Raven Wolf - 01 - The Wilds - Chapter 10 by Kurapika < Submission

Keywords male 1174006, female 1064306, fox 244331, wolf 190550, raccoon 36037, vixen 28254, catgirl 8502, wolves 4927, raven wolf 329

Raven Wolf - Book 01 - The Wilds
Chapter Ten

The group has stopped to rest for the night, Yula whimpering to himself as he sits on the ground with an uncomfortable look on his face.

Eve walks over to him beginning to question him. “Yula, are you alright? You’re not too sore from all the traveling are you?”

Yula looks up to her. “Umm… yeah… it is tiring and my body hurts all over… but right now there’s another issue that is right now bothering me…”

“What is it?”

Yula seems nervous. “Well… I… umm… I have to go to the bathroom… I’ve had to go all day… but there’s nowhere for me to go…”

Eve frowns, getting up and turning towards Teddy. “Mr. Conner, I’ll have you deal with this issue.”

Teddy walks up to Yula while Eve leaves, he looking down at him. “What’s the problem?”

Yula looks up to him as he begins to explain. “I have to go to the bathroom really bad… I can’t hold it in for much longer… I’ve tried to hold out until we found a bathroom but we haven’t come across one all day.”

Teddy looks taken aback by the information. “Really? Yula there are no bathrooms on this journey.”

Yula is horrified by the information. “But… it’s going to take days to reach the place Iuana is trying to reach, I can’t last that long there’s no way.”

Teddy sighs as he pulls Yula to his feet. “Alright Yula, if there’s one thing you need to know about traveling it’s that you’re not going to find any conveniences like a rest stop very often. You’re just going to have to go outside.”

Yula looks horrified. “You don’t expect me to go outside in the open with no walls to hide me do you!?”

Eve watches as Teddy pulls Yula away from where the group would be spending the night. She looking over to Iuana, who had gathered several things upon her journey and is now crafting them into a spear for her to use. “What’s the matter, the gun you have isn’t good enough for you?”

Iuana looks back to her. “I prefer a weapon I’m more familiar with.” She takes the gun that she had taken from Teddy from her side looking it over. “Besides, from what I understand this can only be used a limited number of times before it becomes useless.”

Eve sighs to herself. “Yeah I guess if you don’t have any bullets to refill it with it does become useless once you run out.”

Iuana looks away from the weapon she had just crafted and up to the darkening sky. “Tell me… you are a scholar right? Yula said that you were very wise.”

Eve scratches the back of her ears a little nervous by the question. “Yula said something like that about me…? Well… yeah I guess you could say that, my family runs a museum and since I was a little girl I’ve always been interested in everything in it. My specialty is extinct cultures and races, and it was for that reason I was put on subject- I mean… Yula’s team of scientists.”

Iuana looks down to the ground. “I see, perhaps you might know then of what it was the people that held me captive wanted from me.” She looks back to Eve. “Do you know of a place called “The Eden of North?”

Eve places her hand upon her chin thinking that question over, though she had no answer right off the bat she was certain that she had heard that name before. “I think so… that name is familiar, though I can’t really place it off the top of my head. I think that is the name of some ruins found in the northern tundra… if I’m not mistaken I think it was said to have once been a city. Am I right?”

Iuana lowers her gaze. “I do not know…I have not heard of such a place until recently. The men that held me captive… they kept asking me about it, about something they had found within this place, but I knew not of what they spoke of.” She swings the spear that she had just finished making before placing it on the ground beside her. “I will have to ask my father about it when I return home… perhaps he would know more about this.”

Eve continues to think the question over. “The Eden of the North…” Her ears perk up, she now remembering where she had heard that name before.

An elder fox who used a cane to help him walk enters the room, he grinning at the both of them. “Good morning Eve! Good morning Fitz! It’s good to see the two of you already greeting one another.”

Eve turns to her father with a smile. “Yes father! I was just telling Fitz about how great it is to have him back here!”

Fitz nods his head agreeing. “And I was telling Eve that I missed her the whole time I was gone. The Eden of North is a historic and interesting place filled with great treasures, but was nothing compared to seeing her smiling face.”

Eve looks back to Iuana. “Fitz was there! He was on an expedition there to bring back some artefacts to the museum!”

Iuana seems a little confused. “Fitz…? Who is that…?”

