"Come on! Come on! Come on! Work!" Fang shouted at his radio. The stupid thing had been acting up, and now he couldn't contact Alpha and John. He was out of range. Fang held the radio up. "Come on, get a signal!" He murmured. He had picked up the trail of the two wolves, and wanted to check in. It was starting to get dark. He smelled the air. They were somewhere close, he could tell by the fresh scent. He was in Synther territory, he had to be careful not to wake any nests. He put his radio back in on his belt, and kept following the trail. He came to a clearing, beyond a slope downward. He looked down to a hilltop over a small field. He could see the very tops of more trees beyond the hill. The sun was almost on its way down. All of a sudden, he heard screaming. He looked to his left. On the top of the hill, racing across, he saw the two wolves being chased by a hoard of Synthers. Synthers are yellow and black skinny creatures, who are drawn to electricity, and drain it. They must have been attracted to their wrist watches. "Stupid wolves..." Fang muttered. "They should have deactivated their watches." A synther ran in between them, and split them up. The pink wolf, was being chased towards Fang, and the synther was close behind her. The blue wolf ran the other direction, away from him, with the rest of the hoard after her. She was much faster then the pink and green wolf, and was beginning to outrun the hoard, from what he saw, when she disappeared into more jungle. The pink and green wolf came up the hill. "Hey! Don't lead it this way!" He shouted at her. She looked up, and nearly stopped. Fear cascaded onto her face, and she ran past him, hiding behind him. Fang grabbed the dagger at his waist. He couldn't capture anyone, until he was safe himself. The synther came at him. Fang held out his dagger. The synther ran right into it. And stabbed itself in the chest. It's jaws snapped inches away from Fangs face. It struggled a few seconds, then went limp. Fang pulled his dagger out, and wiped the scarlet blood on the grass. The body lay on the mossy ground, bleeding out. He turned around to see the pink and green patterned wolf staring at him, then the Synther, and back again. She looked terrified. Tears streamed down her face. She began to back away. "Hey! Wait!" Fang instructed calmly. "Who are you?" She asked cautiously. If Fang was to be a gentleman, the least he could do, was answer her questions. "My name is Fang." He answered smoothly. "I was instructed to bring you back to base.... Will you come with me peacefully? Or do I have to drag you?" Fang got serious now. "I... I don't want to go back.... Please..." The pink wolf begged. Her blue eyes beginning to well up. Fang needed this girl to cooperate. "What's your name, dear?" He asked kindly. "I'm.... Lyra." She answered. Her green markings began to glow a little. He looked at her. She was a wreck. Her fur was ruffled, she was covered in dust, tears were streaming down her face, and she was shivering.... She looked ready to dig herself a grave, for Pete sake. "Why don't you want to go back? You have food, water, shelter.... What more could you want?" He asked rudely. "Freedom...." She answered. "Do you have any idea, what the humans do to the experiments?.... Us?..." Lyra asked. Her face turned sad. Fang became curious. He never did really know, what went on in the sealed off sectors. "Animals are tested.... Meaning 12 hours a day of poking prodding, cutting, and some elements of torture.... If a subject doesn't comply to the rules.... They're put to sleep...." Lyra looked down at the ground, and another tear ran down her cheek. She shuddered. Her right arm, came over, and latched to the left, hanging there. Her tail lay limp in the mud. "I wasn't there long... Maybe a month or two.... But I've been through enough, not to want to go back...." She finished. Fang took everything in. If what she said was true.... He was bringing her back to her own hell. He looked at her. She looked so innocent and afraid. Did he really want to live with knowing, that he had brought a young girl back to torture, and possibly to face her death? He put his dagger away. He had kept it out, in case the girl had been a threat, but obviously, she wasn't. "Please don't bring me back to that place..." She began to sob. He saw her sway. Fang rushed forward, as her legs gave way. She fell into his arms, crying. He held her a moment, holding her up with his left arm, and stroking her back with his right, in a hug. He felt ridiculous. Holding a girl, he was supposed to take prisoner. He was suddenly overcome with a tingling feeling. The sun began it's journey through the