The white beauty

IC: Massive, powerful paws carried a huge gray brute through the forest at an even pace. Even at the sight of this used-to-be-gruesome foe, it was quite funny. The brute's red/pink tongue lolled lazily out the side of his maw as he galloped through the woods with a large cat chasing after him. Zura glanced up at her wolf and stifled a grin. You know, you sure have changed a lot, Kazu, she said to him mentally through a quick thought. The massive brute obviously named Kazuro glanced down at his anima, and his powerful maw stretched into a grin. You think so? he asked. Zura gave a quick nod and focused on the path ahead of her once again. She would never tell him exactly what had changed him; she was sure he knew anyway. Before any of this happened, it seemed Kazuro was... difficult. Impossible. She honestly thought that he'd have no friends. Besides her, of course. She'd do anything for him. But then Crescent came along. The one wolf that wiggled her way into his heart, and he wasn't willing to let her go. Even after suffering Kazu's wrath she decided to stay with him, and for that, he changed his ways dramatically. He's now the most loyal partner anyone could ask for, and she was eternally grateful to Crescent for that. Plus, she had to admit, she was taking a liking to Whisker, Crescent's anima, too. "You think we're almost there?" Zura asked, not using her ability to speak to Kazuro mentally. "I hope so," Kazuro replied, starting to pant now. "You think Crescent will be mad at us?" he wondered. Zura only smirked. The two of them sent themselves off to find food and bring it back for everyone, but they'd failed to find anything. The sun was going down, but even with that fact she was surprised Kazu had offered to actually give up for the day. "Nah," Zura replied, sure of her answer. Crescent was nice.

And, finally, there she was; the beautiful white wolf that Kazuro had fallen in love with. She was waiting for him, beside the small forest stream where he left her. The brute lifted his lip, letting a smile show on his maw. Zura glanced up and grinned to herself. He was so weird about her sometimes. Closing the distance between them, Kazuro padded forward to rest his head on her neck, gently moving his head up and down lovingly against her soft white pelt. "I'm sorry, we couldn't find anything. We'll try the other direction tomorrow," he apologised, pulling back from her to look into her soft blue eyes that he'd come to love.

IC: The gray brute only gave her a playful smile and returned her lick with one of his own before lifting his head to peer through the canopy of leaves above to see the darkening sky had gotten ever darker. The forest was washed in twilight and seemed to consume all of the creatures. Already, the darkening forest was growing quiet, and the noctournal creatures of the night were beginning to stir. Kazuro turned ever so slightly and spoke over his shoulder. "We should rest for the night. Maybe you could come with me tomorrow." With those words, the massive form crossed the small creek, only having to submerge one of his paws in order to do so, and seemed to dissapear on the other side. Actually, he entered a fair-sized den that resided close to the stream, but not too close if it were to flood. Zura swiftly followed after him, but instead of joining the wolf in his den, she simply climbed the closest tree and nestled herself in a crook that overhung the dark hole. She puffed up her fur and was ready for the oncoming night.

IC: "Oh get over here you furball," Zura called to Whisker with a smile on her face. She could hardly see the black cat in the tree top, even with her inhanced night vision.

~The Next Day~ (? o.O)

The waking sun rose in the sky, chasing the darkness of the previous night away. The nocturnal animals had had their fun, and were now escaping to their dens to awaight the next. Early morning sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees, dappling the forest floor with rays of sunlight, while the golden leaves glowed with the warm rays. Kazuro stirred and opened his heavy eyelids lazily. Stifling a yawn, the brute looked down to see his white beauty lying at his side, still asleep. A small smile spread across his maw, but a scent caught his nose. He looked up at the enterance to see a neat pile of mice and a few birds. He rolled his eyes. You need to stop doing that; we aren't alone anymore. Even though I do like this breakfast, he said silently. I know you do, Zura replied, a smile in her voice. Right above the dark hole, sitting on the very edge of the longest branch, she sat, her tail dangling lazily down while her wide brown eyes watched the rays of sun. I just like to watch the dawn.

