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OneLifeRemaining — When the Sun Meets the Moon
Published: 2014-10-07 05:17:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 4663; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 15
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Description
EP: 6 (Art), 5 (RP) = 11 EP for Alukard
OLD ROLEPLAYS YAY. They were both apprentices at the time, so I /tried/ to make them look more like they did at the time buuuut...then my internet pooped out so I couldn't find the old picture of Alu when he was a cubby. So. Shucks. I made something up though for his "old/cub" design and I actually kinda like it...
A RP between Alucard (OneLifeRemaining ) and Shadow (stray-thought ).
Art replay: colorslive.com/details/2415635
Summary:
A new apprentice hunter, Alucard, meets fellow apprentice, Shadow, outside of mandatory training. They spar, then Shadow decides to show Alu the outside world, and they race to the main gate. However, the two get separated during the race, and Alucard becomes lost. Before he knows it, he's surrounded by thugs, led by Alu's arch rival, Viator. Shadow finds Alucard just in time and helps beat the gang away, but they both have their wounds. They leave the scene before approaching humans arrive, and rush outside the city gates. Shadow leads them to a group of trees beside the river where it filters out into the sea. There, she demands an explanation about the thugs. Alucard tells her about his past with Viator, and in order to explain everything, must tell Shadow about his greatest insecurity: being a runt. (pictured). Shadow comforts him, and suggests something fun to get his mind off it; ice sliding! Shadow leads Alu down to the frozen river and teaches him how to slide over the ice. A couple dastardly tries later, and the two decide to go exploring elsewhere. By this time the day has begun to wind down however, and after glimpsing a breathtaking view from a slope above the river, Alu realizes the empire cats probably aren't so mad for wanting to leave the city. Regardless, Alu has his own reasons to stay...now that he has a new best friend in his fellow apprentice.
Time frame: Winter, 49 or 48 BC
The dark furred tigress was in the coliseum training. The coliseum was empty that day, so she had decided to do solitary training. She was attacking her 'enemy', which was a large wooden post, viciously, her claws scoring deep jagged marks in the woods' exterior. Shadow darted away from the post and than ran around it and attacked from that side as well. She had been at the coliseum since sunrise, and it was just about midday now. The tigress stopped slowly, panting and taking in the sight of the shredded post.
----
Alucard padded through the archway and into the training coliseum, spying a familiar dark pelt at once, tearing at a wooden post. As the younger apprentice approached to watch at a safe distance, the female tiger stopped for a rest, glaring at the post that was nearly ripped apart.
Although Alucard knew her name from the other hunters, and from having battled against her at the last group training assignment, the small orange tiger didn't know the tigress that well. They'd never actually had the chance to meet. Perhaps today is that day. Alucard thought, and waved his tail from where he was. The last thing he wanted was for her to turn on him while she was training. He'd learned it was bad to interfere with a hunter when they were in "the zone".
"Hi there!" He called from where he sat. "I think you won the battle." He added, flicking his tail at the destroyed wood. Hopefully it wasn't important to the humans. It would need to be replaced.
----
Shadow stood staring at the post silently, her breath returning to normal. She had taken most of her anger out on the post, and it was quite visible, her physical abuse on the wood. She felt wooden splinters and chunks of the post under her paws, and a deep purr of self approval rumbled in her chest briefly. The reason behind her anger was simple: she was irritated at the fact that the humans wouldn't let apprentices out of the city, even one so close to graduating to a full hunter ranks, such as herself. Of course, she disobeyed this rule quite often, if only to just go exploring.
Her ears flicked as she heard pawsteps behind her, and whoever the paws belonged to stopped a ways away from her. She turned as the cat called out, and saw that is was Alucard, the tiger she had been training with on the last group training session. She didn't know much of this tiger, only that he was younger than she was. She smirked as he told her that he thought she had won the battle against the post.
"Ah, but that is where the problem lies, now isn't it? Is the battle ever truly over?" she mewed rhetorically to him. Stepping over the chunks of wood that littered the ground around her, she padded towards him, curious as to why he was here. "Why are you here? To watch my stunningly beautiful display of fighting?" she laughed lightly and swished her tail slowly.
----
"Oh I don't think that post could stand another beating." Alucard laughed, looking at all the pieces strewn about the area that Shadow picked her way through with ease. "And a beautiful display of fighting it was." He went on, and lifted a hind paw to scratch an itch behind his ear.
"But actually," He added, lowering his leg. "I'm here to train as well. I learned quite a bit from you last practice and I felt the need to brush up on some things." He got to his paws and stretched his front paws out until his legs shivered, letting his claws dig into the dirt, wondering briefly how it would feel like to rip into skin rather than earth.
----
The tigress smirked when spoke of the post. Shadow successfully stopped herself from puffing up like a twit when he replied back to her, saying it was a beautiful display of fighting. You idiot! he was just playing off your words. Stop acting like some smitten cub! To cover her embarrassment, she licked her chest fur hurredly, than looked back up to meet his eyes.
"Well if you are wanting to train, would you like to do so with me? It would be more beneficial than trying to combat the splinters." she watched him as he stretched out , and sat down, neatly curling her tail around her paws.
----
Alucard sat up, rolling his shoulders in circles to ready them for battle. He always liked to stretch first.
----
Shadow grinned as he replied, saying yes. She stood up, and lashed her tail as she met his eyes with her own wintry blue ones. "Then let's begin." With that she rushed him, and aimed a paw for the side of his head. Last time they had fought, Alucard had seemed distracted, though she thought that might be because of the other fighters, so she wanted to make sure she kept him on his toes.
----
"I won't be so easy to beat this time!" Alucard growled, dropping his body to avoid the attack. He heard wind wisp by his ear as her paw soared past. That was a close one! From his crouched position, he lunged forward at her exposed stomach.
