Chapter Four, Finally!

They had gathered the fallen trees and were rolling them towards the village, careful to not lose control.  Rheias was panting, “how did those monsters make it look so easy?”  He stopped to catch his breath.
Odin stopped too, leaning on the trunk of the tree, “well, they were a lot bigger muscle wise... but at least they made it easier, most of the branches have been broken off or tied into a tip...” Odin looked towards the village and saw someone coming, puffs of soot lining their trail, “Raegis?”
Raegis ran up to them noticing that Kexin was missing, “where’s Kexin?  He left with you guys right?”  He look between the two, who were exchanging glances.
“Well... I’m pretty sure there’s still a few pieces of him stuck in my fur...” Odin tried to laugh it off but Rheias gave him a death glare.
“We got attacked by monsters again...  He thought he could handle it but...”  Rheias’ voice trailed off as he tried to suppress his emotions.
Raegis was concerned, “the reports never mentioned monsters of any kind... The last one said the tree just fell over... I’ll take this to Coresthia.”  He pushed Odin aside and rolled the tree into the village.
Odin put his hand on Rheias’ shoulder, “come on, let’s get back to the village and rest... you could really use it...”  He assisted Rheias in pushing the tree back to the village, letting some other villagers take the tree to Coresthia.  They headed for Rheias’ house, Odin leading as Rheias was looking down at his feet.  They laid down on the bed, Odin still holding Rheias, “it’s okay... we’re home...”
Rheias curled up against Odin and shook as he cried, “I don’t understand it... Why over him?  He was horrible... He’s not worth it...”
Odin held him close wiping away the tears, “it’s okay Rheias...   He left a mark on you and it won’t go away for awhile.”  He cradled Rheias until they both had fallen into sleep.

Odin was back in the human world, he was standing with the human that had punched him.  Before them was another of the winged creatures, but this one posed no threat to them it seems.
“Lea, protect him and his Reason... Michael won’t give up easily, not with permission to attack... who would’ve thought he’d ever be like this...”  The winged creature walked over to Odin placing his hand on Odin’s solar plexus, his touch warming Odin’s body.  “Enoch himself would protect you if he wasn’t busy fighting the demons... Trust Lea Odin, your Reason will be placed under attack by anyone you meet...”
Odin was confused, what was his ‘Reason’? He couldn’t just ask, his body wouldn’t move when he wanted it.  Lea grabbed his hands and Odin looked up.
“Sorry for getting you in this mess... You never would’ve agreed to be with me if you knew this would happen...” Lea laughed, his voice rather solemn.  “Thanks Gabriel, we’ll try to be careful...” Everything started to fade and Odin was left in the dark void, alone, so he thought.
He saw a speck of light, then suddenly a woman appeared in front of him, a serpent wrapped around her, hiding her unsavoury parts.  She smiled, “So you’re the one with the Reason... Hmm... I’m Lilith, and I’m sure you know my little friend...You’re lucky you were thrown out here... looks like the war is over...”
Odin felt his head nod, “Leviathan... Where am I?” The voice was his, but the words were not what he would have chosen.
The snake seemingly smiled, “thiss iss the Losst Realm... Here your Reasson ssshall be realized...” The snake lifted it’s head as it spoke, lowering it as a hand touched Odin’s shoulder.
“Enough you two...  Finally we meet...” Odin managed to turn to this new figure, he was human as far as Odin could tell, but the armor he wore was shining without any light source.  “What Leviathan says is true... However, you must be strong in your Reason...”
Odin felt his head nod again and he spoke, “Enoch I presume?  I know my Reason and i will always stand by it...” Odin was confused, how could he know it and who all these people were?  “Humans disgust me, they need erased...”  Odin was shocked that these words were his, but he continued talking.  “I ask merely for Humanity to be what they failed to achieve within this cycle... End it all and ‘Shift’ the past... Burn their sins and the damage away from the world...”
Lilith smiled, “not so Pure as you hoped Enoch? Surely Leviathan will be depressed that you will throw away everything...” Leviathan hissed in agreement.
Enoch bowed to Odin, “this doesn’t surprise me... I actually thought you’d be more cold about it, but you still have a shred of humanity... The new cycle shall begin shortly...” Enoch took his leave, as well as Lilith and Leviathan.  
Odin looked around, unsure as to what would happen to him.  He saw the speck of light flicker and his skin started to burn, Odin panicked, but his body was calm as could be, “so, is this the end for me?” That sentence burned it’s way onto Odin’s mind, when suddenly he felt his bones breaking and twisting around, his skin still burning as the speck of light slowly grew around him.
“Odin, endure this pain and enjoy this new cycle you helped bring...  If you encounter Michael call for the gargoyle’s protection... he will not take this loss lightly...” Odin recognized the voice, It was Enoch’s but his eyes had shut, them too burning.
Odin felt his skeleton change, he was in serious pain and the dream was getting fuzzy. He felt his tail muscles and his ear muscles where the were when he was awake. He managed to open his eyes briefly to see his human face change into a muzzle.

