Cloudpup

Cloud looked over at Brightpup, the corners of their muzzle turning up in a bright smile. Their tail wagged as they closed the distance between the two of them.

“Hey Brightpup,” they greeted in return. “I’m doing well. The curse hasn’t been around for a while, so I think I’m good as long as I’m near your camp.” They idly kicked at the dirt. “Though I’m still hoping I’m able to join. It’d help to have others around that can help keep this thing at bay.”

They rubbed their neck, the red marks from the chain still visible.

{Cloud}

Cloud gave a weak smile at the other vulpine’s words, their tail flicking behind him. To finally be free of the curse that has plagued them… that would be amazing. Their ears lowered as they looked away, thinking about why they didn’t tell Brightpup.

“Well, it sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? A murderous black fox that’s the manifestation of a curse placed on me ages ago. It’d probably sound like I went absolutely mad.” They let out a sigh, looking up at Brightpup again.

“Thank you. Just hearing that makes me feel at least a little better about this.”

[🐾] Brightpup couldn’t deny the fact that it would have sounded strange at first about hearing of a shadowy fox that was after them, but it seemed no stranger than a SpiritPack fox coming down from the sky, or a dark fox coming from Night Woods like he had heard in his mother’s stories. Besides, since he was more connected to the spiritual worlds than a normal trainee or soldier, he had a better time understanding and accepting what Cloud was dealing with.

The RumblePack vulpine gave them a reassuring smile as he nodded. He might not know how he was going to help them get rid of the murderous spirit, but he wasn’t about to sit by and allow this to continue to happen to the gray fox. It was his job to help others after all, no matter who or what they were. Because of that, he’d do everything in his power to help his new friend deal with this curse.

While he didn’t know it yet, he had a lot more in common with Cloud than he realized. Both were curses. Both were being hunted by a fox with the intention to kill them. If by those reasons alone, Brightpup and Cloud needed to stick together more than ever. They’d understand where each other were coming from and better be able to help one another deal with their problems.

The Pack fox held out a paw to help his friend back to their paws. If what they said was true, then they needed to get back to RumblePack as quickly as they would before the shadow fox appeared again.

Cloud took it and gave Brightpup a small smile, their tail wagging a bit behind them. They finally had someone who understood them, someone who didn’t call them crazy or insane or nuts or the other myriad of names they’d been called over the years. Then again, he saw the curse with his own eyes, so that didn’t really give him much of a choice.

They’d have a good amount of time to get to Rumblepack while it was healing, which took around an hour. Brightpup’s presence would also help keep it away for a little bit longer.

“Thank you Brightpup. You can’t imagine how much this means to me.”

{Cloud}

There wasn’t any, outside of a red mark around their neck. They let out a couple of coughs as they just lied down, needing to rest. They locked eyes with Brightpup, their own glowing a bright yellow, the same one as the darker fox. Though it quickly faded back to brown.

“That… That’s the reason I can’t be alone,” they answered, coughing. “I… I’m cursed… If I’m alone or only with another living being, then it’ll begin to manifest into that… Thing…” They looked at the tree they were thrown into, gently rubbing the bark. “I’ve been trying to find a way to break it, to get it to stop following me…”

“That’s why I wanted to hurry back to your Pack. It can’t follow me into a larger group.”

[🐾] Brightpup was relived to see that Cloud didn’t appear to be hurt aside from the red mark around their neck. The RumblePack trainee folded his ears back as he stared down at his friend. He flinched at seeing the glowing yellow eyes, though it turned back to brown fast enough. It still kept the vulpine on edge all the same.

He felt a wave of guilt wash over him at the gray fox’s words. They couldn’t be alone because of that shadow fox… If they had told him, then he would have taken them back to the Pack right away. Though he did understand the reason about keeping silence too. It wouldn’t be something that he’d want a random fox to know about neither. At least, not right away.

“Y-You should have told me…” Brightpup pawed lightly at the ground, not once breaking eye contract with Cloud. “…Bu-But… I’ll help you find a-away to get rid of that dark fox… It’s the least I can do…”

Cloud gave a weak smile at the other vulpine’s words, their tail flicking behind him. To finally be free of the curse that has plagued them... that would be amazing. Their ears lowered as they looked away, thinking about why they didn’t tell Brightpup.