----
Shadow cursed as he ducked under her paw, and her eyes widened when he lunged for her stomach. She felt him connect with her, and her body follow his momentum, and as she started to land on her back, she thrust her hind legs up into him, and pushed as hard as she could, hoping to flip him off of her.
----
Alucard felt a flow of satisfaction as he successfully pushed the tiger onto her back. Just as he was about to lunge down and nip at her throat, her hind legs hit him hard in the stomach, pushing the breath from his lungs with a -huff-.
The kick was forceful enough to launch him about a yard away from the tigress. He landed on his shoulder with a thud and an "Oof!" That'll be sore tomorrow!
Twisting, he flipped himself back onto his paws.
----
Shadow gritted her teeth as she saw Alucard lean in to nip her throat, and hoped that her kick was enough to get him away from her, and let out a brief sigh of relief when he flew over her head. She quickly rolled her belly and sprang up, watching him do the same, and she lashed her tail, a growl rumbling deep in her chest and flowing out from between her teeth. She watched him, waiting for him to make the move this time.
----
Alucard waited for her to get on her paws. "Here's one I've been wanting to try!" He mewed, and dashed at Shadow head-on. Leaping up at the last moment, he jumped over her head and grabbed her behind the forelegs to try and flip her backwards. If he did this successfully, they'd both do a somersault, and would end up with her pinned... In theory. She, of course, was slightly larger than he, so he could only hope it would work.
----
Shadow's eyes narrowed as he mewed that, and she was about ready to raise a paw to bat him away from her when he leapt as if to go right over her, and let out a 'mreow!' of surprise as his paws gripped her, and she felt herself being flipped over, and from what she could feel, he was flipping along with her. "Your insane! What kind of move is this??" she yowled to him as she was still mid-flip.
----
Alucard could only laugh at Shadow's surprised words, and ducked his head as the ground rushed at him. He gripped Shadow tight as the ground rolled down his back and briefly saw her paws against the sky. With a jolt, he realized this move wouldn't work as he'd seen it in his mind. In the end, they'd end up where they'd started, with her on her paws and him still gripping her sides. Or worse, she could find a way to pin him instead. He'd have to improvise before his attempted attack backfired.
With a heave of effort, Alucard pushed against Shadow's back with his hind paws before she could touch the ground. Hopefully the momentum from the roll would keep her going...He hoped.
----
Shadow hear Alucard laugh in response to her, and she rolled her eyes. She decided that she was not going to let him complete whatever insane move he had concocted in his head, and she twisted her upperbody with a giant heave, and wrapped her large forearms around his neck, their noses just inches apart. She felt his hind paws connect with her still unflipped back, and it only served to flip the rest of her body around as she refused to let go of his neck. As they continued to flip, they ended up landing with Shadow on the bottom, as it started originally, only now she was on her back, and he was on top of her. As the ground met her back, she let out a large whoosh of air, and looked up at him, her eyes locking with his.
----
Alucard felt his heart drop as he realized too late that Shadow was trying to twist her way free. He loosened his grip on her arm pits ((because really, that's pretty much where he's gripped her XD)), and felt her body slip free from his claws. Before he knew exactly what was going on, Shadow and Alu were face to face, and his kick that had meant to kick her away only helped right her, and he felt her claws grip his neck.
Before he could figure out what to do next, the spinning world stopped with Shadow beneath him. It...worked? It worked! The force of the roll and Alucard's weight forced a warm breath from her that met in his face but he didn't flinch; their eyes had locked and Alucard was frozen by her icy stare.
----
Shadow looked up at Alucard, and felt the entirety of his weight on her, though she couldn't find the ability to care about that in this moment. As soon as their eyes locked, it was like her body had stopped responding, and she was frozen, just staring up at his piercingly brilliant green eyes. Her ears were pinned back, and she held her breath, waiting to see what would happen.
----
Alucard could hardly breath. He hadn't realized how...pretty Shadow's eyes were. He found himself staring at them stare back at him for a few moments...Then he blinked. He still had all his weight on her, and if she was breathless, that was probably why. He had put on quite a bit of weight since having joined the hunters after all. Forcing his gaze away from her magnetic eyes, he pulled back and stepped off of the tigress.
"Er...Sorry." He apologized awkwardly, and bent his head to lick at his spiky chest fur. It was then that he realized the fur along his spine had risen as well, and he shivered to try and force it down again. He probably looked ridiculous. He looked at Shadow. "Are... you okay?" He asked hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't snap at him for having assumed she might not be.
----
Shadow's fur heated up as their gaze finally broke and he backed up off of her. she rolled to her side and sat up quickly, and raised her paw up an licked it, swiping her paw over her ear to smooth any stray fur, and to hide her embarrassment. She looked up at him and let out a light laugh when she saw his fur sticking up, and she found herself thinking it looked oddly... cute.
His question threw her guard off, he sounded hesitant, but seemed sincere in the concern his question presented. A thought flashed through her mind to snap at him and brush his question off, but she found herself replied with a soft mew "I- I'm Fine." she looked down and scuffed her paws.
----
"So I...Uh..Ah..Sooo..." Alucard stammered, trying to get his words out in one comprehensible sentence. Come on, stupid! Get yourself together! You sound like an idiot! Alucard had to admit, she looked kind of out of character in this shy state, avoiding his eyes and pawing at the ground. He felt a rumble in his throat at the sight but stopped himself short. He remembered yesterday when he hadn't had his whole mind in the training. Now it was happening again. "Shall we continue?" He offered finally, his voice slightly squeaking at the end. He mentally punched himself in the face for that. He must have sounded pathetic.
----
Shadow heard Alucard start to stutter and she looked up at him, a small grin spreading across her face, and she flicked her tail restlessly. She was currently trying not to think about what just happened, and doing nothing was so not helping to to not think about it. She was so relieved when he asked if she wanted to continue that she didn't even register that he had squeaked the last part of his question out.
"Uh-uhm Sure!" she replied as steadily as she could and stood up, shaking her pelt out, trying to do anything she could to distract herself, and him, from her embarrassment, though it probably radiated from her.