Odin’s eyes flashed open, his heart racing, it had grown dark out so he put his arm around Rheias, who was shaking from a nightmare.  “Rheias... it’s okay...” as he spoke Rheias woke up and started crying into his chest.  He pulled Rheias on top of him, licking the tears off Rheias’ face, “hey, it’s okay... I’m here for you...” he held Rheias closer and rubbed his face against Rheias’.
Rheias could barely control himself, “I... Know...” He was badly shaken, “I hate... Nightmares...” he was quivering with fear, “I saw him... dying... over and over...” He continued to cry while Odin comforted him.
Odin licked Rheias’ face, “looks like we both had nightmares tonight...” He kept Licking away the tears and calmed both of them down, “there much better, let’s try to get more sleep Rheias, they’ll expect us to work tomorrow I’m sure...”
Rheias sniffed, “okay, I’ll try...” He crawled a bit off of Odin, curling at Odin’s side and slowly falling asleep, shortly after Odin had fallen asleep.

Odin was back where he was earlier with Lea, they walked away as Gabriel flew away.  “So, what’s this Reason that Gabriel is so keen on protecting?”  Lea wasted little time getting to the point.
“Um... I’d rather not talk about it... From what he said, I take it Michael has a Reason that calls for the Annihilation of humans... Maybe his is a paradise for the Angels...” They approached a group of humans, “it’s hard times for all of us... we need to work together...” There was a flurry of feathers that flew above their heads that made his heart sink, “NOBODY LOOK AT IT! IT’S A SERAPHIM!” Odin grabbed Lea and ran away, the other humans looking and bursting into flames instantly. As they ran a monster landed in front of them, it had four faces on a Chimera body, the face of a Man, Lion, Ox and Eagle on a twisted combination of a body of the Ox, Lion, and Eagle.  “Well hell... We’re fucked... A Cherub...”
Lea turned to Odin, “I thought they were fat, winged babies?” They got backed into a corner, no where left to run.
“That was a romanticized version... as you can see, the real ones are terrifying...” he pulled out a card he was given before the Earth went to Hell.  “Tortured souls of limbo... I Request your help...” The card shatters and the ground rips open between them and the Cherub; demonic babies crawling out, random limbs are replaced with sharp blades.  “Um... Let’s get out of here...” Odin drags Lea away as the babies tear into the Cherub.
Lea quickly manages to run on his own, “The hell were those things?”  He was panicking, he had never seen a human summon demon babies.
“Children who died before they were recognized as souls, it generally was 3 years after birth that they were recognized...”  Odin could barely believe what was happening, he searched his mind for this knowledge.  His mind was blank, all he could remember is things he had seen earlier in his dreams,  as well as his time with Rheias.  “Who would’ve thought this would happen in my lifetime,” they stopped at the top of a hill, viewing the damage done to the city already.  Suddenly as Odin looked down the hill, a serpent was speeding for him, launching itself at Odin, but everything suddenly went black.

Finally!!!

I think I figured out where to go to next... time for another nightmare!
Hopefully a new day will lead me to more expansion of the story, it only took me a week to figure out what to write >.<'

Personal Update 1.0

Well, while I'm in between chapters I'll update for myself.
I'm installing Windows 8 (I'm sorry Malrein) so I can use the Bamboo P&T tablet I bought this morning.
I might not work on Chapter 4 till tomorrow during class... Crap, I have a Midterm and 2 Quizzes tomorrow... but I'll get a little done, so it might be Friday I Upload it...

