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Ch.12 Closer....

With a long yawn and stretch Blaferis sat up slowly in his bed. He looked out the window and seen that it was still pretty early, the sounds of some snoring and the occasional whimpering from an anthro that was having a dream could be heard. The wolf looked around the room at all the sleeping bodies but was surprised to see Phillip was lying in his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Can't sleep?" Blaferis asked quietly.

Phillip rolled over onto his stomach and looked over at the wolf. "Still a little nervous about the race today."

The wolf chuckled as he slipped out of his bed and walked over to the boy and lay down on top of the blankets. "I don't think you have any reason to be worried, you're going to do great." He whispered as he wrapped an arm around the human.

The boy chuckled a little. "Everyone seems to think that, but what if I do mess up? What if I'm the reason that we lose, I don't want to be a disappointment to everyone." The boy finished as he laid his head back against the arm.

The wolf thought of some way to make the boy feel a little bit more at ease. "Just give it your all, if you lose then you know that you went down with a fight and that's all there is to it."

Phillip nodded and let out a small yawn, "I guess."

Blaferis chuckled and pulled the kid closer to him. "Try and get some more sleep, you're going to need it."

Phillip nodded, after just lying in the wolf's arm for a little till he started to tug on the blanket. Blaferis was wondering what he was doing and lifted himself up a bit as Phillip pulled the blanket out from underneath the wolf' torso and draped it over him. "Figure you'd be warmer under the covers." The boy whispered.

"Thanks." The wolf said while he slipped both his legs under the blanket and cuddled up closer to the human. Phillip rolled over onto his side and moved back against the wolf as Blaferis's arms wrapped around Phillip and held him close. Phillip could hear the wolf take in a deep breath before relaxing. He didn't fall asleep right away though the comfort that the wolf was giving him did help but the race that was fast approaching was still lingering in the back of his mind.

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Phillip was gently nudged awake, the light from outside wasn't too bright that he had to block the brightness with his hand but enough that he could see the Labrador's face right next to his. Phillip stared back at the dog for a moment as they just looked at each other.

"Morning." The boy said quietly since he knew that Blaferis was still sleeping.

The dog's tail started to wag as he leaned close and licked his cheek. "Morning, you ready? We have to get going and meet up with everyone else and to start getting ready." Phillip nodded as he slowly slipped out of the wolf's grasp, even though Blaferis gave out a small moan of protest the wolf still didn't fully wake up as Phillip walked over to his chest and started to get dress. After putting on his wrist guards and necklace, he followed Bolmic out of the room and out to the fields where the other riders were gathering.

Upon arriving Phillip got a hug from everyone and even a lick on the cheek from a few. Once the last rider finally made it to the field, Bolmic instructed everyone to get the harnesses on their Hounds and get the huge creatures ready for the race. After debriefing the riders on their positions and last tactics the dog told them to get the Hounds to run slowly to get them stretched but not to the point of exhaustion. The race was going to start in a few hours and the sounds of the other anthros on base could be heard from the field where they were. Once their time was up they all took off to the village and went over near the starting point that was located on the edge of the village. They tied up the Hounds to designated posts for them and waited as the other guild's riders came and had done the same.

Bolmic motioned them all to gather around to give them one last pep talk. "Ok this is where I leave you guys, win or lose I'm proud of how you all pulled together and became a team. Go out there and show them that this guild has the best riders." The anthros roared as they all started to get pumped up. "Lastly, Phillip go show the other guilds how to ride a Hound." The boy couldn't help but smile as he was patted on the back by Altied, Phillip looked up at the leopard who gave the boy a smile back.

Phillip looked back at the dog and for the first time since he has been riding he felt confident about being in the race. "Will do sir." The boy grinned.

Phillip looked around and seen that the whole village was packed with anthros and some humans, with everyone watching the boy's confidence was starting to slip again but he tried his best to hold on to it. The boy was nudged by Scar and broke his train of thought. He couldn't help but smile, he walked up and started to pet the Hound on the side of his muzzle while he laid his head on the massive forehead.