----
Alucard leaped to his paws, again ready to continue training and leave behind the awkward embarrassment that had ensued after the last attack. He began to circle her, as he had done in the last training lesson, seeking out a weak point to attack. But although he was looking for a place to attack, he felt a small part of him telling him that he would be hitting less hard than he had before.
----
Shadow saw that he had started to circle around her, and she followed suit, matching his paw steps, with her own light paw steps. She was taking in all of the details she could see, and was trying to formulate a plan in her head. This time however, she made sure her claws were sheathed.
She narrowed her eyes slightly than rushed toward him, only to swerve at the last moment, counting on him to face her once she started for him, and aimed her shoulder to ram him in the side. Throughout all of this, she felt herself not putting all of her weight into her attack.
----
Alucard watched Shadow's movements, watching where her eyes went to try and figure out what she was planning. So, he was ready when Shadow suddenly rushed at him, and spun and leaped to meet her. But then with a blur, she was gone. Alucard got hit unexpectantly from the side, though not as hard as he thought it would be, and fell from his midair jump to slide in the dirt of the coliseum floor. He rolled over onto his paws and wasted no time in a counter attack, leaping for her back again to land on it.
----
Shadow forced herself not to let out a victorious yowl when she successfully hit his side and sent him sprawling. Though she didn't expect him to leap up so quickly, and tried to, unsuccessfully, scramble back when he leapt for her back. When his weight hit her back, she lost her balance and started to tip sideways, but managed to right herself, and bucked trying to dislodge the furry burr that was Alucard from her back.
----
Alucard drew a breath as his reward for meeting his target successfully, and was caught off guard when Shadow began bucking like a horse to get him off. He slid his forepaws around her neck to stay on, trying not to use his half-unsheathed claws, as his instinct was telling him to. One buck loosened his grip, and instinct took over and he slightly used his claws to hang on. Despite their aid however, Alu was slipping loose...
----
Shadow felt Alucard start to loosen up on her, though she felt small pin-pricks around her neck where his claws were digging in. She didn't think he was doing it on purpose because he would have dug in harder, right? She continued to buck, feeling so very much like a horse at the moment, but she shoved that thought away. The bucking was working, however slowly. She felt him loosening more, and with a smirk that he couldn't see, she suddenly stopped and rolled onto her side, her intent was to roll over him, and dislodge him.
----
"Whoa nelly!" Alucard gasped when suddenly all the bucking stopped and his battle buddy rolled, crushing the breath out of him. He stayed on feebly, his muscles having tensed at her sudden change of movement, but after the roll ended and she popped back up, he half slid, half fell to the ground, dizzy and slightly stunned.
Dust was floating in the air just above the ground, kicked up by the elder apprentice's bucking. The taste of it was bitter in Alucard's mouth as he inhaled small slow breaths, trying to force his lungs to accept more oxygen before he got up.
----
Shadow heard him gasp when she started to roll and as she rolled over and sprang up again, she felt him tumble off of her. She whipped her head around to watch him, and started laughing at the sight. He lay on the ground, stunned, and looking rather frazzled from his attempt to keep on her back. She saw the dust that she kicked up from the jumping around start to settle a bit, some of it making its new home on Alucard's prone body.
She sat down in front of him, still lightly laughing, and wrapped her tail around her paws. She looked down at him, and grinned. "So.... I win, right?" she mewed playfully and winked at him. Some of the dust came and settled on her nose, and she sneezed.
----
"Yeah...Yeah you win." Alucard wheezed as soon as her question was out. He managed a weak smile when she winked and sneezed, then got back on his paws. He was still breathless, but he couldn't tell if it was still from Shadow's impressive roll, or from how impressive Shadow herself was. Alu could tell she'd make a ferocious hunter when she finally went on her first hunt.
Alu shook out his fur to get rid of the dust that had settled on him, causing his fur to fluff out like a kitten. He swallowed his embarrassment and quickly licked his shoulder fur in a futile attempt to flatten it.
"So...what shall we...do now?" He asked between licks.
----
Shadow gave Alucard a wide grin when he said she won, and she puffed her chest out victoriously, a purr rumbling deep in her chest. She watched as he slowly got up, and giggled when he shook his coat to clear himself of the dust, and stifled a snort when she saw his pelt fluff up.
She flicked her ears as he started to lick his fur flat, and thought about his question. hmm.. What to do... "I have no idea." she mewed. oh you sound sooo stupid. Just shove your tail in your mouth next time!
----
Alucard finished licking his fur down as much as he could and sat facing Shadow. "Hmm." He looked around the coliseum. "There's gotta be something to do around here without bugging the older hunters and leaving the city..." He murmured thoughtfully.
----
Shadow's ears pricked as he spoke, and a mischievous gleam entered her eyes. "Well I know of something we could do, and it wouldn't bug the older hunters, though it would be 'technically' leaving the city." She thought about the river that lay just outside the city, and figured at this time of the year, it would be frozen over. She remembered when it was this time last year, she had snuck out and went sliding across the ice.
----
Alucard pricked his ears and turned to Shadow. "What...What did you have in mind?" He asked with interest, although he still found himself stuttering when he looked at her.
----
Shadow grinned when he asked her what she had in mind. She stood up and stretched out, her claws sliding out and scraping the dirt, and her back popping softly. "Hmm... Follow me! I'll show you." with that, she stood up straight and started to pad briskly for the exit of the coliseum.
----
Alucard tipped his head in curiosity. The dark tigress was mysterious. He hopped up and padded after her and out of the coliseum. For some reason he felt as though they should keep their voices low, as if they were about to do something deemed illegal. He swept up to her shoulder.
"Where are we going?" He whispered, the sound barely echoing through the stone coliseum tunnel.
