Garno vs. Belthesar!
Garno vs. Belthesar!
*Every character in this story is copyrighted to me, yadda yadda...*
The area was dusty, and unknown to Garno. He was "Only here on bizness". The day before, he had recieved a lead on his birth father, who he felt some connection to. Regardless of who raised him, he felt that he had owed this much to the "wolf" who created him.
Unknown to the rest of his group of friends, and even his own brother, he had secretely longed for a muzzle to muzzle meeting with him. The only person who he had expressed this feeling to, was his adoptive father, Lucas Fuma.
"Paw... Ah got somthin' Ah wanna ask ya." He felt... nervous, if he could place an actual name on this particular feeling. And Lucas, as understanding as he was, was there to lend his ears and advice to the son he felt was his own flesh and blood.
"Who am Ah?" Lucas didn't have an answer, something he'd grown used to for the duration of Garno's childhood. He felt the usual strain of not being able to provide a definite answer to his son. He DID try as best as he usually could.
"Garno. You, my strong boy... are something of a godsend to me, a man who had nothing but a bear made of stone. Who you are has nothing to do with the fact that, whatever you turn out to be, you will always be my son, and a permanent member of Fuma village." This was not what Garno wanted to hear (as it often wasn't), but what he'd always settle for. Regardless, this gave him his boost of confidence that he felt he needed to go on.
"Thanks, Paw. That means a lot to me, ya know." Lucas smiled, and scratched him lightly behind the ears. "Good boy." Garno shook as his secret spot was violated.
"Paw! Stop that, now! C'mon! Ah ain't a puppy nomore!" he yelled with mock disapproval. He secretly enoyed every second of it, but that was a definite weakness to him.
"Anyway, Ah wanna go find my real father. He has answers fo' me that Ah wanna hear." Lucas felt a sudden pang that he knew was inevitably headed his way. He rubbed his forehead. "Phew... I expected this... but so far from now..." Garno feared that he had upset his father.
"Paw... Look. Ah don't mean to upset ya. Ah just..." He stopped speaking when Lucas hugged him tightly. "My son, do what you need to. Always remember that I'll be waiting for you.You'll always have your room back at my place. Wow, you're tall."
They parted without another word, and Garno set out.
Later, at his friend Slade's mansion, his older brother Soki was waiting to greet him with a bruise, and a letter. "Garno, its from Belthesar." he muttered. He handed Garno the letter, and started to walk away. He stopped when Garno called him.
"This concerns you too." Soki shook his head. "I understand what you're seeking, but even so, I'd be just as out of place with the Lunis as with humanity." Garno could tell that his older brother was feeling like an outcast.
"Soki... Listen. He's still our paw. He'd treat you the same as he'd treat me. Ah mean, he fired both of us off, regardless o' who got shot." Soki looked at him like he was undoubtedly crazy. Garno chuckled to himself as he opened the letter. Immediately, Belthesar's scent flooded Garno's nostrils, and filled him with a rage he had never felt before. He read the first line, and threw the paper down.
"What did it say?" Soki asked. Garno found himself growling. "Nothin'. Nothin' at all, Soki." Ah'll see y'all latah'. He took a step, and turned around. "Soki." Soki's ears perked up. "What?" Garno sighed as he held his hand out. Two black spheres formed in his palm, and he handed them to Soki. "Garno?! This is..." He fell silent. Garno huffed. "Ah know what they are. If Ah don't come back by sunset tomorrow, give those to Shade. And stop lookin' like that. They're at half strength. Ah can still use it effectively. Ah spent a week trainin' so that Ah could use these with the minimal amount o' power, and Ah figger'd somthin' new out." Garno smiled at Soki, whose mouth was hanging open. Still boiling on the inside, Garno left the mansion. He was headed to an old battleground, one that was completely worn away by the elements.
And there he was waiting for him, a hulking behemoth of muscle and Lunan pride. Garno made no attempt to shorten the distance between them, as this was a foe he simply couldn't rush and rend.
Belthsar was a stunning eight feet tall, with jet black fur and large fangs. He wielded an "Onslaught" model club, a terrifying creation of metal with nineteen terrible spikes on it. He wore the proof of many battles, scars that told of the life and death situations he ovecame. He had reddish gold eyes that pierced whatever he looked at to the core, and he could see through Garno easily. His tail had been "marked", scarred in a decorative manner, a symbol of his apparent power. His arms and leg were easily capable of crushing rocks alone, and he had the scents of many Lunan females on his body. He grinned as Garno entered his field of vision, and many torturous ideas entered his mind. He extended his greeting to Garno, who had flattened his ears back to shield them from his booming voice.
