{"sf1_id":565027,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Skyfall Chapter 7","author":"Abyssa","words":3152,"posted_at":"2013-07-19T02:13:00.000Z","tags":["Alien","Anthro","Canine","Hybrid","Laboratory","Male","Werewolf","Wolf","space"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/565027-skyfall-chapter-7","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/565027","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=565027\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"             The days dragged on. I continued to train with Kato, and occasionally a\nfew other people who were learning. After about a week, the days began to blur\ntogether. I lost concept of time, it was no longer important. I stopped begging\nfor Misha's attention and focused on my training. The intense, physical work\nreally made a good distraction. \n  My training lasted longer\ninto the day and usually ended with a run through the mountains to the lookout\npoint. Typically, Kato stayed behind for these, and I would sit out on the\ntwisted trees overlooking the valley until the sun had set. \n  One night, Kato had followed me up\nand showed me how to ignite flames using nothing but my energy and the energy\nof the sun. After a few nights of practice, I could successfully start a fire\neven in the dead of night. I practiced this technique in other ways as well,\nusing energy to change the direction of the wind, the temperature of the air\naround me, and the movement of small, light objects.\n   I enjoyed working with energy, it was\nsurprisingly easy here. Where I had come from, energy work was extremely\ndifficult due to the type of energy that surrounded our planet. The energy was\nheavy, and filled with no intent. The energy here was alive and seemed to want\nto be used somehow. I assumed that because I was skilled with that dense, dead-feeling\nenergy of my home, it would be an easy transition into this light, magical\nenergy. I was right for the most part, but occasionally I ended up igniting too\nbig of a flame or blowing birds out of the trees with gusts of wind that was\nslightly too powerful. This usually happened when I was stressed and\ndistracted. \n  I hadn't told Kato that I\nhad practiced anything but igniting the flame, so when I accidentally knocked\nhim backwards with a gust of wind during training, he was shocked. \n  \"Decipher!\" Kato yelled,\nboth excited and afraid, \"What was that? I didn't know you could do that!\" \n  \"I've been practicing.\" I\nsaid with a nervous smile, holding my hands out and igniting a flame between\nthem. The ball of fire floated between my palms and twisted and turned as I\nrotated it with my energy. \"I've become quite good at this.\" I said as I\nextinguished the fire.\n  Kato's eyes were bright,\nvivid gold as he watched me. \"Wow. You've only been practicing magic for about\ntwo weeks, right?\" He laughed, \"Or have you been doing this the whole time?\" \n  \"No. I've only been\npracticing since you showed me your flame method.\" I moved my fingers, feeling\nthe familiar, tingling desire to exert my energy, \"I just really enjoy energy\nwork. I feel so much more alive when I use it.\" \n  Kato studied my face and\nnodded, \"I can understand that. I myself used to work with energy quite often,\nbut I'm very out of practice. They don't have a training program that deals\nwith energy anymore.\" Kato explained, looking into the distance, \"Not many\npeople here are interested in it, seeing as how this is the land of technology\nand all of that.\" \n  \"Can't technology and magic\ncoexist?\" I asked, \"What about a machine powered by both electricity and one's\nown energy? Isn't that possible?\" \n  \"That would defeat the\npurpose of technology a bit, don't you think?\" Kato laughed, \"But I do like the\nidea. I think the Goddesses use devices that work in that manner. At least,\nthat's how I assume they work, you know...Gods, always having things that we\nmortals do not understand.\" \n  \"Right.\" I said. My mind\nwandered with his statement, I tried to pick at my downloaded information.\nTheir religion was a topic I had not yet thought about in depth. It had been so\nlong since I accessed the downloaded information that it was a bit hazy and\ndifficult to concentrate on. All I could gather was that there were three\nGoddesses, one of dark, light, and one that fit between those two, a mediator. \n  \"Maybe we should practice\nmagic together. I'll ask Hale about it.