# Skyfall Chapter 7

Author: Abyssa
Tags: Alien, Anthro, Canine, Hybrid, Laboratory, Male, Werewolf, Wolf, space

             The days dragged on. I continued to train with Kato, and occasionally a
few other people who were learning. After about a week, the days began to blur
together. I lost concept of time, it was no longer important. I stopped begging
for Misha's attention and focused on my training. The intense, physical work
really made a good distraction. 
  My training lasted longer
into the day and usually ended with a run through the mountains to the lookout
point. Typically, Kato stayed behind for these, and I would sit out on the
twisted trees overlooking the valley until the sun had set. 
  One night, Kato had followed me up
and showed me how to ignite flames using nothing but my energy and the energy
of the sun. After a few nights of practice, I could successfully start a fire
even in the dead of night. I practiced this technique in other ways as well,
using energy to change the direction of the wind, the temperature of the air
around me, and the movement of small, light objects.
   I enjoyed working with energy, it was
surprisingly easy here. Where I had come from, energy work was extremely
difficult due to the type of energy that surrounded our planet. The energy was
heavy, and filled with no intent. The energy here was alive and seemed to want
to be used somehow. I assumed that because I was skilled with that dense, dead-feeling
energy of my home, it would be an easy transition into this light, magical
energy. I was right for the most part, but occasionally I ended up igniting too
big of a flame or blowing birds out of the trees with gusts of wind that was
slightly too powerful. This usually happened when I was stressed and
distracted. 
  I hadn't told Kato that I
had practiced anything but igniting the flame, so when I accidentally knocked
him backwards with a gust of wind during training, he was shocked. 
  "Decipher!" Kato yelled,
both excited and afraid, "What was that? I didn't know you could do that!" 
  "I've been practicing." I
said with a nervous smile, holding my hands out and igniting a flame between
them. The ball of fire floated between my palms and twisted and turned as I
rotated it with my energy. "I've become quite good at this." I said as I
extinguished the fire.
  Kato's eyes were bright,
vivid gold as he watched me. "Wow. You've only been practicing magic for about
two weeks, right?" He laughed, "Or have you been doing this the whole time?" 
  "No. I've only been
practicing since you showed me your flame method." I moved my fingers, feeling
the familiar, tingling desire to exert my energy, "I just really enjoy energy
work. I feel so much more alive when I use it." 
  Kato studied my face and
nodded, "I can understand that. I myself used to work with energy quite often,
but I'm very out of practice. They don't have a training program that deals
with energy anymore." Kato explained, looking into the distance, "Not many
people here are interested in it, seeing as how this is the land of technology
and all of that." 
  "Can't technology and magic
coexist?" I asked, "What about a machine powered by both electricity and one's
own energy? Isn't that possible?" 
  "That would defeat the
purpose of technology a bit, don't you think?" Kato laughed, "But I do like the
idea. I think the Goddesses use devices that work in that manner. At least,
that's how I assume they work, you know...Gods, always having things that we
mortals do not understand." 
  "Right." I said. My mind
wandered with his statement, I tried to pick at my downloaded information.
Their religion was a topic I had not yet thought about in depth. It had been so
long since I accessed the downloaded information that it was a bit hazy and
difficult to concentrate on. All I could gather was that there were three
Goddesses, one of dark, light, and one that fit between those two, a mediator. 
  "Maybe we should practice
magic together. I'll ask Hale about it." Kato's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"After all, you'll be an assassin, you need more than the regular methods."
  "He asked me something
about energy when we first met. He seems to have some sort of gift with it as
well." I mused.
  Kato nodded, "Yeah. I'm
sure he wouldn't mind us practicing it. The reason there isn't a training
program for magic is because there is no demand for it. Many of the people here
would rather not use magic for personal reasons, or they are just incapable of
it. Some of them think they can defy the Goddesses this way. I don't know. I
don't really understand it." Kato sighed. 
   Suddenly, a loud alarm blared in our
ears, beeping constantly. 
  "Speak of the Gods." Kato
rolled his eyes, "Come on Decipher, that alarm means there is a threat inside
the building."  
  We ran out into the
hallway. Some of the lights had been replaced with red flashing lights. I
followed Kato out to the main hall where we stopped at a group of guards. They
were surrounding another guard's body and talking to the fallen man.  
  "What type of threat do we
have?" One of them asked the man on the ground, who was coughing violently. 
  "A medic is on his way.
Don't move." Another said. 
  "This guy isn't going to
give us any information, but if I had to guess by the melted armor and burns to
the face, I would say we have some kind of dragonoid loose." Kato said to me
and the others.
  "That's what we were
thinking." They agreed. "I'm sure it went to the basement, if that's the case."

  "Decipher you need a suit."
Kato said, "Come on, let's get to the armory."
  We ran and arrived in a
small hallway with lots of doors. Kato quickly unlocked two of the doors and
pulled out some sort of armor from another. He tossed the armor at me and then
quickly began to put on his own suit.
