? Was Ryujuro coming down with something?
Ryujuro's inner thoughts were interrupted when he heard something. Instantly his ears shot up, thinking another demon was coming to attack them, but it sounded different. He scanned the surrounding area for the source, but nothing was coming at them aside from the two fox kits that talked amongst themselves and his Kuya.
"Alright, everyone." Fido said with a clap of his hands, "We're heading back this time; let's try not to get lost. I've already asked Sabrina to get in contact with your guardians. We shouldn't keep them waiting."
Ryujuro eyed his Kuya curiously. In the time he had known the dog, Fido has always worn his emotions on his sleeve unless he was on duty. It was just the kind of dog Fido was. Now, Fido acted differently. He was so formal and didn't even wait for everyone before he was already walking off on his own.
Before Ryujuro could even rush to his side, he felt something tackle him from behind. "Carry me, boyfriend number 2!" She yelled enthusiastically.
"Aw, what no fair!" Rook argued as he kept pace with Ryujuro, "I want a piggyback ride too!"
"Too bad, so sad, but he's my boyfriend." Olive teased as she stuck out her tongue, causing Rook to pout, "Besides, I wanna be comfortable when I ask Pueblo his share of questions."
"Me?" Pueblo pointed to himself in shock,
"Oh, don't think you're getting off the hook so easily, buster brow." Olive chuckled, causing everyone but Fido to walk together in a pack just to hear the juicy details. "Okay, let's start with the obvious. What was that?"
"Honestly, I'm not so sure myself." Pueblo held out his hands as if to replicate the incident, "I just saw Askal and Officer Fido about to get crushed, and my body moved on its own. Before I knew it, the rock was just floating."
"The Earth Mover." Ryujuro craned his neck to see it was the girl Fox cub from before who answered, "It's a bit hazy, but I think I remember something about it. Uhh, how did it go again? Ranked highly among the avatar classes, this class offers great battlefield control and defensive capabilities in exchange for average mobility options. These abilities are most commonly found within those whose conviction is so great that not even mountains can stand in their way."
"Aw, c'mon, seriously? An earth mover Draig? You prepared an Earth Mover against me?" the second male Fox cub spoke up with his arms crossed, "That's easily one of the most overused classes in the game."
"More overused than the White Avenger, Craig?" Draig responded with equal disdain.
Before everyone knew it, the two had begun bickering, trying to talk over one another, "Uhh... are they always like this?" Ryujuro tried to keep his eyes focused on the trail he was following, but it was like witnessing a car crash. It was hard to look away.
"Oh definitely, we usually ignore them when they get like this. They're really enthusiastic gamers." Olive added casually, "But forget that! If what Draig said is true, you can move rocks with your mind! Can you move anything right now, Pueblo?"
"Uh... I can try." Pueblo shrugged.
As if to retrace his steps, Pueblo held up his hands. The young cougar gritted his teeth and sharpened his focus. Ryujuro studied any of the numerous pebbles scattered about, but none of them moved unless all the walking kicked them up. Eventually, Pueblo lowered his arms with a shrug.
"Hmm, have you tried squeezing your butt cheeks and yelling from the depths of your heart?" Rook mimicked a punching motion
"I don't think that's how I triggered it last time." Pueblo sighed, "It all happened so fast, and now I can't remember how it happened at all."
Olive shrugged before giving off a yawn "Eh; maybe we can ask Uncle Kitsune. But, until then, you should probably keep those powers a secret. Uncle Kitsune was very clear not to reveal magic to the adults unless we really need to."
"You guys know Kitsune?" Ryujuro almost stopped in his tracks.
"Well, aside from being their dad," Ace pointed to the two, still bickering fox cubs, "He visits us, sometimes in our dreams, sometimes just invisible to everyone but us. He likes to ask us about his kids: how they're doing, if they're getting along, that sorta stuff. But we can't tell dad or mom cause it's a secret."
Ryujuro couldn't help but stare at the two as they bickered. So they were Kitsune's kids? It made sense in hindsight, considering how desperately he pleaded for Ryujuro to take action. Still, maybe that connection was the familiarity he felt from Draig. The striped dog shook his head. No, it had to be something else.
He searched through his memories, trying to see where the connection lay—neither he nor the original Ryujuro ever came into contact with such a feeling before. But, so perplexed by the problem he faced, Ryujuro couldn't stop thinking about it. Ryujuro spent the entire walk back thinking back to what caused the familiarity. He only snapped out of his stupor when an orange flash surprised even his reflexes.
"MY BABIES!" An adult fox tackled the two kits to the ground maintaining a death grip on them, "I had a dream that your father was telling me you were in trouble! So when I went to check on the wolf house and didn't find you there, I was so worried!"
"Aw, but mom!" the two kits yelled as she picked them up and dragged them back into the forest but headed in a different direction.
