[Kitty]

Thunder

Thunder danced along, the forest floor spongey and soft under his pads. The sun shone dimly in the evening, sending streaks of orange and pink across the sky and making it look like candy. He licked his lips for about the tenth time and stopped. He had to find food. He was starving! He also had to find a pond or something soon. The only problem was that he was too far south on the Tuun Mountains to find water. Wilt'no Desert lay ahead, and if he didn't find something to eat soon, chances were he wouldn't survive the next few days.
Stomach growling, mouth dry, he pushed forward.
"How close are we?" He called over his shoulder, his voice scratchy from lack of water.
"Too close to the desert, but not far enough away from Them." his brother Talon called from somwhere in the bushes behind him.

*~1~*

[Kitty]

Talon

"I'm hungry though!" cried Thunder. Talon sighed. He could hear his brother up ahead but there were still a few yards infront of him, a couple of trees and bushes blocking his view. They were one year apart, age wise, but Thunder still acted like a baby. He always had, especially after their parents had dissapeared, and they'd been sparated from their other three siblings; Ebony, Dakota and Dusk. But Talon didn't want to think about that at the moment. They'd meet up eventually.
Talon took the last few strides at a trot, breaking into a small clearing. At the far end, but only a few yards away, was Thunder, hunched over something. His body quivered every few seconds as if he were licking or biting something.
"Thunder, what did you find?" he asked, stepping forward. There was a bit of a drop, but he'd need to get closer to see down it.

*~1~*

[Kitty]

Thunder lapped vigurously at the stream below, inhaling water as fast as he could. The cool substance Felt good on the back of his throat, so much so that he didn't bother calling to his brother, or answering him when he asked what he'd found. He'd find out soon enough. And sure enough, Talon's lean form crouched beside him and joined him. They hadn't had a drink for days, and hadn't eaten for close to a week. You'd think that mountains would have plenty of prey, but it was the complete oposite. They'd found absolutely nothing at the tops, and only a few scrawny mice or voles near the bottoms.
But it was still better than being under Their controll, even if it meant a full stomach all the time. Talon never seemed to under stand him though. He always said stuff like 'Maybe you should go back home,' or 'You're such a baby!' all the time. Talon didn't think that Thunder knew the full extent of Their power, but he did. And he'd never be apart of it again. Which was why he was putting up with all the walking and starvation they'd gone through.
He imagined his sister, Ebony, sitting beside him gingerly licking her paws clean like a cat. She would never survive out in the wild, not like this, with no food or water for so long. The thought made him sad, and he hoped that his other siblings were doing okay. Then a few gruesome pictures pushed their way into his mind. He saw his siblings, all three of the ones seperated from him and his brother, dead and bloody, caught by the Trackers. He shook his head and took a step back from the stream.

*~2~*

[Kitty]

Talon sighed in complete satisfaction. The drink was so refreshing! They'd been so lucky that day; they were so close to the desert that it was practically impossible to find water, but they did! And it was amazingly fresh too. No salt or fish tastes at all. Talon lifted his head - droplets still clinging to the fur of his chin - and turned to Thunder.
"Alright. So you found water. That's an improvement." Talon joked, but saw the look on his brother's face. It was a mixture of sadness and fear, fury and horror. The look he had when he was letting his imagination run too wild on certain subjects. Talon opened his mouth to critisize him, but he shook his head and met his gaze.
"Very funny bro. I'm not that pathetic."
"Well, you act like it. Always." Talon mused.
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh, yea."
"Whatever!" Thunder spun around. To anyone watching, that argument would have looked like a bad one. But the two of them always joked around. Thunder wasn't upset, he was heppy. Talon could see it in the way he walked; the slight bounce in his step.
Amuzed, Talon followed.

