Raven Wolf - 03 - The Warriors - Chapter 03 by Kurapika < Submission

Keywords male 1173970, female 1064039, fox 244252, wolf 190592, raccoon 36034, skunk 33726, vixen 28247, series 4576, book 4372, novel 1250, chapter 504, raven wolf 329

Chapter Three

Eve and Fitz are right now sitting at a table in a huge office full of files and records. This the room that her father stored all of the information and records of artefacts that had gone in and out of the museum as well as all the paperwork and records for his own and Fitz’s expeditions.

Eve holds a hot mug of coffee in her hands, she taking a big gulp of it and letting out a satisfied sigh. “That really hits the spot!”

Fitz stares at Eve dumbfounded, she having never been able to stand the taste of his coffee for as long as Fitz could remember, he still having a hard time believing that this was actually Eve and starting to think that some evil clone had returned home instead.

Eve puts the mug down taking out a notebook to write in as she looks back to Fitz ready to get started as soon as possible. “Alright then, let’s get started. The Eden of North, what do we know about it?”

Fitz frowns thinking back to that location, it one he had gone too recently on an expedition for artefacts. “It’s cold and full of ice and snow.”

Eve nods her head already aware of that much. “Yes, yes, yes, that much is obvious. You know what I mean, the history and lore of that place, and why the military would be there.”

Fitz thinks back, that last fact indeed being true, when he had gone to the place in question the military had been there, blocking many places off and making his expedition pretty difficult, he having to search for ways to sneak past them if he wanted to find anything that might be interesting. “Well in simple terms, the legend goes that the city created a weapon powerful enough to wipe out entire cities in only a moment, but that the weapon ended up destroying them.” He shrugs his shoulders. “If the military thought that legend might be true it could explain their presence there. Heck even if they didn’t believe that story I can see why they would be there. The technology in that city is absolutely astounding.”

Eve seems confused, advanced technology not something usually associated to ruins that were hundreds of years old. “What do you mean?”

Fitz begins to explain, he had been to all kinds of places and none had been quiet like this, there defiantly a few things that had struck him as strange there. “Those ruins were some of the most advanced that I have ever seen. Usually the most advanced ruins you get are the remnants of the old human cities before the ice age that wiped out the human race. The Eden of North though, even though built by wilds, was more advanced than some of those cities, even more advanced than some current domestic cities.”

Eve seems confused. “How is that possible?”

Fitz shrugs his shoulders he really not sure himself. “I don’t know, but it was.” He gets up from his chair walking over to a filing cabinet and opening it, digging through it for a moment before finding several folders and taking them out. He setting them down in front of him as he takes his seat once again, taking one of the folders and handing it to Eve. “Here, take a look for yourself.”

Eve opens the folder she had been handed, it full of photos that Fitz had taken while he had been at the Eden of North. The very first one being an overhead shot of the ruins, the ruins in fact very large with the buildings in it more city like that anything else. She begins looking through the images, things getting more shocking from there, there signs of devices that ran off a power source, hydraulics, and even computers were there. “What? How is that... are you sure you were in the right place? This is really the Eden of North?”

Fitz nods his head yes. “That’s it all right. What did I tell you? They’re unlike any ruins I’ve ever seen.”

Eve looks back at the pictures, though there were clear signs of technology it was very different from anything they had in their cities, obviously not manufactured in the same place or designed by the same brains. “How odd... I mean... if they were so advanced then how did the city just... well... meet its end?”

“A really bad ice storm I guess, everything there was frozen solid, people, buildings, everything.” He hands her another folder, this one being filled of the buildings and people frozen in the ice.

Eve shakes her head this not making any sense at all. “But... they’re snow wolves... they live in the tundra and were an advanced race. You think they would have been prepared for something like this.”

“It looks to me like they didn’t even know what hit them, it happened too fast for anyone to really react, I mean some of the wolves that are frozen there look to have been going about their daily life completely unaware that everything was about to end, most of them though, look horrified, like they saw what was about to hit them right before it did.”

Eve still seems confused even though she had images that match what Fitz was saying. “That’s impossible, the weather cannot freeze things that quickly.”

