Shadow of The White Citadel- Chapter One
#2 of Shadow Of The White Citadel (Completed)
Chapter One
"Updates"
By
Furry Sith Lord
Life certainly has changed over the last few months and things have gotten better for my brother Lyon and me. Several months had passed since we were reunited with our Uncle Jon and our parents started working for C.I.Z.A. So much has happened I'm not sure where to begin but since I'm telling this part of the story I might as well start with my brother and me. Lyon and I hit our birthday and we're officially teens now.
We briefly attended public schools but our grades, that's to Uncle Jon's teachings, were through the roof. We received full scholarships to attend Bearly Academy which is the number 3 academy in the world. Plus it's the same school our parents went to when they met and fell in love. Father used his weight in negotiations and got Dash a full scholarship too so he and Lyon can attend the same school.
Speaking of Lyon, my little brother has grown up some. He has part of his mane coming in and it makes him look mature. He's been playing football and he made the JV team with Dash. The two of them have been unstoppable and they took the nickname White Disaster! When my little bro gets the ball he charges down the field like a tank and Dash runs interference to make sure the other players can't tackle him. He loves the crowd's attention and when they cheer when he makes a touchdown, he and Dash go all out dancing.
His biological adults named him White Disaster to shame him but after Dash argued with him about it they took up the mantle of White Disaster to turn a negative into a positive. Plus with his manner growing in, the cheerleaders swoon over his hot lion bod. He's dated a few girls but he seems more interested in football and his schoolwork than dating at the moment. His dream is to become a famous player and send the message that hating cubs born with rare white fur is stupid because they are no different than anyone else.
Even Dash is focused on school because he wants to make my father proud for getting him the scholarship. His mother became close to our parents after what my father did and although she keeps trying to pay him back, my father refuses. He says Dash is the best friend Lyon ever had and he wants to be sure they are together forever.
Uncle Jon works here and he inadvertently became our Guidance Counselor. Each teacher is assigned certain dorms and Uncle Jon got the dorm my brother and me are in. He teaches history but he has to make monthly inspections to make sure our room is neat and clean. No damages to the property and check on our grades to make sure we don't need help or to provide tutoring if needed.
We live in the boys dorm that has felines grouped together. They tend to keep certain species lumped together in the same dorm room to try and keep us well adjusted with our peers. There are four of us in a dorm room and Lyon and I are together with a black panther and a ginger house cat. We get along well but the house cat tends to be lazy when it comes to doing stuff that it can be annoying at times. Then again we have all had tendencies to do that because it's a feline trait.
No one here has given us a hard time about our fur color but then there are other rare white fur species attending here and there is even another tiger with rare white fur like me here. Originally we were all worried what the other students would do to us but most accept us as if our fur color is perfectly natural. Some of the upperclassmen picked on us but not because of our fur color and once we stood up to them they left us alone.
The other white tiger is a boy named Benyamin, or Ben for short, and when we met we quickly hit it off and became instant friends. It was great meeting someone just like me although he is older and a little bigger than I am. Although I'm smarter than him and have my father's brilliance, we both enjoy working out. I still find lifting weights helps me relieve stress but he got me interested in jogging in the morning and he tries to get me to eat a little bit healthier but I tend to take after my dad when it comes to food.
It wasn't long before we started dating each other and while we're madly in love we're both completely over our heads. They had what they call a health class but the class focused on male female relationships and mating but nothing about how two boys like us mate. We've been pawing each other off and kissing but there must be more and we're not sure how to do it.
I finally broke down and sent my father a letter asking him about it. The most embarrassing thing I ever had to write because I had no idea how he would take it. Ben had tried asking another couple that was boy and boy but they laughed at him calling him stupid. This seriously pissed me off because the internet here is censored with a parent filter so it was not like we could watch porn and learn how others do it. Most guys talk about mounting girls but we had no clue if that could be done with us. Once we learned how we both realized how stupid we've been but then we were still cubs.
Our parents paid us a visit after they read my letter and decided that rather than sending a letter with instructions back, they would give us 'The Talk' in person. In a typical fashion, father spoke to me and dad spoke to Lyon. That went strangely because Lyon had no idea I was dating anyone let alone the white tiger I was friends with. He had been so busy with homework and sports that we hadn't spent much time together with each other and only had brief talks in our room. It was fine because we really don't need to be in each other's faces but we still loved each other even if we did our own things.