"Ok buddy this is what we have been practicing for." He whispered to his partner. Scar responded by nudging the boy one last time before a voice over road everyone else in the village.

"Please settle down!" As if a switch was turned off everyone in the village was silent, Phillip turned and seen Frasit was standing behind a podium near the starting line. "I want to first start out by saying welcome to our visiting guests the Wolf Fang guild and Black Wing guild to this celebration of the bonding between anthro and humans. For the next week we will be competing with each other to see who's guild has the best champions in numerous challenges and what a way to start the celebration then with the Hound Race." Everyone in the crowds started to cheer, the Captain let crowed go wild for a moment before holding up his paws to quiet them down.

"With that said let's get started. The rules are simple, four laps and the team that crosses the finish line with the ball wins. No element usage or weapons is allowed at any time during the race what so ever, failure to abide by that rule means automatic disqualification." The lion let the information sink in a little before continuing. "Next the track was set up late last night so everyone will have a fair chance at this race. With that information out, riders take your spots."

The crowd cheered as the three guild's riders got onto their Hounds and got in front of the starting line in singe filed rows, Phillip finished tighten his mask down before he glanced around, being the fourth one in line for his guild and in the middle of the three wasn't that comforting as he was near the back and could be boxed in easily.

As the boy leaned forward all that he could hear was the growling of the anthros and Hounds around him but when the voice of the lion yelled go, everything seemed to just click automatically as his heel tapped Scar's side and they took off in a quick dash alongside everyone else. The voice of the anthros from the village quickly faded as they flew over the land, the groups quickly came up to the side gate. The first riders from each group rode faster to the gates since the balls were on posts just on the other side. Like planed Altied snagged the ball and tossed it over to the tiger. Phillip wasn't ready for what came next as he was roughly ran into. The _Hound_s roared at each other while the fighting started to get to or protect the carriers.

Phillip held on tight and leaned a little as they all made a quick right turn and into the woods nearby, the thought of falling or slamming into the trees was running through his head while they all weaved around one another. He was riding just on the outside of Harin as the horse motioned for him to come closer, the boy was about to when the trail started to pull to the right. Phillip leaned to the side and heard a yelp come from behind, the path came to a straight shot so the speed of the Hounds started to pick up as they exited the woods into the clearing.

Phillip moved to the horse's side and looked quickly behind him to see that they were still in the middle of the group. "We lose anyone?" The boy asked.

"No...look out." Harin called out as he seen a wolf slam into the side of Scar. The Hound caught his footing and stayed at the same pace while the wolf jumped onto the back. Phillip read the wolf in time to dodge a punch and quickly countered with an elbow into the canines gut. The wolf was falling back but gripped the boy's shirt to stay on. The horse moved closer and grunted as he leaned forward and lifted his body upward and swung his left leg in the air while twisting his body. The leg came down on the wolf's face knocking him off completely.

Phillip was breathing a little heavily from the adrenalin but kept his focus. The track kept winding back and forth till they went through the main gate and back into the village to start the course over again. They ran through as the cheering came and went in a blur. The race continued with more of the racers fought and lost or fell behind. Altied handed the ball over to Phillip when a horse hopped onto his Hound and the two scrapped but the leopard ended up was picked up and tosses off just as they were entering the village on the third lap. Out of the fifteen riders eight riders remained at the front trying desperately trying to get their carriers to the finish line. Harin had a bad cut on his forehead but stayed beside Phillip as they came out of the woods, just a few more turns and it was pretty much a home stretch to the finish line.

The other carriers were slightly behind as the horse protected Phillip. "Go." The horse hollered as they came out through the main gate.

