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9

Misha stirred in my arms as we slept. Slowly, I became conscious. I woke

up curled around Misha's small figure, holding him tightly in my arms. My heart

began to race.

  Part of me couldn't believe

what had happened was real. Misha had

told me he loved me...  Misha slowly rolled

over to face me as he opened his eyes. "Good morning." He said with a smile,

his eyes half closed.

  I sat up and ran my hand

down his back, "Good morning." I said with a tilt of my head, "Is it morning?"

  Misha jumped upright,

"Shit, you're right. He glanced at his watch on the table beside us. "Yeah.

It's nearly time for breakfast to be starting. It's early morning, but still

morning. We slept for about twelve hours."

  He scrambled out of bed and

quickly slipped some clothes back on. "I have work to do in the lab. How are

your legs today?" He asked as he dug through the papers on his desk.

  Yawning, I stretched out my

body. "I think they're alright." I said, glancing down. I realized that my fur

was caked in dried...fluids...from the night before. "But, Misha...could I use your

shower?"

  "Yeah, good idea. Clean

yourself up and then go grab some clothes from your locker in the gym. Eat breakfast,

maybe find Kato and do some training?" Misha said, slipping on a clean, white

lab coat. "I need to get to the medical wing, but then I'll be in the basement.

Find me later?"

  "Sure Misha." I said,

standing and touching his hand with mine. To my surprise, he pulled away.

  "Decipher, we should keep

this...a secret, at least for now. Okay? So when we're in private, that's fine."

He said, moving close to me and touching my face, "But out there...we have to be

discreet." 

   I was too tired and dazed to protest.

"Alright." I said with a nod as I walked over to the bathroom. "I'll see you

later."

  "Thanks, Decipher. Love

you!" Misha said as he slipped out the door.

  "I...love you too..." I said as

he dashed out, feeling confused. "I think."

  I quickly showered off and

slipped my clothes back on. I sat next to the fireplace in attempt to warm up

and dry off, only to realize that this fire didn't produce heat. I sighed,

standing up and shaking off. My legs were a bit stiff, so I decided to go out

for a walk to the lookout point.

  As soon as I opened the

door and stepped out of Misha's room, I heard Kato's voice.

  "Decipher?" He asked. I

cringed.

  "Hi." I said as innocently

as I could.

  Kato looked bothered. I

wasn't sure if he was upset with me or Misha. I remembered Misha mentioning

something about love...I imagined the two were at one point in a relationship.

  "Why are you down here? Is

Misha in there?" Kato finally asked.

  "I...it's a long story. Ask

Misha." I said, looking at the ground. I was terrified. Misha had told me to be

discreet, and I had no idea what I was supposed to tell others. "Misha should

be in the medical wing or in his lab in the basement." I said, trying to keep

my nervous voice steady.

  "Relax, Decipher." Kato

sighed, "I get it. I've known Misha long enough. You be careful." He said,

pointing at me. "You don't know what you're getting into." Kato turned and

walked away. I headed up towards breakfast, unsure of what he meant.

Kato's foreboding statement didn't sit well with me as I ate my food. I

was on edge. I kept glancing around for Sheila. I saw Caliber and a few others

in the distance and decided to sit with them.

  "Decipher!" Caliber smiled,

"It's been a long time! I heard you were injured in the accident, but you saved

the jackass that was responsible for it. I guess that's something!"

   I knew he was teasing, but my ears fell anyway

and I slowly picked at my food.

  "Everyone makes fun of

Misha, Decipher." Caliber said after a few minutes, "But we realize it's not

really his fault."

  I nodded, "I'm just having a

rough day." I said.

  "Already? How long have you

been up?"

  "Few hours." I said,

nibbling a bite of eggs. "Caliber, you're a guard, right?"

  "Well, yeah, basically.

Mostly a field guard. Why do you ask?"

   "Sheila threatened to kill me the other

day." I sighed, "If she attacks me, I'm certain I could take her...but...would I be

in trouble for that?"

  One of the other people at

the table choked on his food, "Dude, you're dead!" He coughed.

   Caliber jabbed him in the side with

his elbow, and then turned to me. "Not if it was self-defense. Sheila's pissed

about Wes, I take it?"