"Pup! I see you've shown up! You truly have our mighty blood in your veins!" Garno shrugged as he kept marching toward him, and that added to Belthesar's arrogance. "You also were wise to come unarmed! I promise, I'll make it quick. That is if you don't whimper for your life! If you do, I'll simply take you, and erase this cursed world from your memory, and you'll serve me personally. Along with your brother, who I'll make a pet into. Nothing better for a halfbreed whelp like him!" Garno swallowed an insult that he was working on. He needed the information first. Belthesar crossed his mighty arms and grinned his demonic grin as Garno finally made it to the area that he had planned to destroy with their inevitable, grueling combat. Garno sighed as Belthesar's size fully dawned on him. - Damn. Can't hit em' with tha Dragon....- he thought to himself.
"Belthesar... Ah really don't know what you got against me, but Ah aim to do one o' two thangs. One... To break you. Two... To break you, and make you tell me where he is, and anythang else that you know, cuz Ah ain't got all day to scuffle with ya." Belthesar's grin morphed into an even more demonic smile that broke with his booming laughter.
"Pup, you've got balls." The corner of Garno's mouth twitched. "Ah know Ah got balls." Belthesar's laughter died down. He picked up his club, and suspended it on his shoulder. His smile, however, did not vanish.
"Breaking you, I will savor. Your father was my friend who abandoned me, much like you, pup. Why not join me in reclaiming our rightful spots in our mighty kingdom? Surely you've wanted your birthright as heir to the Red Fangs of Hell, as well as the prestige of your family name?" Garno rolled his eyes, and quickly turned on his "Kagegan" eyes of shadow. He looked Belthesar over, quickly noting and memorizing the various strained muscles that were all over his body.
"And its done" he said to himself. Balthesar cocked his head. "No plans that you have will succeed here, pup. We're in my element. You have nowhere to hide." Garno shrugged again.
"Tell me where he is. It don't have to be this way." Belthesar laughed, fully intending on drawing their conversation out. He was searching Garno's voice for weaknesses. Right now, he wasn't finding any. -Good-he thought. -Fitting of one of our warriors.-
"I won't tell you. I enjoy watching you struggle, pup." Garno was growing impatient.
"I won't ask you again. TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK HE IS, OR AH'LL RIP YOU OPEN!!!" Belthesar laughed with actual happiness and amusement.
"Rip me open? WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, BOY?" Belthesar made the first attack by swinging his club from his shoulder, aimed directly at Garno's head. Garno had read ahead and waited until one of the weapon's spikes barely scraped his cheek, then quickly ducked he blow. He then jumped onto Belthesar's arm, grabbed the extended wrist with his right hand, and kicked him sharply in the side of his head. Belthesar wasn't affected by the blow, and grabbed Garno's leg. He suspended him upside down, and prepared to slam him with his club. Garno pre-countered the attack by kicking Belthesar in the chin in the same manner of standing straight up. Belthesar dropped him, and Garno attempted to get another attack in. As he fell, he tried to time his rotation to punch Belthesar in the groin. Realizing Garno's plan, Belthesar jumped back, and Garno landed on his feet. He did three combat rolls to give himself some extra space. On the final roll, he spun around stopped in a crouching position. Belthesar rubbed his chin in appreciation of Garno's display of Taijutsu.
"Pup, you have some skill in movement, and you're also skilled in escaping me." Garno huffed in response.
"Ah don't need no applause from my enemies." Garno's cheek had been cut by Belthesar's club spike, and blood ran through his fur. It formed a drop which fell from his face. Garno and Belthesar both took their various stances, and took off toward each other when it hit the ground. As they raced toward each other, Garno made a hand sign by holding his index and middle finger in front of his face. Belthesar was preparing a powerful vertical strike with the intent to instantly kill Garno. Garno began to grow more and more transparent, untill he was completely invisible. Belthesar stopped running immediately, completely suprised by Garno's hidden skill. In the activation of his Ghost Step skill, he was completely intangible. Garno had counted on Belthesar's cease of movement, and charged on. Belthesar, however, wasn't completely oblivious. He could barely see the puffs of dust that Garno's footsteps were leaving. Garno had covered enough distance, and using his momentum, jumped through Belthesar's large neck. He made a loop with his legs that caught Belthesar's thick neck, and resumed tangibility. The sudden unexpected weight of Garno's body bent Belthesar backwards, enough for Garno's hands to touch the ground flat. With a powerful abdominal crunch and equally powerful twist of his waist, Garno launched Belthesar backwards. The shock of the technique made Belthesar drop his club as he was flung like a frisbee. Garno's waist was instantly sore, but he ignored it for now. He watched Belthesar land, and began to take off his ninja suit.