Ryujuro chuckled but was surprised when he felt Olive being hefted from his shoulders, "Do you realize how worried sick you made your father?" Bailey scolded in a stern tone, "I mean, going off on your own isn't too much of a big deal but doing it without telling us and getting lost in the forest is too much! Your father fainted so many times he couldn't get out of the house!"
Rook held onto his mom's hand and Ace's hand "but Askal-!"
"Will be fine," Bailey reassured, "We're about to start our search in a few hours. We just need a little more time to rest before we brave the forest. If the adults need to be careful going in, the three of you should all the more."
"Okay, mom," Ace sighed while subtly elbowing Rook, probably to remind him to keep the magic a secret.
"Thank you so much for finding our kids," She smiled warmly toward Fido and Ryujuro, "I'm so sorry it distracted you from finding Askal. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually. Once I bring these three home and ground them, I'll come running right back to help you look."
"Wait, what!?" Rook and Olive whined in unison.
"I appreciate it, Bailey." Fido returned the smile, but Ryujuro could tell it was forced.
As much as Ryujuro wanted to confront Fido about how distant he was, there was still Pueblo. Luckily since they were in an area with relatively fewer trees, Ryujuro made short work of finding the cougar who was talking to what looked like a larger, more muscular version of himself. Unfortunately, Ryujuro made the mistake of assuming it was his father, but when she turned around, her full figure came into view even if her blazer covered it.
"I'm not mad that you ran off on your own," She started somewhat coldly, "You're getting older, and you should have more freedom. I am mad that you went along with this half-baked idea to find your friend on your own. Sure, you might be able to survive out here, but your friends could've been seriously hurt. Think about how badly that reflects on us as wild animals given citizenship. Most already think we're going to eat them; we don't need them thinking we're going to lead them into danger. Okay?"
"Yes, mom." Pueblo sighed, looking into the dirt before being wrapped in a hug,
"But I'm so glad you came back to me safe." her voice sounded warm, "Oh, and you're also grounded."
"I kinda deserved that one." Pueblo chuckled as they walked back to town hand in hand.
Once the last two left, Ryujuro turned to face his Kuya, who gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking off toward Babylon Gardens. Once again, Fido was silent the entire hike. Anything Ryujuro did ask, Fido would respond in one word or simple answers.
"Where's Sabrina?"
"Back home."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah."
"Can we talk?"
"We're talking now."
Ryujuro could only sigh at Fido's most recent reply. Something wasn't right, and he could tell. After everything Fido did for him, Ryujuro wanted to do the same for his Kuya. They were brothers; after all, it was only natural to come to his aid when something didn't feel right. While it may be a breach of privacy, Ryujuro desperately wanted to help. He didn't feel right to leave Fido in such a state.
When Ryujuro tried to cast his ability onto Fido, the swordsman could only hear faint sounds. Compared to the emotions stored away in his sword Ryujuro didn't buckle under the intensity of the emotion. It was intense, but it didn't reach the extremes the original Ryujuro had gone through. These emotions feel more like seeds than the actual thing, a memory just about to cross the threshold for Ryujuro's ability to activate. Which only left Ryujuro the option of going at it normally.
"We're brothers, right?" Ryujuro suddenly broke the silence
"What makes you say that?" Fido responded, "Of course we are."
Ryujuro quickly hopped in front of Fido and stopped him in his tracks, "Then tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, I promise," Fido responded, sounding more annoyed at the persistence.
"Well, I can feel something's wrong."
"Then it's unfounded. So just drop the issue, alright? Let's just go home."
"Not until you tell me what's eating at you. Don't lie to me. I can turn into this" Ryujuro gestured to himself, "because my powers let me hear and see strong emotions. It's faint, but I can feel something coming off of you."
"If it's faint, then no worries. I'll be fine."
"No, Kuya. If you ignore this, the pain will only increase until it consumes you. Please."
A moment of silence took place between the two brothers. Fido stared at Ryujuro, trying to put on a mask. However, it was a mask with several cracks in it. Stiff shoulders, impatient tapping of his feet, his body language gave it away.
"I- Fido took a deep breath. "I destroyed my relationship with my brother."
"What?" Ryujuro tilted his head in confusion,
"When I was searching for you, Joey and I argued. Then, I chose you instead of comforting him when the chips were down. I saw the look on his face Askal. How could I have done that to him? My brother?"
"Kuya, you can still fi-
"No. After what I did, Joey wouldn't ever want to talk to me again. I wouldn't."
Ryujuro gritted his teeth. He had never seen Fido so defeated before, but worst of all, he had never seen Fido give up on somebody he loved before. Seeing somebody deem their relationship with their brother as unsalvagable sparked something within Ryujuro, something that caused him to clench his fist.