And over the Edge: Chapter 3

This time it was Rheias who had the nightmare; it had started off like a normal dream, but Rheias had the Kama with him.  He was uneasy as he wandered around a plain, no matter how far he walked the scenery never changed.  He stood looking around when there was a flash of white.  “What was that?” As he looked towards the source he saw it, a stampede of white demons headed straight for him.  “No... no...” He quickly turned and ran, but they kept gaining on him until the plain just stopped. Rheias turned around and watched the demons advanced, suddenly tripping and forming a giant demon. “Oh crap...” Rheias was terrified, his heart pounding as the demon got up.
Odin nipped Rheias’ ear, waking him up rather quickly. “Rheias wake up damn it...”  He was holding Rheias close to him.
Rheias woke up he could barely breathe and his face was soaked from tears.  “That... was... terrifying...”  He clung to Odin and continued to cry, he rarely had nightmares, especially one’s that shook him so fiercely.
“Its okay... It was just a dream... I’m here with you...” Odin licked Rheias’ face, smoothing the tear soaked fur.  “Stop crying... It’s okay, I’m here...”
Rheias sniffed, ”thanks Odin... I’ll try to forget about it...”  Rheias could try to forget but it was not going to be easy.  He slowly stopped crying, letting Odin groom his face. When Odin was finished Rheias tried getting up, but Odin kept him down.
“Where do you think you’re going?  It’s still the middle of the night... You need to relax at least if you can’t sleep...” He laid back down pulling Rheias to him.
Rheias allowed himself to pulled to Odin, he grabbed him as well and snuggled closer.  He was not ready to sleep, in fear of the nightmare returning and haunting his sleep.  “I didn’t realize it was still early... Sorry for being a baby about it...”  He licked Odin’s muzzle, then hid his face in Odin’s chest.
Odin was surprised by Rheias’ lick,”...uh... well...” Odin took a moment to think, “look, it’s okay... you were there when I woke up from my nightmares so I’m gonna be here for you...” Odin lifted Rheias’ head out of his chest, and licked his muzzle back.
Rheias crawled up even to Odin, he laid on his right side and set his left leg across Odin’s legs.  “Thanks Odin... It’s just weird to have someone here even though we’ve stayed together for a few nights now...”  He reached across Odin’s chest and rested on his shoulder, resting his head on Odin’s shoulder.
Odin wrapped his arm around Rheias’ shoulder and grabbed the small of Rheias’ back.  “Just returning the favor, I’m here for you Rheias, remember that... You have my back and I have yours...”  He rested his head on Rheias’ head and closed his eyes.
Rheias nuzzled Odin before he shut his eyes and tried to get some sleep.   He rolled a little on top of Odin producing a purring like noise while he exhaled.  He felt Odin fall asleep, after awhile he too fell asleep.

Odin jumped, falling off of the bed, as he awoke to someone pounding on the door.  He quickly got dressed as Rheias woke up.  Odin opened the door, expecting one of Rheias’ sisters, he was shocked to see a golden polecat  with emerald eyes and a  metallic gold mask.
“Who the heck are you?” The polecat was irritated before, but his attitude got worse.  “Where’s Rheias?” His voice was grating, like sandpaper, the more he talked getting more and more irritated.
Rheias hurried to the door, “sorry Kexin, this is Odin...”  He replaced Odin’s spot as Odin went to get the Katana.  “What’s wrong?”
“Well besides you sleeping with him... Rægis wants you to go check the forest out, he mentioned you had problem at the river so I’m coming to help...  Coresthia needs wood to carve some new furniture as well...” Kexin was still annoyed but he spoke a lot nicer to Rheias than Odin.
Rheias strapped the Kama to his pants and motioned for Odin to follow.  “Okay, is there a problem at the forest?”
Kexin lead the way out, “trees have been knocked over and dragged away... What ever it is, it’s big...” Kexin had an axe attached to his back, he felt more prepared than the Rheias and Odin.
Odin’s ear twitched, they were expected to fell a beast that was knocking down trees and pulling them away.   “This isn’t going to end well... we’ll be outmatched...”
Kexin laughed, “that’s why I am here... I’m the best fighter here... it won’t be a problem...”
Rheias pulled Odin over to him, “don’t worry, he’s cocky but he’s really good...” They left the village and headed west over the plain.

Odin’s fur prickled and stood up as the wind blew towards them, “this isn’t good... some thing’s wrong...”

Kexin just shrugged off Odin’s worry, he was ready for battle and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him. “Almost there,” as the reached the forest they saw the cause of the destruction, “what the heck are those?”

Odin gulped, "they look like really muscular humans... although I've never seen a red one... at least not one that wasn't bleeding..." One turned around, "okay, definitely not human... humans don't have tusks... or horns..."

The monsters turned towards them, rushing and yelling, one tossed a tree at them.

Odin grabbed Rheias and Kexin, rolled out of the way but right in front of one of the monster's path.

"ONI SMASH!!" The monster lifted the club it was carrying.

Kexin quickly grabbed his axe and swung it into the Oni's chest, getting it stuck and not stopping it.

The Oni continued his attack, hitting Kexin on the head, sending shock waves through his body.  Kexin's body shook, every molecule screaming, until he exploded covering Rheias and Odin with blood and entrails.

Odin saw his chance while the oni laughed about how easy it was.  He quickly unsheathed the Katana and sliced off the oni's knees then split it open along the spine.  "RHEIAS, GET UP!"

Rheias hurried to his feet, he thought he heard a click, and looked for the other Oni.  He saw it rushing Odin, "Odin Watch Out!" As he ran towards Odin a bolt of lightning struck the oni, stopping it in its tracks. Rheias was surprised but he had no time to stop, he jumped and slashed with the Kama, actually damaging it.  This surprised Rheias and he shredded the oni to bits, “how did that work?” Rheias looked at the Kama in his hands.

Odin shook, trying to get the chunks of the Oni and Kexin out of his fur.  “Please tell me there’s somewhere I can wash my fur...” Some of Kexin’s blood was drying in his fur and getting crusty.

