Raven Wolf - 02 - The Oracle - Chapter 08 by Kurapika < Submission

Keywords male 1114633, female 1004455, fox 232757, cat 199436, wolf 182110, feline 139132, mouse 50244, skunk 31733, vixen 27216, jackal 10989, series 4425, novel 1212, chapter 513, raven wolf 329

Chapter Eight

Shiya enters a building where several old wolves are gathered, they stopping their talking once they see him, all turning towards him and staring at him. Shiya sighs as he steps forward sitting down in front of them and holding his hands upon his lap. “You wished to see me?”

The old wolf at the center of the group nods his head, the people within this building the elders of Shiya’s tribe, with this one being their leader. “Ah Shiya, it is good to see you have returned safely.” He frowns at him. “Especially after I told you not to leave the village.”

Shiya frowns, Kit had gone missing and he couldn’t just leave him on his own in the wild. “Who knows what would have happened to the boy if I had not gone?”

“You could have easily sent someone else, it did not have to be you.”

Shiya argues back. “He became lost because he had followed me. It was my fault, it was my responsibility to get him back. Besides Chogan, I was able to find Iuana and Yula and bring them back safely as well.”

The elders all begins to speak among the other, all of them shocked to hear this, Chogan raising his hand to them and quieting them, he waiting for absolute silence before speaking to Shiya again. “So then it is true, you have found and brought home the Oracle.”

Shiya nods his head. “Yes.”

The elders begin to speak to one another once more, Chogan frowning as he looks back to Shiya. “Well that is of course good news, but what of the other problems you have brought to the village? The outsiders you have let inside and the enemy that you have lead to our border?”

Shiya begins to explain. “Teddy and Eve helped both my daughter and son escape the hands of the military, they are more than welcome within my village.” He lowers his gaze to the ground, Zack and Dolly’s presence indeed bad. “As for the two that have followed us... it will not be long until they return and tell the military of our location. We need to leave, and rebuild the village elsewhere.”

None of the elders look happy to hear this information, Chogan explaining to Shiya what the others clearly thought. “We are not leaving. We have been driven from our homes once already, it will not happen again.”

Shiya tries to convince the elders that this was necessary. “But we can’t stay here! As soon as they return our enemy will come at us relentlessly! We will not survive unless we leave this place!”

Chogan opinion does not change. “Best for you to prevent that from happening then.”

Shiya shakes his head as he tries to get them to change their mind. “Please, the quicker we move the safer we will be.”

Chogan lets out a growl as he raises his voice, his and the others mind set. “You have two options Shiya, get rid of the two that have followed you here, or use your strength to defend the village.”

Shiya tries to argue back, Chogan raising his voice and not allowing him to speak. “It is true that you are our leader Shiya, but your time as such has been long, much longer than anyone else to have the task. You have long outlived the position and your decisions can no longer NOT be questioned.”

He begins to explain, this matter something that had been well thought out among the console of elders. “How long has it been since your people have been cursed? How long have you been asking your people to ignore the requests the spirits have made? Of the years you have lead us you have done nothing to end this curse, you have only prolonged your people’s suffering.”

Shiya is genuinely outraged by this accusation. “How can you say that I have done nothing? How many of the domestics right now side with my ideals and help me by keeping us hidden or promoting the message of peace between us? Do you know how close I was to achieving an agreement that would promote peace between the domestics and our people?”

Chogan shakes his head. “Do you mean the agreement that turned out to be a trap?”

Shiya frowns at the reminder. “It was a step back I admit, but it was not the plot of all the domestics, it was the military!”

Chogan gives a loud sigh. “That’s enough. Shiya, please think this situation over carefully. Step down with dignity and let another lead our people, or be forced from your position with disgrace.”

*******

Teddy is sleeping soundly in Achak’s hut, Yula smiling as he looks over some clothes that Achak had handed to him. “I really get to wear this?”

Achak nods his head yes as he looks up from looking over two jars he had right now been trying to tell apart, the two contents looking very similar to the other. “The robes of an oracle, of course you can wear them. What a silly question to ask.”

He puts the two jars down as he approaches Yula. “Being an oracle is really very easy, hardly anything to it. Now, what do you know about being an oracle?”

Yula smiles at him. “I know that sometimes I see visions in my dreams, and then I’m supposed to tell those dreams I have to Shiya right?”

One of Achak’s ears turn to the side. “Well... that’s the basics anyway... there’s a little more to it than that.”

Yula seems surprised. “Really?”

Achak nods his head. “Yes, you see. There are three types of visions you can see, a vision of the future, and a vision of the present, and a vision of the past.”

Yula thinks it over. “I didn’t really know there was a difference.”

Achak smiles at him. “Ah but there is, you see, these visions present themselves to you for a reason, these are not random, nor are they meaningless, each vision you see comes to you for a reason. Learning if this vision is of the past, present or future is one of your first steps, once you realize which one it is you can work toward finding its meaning.”

