Raven Wolf - 02 - The Oracle - Chapter 01 by Kurapika < Submission

Keywords male 1120735, female 1010617, fox 234006, wolf 183149, skunk 31942, lynx 13161, wolves 4930, cougar 4198, raven wolf 329

Chapter One

The great animal spirits had blessed the humans with a second chance, giving man the form of beasts so that they may survive the wilderness that the world had become.

Man lived in the role that nature had intended for them, but few forgot the life that had once belonged to them; as man who stood above all else.

The many who would seek this old life began to fill the tasks needed to return to it, the few who accepted the new lives the spirits had given to them did not agree with this, and the beasts that were once man were split into two, the beginning of prosperity also bringing with it the division of man.

Those that returned to the prosperous race they once were able to live comfortably with their innovations, travel greater distances in their lifetimes because of their machines, live longer because of their study in medicines and illnesses, and multiply faster than those that had remained within the wild. These people saw themselves as superior to those who had shunned and refused these changes, and thus began to refer to themselves as the ‘Domestics’, and to those who were satisfied with playing the part of wild animals, remaining ignorant to the incredible things that could be accomplished, the ‘Wilds’

Much oppression was placed upon the wilds, the foolish mortals too afraid to progress and instead live their lives in a method near unchanged from when they had first come to be. The Domestics saw these beings as lower than them, less intelligent, as no more than a mere animal and thus began to treat them as so. The wilds in turn saw the Domestics as ignorant and selfish, for they lived only in ways beneficial to them, ignoring the roll that nature had giving them and defying the spirits that gave them life in the first place. The arrogance they had towards tradition and nature detestable, domestics no more than men that had become monsters, monsters that would once again bring about the destruction of the world.

Wars were fought, weapons were created, blood was spilled and lives on both sides were lost, as the years continued the fighting grew ever more violent and worse.

Still, among the constant fighting there were a small few who took into account the fact that these two opposing forces had in the beginning started as the same thing, and that to fight the other would only mean to fight your brother. The few that thought this were often going ignored and unheard, labelled as cowards for not fighting and foolish for being blind to the actions the opposing force had committed.

Regardless of what was said, these few continued to work towards what they hoped would be the end of the fighting.

Several figures in uniform stand within a camp, Dolly Conner and Zack Magellan, a grey furred female wolf and the somewhat irritable skunk that lead the surveillance group, currently looking over their camp, both of them rather annoyed with the situation they right now found themselves in.

Zack frowns as he looks over the various computers that were now useless to them, he looking back to one of his intelligence gathers with an annoyed frown. “And there was really no way you could have prevented this?”

The worker tries to explain. “You don’t understand, the system was infected so quickly we didn’t have a chance to think of a way to counter it. This was a very advanced program we were up against, when I tell you that there was nothing we could do I assure you that it is no understatement.”

Zack frowns as he thinks the information over. “The ordeal we had with the military vehicles when the subjects escaped the city has also been discovered to be the work of a very advanced hacker. Perhaps it was the same person.”

Dolly walks over to Zack holding up a map to him. “If that’s the case then that leads us to only one conclusion, someone is going through a lot of trouble to hinder the military in the capture of the people we are targeting.”

“You’re more than likely right, so far no other areas or missions of the military have been hindered in this way, only the ones dealing with this group.”

Zack sighs as he looks back to Dolly. “Looks like we’re going to have to find out who it is in that group they are trying to protect. We need to look into the backgrounds of those involved, research their friends and family and see if they know anyone that could possibly hold those skills.” He frowns to himself. “Also, from the eyewitness we had on our side in concerns to the figure that was seen near our site at the time our systems started to fail, be on the lookout especially for a young girl skilled in computers.”

Zack looks back to Dolly, nodding towards the map she was holding. “So, were you able to figure out our next move?”

Dolly nods her head as she points to a labelled village on the map. “This is the closest domestic village to our location. With everything but our short range radios out we’ve got no way of reaching the help required to get out of this mess. We’ll send a team there to contact the base back in the city so we can get repaired and resupplied.”

Zack looks back to the soldiers. “Do we have a working vehicle?”

