Wishes by Moonlight: The Mark

He was constantly burning with hatred. A deadly fuel was lit inside him, kindled by the thoughts of what his parents had been and how great and powerful they once were. The young red Lupe was strong and burly, tough, and yet, fair of face. His handsome face was ruined by the angered look on it, his brows bent down low and his muzzle always curled into a snarl.

      He hated his enemy for what he had down. His parents had been great and powerful, strong and feared, yet, they'd been killed. Pushed over the Spiked Pass, where no one survived from falling. The young Lupe hated the pet who had done this, and the magic he possessed. A rare black and red flame burned brightly in Caeson's heart, purifying it and making him a fair leader, but at the same time making him very powerful. Caeson had never before been defeated in battle, and the Lupe's parents were no exception.

      His name was Raguel. A name he'd given himself, forged from the names of his parents, Rann and Naguel. At the same time, Raguel meant "the fangs of evil" in the language of old. He liked that, for the name gave him ambition to kill and it constantly reminded him of his quest to kill Caeson. Raguel yearned for the day he would hear Caeson's dying cries.

     ~*~

      "Caeson, stop acting like a puppy and get over here!"

      The moonlight Lupe looked up from his play with the puppies. He looked like a Darigan Lupe, but his pupils and whites were different, a light shade of silvery-white. His muzzle curled into a wolfish grin, showing off his white teeth. "Aw, c'mon Chayla, let me play with the puppies."

      Another Lupe nearly identical to him, save for a crescent moon on her forehead, shook her head. "The pack is waiting for you. You've gotta go lead the hunt." Caeson moaned and stretched, then padded away. The puppies whined after him.

      Once out of sight, Caeson stretched his wings and took flight. He was a little nervous about showing off flying to the pups, because they'd probably be dumping themselves off cliffs any second, expecting themselves to fly. Lupe pups were weird like that. The moonlight Lupe soared above the clouds, feeling the breezes tussle his fur and cool his sweaty body. Whew, he thought, shaking sweat from his brow. Playing with those furballs takes a lot out of you.

      Lately, things had taken a lot out of Caeson. He and the other Lupes had lived under the iron paw of Rag and Naguel, the previous leaders of the pack. Caeson, by a mere stroke of luck, had met the Faerie by the name of Firling, who had blessed him with a powerful magic called the Shade Flame. Caeson didn't know if any other pets had this magic, but what did it matter to him? Anyways, Caeson had challenged the leaders of the pack with his new magic, and had defeated them with the help of Chayla. She was a moonlight Lupe just like him, but she'd had a pack. She could've gone back, but much to Caeson's relief, she hadn't. The Lupe personally thought he'd be really lonely if Chayla left, because she was the only other Lupe like him. Now, when looking back on these events, Caeson felt that things seemed...

      A little too simple.

      Like something was missing. Like he didn't have enough problems to burden him, enough challenges to face. He felt slightly guilty every time he thought of his victory over the others, because he knew he couldn't have done it without magic. He felt like a coward. Other pets, the ones he had heard about, had defeated their enemies with grace and herosim.

      He hadn't.

      Caeson had used magic, and that made him feel like a coward. A lowly slug, unable to fight his own fights. He never expressed these feelings in front of the pack - they would think of him as a coward, too. He really couldn't afford being thought of like that, at least until he could train up and prove to himself that he was really worthy. Great, he thought, loathing himself. I can't tell the pack these feelings - I truly am a coward.

      Howling below alerted Caeson of his pack-members, and he began a descent. Once he reached the ground, he plastered a grin to his muzzle and said, "You found any scents, yet?" The other Lupes gave scattered replies, and Caeson set aside his deep thinking, which wild Lupes weren't caught doing much, and followed them into the dense foliage.

     ~*~

      "Good hunt?"

      Caeson looked up from his share of the meat to see Chayla padding over to him. He smiled slightly; "Not bad, not great. Y'know, a typical hunt." Chayla smiled, lying down next to him. "I've scented something," she muttered, pricking her ears. "I smelt it before, and then I did again a few minutes earlier."

      "What d'you think it could be?" Caeson asked, not particularily interested. Chayla looked put out. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't like it."

      Caeson shrugged. "Enemy pack?" he asked vaguely. Chayla shrugged. She turned, saying, "I've gotta watch the pups again... little runts." And with a flick of her tail, she was gone. Caeson watched somewhat wistfully as she went. Chayla was much more fun to talk to than the other Lupes. Even though he pretended not to be interested in her topics, he just didn't want to have favourite Lupes. He sighed, curling up, and let sleep overtake him.

     ~*~

      Insane sniffing interrupted his slumber. Caeson's ears pricked, listening, as a foreign scent reached his nostrils. It smelt, if anything, like rotten meat. The Lupe crinkled his nose in disgust, but didn't make a sound. The other Lupe (at least he thought it was a Lupe; by the way it made so much noise when it moved, it seemed far too large to be a Lupe) sniffed through the tribe, probably looking for food. After a few fruitless minutes, the beast found nothing, and retreated back into the foliage. That's right, he thought, his voice a deadly hiss. Keep away from my pack.

