The Shadows Book One: The War for EarthEnd.

Chapter Five - The Looming Shadow.

Liki Wolfspirit.

It didn't feel like it was long before the sun set and the now smoldering remains of the city were covered in darkness. Lanterns were lit in the camp, becoming it's sole sorce of light. PyreFox sat in his tent alone, a small ring held in his fingers while he sat on his bed, his figure half lit up by a candle at his side.

He stared at the ring in his hand, continueing to twirl it around and around his index and middle finger absentmindedly, thinking of the Foxen in the command tent. His childhood friend...a Beast he had deep feelings for...This ring symbolized his desire to be more for her though. Like his Flame Mark, this ring signified his promise.

Outside his tent, he faintly heard noise, he had to strain his ears to hear the whisper that followed shortly after.

"PyreFox?" he heard the now famalier voice of Liki whisper on the other end, "Open the tent. I have a plan now."

The Fangren had opted to using his Shadow magic to sneak around the encampment, observing the area and getting a fix on their location from the gates of the city. PyreFox had argued against him, only to quickly find that the boy had left during a small moment PyreFox had closed his eyes, leaving him to talk to empty air until he finally realized he had up and left. He had fumed and just sat on his bed for two hours, waiting for the alarm to sound and signal that the Fangren boy had been found, but no such thing came and he took to observing the ring in his hand and thinking deeply about his lovelife.

PyreFox rose and tucked the ring away in his waist pouch before moving to the flap of the tent. He opened it lazily and poked his head out, pretending to take a breath of fresh air while he felt Liki's invisible form brush past him. He slipped back inside just as Liki let off his spell, shimming into existence and sitting on the bed with a small breath of air that sounded very tired before he simply flopped his body backwards onto the bed, staring at the cloth ceiling.

"Tired?" PyreFox asked him silently, still weary of anyone walking the camp.

"No not really." Liki said in a normal voice, making PyreFox wince. Liki noticed this and gave a small laugh, "Don't worry, the entire camp is pretty much out. The only places that still have Anubians up are the docks and the gates, and those guys are already using their staffs as supports while they're half asleep." Liki gave a single yawn then, his muzzle opening and his long pink tongue curling outward, but he still appeared wide awake.

"How can you manage all this for this long?" PyreFox asked, feeling his eyelids heavy and the urge to yawn invading him as he watched Liki. He couldn't help but admire Liki's shape and form, his sharp canine fangs gleamed in the light of the candle and his pre-pubecent, yet firm looking muscles rippling as he strecthed next. In the back of his head, PyreFox wondered what Liki might look like naked, but he push that thought aside before it took a greater hold on him. Beasts having evoled from animals after the humans went extinct, they had for some reason yet to push away from their wilder, hormone driven thoughts.

Liki didn't notice the attention he was getting, Instead finishing his yawn and stretch before relaxing again. "It was part of my training." Liki smiled, "I had to hold my cloak as long as I could, either before falling asleep or exhausting my energy and becoming unable to hold the cloak anymore."

PyreFox listened with interest, he had always wanted to compare a Shadow's training to his own a Pyre. "How long did you hold it?"

Liki turned his head and smiled, "Would you believe I held it for about six days?" The Fangren giggled as PyreFox's mouth slowly hang upon in shock, "My Shadow Cloak doesn't really take up much energy. I feel asleep just out of lack of it before I even felt moderatly tired from keeping the cloak on. I even had to hold that while I had been doing regular everday stuff." Liki laughed again, "I remember my little brother came outside about the third day in while I was raking leaves. He ran away thinking some ghost from the Dark Forest had decided to haunt the broom."

The wolf continued to laugh, his eyes closed in amusement while PyreFox smiled as well, again finding himself absently watching Liki's leg muscles twitch. He growled lowly to himself and shook his head feverously, now dearly wishing that Liki would sit up and stop teasing him without even trying. He was already feeling his sheath stir as he watched the child now. He was bisexual, but he refused to let this get to him. Liki was very fit, and nice, and attractive even. However there was no evidence on that body that suggested the young male had even started puberty yet, and Liki would probably not be ready to be so open to begin with. Also - along with the fact that PyreFox was about twelve years older then Liki and that would constitute incest - he preferred females.

Silence followed after Liki finished his giggle fit, and turned his head to PyreFox again, those glowing green eyes watched PyreFox. The Foxen got the feeling that he was trying to read his mind again, and he quickly locked away his arousing thoughts about Liki's body to the deepest parts of his mind. Even though he preferred females, he had to admit, he wouldn't mind it with such a fit and attractive young man...if said young man was willing...