----
Shadow grinned as he padded up next to her, and made sure he whispered his question, as if afraid that they would get caught. "We're going to the river just outside of the city. But don't act like your afraid to get caught. You'll only be stopped. Just act like you own the streets and no one stops you." she mewed with a breeze. She kept padding, and soon as they were out of the coliseum's tunnel exit for felines, she padding briskly down the streets of the city, ignoring the humans that were milling around, her head held high.
----
Alucard nodded wordlessly and straightened up, making himself walk with confidence. Walk like you belong! He told himself, and stayed close to Shadow as they padded through the busy city. Shadow seemed to know where she was going, Alu realized. She must have left the city before! Well, he reflected, so had he, but only once. He'd snuck out to see the outside world, and had met that white tiger from Fire Empire who nearly skinned him alive. He shivered at the thought of her sharp claws. She'd acted a lot nicer in the end, but Alu still hoped he wouldn't have to meet her in a real battle.
----
Shadow glanced sideways to look at Alucard. He seemed to be in deep thought. She flicked her tail, not noticing that her tail tip brushed against Alucard's flank. She flattened her ears and looked up at the sky briefly before glancing back down in front of her. She thought about how many times she had trekked through the city alone, and how many times she had done anything alone. She only really had two friends, Scaeden and Iota, and she didn't spend much time with them. She decided that she liked walking down the streets, and just doing something with this tiger.
----
Alucard was snapped out of his thoughts when Shadow's tail brushed his pelt, but she looked relatively unaware that she had done so. It looked as if she was in deep thought as well. He watched her for a moment, mentally comparing her to the white tigress' who's name he'd forgotten. Not only were they opposite in color, they seemed to be opposite in personality. Although both shared a fierce side, Alucard found Shadow more respectable and was glad they shared ranks.
He sped up a bit to walk side by side with her and flicked her flank with his tail as she had done. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" He asked curiously.
----
Shadow felt his tail tip brush up against her, and she looked over at him, her blue eyes looking considerably warmer and friendlier than when she had been fighting with Alucard earlier. She smiled and looked ahead again. "Nothing much really I guess." she stopped her sentence, and furrowed her eye brows. Not only did it sound awkward, it sounded vaguely stand-offish. Glancing back at him and tried again "Um.. Just thinking that it's uh.. nice to be um, hanging out with you." she mewed. and now I sound like a moron..
----
Alucard pricked his ears and managed a quiet, semi-awkward purr. He didn't know how to react. Was it just a compliment? Or had she meant something more? Realizing he might sound rude if he didn't reply with something similar, he thought of a reply. ‘I don't want to sound stupid like I keep sounding...So...I'll just...’ "I like hanging out with you too!" Alucard blurted out, then flattened his ears and looked stiffly ahead as he realized how funny he sounded. He looked back at her and continued more genuinely, "I have a lot to learn from you." Everything he said was true...He just hoped the way he presented it didn't sound like a lie to Shadow.
----
Shadow smiled when she heard a quiet purr coming from him, and she glanced sideways at him. When he replied, her eyes widened a bit and she forced herself to keep her pace up, and not stop and gawk at him. Did he mean it? was he just saying it to sound polite? She shook her head and tried to force the thoughts from her head. She was sounding like a moron, even to herself in her own head.
To keep up her haughty persona, she raised her nose and replied with "Well of course you have alot to learn from me, I'm like the best apprentice there ever was." she mewed, though her tone was more friendly and joking, and less snappy than the sentence was intended to have.
----
Alucard was glad she didn't seem to think anything of his stupid tone of voice, and grinned open-mouthed at her joking words. "Well you just wait, one of these days I'll be better than you!" He laughed.
----
shadow smirked and lightly nudged him with her shoulder "You? Better than me? HA! I handed your butt to you on a silver platter in the coliseum." she laughed and started to pad faster. "Well come on then. If you insist on that little fact, lets have a race." with that she took off, paws flying against the dirt, her tail streaming out behind her.
----
"Hey, next time- I'll win!" He laughed, mischievous determination flashing in his eyes. "And yes, I do in fact insist on-h..hey! Wait for me!" He called out, and took off after the dark furred tigress.
He weaved between the humans that hurried out of their way, and didn't pause when a horse-pulled cart blocked his view of Shadow who had pulled a good distance ahead with her head start. Ducking, he leaped between the wooden wheels and out the other side of the cart, ignoring the frightened whinnies of the horses and the cross shouting of the human driving them. Digging his claws in for extra traction, Alucard pulled ahead in an empty stretch and managed to reach Shadow's shoulder.
"Boo!" He shouted, almost breathlessly.
----
Shadow laughed as he called out to her telling her to wait. She ran full out, her paws barely touching the earth before they leapt up again. She dodged in front of a cart, hearing the horses alarmed cry, and kept running. Her heart was racing, and as she kept running, she heard the horses whinnying shrieks sound again, and figured that would be Alucard. She saw a cluster of humans ahead of her, and ran around them, seeing a pile of wooden boxes blocking her, and she climbed them swiftly and leapt off of the top box, and tore off again once she hit the ground, small chunks of earth being sent flying. She heard a pounding of paws come up behind her, and she turned her head right as the tiger came up beside her and shouted 'boo!' to her. She grinned at him "Good job, cub! Let's see how long you can keep this up!" she called to him and looked forward again, digging her claws deep into the earth, and flattened her body out, her paws leaving deep tracks in the soft earth. They were close to the entrance of the city now, and she was intent on getting there first.
----
Alucard bared his teeth as he forced himself to run faster. I've beat a cheetah before! Of course I can manage this! He told himself, and copied Shadow's flattened position. He felt the wind flying by him now, and realized running less sprawled out would help him slice through the air with a bit more ease. Suddenly, Shadow's words hit him, if only a bit late. "Hey! I'm no cub!" He growled after her, and the drive to prove himself lent him strength. Forcing himself through the pain his claws were feeling from tearing at the ground, he steadily pulled ahead of Shadow. Too bad he didn't know where he was going though..