\" Kato's voice interrupted my thoughts.\n\"After all, you'll be an assassin, you need more than the regular methods.\"\n  \"He asked me something\nabout energy when we first met. He seems to have some sort of gift with it as\nwell.\" I mused.\n  Kato nodded, \"Yeah. I'm\nsure he wouldn't mind us practicing it. The reason there isn't a training\nprogram for magic is because there is no demand for it. Many of the people here\nwould rather not use magic for personal reasons, or they are just incapable of\nit. Some of them think they can defy the Goddesses this way. I don't know. I\ndon't really understand it.\" Kato sighed. \n   Suddenly, a loud alarm blared in our\nears, beeping constantly. \n  \"Speak of the Gods.\" Kato\nrolled his eyes, \"Come on Decipher, that alarm means there is a threat inside\nthe building.\"  \n  We ran out into the\nhallway. Some of the lights had been replaced with red flashing lights. I\nfollowed Kato out to the main hall where we stopped at a group of guards. They\nwere surrounding another guard's body and talking to the fallen man.  \n  \"What type of threat do we\nhave?\" One of them asked the man on the ground, who was coughing violently. \n  \"A medic is on his way.\nDon't move.\" Another said. \n  \"This guy isn't going to\ngive us any information, but if I had to guess by the melted armor and burns to\nthe face, I would say we have some kind of dragonoid loose.\" Kato said to me\nand the others.\n  \"That's what we were\nthinking.\" They agreed. \"I'm sure it went to the basement, if that's the case.\"\n\n  \"Decipher you need a suit.\"\nKato said, \"Come on, let's get to the armory.\"\n  We ran and arrived in a\nsmall hallway with lots of doors. Kato quickly unlocked two of the doors and\npulled out some sort of armor from another. He tossed the armor at me and then\nquickly began to put on his own suit.\n  After we were both\ndressed in armor, we ran back out towards the basement entry. Kato held a\ndevice in his hand a spoke into it. \"Kato and Decipher in the main hall. Where\nshould we report?\" \n  \"Basement. Section 14.\"\nThe device responded.\n  As we approached the\nstairwell that led down into the basement, I noticed it was much warmer. The\nelevator was in flames. We ran past it and down the stairs. The basement was\ndark except for sparks and flames flying around. I saw some sort of large, bipedal\ncreature standing in the center of the flames, hunched over. It seemed to be\nfocusing very hard on something. It did not even notice the people scurrying\naround it.\n   A few other guards had arrived and were\nworking to put out flames and ensure the equipment was okay. I wondered why\nthey weren't attacking the creature, and why it was not attacking them. Kato\nstopped me as I ran towards it, convinced I could kill it. \n  \"Decipher! Look at his feet.\nThe creature has set an energy trap. Once you hit that spot, it will ignite.\nDon't bother shooting it, either, because those scales are bulletproof.\" Kato\nexplained, \"We need water.\" \n  \"Or we need someone who can\ncontrol fire.\" I said, focusing my mind on the flames spitting out of the ring\naround his feet. I slowly snaked some of the flames up the reptile's legs, it\nwas not affected. I expected that, but I wanted to be sure. \"Why isn't he\nmoving?\" I asked, watching the creature. I heard some faint cries come from it.\n  \"Don't think about doing\nanything, this creature has been practicing fire it's entire life.\" Kato said.\nI noticed he had not answered my question. He held the device up to his face\nagain, \"Tell control to flood Section 14 with hydrogen gas.\" \n  \"We tried. It cut through\nthe valves. In a few seconds there should be someone coming with- \n  I stopped listening to the\ndevice when I saw a man in a white coat coughing and stumbling near the\ncreatures legs. Was it holding him hostage? It did not ignite it's trap.\nPerhaps the man was bait.\n   The creature hissed loudly, brining it's\npointed face down towards the man, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting his\nlimp body upwards. It was Misha. The reptilian beast was cradling Misha's body\nwith it's short forearms.  \n  \"We have to go. They'll take\ncare of this with that bomb.\" Kato said. \"CLEAR OUT!\" \n  I ran foreword without\nthought, focusing on Misha. His face was blackened on one side, and his eyes\nwere bleeding. I summoned the greatest wind I could muster with such little\nventilation, which ended up just barely putting out the creature's trap.  \n  I think Kato was yelling at\nme, but all I heard was a loud explosion. The creature buckled over, and I\nsurrounded Misha's fragile body with my own. I was knocked to the ground, blood\nsplattering out of my nose and throat. The bomb did not explode with fire, but\nsome sort of substance that stuck to my fur and sent burning sensations through\nit. I pulled Misha's coat over his face and fell to the ground over him, trying\nnot to crush him. \n  I heard the creature roar\nand hiss again. I felt claws rake against my back, and looked back to see a\ntalon hand reaching for me. My vision faded in and out, was that a bond I saw\nattached to its wrist? Was the creature a prisoner?\n   It\nseemed desperate. It had the face of a dragon and the body of a raptor like\ncreature, with bright feathers lining the back of its forearms. It hunched\nforeword, falling to the ground as the substance from the bomb clouded it's\neyes. The creature's talons were still reaching out for Misha as it fell. \n  Squeezing my own eyes shut,\nI held Misha tightly and bent over him, trying to surround his body with mine. \n  \"Decipher!\" Kato's faint\nvoice echoed. My hearing was nearly gone. I could only hear a loud pounding in\nmy head as my vision blurred. I quickly lost consciousness.  \n  I\nfelt a hand stroking my forehead gently.\n  \"I'm sorry.\" He whispered\ninto my ear, resting his forehead against mine. \"You should've let the\nprofessionals get hurt.\" He continued. \n  I was unsure if I was\ndreaming. I saw a white light and a few shadows dancing around, and heard\nMisha's warm voice surrounding me. It felt like a good dream.\n  \"Of course, they wouldn't have\nsaved me. This was my fault.\" He sighed, placing his hand on the side of my\nface, pressing his face into my fur. \"Thank you.\" He said. I could hear the\nsmile in his voice. Everything was so warm and calm...\n  I\nwoke with a start. I coughed violently as I attempted to sit up. My body was\nstrapped down to the bed I was laying on with a loose, leather strip around my\nchest. My vision was still blurry and my eyes were leaking. Panicked, I\nstruggled against the table.\n  \"Hey!\" I heard Misha's\nvoice. I felt a hand on my chest. \"Decipher, it's okay. Take a few deep\nbreaths.\"  \n  I inhaled deeply. My throat\nwas raw and ached along with most of my body. Misha slowly unstrapped me, petting\nmy torso to soothe me. \n  I groaned, slowly sitting\nup, with Misha's help. He sat me up and put a pillow behind my back. \"How are\nyou? He asked as he pulled up a chair and sat beside me.\n  My mind wandered through the\nevents that had happened when I was last conscious. My head hurt. I looked up\nat Misha, who was staring down at me with a concerned look. I noticed there was\na bandage across his cheek. \n  \"Are you okay?\" I asked.\n  He laughed. It had been so\nlong since I heard his laugh. I smiled. \"I asked first. How do you feel?\" He\nasked me again. \n  \"Oh, well.\" I coughed,\n\"Aside from all the aching, I feel great. How is your face? Are you okay?\"\n  \"Yes. My face is fine.\" He\nsaid, grinning. \n  I wasn't sure what to say\nat this point. He reached out and touched my forehead again. I desperately\nwanted to reach up towards his face, but I resisted. \n  \"You had a few minor\ninjuries, but the worst is a fractured rib.\" Misha broke the silence as he\nplaced his hand on my ribcage. \"We had you strapped in so that you wouldn't\nmove around and damage it more. But you should recover quickly.\" \n  I nodded, feeling the\ntender spot on my ribcage and pinpointing the fracture. We both stayed silent\nfor a few more awkward moments.\n  \"Decipher.\" Misha began,\nlooking away from me, \"Why did you do that?\" \n  I was confused. I tilted my\nhead, \"Do what?\" I asked.\n  \"Save me.\" He said. His eyes\nmet mine.\n  My ears fell. \"I...I had to.\"\nI said. With my heart racing, I touched his hand with mine and swallowed hard.\n\"I care about you. You were the one to care for me when no one else did.\" \n  \"Decipher, I took care of\nyou because it was my job.\" Misha said. He pulled his hand away. I gazed up at\nhim. My heart felt stiff and cold from his statement.\n  \"I don't understand.\" I\nsaid quietly, \"So...you don't care?\"\n  \"No! I mean yes, I do care!\nIt's not like that.\" Misha stumbled over his words. \"I just meant...I can't\nunderstand why you care so much for me! You didn't listen to Kato. You could\nhave been killed. I'm certain you understand that. So...why?