*Hey guys. I'm here with Chapter 31!*
*The feels and suspense, though.*
*Whoa there. Like whoa there.*
*So much feels *types as watches TFIOS- again (#Cutepups-decisions), and then listens to Nightcore* .*
*Enjoy the chapter! Or not. Them feels.*
*Okay, okay.*
*Sorry. XD*
*Enjoy! ^-^*
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DUKE
Some would think of it as a burden. Some would think of it as an advantage that always overpowers the weak. Some would think of it as being one's sword and shield in the Battle of Life. Some would think of it as being yet another battle scar as each one of us fights our- and only our- Battle of Life.
But what if I told you I don't believe in any of that?
Everyone always says something along the lines, "Every day is a new page in your very own book, your very own Book of Life."
If only everyone else can just simply understand. Surviving to the next day is a battle in itself. Every day is a battle that we're required to fight each and every day. Some endings lead to great things; great lives. Others not as much.
And that's where I come in. Trapped inside this complex world of laws and orders. And of consequences.
I quickly blink my eyes a few times, feeling the weight of dewdrops on the tips of my eyelashes. I swear I only thought I said it in my head, but I could be wrong.
"Where am I?"
Suddenly, a darker shadow obstructs the already fractured light in the room. He seems familiar to me somehow. From somewhere.....
I remember him again as he speaks up. A feeling of discomfort comes over me, like a shawl on my exposed shoulders. Which are now exposed.
As I get lost in the complicated paths, like vortexes, that now glow that bright purple, I pull up the mysterious black jacket so it covers up my shoulders again.
I abruptly look up again as he speaks again. Now I clearly remember him again. At least I think I do.
"We didn't really get along the way I expected us to, last time we met. My apologies."
Seething in rage, I grit through my teeth. "You think?"
"Ah, well... I think we should properly introduce ourselves," he moves out of the deep black shadows revealing his actual body, "The name's Fierdan."
My initial reaction is to go up and strangle him; to force him to deal with the pain he brought me weeks ago- but far, far more painfully. More painful than anything physical....
I end up not laying a claw on him. For now.
Instead, I end up answering his question that still lingers in the dank air. "Well, I'm Duke...."
This fox of shadows vanishes like a puff of thick smoke, and reappears closer to me. He puts one of his paws on my left shoulder. As he faces me, I see the colors of his eyes are switched. Last time they were this bloody red with this very faint hint of purple. But now they're mainly this dark purple that's still bright enough to light up some things. When I look closely, I see what looks like tiny drops of blood in the pupils of his eyes- the crimson eternally frozen in the depths of his piercing eyes.
Mesmerized by his very presence, I feel myself asking, "Who exactly are you?"
He simply chuckles. "Well.... I'm
you!"
I blink. "What?"
"I'm Fierdan, and you're Duke Fierdan. It's not that hard to understand, honestly...."
I frantically piece all the pieces together. The nearly accurate prediction, the familiarity of his voice even though I never remembered meeting him before, the tips of my claws drenched in blood....
Somehow, someway.... Fierdan, that word now making some sense, is me.
Losing my train of thought, he continues. "I chose you to be the reincarnation of me. You know, just being a powerful spirit that's not physical in the real world can get quite boring at times."
"So what you're trying to say,
Fierdan," I say, spitting the word out, "You're the reason behind the misery of my life? The abuse, everything?"
"Ha, don't jump to conclusions...."
Suddenly, the tips of the black flames that make up my wings comes back again. Larger bright orange flames flow out of the black flame tips. They flow from where they start as black flames at the start of my shoulders, to where they end at the tips of the bright orange flames.
He notices the sudden fiery wings, and he remarks, "I see you've developed my father's orange flaming powers as well."
I perk an ear up.
"Ah, never mind."
The bright orange, black, and purple flames that make up my wings, flow all over me; setting me on fire. As the tri-colored flames surround my entire body now, Fierdan just smiles and taps one of his very long and sharp claws against his finger.
All of a sudden, the flames that surround my entire body grow larger. My tail swishes towards my snout, a ball of fire spreading out into flames is where the white part of my tail originally is. The heat intensity is growing too rapidly for me to handle. It feels as if he poured gasoline all over me, and the already existing flames causing there to be more flames. "S-Stop it!" I manage to say, between chokes.
He replies, "Your orange flames remind me of my father. You need to learn something, okay?"
I nod my head once.
"I do not like my father. Do not be like him. Understood?"
Curious, I ask, "Who's your father then?"
"Haha, my father? My
father!"
He pauses; more flames come surround me. When I feel like I'm about to melt away to only a single tri-colored flame, he answers."The first fox descendant of....."
"Of?" I ask, moments away from losing the rest of the already limited oxygen located here.
In that last remaining moment before the oxygen is completely obstructed from entering my lungs, he answers me.
"Zios."
Right before I disappear, I brush the tips of my wings across Fierdan's face and neck. I look over my shoulders, and I see his face now burst in bright orange flames. It makes some of the flames roll off of me, and go onto him instead. Only the bright orange flames, though.
