"What?!" Freya jerked upwards, but she was held still by Mouse's hand. The canine parted his jaws in warning before tightening his hold. Pain ripped up her ankle making her hiss low in her throat. Her eyes clenched against the pain as she fell back down and gripped the covers. She growled low in her throat in annoyance at the male, yet she took his warning to heart.
"How? Why Mouse?!" She could not stop the anger that burned through her. The rage, confusion, and regret for trusting him. He had been the one to uproot her life? He had been the one to shatter the peace she had finally found? He had made her a prisoner in this war and made her become a player in it? "I'm not a fighter-"
Mouse interrupted her. "I wasn't trying to summon you." He barked before moving a hand to hover over her ankle. Freya narrowed her eyes in distrust as a soft green light begun to engulf her ankle. The pain was slowly fading along with the swelling. "I was trying to summon one of the Beast Gods from the past. To think I would summon a lowly human."
"Well, I guess you're fucked." She smirked.
"Actually," Mouse looked up at her with a wicked grin. "It was a human who gave birth to the Beast Gods, according to legend, by becoming one with a coyote, a cat, and a falcon."
The women kicked away from the canine and jerked herself to the other side of the room. Mouse, flickering his tail again, did not move though as he watched her from the corner of his eye. His hands now laid lazy and useless in his lap as he debated on his next course of action. The women, however, wanted to be done with this little talk. Was he suggesting what she thought he was? Did he wish for her to mate with him? No, he was insane. "Over my dead body." She hissed out harshly while moving to yank her coat closer as if it could protect her. The male, however, was not amused.
"That could be arranged." He stated flatly while moving to slowly stand. Freya backed up further, but he did not come closer to her. He was moving in the direction of the kitchen instead to put away the healing kit. It was only then she realized her ankle felt... brand new. It did little to surprise her at this point though. Between the sight of ears and tails, shifting canines, talking cats, and longmas, a healing ability was not so far fetched. It did rub her the wrong way though. In just two days, she was comfortable and accepting of the information.
"But, I cannot reproduce, so it would be useless." Mouse confessed causing Freya to snap out of her thoughts and slowly lowered her arms to her side. Two golden eyes looked over at him as he cut up some carrots. His eyes had half closed and softened. His head slightly lowered in regret and sorrow. The sight made him almost like harmless. Almost... She knew better though than anyone that a wild animal may seem harmless only to then turn to snap your arm off. Even a headless wild animal can be a dangerous one. That did not stop her though from moving towards the half wall and placing herself to sit on it.
She had slightly turned towards him when she spoke. "Tell me something Mouse. What is the Dragon's War?" His name felt strange on her tongue, mainly when neither one had introduced themselves.
The coyote raised his head slightly as he glanced over at her. "Why do you care?"
"Curiosity." She smiled a bit at that. Despite Mouse's constant bad mood, she was starting to find comfort in him. He was blunt, honest, but he had been gentle with her. His presence was simply calming, which only made it more difficult her to understand his exile. Was being an albino really that much of a curse?
"The Dragon's War started many generations ago." Mouse mumbled making Freya sit up and listen. "When this world was created, a human, who had no true origin became one with the canines, felines, avian, and many other creatures. This was how the Beastmen, such as myself, were created. Of those, three Beast Gods were created. Fenrir the Night Walker, Jormungand the Balancer, and Hel the Keeper. Each of them balanced the clans. Fenrir ruled the living, Jormungand ruled the inbetween, and Hel ruled the after life.
Thus, the council was formed, and all of the clans were placed under their protection and wisdom. The human simply disappeared with no known reason, and it was thought the Beast Gods consumed her. The Beast Gods, however, did not command life or death. Rather they guided them, and they kept the clans from destroying themselves. However, a fourth Beast God appeared. He had no name, so he was simply known as the Hydra."
"I thought you were telling-" Freya begun to speak before Mouse cut her off again.
"Interrupt me again, and I will break your other ankle." The male snarled as he tossed the vegetables into a stone pot. Then he begun to work on a hunk of meat, maybe a bird, that he had caught hours before. "This is relevant, so listen." Narrowing his pink eyes at her, he waited for her to make her choice. Freya did not move though, thus with a huff he started his tale once more. "Hydra was... chaos itself. He consumed everything, demanded everything, lusted after everything, yet did nothing to gain it. His anger shook the ground in jealousy, but he prided himself in everything. This creature completely disrupted the peace, and then the unthinkable happened. He killed Jormungand."
Mouse's hand tensed as his body slightly trembled. His eyes had become clouded, almost as if he was reliving it himself. "The balance was thrown off, and Fenrir and Hel went mad. Hel begun to kill and kill, Fenrir became feral.... Hel blamed Fenrir for not protecting Jormungand, and without Jormungand to control Fenrir's instincts there was no stopping them. Both of them turned on each other and thus the beginning of the war begun.