"I'm not fast enough with my clothes weighin' me down. And..." Garno de-belted his pants, and took those off as well.
"Ah'ma tell you one thang... Ah ain't no pushova'. And Ah got tha nuts ta prove it." Belthesar stood up in the distance, and immediately laughed at the scene before him. Garno was standing in the middle the dusty, eroded plain, in a pair of shiny white shorts that came past his knees.
"Pup, have you lost your mind? If I hit you, you'll die, without exception." Garno huffed in response.
"Thass a really big if there..." Belthesar took a wide stance, and Garno saw his immediate target. He also felt a little... sick for his plan's progression. As Belthesar picked up his club, Garno put his plan into action.
"Belthesar... Ah imagine that you're really popular with the ladiefolk back home. Those some stones you got there brother." Garno knew that Belthesar's aggogance and pride would make him vulnerable. He waited. Balthesar grinned and nodded as he patted himself with his free hand. Garno smiled inwardly and took that as his cue to attack, and dashed in strongly. Belthesar charged forth as well and made a false swing that Garno avoided, leaving him vulnerable.
"DO YOU THINK I'M A FOOL, BOY?" Belthesar roared as he dropped and grabbed Garno's right leg. He lifted upwards with a powerful jerk that dizzied Garno. Belthesar then threw Garno straight upwards a good ten feet, and waited for his descent while cocking his club back. Garno wasn't prepared for such a counter attack, but he had a contingency for such an emergency. Focusing all of his ki energy into his right hand, he called the Chaos Breaker blade. This, however, happened at the same time that Belthesar had swung his club. Garno turned in time to make an attempt to sever the weapon, but his timing was off from being disoriented. He did in fact sever the club, but he was struck all the same. The recoil and pain from the blow disrupted the Chaos Breaker, and Garno was thrown a few feet away. Belthesar was genuinely suprised.
"No one has ever survived a blow from me. Don't let this be your end, pup." Belthesar watched as Garno twitched and groaned to his feet. His legs wobbled, but he kept his ground. "Ah'm... Ah'm gonna pay you back... ten times fo' that..." Garno panted. He was in undeniable pain, but his own pride wouldn't let him quit. He spat blood from his mouth, and grimaced as he felt his broken ribs. Belthesar saw an opening, but held off. He wanted to see what his rival was made of.
"Hey Belthesar. Ah'm still standin'. Apparently yo' strike wadn't as hot as you thought." As he said this, he focused on a specific energy point within his own body. He reached it, and stored energy began to flow throughout his body, deadening the pain he felt.
"First Passage. Commencement." Belthesar listened on, intrested. The Pasage of Commencement had partially numbed his broken ribs. He took a deep breath, and spoke as if he just started the fight.
"Belthesar, my human father taught me somthin' I couldn't learn anywhere else. And a nice lil' technique to match. Now, I can't hit ya with a Dragon, but I got an idea jus' the same." Garno got on all fours, and Belthesar did the same, as the two were fighting partially on instinct now.
"At least" Garno began. "No one else is here." Garno smiled as he realized something. "Funneh... Here we are, two proud guys, with our tails raised like we're someone's bitches." Belthesar smirked evilly.
"Pup, when this is over, one of us is getting his tail raised, and I'm sure it won't be me." Garno looked at Belthesar like he stabbed himself in the face.
"Naw... But it won't be me thats gonna take it, eitha'." They both took a step with their right paw. Garno had made a prediction that played itself out to be true. And if Belthesar stayed close to the ground, he didn't have a chance of hitting Garno. They took another step. Belthesar was a master of scuffle wrestling. He knew exactly how to use every pound he had to his advantage, even with the definite size difference and high level of agility that Garno possessed.
"Reddeh" Garno huffed.
"Don't hold back, pup" Belthesar returned.