“Well, it sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? A murderous black fox that’s the manifestation of a curse placed on me ages ago. It’d probably sound like I went absolutely mad.” They let out a sigh, looking up at Brightpup again.

“Thank you. Just hearing that makes me feel at least a little better about this.”

{Cloud}

The curse incarnation grinned before circling it’s chain around, the chain hitting, and phasing through Brightpup’s front paws harmlessly. Though there was a reason for it, and that reason became quickly apparent as ice immediately bound the fox’s paws to the frost-covered ground. “Stick around and find out, runt,” it answered, as though it read his mind.

It then turned it’s attention back to Cloud, who was recovering from the impact. The chain went around their throat again, and this time they had no intention to stop until the life was drained from the gray-furred fox. They gasped, trying to get air as their body began to slowly freeze, though they grapped the end of the chain in their mouth, binding it at the middle with a paw before they began tugging. Almost immediately, the darker fox began to yell out in pain.

With a finishing strike as their other paw came down, the chain snapped, freeing Cloud’s throat before it vanished. In response, the incarnation let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as it vanished into a black and purple smoke. They then immediately collapsed, trying to regain their breath as they held their throat.

[🐾] Emerald eyes widened in surprise as the chain touched his paws. They phased through them harmlessly, though they sent a freezing chill up his legs, causing him to shiver. He tried to move his paws, but he found they were rooted to the ground, stuck there by the ghostly chain.

Anxiety welled up inside of his chest as he looked at the two foxes. He willed his feet to move, but to no avail. He was as good as stuck. Brightpup watched as the darker vulpine wrapped the chain tighter around Cloud’s neck, not bothering to stop at all until it choked them to death.

Before that could happen though, the lighter fox wasn’t going to stand for that. They attacked the chain, making the shadow fox shriek in pain, before it snapped, and the darker-furred vulpine let out the most chilling scream the trainee had ever heard, before disappearing in a cloud of black-and-purple smoke.

Once he was free, Brightpup stumbled over to Cloud, trying to warm his paws up from the numbness from the chilly chain. He wore a concerned expression as he looked down at the light gray fox.

“Cl-Cloud, are you o-okay?” he asked, checking them over to make sure no serious injury was there. “…What was that…?”

There wasn't any, outside of a red mark around their neck. They let out a couple of coughs as they just lied down, needing to rest. They locked eyes with Brightpup, their own glowing a bright yellow, the same one as the darker fox. Though it quickly faded back to brown.

"That... That's the reason I can't be alone," they answered, coughing. "I... I'm cursed... If I'm alone or only with another living being, then it'll begin to manifest into that... Thing..." They looked at the tree they were thrown into, gently rubbing the bark. "I've been trying to find a way to break it, to get it to stop following me..."

"That's why I wanted to hurry back to your Pack. It can't follow me into a larger group."

{Cloud}

“Marigold? I think I’ve seen that plant before. It looks like an orange ball.” They began looking around the area for one, somewhat anxious to get away from the shadow, especially considering it could-. Before Cloud could finish their thought, it wrapped the chain around their throat before tossing them into a tree.

It’d be revealing it’s existence to the other fox, but what difference would it make, it thought. The chain partially froze Cloud’s fur on their neck. “Tick tock, little foxes~” it said to the two of them, it’s voice slowly being able to be heard as it began giggling maniacally. “Better get moving. Your time is running out~”

[🐾] His ears perked up at that. There was relief in him that Cloud knew what he was looking for. It made things a lot easier for the both of them. They could get it and head back to RumblePack much more quickly this way. He needed to get back as soon as he could too. Honeypool was waiting for him to bring the marigold to her so they could help Briarfoot.

However, things quickly went downhill when he saw the light gray fox being flung into a tree. Green eyes widened as the dark vulpine appeared before him, a chain wrapped around Cloud’s neck. Brightpup’s fur bristled, puffed up to the point that he looked like a fluffy orange ball as he moved back a few pawsteps.