Father put the head of the C.I.Z.A. through the wringer when he used his negotiation skills on him. He managed to get himself appointed as a contracting advisor but he was practically second in command next to Merrik. Dad had to shave off all his fur again to look like the White Fox. Merrik and him were trying to pose as twins in order to get two furs on the inside of the White Citadel instead of one. It was my father's idea though Merrik tries to take credit for it.
Dad and Merrik hate each other but they seem to be playing nice at the moment. I don't really know the whole story because I've been at school but father has been setting some plans of his in motion. I've been too focused on my boyfriend and school to care about C.I.Z.A. and the White Citadel. Father seems to tolerate Merrik but he has a look in his eye that tells me that my father has other plans brewing. He keeps his plans to himself to prevent them from being leaked to Merrik and his stooges. Even dad has no idea what father has planned because father fears dad may act like a puppy and let something slip.
The other rare white fur species never mentioned the White Citadel so I wondered if they were really targeting species like us or was this just another one of Merrik's lies. He was still trying to get Lyon and me to call him 'uncle' even though we refused. Father supported our decision and dad was proud of us but when we last saw Merrik he was so annoying and persistent. I was afraid Lyon might just call him it to get him to shut up and leave us alone. Every once and a while we would get mail from him with treats inside and a note that read 'From Uncle Merrik.'
I believe Merrik is after me specifically because I nearly made him my slave but my father had ruined my plans when he stepped in and interfered. Father and I still get on each other's nerves quite a bit, so I really enjoy being away from home at this academy.
I had not heard of anything from the White Citadel on the news and was beginning to think it was another C.I.Z.A. lie in order to get my parents to work for them on an imaginary case. I knew my father was not naive enough to fall for it but he has his own plans and it gives him an incentive to work on them. Like all good plots they take time and it was something my father never rushed at.
Will the tiger never misses any of my brother's games and he seems like he's a real fan although my brother gives him a hard time whenever they see each other. Lyon has it in his head that he's related to me, even though we aren't, and he gets jealous and tries to pick on Will. Will just brushes it off as if it is nothing but I do see my brother looking for him whenever he plays so they kinda have a love hate relationship.
The only annoying thing is the school uniforms because every time I have to wear one to class I feel like I;'m dressing like my father. It's not that my father dresses badly because he really looks good in his suits, but I feel like I want to be free from his shadow. I want species to see me as Tyger and not my father's son.
The uniform is simple enough you have to wear a long sleeve white shirt with a tie and a royal blue vest that has the school's logo on it. The logo is a brown bear that appears to be reading a book. Then royal blue dress pants and black dress shoes with black socks but this is weird because why do we need to wear these things? Most of the students just wear them in class and take them off after the class period because wearing shoes feels so uncomfortable. Some of the guys wear white socks because the teacher's don't really check and black socks have a dye in them that soaks into your fur if you sweat in them. It's not really bad but just annoying to wash it out when you shower.
At least outside of class we could wear what we wanted as long as it was reasonable and tasteful. Most of the guys wear boxers or boxer briefs so I had to adapt to fit in so the guys don't make fun of me. I prefer briefs because they are comfortable but the guys kept saying they were like diapers so I switched to boxers and occasionally box briefs. When I'm home on the holidays I wear briefs without fear of ridicule.
The football team has two different colored jerseys they wear depending on where the game is played. Home games have them wearing a white jersey while away games are a royal blue. The sports team are called the Raging Bears and what's even funnier is that they have a shih tzu dog that puts on a bear fur suit to cheer with the cheerleaders. Say what you want about him but that boy can dance in his fur suit. Surrounded by pretty girls he makes the other boys jealous. He has a boyfriend and it was that boyfriend that called Ben stupid so we are not on speaking terms with them. After all, no reason to be rude for asking a simple question.
Dash started bringing a large boombox to the games and every time Lyon scores a touchdown he turns it on and it plays a song that he and my brother dance to. Well if you could call it dancing. My brother is good at many things but dancing isn't one of them and while Dash choreographed a dance routine my brother fumbles to follow it.
I'm not sure how he managed to do it but when he plays their song a hip hop beat starts and a voice starts rapping the word 'white' stretching it out in places then the song concludes with the voice sounding like a bass voice saying the word 'disaster.' Will mocks my brother every chance he gets when Dash tries playing the song but no one cheers louder than him when they score.
Will meets up and hangs out with Uncle Jon after the games but for some reason he avoids me like the plague. I'm not sure if I did anything to him but he just doesn't like me for some reason. My father has been using his company to help provide some extra private security for functions when needed. Even pays him well or so I'm told by what he's told Lyon.