Eve tries to explain. “He’s my father’s precious protégée. He works at my dad’s museum. If anyone would know about that place he would.” She sighs to herself. “But… I have no idea of how to contact him… I have no phone or anything on me right now. Oh I should have asked him about his trip there! He’s been back home for two whole weeks! But he’s such a jerk that I can’t stand talking to him!”

Yula walks back to the group, letting out a tired sigh as he flops down onto the ground next to them, Eve looking over to him. “Are you feeling better now Yula?”

Yula nods his head yes. “Yeah… though my whole body is still tired and sore from all the walking…”

Iuana frowns as she looks over to Yula. “This scholar woman is handling the traveling better than you! Do you know how pitiful that is? You’re a wild you know! The blood of the chieftain of Raven Wolf runs in your veins!”

Yula frowns back at her. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it, it’s not like I want to feel this tired and sore. I’m just not used to stuff like this…” He looks over to Teddy beginning to question him. “Do you really think the army is still after us…?”

Teddy looks away from Yula and to his surroundings, there had been absolutely no signs of military pursuit that was true, which was strange seeing as how important Yula was to them. He couldn’t figure it out. “I don’t know anymore… in regards to all things logical they should be tailing us, and by now even caught up with us since we’re traveling on foot and they have military vehicles at their disposal…. But they haven’t shown themselves yet… I just don’t get it…”

Yula grumbles to himself. “Man I’m hungry… I haven’t eaten anything all day…”

Iuana sighs to herself, she having been so occupied with their current situation that she had completely forgotten about food. She gets to her feet walking over to Teddy. “Come with me, we are going to get food.”

Teddy looks confused. “Are you sure you want to leave these two alone? What if the military decides to show up?”

Iuana looks back to the others. “We will not go far.”

“We’ll never catch anything if we don’t go far… no animal is stupid enough to wander close to a camp.”

“Just come with me!”

Eve and Yula watch Iuana and Teddy leave, Yula looking back to Eve wagging his tail happily. “Food! I can’t wait! I haven’t seen any places to eat while traveling either! How long do you think it will take them to find a restaurant or a vending machine?”

Eve lets out a long and heavy sigh. “Are you kidding me…?”

Yula seems confused by her reaction. “What?”

*******

Iuana and Teddy come to stop once Iuana feels that she is far enough from the camp. Teddy looking around him confused. “What are we stopping here for, there’s nothing to hunt as far as the eye can see.”

Iuana folds her arms in front of her bowing her head. “I cannot hunt.”

Teddy seems shocked by this information. “What?? How could you not know how? You seem the type that could handle something like that without any problem at all.”

Iuana frowns at the comment. “It’s not on issue on if I’m capable of killing something to eat, I cannot hunt! No one in my pack can. It is part of the curse that has been placed upon our people, we have been removed from life’s great circle. We cannot kill to feed, but are free to kill one another or our enemy, as such conflict is not a part of the great circle.”

Teddy watches her. “Ok then… that’s some twisted logic… usually that whole matter is the other way around right? My parents were always going on, “You can’t kill your brethren and you must not kill animals needlessly, you must only kill what you need to survive, such is the will of life’s great circle.”

“How many times do I have to say it? My tribe is cursed! Removed from that circle. We cannot hunt nor even grow crops of our own to feed off of.”

Teddy shakes his head, that taking everything pretty far. “You and your people really take this whole curse stuff seriously don’t you? Ok… so if you can’t hunt or even grow your own food… how exactly do you eat?”

Iuana stands her ground, her eyes still closed and hands folded in front of her. “Like a mother taking care of her young pups the wolf spirit provides to us the nourishment we need to survive.”

Teddy nods his head, he now seeing what was going on. “So instead of hunting… you’re standing here and praying that the wolf spirit will feed you?” He sighs to himself. “Yeah... that’s something I can see my own parents doing if they thought they were cursed in such a way too…”

Iuana glances back at him for a moment. “Then your parents are wise.”

Teddy shakes his head no. “No… not wise… embarrassing.” He stops talking when some movement in the long grass catches his eye, a lone wild animal approaching them, it walking on all fours as it approached Iuana holding a dead rabbit tightly within its jaws, the animal letting out a growl as it places its kill at Iuana’s feet and then turns running away, disappearing in the tall grass once more.

Iuana bows her head respectfully. “Thank you for your gift.” She kneels down picking up the dead rabbit, turning back towards where they had left the others and heading back.

Teddy stands on spot for a moment longer. “What just… ok…” He runs after Iuana catching up to her. “So wait… if that’s all you had to do to get something to eat, then why bring me along?”