She takes a moment to stare at some of the frozen figures, through the ice their features could be seen, they defiantly holding a lot more similarities to Shiya than any of the wild wolves around here. “He really is a snow wolf... he looks just like them.”

Fitz thinks back Eve having said something about this before. “The Shiya person you were talking about before right?”

Eve nods her head. “Yeah that’s right, Shiya, he’s the leader of the Raven Wolf tribe. I’m positive that he’s a snow wolf from the Eden of North.”

Fitz doesn’t seem to think that’s possible, that city and the snow wolves having been destroyed hundreds of years ago. Then again Eve did mention something about him being a few hundred years old though... if someone WAS actually capable of doing that. “You wouldn’t happen to have a picture of this Shiya person would you?”

Eve shakes her head no, she having not had anything capable to taking a photo when she had met him. “Unfortunately no.” She flips to a fresh page in her notebook as she begins sketching a picture onto it. “But I can draw you a picture of him!”

Fitz lets out a sigh as he waits for her to draw a picture, Eve concentrating hard to get the details just right. Before long she rips the page out of the notebook, handing it to Fitz to look at. “There. That’s Shiya.”

Fitz looks from Eve and down to the picture that she had handed to him, it actually more of a scribble, it hard to make anything out at all. “This is supposed to be.... Shiya...?”

Eve nods her head yes. “I know I’m no artist, but you can at least see the snow wolf features I’m talking about right?”

Fitz stares at the picture longer. “I can’t even find his head...”

Eve takes the ‘picture’ from him pointing an area of it out. “Don’t be rude Fitz his head is right there.”

Fitz shakes his head. “I’m sorry but... I don’t think that a drawing is going to work. I need an actual photo.”

Eve holds out one of the photo of the frozen snow wolves that Fitz had given to her. “Well he looks just like this!” She pauses bringing the photo back to her attention. “Hold on a minuet... something’s not right.” She looks at the clothing they are wearing, it not being anything that would be well suited against the cold. “Why aren’t they wearing warmer clothes? It looks like they’re more prepared for summer.”

Fitz takes another folder from his pile handing it to her. “I was kind of wondering that too, according to the murals painted on the walls of their buildings though, it looks like they somehow were able to keep the cold and snow outside of their city. All around them it was nothing but snow, ice and fog, but the paintings and carving depict the city as always being as warm as a summer’s day. That’s why that place was called ‘The Eden of North” because even though it was surrounded by snow almost all year round it was always a summer paradise within the city.”

Eve frowns, that sounding exactly like the situation involving Shiya’s village. It surrounded by ice and snow even though the actual village itself was as warm as a summer’s day. Whatever it was the inhabitants of the Eden of North had been doing to their city to keep it that way Shiya was doing for his own village.

Eve continues to look through the pictures, she stopping when she finds some strange ones. “What’s this drawing depicting? ... a crystal shard of some kind?”

Fitz looks over the table spotting the picture in question. “That? Oh I think that crystal is their supposed power source for their weapon or whatever.” He takes the photos from her beginning to line them out so they were in order of the story they were trying to show, he telling it to her as he points out the pictures one by one. “The story goes something like this... long ago when the tribe was young some strange looking visitors came to the people. The visitors had come looking for a ‘source’ which they said was one of the six entities of power that existed and gave strength to the earth since the beginning of time. They believed that one of these sources existed in this area and needed help finding it. The wilds agreed to help their visitors look for this entity and a bond of trust was formed between them, in return for the wild’s help the visitors gave to them the advancements and technology that are in all those pictures from the city.”

Eve stares at Fitz. “Strange looking visitors with advanced technology... like aliens?”

Fitz shrugs his shoulders. “Hey I’m not the one that made the story, I’m just telling it to you. And I never said they were aliens just that they were strange looking. So they probably were just not from the area. Anyway after many years of searching they finally found this ‘source’ but the entity was much too powerful and they found that they could not control it, until I guess what looks like a chosen one was brought to the source, and they were able to confine and control it, I guess into the form of a crystal. Once the power source was under their control they used it to power a weapon, as at the time the other wild tribes in the area were angry at this particular tribe, because of the advancements that had been made the other wilds saw them as no better than the domestics, and they attacked them relentlessly to try and destroy them. Once the weapon was created though, they used it to destroy all of their enemies.”