"Hey beautiful," Ben replied as he put me in a headlock as I made my way out of class. I was carrying my shoes in my paws with the socks stuffed inside them, like the other guys do. I attempt to struggle but it's only half hearted because I like it when he holds me.
"Hey," I complain but he uses the knuckles on his paws to rub them against my head. I smell the body soap he used and the scent thrills me because it reminds me it's him.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"My brother's game, you know I can't miss it." I replied and he released me looking annoyed somewhat.
"Oh," he said uninterested. He doesn't like sports because I think he was picked on by some of the players at some point.
"Come with me, you like my brother so come cheer with me."
"Another time perhaps," he says. His countenance was one of discordance as if I had rejected him in favor of my brother. It was odd because they got along so well and Lyon really likes him. Lyon always encourages us to go out but Ben tends to have a shy nature like I do. This is where I tend to be like my dad because I don't like big crowds and a lot of species.
My parents met Ben when they showed up to give me 'The Talk' and my dad loved him instantly. My father was a different story and he was very reserved but he treated Ben nicely but he held an aire that just said he wasn't completely comfortable with us going out. I don't think he likes the idea of his little cub growing up!
Ben was fine with my father and he inadvertently pisses me off when he says I'm just like my father. Really I don't hate my father but I'm tired of people comparing us. I'm different in many ways and it's just so infuriating that everyone says we're exactly alike.
I do get jealous of Ben a lot though because his life was way different than mine. His family never sold him but he is like a stranger and although they pay for him to be here they want nothing to do with him. I guess that may be another reason he likes being alone is because he was alone all his life. The only plus for me is that I ended up getting a family that loves and supports me... and pisses me off every chance they get. Well, I should clarify because it's my father that pisses me off because he's always on my case while my dad's easy going and makes things fun and interesting.
I sat in the middle of the bleachers and looked down to see Will sitting in the front row. I tried once to sit next to him but he quickly became impatient with me and moved to another spot. Now I just let him enjoy the game on his own while I watch and cheer for my brother.
"I hope you trip." Will said as my brother walked by wearing a white football jersey with the name Lyon on the back shoulder area in royal blue letters.
"Here, go eat some popcorn and choke, loser." Lyon replied and threw a coin at Will then they both angrily stared at each other. Suddenly they both burst into laughter as they separated and Lyon walked over to Dash.
"Next is Petey Lagomorpha- R," the announcer said and Dash scowled at his actual name being used. He only wanted to be called by his nickname dash but for some reason the school rules said his actual name must be called. Even though his jersey had the name Dash imprinted on it they still had to call him Petey.
"Next is Lyon Panthera- L."
"Together we are the White Disaster! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Dash and Lyon shouted as they cheered for their team and their teammates joined in drowning out the announcer.
"You suck," Will shouted at them as the cheering died down and Dash sped over to Will and extended the middle digit of his paw at him.
"Just so you know you'll always be number one to us, buddy." Dash replied and the crowd roared with laughter and the tiny rabbit rejoined the team. It seems Dash had picked up a few bad habits from his teammates.
"This will prove to be an exciting game as the Raging Bears face off versus the Swift Horses. The JV team has sparked increased interest as newcomers Petey Lagomorpha- R and Lyon Panthera- L have been dominating the field calling themselves The White Disaster." The announcer stated as the teams set up for the traditional coin toss. A second announcer finished setting up and he joined in the commentary.
"That may be due to the fact that Lyon Panthera- L is actually a white lion."
"Well he sure has become a fan favorite but the question is: would he be as phenomenal as he is if Petey 'The Dash' Lagomorpha- R didn't use his speed to keep[ the other players of him?"
"Though there are rumors that the varsity team has already stated that the lion and rabbit are just one shot deals and if up against players like them they could easily steam roll over those two."
In a conference room in one of C.I.Z.A.'s bases Lou sat waiting for Merrik and Leggo to arrive. They were currently preparing for their upcoming mission while Lou prepared more of the technical aspect and the planning phase. So far the only contact with the White Citadel had been phone calls but after months of planning and following a rehearsed scripts Lou had created, The White Citadel wanted to arrange a face to face meeting with the twin White Foxes.
A door opened and freshly shaved Leggo and Merrik entered looking resplendent as White Foxes instead of their normal grey wolf selves. They could definitely pass for twins but Lou's keen eyes could clearly tell that Leggo was older. This worried the deer because if he could see this glaring flaw then he figured so could the leader of the White Citadel.