Yula already seems confused. “How can you tell the difference?”

Achak takes three small rocks placing them down in front of Yula, he pointing one out for him. “A vision of the future, those are the easiest to distinguish. You will never be given a whole setting, nor will you be able to see everything. Like the fog you traveled through when coming here everything that is unimportant for you to see will be hidden, only things that you must know of will be seen. Because of this visions of the future of often vague and don’t make sense to those that would heard them. It is your job to figure out what that meaning is.”

Yula frowns not sure about that. “But... how do I find meaning in something that makes no sense?”

Achak looks back to him. “The task is just as difficult as it sounds, but that is one of your tasks as an oracle, having the vision is only the first step, making sense of it so that it will be of use or understood is the next.”

Achak holds up the rock he had pointed out to Yula to represent visions of the future. “The most important thing about a vision from the future, they are always warnings! That is why it is so important for you to interpret them.”

Achak puts the rock back down, he now picking up a second. “Visions of the present are much easier for you to deal with. Everything is as clear as day in them, every sound can be heard, every person can be seen, every detail on the ground or in the sky will all be there. It will be as if you are actually there. These visions present themselves because something important that must be seen is happening, a witness to an event if you will. You need not do much with these, merely explain what it was you saw, as much as you can remember. Much less work then visions of the future.”

Achak puts that rock down as well, he picking up the last one. “The last type of vision you will have is a vision from the past, they are easy to tell if it is something from your own past, it will be in your memory, but if it a vision of someone else’s past and not your own it may be hard for you to label it as a vision of the past at first. There are several key things to watch out for in a vision from the past. The easiest way to tell if your experiencing a vision is of something that happened in the past is that everything is backwards, like a reflection. Words, numbers, everything, it’s all the opposite of what it should be.” He looks back to Yula. “Now, a vision from the past is handled differently than other visions, they could be anything from warnings to realizations, whatever the reason is it a message, and important message that must be understood, if you do not figure it out the first time a vision of the past will haunt you until you find its meaning.”

Yula frowns, his ears falling back against his head as he sadly looks to the ground. “Like the dream I have every night of my mom dying...”

Achak puts moves his face closer to Yula’s. “You have such a terrible vision every night?”

Yula nods his head yes. “I never thought it was a vision... I was always told by the scientists that it was a traumatic memory from something I saw when I was a kid...”

Achak pulls back from Yula placing his hand upon his chin as he thought the situation over. “Well you have to find the meaning in it, you must or it will never leave.”

Yula sighs to himself. “I can never remember it though, as soon as I wake I can’t recall it for the life of me, all I remember is the fact that my mom died.”

Achak looks back to him. “Were you woken before the vision could finish? If you are woken before the vision ends then it will leave you.”

Yula things back nodding his head. “Yeah... I guess that could be the reason... but just before coming here I was able to sleep without getting woken up, but I still can’t remember it.”

Achak frowns this not good, this meaning that Yula was getting so used to forgetting this vision when getting it that he was blacking it out when he did see it. “Well you need to remember it.” He holds out the rock that he was using to represent the past for Yula to see. “If you don’t find the message in this vision it will not stop showing itself to you.”

Yula pushes the rock out of his face. “But what if it’s not actually a vision and it’s exactly what the men at the lab said it was?”

Achak thinks this point over. “Well... I suppose we would want to figure that out, if you want my opinion though it’s a vision. You are the oracle after all, what else could it possibly be?”

*******

Lumia sighs to herself, her appearance once again hidden by layers and layers of clothing, it completely dark by the time she had managed to reach the town, there no one around no matter where she looked. “Oh just great...” She sighs to herself, it looking as if she would be stuck sleeping outside once again. “Here I thought I would finally get a nice bed to sleep in... it’s felt like so long.”

She takes her seat on the ground, the electronic voice that accompanied her speaking up. “-oh dear... we’ve got big trouble-”

Lumia looks back to the computer that fitting around her arm. “Oh what now?”

“-The military’s found you!-”

Lumia lets out a panicked gasp as she jumps to her feet quickly looking around her. “What!? Where!? Why didn’t you warn me earlier!?”

“-No, no Lumia, they’re not here. I mean they found your file! They were digging into the backgrounds of Eve and Teddy and they found you!-”

Lumia lets out a relived sigh, though that was bad news indeed it was at least better than being surrounded by the military. “Geeze dad don’t give me a heart attack like that...” She frowns as she thinks the situation over. “Wait, how did they find out about me!? I thought that you were supposed to be taking care of that! What did you do wrong?”

“-Well... they forced their way through my defences...-”

Lumia seems confused, something like that only meaning one thing. “They have a hacker that can do that? That’s impossible, no way someone in the domestic military can do something like that.”