He looks back to Eve. “And that’s where the story ends, after that the tribe was completely destroyed, some say that they had destroyed themselves with the weapon they had created, other say that the visitors had killed them off, because now that they had the ‘source’ under control they wouldn’t need them anymore. People who think logically and actually look at the remains, know that it was destroyed by an ice storm, same as all the other wild tribes in that area.”

Eve thinks the story over. “So... all the tribes in that area were killed in the same way... by a sudden ice storm... even the Eden of North, the story says that the weapon from the Eden of North is what killed them all off though. Do you think the weapon had something to do with snow and ice?”

Fitz looks back to the tribe’s drawings. “I don’t know... they were pretty vague on how it worked, just that the crystal was used to destroy them all.”

Eve thinks further, it would defiantly fit with the idea that the weapon had destroyed its own city if what had brought them down was a sudden storm of ice. I mean it didn’t make sense for so many wild tribes who were well prepared and knowledgeable in surviving through ice storms in the past to suddenly start falling to them in such a short time frame.

What’s more Eve could not forget the strange abilities that Shiya had, the freezing cold blasts of wind that would knock his enemies back from him, and more incredibly when they had crossed the ice, the ice seemed to form for him when he wanted it too and move away at his command when he wished it to, it was incredible, and of course Eve could not overlook how the climate of the village of and around the Raven Wolf village was the exact same as what the Eden of North was depicted to be. “This may be odd of me to say... but I’m positive that Shiya is from the Eden of North, and that ‘source’ or whatever you said it was they had, he now has. If I’m right then it would explain why the military is after him and why he is working so diligently to stay hidden from them... and it’s not just the military he’s hiding from. These visitors that are in the story, the reason they went to the wilds was because they wanted that power, if they don’t have it and Shiya instead has it then that means that they would be after him as well.”

Fitz quickly speaks up trying to get Eve to slow down. “Hold on a moment, you don’t actually think that story is true do you?”

She looks back to Fitz. “You were at the Eden of North, did you see anything that might look like a weapon, or even this fabled crystal like power source there? One that would be strong enough to interest the military?”

Fitz thinks back, he really didn’t see anything that he could obviously label as a weapon, but there certainly did seem the most focused on one area in particular. “Nothing that I saw resembled anything of the sort, but there was one building, and more specifically a room in that building. It was so heavily guarded that even I couldn’t get into it, so I have no idea what was inside. If there really was a weapon of some kind and the military had found it then that’s where it would be.”

Eve thinks to herself. “In the stories this power source was drawn to look like a crystal right?” She recalls a certain incident that had happened when they group have still been traveling to Raven Wolf village, when had stopped to get rid of a tracking device.

Ophelia lets out an aw of amazement before moving to the next article that Shiya had on him. “What’s this bracelet do!?”

Shiya laughs when he sees it. “That from Achak, my tribe’s medicine man, he gave it to me because he says it will make me grow taller. It doesn’t work.”

Ophelia laughs with him. “You don’t need to be taller! Shiya is the perfect size right now! I like you short!”

Shiya frowns at the comment letting out a short annoyed grunt, he apparently not too fond of being as short as he was, Ophelia laughing at the reaction she had gotten from him. She pushes several of Shiya’s necklaces aside, grabbing onto and pulling forward one that was well hidden behind all the others. A thinly cut animal hide with nothing but a light blue crystal attached to it. “What’s this one do?”

Shiya hums to himself as he looks down at it. “That is a stone that holds something very special and important inside of it.”

She looks back to Fitz. “I think... that I might have seen it.”

Fitz stares at her not sure how to respond at first. “You... what?”

Eve nods her head. “Shiya carried a light blue crystal on a necklace on him at all times, it’s not something that I recognized from any of the usual tribal wear. It was something completely different.” She continues, she now positive that she had seen it. “It’s amazing that something that small would cause so much trouble!”

Fitz frowns as he shakes his head. “I’ve been holding back on telling you this but now I think I’m going to have to say something. You’re going crazy, you do know that right?”

Eve glares back at Fitz. “I’m not going crazy Fitz! I know what I’m talking about here!” She frowns thinking hard to herself. “Now... to prove my theory...” She gives Fitz a grin. “This is exactly the reason I need a thief like you helping me out.”