\"\n  I looked away from his\ndemanding gaze. I did not know what to tell him. It was true, I had not\nlistened to Kato. I probably would not have gone after him if Misha and Kato\nhad swapped places. I just felt an overwhelming desire to protect Misha. \n  Misha let out a heavy sigh,\n\"The truth is...I care about you as well.\" He sounded upset by this. \n  \"What's wrong?\" I asked,\nfeeling a knot in my stomach. \n  \"IT is wrong, Decipher.\" \n  \"I don't understand...\"\n  Misha stood up and kicked\nthe chair away. He ran his hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut as\nhe turned away from me. \n  \"Of course not.\" He\nwhispered through his teeth. I felt cold. \n  \"Misha...\" I struggled to sit\nup more.\n  \"Just stop, Decipher. Relax.\nI'll be back tomorrow.\" He said. \"I'm sorry. It's been a tough few weeks. I\nhave to go.\"\n  \"Wait!\" I yelled with\nanother cough. \n  He hesitated before\nstopping. \"What is it?\" He said as he turned back around to face me.\n   \"You always have to go.\" I said, staring\nhim right in the eyes for once. \"Where have you been? Why can't you tell me\nwhat you've been up to? What are you hiding from me, Misha? Please, give me\nsomething. You've been avoiding me for weeks and weeks and I haven't\ncomplained, but now you tell me that you care about me too...Why aren't you\nacting like it?\" I pleaded with him. \"What's so wrong about caring for\nsomeone?\" \n  Misha looked taken aback. \"Decipher...\"\nHe slowly sat back down again, \"Do you know what I mean when I say I care about\nyou?\" \n  I gazed into his deep brown\neyes, \"It means you care. What else is there to it?\" I said. Perhaps I did not\nunderstand. I considered Misha to be the closest thing I had to kin, what else\ncould there be?\n  \"Decipher.\" He said,\nhanging his head. \"People don't just confess their feelings for each other\nunless there's something more to it.\" \n  My face must have shown my\nconfusion because Misha sighed.  \n  \"You have to know about\nlove...right?\"\n  \"It's like a bond between\ntwo people.\" I said. I understood the concept. Two people sharing an\nunconditional bond, tied together forever. I suppose I hadn't really felt it,\nand if I had, I wasn't aware of it.   \n  \"You've never been in\nlove?\" Misha asked. His eyes seemed sad. \n  \"I guess not.\" I said,\nplaying with my hands, \"But...what's so wrong about loving someone? Is it because\nwe're both males? I mean, I know how reproduction works.\" \n  \"No...Decipher, it's because\nwe're different species...If you were a human, this would be fine.\" Misha said,\nrubbing his forehead. \n  My ears perked up, \"I still\ndon't understand why that's frowned upon. We might be different species but I\nunderstand you and you understand me. What's so wrong with loving each other?\" I\nasked.\n  \"It's just...frowned upon.\"\n  \"But why, Misha?\"\n  \"Damn it, Decipher, I don't\nknow!\" He shouted. I looked away from him. \n  \"What happens if we love\neach other anyway?\" I asked timidly. \"I can't help it if I love you! And what\nabout people who have friends that are werewolves? I bet they still love them!\nYou probably love your friends of different species. Why am I so different?\"\n  \"That's not the point.\nBesides, werewolves are usually in human form.\" \n  \"I just don't understand.\"\nI sighed, feeling frustrated. \n  Misha held my hand and\nsmiled softly, looking down at me as if I were a child, \"I think we're talking\nabout different kinds of love, Decipher.\" He said. His voice was soft again as\nhe stared into my eyes once more. \n  Great. There's different kinds of love, too. I thought to myself.  I felt dizzy. I laid my head back down on the\npillow and carefully turned on my side. I stayed quiet. He stroked my face\nagain and I closed my eyes. I would try and figure this out later. For now, I\nwas exhausted. I needed rest.\n  \"Will you stay here for a\nwhile?\" I mumbled, half asleep.\n  \"Of course.\" I heard Misha\nwhisper into my ear as I fell asleep, rubbing his nose against my cheek. \"Just\nget some rest.\" He soothed me with his soft voice, \"And please don't tell\nanyone about this, okay?\" I felt his lips press against my face. Was I dreaming\nthis touch? \n  \"I won't tell anyone.\" I mumbled\nas I slipped into a light sleep. \n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/564957-skyfall-chapter-6.json"}