Rheias realized Odin was asking a question, “well uh... in the forest there’s Tisitee Lake that we could dip in... lets go check...”  Rheias led the way through the forest being careful about his movements.
Odin followed but at some point he took a wrong turn and fell off a cliff, into the lake, “Gah! Found the Lake!”
Rheias followed the sound of Odin’s voice but was careful to not fall over the cliff, “way to go... Swim over to the beach... I’ll meet you over,” the ground under Rheias crumbled, “Ah!” he ended up belly flopping.
Odin swam over to Rheias and dragged him to the beach.  Upon getting on the beach he started to undress, but seeing as he was thoroughly soaked he ended up naked.  Odin laid his clothes out on a log as the sun came out, he went over to Rheias to wake him up, “come on wake up...”
“Ugh... Ah! Why are you naked?!” Rheias jumped to his feet immediately almost passing out, “ow, my head...”
Odin walked over to Rheias to support him, “our clothes need to dry off... it’ll be faster off of you...”  He walked Rheias over to the log and took of his vest.
Rheias slapped Odin’s hand as he went to take his pants off, “I can undress myself thank you...” He took off his pants and laid them out with the rest of the clothes.
“Underwear too,” Odin raised his eyebrows as he looked at Rheias, “come on, the faster they dry, the faster we can head back...”
“I swear you just want to see me naked...” Rheias turned away and took of his underwear.  When he turned back he didn’t see Odin.
“Was that so hard? Lets go wash the rest of this blood off...” Odin talked and was right behind Rheias, ”...Let’s get into the water before your thing unsheathes itself...”
A deep chill ran through Rheias, he froze rigid in terror.  Odin got annoyed and picked him up and carried him across his shoulders to the water, setting him down and started scrubbing Rheias’ back. “GAH!” Rheias eventually realized what was happening again and freaked. “I can wash myself thank you...”
Odin got close to Rheias, “...grow up, there’s nothing to be afraid of...” Odin push Rheias over, “I don’t want to go back to the village reeking of Kexin’s flesh...”
Rheias sat  up in the water, “...I guess your right...”  Rheias started to scrubbed the blood that had dried until it lifted out of his fur.
After they were both clean they headed up to the log where their clothes were.  “See it wasn’t that bad...” Odin sat next to Rheias and put his arm around Rheias’ shoulders, “never thought you were that shy... hell, at night you’re all cuddly...”
“Well there’s a difference... mainly the layers of clothes between my butt and your junk...” Rheias looked away and down.”
Odin pulled him close and licked Rheias’ face, “what’s that supposed to mean?”  He nuzzled Rheias, trying to get him to relax.
“Well,” Rheias was shaken, tears slowly forming and falling.  “Around this time last year Kexin and I  were sent out to collect wood for Coresthia...” Rheias paused as he cleared his eyes, “and well it was a hot day so I took off my vest, and he...”  Rheias stopped and sobbed.
“Oh... that... happened...” Odin stood up and carried the sobbing Rheias to the grass and they laid down in the sun.  “It’s okay Rheias... I won’t do anything like that...” he pulled Rheias up to him so Rheias was crying into his chest.
After awhile Rheias composed himself and relaxed, resting his head on Odin’s stomach, “sorry Odin...” He slowly got up, helping Odin to his feet, then hugging Odin.
Odin was surprised by the hug, “let’s get dressed and head back to the village... people need to hear what happened...” They headed back to the log to get their clothes and got dressed, then headed for the village.