Fitz corrects her, he really no liking to be associated with such a shady title.“Treasure Hunter... not a thief...” Fitz lets out a long sigh, there obviously nothing he could really say to her to get her off of this topic. For whatever reason Eve was already dedicated to trying to find out everything there was to know about this, and there was little anyone would be able to do to get her mind off of it.

*******

Zack slowly opens his eyes when a knock on the door the apartment door wakes him up, he sleepy looking around him at his surroundings, it taking a moment to sink in that he was right now in Dolly’s home sleeping on her sofa.

He looks over to the television that was currently playing a program he didn’t recognize, he having fallen asleep while watching the TV. Zack lets out a yawn as he turns toward the window in the living room, it already dark outside.

The pounding on the front door continues, Zack groaning as he sits up calling out to Dolly to get her attention. “Hey Dolly, there’s someone at the door.” He pauses when he gets no response from her, maybe she was sleeping. Zack begin to look around him for a clock that would be able to tell him just how late it was, it only a little past eight when he found one. “Come on Dolly get up, it’s not that late you can’t be sleeping already.”

The knocking at the door seems to get louder the longer it took for someone to answer, Zack again calling out to Dolly. “Dolly!”

An angered voice comes from Dolly’s room. “What Magellan!?”

Zack calls out to her, raising his voice so he could be heard above the pounding on the door. “Can’t you hear that? Someone’s at the door? You going to answer it or what?”

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

Zack looks back to the door. “You might not have a minute, the door is getting hit so hard it’s sure to come off its hinges before you get out of there.”

“Well then if it’s bothering you so much why don’t you answer it then?”

Zack looks annoyed as he gets off of the sofa and walks toward the door. “Who takes THAT long to answer a door, seriously?” He looks through the peephole on the door, unable to make out anything, all he saw was a sold grey blur. “Great it’s busted so I can’t even tell who it is... not that I would really recognize anyone that Dolly would know anyway.”

He opens the door looking at the person on the other side, he staring at a huge chest of grey fur, Zack moving his gaze up until he finds the person’s head, he a very large wild wolf. The peephole having in fact not been broken, the individual on the other side having been so huge you could only see his chest through it.

Zack stares up at the figure, the large grey wolf baring his teeth at him and letting out a snarl. Zack calls back to Dolly while still keeping his eyes on the large figure. “Dolly, are you friends with a giant? And if you are is he usually this angry looking?”

The large grey wolf takes a swipe at Zack, the skunk quickly backing away from the door, stopping when the towering figure grabs onto the front of Zack’s uniform easily lifting him off of his feet and into the air. “Dolly!! Please come out of your room now! I’m begging you!”

The room to Dolly’s room opens and she steps outside. “Magellan what is your problem-” She gasps when she sees what is happening, quickly running to the door and grabbing onto the large arm that right now held Zack up. “Daddy no!! Put him down!!”

The large wolf lets out another growl as he looks over to Dolly, he still holding Zack up in the air. “Who is this man? And what is he doing in your home!?”

Dolly lets out a tired sigh. “Oh boy... you think he’s a boyfriend don’t you...? How did you even find out he was here?” She looks up at her father as she quickly tries to clear up the matter. “It’s not what you think, he’s a friend from work, my partner.”

Zack quickly nods his head. “Yeah, just from work, we’re not even really friends, sure she puts up with me but mostly we hate each other.”

Dolly looks back to Zack. “That’s not true.”

Zack feels Dolly father lift him higher in the air. “No it’s totally true! I can’t stand her and I’m only here because I have to be!”

Dolly sighs as she looks back to Zack. “Calm down will you? He’s not going to kill you.”

Zack looks back to Dolly. “I don’t know what this looks like from where you’re standing, but from my vantage point I am about to die!”

“Aren’t you a soldier?”

“Yeah, one that’s currently being watched to make sure that I behave myself, I’m pretty sure attacking a civilian will earn me a trip back to prison!”

Dolly looks back to her father. “Daddy please put him down. I’m telling the truth, he’s not anyone you have to worry about, he’s my partner from work.”

The large grey wolf hesitates for a moment, he looking back to Zack and fixing him with one more glare before finally putting him down. He turning from him and looking back to Dolly. “What is he doing here?”