Their battle shook the world itself. Both were powerful, deadly, and overall bloody thirsty. Both of them wished the other to pay for what happened, and because of it a war broke out. Mountains, villages... whole landscapes were wiped out. Natural disasters rained down, the dead begun to walk once more, and lives were lost in the thousands. They killed each other in this battle, but as they bled out it was said they laid there in tears. They begged for Jormungand's forgiveness, yet they refused to forgive each other. Grief stricken, they granted their powers to the Beastmen in hopes they would in turn avenge each other and Jormungand who held the world together.
No one knows what happened to the Hydra after this happened or why he even appeared. It was said that one of the other clans sent him to gain power. Others said he was the shape of their sins. However, one thing is certain... he was a pure white creature with red eyes."
The man whispered softly under his breath the further he got into his story. It was then Freya understood. That was why he was exiled, but in fear of injury she remained quiet as he continued. "Truth be told, no one knows how the war started. It has gone on for so many years, generations after generations with no real start and no ending in sight. Many of the clans have backed out or have joined themselves in hope of not being wiped out. The only three still fighting are Bellaroos, Cathilon, and Valkyrie. They are the three that brought about the Beast Gods, and they believe one of them should be the King in their place. Several peace treaties have been offered, several talks have happened, but none of them will back down. They are to equal in their power, hatred, and stubbornness." Mouse pulled his lips back to reveal his fangs again towards the end of his story. The frustration was clear in his movements.
"So, you need a force that is stronger than them all or a force that can declare a winner." Freya whispered under her breath.
The male slowly glanced back to her as he tossed the meat into the pot. "We need a miracle that can unite them together. This land was not meant to be ruled alone, but as a council." Mouse turned to lean his back against the stone counter before he folded his arms over his chest. His legs crossed over, and he frowned deeply in thought. His tail flickering in irritation before clenching his jaw. "But what can a little girl do?"
Freya chuckled lightly at that. "This was never my problem to begin with. You brought me here, but.." She half closed her golden eyes as she looked back out the window. "I hate the idea of a war being waged on imagery means."
"One more thing." The male said softly under his breath. "I am not the only one that knows you are here or what you are." The women snapped her head towards him. "Not everyone wants this war to end, and some want it so much they will do anything. Do you understand?"
Mouse raised his eyes to meet her own, and Freya slowly nodded. The coyote looked almost defeated, but it made her realize how much he blamed himself. The male had never wanted her to be in this situation. He had simply wanted a way to stop a war, yet instead he found himself responsible for uprooting her instead. "Yes, I understand." She whispered.
"Good, now lets go greet our guests." The albino coyote placed the lid on the pot that was now boiling some before pulling around to her side.
"Guests?" Freya asked as she pulled off the half wall while the male moved to the door. Pulling it open, he allowed his coyote to melt into shape. The beautiful white beast glanced over to her as if waiting for her to follow. She said nothing to this for a moment, however swallowing thickly she came to his side. Her hand brushed against his fur, which strangely gave her comfort while golden eyes glanced about. Thus, they wordlessly walked on.
---
Freya felt the tension before she reached their destination. The air was heavy, and it made her choke. Even with it still being light out, the world felt darker and heavier. Her hair stood up, her body tensed, and she clenched the fur of the beast harder. Mouse grumbled, yet did not step away. Goose bumps begun up her arm as her body shivered. If she had been alone, she would have bolted. Every single instinct inside of her screamed for her to run and to not look back. Yet, the way Mouse moved told her he knew someone ahead. He seemed almost to confident in his movements or perhaps he was used to such things. It made her bitter at the idea.
Finally though, they cleared the forest and came to a clearing. It was the same cliff he had found her at. This time, however, the water ran red and the sand bled crimson. The smell was thick in the air, and the silence had her on the defense. The body of a rottweiler laid on the sand ripped to shreds with a house cat in its mouth. She was able to another body in the water as well, which made her wonder just how many others laid there. It was large, yet her eyes moved quickly to the living that stood on the shore.
A large black and white husky stood there panting harshly. His thick fur was covered in blood making it hard to identify his markings, yet she knew from the eyes who it was. It was Justin. He was about 65 pounds and stood around 24 inches in height. His body was a thick fluffy black with white along his muzzle, around his eyes, down his chest and legs. His stomach had the same color, but stopped at the tail only to reappear on the tip of his tail. The canine's fur stood on end with his tail pointed upwards, his ears were pointed upwards, and his hackles were raised. His maw was parted to show his fangs as low snarls slipped from his throat in a clear warning. It was defensive, yet clear he was ready to strike if needed.
Next to him stood a 180 pounds black timber wolf. He stood about 2.7 feet with powerful muscles and strength Dashes of smoky grey colored around his scruff, chest, stomach and his tail dip. It even dusted around his muzzle and eyes. He was beautiful though with thick lush fur, deep green eyes, and an intimating presence. However, along his side he was soaked with blood due to three large slashes along his side and chest. Deep green eyes stared, focused, and hateful at the creatures before him. His lips were pulled to display his fangs, ears were pressed against his skull and his tail was raised in a dominate fashion. His hair stood on end with one foot stepped forward. One glance of the scars on his eye gave him away including the necklace around his throat that held a huge canine tooth. Next to him stood the dhole that Freya had come to know as Drole along with a brown and white American bulldog. Around his neck held a collection of teeth that looked rather familiar.