“-That’s what I thought too, it should be impossible, but they got through-”

Lumia seems confused. “But... how...?” This news was bad, if the military indeed had her files then she was in danger.

*******

A printer finishes printing out the information that had been sent to it, a military officer taking the paper and handing it to General Mort, the large jackal looking through the papers over that he had received. “This is the hacker that has been causing us so much trouble?”

A white rat in a white lab coat approaches him. “No doubt about it, Sixty-six would not be wrong.” He looks back to a black cat that was right now working at the computer, his fingers moving quickly as windows of information began to pop up one after the other.

The black cat abruptly stops his work, he looking back to the scientist that had spoken up. “Vann Berights... the name the military gave me is Vann Berights.”

General Mort looks back down at the papers he held, the image of a young girl on one of them, she looking strange her skin bare of fur. “Are you sure little girl is the one?”

Vann nods his head yes. “She fits the profile that Magellan told us to look out for. Someone associated with someone in the group you’re right now chasing, specifically a young girl that is good with computers.” He looks back to him. “Look at her, she’s not a domestic nor a wild, she’s a True Blood, and not just any True Blood, the daughter of one of their most brilliant scientists. Who else could have hacked into your system so easily?”

General Mort does not look pleased. “So than, it more than rival domestic countries we have to race against it’s the True Blood’s too.” He looks to a soldier near him. “Contact Magellan and Conner! Remind them of how important it is that we apprehend the white wolf that leads Raven Wolf as soon as possible.”

*******

Shiya paces back and forth in front of the hut that belonged to the tribe’s chieftain and his family, he turning toward the entrance but hesitating from entering his own home, Shiya turning away and resuming his pacing, he now beginning to mumble to himself picturing himself in a conversation with his daughter. “Iuana... my time as Raven Wolf’s leader is coming to an end, I need you to receive a suitor so that he- and you, can replace me and lead our people.” He frowns to himself, that sounding too much like an order, even if it was Iuana’s responsibility he shouldn’t just command her to do it.

He shakes his head rethinking his approach. “Iuana, I have good news! You’re going to get married! Sure your suitor has not been found yet but when we find him he will defiantly be someone strong.” He sighs that sounding even worse, that sounding like she had no choice or control over the situation.

Shiya grumbles to himself as he continues his pacing trying to think of something else. “Iuana... a competition to find your suitor will be held, that means you’re going to get a husband! You don’t even have to look for one!” He lets out a growl of disappointment, that sounding like a joke. “I think I’m just getting worse and worse the more that I think about it...”

“Father?”

Shiya jumps in surprise as he quickly turns in the direction that Iuana’s voice had come from, he shocked to find her and Kitchi outside near him, he pointing toward the hut he had been pacing in front of. “I thought you were inside already.”

Iuana shakes her head, having been taking a walk to help cool her head. “No, I needed some time to think some things over.”

Kitchi speaks up. “She was complaining about Tahki the whole time.”

Iuana stomps down on Kitchi’s foot, he letting out a yelp as he jumps back from her, Iuana looking back to her father. “I’m here now, were you looking for me?”

Shiya sighs to himself as he takes Iuana hand leading her with him. “Yes... it’s important...” He looks over to Kitchi who was still tending to his sore foot. “Kitchi if you would excuse us.”

Kitchi looks back to him. “Oh... sure...” He watches as Iuana and Shiya leave to talk in privet, he looking around him to see if anyone was paying attention to him before quietly creeping toward the hut keeping close to it to hear the conversation that was going on.

Iuana is seated down inside of the chieftains hut, Shiya sitting across from her, he taking the large headdress that would hide his appearance from others as he spoke to her. “Iuana... I need to talk to you about something.”

Iuana smiles at him as she lets out a sigh slightly shaking her head. “My suitor right?”

Shiya stares at her, he feeling slightly embarrassed. “You heard me talking to myself didn’t you?”

Iuana shakes her head no. “This isn’t the first time you’ve had to talk to me about it. You always get so nervous when you have to, judging from how you look now that’s what you need to talk to me about.”

Shiya lets out a relived sight, he relived that Iuana had not over heard his terrible attempts at trying out this conversation between them. “Right... about it... I think it’s time that we find you one.”

Iuana frowns at the idea. “I have no intention of taking over just yet. Father you are still our leader, and though others may not see you as the great leader you are I do. You are not ready to step down yet.”

Shiya shakes his head. “Please Iuana... if you do not take my place then the elders will find someone else to. If I wish for my attempts at peace to continue once I am stripped of my title I need someone whom I can trust to follow in my footsteps.”

Iuana does not look happy with the information. “The elders need to stay quiet and out of your affairs, father I couldn’t possibly do everything that is it you do!”

Shiya argues back with her. “Iuana, I don’t have a choice, either I step down and have you and your suitor take my place or I will be forced to step down, and someone else will be given your birthright to the leader of our tribe. Please, do not make me force this upon you as it has been forced upon me.”