"So that's it then?" The autumn air turned lost its chill as the surrounding temperature rose, "You're just giving up? What happened to the Kuya, who told me he wished he had a better relationship with his brothers?"
Whisps of flame flickered to life around Ryujuro's body before spreading out to surround both dogs.
"Askal," Fido stumbled back in a panic. "Calm down!"
"No, you calm down! I won't sit by and watch you deem something as crucial as family as irredeemable. Don't you understand you're both still alive! Kuya, One of my brothers, hasn't returned from his coma yet, and the other one has been dead for centuries. Do you realize how lucky you are that your brothers are still alive and well? You can't give up on family because you'll regret not having stretched out your hand when they're finally gone. What I wouldn't give for a chance to hold either of my Kuyas in my arms one more time."
Once Ryujuro finished his rant, only then did he notice how out of control his flames had gotten. Before his flames could spread to consume the forest, Ryujuro flicked his left hand like Kitsune had shown him to summon his sword. In one quick motion, Ryujuro unsheathed his blade and performed a full circular slash that summoned a ring of water that spread wide and extinguished his flames.
Ryujuro sheathed his sword before falling to one knee and reverting back to Askal, "Askal!" In mere moments, Fido was by his side, "Are you alright?"
"Don't... Give up... on family." Askal panted as unconsciousness gripped him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mungo didn't have a hunch.
He knew something was wrong. There were too many odd details about that night. Sargeant Ralph had never acted that way before. Not ever. Why now? What could've caused such a drastic behavior change? While his appearance would say otherwise, Mungo still had a sharp enough intellect. He could tell when things didn't add up, and this was undoubtedly one of them. Mungo had to get to the bottom of it, and his first and most logical step was to try Sargeant Ralph one more time. Maybe after a good night's rest, he'd be more willing to talk.
Usually, Fox would be the one to handle knocking on the door, but since Fox was still in recovery, Mungo had to do it. So, as slowly as he possibly could, Mungo gave the door a tap. Unfortunately, it resulted in a louder noise than he had anticipated, but thankfully the door was still intact. A few moments later, a man dressed in full police attire answered the door with a cup of coffee in his other hand. He was young for a high-ranking officer and didn't show a sliver of silver in his hair, but he still had bags under his eyes.
"Lieutenant Henderson." Mungo saluted.
"Officer Mungo?" he chuckled, "How is my door still standing if you knocked on it? You're improving on that."
Mungo didn't return the chuckle, "Thank you, sir, but I'd like to ask the Sarge a few more questions. It's about last night."
"Oh, that?" the man's face somewhat deflated at the news, "I'll admit I never imagined Ralph would do such a thing. That dog's incredibly duty-bound. I've read the report, and he's correct. He's done nothing wrong, so maybe we just chalk it up to him being on edge with the Suicune case ongoing."
"With all due respect, I'd still like to talk to him. Something feels off." Mungo sighed as he rubbed his chin,
The lieutenant shrugged, "If you feel that strongly about it, then alright. I'll get him for you. He should be awake by now. Come in; I know your breed doesn't do particularly well with the cold." he then opened the door wide for Mungo to invite him in.
"Much obliged," Mungo gave a tired smile as he entered the house.
It was a lovely enough home. There were tons of pictures, not just of Sargeant and the Lieutenant together but with the lieutenant's wife and their daughter as well. Many framed pictures depicted several important events, everything from birthdays to Christmas. The smiles were contagious as Mungo found himself smiling alongside the family despite everything he's been through lately.
Mungo's casual browsing of the lieutenant's home life abruptly ended when he noticed the hunting rifle set on display for all to see. Its metal gleamed in the sunlight, almost beckoning Mungo to come closer. However, the large dog didn't dare set one-foot closer; he could practically hear each mechanism slide into place as it fired its round. Again the feeling of nausea rose from his stomach; he was going to puke.
Thankfully the lieutenant's approaching footsteps snapped him out of it, "He's not here!" he remarked, panicked, "Ralph's room is a mess, and he's nowhere to be found! Quick, Mungo, search for clues. I'll alert dispatch!"
His training immediately kicked in once issued a command. Mungo shot up the stairs and barged right in because the door was already open without destroying anything. As the lieutenant said, Sargeant Ralph's room looked like a hurricane had gone through it, with several papers scattered about.
Since his desk looked like it was the most manageable, Mungo started there. Aside from the notes scattered about, Mungo noticed that all the books on Ralph's desk related to one of two topics. Half were dedicated to astronomy and star mappings, and the other half was of greek mythological figures. While it may lead to a clue eventually, Mungo shifted gears and tried to see what was in the trash bin; at the very top was a crumpled-up paper. When it unfolded, Mungo's eyes widened when he found out it was a resignation letter and the reason for the resignation was: Shot an innocent dog.
End of Chapter 02