And we're rolling: Chapter 2

Odin was restless again, another nightmare was visiting, haunting Odin’s sleep.  Odin was in the same place as before, collapsed buildings, people screaming in agony, fires breaking out.  He looked around, twenty metres away there was a woman, she was talking to that Michael thing.  She saw Odin and motioned for Michael to follow her; she got a few metres away from Michael before he moved, he was staring at Odin. Odin focused on the woman as she got closer.
As she got closer she started to yell at him, her voice filled with joy, “Odin, Michael was sent to save us, I told you my prayers would be ans-”  Michael had cut her down with his sword, it was a quick kill, the blood dripping down the brilliant white metal.
Michael flicked the sword spreading blood, then looking up at Odin he smiled, “she was so helpful too, shame she had to die...”
Odin was filled with rage but he knew trying to fight would only get him killed.  He started to back up until he hit something cold, he looked down and saw it was a small child-like demon.  Odin hoped his idea would work, he grabbed the demon and swung him around, throwing it at Michael.  The demon exploded into ice shards as it hit Michael who was staggered, Odin took this time to escape, looking for something to defend himself with.
Another one of the demons was in his way laughing, “hee-ho! Michael sure did a number on your mother, hee-ho!”
As Odin approached the demon he only wanted to kick its teeth in, he knew he only had one shot and he was in trouble if he missed.  “Grr... Shut your trap!” Odin smashed the demons face with his foot, causing it to fracture into ice shards, but he was not slowed down at all.  Odin kept running and slowly his vision started to blur, and eventually all was black.
Odin’s eyes opened and he was in Rheias’ arms again, he tried pushing back but Rheias was not going to let go.  “Rheias, I’m fine... Let go...”
Rheias loosened his grip, “another nightmare huh?  What happened?” Rheias sat up and looked at Odin, it was early morning but the sun had yet to rise.
Odin stretched, “yeah, it was a different one... That Michael killed some woman... Then i kicked some demon thing in the face...”  Odin knew the demon had said it was his mother, but thought it was best if Rheias did not know that part.
Rheias sighed, something was wrong, nobody had nightmares like this.  “Why such strange nightmares? It doesn’t make sense...”  Rheias wanted the nightmares to end, he felt like Odin couldn’t relax at night because of them.
Odin had gotten up and changed, equipping the katana, he felt nothing as he touched it.  “You gonna space out all morning or are you going to get ready?” There was sunlight starting to illuminate the world outside of the house.
Rheias shook his head to clear it, “oh yeah, you sure you want to come along with me?” Rheias was worried that Odin was still tired from the nightmare disturbing his sleep.  Rheias went and changed into a natural leather shirt, grabbing the Kama before leading Odin out into the plain.  “I need to go check the Dunabe River... There are rumours saying that it’s froze over in a spot, even though it’s been rather warm lately.”
Odin shrugged, “that does sound weird, what would cause that?”  In the back of Odin’s mind something was telling him that he had heard of the river before, but it was impossible if Odin could not remember the past.
Rheias got uneasy the closer they got to the Dunabe river, he was unsure as to why.  “Be on your guard, something doesn’t seem right...”
Odin rested his arm on the hilt of the katana, “you’re right... There’s a colder area ahead... It doesn’t smell like normal cold...”  Odin felt like he knew the smell, but he only shrugged it off.
As they approached the river, they saw the ice and Odin flinched, Rheias was confused, “What the? What is that over there?”
A blue hat with long horns that fell down poked out of the bushes, the white body of it's owner following.  It was the demon from Odin's nightmare, he cringed at the thought. "Hee-Ho?  Hey brother-hee we got toys-Ho!". A black demon jumped out of the bush, it had the same hat.

Odin lurched, "look out!"  The two demons leaped towards them.  Odin unsheathed the katana and with one arm swung the katana, slicing the black hat demon in half, shattering it into smoky black ice shards.

Rheias blocked the jump attack of the white demon, but when he tried to counter he barely scratched the demon.  “What? Why was it so easy for you?” Rheias was worried, he could defend but attacking was useless.

Odin was rushed, but he managed to get over to Rheias before the demon shot an icicle at him.  Odin used the scabbard to block and diverge the ice.  “Bastards... Get away!” Odin planted his foot and spun, diagonally slashing the demon and it disintegrated.  “How could they be real?  It’s just a stupid dream...”

Rheias was panting, he was terrified, he could not fight and had to rely on Odin.  “I-I’m sorry...” Rheias looked down, his tail and ears hanging as well, he was ashamed.

Odin sheathed the katana, “it’s okay Rheias... It was just a surprise that they appeared here... The ice will melt, let’s go back...” Odin grabbed Rheias and led the way back to the village, Rheias was out of it the entire way.

Before they entered the village Rheias stopped Odin, “I’m fine now, lets go talk to Rægis first...”  Rheias took a deep breath and stood up straight before walking into the village and heading to the forge.

Rægis was covered in soot his tail wagging away, covering everything else with soot.  He was forging a new sword and failed to acknowledge the approach of Reias, Odin had walked up and flicked a pebble at him before he looked up.  He put the sword in the fire, then walked over to them, “Hey, back already... Something wrong?”

Rheias put the kama and katana  on the workbench, “can you check the sharpness of these?”  Rheias needed a reason that he could not touch the demons, there had to be one.

Rægis shrugged and grabbed the weapons, “well sure, but i just sharpened them so they should be sharp... Did you actually have to use them?” He checked the blades on the kama first.

Rheias jerked, “well... Uh, yeah... We were surprised out over by the Dunabe river...  I was curious to what damage they took...”

Rægis put the kama back and took the katana to inspect, “well, those still are sharp as new...” As he unsheathed the katana he noticed the mark on the scabbard, “what happened here? Oh well,  better than using the thin blade...” Rægis looked at the blade itself, “well this has some spots... I’ll go sharpen it for ya...” Rægis went to sharpen it.

Rheias’ tail and ears fell again, “am... Am I just that weak? You made it seem so easy...” Rheias could barely look up at Odin.

Odin shook his head, “I don’t know, you’re not weak Rheias... maybe there was just something about them that made them resilient to the Kama blades... Cheer up...”

Rægis returned and saw Rheias, “hey... Is everything okay Rheias?”  He looked over at Odin.