"So," PyreFox continued, controlling his voice from making any suspcious noise from his embaressment, "What have you gathered about the area? You said you have a plan."

Liki sat up, flinging his upper body upwards quickly. "I'm taking care of most of it. What I need you to do is be ready to get your friend out of here."

"What are you going to be doing?" PyreFox asked, his mind clearing again as he returned to the moment at hand. Getting his secret crush out of this place.

Liki winked and stood up again, his form shifting back to invisibilty once more as he sneered, "Leave it to me okay?"

Dust rose lightly as Liki padded his way toward a couble of Anubian guards, his mind more on the thoughts he had picked up from PyreFox for only a moment back in the tent then the fact he was standing in front of two enemies while being invisible.

PyreFox had been turned on by him!

He hadn't gotten the whole picture, but apparently his laying on the bed and strecthing had shown the Foxen just how fit his body really looked.

And it turned him on!

...Liki didn't really know wither to be flatered or worried. Sure he was fit for his age, fitter then alot of Beasts his age anyway, but was he really that attractive already? He had yet to find any sign on himself that he had started puberty. Besides his knowledge of sex and knowing the pleasure it gave, he didn't have much driving him to it.

Of course Liki knew about sex. Uriay had dreaded the time for that talk to come and when it finally did when Liki was about eight and a half, it hadn't worked out for him at first. The talk started out bumby at first but slowly Uriay got into it. A little too into it. It became obvious to Liki why his Master had dreaded the talk.

Halfway through the talk, Liki had sensed his master's emotions and arousal creep to the front of his mind. As diciplined as Shadows are, not even they could block the primal need and desire for love and affection. After sensing that and realizing just how much Uriay cared for him to be willing to share that kind of love, Liki couldn't help but think about it too and Uriay sensed his thoughts in turn.

The silence that had followed while they had stared at eachother in Uriay's small home felt like some unspoken conversation, the two of them using their emotions and thoughts to let each other know how much they cared for one another. Liki loved Uriay like a father, and he hadn't been adverse to the things that followed.

With Uriay leading him, Liki learnt quickly first hand how to please someone and the pleasure he could recieve in turn, and he oddly treasured the experiance he had shared with Uriay despite its weirdness, not even minding how his Master's body was more aged than his and the sheer age difference. He had been too young to ejaculate back then - still couldn't even - but the feeling he had experianced from the orgasm was addicting, awakening that hormonal side of him more quickly then just growing up into puberty a bit. He and Uriay had shared many moments together before the former passed away. After that, Liki had never shared another moment like that again with anyone, no one had cared for him enough to be that open he believed, not even his foster family.

He missed the closeness, the feeling of love, and the pleasure. If PyreFox had asked back there, he probably wouldn't have minded doing something becuase he missed the fun, but he had no feelings for the Foxen. Liki had no idea where his own orientation lay, he had often wished his secret love back home had realized it before she had accidently ended her own chances at life in a bid to prove her independance. He had no one to share any love with and he was starting to feel a desperate longing for it. Somehow though he knew he didn't care if he could find that in a male or female, just as long as it was becuase they cared for him and wanted to show that.

Right now though, Liki thought to himself and tried to ease his now raging hormones and erection down, I have a job to do. My love life can wait....I suppose.

He focused his mind back to the situation before him, standing just in front of the two quards that stood beside the flaps of the tent. He regarded them in turn, standing before them with a hand on his muzzle while still invisible. They each stood straightly, but Liki could easily feel the annoyance they had becuase they could not sleep like all the others. Their eye's were droopy and ocassinally one of them would droop a bit before straightening again with a snort.

Liki decided it would be more subtle to lull the Anubians to sleep with a few illisions. Uriay had used them on him during his early childhood to lull him to sleep and Liki had done the same for his little step-brother back home as well.

Liki got between the two Anubians and raised his hands, probing into both their lulled minds easily to gain access to their dreary subconciouses. He closed his eyes to focus and began to immearse himself in the Shadows. In the air where his invisible hands were, dark energy swirled and twisted around it, like a dark purple colored aura of energy, cloudy and smooth looking.

These swirls of energy slowly slithered out from Liki's hands in tendrils, eventually reaching the Anubians and surrounding their heads. Almost immeadiatly, the jackel like creatures sighed peacefully and their muscles relaxed, their legs becoming the one thing keeping them from falling right away. The Shadows were showing them their most peaceful thoughts and feelings, easing them slowly to sleep.