----
Shadow smirked feeling herself pull ahead. She heard his indignant cry at her cub retort, and laughed again. Soon however, she saw him entering her view once more, and start to pull ahead. Letting out a feral snarl, she forced her muscles into overdrive trying to catch up with, and over take Alucard. Her claws scored deep into the dirt under her paws as she struggled to keep pace with the tiger. Jeez, is this kid part cheetah or something?? She saw the street they were on divide into two separate streets, one going left, the other, right. She wondered briefly if he knew which way was the entrance, but tossed the thought out of her head. Everyone knows you turn right to get out.
----
Alucard almost laughed with triumph as he overtook Shadow. This was almost too easy! But she was right behind him, staying at pace with him now, neither one falling behind or pulling ahead. Alucard looked at the fork in the road that they were rapidly approaching. He believed they were heading for the main entrance, which was the one he'd used once before to get into the forest...but he'd never approached the gate from this angle. Seeing as he was on Shadow's left, it would be easier to take the same path, rather than crossing in front of her and risk tripping over her paws. Anyways, even if the left road was the wrong one, there had to be some path or alleyway that would lead to the right one, right? Well, we'll seee! Alucard thought optimistically, and dashed onto the road leading left.
----
Shadow started to pant slightly, she hadn't run this hard in a looong time. She watched intrigued as his paw steps started leading Alucard to the left road. She saw him dashing down the left road, and called out to him while slowing down "That's the wrong way! Nice try, cub!" she laughed and turned down the right road, and sprinted towards the entrance.
----
Alucard was too far away from Shadow by the time she slowed her pace, and the wind in his ears and his thrumming paw steps blocked out her words, although he did hear her faint voice. Thinking she was giving up and admitting he won, he continued on a bit longer. Feeling his limbs beginning to weaken, he slowed his pace to a trot, breathing hard. Glancing around at the humans milling about, Alucard padded to the overhanging roof of one building and collapsed beneath it to wait for Shadow. She should be here any moment, even if she had walked the rest of the way.
Alucard looked up when he heard a human voice, and saw a woman pop her head out of the entrance. She said something Alu couldn't understand then went back inside. She came back out later with a metal bowl of water and placed it in front of Alucard before backing cautiously back into her home. The young tiger crouched and lapped at the water thankfully, feeling the cool energy flow through him and calm his tired legs. He left half of the water in the bowl for Shadow and got up to look down the street. Where was she? A realization finally hit him. What if she took the path leading right? Great, now I'm lost.
----
Shadow kept running until she was near the entrance and slowed down to a brisk trot, before stopping and sitting under the arch of the city entrance. By this time, she was panting more steadily and hung her head low trying to catch her breath. She sat there for a few moments, watching the direction that she had come from. surely he would've rounded the corner by now. Oh mouse dung! he must have not heard me.. With a sigh, she got up once again, and started to pad back towards where they had split up. "You are soo gonna get it when I find you Alucard!" she mewed half to herself and she rounded the corner. She wondered how far he had run.
----
She must have continued on without me. Alucard had mentally decided. She's probably already there. I'd better not leave her waiting much longer. Turning down the road, the young tiger padded down the road, away from the direction he'd come. Soon the City wall came into view, and Alucard made some turns down small alleyways to reach it. He finally did and looked up at it. Now I can just follow it in this direction...And I should be at the gate in no time!
----
Shadow padded briskly down the road Alucard had taken. She lowered her head to the ground and inhaled his scent. Thank the gods I'm a hunter. Tracking him will be easy. she followed the trail his scent lead, and soon came upon a water dish that was half filled, and the tigers scent was clinging to it, with an undercurrent of a humans scent, which she promptly disregarded. She trotted down the road following his scent, and looked up, seeing that, if she were correct in her assumption, he was going to follow the wall to the entrance. With that thought in mind, she padded swiftly to the closest pile of boxes and leapt up onto them then bunched her hind legs and jumped up, landing on the roof of the cities buildings. She padded over the roof tops looking down at the streets, looking to find her brightly colored counterpart.
----
Alucard had picked up his speed to a fast-paced trot. The buildings in this area were shady, in more ways than one. They bunched together more in this particular place, leaving only two human-shoulder lengths of space in some places, but Alu was determined not to leave the wall. If he tried going around the buildings, it could lead him into a labyrinth he didn't wish to be entangled in. He padded out of the sunshine once more and into the shadow of the structures as they narrowed again between a building and the City wall. Alu looked up to see the thin stretch of sky just visible between the two stone walls.
Suddenly, his paws caught on something, and with a metal crash, Alucard fell forward. A furious hiss met him, and Alucard leaped to his paws to see a large bobcat leap out from behind a stack of crates. Here, the building cut away at a sharp angle, leaving more room for humans to store the wooden boxes. The armored feline must have been sleeping behind them, and Alucard had run right over his flank. The angry cat let out a laughing snarl.
"Alucard! Of course. Who else would be lucky enough to run into me? It's been too long." With a jolt, Alu remembered him. This was the cat who had taunted him the first time he'd gone to the coliseum, when he was still a puny cub. The one owned by his former master, who had spat at him and laughed as the tiger was tossed away into the sea and left to drown. This cat was his rival. Alucard narrowed his eyes and let out a low growl.
"Viator."
"I'm glad you still remember me! The last time we met I gave you quite the beating!" He laughed mockingly, and began backing up to where the narrow space opened up to a larger ally way. "You've grown, but you still look like a pathetic runt." He let out a mad laugh. Alu was only slightly larger than the bobcat, who was quite large for his species.
"You're wrong!" Alu argued, narrowing his eyes in anger. "I-"
"You what?" Viator cut in with a laugh, his fur becoming a glow as he entered the sunshine in the ally, his eyes fierce with cruel mockery. "Got kicked out of the Hunter regime? Or just running away?" He smirked slyly with a grin.