horizon. He had to make up his mind. She was helpless, and seemed kind. She didn't deserve to be treated in the way she described. He thought, they only got trained.... He didn't know, they were put through pain. He moved his mouth close to her right ear. "I won't bring you back." He told her softly. Fang thought for a moment. He felt protective of this girl. This poor girl, had been harmed by humans, when they had told him, it was simple training, and brain development. This poor girl, had done nothing to deserve this. She was kind-hearted... He could read her aura. All she wanted was peace. "If what you say is true, and the humans hurt you?.... When the war begins.... I will fight against them, I promise. I will make them pay, for harming such a young and innocent girl." He promised. "Idk what we are going to to, but for now, we should find shelter for the night, it's going to be cold." He explained. "What about Annora? My friend is still out there, with those.... Those THINGS after her!" Lyra became upset, and looked worried. "Tomorrow, I will help you find your friend, if she is still alive, I promise." Fang tried to comfort Lyra. She hugged harder onto him, crying. "I hope she's alright...." Lyra sobbed, in between words. "Hey..." Fang needed to brighten her mood. "Did you see how fast she ran? I'm sure she's fine. Synthers never go very far off their territory, without fear of running into another nest. She will be alright, if she can get off their territory." He reassured her. She seemed to instantly become more hopeful. He looked down at her face. Her blue eyes, were beautiful, and she had stopped crying, except for left over tears, trapped in her eyelid. She blinked and they cascaded down her cheek. The tear, washing away a line of dust, and revealing vibrant green and pink. Beautiful greeny blue patterns, swirled in her pink fur. Her ears were back, and he could see patterns on her ears too. She looked up at him. He felt weird. He let go, and pretended to dust himself off, as he tried to clear his mind. She stood and waited. "Okay, we need to find somewhere sheltered.... We're nowhere near the center of the synthers territory, only just beyond the edge, we should be fine." Fang wandered back the way he had followed her, and found what he was looking for. On the side of the trail, there was a tree with a hollow underneath, with walls of roots and vines. The inside was large, and would easily fit the both of them. "I passed this on the way here." He told her. He walking in, bending over slightly. She followed him in, and he pulled a shield of branches over the entrance. Glowing blue mushrooms lined the sides of the small hollow, creating a calming nightlight. Fang lied down on the mossy ground, with his back to the back of the hollow. Moss had grown everywhere. He felt like he was sleeping on a pillow. He tilted back, and got comfortable. Lyra stood in the middle, not knowing what to do. He saw her shivering, but she looked determined. "Would you like to sleep next to me?" Fang asked politely. He would have no complaint, if she did. She was absolutely beautiful, and he himself, was a little cold. He opened up a small pouch on his belt, and pulled out a fuzzy blanket. "Come on, it's okay, it's cold out. I wouldn't want you to get sick." He held up the blanket making room for her, in between his legs, to put hers there. "N-no, I'll b-be fine, thank you..." Lyra lied down, and curled into a ball, shivering lightly. Fang felt a little disappointed. He let down the blanket and closed his eyes. He had wanted to cuddle the girl... She seemed cold, but she was soft too. He was just on the verge of sleep, when he heard a noise. He opened his eyes slightly, just enough to see. Lyra was getting up, and slowing walking on all fours towards him. Fang didn't move. He kept his eyes, undetectably open, and watched. Lyra moved closer and closer. When she reached his side, she lifted up the blanket, very slowly. She stepped into the space between his legs, and shifted down, so that she was sitting between them. Her movements were slow, and careful. He didn't want her to see him awake, or she might stop. She slid the top half of her body onto his belly and chest. She held her arms close to her chest, and rested her head, on his shoulder. Her snout and hair, brushed Fangs neck. He slowly let his head drift down onto hers. She didn't seem to notice he was awake. She pulled the blanket back over them both, and she closed her eyes. When her breathing slowed, Fang wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. When he had gotten comfortable, he closed his eyes. And drifted into a warm, wonderful, sleep.