Liki smiled as the first Anubian suddenly lost his will to stand and fell to the ground. Apparently the jakel did not care, immearsed in the illusion he so enjoyed, he only grunted at the impact and curled up cozingly to sleep. He was snoring by the time the second Anubian began wavering. This one seemed to have a dedication to his job as a soldier it seemed, as he wavered but continued to force himself to stay standing. Liki became worried that this was taking too long, just becuase it was the middle of the night didn't mean someone might come by, seeing one quard on the ground, the other wavering and obviously under a trance, and with twin tendrils of purple smoke connecting to their heads coming from thin air. It wouldn't be good.

The wolf figured that the Anubian on his left was fast asleep enough, so he focused all his power over to the still standing one, the Shadows leaving his left hand and the head of the Beast on the ground while the ones on his right side became darker and more focused.

The Anubian moaned at the illusion he was seeing, faltering greatly and almost falling over, catching himself with his pike, panting to himself. Apparently his illusion was very enjoyable, Liki could see and sense the soldier's arousal clearly and grinned.

"Come on big guy..." Liki whispered, taking direct control now and creating the illusion of a beutiful female Fangren for just the Anubian to see and tempting him by having the illusion say what he did in a suggestive tone of voice, "You know you want some of this." He whispered and the illusion said the same thing in a singing voice while removing her shirt and revealing her large breasts that only the jackel could see.

The Jackels tongue lolled out of his muzzle and he reached foward with a hand to the temptress, only to phase through it and fall foward to the ground. Yet to his eyes the illusion continued. Liki continued onward with the illusion, the female Fangren kneeling and rubbing the Beast's chin before ripping down his pants - at least that's what he felt and saw - and assualting his black member in the illusion with her hand until he climaxed.

By then he had fallen fast asleep, but Liki continued onward until the Anubian climaxed both in the illusion and in his own pants, or perhaps becuase he was actually enjoying the moment. It kinda reminded him of Uriay in a way. He stopped once he saw the jakal shudder greatly and give a small moan in his sleep, the stain on his crotch evidence enough.

Confident that the Beast would not even want to leave his afterglow even if he was still awake, Liki opened the flap of the tent and stepped inside. A few hanging lanterns lit the area, but there was an erriy feeling about the large fifty yard tent being empty.

He didn't pay attention to that though as he removed his Shadow Cloak and kneelt down to where the Female Foxen was on the ground on her knees, her hands tied behind her. Her head hung down, muzzle to the ground and clothing torn, exposing her body to the chill of the night and reveling a few parts of her that made even Liki's pre-pubescent mind churn. She was indeed very, very pretty. Her bright orange fur just seemed way to dilicate to have been abused as she obviously had been, Liki felt a large surge of anger at whoever did this.

He pushed that aside and gripped her arms with his hands, shaking her lightly to check of she was awake from when she was out cold earlier. It had been awhile since the tent had emptied completly and he was hoping she had woke up sometime between that and now.

And that seemed to be the case, as she groaned and raised her head to stare at Liki's glowing green eyes, "Wha-" Her voice sent shivers down Liki's spine. No wonder PyreFox liked her. "Who are you?"

Liki grinned, "A friend," He said and moved to undue the ropes binding her to the post, "I'm getting you out of here, PyreFox is waiting."

The Foxen went rigid at his words, "PyreFox!? He's here!?"

The wolf sushed her before he answered with a whisper, "Yes and we're getting you away from here, PyreFox saved me so I owe him."

"He saved you?" The sweet voice that was this beutiful Foxen asked, "I thought he was working for the Anubians?"

Liki shook his head, finally managing to undue the first knot and begin to loosen the ropes so the female could stand up. "No, his mark began to burn as the city was attacked, he knew something about what he was doing was wrong but once he found us it stopped and he helped us escape. As we were leaving it burned again and he judged he had to return to the city. I went with him. Then we found out you were here." Liki finished and the ropes fell around the post.

The Female stood up in her ragged clothes and Liki took her hand, "We have to go now, I'll get you to PyreFox and he'll lead you out of the city to wherever the civilians have retreated. I'm going to create a distraction while you both get away, hopefully, the army will assume I actually killed you in my attack and be none the wiser."

Suddenly a loud roar filled the air and the flaps of the tent were ripped right off. A huge shadow loomed down on the both of them as they jumped. A large Anubian wearing general's armor stood over them, huge and muscular.

"I knew that PyreFox would turn traitor! Endanger one Pyre and you endanger the rest it seems. Well that's fine, I'll take care of the two of you here, then go take care of him!"

Three things ran through Liki's mind. The first was that this female was rescuing was a Pyre herself, the second was that the Anubian before him was the general that had confronted PyreFox earlier that day, the third was that they had been caught and he had blabbed out the whole plan and what had been happening.

In his head Liki made the only cunclusion he could to the situation he found himself in.

Fuck...