Phillip tapped the side of Scar and leaned forward as the Hound started to run faster. He could clearly hear the horse fighting someone when he made it to the village, the boy was trying his best to get to the finish line as he came around a corner and was at a steady pace, in a flash Scar's hind legs swung out from under him when another rider collided with him. Scar fell onto the ground and rolled, Phillip flew off his harness and tumbled across the finish line, pain was shooting all through his body and his vision was blurry. He slowly opened his eyes to barely see another rider coming right at him and he closed his eyes when he realized he couldn't move and was about to be trampled. Just before the Hound got to him the boy felt someone pick him up and was holding him closely. Phillip opened up his eyes to see white fur, his gaze slowly moved upward to see the lion giving him a concerned look.

"You ok kid?" Frasit ask. Phillip could barely nod but put his head against the anthro. Others from the guild ran up to them to check on the human after the riders had passed. The lion gave him over to the medics so they can take care of him.

They took him to a nearby tent that was made for this very purpose, some of the anthros from the race were even getting wrapped up and tended to as they laid Phillip down onto a table and quickly started to examine him.

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Scrit's heart was still pounding rapidly as he was instructed by Blaferis to take Scar back and put him away. The Dalmatian couldn't think about anything but the boy, he was mad that he didn't do anything to help but watch as he tumbled across the finish line and just when a Hound was almost on top of him the Captain came out of nowhere and scooped Phillip up and got him off to the side near the crowed where he would be safe.

The dog growled at how helpless he was while he opened up the gate after taking off the harness and let the Hound slowly limp into his stall. After his task was done the dog decided to go check up on Phillip, he made his way back to the village and weaved through the town to the camps, talks about the race was everywhere. Scrit let out a small sigh as he walked up to the tent.

"You put Scar away?" the dog's ears perked up and looked to the side to see Blaferis was walking towards him.

"Yes." Was the only thing Scrit said.

The wolf nodded as he walked into the tent, the Dalmatian was close behind him. He was walking and looking at the other patients that were sitting on the other tables, some getting ready to be let go. 'Been one hell of a race.' The dog thought to himself, not paying attention in front of him when he ran into the wolf's back and staggered. Blaferis barely moved, the dog looked at the black wolf to see he was glaring and his fur was raised on the back of his neck a bit. Somewhat confused he looked over to where the wolf was looking and saw where Phillip was laying.

Phillip was having his arm tended to while a Husky was giving him a small nuzzle on the side of his face. Scrit's ears lowered against his head while the Husky leaned back and smiled at the boy. "I'm glad you're alright."

Phillip barely nodded but looked over and gave the two a small smile. Blaferis seemed to calm down as he gave the boy a smile back and walked over to him past Husvor and knelt down beside the table to nuzzle the boy as well. "I think we're all glade you're alright," He said. "You had us a little worried at the end when got hurt."

Phillip slowly looked away from the small group. "We lost didn't we?"

"It wasn't you fault." Scrit whispered.

Phillip gazed up at the roof of the tent and let out a big sigh. "I could have won it though."

Husvor walked to the other side of the table and knelt down. "It's ok, no one will hold it against you that the ball fell out of your hands when you hit the ground that hard, not many would have been able to hold on to it. You did a way better job than anyone thought you were capable of even with the short amount of training you had." He placed a paw on top of the boys wrapped up arm.

Scrit looked down and seen that Blaferis's fur was starting to raise a little. "Guess you're going to be on light duty for a while kid." The wolf said while looking away.

Phillip chuckled. "Broken arm, a sprain shoulder, and a lot of bruises, no not too bad I guess, they said that I'll have to take it easy and let my body heal and take my pain meds but I'll be back to training before you know it."

"Take your time." Blaferis whispered when he leaned closer and licked the boy's cheek, "Is he all set to go?" the wolf's attention turned to the bear.

The bear nodded when he set Phillip's arm onto the table. "Yes, Just remember take you medication three times a day with food and take it easy for a while."

"I will." The boy said. "Can we go get something to eat though, I'm kind of starving." Phillip asked, he sat up and slowly swung his leg over the edge of the table.

"Sure." Husvor responded.

He lifted himself up and slowly eased himself onto the ground but his leg gave out, the Husky caught him and helped stabilize him. With a little help from Husvor and a cane Phillip was walking through the village with his three friends. Phillip was happy that none of the anthros that came up to him said anything that it was his fault but more worried about his condition since they all came up to him and seen how he was doing and either nuzzled him, hugged him or gave him a lick.