One of the technicians shakes his heads. “Most of the vehicles were damaged to the point that they’re unstable, all by that wild we were trying to catch. The surveillance truck is the only thing we have left right now, and its top speed is not something to brag about. Plus that vehicle relies heavily on computers, so with the system down like it is we can’t even get it to start up.”

Zack frowns at the information. “Isn’t there a way to manually start the thing?”

Dolly looks over to Zack. “Our best option right now would be to send a team on foot. If we move that thing we move the entire base, if we do that we’ll be forced to move at a slow speed so that our men can keep up, not everyone is going to fit in that thing.”

Zack sighs the situation clearly troublesome. “Alright then, if walking really is the best option.” He motions toward all the men that were right now gathered around him awaiting their orders. “You guys stay here, see if you can get some of the vehicles working, or even the computers up. Me and Miss. Conner will head to the town and contact headquarters for assistance and replacement supplies.”

Dolly holds her hand out to the soldiers, she surprised that Zack would be taking on this tiresome task himself instead of making someone else do it. “You’re offer to take on this task is noble, but it really doesn’t have to be us that go. We can just as easily send someone else there to get a task as simple as that done.”

Zack looks back to Dolly with a grin. “What’s the matter? You not like the idea of doing extra legwork?”

Dolly frowns at the comment. “It’s nothing like that. I’m just surprised that you’re offering to do such a mundane task.”

Zack looks back to the truck. “Anything is better than sitting around here doing nothing, guard duty and surveillance was enough sitting around doing nothing for me. I’m not about to sit around doing even less than what I was doing before as I wait for help. I would much rather be doing anything than that even walking thank you very much.”

Dolly smiles at the explanation that Zack had given her, she shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head at him. “You really are something Magellan. I almost don’t know how to possibly respond to that.”

*******

A wolf with fur as black as night and eyes as white as snow lets out a long yawn, his whole body tired and soar from the constant traveling, a female red fox that traveled with him looking back to him as she tried to cheer him on. “Come on Yula hold out a little bit longer, we’re almost there.”

Yula looks over to the woman that had spoken up. Though her words were encouraging it didn’t make him any less soar. After all, he wasn’t used to walking around so much like this, before he had run away from the laboratory he spent most of his life in a room unable to do anything or go anywhere, this a huge change from what he was used to.

He looks over to Professor Eve Cadrey, the member of the group who did her best to help push him forward, she also tired from the ordeal they were right now going through. Though she had not been confined to a room as Yula had been her life was still much different from what it was right now. Eve having lived comfortably in a loft above her family’s museum with her father, her sister and Fitz, her father’s apprentice, she was a scientist and a scholar so of course things like this were not easy on her. She though tried the best she could to keep from looking as tired as she actually was.

He looks from Eve and over to a grey wolf that walked along side him, Teddy Conner, a military soldier that seven years ago had been taken off of the field do to an eye injury and given the task of becoming Yula’s personal guard. Over those seven years the two of them had become close friends, which probably accounted to why Teddy had gotten himself into this whole mess when he had tried to help and protect him. Of course without his help he and the others probably would not have been able to get very far at all.

Yula looks ahead back to the two wilds that were leading the group, two wolves with matching white fur ahead of them, both of them worn and beaten from a battle they had endured against Zack Magellan and Dolly Conner in order to escape. One was Iuana, a girl Yula had only recently met and learned to be his sister, the other was Shiya a guy who always walked around in a scary looking headdress made out of a giant bird skull and black feathers, he the leader of a cursed tribe known as Raven Wolf, and father to both him and Iuana.

Iuana looks back to the group, she slowing her pace for a moment until Teddy caught up with her. She smiling at him and getting his attention as she speaks to him in a found manner. Yula watches the two of them, it was clear that Iuana really liked Teddy, and Teddy seemed to like her too.

Yula trips over a branch falling and hitting the ground, the group stopping for a moment as they wait for Yula to get back up, Teddy coming to his aid and pulling him to his feet, Yula sighing to himself as he brushes the dirt off his clothes before continuing to walk, then there was him. Yula could never remember anything before living in the libratory and had made the assumption that he had been there always, he recently learning that not to be the truth, and that as a child he was a wild that grew outside in the open alongside nature. He having been taken and confined because he was rumoured to have the ability to visions of the future when he slept, this assumption made only because of the colour of his white eyes.