Odin shrugged, “in the fight he barely scratched the monster... But then I easily sliced through them...”

Rægis looked at the katana, “well that explains the marks on this, but how could the kama not work? The blade shape is very similar...”

Rheias picked up the weapons and walked over to Odin, handing over the katana.  “Then... I am...”

Odin pulled Rheias to him, “stop Rheias, we’ll figure it out eventually... We’ll go home and talk it over...” They said their good-byes and headed for Rheias’ house, going directly to his room.

Rheias sat down on the bed, still depressed, “it just doesn’t make any sense... The only explanation is that I am that weak...”

Odin sat at the head of the bed and pulled Rheias up to him before laying down, “Rheias you’re not weak... Maybe you just didn’t have the will to fight too hard and so you barely scratched it in effect...  It was your first time seeing them so you thought it would be easy...”

Rheias got closer to Odin and hid his face in Odin’s chest, “but, what about next time? What if I can’t hurt them the next time too?” Rheias’ eyes were watering, he was about to cry, he had never felt so useless.

Odin clutched Rheias close, “it’s okay Rheias, trust me... They won’t be a problem next time, if anything happens I’ll protect you Rheias... I promise...”  Odin licked Rheias’  face, the salty tears being wiped away on his tongue.

Rheias sniffed and nuzzled Odin, “thanks...  I’ve never had this happen before... But I’m glad I have you to help...”  He wrapped his tail around Odin’s and snuggled close before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Odin kept Rheias in his arms, cuddling him until he himself drifted asleep.

Lets get Rolling: Chapter 1

Odin was putting on a red leather shirt of Rheias’, “so... Sorry about earlier.”  He grabbed a pair of pants and awkwardly put them on, having problems fitting them right with his tail.

Rheias looked over at him, “ oh, it’s okay, you don’t remember much of your past or anything huh?”

Odin finally got the pants to fit, “yeah, it all seems... unreal... I know it seems odd but, it feels like i shouldn’t be here... But hey, where can I go?”  He sat down and laid across the foot of the bed.

Rheias sat down as well and looked at Odin, “It’s okay Odin, something happened and you lost your memories... but your scars worry me...”

“Oh yeah, they are odd... it seems like something was after my heart...” Odin turned to Rheias.

Rheias turned towards Odin more and crossed his legs on the bed.  “Yeah but on your back it’s all over...”

Odin glanced through the corner of his eye, “yeah... It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense... Do you think...”

Rheias nodded, “Sure, there is no problem, just. don’t make a big mess. Heh...”

“What’s so funny?” Odin was worried and looking at Rheias. “oh, there’s just one bed...” Odin looked around the room.

Rheias laughed again, “well, yeah... I mean... it isn’t much but... Of course you can stay here, I brought you here, you’re my responsibility”

Odin sat up and scoot closer to Rheias, “Thanks... I know I haven’t done anything but I’m tired still...”

Rheias moved so Odin could lay down fully, “ it’s okay. I think we can make do with this...”

Odin stretched out and looked at Rheias, “thanks, I don’t know how I’m going to repay you... You’re alright splitting the bed?” Odin spoke shakily during the latter half.

Rheias laid down as well and smiled, “it’s no problem for me if you’re not gonna complain.” He touched Odin’s shoulder and Odin shivered, “there’s not a lot of guys in the Great Plains area. Especially guys as intriguing and open as you...”

Odin was sure his face was red, he wasn’t sure how that thought worked.  “Well thanks Rheias, I might not know much but I’ll do my best.”   Odin slowly scooted up to Rheias and drifted off to sleep, holding onto Rheias and his muzzle in Rheias’ fur.

Rheias smiled at Odin and pulled him close, when he noticed Odin was asleep a few tears rolled down his face.  Rheias had felt that he was missing something, but he felt he had found it.  Rheias eventually fell asleep holding Odin close, his muzzle resting on Odin’s head.

Odin slept peacefully, until he started to dream, reacting and getting closer to Rheias.  He was running, he saw he was being led by the guy in front of him; there was rubble of a city all around them.  Odin realized that he was human, everyone he saw was; but, was human what it was called?  Odin did not have time to think about humans, they had stopped running in a crossroad.  Odin looked past the guy in front of him, there was another man; but he had white feathered wings, did humans have wings?  No, Odin decided this man was something more.  He felt a stinging on his back and turned around, there were monsters there, they were rather childlike but still monsters.  He stepped back and into the other human glancing back at him.

“Odin, stay safe and remain alive,” the other human had turned to him, “I’m sorry, I won’t let Michael get you.”  The human punched him in the solar plexus, sending him flying backwards.  Odin saw the world slowly disappear, as if he went backwards through a tunnel, until he was left hovering in the darkness.  He did not know how long he had been in there until he saw a speck of light and it suddenly enveloped him.

