[Atoli01]

It was really a wonder how the human race was still alive. After all, the only things they thought about was wealth and power, doing anything to obtain it. From the way they destroyed nature, it was even more of a wonder how anything was alive. However, there were a few places, like here for example, where nature still thrived in its original form.

I sighed and sat down on a large rock, scanning as far as I could see in this large cave. I had been sent out to this place to find some sort of creature called an... Akail, I think it was? Well, not really sent, I was dared to go and try to look for one. They had all laughed at me when I said I was actually going to do it. Maybe it was because of the fact that I was so small? In Kitrell and human form. But for right now, I had decided to stay in human form. My name is Aomori Klysheck. I had styled my hair so that it was short with bangs in my face. It was a naturally dark blue color, reflecting the color of my pelt. I had on a black shirt with one side hanging off my shoulder and two bows; one at the very top, a hot pink one and a large black one around my waist, acting almost like a belt. The sleeves stopped at my elbows, although there was some white, rather frilly fabric hanging off of it for a few inches, ending a little above the wrist. I also had on a pair of pink short shorts with a pair of black converse. My skin was extremely pale and I was rather thin, with some Kitrell ears and a tail to go along.

After a few minutes if surveying the area, I finally got back up. There was no sign of anything. maybe if i went back into my regular Kitrell from, I could fly up and spot something, but the transformation always felt really weird to me. I never did change forms unless I really needed to. I kicked a nearby rock in frustration and continued walking. Maybe if I searched a little more, something might show up. But no matter what happened, I wasn't coming back to the pen without an Akail, that was for sure. A creature as big as that couldn't be too hard to find. But rght then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind -- how the heck was I even supposed to convince the Akail to come with me when the time came?

{{Aomori: 1}}

[Atoli01]

I started to put my hands where my pockets would have normally been, but then I had quickly realized that I didn't have pockets. It was a really annoying habit of mine. I was already starting to get thirsty; I should have bought a few basic supplies along with me, but I was too concerned about proving them wrong, that I would in fact manage to find an Akail. Well, this was a cave, right? Surely there would be some kind of natural lake or river inside here. There always was in all of the movies. I kept on walking, taking every single small detail into account. The place seemed to be in a pretty darn good condition, for someplace that was completely natural. It didn't seem like there was much, if any life here at all, with the cave being as silent as it was.

I heard the sound of a rock falling and I immediately looked down. There was a good 25 to 30 foot drop, and if it hadn't been for the sound of that rock, goodness knows what might have happened to me a few moments ago. Luckily though, there was only a two or three of four foot gap that I could easily jump over in human form. I took a few steps back and ran forward, taking a giant leap over the chasm. I let out a sigh of relief as I landed on the other side. I thought of saying, 'hey, is anyone out there?', but that would have probably ruined any chance I had at finding an Akail in a two mile radius. It could also attract a lot of things that I wouldn't like, like some that would definitely try to eat me.

{{Aomori: 2}}

[Atoli01]

Ugh, if I didn't find some food and water very soon, I would probably collapse of hunger and thirst. I mean, this was a cave after all. In the movies, they always had all those weird little insects and those cool underground ponds or rivers, or lakes, or whatever you wanted to call them. I would have thought that all those movies weren't entirely fake. But then again, This cave was sure to stretch out for miles all around, and really? Honestly, what was the chance of me finding either of those in that big of a space. Going in here unprepared suddenly seemed like commiting suicide.

There was a dark figure who jumped down off what must have been an opening in the cave wall somewhere up top and right in front of me. I jumped back and fell on to the ground in surprise. The... thing appeared to be a human male. He had on a white hoodie over a black shirt and a pair of blue jeans with black shoes. He head on what appeared to be the mask of a Fellox ad the tail and ears of one too. He had spiky red hair, and if all the fur and hair were the natural color, I'd guess he was an Imperial Fellox. "Yo," he said, extending an arm to me, "Sorry 'bout that."

All my family, well, actually, close friends told me not to trust strangers. I thought about all the bad things that could happen if I actually ended up trusting this guy, but he seemed nice enough. I grabbed his his hand as he pulled me up. He let out a small laugh and said, "I'm surprised you don't realize who I am yet. We've only seen each other about a million times." He must have been mistaking me for someone else, because he definitely didn't look familiar at all. "Oh right, I normally keep my tail and all the other Fellox related stuff hidden. Maybe you'll recognize me now?" he said, taking off his mask.

{{Aomori: 3; Adare: 1}}

[Atoli01]

Once he slipped off the mask, I immediately recognized who he was. "Y-you're Aiakimi's boyfriend, Adare, right? What are you doing here?" I asked. Aiakimi was the most popular one back home and the one that pretty much everyone listened to, even if her ideas were completely ridiculous. He smiled saying, "Hey, you talk~ But yeah. Well actually, we broke up today. We had a really big fight about you running off like that. So she sent me to watch you and make sure you were safe." Oh my gosh, he just made me feel really sorry. And that wasn't an emotion I felt all that much. They had broken up just because of me. Even more, he barely even knew me. Why in the world would he choose protecting me over staying with her?

As if reading my mind, he said, "Hey, don't worry about it. We would have broken up sometime, somehow. Cause contrary to popular belief, things weren't exactly going too smooth between us." I shrugged, my normal response to something like that. I had a cool layer that no one could touch on the outside. But on the inside, I was just like anyone else -- I had emotions, feelings, and even more, well, I wanted friends. But I learned that no matter how hard you try to be nice to people, you would always just end up hurt. It was sad, but it was true. Adare's breaking up with Aiakimi just proved that even more.