"I still might not know exactly who you are. But I do know for a
fact that you absolutely are
not me. No matter your offers, I will never,
ever forgive you for what you did to me. I fight for the good- not the evil. And you know what, Fierdan? That will never,
ever change." The purple in my eyes disappears completely, so the amber shines even more intensely. The intensity greater than I ever thought possible. "I will
never sink down to your level, and I will
never forgive you. Ever."
I then wake up. The fiery wings, stronger than before, flap up and down slowly in the early dawn breeze.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone watching my every moment from a fair distance.
There stands Twinkle.
How long has she been watching me? The whole night!?
I zip up the black jacket so the zipper nearly chokes me. Yet again, I find myself distancing myself from her.
Farther and farther away.....
CALLIAH
The phantoms' powers that curse my thoughts and actions when activated on me die down. I take a deep breath, and then curse myself. "What did I just get myself into!?" I cry aloud. "I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean it!"
I cover my face with my cold paws as I feel my ear tips shrinking back to average fox size again. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!" I sob, feeling hot tears roll down my face.
If only he didn't put that curse on him, he would know me as a parent- a loving parent. If only, if only.....
"Fierdan," I take a deep breath, "I HATE YOU!"
How dare he curse my son! Our relationship! Everything I had! Stop mesmerizing everyone! Die once and for all!
I punch my left arm. It stings for a few moments afterwards, but it doesn't bother me. Not one tiny bit.
Making me behave like I'm in phantom form- even when I'm not- whenever I'm around Duke. Making me always hate him. My own son.
I sigh. I originally hated Duke. Him holding the ultimate phantom-fox curse- being the victim to Fierdan's plan for immortality...........
But over time, I've learned that he's clueless to the truth about himself just as much as the next person. I've learned that he acts nothing like Fierdan. Sure, they both got into fights much more easily and frequently than others did.
And I've learned that I have to devote my life to protect him. To protect him from the monstrosity of this world.
But Fierdan's curse he has on Duke and me makes that nearly impossible.
I bang my head against the wall, in pure aggravation.
Why does life have to be so challenging for me? Why me?
Why.....
TWINKLE
Orange, purple, black flames. Flames.
Who are you!?
He saw me, looking at him. He
saw me!
Something keeps on telling me that this won't end up well.
Terrified to know what would await us, I run farther from Duke. The distance between Duke and I growing and growing......
Suddenly, I bump into another fox. Embarrassed, I say in a rush, "Oh my gosh! I am so, so sorry! Are you okay?"
The fox turns around to face me. The lighting makes it nearly impossible for me to distinguish who this fox is. Her voice tells me this fox is a girl.
"Oh, hello?" the fox says, the brim of her dark green with patches of light brown hat covering her eyes. This results in a shadow being cast on her face. Her hair is messily tied up, some strands out of the ponytail. She's also one of the only foxes around my age that is slightly shorter than me in height.
She tilts her head slightly back. "Oh, oh! Hello, hello!"
Confused by her reactions, I ask her, "Uh.... Hi. Were you expecting me?"
She smiles like an innocent little girl. "Actually," she looks at me from head to toe, "yes. Yes I have."
After an awkward minute or so in silence, she asks, "Where's the other one?"
"Oh, you mean Duke? He's ov- oops, I mean......"
She giggles. "And you," she says, pointing a finger at me, "You are Twinkle, correct?"
Speechless, I just nod my head "yes".
Duke then runs into our view. I point a finger towards him. "That's Duke."
"Ah, I see," she says, not removing her gaze from him, "Interesting....."
I rub my eyes, and look at him. His wings aren't as clearly visible anymore. But the glowing orange aura that still surrounds his shoulders and upper back tells me otherwise. Perhaps he shoved his wings into the back of his jacket and shirt? If the fiery wings are still there with him, that is.
When he comes to where the other girl and I are, he runs slower. He takes my left paw and places it in his right paw. The immediate reaction is a bright orange aura surrounding his paw, and a bright ice-blue aura surrounding my paw. As our fingers intertwine in each other's paw, the two colored lights wrap around each other. The fire and the ice becoming one.
I don't know why I'm allowing him to do this. Or why
he's doing this. I
know that he knows what I saw. Of him.
He comes so close to me that I'm practically leaning against him. Our sides touching. A sense of feeling protected comes over me.
"Who are you?" he asks the fox, as I feel our cheeks touching, our furs brushing the other's cheek.
The fox moves over, so now she faces Duke and I. "You're so cute together. You two honestly look like you wouldn't go well together. But you two do!"
I feel my cheeks beginning to get warm. I'm not sure if it's because of Duke or the other girl.
Duke, however, doesn't buy it. "I'll ask you again. Who are you?"
That's the same question I want to ask him. "Who are you?"
She finally reveals her name. "I'm Dawn."
Before Duke or I can ask her anything else, she speaks again. "Brother," she says as she looks at Duke, "Sister," she says as she looks at me.
"Welcome home."
Through my peripheral vision, I only see nothing but dead grass and a few stray cacti. I infer that Duke sees the same as me. But I'm not completely certain about what he sees anymore.
This, "home"?
"Welcome home."
"Home?"
What is "home" to Duke and I? We left ours.
The words sound comforting to me now. Knowing I have a "home" again. The word being spoken aloud by someone else. It makes me believe that it must be true.
"Home."