*~2~*

[Kitty]

Thunder took a deep breath. The sky as getting darker by the minute cooling the temperature. Every day was a struggle. As they drew nearer to the desert, the days became heated and humid. Even at the peaks of the mountain it was getting bad. It would only take another night of travelling to reach the sandy grounds.
From there, they were planning on headding south east across the desert, then turn south towards Whisper Forest. They would have to travel all night for five consecutive days if they wanted to make it before they collapsed from hunger or thurst. That would be bruital, since the temperature can rise upto 289.40*F.
There was water along the way - but it'd be very hard to find - and no animals to catch. The place was completely uninhabitable. They'd be going for a long time on empty stomachs, and, unfortunately, this part of the trip was inevitable. The only way to safety was across the desert.Thunder just hoped that the trackers wouldn't find them. They wouldn't stand a chance.
Talon caught up and Thunder shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't want Talon teasing him again. Instead, he turned and grinned a goofy dog grin.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"What were you thinking about?" as usual, Talon picked up on his thoughts. He seemed to always know that Thunder was deep in thought. Talon always shrugged it off as 'your eyes and expression show everything', but none of his other siblings could tell what he was thinking. But thunder was used to this and he shrugged, letting Talon figure it out for himself.
"We'll make it, I promise. And They won't find up either."
"Honestly, how do you do that?"
"It's just so o-"
"Obvious on my face," Thunder finished. "But it isn't only me you can read. Ebony is so shy, she hides everything. Remember when she broke her paw? No one would have known if you hadn't seen her pain in her mind."
"No. I saw her pain in her eyes. You guys are just ignorant." he grumbled, attempting to push ahead of Thunder, but Thunder wouldn't let him.
"No. I've tried. I see the looks on everyones faces. Yours, mine, mom's and even dad's. But I can only get basic surface emotions. But you-" Thunder jabbed his muzzle in his brother's direction. "you can see deeper. You can tell what they're thinking - what we're thinking. You know, and I know you know, that what  you can do is special."
He was quiet for a moment and Thunder opened his mouth to continue, to say something else, but Talon spun on his heels, stopping him in his path. His eyes blazed with anger - fury.
"That's enough!" he growled. Thunder whimpered with sudden horror. What had brought this on?
"I'm sor-"
"No!" he cried. "I don't want to hear it. Not from you - not from anyone! Just SHUT UP!" and with that, he took off.

*~3~*

[Kitty]

Talon pushed his way through the throngs of bushes and dense trees as fast as his thin legs would let him. He couldn't believe that his brother had just said that about him! Fury engulfed him and he pushed forward even faster. The pine needles and thorny bushes bit at his legs and muzzle, but he didn't care. Finally he imerged into a small clearing.
Light was splayed across the soft looking ground and made the many flowers look like they were dancing. The trees dripped with the mist from early that morning. His eyes widened as he took in the beautiful site before him, unsure as to how he managed to come across this. His anger ebbed and left in its place a sadness that almost swallowed him.
He gulped a big lungfull of air and glanced around. This place was so peacefull compared to how he was feeling a minute ago. And he knew that hadn't been right of him. He had no reason to be mad at Thunder. His brother had been trying to make him feel better. Talon had only made it worse but yelling at him. I'll appologize...go back and-
"What do we have here?"
Talon froze, his heart dropping past his stomach. His mind reeled in panic and he began to shake.
"Oh, the poor, poor baby is scared."a second voice said in a sing song voice. Talon's heart sank even further. Two of them were here.
But wait, did that mean that they hadn't found Thunder yet? They only track in pairs and they only have two land trackers...
"C'mon, boy. Come with us and we'll let you live another day." Talon didn't move. He wasn't being fooled by this ever again. His legs wouldn't let him anyways. Moving meant dying. If he stayed still he had a chance to live longer.
"Yeah, don't want your lil' ol' brother to have died in vein."

*~3~*

[Kitty]

Thunder stood still, blinking at the space that his brother had left through. His mind reeled in confusion. What had he said that had made Talon so angry? He lowered his head, bobbing it up and down as he moved forward, trying to catch his brother's scent. He was horrible at doing this. He was never able to follow anything back home and sucked even more now that he had to actually use this to do things like hunt.

Talon had been doing most of the hunting the past while, and Thunder took it easy, following and complaining when there wasn't enough to eat or drink. Now the he thought about it, he realized how true it was when his brother would tease him about being a baby. He realized that he did act this way, and he never, ever stopped to thank him. Or his sisters and other brother. Or, he thought grimly, mom and dad. And now they were dead.

His eyes pricked with bits of pain as his eyes began to water, but he shook his head. He didn't want to be a baby any more. He wouldn't cry or complain anymore, no matter what. With this new energy and excitement burning in him, he dashed forward and pushed his way clumsily through the bushes.

As Talon's scent quickly grew stronger, that of another species strengthened as well. He froze, heart pounding hard. He knew the scents of these two creatures well. And they weren't good. Before he made any noise, he decided he was going to back track. He took one step back, but paused as he heard a voice. It was his brother's.