What in the name of SpiritPack was that? Some fox from Night Woods? It clearly looked like it could belong there. What was it doing here and what did it went with his friend? To add to that, what did they mean? What time was running out? What did they know?

He wanted to ask, but his words caught in his throat. He looked back at Cloud before his gaze flickered back to the shadow fox. Could this be the start of the dangers he was warned about?

The curse incarnation grinned before circling it’s chain around, the chain hitting, and phasing through Brightpup’s front paws harmlessly. Though there was a reason for it, and that reason became quickly apparent as ice immediately bound the fox’s paws to the frost-covered ground. “Stick around and find out, runt,” it answered, as though it read his mind.

It then turned it’s attention back to Cloud, who was recovering from the impact. The chain went around their throat again, and this time they had no intention to stop until the life was drained from the gray-furred fox. They gasped, trying to get air as their body began to slowly freeze, though they grapped the end of the chain in their mouth, binding it at the middle with a paw before they began tugging. Almost immediately, the darker fox began to yell out in pain.

With a finishing strike as their other paw came down, the chain snapped, freeing Cloud’s throat before it vanished. In response, the incarnation let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as it vanished into a black and purple smoke. They then immediately collapsed, trying to regain their breath as they held their throat.

{Cloud}

“Thank you, Brightpup,” Cloud answered, looking between him and the hallucination, the ground beginning to frost from it’s presence. A bit of sweat beaded on their forehead as they felt the air chill, unconsciously moving their leg to try and escape the imaginary chain wrapped around it. They had a secret to keep, and it’s best that Brightpup doesn’t know about it yet.

“What things do we need? I can help you look.” Truthfully, the sooner they went back to his Pack, the better. After all, it was only a matter of time before it began attacking them again, and they didn’t want Brightpup in the crossfire, even though it could only touch Cloud.

[🐾] The little trainee nodded. He was happy to help out any fox that was in need. He wasn’t about to turn away his new friend like that. As a curer, he had to help any fox, dog, or wolf that wandered into RumblePack territory. He knew that his mothers wouldn’t turn them away neither.

“O-Oh… Well that would h-help make things go f-faster…” Brightpup mused. Two foxes looking would be better than one. “I’m looking for a p-plant… Um, I-I think Honeypool called it marigold…”

"Marigold? I think I've seen that plant before. It looks like an orange ball." They began looking around the area for one, somewhat anxious to get away from the shadow, especially considering it could-. Before Cloud could finish their thought, it wrapped the chain around their throat before tossing them into a tree.

It'd be revealing it's existence to the other fox, but what difference would it make, it thought. The chain partially froze Cloud's fur on their neck. "Tick tock, little foxes~" it said to the two of them, it's voice slowly being able to be heard as it began giggling maniacally. "Better get moving. Your time is running out~"

{Cloud}

“Brightpup..” They echoed, before attempting a smile. … It somewhat worked, but at least they tried. “That’s a pretty nice name… My name’s… Wait I already said that…” It appeared that they were still out of it to some degree, the daydream the shadow had trapped them in having done a number on them.

They went to look around and shivered, suddenly feeling the freezing cold chain wrapped around their leg, even though nothing was there. The frigid air quickly returned, the shadow fox appearing in front of a bush, a grin on it’s face. As long as other living things were around, it couldn’t hear Cloudpup, and they couldn’t hear it

“… Say, do you know of somewhere I can stay for a while…? I’m being chased, and I kinda need somewhere I can blend in…”

[🐾] The young trainee gave a smile of his own back at Cloud. Their name was pretty nice too. It suited them being a light gray color. Their fur looked like a slight gray storm cloud. Perhaps if his mother allowed them to stay in RumblePack, maybe their name could be Cloudstorm once they were a soldier. …If they wanted to stay that long. A part of him hoped so. He had no idea why, but he already liked having the outsider around. Plus, if they were in the Pack, they’d have a better chance at fighting off whatever was after them.

Brightpup’s ears folded back slightly at the news. Given how the other vulpine acted earlier, he could see that being the case. That did make the little healer wonder who or what was after them though. However, the trainee wasn’t going to pry into Cloud’s personal life. That was their business, not his. Still, it was something that Snowspirit was going to have to know about.