Dolly sighs as she looks back to Zack who has already distanced himself from her father. “He’s kind of caught up in a complicated situation right now so he’s going to be living at my place for a bit alright?”

Dolly’s father lets out another disapproving growl, Zack taking a few steps further back from him.

Dolly continues to try and calm her father down. “It’s ok daddy, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Come on, just sit down and give yourself some time to relax.” She sits her father down on the sofa, grabbing onto Zack and pulling him out of the room and into the kitchen with her, she talking to him in a low tone of voice. “Alright Zack I’m going to make something very clear with you.”

A slightly panicked look fills Zack’s face. “What are you doing!? Why would you pull me away and talk to me all secretive like over here?! He’s going to suspect something and then come after my life!” He looks over to the sofa in the living room, her father staring at him with a deep and frightening glare, he suspecting something exactly as Zack had predicted he would.

Dolly raises her voice to Zack. “Ok just listen to me. When my father is around please watch what you’re saying and refrain from your insults directed at wilds.”

Zack holds his hand back to the living room. “What do you take me for an idiot!? Why they heck would I want to anger something like that!?”

Dolly yells back at him. “He is not a thing he is my father!” She sighs loudly this not a situation she had been expecting to run into. “Just try not to get him angry alright.”

“Too late for that.”

“Okay fine! Try not to get him any more angry than you already have!” She looks back into the living room towards her father. “He’s got a very short temper and is extremely over protective of me.”

Zack frowns at the information that much obvious. “Really? Oh wow, I never would have noticed without you saying something.”

Dolly looks back to Zack. “Just be nice to him and don’t say anything that might insult him, that’s all I’m asking of you.” She leaves heading back into the living room. “Daddy! What brings you all the way over here? You should have called and told me you were coming to visit.”

Dolly’s father looks past his daughter towards Zack. “I did call to ask if you knew anymore about Teddy, but then he answered. He spoke to me very rudely and would not let me speak to you.”

Dolly looks back to Zack, Zack giving her a weak smile, Dolly turning from him and back to her father. “I’m sorry about that daddy, Zack is inept at social situations. Dealing with other people and treating them respect just doesn’t seem to be his calling...” She lowers her head. “As for Teddy... I’m sorry, I don’t know anything more than I did the last time you called.”

Her father nods his head, understanding by now that getting information on his son was not an easy thing to do. “Do not worry, Teddy will turn up eventually so try not to lose so much sleep over him, your brother is strong and can take care of himself. I’m sure that he’s just fine.”

Dolly holds her hand out to Zack. “Zack is actually trying to help me find Teddy, isn’t that right Zack?”

Zack quickly nods his head. “Yeah, that’s right.” He starts looking around for a place to sit, Dolly and her father already on the sofa, there no other chair in the room, he pushing the phone to the side and sitting on the small end table that held it. “Since day one the two of us have been working together to try and find him.”

Dolly’s father still seems unimpressed, Zack going to have to work a lot harder than that to get on his good side, especially if he would be living with his precious little girl.

Dolly looks to her dad. “Can I get you anything daddy? Some water maybe? I’ll get you a glass of water you look parched.”

Dolly gets up to leave Zack whispering to her as she passes by him. “Hey! Hey! Don’t leave me here with him! What are you doing?” He nervously looks back to Dolly’s father who is still glaring at him hatefully. “Hi. I guess we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I’m Zack Magellan, Dolly’s partner on the Conner case, or actually, I guess she would be my partner. I’m more in charge and she’s more the side kick I guess...” He gives a weak laugh, the expression Dolly’s father had been giving him not changing. “Ah, yeah, you’re not the talkative type I see.” He looks to the large tribal markings on his arms, they looking exactly like the ones on a certain wild he had fought from Raven Wolf. “So then... you were the lead warrior for your tribe then?”

The look on large wolf changes, he looking surprised to see a domestic that knew what the tattoos of the wilds represented, though still not impressed. “Yes.”

Zack nods his head that of course just making the situation more uncomfortable. “Great... that’s great...” He looks back to the kitchen hoping that Dolly would return soon.

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Raven Wolf - 03 - The Warriors - Chapter 03

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