Iuana looks back to him, the reason for that simple. “I am uncomfortable with confronting the spirits on my own… as much as my father tells me that the spirits only wish to help and guide us I cannot believe him! It was those same spirits that are supposed to help us that cursed me and my people. Every time they show themselves to me my body cannot help but tremble… if I were to face them alone… I would be too terrified to act or move.”

Teddy remains silent, his parents and even his sister were always saying the same thing, that the spirits existed to show guidance and grant wisdom, for those that he knew that believed these spirits were real they would never show any hint of fear towards them. Iuana had to be the first one he had ever seen that acted in such a way towards the spirits.

Iuana and Teddy return to the others, Iuana holding up the dead animal she had brought back with her. “It isn’t much, but it will do.”

Eve looks impressed. “It didn’t take you two very long at all.”

Yula looks at the dead rabbit confused. “Is that supposed to be food…? Why does it have so much fur on it…? And where is its packaging?”

Eve sighs as she looks back to Yula. “Seriously…?”

*******

The sun rises early the next day, Yula kneeling next to a river that the group camped by, he staring at a fish that was swimming in the water, reaching into the water to grab onto it, the fish swimming away, Yula leaping after it again to try and catch it, a huge splash of water rising and drenching Teddy who also sat near the river.

Teddy frowns as he looks back over to Yula. “Hey stop that! You’re going to scare all the fish away before I even get a chance to catch anything.”

Yula’s head pops out of the water, he letting out a big gasp of air and pulling himself from the river. “You know I think you’re right about the members of Raven Wolf being cursed! I can’t catch a single thing.”

Teddy looks back to him. “It’s nothing to do with a curse, you just have no idea of what you’re doing!”

Yula looks back to Teddy. “You really think so?” He glances back at the water, he leaping at another fish when he sees it, managing to flip himself over backwards from his oddly positioned lung and land in the water with a splash.

Teddy lets out a tired side. “Yeah… I’m positive.”

Yula pulls himself from the water again, shaking his body in an attempt to get the water off of his fur. “You don’t really believe that there’s a curse do you?”

Teddy shakes his head no. “Of course not, and I can’t say I really believe in spirits either. I think Iuana is perfectly capable of hunting down food to survive, but just doesn’t because she afraid of what will happen to her if she breaks the rules set by these none existent spirits.”

Yula looks confused. “Iuana is afraid of them?”

Teddy nods his head yes. “Which is why I’m getting us something to eat, she’s not allowed to hunt for herself and has to ask the spirits every time she wants to eat, but she’s afraid of them, so the less she had to confront them the better.”

A confused look fills Yula’s face. “I thought you said that the spirits didn’t exist.”

Teddy sighs, he trying to explain himself. “They don’t really, but in Iuana’s mind they do.”

Yula thinks over what Teddy is saying. “So… you’re telling me that Iuana is afraid of something that doesn’t really exist?”

Teddy nods his head yes. “Yeah, pretty silly isn’t it?”

Yula looks to the side. “Yeah… that does sound silly, but Iuana seems like such a smart, strong and beautiful girl, it’s hard to believe that something that’s not even real could frighten her.”

Teddy smiles at the comment. “Yeah she is all those things isn’t she? I’m just as surprised as you are that she’s scared in the way that she is.”

Teddy gets up to his feet, walking to the river and kneeling down next to it, grabbing onto and pulling out a net that he had placed in the water earlier, Yula smiling when he sees several fish caught it in. “Wow that’s great! You managed to get a lot just with that rope! Breakfast is going to be wonderful!”

Teddy looks back to Yula. “We’re not going to be eating them all at once.”

Yula is disappointed by that information. “Why not?”

Teddy begins to explain. “Well we need to eat throughout the day, you don’t want to go a whole day without eating again do you?”

Yula lets out a sigh. “So we have to eat fish all day…? What if we feel like eating something else?”

Teddy begins walking back to camp. “We don’t really have that luxury, so we’ve got to make do with what we get.”

Yula follows Teddy back to the others. “I really miss having a cafeteria nearby.”

*******

Iuana opens her eyes, the smell of cooking fish waking her up. She pushing herself up and looking towards a small fire that held several fish over it, Yula staring at them impatiently as he looks over to Teddy, questioning for what must have been the hundredth time if they were done cooking yet.