“W-Well… If you want, you can come back to my Pack with me…” he offered meekly. “We can offer you p-protection from whatever is a-after you… I just need to get a few things before we head back…”

“Thank you, Brightpup,” Cloud answered, looking between him and the hallucination, the ground beginning to frost from it’s presence. A bit of sweat beaded on their forehead as they felt the air chill, unconsciously moving their leg to try and escape the imaginary chain wrapped around it. They had a secret to keep, and it’s best that Brightpup doesn’t know about it yet.

“What things do we need? I can help you look.” Truthfully, the sooner they went back to his Pack, the better. After all, it was only a matter of time before it began attacking them again, and they didn’t want Brightpup in the crossfire, even though it could only touch Cloud.

Make your muse as a teacup!!

#ooc

writtenbybex

send me 💕 and a reason you think my muse would fall for yours

Alternatively , send 💖 and a reason your muse has fallen for mine.

{Cloud}

The gray fox finally managed to fully stand, looking at into the other’s green eyes. They felt sorry for the other, especially given that they’d clearly spooked him. Slowly padding forward, making sure that they wouldn’t fall over, they held out a paw to him.

“That’s good to hear at least… My name is Cloud…” They looked down, letting out a sigh. “S.. sorry if I’m intruding on your territory, being here…”

[🐾] Curious eyes watched the other vulpine pad towards him. Despite the rather sudden spook, if they were hurt, he’d help them in anyway that he could. It seemed as though the newcomer was alright enough to walk. That was a bit of a relief for the young trainee. He placed his paw on the other’s after they held it out to him.

“N-No, it’s fine.. You’re not in trouble…” Maybe if they had been found by a different fox or a patrol then they would, but seeing as how he was a curer and not a soldier, he didn’t follow that code and such, he wasn’t going to chase Cloud off RumblePack territory. “Nice to m-meet you. I’m Brightpup.”

“Brightpup..” They echoed, before attempting a smile. ... It somewhat worked, but at least they tried. “That’s a pretty nice name... My name’s... Wait I already said that...” It appeared that they were still out of it to some degree, the daydream the shadow had trapped them in having done a number on them.

They went to look around and shivered, suddenly feeling the freezing cold chain wrapped around their leg, even though nothing was there. The frigid air quickly returned, the shadow fox appearing in front of a bush, a grin on it’s face. As long as other living things were around, it couldn’t hear Cloudpup, and they couldn’t hear it

“... Say, do you know of somewhere I can stay for a while...? I’m being chased, and I kinda need somewhere I can blend in...”

{???}

Cloudpup’s eyes were glazed over, as though they were in a dream, however, in an instant, they snapped back to reality, seemingly from the fox’s presence. Their instincts kicked in, thinking that Brightpup was the shadow figure from before. “Stop following me,” they shouted, wildly swiping at the air. Though they couldn’t hide the tail between their own legs, truthfully very scared at the moment.

After a moment, they regained their senses, looking at Brightpup with an embarrassed expression. Their ears immediately folded back as they looked at the ground. “Sorry… I..” They paused, taking a sharp breath. “I thought you were someone else…” They scratched their cheek lightly, their muzzle showing signs of red. They did give off a pretty bad first impression: trying to attack. Hopefully he wasn’t too startled.

[🐾] Green eyes widened in surprise at the sudden shout and swipe of a paw. He backed off from the other fox, ears resting against his skull. His heart beat against his rib-cage so fiercely he thought it must burst. Whoever this stranger was, they no doubt mistook him for some other fox. He had never seen them before in his life, so that had to be the case, right?

Brightpup was quiet for a few heartbeats, unsure of what to say. It was clear that they hadn’t meant to do that. They seemed really sorry about the ordeal. Not only that, but the gray fox had seemed out of it, in a daze perhaps. He wondered if they were sick too.

“I-It’s fine… No harm done…” He took a few breaths to calm himself down from the sudden scare. He had to learn to have been control over his emotions if he was going to help others. “…Y-You clearly didn’t mean it…”

The gray fox finally managed to fully stand, looking at into the other’s green eyes. They felt sorry for the other, especially given that they’d clearly spooked him. Slowly padding forward, making sure that they wouldn’t fall over, they held out a paw to him.