It took them a while to get to a place to eat since they were constantly stopped, but once they did Phillip sat into a booth and relaxed as everyone took a seat. They all ordered their foods and waited for the waitress to return.

"So what other events is there?" Phillip asked trying to start up a conversation.

Blaferis leaned forward and rested his elbows onto the table. "Well they started the hand to hand fighting competition, tomorrow they start the blunt weapons and also the element fighting, they also have the bonded competitions and few others."

Phillip looked at the wolf. "You in any of them?"

"Yes." The wolf nodded. "I'll be in the element fighting."

"Ahh, What about you two?" He asked and looked at the other canines.

"Na, not that good." Scrit laughed. "Maybe in a few years I might but not yet."

"You?" Now the boy's attention went to the husky across from him.

The dog nodded once. "I'll be in the element game."

Phillip now was confused. "What's that?"

All the anthros laughed, "Well it's a little bit complicated." Blaferis started.

Husvor agreed. "It's like a game, it's a one on one event. Each anthro takes a turn and launches their element at his opponent and tries to knock them back over a certain point behind them."

"But here is the catch." Scrit interrupted. "An earth element User makes three pillars for the User to hide behind. So it's not that easy to just hit the anthro, unless you take out all three pillars."

Phillip looked over at the Husky with a smile. "Sounds fun."

The dog's ears perked up. "It is."

"Well I wish you two the best of luck." The boy said just before the waitress came back with their meals.

They all eat and talked more about the other events, after Phillip took his medication and was all done eating they decided that they were going to go to the center of the village where the celebration was the most alive. Phillip slowly made his way through the crowed and marveled at how the village had an autumn glow with all of the orange and yellow streamers hanging of off buildings and from lamp posts. The music was load while anthros were all constantly dancing, food could be smelt all over and drinks were being served non-stop to anyone that wanted a drink. Phillip was slowly escorted to a small bench, when he sat down before he looked up at the others. He seen how fixed they were at the scene of how happy everyone looked.

"Go." The boy said, all three turned around and looked down at him a little confused. "Go have fun, don't let me stop you guys." He smiled.

"No it..." Scrit started.

"I said for you guys to go have fun...please." The boy laughed.

They three canines all smiled and each took a turn giving the boy a small nuzzle and lick before they all took off to go have some fun, Phillip watched Husvor went straight to dancing, Scrit didn't hesitate to get himself a drink from the outside bar, and Blaferis went to a stand that looked like it had some food in a pot over a small fire. Phillip leaned back in his seat and watched all of the anthros having a time of their lives.

Phillip closed his eyes and let himself go, all of the happiness was washing over him as he read one anthro to another. The feeling was interrupted when he heard a small grunt come from beside him, when he opened up his eyes he looked up to see a huge black horse smiling down at him.

"I see you got rid of those mutts." The horse commented. "Good choice."

Phillip just looked blankly at the horse. "Those mutts are my closest friends and I didn't get rid of them I told them to go have some fun."

The horse laughed. "Like an owner giving commands to his dogs, I like that. How would like to go hang out with me?"

Phillip just chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Heh." The horse snorted. "And why not?"

"I'm not dense." The boy said. "You were the one that shoved me over the other night and kept walking."

The horse just chuckled. "Yeah about that, sorry. Was kind of in a mood you know?"

Phillip shook his head. "No I don't know what kind of mood you were in, I was just walking by you and you just shoved me over. What you need that much room because you big or something?"

"N-no I didn't think it was you." The horse stuttered not thinking the boy was going to act like this to him.

The boy just stared at the horse. "Didn't think it was me?" he said a bit louder then he thought, some of the anthros had stopped to see what was going on. Phillip thought about the comment for a little before it clicked. He stood up and looked up at the horse with really no expression on his face. "So if you knew that I was the one not bonded you wouldn't have shoved me?"