Odin’s eyes flew open, he realized he had been crying, Rheias’ fur was soaked from tears.  The dream was slowly fading from his consciousness, but his heart was still racing.  As Odin collected himself he realized that his body was sore all over.

Rheias loosened up when noticed Odin had woken up, “you okay? it must have been some nightmare you had.”  Rheias had woken when Odin started his nightmare, “you were whimpering and shivering a lot, wanna talk about it?”

Odin tried to clear his face, but he just made his fur ruffled all over.  “Well... it all seems to be fading now...” Odin was not sure what really happened himself.  “It’s hard to remember, but there was this guy,” Odin could not find the words to describe a human, “he said something about Michael, who I guess we ran into... He made it seem like Michael was a bad guy... But he had white feathered wings... He didn’t seem that bad...”

Rheias was just as confused about the furless creatures, “that must be some nightmare, don’t worry that can’t actually happen.”  It was unsettling how Odin was unable to remember what seemed like a really vivid dream.

“And it’s gone...” Odin seemed disappointed, “I was just talking about it, but now it just isn’t there...” A dream that vivid should stand out in one’s memory but he just could not find a trace of it.  “I’m okay now, there’s nothing I can do about it...” Odin decided it was better to just forget about the dream, “sorry if I was too much trouble for you.”

Rheias smiled, “it’s okay Odin, it was a nightmare, everyone gets them.”  Rheias stretched and got up, “I really only needed to lay down anyways, so I’m good.”

Odin sat up on the bed, “ugh, I’m sore all over...” Odin tried to stretch but his muscles were unwilling and Odin ended up laying down again.

Rheias laughed, “It’s okay Odin, you can stay here and rest, I have my responsibilities in the village to take care of so I’ll be back later.”  Rheias left the room, making sure to lock the door on the way out so his family wouldn’t snoop.  As he turned around he nearly hit his sister, “Ritas, what do you want?”

“Heard you got a Pet out in the field, so where is it?” She was a head taller than Rheias, her fur more burnt orange than yellow.  As she stared at Rheias her jade eyes shining with interest as her tail flicked back and forth.

Rheias’ ears flicked with irritation, “it’s none of your business, I need to go see Rægis if you don’t mind...” He made his way over to the stairs, “And stay out of my room!”

After rattling the doorknob a few times Ritas decided to follow, it wasn’t everyday Rheias went to the blacksmith.

The forge was blazing and there was a silver wolf working away, his fur spotted with soot.  He had a thick leather apron, and leather pants with his tools attached.  He turned around as Rheias walked up, “well to what do I owe this visit Rheias?”

Rheias’ tail twitched, “oh ha-ha Rægis... I wanted to see about the weapons I found  a few days ago...  Could you reinforce them?”

Rægis’ tail wagged stirring up ash, “oh yeah, those were interesting to work with.  Let me go fetch them.” He went into a storage room and brought out a Katana and a pair of Kama.  “It’s odd, I’ve never seen anything like them... It was a challenge but the blades are good as new, luckily the blades detach making it easier to work on the blades...” He handed the pieces over to Rheias, “bring me anymore that you find... It was fun to work on something new.”

Rheias took the weapons, “sure, thanks for working on them Rægis. See you around.”  Rheias turned to leave and noticed his sister at a vending stall, not really trying to blend in with everyone around her.  “Ugh, she followed me... So annoying...”  Rheias waited for Ritas to get distracted, then took his leave, getting back to his room without being followed by his sister.

Odin had managed to sit up on the bed and stay upright, “oh, you’re back... that wasn’t too long...”  He scooted to the edge of the bed and looked at the katana, “what’s that for?”

Rheias sat the weapons down, “well I found them a few days ago, I had the blacksmith repair them.”

Odin’s ears twitched with anticipation as he got up and walk over to the weapons.  “It doesn’t seem like they fit in...” Odin went to pick up the Kama and flinched as the image of a beheaded female human child flashed through his mind.  He quickly tried to focus on Rheias but the image had burned itself into the back of his mind.  If it was a memory, why would he kill a child?  “It can’t be a memory... I’m not one of those...”

Rheias saw Odin flinch, “Hey,” he rushed over to Odin, “what happened?”

Odin was dazed for a moment before he realized Rheias had a hold of him, “uh, it was nothing...” Odin went over to the bed and laid down, “I’m fine... Really...”

Rheias was skeptical, “that wasn’t nothing... you saw something  didn’t you?” Rheias sat down next to Odin, who was shivering.  “Okay, it was more than just something...”

Odin was trying to calm his body, “it wasn’t anything... it just surprised me is all...”  Odin was being truthful, the image was there but he was shocked at the fact that it appeared so suddenly, not that it showed him holding the bloody Kama.

Rheias pulled Odin closer, “Odin... There was something there... What was it? it Could help you remember more...”