“That’s good to hear at least... My name is Cloud...” They looked down, letting out a sigh. “S.. sorry if I’m intruding on your territory, being here...”

vulpinesoldier‌:

[🐾] Brightpup padded out of the curer’s den, yawning. The sun had only barely risen in the sky and he was already forced to be up. The dawn patrol left not that long ago he noticed. Their scent was still fresh in the air. Most of the foxes were still tucked away in their warm dens. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Honeypool, a golden she-fox with green eyes, and his mentor, disappearing into the elder’s den.

One of the elders had fallen ill overnight and because icydawn was fastly approaching, the curer didn’t want to take any chances. Their supplies was starting to run low so the older fox had tasked him to go into the forest to gather some more.

He didn’t mind of course. He wanted to be a curer for a reason after all. He felt he was more suited for that job rather than being a soldier. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt others and blood frightened him. It was already a struggle dealing with it during his training. If he had to see a lot of it on a battle field, his anxiety would be way worse.

The pup gave himself a shake before he headed towards the entrance of camp. He dipped his head to Hazelbreeze and Skyheart as he walked passed the two guards, disappearing into the forest not long after that. He knew what to look for so it shouldn’t take him too long to gather what he needed and return back to camp.

Yet, SpiritPack seemed to have other plans in mind for the little fox. He stiffened as he caught the scent of a strange fox. There was no Pack smell on their fur at all, leading him to believe that he was dealing with a loner or rogue. What should he do? He wasn’t a fighter, he was a healer. He had little experience when it came to fighting. …But what if the stranger needed help? He would feel terrible if he left someone when they needed aid. That was his job after all.

Taking a deep breath, Brightpup padded towards the other fox. He spotted a light gray vulpine laying in the dirt. The RumblePack trainee timidly made his way over to them, fur bristling as his anxiety spiked and as he felt the frigid area around the other.

“H-Hey….” he squeaked out, ears folding back and tail tucked between his legs. “Are you ok-okay…?”

Cloudpup’s eyes were glazed over, as though they were in a dream, however, in an instant, they snapped back to reality, seemingly from the fox’s presence. Their instincts kicked in, thinking that Brightpup was the shadow figure from before. “Stop following me,” they shouted, wildly swiping at the air. Though they couldn’t hide the tail between their own legs, truthfully very scared at the moment.

After a moment, they regained their senses, looking at Brightpup with an embarrassed expression. Their ears immediately folded back as they looked at the ground. “Sorry... I..” They paused, taking a sharp breath. “I thought you were someone else...” They scratched their cheek lightly, their muzzle showing signs of red. They did give off a pretty bad first impression: trying to attack. Hopefully he wasn’t too startled.

@vulpinesoldier

Cloud sprinted through the forest, brown eyes looking around frantically. A black fox with a shackle clasped around it's leg chased after the younger one, a chain trailing behind it. It was just one of their hallucinations, one of their memories. After a while, Cloud stopped in their tracks, wanting to try facing this thing.

"Why do you keep chasing me across the world," the light gray fox shouted. "I just want to move on, but you keep holding me back!" They growled before they immediately pounced, the vision vanishing and reappearing behind them.

"You're the only one holding you back, kid," it said. "You can't let go of what happened, the reason you're on your own now." It wrapped the chain around Cloud's leg, pulling it back, causing the gray fox to slip and fall on their back. Though to any onlookers, it just looks like Cloud tripped. "Next time, check to see if you're in anyone else's territory," it said before vanishing, leaving the pup in the dirt.

As soon as the black fox vanished, the area finally began to warm up again, the hallucination having had a small impact in the real world, having brought the area to a near frigid temperature.

[skyboundxcloudfox] Cloudpup: "Heya Sui," they greeted the Keyblade wielder, grinning. They sheathed their dual katanas before approaching. "How've ya been?" It was pretty obvious that they were happy to see her, given that their tail was wagging excitedly behind them.