  After we were both
dressed in armor, we ran back out towards the basement entry. Kato held a
device in his hand a spoke into it. "Kato and Decipher in the main hall. Where
should we report?" 
  "Basement. Section 14."
The device responded.
  As we approached the
stairwell that led down into the basement, I noticed it was much warmer. The
elevator was in flames. We ran past it and down the stairs. The basement was
dark except for sparks and flames flying around. I saw some sort of large, bipedal
creature standing in the center of the flames, hunched over. It seemed to be
focusing very hard on something. It did not even notice the people scurrying
around it.
   A few other guards had arrived and were
working to put out flames and ensure the equipment was okay. I wondered why
they weren't attacking the creature, and why it was not attacking them. Kato
stopped me as I ran towards it, convinced I could kill it. 
  "Decipher! Look at his feet.
The creature has set an energy trap. Once you hit that spot, it will ignite.
Don't bother shooting it, either, because those scales are bulletproof." Kato
explained, "We need water." 
  "Or we need someone who can
control fire." I said, focusing my mind on the flames spitting out of the ring
around his feet. I slowly snaked some of the flames up the reptile's legs, it
was not affected. I expected that, but I wanted to be sure. "Why isn't he
moving?" I asked, watching the creature. I heard some faint cries come from it.
  "Don't think about doing
anything, this creature has been practicing fire it's entire life." Kato said.
I noticed he had not answered my question. He held the device up to his face
again, "Tell control to flood Section 14 with hydrogen gas." 
  "We tried. It cut through
the valves. In a few seconds there should be someone coming with- 
  I stopped listening to the
device when I saw a man in a white coat coughing and stumbling near the
creatures legs. Was it holding him hostage? It did not ignite it's trap.
Perhaps the man was bait.
   The creature hissed loudly, brining it's
pointed face down towards the man, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting his
limp body upwards. It was Misha. The reptilian beast was cradling Misha's body
with it's short forearms.  
  "We have to go. They'll take
care of this with that bomb." Kato said. "CLEAR OUT!" 
  I ran foreword without
thought, focusing on Misha. His face was blackened on one side, and his eyes
were bleeding. I summoned the greatest wind I could muster with such little
ventilation, which ended up just barely putting out the creature's trap.  
  I think Kato was yelling at
me, but all I heard was a loud explosion. The creature buckled over, and I
surrounded Misha's fragile body with my own. I was knocked to the ground, blood
splattering out of my nose and throat. The bomb did not explode with fire, but
some sort of substance that stuck to my fur and sent burning sensations through
it. I pulled Misha's coat over his face and fell to the ground over him, trying
not to crush him. 
  I heard the creature roar
and hiss again. I felt claws rake against my back, and looked back to see a
talon hand reaching for me. My vision faded in and out, was that a bond I saw
attached to its wrist? Was the creature a prisoner?
   It
seemed desperate. It had the face of a dragon and the body of a raptor like
creature, with bright feathers lining the back of its forearms. It hunched
foreword, falling to the ground as the substance from the bomb clouded it's
eyes. The creature's talons were still reaching out for Misha as it fell. 
  Squeezing my own eyes shut,
I held Misha tightly and bent over him, trying to surround his body with mine. 
  "Decipher!" Kato's faint
voice echoed. My hearing was nearly gone. I could only hear a loud pounding in
my head as my vision blurred. I quickly lost consciousness.  
  I
felt a hand stroking my forehead gently.
  "I'm sorry." He whispered
into my ear, resting his forehead against mine. "You should've let the
professionals get hurt." He continued. 
  I was unsure if I was
dreaming. I saw a white light and a few shadows dancing around, and heard
Misha's warm voice surrounding me. It felt like a good dream.
  "Of course, they wouldn't have
saved me. This was my fault." He sighed, placing his hand on the side of my
face, pressing his face into my fur. "Thank you." He said. I could hear the
smile in his voice. Everything was so warm and calm...
  I
woke with a start. I coughed violently as I attempted to sit up. My body was
strapped down to the bed I was laying on with a loose, leather strip around my
chest. My vision was still blurry and my eyes were leaking. Panicked, I
struggled against the table.
  "Hey!" I heard Misha's
voice. I felt a hand on my chest. "Decipher, it's okay. Take a few deep
breaths."  
  I inhaled deeply. My throat
was raw and ached along with most of my body. Misha slowly unstrapped me, petting
my torso to soothe me. 
  I groaned, slowly sitting
up, with Misha's help. He sat me up and put a pillow behind my back. "How are
you? He asked as he pulled up a chair and sat beside me.
  My mind wandered through the
events that had happened when I was last conscious. My head hurt. I looked up
at Misha, who was staring down at me with a concerned look. I noticed there was
a bandage across his cheek. 
  "Are you okay?" I asked.
  He laughed. It had been so
long since I heard his laugh. I smiled. "I asked first. How do you feel?" He
asked me again. 
  "Oh, well." I coughed,
"Aside from all the aching, I feel great. How is your face? Are you okay?"
  "Yes. My face is fine." He
said, grinning. 