“If so, I don’t think I wanna remember... it was a female furless child... It seemed like I was holding those scythes and she was missing her head... I had her blood on my hands...”  As Odin recalled the image, he seemed to be more worried that he touched blood.

Rheias was taken aback by the calmness that Odin managed to talk in, Rheias would never be that calm if he had seen it.  “Oh... That is bad Odin...”  Rheias hugged Odin tighter, more for his own sake than anything else.
Odin tried to shrug but Rheias prevented it, “it was just an image, not like it was a memory...”  In fact the image was starting to fade from his mind the less he thought of it.
Rheias laid down, still holding onto Odin, “still Odin, it’s not something anyone should think of...” Rheias wondered how Odin could be so calm and cold about that image.
Odin’s tail swished over Rheias, “don’t worry about it, it was just an image... it’s mostly gone now... I doubt I’ll be using those Scythes anyway...” Odin Rolled over and eventually fell asleep.
Rheias shrugged, there was nothing he could do.  He wrapped his tail around Odin’s and cuddled until he fell asleep.

Lets get started: The Prologue

It was an early windy day, and Rheias was out on patrol. He was the only son in the Leopard family of Trei Village.  The wind was ruffling his fur, the black base coat mixing with his goldenrod spots.  Being from such a small village the clothes he wore were not that special, simple leather pants, a Leather vest coloured with blueberries. He was rather relaxed, nothing special ever happened in the plains when the seasons were changing.  As he looked around he squinted his tawny coloured eyes.  The winds suddenly changed carrying a new scent to his nose, “What the? Who is that?”  He ran towards the source and was shocked.

There was a shadow-blood fox passed out in the field, he looked like he just fell out of the air the grass around him seemingly untouched.  He was breathing very lowly and it was worrying Rheias.  Rheias got closer, the fox was definitely not from around the Great Plains area.  The fox had been wearing clothes but they were remnants and shredded beyond recognition, what he could tell the shirt had been the colour of his spots, but the pants were perplexing him.  The pants were blue, but really dark, no dyes he had seen could be that dark and have small white stripes running occasionally in the leather.  Now that he thought about dyes, what had been used to dye the shirt such a vivid goldenrod? He noticed that  under the remnants of the pants there was underwear strangely intact, made from a strange black fabric hugging the body, sitting right below his tail the pants setting above the tail.

Rheias looked around the fox and decided it would be best to get him to the village where he would be safer.  As he picked up the fox he noticed there was scarring on it’s back but also on his chest in the center.  “Well he must be a fighter of some kind, although he doesn’t have weapons on him, and there aren’t any around here...”  Rheias looked down at the fox as he walked, he looked peacefully asleep but there were traces of pain on his face.  “Was he fighting? No, these scars are older, what pain was facing?” Rheias kept thinking about this on the way back to the Village.

One of Rheias’ sisters ran up to him as entered the village, “What’s that?  A Vulpine? He looks nothing like Enroaz... What odd clothes...”  She was barely older then Rheias but acted younger than him.  She was a golden yellow with black spots, unlike her brother.

“Rena, I found him in the field.  Some things not right, it didn’t seem like he wandered around and passed out. The area around him was untouched.” Rheias kept moving, he was getting tired and he wanted to see if he could wake the fox.  He managed to get to his room and put the fox on his bed  and sat next to the fox.  Rheias looked at the wall contemplating what to do about the fox.

The fox opened his eyes, coloured a bright iris but cloudy from being shut so long, and sat up, “Ugh... What the?!”

Rheias was surprised and his reflex caused him to jump, slamming face first into the floor.  “Ow... Sorry I found you in the field and Brought you here.”

The fox was inspecting himself, he took of the remnants of a shirt off looking through his fur, his red claws helping groom as well as separating his fur. He noticed his fur was fine and stopped messing around with it and took off the remnants of pants then looked up and saw Rheias. “Eep!” he jumped back, noticed he was just in his underwear and tried covering up, “uh, um... Sorry!” He was flustered and panicking, not knowing what to do he started to shiver, not really helping his case.

“Um... It’s okay...” Rheias stood up and walked over to the fox. “I’m Rheias, can I at least get  your name?”

The fox looked dumbfounded, ”um... let me think.” He closed his eyes trying to remember and buckled over in pain, but Rheias caught him.

“Hey,” Rheias was shocked, “you okay? Don’t hurt yourself...”

The fox opened his eyes, “My... name’s... Odin...?” He was out of breath, he could remember why but nothing made much sense to him. ”I’m fine... Rheias...”

Who was he? Why did he freak out? Where did he come from? Why it so painful for him  to remember?

Well Here You Are...

I am Odin, the Author for "Shadows of a Bloody Past".
Really I started writing this story, around February 29, 2012, after listening to a song and thinking about the meaning.  I am a real amateur writer so any help is appreciated, and sometimes I need the encouragement.  Obviously my social skills suck.