"You evil sons of a b-" his cuss was cut off abruptly and Thunder's eyes went wide as the smell of blood followed by a painful howl split the air. I have to get to him...I have to... But what could he do against the two Land trackers? Kaosu and Dokueki were the worst possible trackers. The most vicious. A chaos and Venom Sheilupe. He shivered at the thought of their images.

But he pushed himself forward. He was downwind from the others and knew he had the advantage. He was also small and light on his feet and made no sound as he crept forward. Finally, he poked his head through a think bunch of bushes, just enough to see what was happening. And he wished he hadn't.

*~4~*

[Kitty]

Talon spun to face the one who spoke. It had been the chaos Sheilupe, Kaosu. His ears flattened in pure rage, his anger blotting out any sense of reality. If he'd been thinking properly at that moment, he'd have known not to move a muscle, and run when he had the chance, like him and his siblings had done earlier that month. But nothing could calm him down at that very moment. Kaosu had just told him that they'd killed his brother. Her shook his head, bared his teeth, then turned his glare on the red and black creature.

And he merely smiled back. Like this was all just fun and games. To him, it probably was. That sent Talon's mood much further down than necessary. He lowered his head, the fir on his shoulders and tail standing up and his wings spreading out to their fullest. He looked twice the Sheilupe's size now. He lunged forward. "You evil sons of a b-"

Pain caught his attention as his front right leg buckled under him and he toppled forward, his muzzle digging into the dirt. His side and back end followed shortly and he landed on one wing, his other draped over him like a shield. He lifted his head and shook it, then tried pushing himself to his feet. But it was no use. Pain over whelmed him and he sat there completely defenseless.

There was a sudden weight on his side and he glanced up to see Dokueki on top of him, pushing his paw into his side. Talon let out a menacing snarl that emanated from inside his chest and echoed around the clearing. Dokueki smirked and glanced over at Kaosu.

"This guy thinks he's pretty tough." He turned back to face Talon, the grin still spread across his disgusting face. "I don't think you're in much of a position to be saying stuff like that, pup." His laugh was louder and more effective than Talon's snarling, and his eyes went wide. But he remembered what the sheilupe had said earlier, and that gave him new courage.

"Get off of me." he said in a low, dangerous voice. The green sheilupe looked at him and then at the other tracker, whom nodded promptly. The weight was lifted from Talon's side and he leaped to his feet. His shoulder burned and he nearly blacked out, nearly collapsed. But anger for his brother's death and fear for his life kept him going.

"Alright, let's see what you can do." Dokueki said in a light, cheerful tone. He was definately enjoying this. Probably even more than his partner across the clearing. Kaosu seemed bored at the moment. He looked as though he couldn't care less about someone like Talon, and just wanted to get back home and take a nap.

Talon shook his head and focused his attention on the creature in front of him. If it was a fight he wanted, it'll be a fight he'll get.

*~4~*

[Kitty]

Thunder's head pounded and his mind reeled as he tried to take in the scene. He knew he had to help. He knew he had to do something. He would risk his own life to save his brother's, no matter how mad Talon had been. He still cared about his brother. He didn't want him dead. Images of his parent's bloody carcasses sent a shiver down his spine and a tear to his eye. He knew he'd never see them again, but at least they were in a better place now.

He just didn't want his brother to end up like that. Sure he wanted him to be happy, but he didn't want him dead. He would never allow it. With that, he ducked his head down and flattened his ears, just as his brother was doing. He would be in plain sight of Kaosu, but Dokueki's back was to Thunder and he knew that he had the advantage with that fact. The chaos sheilupe was too far away to react in time to anything Thunder did, and the venom was too close to counter an attack from behind. At least, that's what he prayed would happen.

He crouched lower, haunches rising, fur bristling, and barely holding down a snarl, he watched as his brother leaped at the sheilupe. That moment of distraction was enough for him to push himself from his hiding spot and thrust his wings out and down, giving him momentum. Talon was swatted away, a fresh wave of the smell of blood hit the air, and then he rolled away and lay unmoving a few feet away.

Thunder landed square on Dokueki's back and but down hard on his neck. The dog yipped quite loudly and swiped at the thin wolf hanging from his back. But he didn't let go. Something ripped at his front legs, and in a desperate attempt to keep a hold on him, he dug his nails in deeper. The dog dropped to the ground with a wine, seemingly giving in. But Thunder wasn't fooled.