[✯] Suihei perked up when she spotted her friend. The teenager was glad to see them again. It had been awhile seen the Keyblade wielder had seen the fox-eared human. She was pleased to see that they appeared to be well and nothing bad had happened from the look of things.

“I’ve been good,” she replied. “How about you? How have things been with you?”

( @skyboundxcloudfox )

Cloudpup gave a shrug in response. "It's been a mixed bag. On one hand, I finally forged a decent weapon." As they said that, they drew a broadsword that they hid in their backpack, made from purple and blue metals, as well as a dark teal binding. The sheath that it was encased in was silver with a gold trim. "On the other, I've been feeling... Something..." They knelt down, putting their palm on the ground before setting their sword next to them. "It feels like... Thunder... A powerful storm the outskirts of my home world..."

{Cloudpup, Lilith}

Cloudpup: “Thanks. Just let me grab some stuff before I go.” And with that they were off, running back a few minutes later with a large backpack as well as some supplies and an odd green book that seemed to have a magical aura around it.

[✯] Sui watched as Cloudpup ran off to gather whatever they thought they were going to need on their quest. While the fox-eared human was off getting ready, it gave the Keyblade wielder some time to think. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen a single Heartless since she touched down onto this world. That would make this the first world she ever went to that didn’t have the creatures roaming around. It was strange in a way.

It almost felt wrong to her. She had gotten so used to fighting Heartless that not seeing any just felt alien to her. But in a way, she was happy all the same. It meant that her new friend’s world wasn’t at risk of falling into the darkness. At least, not right now. She hoped it stayed that way too.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when she saw Cloudpup make their way back over to her a few minutes later, carrying a large backpack and a book that was green in color. It also seemed to give off a magical aura. Well, they were certainly coming prepared.

“How much stuff did you bring?” Sui joked playfully as she began to lead her new friends to where she had left the ship so they could get beamed back up and head to whatever new world was in store for them next. “What’s with the book by the way?”

Cloudpup: They grinned at the keyblade wielder. "Only all the types of weapons I've ever made. As for the book, it'll allow me to hop between worlds with ease. All I have to do is link a location and it'll allow me to travel there later."

Lilith: She looked at Sui and nodded, following just behind her rider and their future girlfriend friend.

{Cloudpup}

Cloudpup: They quickly faced the other, quite surprised at the Keyblade wielder’s offer. The opportunity to go to other worlds? It would definitely be pretty awesome to be able to do that. “Alright, but can I bring Lilith along?” They smiled, leaning against a tree. “She’s quite a bit tougher than she looks.”

[✯] She knew that she shouldn’t have suggested that. It was rare for beings from other worlds to travel with her to different worlds unless they became a ‘summon’ that she could call on and aid her in battle. But if she was being honest, she didn’t see any harm in Cloudpup and Lilith joining her, Baxter, Roren, and Nimbus on their quest to save the worlds from the darkness.

“Of course. You both are welcomed to come along.”

Cloudpup: "Thanks. Just let me grab some stuff before I go." And with that they were off, running back a few minutes later with a large backpack as well as some supplies and an odd green book that seemed to have a magical aura around it.

{Cloudpup}

Cloudpup: “Yea. Well, I’ve had the hypothesis for ages. I always felt there had to be more places than just worlds like the Nether or the Twilight Forest.” They looked up at the sky. “Heck, I’ve even had plans to explore other planets. There’s a lot I want to explore.” They closed their eyes slowly, hand closing into a fist. “Sides, I’m going to need to be as powerful as I can get if I’m going to tear that guy limb from limb.”

[✯] The teenager paused as she thought over her new friend’s words. They wanted to explore other worlds? To see what it had to offer? Sui could relate to that. At one point, she had been like that too. Now she got her chance and she wouldn’t change it for anything.

“Hey, I know. Why don’t you come with me? You can travel the worlds along with my friends and I. You’ll get to be super strong then!”

Cloudpup: They quickly faced the other, quite surprised at the Keyblade wielder's offer. The opportunity to go to other worlds? It would definitely be pretty awesome to be able to do that. "Alright, but can I bring Lilith along?" They smiled, leaning against a tree. "She's quite a bit tougher than she looks."