"I would never-!" Alu objected.
"Prove it!" Viator snarled, cutting in again. Alucard reminded himself that it was pointless trying to carry on a conversation with this cat. He only liked to hear himself talk.
Alucard raised his lips back in a fierce snarl and lunged forward at the bobcat, his orange pelt blazing like fire in the sunlight that hit it. But his attack met nothing as the bobcat dodged easily, and stood laughing a few feet away. Alucard spun around to face him, narrowing his eyes against the glare of the sun in his eyes.
"Alucard, Alucard." Viator went on, shaking his head with a tsk-tsk-tsk. "Must you be so impolite? Why don't I introduce you to the boys?" At his words, shadows crawled from windows from the surrounding buildings, leaping down from crates and rooftops. Alucard swung his head to and fro, but both the way he had come, and the way he continued to go were blocked by new felines, snarling and laughing. The tiger may have been able to take on Viator alone. But now... Alucard gulped. He was surrounded.
----
Shadow picked up her pace, running over the roof tops now in a blur. She was starting to get worried, she should have found Alucard by now. She crossed a building over hang over that was close to the wall, to the wall itself, and was glad that she was still able to walk on wall and not fall. She trotted along the wall, feeling the sun warming her back, though stones of the wall were still cold under her paws.
She kept glancing down either side of the wall, thinking maybe he had found his way out, or had done what she did, climb the wall itself, than jump to the other side. She noticed the buildings near this area of the wall were closer together, as if the humans squashed everything closer. She had to squint into some of the areas, as they were dark, though she reasoned that if he was in the shadow's she would still see his brightly colored pelt. She saw up ahead there was a gap that was abnormal to the squashed design that had taken over this area. Sighing, she kept padding, looking down into the shadows.
Soon she neared the gap, and she heard a voice shout indignantly 'I would never-!' Alucard! she picked up her pace, but slowed down when she heard another voice snarling at Alucard. Slowly, she creeped up to the part of the wall where she could see into the gap, and her eyes widened as she saw a group of mangy looking cats surrounding Alucard. For a second, fear for her new friend rose in her chest, but she quickly tamped it down. Fear doesn't win battles. She waited for one of the cats to come under her area of the wall, and than leapt down from the wall, her claws fully extended, aiming to land on the cat and shred his neck.
----
Shadow, where are you? Alucard thought desperately. As much as he wished he could show her that he could take out all of these rude coliseum cats at once, he needed her help. They were closing in now, Viator himself staying put behind his 'boys'.
"Coward!" Alucard roared angrily. "Come here and fight!"
"As you wish." Viator replied smoothly, and with a twitch of his whiskers, the area erupted with roars and yowls and hisses. Although all the cats were leaping toward Alucard, the first yowl of surprise and pain came from the narrow allyway. Alucard stole a glance sideways to see that the mangy cat who had stood there was crushed under a moving shadow. Shadow! Alucard's heart leaped hopefully, and suddenly he felt strength flowing into his limbs. She'd found him!
While he hesitated, two other felines leaped on Alucard, forcing him down. At least they weren't huge cats. Bobcats, lynxes, and cheetahs. These guys must pride themselves on speed! He realized as he wreathed beneath two felines. One of them had him pinned on his stomach by the throat. Recalling what Ayrin had done in training, he twisted his spin so that his hind feet were on the ground. At least this way they couldn't get at his stomach. Another cat lunged for his throat, Alucard struggled a paw free and blood spurted from the feline's nose as Alcuard's claws raked down it. The cat whirled around with fury and vanished, but Alucard didn't think he was gone. A sharp pain in his tail told him he was right.
----
Shadow let a smirk take over her face as she successfully landed on the cat. She felt the skin under her claws give way easily, tearing, blood flowing freely. She watched as the cat under her dropped immediately, though she didn't stop to see if he was dead or just out of commission for the time being. She leapt off of him, and burst from the shadow's with a deep and gravelly roar, a sound that had terrified many a cat. She saw two cats leap on and pin Alucard. Cowards! She ran straight for Alucard, watching as he hit one of them square on the nose. She aimed for the one he hadn't yet hit, and bowled the cat over, right over Alucard. She tumbled off of the cat on the way, and sprang up, tail lashing, ready to attack once the cat got up. Alucard can deal with the other cat, but what about all the others. And what are we gonna do about the 'leader'? A feral snarl ripped out of her throat and she dug her claws into the earth, looking positively deadly.
----
A sudden roar from Shadow's direction sent a few of the feral cats running in fear. Although the bobcat was out of Alucard's sight, the leader of these cats had jumped up on a crate and was staring down at the new arrival with fury, his lips drawn back in a silent snarl.
A flash of black shadow soared over Alucard, blocking out the sun for a moment, and the tiger took a gasp of air as the pressure was relieved from his throat. Thanks, Shadow. He mentally spoke his gratitude, and flipped his torso right side up. With a snarl he spun around and smacked a paw onto the cat's head that had attacked his tail, and whipped it away as the cat fell away. It managed to get to its paws and looked at Alucard with fear in his eyes before limping away. The tiger swept his gaze around, but Viator was no where to be seen. A sound drew his gaze upward and he looked just in time to see the bobcat's hindquarters leaping up onto a roof and vanishing from view. Had Alucard been able to take care of that damned bobcat, the battle would have been over at once. He let out an angry hiss that was interrupted by a couple other cats. One leapt on his back while the other did some strange move of sliding beneath Alucard and latching onto his stomach to claw at it. The orange tiger caught sight of the only cheetah of the group, leaping in to help a cat attacking Shadow. These last four looked like the last members of the feral gang. We'll meet again, Viator. Alucard vowed. And then you won't be so lucky.