"Yes...wait no, I mean..." The horse stutter and put his hands up trying to calm the boy down. "Wait let me explain."

"No I understand perfectly what's going on." The boy was now glaring at the horse. "You think your better then everyone and so great that you can bully them or make fun of them behind their backs. Well that's the one thing I can't stand is how people like you act." There was now a crowed of anthros watching a small human almost yelling at a huge horse that could snap him in two if he wanted to. The horse had his ears lying against his head so tight that it was almost invisible. "I've been bullied and beaten most of my life, I finally made friends when I became a User. Good friends, the same ones you made fun of. All you want is to try and get on my good side and be my friend only because I'm unbounded, then what if I do become bonded? You going to stop talking to me, well I'll be damned if I have someone like that as a friend." Phillip was getting so worked up that his eyes were starting to water, he tried his best to hold back his tears as he quickly wiped his face.

"I...I" The horse started but looked up in time to see Blaferis walking back to the boy and when he seen the look Phillip was giving he figured it was best to leave before anything unnecessary happened.

Blaferis watched the horse hang his head low and walked off into the crowed, the wolf came up to Phillip and seen how upset he was. The wolf motioned the boy to sit back down onto the bench, some of the other anthros gathered a little bit closer.

"You ok?" The wolf asked his voice full of concern.

Phillip just nodded and took a deep breath before talking. "Ran into him last night and was shoved to the ground, now he tried to be all goody goody because I'm unbounded but when he started to talk down about you guys and all I just lost it."

The wolf wrapped his arm around the boy. "Here," He said and held out a caramel covered apple. "This will cheer you up." Blaferis smiled.

Phillip did smile when he took the apple from the wolf. "Thanks." He said as he leaned over and gave the wolf a hug as best he could. Everyone that witnessed the small event made sure that Phillip was ok before they went back to the celebration, throughout the evening Blaferis stayed with Phillip. Occasionally Scrit or Husvor came back to check up on the boy before heading back out. Phillip was surprised that some anthros he never met before came up to him and gave him some sweet treats and sometimes a nuzzle.

"They are trying to get close to you." The wolf said while a lion started to walk away after giving the boy a small bowl of peanuts.

Phillip chuckled while he started to munch of the small treats. "I'm not complaining too much."

The wolf laughed and shook his head. "I see that."

The night was winding down to a close as anthros were starting to head back to their homes. Blaferis looked down to see the boy had fallen asleep on his shoulder, with a smile the wolf gently picked him up and started to walk back to their barracks. Scrit came running up to them when he seen that they were leaving.

"Hey wait up." The dog said.

"He's asleep." The wolf said quietly.

The Dalmatian ears flatten a little. "Sorry."

The walk wasn't long but eventually the wolf had to wake up the boy when they reached the room. "Need to get ready for bed kid." The boy groggily got undressed while the wolf walked back out the door and tossed his cloths onto the top of his chest. Some of the other anthros were already in their beds either awake talking to each other or asleep.

A tiger offered to escort the boy to his bed, Phillip agreed and was walked to his bed then gently laid down. "You did good today." The anthro said before licking the side of his cheek.

Phillip smiled while he tried to get comfortable, when Blaferis entered Phillip called for the wolf. Blaferis looked over and slowly walked to the human and knelt down. "Yes?"

"Can you sleep with me tonight?" He asked quietly.

"Sure." The wolf waited for him to make room before he slipped under the covers and scooted close, his arms wrapped around the center of the boy's torso as gently as he could and held him close. With all of the events Phillip has been though sleep came very quickly while the wolf softly nuzzled the back of his head. He laid still wake a bit longer, visions of the husky still lingered in his head as he held the boy a little bit closer.

"It's not something I can control but I don't want to lose you..." The wolf said so soft that no one could hear him.

Fear that he won't be the one that bonds with the boy washed over him that night.

To be continued...............

Ok here it is Ch12. This will be my last chapter for a while but I will have more by the time I come back. Hope you all enjoy it.