IC: Kazuro glanced downward again as Crescent stirred, her eyes opening to reveal her beautiful blue eyes again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," the gray brute said gently. "It looks like you've slept well," he commented, giving a small, playful smile. not caring about holding back his yawn this time, his massive jaws opened wide to reveal his lethal fangs. His head raised slightly with the intensity of this yawn, and when it finally passed an audible sigh was heard afterward. Feeling well-rested, the brute stood to his paws and exited the den, shaking off the loose dirt on his pelt as he proceeded. Kazuro stiffened his shoulders once outside, feeling the warmth of the sun on his back, and stretched each leg in turn. He felt his pelt prickle as he arched his back as if he were a feline. Giving a final shake of his head, the brute turned to the den he'd just left. Normally, or what he'd used to do, he'd try to keep a tough exterior; snarling, bunching his muscles, squaring his shoulders; anything to make him look intemidating. But now he didn't really mind; especially in front of Crescent. She made him feel more peacefull and he felt like he could be himself around her. He didn't have to pretend around her and act tough. So, instead of baring his teeth like he'd normally do, he let his tongue loll out of his mouth and dropped on his front legs in a playful gesture. His lip curled somewhat in a sort of goofy-looking grin.

Zura's ear twitched in responce to the voice behind her. She knew who it was before she turned, and when she did she grinned. Yep, Whisker. "I used to do that when Kazuro and I were alone," she replied. "It'd get him going in the mornings and then we'd go hunt bigger prey. I guess it's just a habit now... I do it every morning." She giggled slightly and then shrugged. "You can have some if you want, it's for anyone really. I already had all I wanted." The feline's ear swivveled backwards at a new sound, and her head followed soon after to see what it was. Zura sighed and rolled her eyes sarcastically. Kazu was so weird sometimes... Oh well. This would be fun. Grinning to herself, she turned to Whisker and said a quick "Excuse me a moment," before launching herself out of the tree straight at the gray wolf below. He didn't even see it coming and a strange yelping sound escaped his jaws. Zura let out a mrrow and the two were wrestling on the forest floor like they'd never done before. She made sure to keep her claws sheathed, just as Kazuro was obviously making an effort to not do any damage to his anima or else he'd feel it too.

The scuffle with the two creatures brought on the attention of another animal; one that was NOT invited and especially not welcome. A monstorous creature loomed from the bushes nearby, shoving past a tree that was in it's way. It's massive claws scraped the tree bark as it's powerful maw opened to reveal huge fangs that could do serious damage to any unlucky creature to find itself in it's grip. The two who were scuffling down below never heard or saw it coming; they were too intent on pinning the other on the ground to realize what was happening. Kazuro's nose twitched and he dodged a deadly blow of the animal's claws just in time. Zura, on the other hand, didn't make it as quick. Her right hind paw got caught under the animal's paw and it's crushing weight came down on her. She let out a yowl of pain and terror as she unsheathed her claws and dug into the earth as an attempt to break free. Kazuro let out a howl of agony as pain shot up his hind right leg; he knew what Zura was going through and he had to act fast. Bear. The massive brown animal had Zura pinned by her leg and was about to bring its large fangs down on the cat. "No!" Kazuro yelled and flung himself at the creature, barreling into it's side with such a force it was able to topple the creature long enough for Zura to escape it's merciless attack. She clawed herself to safety and could only watch for now until she could walk on her paw again. The bear, surprised and now angered that his meal had escaped, turned to the gray wolf who had caused this. Opening it's maw, the creature let out a thunderous roar which seemed to shake the earth under Kazuro's paws. It rang in his ears as the massive animal charged him. Barely dodging the attack, Kazuro regained his balance and looked up to see that he was literally face to face with the bear. It was fast. With unimagineable speed, the bear raised it's clawed paw and brought it down hard on the wolf. Kazuro felt his eyes roll back in his head at the impact, and he felt the breath leave his lungs as he was helplessly flung to the side, hitting the tree nearest to him. Gasping for air, Kazuro struggled to get up again. His vision was scrambled; he could hardly make out the blades of grass that were right in front of him. Desperately, he searched for the soft white pelt of Crescent; she had to go. He knew the history of what happened to her brother, and how that was similar to this, but she had to go. He loved her too much for her to die like this. She couldn't. The bear set it's brown gaze on the pile of freshly killed mice and birds at the enterance of the den. Stumbling over to the pile, the bear reared and roared again, making Kazuro's head spin, as it caught sight of another wolf inside. Kazuro desperately tried to make eye contact with her, but his eyesight was still blurry. He ended up looking at the tree next to the den that Zura had been on earlier. "Crescent..." he panted, his breath still coming in short gasps. "Go, Crescent..."