Across from the canines stood a small group of felines. The larger of them was a dark brown puma with a dusty yellow chest, stomach and paws. This puma looked to be upwards of 200 pounds with powerful muscles and large paws. Her claws were extended as they ripped across the ground, yet her eyes simply watched the canines calmly. Blood had colored her claws, fur and chest but there was not a single wound on her. She must have been powerful to slip away before injury.
Next to the wild cat was a serval. It was slightly smaller than the one that had attacked Freya before, but it had a similar pattern either way. Next to it, stood a large lynx with powerful paws and deep yellow eyes. The wild cat was injured with its paw being held upwards, and blood dripped from a small cut over its eye. Most likely, a fang had nearly caught the creature or maybe it was due to the ear it had lost. Finally, a normal black house cat stood in their group. The cat did not look hurt at all, although its green eyes were filled with anger, disgust, and hatred. All of them, but the puma, had placed themselves into a defensive position. Their ears were folded back, their back was arched, and their tail was facing downwards. Their hackles were raised as well, along with their tail that flickered at the tip. Each one had their maws parted to hiss and growl lowly in warning. It was a strand off. Unlike the canines though, they had slightly spread out and seemed to be backing down. They were in Bellaroos's territory. Thus, they had the disadvantage. Would that mean they would back down?
"Leave, now!" Mouse snapped suddenly while his lips pulled back to show his fangs. His tongue brushing long them as his eyes narrowed at the group. His fur stood on end as he tensed up, and despite this Freya felt... safe. That was until all of the feline's glanced their way.
Justin did not miss a beat though. The husky twisted himself and moved to position himself between the two as he lunged, snapping and barking to make the felines step back. "You heard him, Nastasia. Leave now." The puma purred and flickered her tail as she stepped closer. Her walk graceful, purposeful, and calm as she moved closer. It was evident there was a history between the canines and this puma. Freya, however, cared little as she glanced about for a weapon. She could not shift, but she would not be a victim. Alec's response to the puma's movement was to lung and snap at the air in warning.
However, as he did the serval pounced. The large canine yelped as the two collided and fell to the water. The feline's fangs snapped against his throat while her back legs shredded down his legs. Blood colored her further, however against the thick fur and muscles she was not able to get a grip.. The canine though simply snapped onto the back of her neck and slammed her into the water. Alec was trying to drown her. "Release her!" The lynx screeched as she bolted forward, yet it was the Bulldog that stopped her.
Freya did not see what happened next as she turned to look over at the puma that had charged. Weighing at nearly 200 pounds, the 65 pound husky did not have a chance. The large female pounced with a roar, yet the canine side stepped and ripped into her shoulder with his teeth. It mattered little as she cried out and rolled to throw him into the ground. He was nothing but a rag doll to her. Justin screeched out in pain and moved to stand when the puma turned to sink her teeth into his back. Once more, he cried out as she shook him only to finally throw him to the ground. He never had the chance to even defend himself or dodge against her. The puma was huge after all with powerful jaws and swift movements. Justin only had his fur to protect him, yet even knowing this he whimpered as he tried to stand again. His paws pressing under his body in knowledge she meant to kill, which also meant she found soon turn on Freya and Mouse. Nastasia, the puma, chuckled in amusement at the attempt. She grinned and purred as she slowly moved in his direction. "Do you wish to try that again?" She whispered in challenge.
Freya, however, had seen enough. "Stop it!"
"Don't be stupid!" Mouse leapt up to try and snap her hand to stop her. It was to late though. The female had bolted forward and grabbed a branch from the ground. Before she knew what had happened, she had thrown herself in front of the mountain lion with only a stick as a weapon. The fighting, however, had ceased by then. Alec and the bulldog had both come behind the puma with the black cat now having taken off. They once more took on their aggressive positions, however this time their was little to no hesitation. Both of them were determined to kill the last feline. However, both were seriously hurt, and Drole had chased after the black feline. This would end in their victory even if one of them were taken down.
"Leave. This is your last warning" Alec commanded as he displayed his teeth again. His steps slow and painful. The puma hissed as she glared Freya down... her back arching before glancing behind her. Nastasia knew she had lost, but she was determined to take another down with her.
Her choice was made for her though. "That's enough Nastasia. Return home, now." All eyes glanced up into the trees were a small ocelot sat. It looked to be only about 18 pounds and maybe 2.2 feet tall. His body stretched out displaying the soft brown fur and raven black stripes and spots. His sandy white chest nearly blended into the tree he laid on, but the most captivating was his hazel unfocused eyes.
"But-"
"No buts. You are to return." With that, the feline hopped off, thus bringing attention back to the puma.
Nastasia growled low in her throat in anger as she begun to slowly back away. "You are all fools. That girl will kill us all, and it will be Bellaroos that will take the blame." With her warning, she bolted just as Justin collapsed to the ground.