----
Shadow attacked the feline she had bowled over, aiming hard, well placed strikes against the poor cats head. Raking her claws across the felines muzzle, she watched with a self satisfied smirk as blood flew. The cats backed away finally, his eyes filled with terror, and bolted from her as quickly as his injured body allowed. She turned in time just to see a cheetah speeding toward her, and she snarled and tried to back up to get an attack on the cat, but she wasn't quick enough. The cheetah swung its unsheathed claws at her head, and caught her ear, and she growled as she felt her ear tear. Raising up on her hind legs, she batted at the cheetah, and watched as the cheetah lost its balance trying to dodge her, and she quickly slammed her paws down on its neck and stomach and sunk her claws into it, and quickly drug her claws down its body, though making sure not to hit anything vital, it would just be really painful, and heal quite slowly. She glanced around, seeing all of the other cats, except for the cheetah she just downed, and two others, had scrambled.
----
Remembering the moves that he and Shadow had used earlier, Alucard threw himself forward in a frontwards roll, and heard the breath of the cat latched on his back give out a wheeze as he was crushed beneath the larger tiger, and the lynx released him. Alu continued the roll and popped back up onto his hindlegs; the cat latched onto his stomach was slightly dislodged by the roll, and Alucard threw a hard blow at the cat's head. The lynx dodged the initial blow by moving his head but was hit in the shoulder as Alucard's paw continued to slam down. The stubborn lynx clung on with a snarl and ripped at the tiger's stomach again. Fed up, Alucard reached forward with his front paws and let his weight fall forward, body slamming the lynx, who mewed in frightened surprise like a cub. Laughing, Alucard rolled off of the cat and it popped up before stumbling away with the other that he had rolled on.
----
Hearing a growl of pain from Shadow, and catching the sight of blood in the corner of his eye, Alucard leaped to his paws and swung around to see that, although Shadow seemed to be gaining the upperpaw, the cheetah had drawn her blood. At once his hackles rose higher. His eyes narrowed to furious slits and his lips drew back in a snarl. Digging his claws into the dirt he rushed forward. Shadow already had him in a perfect position; the cheetah was already battered and bloody from her sharp claws. He skidded to a halt over the cheetah, dust spraying up into the creatures eyes so it hissed in pain.
Alucard lunged for its throat, letting his fangs puncture slightly but remaining careful enough to not kill him, as much as the tiger wanted to in that moment. Walking backwards, Alucard drug the cheetah to the middle of the larger allyway, where most of the battle ensued, and dropped the cheetah who flailed his paws in an attempt to get up. Before it could, Alucard stepped on its throat and forced it back down. Lashing his tail, he bent his head to whisper in the cheetah's ear, low enough so only the mangy feline could hear.
"You and the rest of Viator's-gang, better think twice before crossing the Hunters again, or there will be more severe outcomes than this." He hissed, stepping back from the beaten creature to spit on the cheetah. He was still furious. He knew Shadow wasn't hurt fatally, but knowing someone had hurt her, his friend, made his blood boil.
----
Shadow saw Alucard turn and rush towards herself and the still pinned cheetah, after taking care of his two attackers. Her eyes widened as Alucard lunged for the cats throat, and proceeded to drag the cheetah to the center of the area. She raised her eye brow wondering if he was going to kill the cat, and stepped forward as he bent down to say something to the cat. She pricked her ears, but she couldn't quite hear what he was saying. Who were these cats? Why were they attacking Alucard? I refuse to believe this was a random attack. She remembered hearing Alucard and the cat she presumed to be the leader of sorts of the gang of cats arguing before the fight had begun. Speaking of which... That stupid cat got away! Shaking her head, she waited for Alucard to finish with the cheetah. She didn't want to question him in front of the cat, rather, she decided to wait until they were out of ear shot.
"Make sure Viator get's the message." Alucard growled and turned away from the cheetah, doing nothing more to him. They'd already given him words and wounds to think about, and he wouldn't be attacking anyone for a while. Tail lashing, Alucard padded back to where Shadow stood, watching on. "Are you alright?" He asked by impulse, stopping in front of her. He knew she was fine. That little battle was probably nothing to her.
----
Shadow stared at Alucard, surprised, before snapping back to herself, and nodded. "I'm fine. That poor excuse of a cat only nicked my ear." she mewed softly. Her ear was torn nearly in two, from the tip of her ear, down passed the half point of her ear. It stung slightly, but she had had worse. She was surprised, Alucard almost seemed... worried? about her. "What about you? Did those two cowards hurt you before I was able to get to you?" she subconsciously took a step towards him, and licked the wound on his neck, cleaning off the blood and dirt that had clung to his fur.
----
Alucard flattened his ears when his eyes were drawn to her bloody ear. She didn't appear to feel it, at least that's what it looked like on the outside. Alu felt a flash of admiration for her. If that'd been his ear, he'd probably be mewling like a stupid little cub.
"Oh I'm-I'm fine." Alucard looked away from Shadow's injury and looked at the ground, glimpsing his red stomach fur in the corner of his eye. I guess that cat scratched me a little harder than I'd thought.
The tiger stiffened when Shadow suddenly stepped closer to lick his neck wound. It stung when she touched it, but that wasn't the reason he'd tensed. He'd never had another feline-especially a girl- care for him enough to lick his wounds. He almost purred when movement caught his attention and he looked up to see the cheetah half limping, half dragging himself away and down the large allyway, toward an approaching noise. Alucard pricked his ears and raised his head. His ears hadn't betrayed him.
"Humans are coming." He spoke urgently, nudging Shadow toward the narrow allyway that ran along the City wall to the gate. "Let's go. If they find us responsible we'll be in huge trouble."
----
Shadow realized what she did, and she pulled away, her fur heating up in embarrassment, though thankfully Alucard didn't seem to notice. He had turned back to look at the cheetah, and when she paid attention, she too heard what Alucard was listening to. Humans. She reflexively folded her ears back, though hissed in pain when her torn ear moved. She felt him nudge her to an alleyway, and she hurriedly padded down the alleyway, and away from the area they had fought at. She knew Alucard was right. If humans found them at the scene, they would be in a world of trouble, from the humans, as well as their superiors in the Hunters. She picked up her pace until she was running and saw the city gate, and dashed out of the city so no one could get a clear look at her. If people were to see her in detail, it would be obvious that she was in a fight. Alucard more so. She stopped a little ways outside of the gate, making sure no one was around and turned to Alucard. "Who was that?" she mewed to him, her voice sincerely concerned.