“Hey I see it!!” A younger boy of mountain lion decent runs past Yula, running ahead of Shiya as he points ahead of him. “That’s it right!? The village we’re trying to get to!”

Shiya nods his head, the boy correct. “That’s it alright.”

The excited boy was known as Kit Milford, the son of the governor Milford who was in charge of the domestic cities that Eve and Teddy had come from, and the one that the military had to receive the go ahead from when it came to their important operations.

Kit was originally a figure that was supposed to help bring peace between this area’s domestics and wilds, but the military seeking more support to attack the wilds so that they could catch Shiya, a figure that for some reason they desperately wanted, ended up firing a gun at Kit with the intent to kill and blame his death on the wilds. Instead of dying Kit survived, Shiya and the rest of his tribe have been taking care of him ever since. Unfortunately the military told his father that Kit was dead, and because of that Kit’s father has given the military all kinds of permissions when it came to dealing with the wilds of ‘Raven Wolf’

The group arrives at the town, Kit waving his hands and calling out a friendly greeting to the first domestic that he saw even though he had never met them before, the woman smiling at him. “Well now you’re a friendly thing aren’t you?”

She looks past him towards the rest of the group, spotting the wolf that wore the large skull of a bird upon his head to hide his appearance from those outside his tribe.

Eve frowns as she looks from her and over to Shiya. “Great... here comes the screaming...”

The woman lets out a wide smile. “Shiya! I haven’t seen you for ages!” She approaches him taking his hand and shaking it. “Honestly you should come around here more often!”

Eve looks taken aback by the woman’s reaction, she having though her to turn around and start running because of the frightening skull Shiya used to mask his face.

The woman continues to speak to Shiya. “You brought friends with you this time, this is a first.” She looks back towards Kits. “Is the little one with you as well?”

Shiya nods his head as he holds his hand to Kit. “His name is Kit.” He turns his head back to her. “As much as I would like to catch up I must get to the Eliot house as soon as possible, perhaps another time.”

The woman nods her head completely understanding. “Busy as usual aren’t you Shiya? Though I guess I should expect that! You being your tribe’s chieftain and all!” She steps to the side as she lets the group continue on their way, waving fondly to Shiya as they left. “I’ll come by later and bring you and your friends something to eat. Luca really isn’t dependable at all when it comes to cooking! You’ll starve if you leave it to him!”

Shiya waves back to her. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Iuana walks up to her father speaking in a low voice. “Do you know that woman father?”

Shiya nods his head. “Obviously I do, her name is Mrs. Mecree. She’s a nice woman, and a good cook too.”

Another domestic looks over to Shiya when he sees him, he giving him a found wave as he passes by the group. “Well whatda’ya know! Shiya!”

Another domestic grins when they see him. “You brought some friends with you? Never seen you do that before.”

Shiya waves back to each of the people greeting him.

Iuana looks over to her father, rather surprised by the fact that everyone here knew her father. “Father, how do all of these people know you?”

Shiya looks back to her. “I come here every now and again.”

Iuana seems annoyed with the information. “Why don’t I know about this?”

Shiya doesn’t seem to understand what Iuana is so annoyed about. “You never wanted to go when I asked you... after a while I just stopped asking if you wanted to come before I left.”

Iuana falls silent, the event in which her father would ask her a question like that was years ago, hardly remembered by her, which meant that her father must have been visiting this place for ages.

Kit looks the town over. “Wow this place is so small! Like there’s no traffic or anything even though they have cars!”

Shiya continues to walk alongside the town’s road until he reaches a house, he moving up its walk and stopping at its door, lifting his hand and knocking upon it. He waiting a moment before a lynx not much younger than Teddy and Eve answers the door, he grinning fondly when he sees the masked wild. “Shiya! I haven’t seen you for ages! It’s pretty early in the morning for you to be paying me a visit, I guess that means you must have come for an important reason right?” He looks past him to everyone that right now trailed behind him. “You brought friends too, welcome, welcome! Although Shiya you really should warn me before hand if you’re bringing this many people with you, I’m hardly prepared to host so many.”