"Oh believe me. Ah won't" Garno finished. They took one final step, and took off in a flash. With a distance of ten feet between them, they arrived in only a second each. Belthesar made the first strike this time by throwing a straight punch at Garno's muzzle. While simultaneously eyeing the punch and running, he prepared to jump. He had a huge suprise in store for Belthesar. Garno grinned as he reached down into his shorts, and gave himself a deep but quick scratch. He had to focus to keep from laughing out loud, and rolled on the top of Belthesar's outstreched arm. He immediately stopped when he reached Belthesar's shoulder, and sat on the back of Belthesar's hairy neck and wrapped his hands around his face, primarily around his nose and eyes. Belthesar immediately stopped and roared as a horribly musky, undoubtedly male, acidicly salty, beligerently pungent scent entered his nostrils and eyes. Garno held on for dear life as Belthesar began to buck and thrash his head about like that of an angry bull.
"Go 'head! Get y'self a good whiff!" he yelled. Belthesar finally managed to throw Garno off of his neck. Garno landed like a veteran gymnast, and Belthesar's nose began to bleed badly. His eyes were useless; Garno's scent had temporarily blinded him. Not to mention that the very taste was in his mouth, and the strength made him vomit uncontrollably. Garno smiled and crossed his arms.
"Hey Belty. Thass ma own move, Tha Knuckle Puppy Special. If you can still function, Ah'd bow to ya immediately." Belthesar stood upon wobbling legs, mighty pillars that had no stability.
He also had no sense of direction; the pain of his nose, eyes and mouth was deadening his senses. And it was sapping his strength. He quickly stuck his hands down his pants as well, and brought his hands to his face. He rubbed himself all over his face and instantly stopped Garno's chemical warfare by counteracting it with his own scent. Garno watched on with a look of mild suprise.
"Ah guess you also got the name "Grimepaw", right? Naw. No dog is bettah then me, and none is worse." Garno looked him over with his Kagegan eyes once more, and noted a nerve cluster even with the back of his jawbone.
"Oooh, Paw. Nice one." Garno had remembered a situation in which Lucas had taught him of a particularly powerful pressure point, one that only the Lunis possessed. He stepped brazenly in front of Belthezar's muzzle, and crossed his arms to watch him struggle. He then stopped, and Garno tilted his head to one side.
"Whas wrong? Too strong fo' ya, Belty?" He drew his fist back in preparation of the endgame strike. He swung, but suddenly dropped when Belthesar summoned the strength to make a swing at his head.
When his legs were fully bent, Belthesar performed a wobbly leg sweep that Garno had to rotate sideways to avoid. Garno jumped back, and looked on in suprise as Belthesar's eyes were partially open. Belthesar's vision was undeniably blurred and his sense of smell was almost dead, but he could function with his hearing shouldering his broken senses.
"Wow, Belty. I've neva' known anybody to stand afta' gettin' a whiff o' me. You make me sad to have to end ya' this way. But..." Garno kept to his word and knealt. And at that moment, Belthesar made a sneak attack at Garno by leaping powerfully at the exact moment of Garno's bow. Garno had little more than a second to react at all, and less than that to react the way he needed to. Belthesar caught Garno by the waist with his jaws and clamped down, hard enough to make him yelp in absolute agony. Belthesar then began to worry Garno like an elk's leg, very badly damaging his musculature. Garno was in too much pain to focus on his Ghost Step, his only means of an escape shredded by Belthesar's demon fangs. The taste of blood had driven him into a frenzy, and his body began to change subtly. Garno coughed up a good amount of blood, and before he lost consciousness entirely, reached under Belthesar's bottom jaw and punched him powerfully in the nerve cluster he found. Belthesar bit down, making Garno actually yelp in unbearable pain. Then, with a gush of black Lunis blood, Belthesar spat Garno from his subtly changing muzzle. He dropped to his knees, his breathing labored by the blow. Then the real effect of the nerve cluster kicked in, and Belthesar fell to the ground as he began to bleed from every strained muscle he had. When Garno hit the ground, he gasped as he felt a small amout of relief, and looked at the many puncture wounds that he had around his waist. He took a labored look at Belthesar, who finally stopped squirming. His blood was foaming from his mouth, and he slowly reverted back to his normal, equally massive form. Garno felt himself slipping out of consciousness, and finally lost it all together.
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Garno awoke in s bright room, with lights above him. He was on his back, on a table of some sort. His eyes adjusted slowly, and he could make out the sublte outline of canine ears.
"So... Soki? What you doin' here? Ah didn't tell you where Ah-" He was silenced by a long lick on his muzzle, and the scent of a female in his nose. He looked at her, and as his vision fully adjusted, he realized he was looking a Lunan female in the face. He grinned.