Iuana gets to her feet walking over to Yula and Teddy. “What is this?”

Yula looks up to Iuana with a smile. “Teddy went and caught us some food to eat! Isn’t he nice?”

Teddy looks over to Iuana. “You are able to eat food of its hunted or caught by other people and given to you right? Or is that against the rules too?”

Iuana sits down next to the fire. “No… that’s fine.” She looks back to Teddy a little surprised. “I did not know that you knew how to hunt.”

Teddy nods his head. “It’s part of basic survival training, I may have been raised as a domestic, but unlike Yula I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself out here.”

Yula frowns at the comment. “Hey! Don’t say stuff like that! You’re supposed to be a nice guy!” He looks to the side, even if it was something he didn’t like hearing it was without a doubt the truth, even he knew this. “Though… I guess you do have a point.” He smiles widely as Teddy hands him one of the fishes that had been cooking, Yula taking it from him and happily beginning to eat it.

Teddy hands one to Iuana, she taking it from him as she too begins to eat, Teddy looking back to Eve who was still asleep. “Hey Eve time to get up, you want to eat before we start walking again don’t you?”

Eve lets out a grumble as she reluctantly wakes up, getting to her feet and stumbling over to the fire to eat.

Yula looks up from his food and over to Iuana. “So… what’s your home like anyway? You’re working really hard to get back to it, so it must be a really great place right?”

Iuana looks back to him not sure how to explain it. “Well… its home… it’s where my father and everyone I grew up with live. It houses all the people whom I greatly cherish.”

Yula continues to question her about it, excited to see this place. “Does it have really tall buildings that touch the sky!? Cars and busses that take you anywhere you want to go? Huge markets where you can buy anything you want!? Cause the city we came from had all of that stuff!! I hear about them all the time but aside from the huge buildings I’ve never gotten to see any of that, and I really want to see it all.”

Iuana shakes her head no. “No… we have nothing of that sort there…”

Yula seems disappointed. “Oh… well then what does it have to make it so great then?”

Iuana looks back to him. “I explained didn’t I? My father and my people are there. Nothing else is needed to make my home wonderful.”

Yula doesn’t look to understand. “I don’t know… no buildings that touch the sky or anything… it sounds kind of dull…”

Teddy looks over to Yula. “You’ve been locked up in a room pretty much your whole life, nothing can possibly be more dull than that!”

Yula looks back over to Eve. “I guess you’re right about that…”

Iuana gets to her feet. “I promise, it may not be much to look at, but it is still a wonderful place.”

Eve lets out a tired sigh, she hardly hungry at all right now. “Eden of North… Eden of North… there’s got to be something I can recall on that… I mean I specialize in extinct civilizations… if that place is now a ruin then it without a doubt ties in with my expertise! If only I could remember… there’s just so many cities that have been lost over time… it’s not like I have a small list to think through…”

Teddy puts the fire out as he begins to pack up and prepare to leave. “You can think about it as we’re moving, I’m sure it will come to you.”

*******

Lumia sighs to herself as she taps her finger against the computer on her arm, the battery having died on it during the night. “Great... I didn’t know why I didn’t anticipate this happening before leaving the city... I should have brought a solar charger with me. Leave it to me too not think ahead when I REALLY need to.”

She seems disappointed. “Without a working computer dad can’t function either. The nagging I’m not going to miss but it’s still going to be odd not hearing the sound of his voice anymore.”

She reaches into her pocket taking out her cell phone, it dead as well, she no longer able to hear Teddy and the group through it to know their progress or situation. “There’s really no point in trying to follow them anymore... I mean without any of my equipment working I have no idea where they are. Trying is just going to end up getting me lost. I guess my only option is to head back home.”

She sighs as she gets to her feet, turning around to head back in the direction she had come from, she making sure to keep hidden under things that could shelter her, or objects that would blend in with her surroundings, not wanting to be seen from an overhead view.

After a few mins of traveling she spots something in the distance, Lumia quickening her pace as she began to approach it, she had her assumptions on what it was but she had to be certain she was right. She comes to a stop once she is close enough to make it out, ducking out of sight an she looks it over. A small camp belonging to domestic military members of the city she had just come from set up beside a large van, computers and equipment readily being used by a small collection of the soldiers working there.

“Oh no...” A worried expression fills Lumia’s face, a set up like this only meaning one thing. “They’re following Teddy and the others.”

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Raven Wolf - 01 - The Wilds - Chapter 10

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