Shiya begins to explain himself. “I’m sorry for giving you no warning, but as you said the reason I came is important, and I did not have the time to send word.”

The lynx doesn’t seem to mind the inconvenience much at all. “It’s all fine! No worries! Now, you must introduce me to your friends.”

Shiya nods his head as he look back to his group holding his hand out to each one as he began introducing them. “Iuana, Yula, Kit, Teddy and.... I’m sorry I don’t think I actually caught your name miss.”

Eve seems annoyed. “It’s Eve.”

The lynx walks through the doorway approaching Iuana. “So this is the lovely Iuana you keep talking about.” He takes Iuana’s hand in his, lifting her hand and kissing it. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, my name is Luca.”

Iuana is taken aback. “Oh... Luca... hello.”

Teddy looks annoyed with the interaction, a slight hint of jealousy rising. “Yes Luca, it is nice to meet you.”

Luca looks over to Teddy, catching onto the hint that he was annoying him. “Forgive me, I didn’t realize.”

Teddy frowns at the comment. “Realize what?”

Shiya speaks up interrupting the conversation and quickly getting to the point. “As much as I would like to stay and talk we must be quick, the domestic military is tracking us and we do not wish to bring trouble to this village.”

Luca looks surprised to hear this. “Well that’s not good at all.”

Shiya nods his head. “Not in the least.” He looks back towards the house. “Is your father home?”

Luca shakes his head no. “Unfortunately dad died three months ago.”

Shiya seems upset to hear this. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Luca speaks up. “It is unfortunate, but hey, if you need anything just ask me, I’d be just as happy as he would to help, I’m sure I can help you out with whatever it is you need in his place.” He holds his hand out to his home. “Please, come inside where we can discuss this in more depth.”

Teddy looks reluctant to enter. “Aren’t you worried about what might happen to you if the military were to find out that you aided us?”

Luca laughs at the comment. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You all need my help don’t you? I can’t just turn you away.”

The group enters the house, Kit letting out an excited gasp. “He has a TV and videogames!” He rushes into the living room, not even asking for permission first.

Luca looks from Kit and back to Shiya. “He’s a lively one isn’t he?” He gives a sigh folding his hands in front of him. “Alright, since you all are in a hurry, what can I help you with?”

Teddy looks back to Luca, he not really sure if he could indeed help them. “Like Shiya said the military is tracking us, we think that they’re able to do that because one of us has a tracking device on them.”

Luca smiles at the request. “Is that it? Well then no problem! It’ll take a few hours to find and remove them but once I got them you won’t have to worry about the military knowing your exact position anymore.”

Eve and Teddy look to one another, they well aware that they did not have that kind of time. Teddy speaking up bringing up the concerns the two of them had. “We don’t have a few hours... the military will get here and tear this place apart before a few hours are up.”

Luca shakes his head no. “No need to worry about the military while you’re here, as soon as you stepped within twenty meters of my house the military lost you.” He looks up to some stares that lead to the basement. “My grandfather is... well a little out of it... always thinks the government is watching and out to get him. He’s got all kinds of things set up to keep from being spotted by military equipment... updates it every time they update theirs.”

Eve sighs, though she knew people could get eccentric in that way the things they did to prevent being found usually didn’t work. “And all these precautions of his work...?”

Luca nods his head yes. “He’s the one of the guys that built the satellite they’re using to track you, so I would assume they work.”

Eve stands with her mouth hanging open.

Luca looks the group over. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.” He lifts his hand pointing to Teddy, Iuana, Yula and Eve. “You guys though, you don’t go in the basement alright. You’ve all got the military insignia on you, if granddad sees it he’ll probably have a heart attack because he’ll think he’s been found.”

He looks back to Shiya. “So can I offer you all anything to eat?”

Yula quickly speaks up, the mention of food welcoming. “Eating would be great!!”

Luca laughs at the response. “Alright, I have to make breakfast for my niece anyway, I’ll just make extra to accommodate all of you.” He looks back to Shiya. “Oh yeah, that reminds me, if you could take the headdress off that would be just great, my niece will be waking up any minute now and you know how much it scares her.”