  I wasn't sure what to say
at this point. He reached out and touched my forehead again. I desperately
wanted to reach up towards his face, but I resisted. 
  "You had a few minor
injuries, but the worst is a fractured rib." Misha broke the silence as he
placed his hand on my ribcage. "We had you strapped in so that you wouldn't
move around and damage it more. But you should recover quickly." 
  I nodded, feeling the
tender spot on my ribcage and pinpointing the fracture. We both stayed silent
for a few more awkward moments.
  "Decipher." Misha began,
looking away from me, "Why did you do that?" 
  I was confused. I tilted my
head, "Do what?" I asked.
  "Save me." He said. His eyes
met mine.
  My ears fell. "I...I had to."
I said. With my heart racing, I touched his hand with mine and swallowed hard.
"I care about you. You were the one to care for me when no one else did." 
  "Decipher, I took care of
you because it was my job." Misha said. He pulled his hand away. I gazed up at
him. My heart felt stiff and cold from his statement.
  "I don't understand." I
said quietly, "So...you don't care?"
  "No! I mean yes, I do care!
It's not like that." Misha stumbled over his words. "I just meant...I can't
understand why you care so much for me! You didn't listen to Kato. You could
have been killed. I'm certain you understand that. So...why?"
  I looked away from his
demanding gaze. I did not know what to tell him. It was true, I had not
listened to Kato. I probably would not have gone after him if Misha and Kato
had swapped places. I just felt an overwhelming desire to protect Misha. 
  Misha let out a heavy sigh,
"The truth is...I care about you as well." He sounded upset by this. 
  "What's wrong?" I asked,
feeling a knot in my stomach. 
  "IT is wrong, Decipher." 
  "I don't understand..."
  Misha stood up and kicked
the chair away. He ran his hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut as
he turned away from me. 
  "Of course not." He
whispered through his teeth. I felt cold. 
  "Misha..." I struggled to sit
up more.
  "Just stop, Decipher. Relax.
I'll be back tomorrow." He said. "I'm sorry. It's been a tough few weeks. I
have to go."
  "Wait!" I yelled with
another cough. 
  He hesitated before
stopping. "What is it?" He said as he turned back around to face me.
   "You always have to go." I said, staring
him right in the eyes for once. "Where have you been? Why can't you tell me
what you've been up to? What are you hiding from me, Misha? Please, give me
something. You've been avoiding me for weeks and weeks and I haven't
complained, but now you tell me that you care about me too...Why aren't you
acting like it?" I pleaded with him. "What's so wrong about caring for
someone?" 
  Misha looked taken aback. "Decipher..."
He slowly sat back down again, "Do you know what I mean when I say I care about
you?" 
  I gazed into his deep brown
eyes, "It means you care. What else is there to it?" I said. Perhaps I did not
understand. I considered Misha to be the closest thing I had to kin, what else
could there be?
  "Decipher." He said,
hanging his head. "People don't just confess their feelings for each other
unless there's something more to it." 
  My face must have shown my
confusion because Misha sighed.  
  "You have to know about
love...right?"
  "It's like a bond between
two people." I said. I understood the concept. Two people sharing an
unconditional bond, tied together forever. I suppose I hadn't really felt it,
and if I had, I wasn't aware of it.   
  "You've never been in
love?" Misha asked. His eyes seemed sad. 
  "I guess not." I said,
playing with my hands, "But...what's so wrong about loving someone? Is it because
we're both males? I mean, I know how reproduction works." 
  "No...Decipher, it's because
we're different species...If you were a human, this would be fine." Misha said,
rubbing his forehead. 
  My ears perked up, "I still
don't understand why that's frowned upon. We might be different species but I
understand you and you understand me. What's so wrong with loving each other?" I
asked.
  "It's just...frowned upon."
  "But why, Misha?"
  "Damn it, Decipher, I don't
know!" He shouted. I looked away from him. 
  "What happens if we love
each other anyway?" I asked timidly. "I can't help it if I love you! And what
about people who have friends that are werewolves? I bet they still love them!
You probably love your friends of different species. Why am I so different?"
  "That's not the point.
Besides, werewolves are usually in human form." 
  "I just don't understand."
I sighed, feeling frustrated. 
  Misha held my hand and
smiled softly, looking down at me as if I were a child, "I think we're talking
about different kinds of love, Decipher." He said. His voice was soft again as
he stared into my eyes once more. 
  Great. There's different kinds of love, too. I thought to myself.  I felt dizzy. I laid my head back down on the
pillow and carefully turned on my side. I stayed quiet. He stroked my face
again and I closed my eyes. I would try and figure this out later. For now, I
was exhausted. I needed rest.
  "Will you stay here for a
while?" I mumbled, half asleep.
  "Of course." I heard Misha
whisper into my ear as I fell asleep, rubbing his nose against my cheek. "Just
get some rest." He soothed me with his soft voice, "And please don't tell
anyone about this, okay?" I felt his lips press against my face. Was I dreaming
this touch? 
  "I won't tell anyone." I mumbled
as I slipped into a light sleep.

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