Iuana frowns obviously unhappy with the idea, she thinking the situation over for a moment before looking back to her father. “Alright... in six months time I will allow the suitors to present themselves, and through ritual one will be chosen to take my hand.”

Shiya looks a little upset, though considered a long time it felt short for a father who would be giving he daughter to someone to be married. “Six months... that’s it?”

Iuana laughs as his reaction. “Father please... you know that I cannot make it any longer than that.”

*******

Kitchi is now in a hut that the warriors of Raven Wolf are now gathered in as they ate, Eve there as well now dressed in clean clothes that were similar to what the other members of the tribe would wear. Kit sitting next to her as he eats as much as he possibly can, there looking to be no end to how much he could fit in his stomach.

Kitchi sits crouched at the fire Eleven, Tahki and Hasson all sat at as he spoke. “In six months they’re going to hold the trials to find Iuana a suitor.”

Eleven looks back to him. “Are you sure... Iuana never seemed interested in the idea of taking her father’s place before.”

Kitchi nods his head, that indeed the situation. “The elders are putting a lot of pressure on Shiya, if Iuana doesn’t find someone and take his place then they will find someone to replace him and his family as our leaders.”

Tahki does not seem happy. “Shiya is a good leader, there’s no need to replace him! The elders are making a big mistake in pushing him from his position like this.”

Eleven seems concerned with Iuana’s situation. “But... who do you think the poor girl will end up with?”

Tahki shrugs her shoulders, it really could be anybody at this point. “When the chieftains of the wild tribes gather Shiya will have to announce that he will be choosing a suitor of Iuana, though wilds shy away at the title of a cursed tribe at first their minds will quickly be changed when the idea of great power and long life is realized, and of course let’s not forget how beautiful Iuana is, what man could possibly turn down an offer like that? Tribes from all over the country will be throwing the best that their tribe has to offer in front of Iuana.”

Eleven looks back to Tahki. “But why risk doing this? Our tribe is a high profile target to the military right now, if they catch wind of this then who’s to stop them from interfering, attacking or even using it to their advantage?”

Tahki looks over to Eleven. “It’s tradition... you know how set wilds are on tradition, especially wolves.” She gives a bitter frown. “I’m not looking forward to it, someone from outside of our tribe taking roll as our leader, it’s true that Iuana will still be our leader as well but bringing in someone from the outside is just going to cause trouble for us. Our situation is already complicated as it is you know.”

Hasson thinks of a solution to this. “What if she is to marry someone that is already in Raven Wolf, then you will not have to worry about an outsider complicating things.” He takes his hand grabbing onto Kitchi and pulling him towards as he locks him in place with his bicep. “Perhaps one of my sons could fill the task.”

Kitchi looks up to his dad that not at all thrilling for him to hear. “Dad no!”

Hasson looks down to Kitchi not seeing the problem his son did, he still holding his son in a headlock as he spoke. “Why not? The two of you get along so well and are already spending countless hours together.”

Kitchi growls as he tries to pull from his dad’s grip. “Iuana and I are best friends! I can’t marry her we don’t like each other like that!” He manages to pull away from his dad, falling back and tumbling to the ground behind him. “Beside she’s got to be like… a hundred years older than me at the least!”

Tahki sighs as she watches Kitchi pick himself up from the ground. “Kitchi is far from a skilled warrior... he’s still in training. He would never last the first round.”

Hasson speaks up again. “What about my other son, Maigan? He is a warrior and one of your best.”

Kitchi walks back up to his dad’s side that not going to work either. “Dad Iuana hates Maigan... more than she hates Tahki. Iuana would rather die than have to marry him.”

Kit looks up to Eve he confused by the discussion the others were having. “What are they talking about? I know all about marriage and all that, but what does that have to do with warriors?”

Eve looks back to Kit, this something she actually knew about concerning the traditions of the wilds. “Only the strongest are appointed to be leaders, when the second in line must marry their suitor must be the best that can possibly be offered. All potential suitors will gather at a designated time and show to the current tribe leader their power by fighting one another, the one to best all of his opponents will be the one to marry the second in line.”

Kit looks amazed by this information. “Wow! Just like a fighting game or something!! Whatever character is top tier gets the princess!!”

Eve stares at him, not actually sure of the reference Kit had given to her, but going with it. “I... suppose...”

Kit begins shovelling more food into his mouth. “We should defiantly tell Teddy about this. He’ll probably be really upset if he misses out. He really likes Iuana you know.”

Eve chuckles at the though. “As much as he likes Iuana, I don’t think Teddy would be caught dead doing something as traditional as this. He’s trying hard to be a domestic remember? Something like this will only make him out to be the wild that he is.”

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Raven Wolf - 02 - The Oracle - Chapter 08

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