"Erm, sorry. You probably know me already, but my name is Aomori. Aomori Klysheck."

{{Aomori: 4; Adare: 2}}

[Atoli01]

Adare smiled saying, "Yeah, I know. Oh, and, if you want, you can just call me Ad from now on." Did he really mean that? I only ever used nicknames with my close friends, all of which who are now are now dead, but honestly, that was way beyond the point right now. But then again, not everything meant the same things to everyone. And... Why should I have even gotten my hopes up? Even for just a split second? There were plenty of people I knew who used nicknames with other people they absolutely despised, dimply because it was quicker to say. I sighed and stepped back so I was leaning against the wall of the cave.

"Hey, you know? I think I'm starting to like you," he said happily. Even more, he said it with that same lazy smile that all the girls fell in love with and the one that made all the guys wanna punch him. I glanced down at my feet and started twiddling my thumbs nervously. "H-how exactly do you mean that? Oh, I mean, just friends, right?" He smiled again, this time a normal person smile. "Well honestly? It really all depends on how you wanna interpret it. I'm definitely thinking you're not like any other girl back at home, so I'm guessing you're taking it as just friends? People who jump to conclusions any more than that are really annoying." So, I guess I had a friend then? It was official? I had told myself what seemed like a million times to never trust anyone that way I did again, but it seemed my inside emotions took over this time.

{{Aomori: 5; Adare: 3}}

[Atoli01]

After that, we walked in silence for what must have been about 10 minutes, although it felt like eternity. We had heard no sound from anywhere, and hadn't seen a single thing. When the silence had finally gotten to be enough for me, I said, "Hey, can I ask you something?" Adare shrugged. I had started to talk, but then he had suddenly replied, "Only if I can ask you something too." Oh gosh, what was he going to ask me? There was nothing interesting about me, and I really had no friends. What in the world could he ask? "How is she? I mean, Aiakimi? What does she act like around you?" I blurted out. I really didn't know if we agreed to have him ask first or me, but it didn't seem he minded.

"She's nice, I guess. Sometimes. Everyone thinks that I was the one that went after her, but really, she was aiming for me. In truth though, she's just like any popular girl. She aims for the cute guy just to boost her popularity even more. If something didn't happen, I would have dumped her myself in a day or two."

I glanced around nervously. Maybe that topic was a little sensitive for him? "Well, what did you wanna ask me? I don't really see anything fascinating about me," I said. Adare smiled, saying, "On the contrary, you're actually amusing. But, back to the subject. Why are you always trying to hide your real feelings? I'm not all that good at reading girls, but you make it really obvious. You're always excluding yourself from everything, and if I didn't know better, I would think you were a void pet."

{{Aomori: 6; Adare: 4}}

[Atoli01]

I froze right then. everyone always thought I was just really antisocial. Sure, I would talk to a few people occasionally, but I would rather have died then try to get close to them. Although, the fact that I never had anyone around me, supporting me -- it just really hurt. But it hurt even more making those connections and losing them in an instant. Losing the ones you would give your life to without a second thought. I wanted someone like that back. "I-I've been hurt too many times. If I get close to someone... Well, everyone dies at some point, and in the end, you look back and you've had some good times. But once you realize how much you were hurt just by losing them, all those memories become horrible," I said.

I tried to stay calm while saying it, but that was just the thing. Saying it hurt even more then thinking it. I sat down on the ground, moving dirt around with my finger. Dang, that would get my nails dirty, but it would take my mind off of that subject a little bit. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I brought that subject up. I really am," Adare said. Again, just like the first time, he extended an arm to me. But this time, it wasn't as some person I had talked to one or two times. It was as someone that Actually cared about me, someone that I could bring myself to care about. I grabbed his hand as he pulled me up again with a smile. "Dang, if only I met someone like you before Kimi..."

I smiled at him and put my hands up behind my head once he let go. I looked down the tunnel and said casually, "Well, if we ever wanna get home, we should probably get going. To search for an Akail, I mean." He nodded as we started walking. A few minutes had passed again in silence when I finally asked, "You did bring water and food, right?" He stopped and I followed his lead. "Er... No, I thought you did," he said glancing around nervously. I sighed and kept walking. Fabulous.

{{Aomori: 7; Adare: 5}}

{{OoC: -headdesk- These characters amaze even me, the way they can be all serious one second and laughing the next. }}

[Atoli01]

We kept walking for quite a while -- an hour I would think, but it could have been longer or shorter. But either way, we walked that whole that whole entire way in silence, with no water or food whatsoever, and honestly, it was killing me. "Heh, you getting tired yet? I know a way that would benefit us both. I mean, if you are," Adare said happily. He stopped for a second and signaled for me to wait. What kind of crazy plan would he come up with now? The only reason I really thought that he would come up with some stupid idea was because that it was a trait shared by almost everyone back home. Everyone had at least one stupid idea in their history. "Oh, and you might wanna take this," he said, throwing me his jacket.

I caught it and I at least thought I saw him transforming back into his Fellox form. And sure enough, I saw his four legged furry side. "Hop on. Just make sure to hold on tight," He said cheerfully. I did as he instructed and jumped on his back. I laid down on my chest and gripped his fur, although not tight enough for it to hurt him. "Ready?" he asked with a slight hint of amusement. I nodded as he took of running, causing me to have to grip tighter. When he finally slowed down a bit I said, "Hey, we're looking for an Akail, not going on a joy ride." He laughed a bit as he said, "Well, considering how narrow these tunnels are, I don't think we'll be having any problems spotting one. If anything, we'll end up running right into one -- literally."

{{Aomori; 8; Adare: 6}}