Iuana speaks up that indeed being a problem. “Father can’t do that! The pack leader’s true appearance must never been seen by anyone outside of our tribe, he must always wear-” She gasps when she sees her father begin to remove it. “Father what are you doing!?”

Shiya holds the large headdress in his hands. “It scares his niece, what else am I supposed to do?”

Teddy stares at Shiya, he looking even smaller with the large bird skull like headdress off of him. He looking almost girlish he was so petite, not just in size but features as well.

Iuana begins to argue back with her father. “It’s supposed to be intimidating!”

Shiya holds his ears back, upset that he was being lectured by his own daughter. “I’ll put it back on when I leave the house I promise.”

Eve stares at Shiya, his appearance didn’t make sense, though he did have the features of a wild, he also had features you wouldn’t normally find in a wild, at least a wild around this area. He did though look familiar somehow, though she couldn’t quite place how.

Iuana continues to lecture her father, the conversation completely one sided as Shiya just ignores her and acts as he pleases, putting the headdress down and leaving it there. It obviously not that large of a deal to him as it was to her.

Luca claps his hands together. “So, today’s specialty is cereal!”

Teddy frowns at Luca’s so called specialty. “You’re serious? Cereal?”

Shiya’s tail begins to wag back and forth, this information for some reason pleasing him. “Oh I love cereal! Do you have the one with the colourful marshmallows in it that I ate the last time I was here?”

Luca looks back to Shiya. “Always do. Just try not to eat the whole box like you did the last time you were here. That’s my niece Ophelia’s favourite cereal too, she gets antsy without it in the morning.”

Eve watches as Shiya follows Luca into the kitchen, Iuana close behind him as she continues to lecture him on the casual manner in which he is acting. She looks over to Teddy to speak with him once the three of them are out of the room, this very surprising to her. “For someone whose tribe is fated to kill all the domestics, Raven Wolf’s leader has such a good connection with the domestics here...”

Teddy nods his head agreeing with her. He makes his way over to one of the many walls of photos that filled the house. “Not just any connections either. It looks like Luca’s family has a pretty extensive military background.”

Eve looks around the house noticing exactly what it was that Teddy saw, pictures and medals depicting Luca’s father’s time in the military as a medic. Shiya was right, someone with such ties would know how to deal with the situation they now found themselves in. Not to mention the grandfather was responsible for the current satellite orbiting the plant and knew it inside and out so well that he could stay off of the map.

Eve sighs as she looks back to Teddy. “It’s all extremely convenient for him and his pack, almost too convenient to be believable. Though it would explain why Shiya and his pack had been so elusive all of these years, he’s had the help of people like this for a very long time.”

Yula lets out a long yawn, he almost ready to pass out even though he was right now starving, Teddy now turning his attention to him as he tries to direct him to a place to sleep before he passes out while trying to stand on spot.

Eve looks back to her host when she sees him enter the room once again, speaking up to get his attention, there some things that she needed to have cleared up. “Excuse me, would it be alright for me to use the phone? I need to call my father to let him know that I’m alright, or would that be unsafe?”

Luca nods his head that completely fine. “Go ahead, it should be perfectly safe! Grand-dad’s word! Just don’t tell your dad your exact location alright?”

Eve gives a nervous laugh. “Even if I wanted too I have really no idea of where in the heck we are...”

Luca looks back to Teddy, Iuana and Yula. “I’ll get to you guys right after you’ve had something to eat. I have to warn you though, even though my dad taught me everything he knows about stuff like this I’ve never actually removed a tracker myself. Also I regret to inform you that I’m not as great a surgeon as my father, it’s not my field like it was his, I’m actually just an assistant manager for the towns grocery to be perfectly honest… So which one of you do I get to look at first?”

The three look one another over none really looking forward to the ordeal, Teddy sighing as he steps forward. “I guess I’ll be your first guinea pig.”

Luca claps his hands together, he pretty gung-ho over the idea. “Great! Oh, that reminds me, I have to call into work and tell them that I’m not coming, I better work on my sick impression first.” He clears his throat, trying to make it sound coarse, walking away with the intent on calling into work.

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Raven Wolf - 02 - The Oracle - Chapter 01

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