"Woof." He looked at his waist, and winked at her. She herself smiled and winked back, and she began to lower her head. This brought a triumphant smile to his face as he watched her continue. Then, both his and her ears perked as some sort of intercom switched on. She quickly stood up as a voice she apparently recognized blared from the wall mounted speaker. It was in another language, although Garno couldn't care less right now.
"Is he ready?" the voice boomed. The nurse, as Garno had deduced, pointed him to a door at the far side of the room, which Garno found to be octogonal. He shook his head as this chance for r&r slipped through his fingers.
"Like a dog wit a bone..." he muttered to himself. He sat up, and flinched as his wounds meshed. He noticed that his clothes were clean. He then, very suddenly, noticed the same about himself. As he angrily began to sniff himself, he also noticed that he didn't smell like water and soap.
"How the hell?" He quickly dismissed the idea, and walked toward the door. The nurse behind him giggled, and he walked out the door, which led down a long hallway. At the end of it, he could see stairs. His ears told him nothing, and his nose was silent to him.
"This place is borin'." he huffed. He eventually made it to the stairs, and slowly trudged up them. While walking down the long hallway, Garno had noticed that while his strongest senses were dulled to mediocrity, his remaining senses were calm and easy to manipulate. The hallway was silent, but not to the point of maddening him. There were no scents in the hallway except his own, and it faded to being barely noticable.
"Well I'll be... This place is... strangely comfortin'." He found it easier to function, and made it up the stairs easily. He stopped in front of a heavy looking steel door, and knocked on it. It sounded normal to him, but more hushed.
"Enter." a voice sounded from the behind the door. Garno pushed it open, and looked into a practically empty room, save two Lunis and a desk that one of them sat behind. Garno took a few steps in, and the Lunis that was standing ran up to him, and started speaking to Garno in a foreign language. Unbeknownst to him, it was a language that he didn't realize was foreign.
"Speak to Sir Arkailus with respect! He doesn't want rabble talking to him like they're friends or packmates. He especially doesn't want rabble in strange clothing addressing him in just any way. Before you speak, address him as "General", or "Sir"." Garno didn't seem impressed with the Lunis who was telling him how to speak and the like.
"Look" he said gruffly. "If I wanted to lick his nuts, I'd do it. I'm not one for formalities, but just because this Wolf's a General I'm going to put up with it." He brushed the Lunis aside, and got a better look at him as he passed him. He was wearing elaborate robes that had a pleasant smell, and he was covered in jewels of an alien origin.
"Cat-assed whelp." he hissed as he walked on. He walked a good fifty feet to the front of the desk that the other Lunis was seated at. It was then that he actually got a better look at him. He was a hulking figure, even when seated. His chest was marked as well, and the scars went on in jagged cracks all over his upper body, or from what Garno could tell. He was shirtless, and he had an alternating pattern of fur on his head. He was deftly muscled, and he had a jagged scar that spanned from the top of his head to his chest. This Lunis had an accomplished air about himself, as well as a massive amount of female scents on him. His ears were trimmed to three points, and the backs of his hands were marked with the moon and clouds respectively. He sat with his fingers crossed above his muzzle, and looked through Garno with electrum eyes that could burn the building down- alone. He spoke in a powerful but calm voice.
"So... You're the one that took down my Belthesar. A powerful warrior alone couldn't take him down. A small army couldn't take him down, and I find that you have more than that required to do so. He tells me that you've sought your father for some time, after being raised on Earth for the majority of your life." Garno was beside himself with confusion. HIS Belthesar? Who was this Lunis who spoke to Garno like he knew everything about him? Garno had enough.
"Whoa, whoa whoa. Who are you supposed to be, sending someone like that after me? I don't know you! I haven't offended you, or even spoke ill of you! Fucking coward! If you weren't a General, I'd rip you open just the same, General Sir!" He stood there with his arms crossed, and waited for the General's response. The General just chuckled, and waved the other Lunis who silently rushed Garno from behind away.
"Heh" the General huffed. "Such familiar fire. Such an admirable spirit." He smiled, and revealed a set of gleaming knives. Garno wasn't impressed.
"So what is it you really seek, pup? What do you want most, in this world of Wolves, Sheep, and Demons?" Garno's anger was quelled by this question. He remembered what he asked of his father. He lowered his ears in a submissive manner.