  I nodded and looked at the

other man, "I'm not afraid of Sheila. I'm just unfamiliar with the rules. We're

going to Eldon next week, and if she attacks me I won't hesitate."

  "Oh, yeah. Since Wes died,

they need another person to go to Eldon. I was considering volunteering. I

haven't been into town for quite some time." Caliber said, patting me on the

shoulder, "Don't worry, I have your back."

  "Do you use magic?" I

asked. "Kato and I were discussing using magic to travel to Skyfall pass, and

meeting up with Sheila, who would be taking a horse."

  Caliber thought for a

moment, "Shit. That means I have to travel alone with Sheila?" He said. "Oh

well, at least she doesn't want to kill me...at least I don't think she does.

That plan works. I'll discuss it with Kato later.

  "Speaking of Eldon, you

have amnesia, right? Has anyone explained the process to you?" Caliber asked.

  I shook my head, "No.

Nobody tells me anything until the last minute."

  "Yeah they do that. Well,

just ask Kato about it. You'll need to pick up a weapon that would be found in

the village. No guns or anything really technologically advanced. You use a

gun, right?"

  "No. I use magic or my

fists." I said, "I dislike ranged weapons anyway."

  "Get yourself a knife at the

very least." Caliber said, standing up. "I have to get going. My day is about

to start. But look into finding a weapon. Maybe you could make your own with

all that fancy magic."

  I liked that idea. I nodded,

"Bye Caliber." I said. Most of the people at the table had left by now. I

considered going to find Misha, but decided I still needed to take a walk. I

left out the main entrance and began my walk.

  The steep hill caused my

legs to burn and shake, but I managed to make it up the quick route without too

much difficulty. Along the way to the lookout point, I searched for some kind

of stone to make a weapon out of. The knife Sheila had was made of some type of

metal, but I wanted something that looked a little less refined. I didn't see

anything that interested me, so I just continued to the lookout point and sat

on my favorite tree.

  The valley was full of

activity today. I saw some four-legged creatures down below grazing in the

grass, perhaps wild horses? Off in the distance where there was a small stream

running through the valley, and I could see a feathered beast snatching up fish

with its talons. Then, it took flight and landed in the grass, rolling around

and tossing the fish playfully. The scene was peaceful. I sat and watched the

animals below.

  I looked around; perhaps

there was a trail that led down into the valley. The sun had barely come up. I

had plenty of time to explore, and my legs felt okay. I began to climb down the

cliff. There were plenty of feet holes and ridges to step down on. It should be

easy enough to climb back up, I decided.

  I enjoyed the climb down as

I descended. I saw many creatures scurrying into cracks and holes in the rock

face, and many beautiful flowers sprouting out of the side. I nearly slipped a

few times, and ended up streaking my white shirt with dirt. I made my descent

quicker as I hit the halfway point to the bottom. The rock face turned sandy

and easily crumbled as I went farther down. Getting back up this would be tricky.

  At one point, my shirt

snagged on a branch and tore, which nearly sent me sliding down the rest of the

way. I clutched onto the side of the rock with my one steady hand, trying to

latch on with my back toes. My claws dug into the side as I pressed my feet

into the soft dirt. My footing gave out, and I began to slide down the cliff

side. I grabbed at the small trees that grew out of the side, hoping one of

them would be strong enough to support me. The branch I grabbed onto sliced

through my hand as I slid down it, but I ended up being able to stop myself

before I fell backwards.

  Looking down, I quickly

scrambled down the rest of the way, panting once I hit the bottom. I fell

foreword, holding myself up with my hands. I was gasping for air. My legs ached

and did not want to move forward, and my spine was shuddering with pain. After

a few moments of recovery, I stood and wiped the blood off my hand with my

shirt. I slipped off my shirt, it was useless anyway. I wrapped it around my hand

to stop the bleeding, and proceeded to explore the valley.

  In the distance I saw two of

the wild horses rearing up to each other, perhaps fighting. I wandered closer

to them to discover they all had shimmering, twisted horns on their heads. Unicorns. Kind of like horses, except

smarter and with more attitude. They have a strong sense for magic. If one

attacks you, your only hope is to communicate using magic energy. My

downloaded info told me.

  I swallowed hard. They

were huge, nearly twice my height. Their legs rippled with muscles, and their

twisted horns looked worn from battle. When they landed back on the ground, I

could feel the ground shake even though they were quite far from where I stood.