----
Alucard dashed after Shadow, and his heart soared hopefully when he spotted the City gate and raced through it. When Shadow slowed her pace outside the gate, he did also, and padded around in a circle, looking back toward toward the entrance for pursuers. He half heard Shadow's concerned mew and replied automatically, his eyes still glued to the gate nervously. "Who's who?"
----
Shadow's eyes trailed Alucard as he padded in a circle, his eyes watching the gate like all of the cats were about to burst out and attack again. She let out an impatient growl when he replied, rather distractedly she might add, with a 'who's who?'.
"Who was the cat you were arguing with? The one who sent those cats to attack you? Who were they? They obviously weren't hunters! I've never even seen any of them before!" she mewed, exasperated. She found herself glancing back at the gate, his nervousness making her feel nervous in turn. She flicked her tail, signaling at him to follow her, and started to pad parallel with the wall of the city, getting away from the gate as fast as she could.
----
Shadow's irritated growl made him pause mid-step and look back at her, finally realizing his reply had been air-brained. He gladly followed her further away from the gate. "I'll tell you when we get to where we're going...Where are we going?" Honestly, Alucard didn't want to answer the questions she asked, the questions he'd known she would ask, although he didn't let on that he felt that way. It would only lead him to tell a story that would make him sound weak, and he preferred to leave those memories in the past. But at the same time, he knew he couldn't deny Shadow an explanation. She'd gotten her ear shredded for him, for the god's sake! She deserved to know.
----
Shadow glanced back at Alucard as he spoke and flicked her tail again. "There is a cluster of trees near the water. No one ever goes there, so we won't have any one snooping or overhearing anything they shouldn't be knowing." she said matter-of-factly. She completely forgot about going to the river to go play, she wanted answers. She reluctantly admitted to herself that she wanted to protect her male counterpart. She kept padding quickly, wanting to get to her hiding area so she could wheedle answers out of him, reluctant as he seemed to be.
----
Alucard nodded without saying anything and followed her. His stomach scratches were starting to sting now that the excitement of battle had passed, but he wasn't thinking about the pain. He was thinking about how he would tell her everything without making himself sound...stupid. Just once he thought he had it, the sound of running water caught his attention and he looked up ahead to see the tops of trees at the bottom of a slope. That must be the place.
----
Shadow padded lightly across the grass, and soon saw the tops of the trees appearing in her sight. She flicked her uninjured ear back, listening, checking to make sure no one was following them. What's with Alucard? Why does he have an enemy, especially one like this cat? Just who exactly is Alucard, and why do I find myself wanting to know more about him..? She shook her head and scowled staring down at the ground, trying to banish the last thought. She felt the ground under her start to slope downwards, and she looked up seeing the trees rapidly approaching. As they entered the ring of trees, she glanced around to make sure no one was here, and she turned to face Alucard, and waited silently.
----
Alucard entered the clearing right behind Shadow, and looked around with round eyes, briefly forgetting what had brought them here. He'd never been here before, but it looked a lot like descriptions he'd heard from the elder hunters about where they used to meet on the night of a full moon. Maybe it was a different place though, as it looked like no felines had been here in a long time.
He snapped out of his curious state when Shadow sat down and looked at him expectantly. He leaped onto a low, flat boulder near Shadow and crouched, ignoring the sting when he scrunched his tummy together.
"The leader- the bobcat- is named Viator." Alucard began slowly, not meeting her eyes in fear of being distracted by them. "He's a bit older than me- probably your age- and a prized fighter, though you wouldn't know it by the way he ran away today..
His human and mine have been enemies since long before I was born, though I don't know why. His master...actually used to be mine. But he...he didn't like that I...I was a...runt." Alucard spat the word out. He hated to admit what he was. He flattened his ears against the memories beginning to flash before his eyes, and spoke them as he saw them. "He threw me out into the sea to drown, and..." He trailed off. Shadow didn't care about the humans or the story of his life. She would only care about his connection to the felines they'd fought.
"Viator and I have crossed paths now and again, and he always picks fights to show off who's the more skilled of us. If you noticed that nick in his ear, that was from me. I don't know why he seems to go out of his way to make me suffer...I really don't. But he hates me, and the feeling is mutual. And now...it seems like he's found a bunch of rouges to follow his every command. I didn't recognize them so they probably aren't owned by the same owner as Viator." Alucard leaped down from the rock and padded slowly around the clearing as he spoke.
"Viator thinks he's the best thing to be trained by his master, and of course he thinks lowly of me, the cub who wasn't even good enough to stay under the same roof as him." Alucard's voice began to harden as he went on, and he stopped, facing a tree, his tail towards Shadow. "I was never good enough." He muttered angrily, glaring at the ground as he remembered, his tail lashing. "Never strong enough to defend myself, never big enough to hold my own. No one wanted me. I was supposed to die! And why?" He lifted an unsheathed paw. "Because I'm a damned runt!" He snarled, slicing down at the tree and knocking off the bark to leave deep scars in the trunk. Alucard rarely got so angry, but his anger was more directed at himself than anyone else. He continued more softly, hardly listening to his own words. "This world was not meant for me." He sat, still facing away from Shadow. He curled his tail over his paws, his head hanging with either shame or embarrassment...or a mixture of the two. He didn't know what she would think about everything he'd said. Was she going to call him weak and slap a claw across his face and tell him to man up? Would she leave him there without saying a thing? He flattened his ears and waited for the older tiger to say...anything.
>>Next page: When Sun and Moon Meet (pt 2) <<