"I asked my father who I was, and he couldn't tell me. I want to know who I am. I want my place among my family; my real one." The General suddenly stood up, and Garno's jaw dropped. The General for his size was more built than Belthesar. He had a long two-toned mane that was even with the bottom of his tail, and his feet were marked as well, giving a vivid description of his dormant but apparent power. He was six six foot even, and when he breathed, waves of pure power filled the room.
"Garno Arkailus! You are the heir to the Red Fangs of Hell, and my son! You have a power sleeping within you, one that will shake the very mountains to their cores!" Garno was spechless. Here he was, standing in front of the very Lunis who he had dreamt of meeting for most of his life. This was all too much for him to take, and his knees felt weak. He almost dropped, but the General caught him on his arm.
"My boy... You and I have a lot of catching up to do."
The next week was spent by Garno and the General swapping stories of combat, and Garno telling of his childhood in Fuma village with Soki. The General listened inteltly, eager to fill in the years he had missed with his son. Garno had even mastered the Lunan language within two days, much to the General's delight. The General himself had revealed to Garno some secrets that either disturbed or intrigued him greatly. One was that the females clean the males with their tongues, and vice versa. Another was his relation to Belthesar. "HE'S OUR COUSIN?!"
"Paw! After me an' Tokage beat Zalmus, we got showered wit' gold an all sorts o' trinkets. Soki's now a fixed point in time. He can't die! Bro Slade's done gone crazy tryin' to kill him off permanently. And Shade..." The conversations went on for hours. All the while, the General listened with genuine intrest. His other son was also a subject of intrest to him.
"How is Soki? Why didn't he come with you?" Garno looked slightly troubled; afraid to tell the truth about Soki's absence.
"Soki felt that... he wouldn't fit in wit eitha' the humans or us. He..." Garno fell silent when the General raised a hand. He was well aware of what Soki was going through. But all the same, he wanted to have both of his sons with him.
"Garno... If you had the chance, would you bring your brother back, and stay with me?" Garno's tail wagged with a sudden sense of renewed purpose.
"O' course Paw! I'd love to!" But then...
"Paw... You mean I'd have to leave Earth behind? What about my friends?" The General crossed his arms, and looked away, fully aware of what he was asking Garno to do. To forever leave Earth behind, to say goodbye to all that he'd come to know, to forget his journeys and friends. The General sensed his son's distress.
"Garno... Think it over. Regardless of what you decide, whatever you turn out to be, you will always be my son. Never forget this." The General walked away, and left Garno in an empty hallway. He made it back to his quarters, a room that a week of solitude couldn't taint. He sat down, and began to think it over for many hours. Several memories began to play in his head, all of them irreplacable treasures. His father Lucas, his older brother Soki, his students Silvus, his rival Slade, his mentor Shade, his shield Red 9, and everyone else at Slade's mansion were truly dear to him. People that he wouldn't dare abandon, memories that he couldn't possibly forget, made his descicion all the more final. He nodded, and began to do his Sweat regiment.
The next day, the General made his way to Garno's chambers. He had an ominous dream the night before, in which Garno became a shadow and left. He stood outside his door, and opened it, only to find it completely empty, save a letter and a piece of cloth next to it. He picked it up, and opened it with a sigh. It read, in Garno's native accent, of a sorrowful decline.
"Paw... I know that you've wanted me to be around so you can make up for lost time, but believe me, a week is all I need. I'm tha nasty right hand on a body that needs me. I'm mighty sorry I couldn't tell ya face to face, but I had no time to get it together. As you read this, I'm on my way back ta Earth. I'ma miss you somthin' powerful, but I can't leave it all behind. As much as we'll regret this, I'm not that far away. I even left ya a present to bother Belthesar wit'. I'm the Knuckle Puppy, and no dog is bettah than me, and none is worse." The General set the letter down, with mild tears streaking his fur. He then picked up the cloth, and sniffed it. Immediatley, Garno's scent flooded his nose, and he gagged. Even in this scent softening environment, it was still powerful. He covered his nose with a hand, and smiled as he shook his head.
"That's my boy. The only other Lunis who earned the name 'Grimepaw'." He turned away, and as he began to walk off, he caught a portion of the letter he'd missed. He picked it up again, and read the rest.
"Paw, one mo' thang. There ain't one person I cherish mo' than the other. You're apart o' MY family. Don't be a stranger, now; come an visit me sometime." Tears began to streak his face once more, and he folded the letter up. He'd keep this forever.
"My boy, I will. I'll visit you. You and Soki both. And I'll personally applaud the human who raised you so well. This is my promise."