      He thought the monster had gone... until he heard a horrible scream from one of his fellow Lupes.

      Caeson jumped up quickly, running to the scene of the cry. The smell of blood filled his nostrils, and he picked up the pace in a panic. He ran to the scene and barely saw a Lupe, lying in the grass, through the darkness. Three other Lupes were crowded around him, and Caeson barked out orders. "Get a healer! Someone! Give him some air, for Fyora's sake!"

      The other two Lupes backed up while the third ran to find a healer. Caeson bent over the wounded pet, examining his wound. To his dismay, it was very deep and long, running down the Lupe's shoulder and leg. "I think he'll be okay," Caeson muttered, but the frustration was obvious in his voice. "But he'll have to stay and wait with the pups while we go hunting, I don't think that leg will ever heal completely..." He turned to see a healer running toward them and began to back away when something caught his eye.

      A large bite was imprinted on the Lupe's foot. It had broken the skin, but it wasn't bleeding much... what made Caeson nervous was the size of the bite. It easily made a Lupe's muzzle look like a joke. The nurse told them to leave; the Lupe would be attended to. Caeson left back to his sleeping area, but he kept his eyes open. Who knew if that... thing would strike again?

     ~*~

      The Lupe, a brown one by the name of Uye, had just barely survived the attack. Every Lupe was kept on his or her toes, constantly checking over their shoulders to see if they'd be the next one attacked. Caeson always kept his nose on the alert, in case he recognized the scent again. In a way, he hoped he would find the culprit, but when he thought back to the size of the monster and the size of the bite, his courage seemed to douse itself.

      Things went normally for about a month before the nights became restless again. Uye was found missing a few nights, but when Caeson went to look for him, he wound up fruitless on every occasion. He supposed that Uye was just getting over the shock of the attack, but his wounds were still terrible, and the chance that he'd be attacked again was big.

      Caeson padded silently through the forest in search of Uye. He didn't need to look hard; the moon was full overhead. As he walked through the forest, a feeling of danger overtook him. The Lupe grabbed at the Shade Flame magic quickly on instinct, but his mind forced it down. You don't need stupid magic, he told himself firmly. It would only prove that he was weak, and that was the last thing he wanted.

      Something leapt out of the bushes with great speed, which surprised Caeson due to it's obvious girth. The Moonlight Lupe flew up just in time to avoid being raked by the monster's claws. The same scent came to his nostrils... but this was a little different. It was... farmiliar. The monster jumped up into the air, bringing its claws down on Caeson's wing. The thin membrane was pierced and Caeson howled in pain, crippled for flight. He lagged down into the monster's flailing claws.

      Use your magic!

      No!

      It's the only way you'll live!

      But...

      Just use it!

      Caeson gave in and sent a twister of fire spiralling down at the beast. The monster howled in agony, and the light of the fire gave Caeson a chance to see it's face. It was a monstrous version of a Lupe, multiplied in size at least twice. He breathed in the scent constantly, trying to decipher it, and the shock hit him like a thunderclap.

      "Uye?"

      The monster hesitated, looking at him. Then it lunged again, with absoloutly no recollection of what he had just said. "Uye!" Caeson cried, desperate. "Stop it! Now!"

      His only answer was sharp teeth sinking violently into his leg. Caeson cried out in pain, falling back, with only a pleading look in his eyes to stop the monster's charge. "Please..." he whispered, coughing. The monster leered toward him, claws out...

      The light from the full moon was suddenly doused by thick clouds. Uye hesitated, shuddering, and a terrified look came to his face. "Caeson!" he rasped. "Get away!" Caeson stared at him, stupefied. "Run!" Uye snapped.

      "What... what... what...?" Caeson sputtered. Uye looked up to the clouds nervously. "I can't control myself under the light of the full moon," he rasped as quickly as possible. "That thing that attacked me that night... a Werelupe." He kept glancing up in the air as Caeson watched him in horror. "I'll attack you... if I can get you, I'll kill you!" he hissed. "Get away!"

      The firmness in his voice forced Caeson to turn tail and leave. As he ran, the Lupe felt a pain in his paw. He'd only just heard of Werelupes, so the bite that had broken the skin meant nothing as he dashed in the direction of the camp, to warn the others to stay on their guard...

      It might've just been the wounds he had obtained, but something in the pit of Caeson's stomach told him... that something would turn out terribly wrong due to the results of this battle.

      And, even though he didn't know it, Caeson was completely right.

The End

Author's Note: Yay, I finally got around to doing the sequel! ^^ I'll do Caeson's story as a pastime, maybe just a few more... yeah.