He watched as Talon lifted his head, seeming barely able to focus. His head bobbed slightly, and then he saw Thunder and his eyes grew wide with shock. Thunder never fought like this. He was never this bold and fearless, so this must be a shock to him. But he didn't have time to think about this. Kaosu had leaped from a the rock he'd used as some kind of seat and waltzed over.

"Seems like you've got your hands full, Dokueki." He smiled and Thunder's stomach twisted and turned in fear, but he refused to let go. His eyes traveled from the floor, along the sheilupe's front legs, his chest, his muzzle with razor sharp teeth glinting in the late afternoon light, and then his eyes. He looked away quickly before he was pulled into them like his parents had.

Trackers are unforgivable creatures who hunt down and kill with no meaning. Just for pure pleasure. They answer to a higher council and take orders without question. They are heartless creatures who would stop at nothing to destroy their prey in the most vile and horrible way they could muster. That's what made them such a terrifying organization. There weren't too many members, but there was enough to cause havoc in the minds of those they chase. They were strong and determined enough that they their story was told as a punishment to younger creatures who were behaving poorly. Of course Thunder's parents had told them all about the Trackers.

Thunder gave a small whimper as Kaosu closed in on Talon, but he refused to let go. He snarled through his teeth and he heard it echoed right back at him from the creature under him. He glanced up and willed his brother to move, to realize that he was in big danger. He dug his claws in deeper and he heard another yelp that trailed off at the end. The thing below him was scarcely breathing. Most likely a trick. But Thunder let go anyways. He hadn't realized how hard he'd been clenching his teeth together until he tried to pry them off of Dokueki's scruff. But he managed it, and then leaped out in front of Talon.

"Do not touch him." Thunder snarled in a low, quiet tone, just loud enough for Kaosu to hear.

**5**

[Kitty]

Talon hit the ground hard with a yelp as he felt fresh pain blossom across his other shoulder. He knew he wasn't going to survive much longer, but he wasn't going down willingly, and he was at least going to try taking one of them down with him. He had to, to take revenge for his brother. Tears started to build in his eyes. His brother...was he really dead? He had to be. Why hadn't he come rushing into the clearing by now? He wouldn't have noticed the fight until it was too late and probably gotten killed anyways, but at least then Talon could have apologized.

He shook his head and rolled over to face Dokueki. He had to be strong. He couldn't cry. He wouldn't allow himself to- Something flashed by and nearly knocked over the green sheilupe, taking him by surprise. The dog yelped and jumped around a bit, the thing on it's back a blur. His heart beating feast, he glanced over at Kaosu to see him sitting and watching, as if his partner wasn't being mauled at the moment. That angered Talon. But as he glanced back at the writhing mass of fur, claws and dust, he realized just who it was.

Thunder. His beloved brother. Had he returned from the dead to help save him from the same fate that had taken him and his parents? Or was he really alive? Was Talon just imagining things, due to the loss of blood? He watched in mixed amazement and fear as the creature before him clung on, refusing to let go. Dokueki swung at Thunder a few times before giving up and collapsing. His front paws were splayed on either side and his back legs were tucked underneath him. His muzzle was buried in the dirt and he fought for breath as Talon's brother refused to let go.

Thunder was actually fighting? He was being brave enough to attack someone, and this effectively? He must have been summoned back from death itself. There's no way he'd do something like that. Would he? Dokueki finally lay limp and Thunder relaxed his grip slightly. And then their eyes met. His expression softened and he looked almost sad. The he looked away quickly, Talon following his terrified stare. Kaosu had come over, and had obviously said something that Talon had missed. Thunder looked away quickly and turned begging eyes on Talon, who stared in confusion.

When he didn't respond, Thunder glanced back at Kaosu, then leaped from where he stood and landed in front of Talon whom, in turn, grunted in surprise. His tail bristled and was twice its normal size, indicating fear and anger. That somewhat clued him in that his brother might not actually be the living dead. But when he spoke, that thought dropped away and was forgotten almost immediately.

"Do not touch him!" he snarled. No fear. No terror. No distinguishable desire to run for his life or hide behind someone else. He meant what he said and showed nothing but that. There was no way this could be his living brother. Absolutely no way...

**5**