FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Ty awoke, his ears ringing, with adrenaline flooding his veins. His hand went to his chest, where his heart was pounding like a drum. That memory tormented him, replaying his greatest failure, every night. He felt something small and soft press lightly on his chest. He looked past his shoulder at the small wolf-girl, whose eyes met his as she quietly regarded him with both fear and concern.

She was already dressed in the leather outfit Ty had made for her, which was enough for now, he supposed. So, she could dress herself, but she still couldn't survive on her own. Ty sighed, sitting up and letting that argument play through his mind. She had nowhere to go, wouldn't leave his side, and had no survival skills of her own. He would have to teach her.

As Ty stood, he grabbed his leather armor from the ground. After brushing the dirt and leaves off of it and crushing the spider that had taken up residence on it, he donned it, once again. He turned to see the little girl standing just behind him. He sighed, noticing immediately that she barely stood above his knee. "Well, we'd better move" Ty said, as he began to walk. "That smoke does more than just scare away insects."

As Ty walked, he could hear the young girl's breathing get heavy as she tried to keep pace. If she could keep up with him and learn to fight, she could prove to be a very useful companion. If not, he would have to find someone who could care for her.

They walked the full day, not stopping to rest. Ty was used to this kind of travel, but the sounds of heavy breath and labored footsteps from behind him told a different story about the girl. One more day and they would be in another small village.

A thud brought him to a stop. When he looked, the wolf-girl was on her hands and knees, huffing for air. Looking for any hint of where the sun might be through the tree tops, he discovered orange light filtering through. Sunset.

"Alright," Ty said, as he turned back to the girl. "We set camp here." The girl looked up at him, some of her hair falling past her shoulder. As she huffed for air, she managed a contented smile. "I'll dig the fire pit," he told her, grabbing the satchel of meat from his back. "You just untie this and get out some meat."

Although she remained quiet, she went about her task as Ty did his. After she had it set out, and Ty had the fire pit dug out, they stopped and stared at one another. "You need a name," Ty sighed, trying to think of something. Pain gripped his stomach as the only name that came to mind was that of his sister. Kaya. After a moment, he realized she was looking at the fire pit.

She was just like Kaya, he realized. Calm, accepting, and peaceful. A memory came to mind of his childhood while he stood up and began collecting firewood.

"Get her!" Ty heard Jade yell. The emerald eyed tigress was an angry girl. Kaya, unlike her tribe, was quiet, and hated fighting. No one else was accepting of that attitude towards life.

Ty turned toward the yell to see his sister running toward him, crying, and being chased by a mob of the other village kids. Separated by two years and a four inch height difference, Ty and Kaya had their differences, but when it came down to it, Ty was always there for her. Kaya ran into her older brother, wrapping her arms around him. Ty turned with her in his arms, putting his back to the other kids. As he pushed her an arm's length away, he looked into her icy eyes and whispered, "Stay behind me."

Ty turned to face Jade, who skidded to a halt a few feet away, followed closely by the other kids. Most of them were holding rocks or branches, though some of them held their fists up. "Stop protecting that weakling sister of yours!" Jade fumed.

"You have no right to attack her, no motive," Ty retorted calmly.

"She's weak!" Jade screamed. "And protecting her proves you are too!"

Most of the other kids cheered as Jade threw a rock at Ty, soon joining in themselves. Ty stood between them and his sister, taking every bruise, every cut, and accepting it. He would not fail his sister.

"Kaya," Ty sighed, as he set up the firewood.

The wolf-girl looked at him from across the fire pit, nodded and watched as Ty started rubbing two of the sticks against one another. After a while, smoke began to rise off of them, and a moment more created fire. They just stared at each other across the fire, eating the leftover venison.

When he was finally tired, Ty lay beside the fire, quietly awaiting sleep. Kaya sat, watching the fire beside him. When he was gathering firewood, he remembered. He used to just stand firm and let whatever came his way hit him. He would again. He would stand firm, as a guardian. He would not fight, only for the sake of fighting.

That night, Ty saw his sister in his dreams. "You finally remembered," She said to him. She wore a fine silk cloth, draped around her form. She was a grown woman now, even in death, and Ty almost broke into tears in that instant, seeing how beautiful she was. He wished she was alive. A breeze swept through, bringing Ty's attention to the grass surrounding them. "Ty, you have what I do not."

"What do I have?" Ty demanded. "You died in that fire. Father is in the temple basement for murdering mother. What do I have left?"

Kaya stepped forward, bringing her hand to brush against his face. She guided his head down to hers, pressing her forehead to his; the timeless felid gesture of compassion. Then she moved her head up beside his and whispered in his ear, "A second chance, Ty. You have a second chance."

Kaya let go of Ty's head, crouched down, and picked a single violet from the field between them. When she stood and looked up at Ty again, a tear fell from her eye, rolling across her fur. "Take care of her, Ty," she said, the pain echoing in her voice. "I'll be watching."