A former C.I.Z.A. member who's species was a polar bear was thought to be one of their best agents. It was his job to get close to species born with rare white fur and once close he was to eliminate them. There was no mention of what happened but for some unknown reason the agent went rogue and turned on C.I.Z.A. Because he had spent his time killing species with rare white fur he suddenly began to collect them to form an army.
Shortly after The Great Animal War an author that wrote books for cubs wrote a cub's book about how one day all species, that had rare white fur, would band together and try to destroy the world. Species believed it was a prophecy and caused many to fear any species born with rare white fur. This fear caused organizations to create special divisions, like C.I.Z.A. that would hunt and kill those species.
The agent changed his name to Bear and had been working to undermine C.I.Z.A. and his growing number of rare white fur species had taken the name of The White Citadel. It was still unknown if this was merely a name or had they actually built a citadel. The name definitely inspired fear and the worry about species with rare white fur was becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.
"Well? What do you think?" Merrik asked as he modeled for Lou. Leggo leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed. His annoyance was plain to see and Lou was going to have to get him to change his attitude if they were going to pull this off.
"It's not going to work. I can clearly see that Leggo is older than you. There is no way anyone at the White Citadel would believe you're twins." Lou said as he rubbed his eyes, sighing.
"Now what?" Lego asked.
"I got it. We add some prosthetics and say that you were conjoined twins but the operation was successful, however it left some scarring and hearing in one of your ears was slightly damaged." Lou said.
"Hearing damage?" Merrik asked and Lou took out a medium sized box and placed it on the table and opened it. Two similar hearing aids were inside.
"I had my tech guys whip this up and then ran it through your guys. You each wear one in the ear of the side of your faces that we are going to say were conjoined. For example if we say Merrik was conjoined on the left side of his face then he would wear this in his left ear while Leggo would wear his in his right ear. These carry a special undetectable signal that will allow me to hear everything you hear and send you instructions, if you need it, but they will not be able to detect it. Even if they scan these, they will appear as ordinary hearing aids." Lou replied.
"This is good! This is really good!" Merrik exclaimed but Lou and Leggo ignored him.
"Here is the scene, you two are gonna be close like how Lyon and Tyger are close except that you two get into arguments over trivial things. Like you two do now except your arguments are more annoying than violent. I want to see if they try to pit you two against each other. This will give me some valuable information and it will help me decide how to move forward.
You two should be cordial but not too trusting because they will try and manipulate you guys to meet their own ends. You guys basically follow security guard protocols. Leggo, what are they?" Lou instructed then turned his focus on Leggo.
"Observe and report." Leggo recited.
"Right, so that's the whole mission but let them lead you. Don't stick your snouts in areas you don't belong yet. You'll blow the whole mission and we'll lose the chance to get an inside team." Lou continued.
"Pay attention Leggo, he's speaking to you directly." Merrik sneered and Leggo rolled his eyes.
"Well at least you're playing the part Merrik." Lou replied unimpressed.
"If anyone ruins the mission it'll be you Merrik, your mouth will give you away immediately." Leggo replied.
"Ha ha." Merrik replied. And he lightly punched Leggo in the arm but Leggo reacted by knocking him to the floor and jumping on him ready to attack.
"Leggo!" Lou shouted firmly and Leggo looked embarrassed but withdrew from Merrik.
"Well we know who wears the pants in the family." Merrik sneered. Leggo gave a cold hard look at Lou and the deer suddenly realized that once they got home that Leggo was going to punish him for embarrassing him in front of Merrik. Leggo was too stubborn to lose face in front of his adversary.
"Touchdown!" The announcer shouted as Lyon blazed his way into the end zone. Dash ran to his boombox and hit play.
"Wha wha, wha wha wha... white.... Wha wha white. White," the song began to rap as the song played and Dash and Lyon danced the choreography that Dash created although Lyon looked clumsy trying to dance with his friend. The bass sounding voice cried out the last part bringing the 30 second clip to an end.
"Disaster!" it played and the crowd was roaring and on their feet clapping. Even Will was shouting and cheering although as I watched Lyon stumble around trying to dance I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and thought it was time to spend time teaching him how to better perform the dance moves.
It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea where Dash had gotten a hold of the song or who he was able to get to perform it. I realized that I really needed to spend more time with my brother.
To Be Continued...