OOC: OMG I BROKE MY RECORD!11!!!!11!ONE!!!1!ELEVENTY!1! IT'S 1041 WORDS! HOLY CRAPPPPPPPPP! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

IC: Zura's breathing came in short gasps as she felt the breath leave her body just as Kazuro was hit by the bear. Her amber eyes were wide and filled with terror; she could hardly feel the pain in her paw right now. She nearly jumped when she felt someone beside her, and she wipped her head around to stare into the eyes of Whisker. "Yeah...," she managed to say, her eyes straying back to where Kazuro was desperately trying to gain his footing again. She heard Whisker's voice again and shook her head, quickly disagreeing with his words. "No," she panted. "I... have to stay..." She tried to stand, but her paws gave out on her and she fell. Zura gave a frustrated hiss. "I just have to... Rest a second... I can't leave Kazu," she whispered. She looked up to see the bear towering over the dark hole that concealed Crescent and watched in horror as it scraped the eart away from the entrance, trying to reach the wolf inside. "Crescent!" she yoweled, and tried to stand again. This time, concious of her injured paw, she set off at a swift limp toward the monstorous creature. Her brown spotted pelt bristled and, risking her paw, she leapt at the animal and clung to it's pelt with her unsheathed claws. Trying not to upset her paw further, she dug into the bear's fur with her teeth and claws, but it's fur was so thick she couldn't reach the flesh underneath. The bear gave a huff of annoyance and simply swung its paw back at the ocelot, easily dislodging the already battered cat. Zura was flung from the creature, and she whipped her tail in the air expertly to land on all fours. She heard a yelp from Kazuro and turned to see she was standing right next to him. He easily shook off the sudden jolt of pain and made an effort to stand.

Kazuro watched helplessly as the massive animal tore at the earth of their den, trying to reach Crescent. She was trapped. Then he watched in horror as Zura jumped into action; leaping onto the bear but failing in her attempt to attack it, and was in turn flung from the animal without difficulty. The actual swipe didn't hurt as much; it was when Zura landed beside him on her bad paw that hurt. He yelped in pain, but shook it off immediately when he heard Crescent's howl of agony. "Crescent!" he yelled. Something seemed to click in the brute's mind. Something dangerous. It felt... It felt like his old self, coming alive again. The gray wolf's eyes blazed a deep amber, and in turn all four of his paws caught aflame, burning with a white-hot intensity. Crescent was in danger. The bear had to die. That's all that was going through his mind. Completely forgetting the pain, the massive wolf got to his paws easily, shaking off the loss of breath that followed quickly after. The male's lip curled to reveal his deadly fangs that he now usually kept hidden. He broke into a sprint straight for the bear, closing the distance between them easily. The wolf leapt onto the animal's massive shoulders, it's fur catching fire almost immediately. The bitter scent of burnt hair filled the air around them, and Kazuro reveled in that. The bear roared in agony, sending a thunderous bellow through the forest that rung through the wolf's ears. He bit onto the animal with his fangs and clung to it's seared flesh while the bear vainly attempted to reach the wolf on it's back. The brown animal got onto it's hind legs again, stumbling backward toward Zura who had creeped over to Whisker. Great. Not they were both in trouble. Get OUT of here! Kazuro yelled at his anima who was crouched near the ground, looking up at the two with wide, terrified eyes.

Zura, clearly hearing the order in her mind, turned to Whisker quickly and gave him a nip on his ear; just to get his attention, not hard enough to cause real pain. "We have to go!" she shouted, already limping away. "Kazuro will take care of this; he'll keep Crescent safe! He wants us to leave!" She hoped desperately that Whisker would listen to her, and not refuse as she had done before. The bear, still vainly flailing it's huge paws, stumbled closer and closer to the two cats, with Kazuro hanging on it's back as his paws continued to burn the animal's fur, making it easier to get a hold on it. She knew this fight could turn out in two ways; either Kazuro would eventually win and he bear would run while it still could, or they would both kill each other. Either way, he would keep Crescent safe. And that, as she could hear, was the only thing going on in his head right now.