I decided to keep my distance from the fighting beasts and continued walking

towards the stream. The sun was beating down on me and I hoped to rinse off all

the dirt that I was now covered in.

  I made my way along the

valley, staying close to the edge of the meadow where the trees began, trying

to stay out of sight and remain inconspicuous. After arriving at the stream, I

quickly stripped off my shorts and stepped into the cold water. The stream was

barely waist-deep at the deepest point, but that was fine. I rinsed my small

scratches and cleaned out the gash in my hand, focusing some energy on closing

up the wound enough to keep it from being infected.

  I closed my eyes and enjoyed

the cold water, sitting down and letting the gentle flow wash around my body.

It was quite relaxing down here.

  When I opened my eyes I felt

like some time had passed. I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to a blinding

light in front of my eyes that bolted away when it realized I was conscious. As

soon as my eyes focused, I saw a small human like figure dancing around in the

light, flapping transparent wings so quickly I couldn't make out their shape.

  Fairies. They enjoy playing pranks

on travellers they frequently see. They are friendly as long as you don't offend

them. They have many abilities that aid travellers in need, and they are quite

shy around strangers.

  I rubbed my head. There were

so many new creatures today that I was becoming aware of, it was a bit

overwhelming. I watched the fairy dance around me and approach my hand. She

looked at me, seemingly confused. She then vanished in a puff of light, much

like the entities I had first fought in the arena had done. Feeling drowsy, I

rubbed my head and stood up. I shook off the excess water and exited the

stream. 

  I bent down to pick up my

clothing, and when I stood back up I saw a large shadow behind me. I nervously

turned around to face the unicorn that was behind me. It let out a long, steady

breath and made a grunting noise. It stood about five feet higher than me, and

had a jet black pelt that was dotted with white speckles, which seemed to glow

as if it was made of stars.

  I looked down instinctively,

attempting to focus my energy as my downloaded information had told me to do. I

tried to send a message that said I was harmless and was only here to visit.

  I bowed my head, only to see

the unicorn's black hooves rear upwards and come crashing back down next to me.

I froze as the beast approached me, his pure, white eyes gazing into my soul. I

shivered, both because I was soaking wet, and also because I assumed this

unicorn was about to gore me with his twisted, opalescent horn.

  He pawed at the ground with

his obsidian hoof, slamming his head up and down and making whinnying noises.

  "I don't understand what you

mean!" I said, backing up slowly. He stepped towards me and bowed his head. I

wasn't sure how to feel about the gesture, considering this had pointed his

horn right at my face. I backed up until I hit a tree.

  His black, star-speckled

nose touched my hand, and I felt a shock go through me. The energy was

incredible. I felt a yearning desire to run. The unicorn then folded his front

legs and beckoned me towards it.

   "No...No thank you!" I said nervously, "I

can't ride..."

  He gazed into my eyes again

and I was compelled to climb onto his back. I figured it was best to do what

the beast wanted.

  I climbed onto his back and

he jumped upwards, nearly sending me flying off of his back. He broke into a

gallop and we crashed through the valley.

  My name is Asodar. A voice echoed in my head as I held on to his

shimmering white mane for dear life. I

was sent to find you and tell you that it is okay.

  We galloped towards the edge

of the meadow, at which point Asodar reared up and let out a triumphant whinny.

"What...what is okay?" I gasped, wrapping my arms around the crazed stallion.

  You come from the stars. She wants you to know that this is okay. You

have been accepted here. Asodar's voice said to me, creating a feeling of

peace in my mind that I did not quite understand. But be warned, those that you run with will only bring your soul

destruction.

   I shivered at his words, "Who is she?" I asked

as Asodar took off towards the stream again.

  His hooves hit the ground

so hard I could have sworn they created sparks as he ran. The meadow was a blur

around us. He began to slow down once we reached the inside of the woods.

  When he stopped, I slowly

slipped off his back. He held my body with his head, supporting my weight as I

gained my balance again. The Dark Lady

has accepted you. You have her favor, but you must prove yourself.

  Dizzy, I turned to face

him, only to see that he was walking away. "Asodar!" I yelled out, "How in the

world do I do that?"

  If you look, you will see.

Skyfall holds every answer you have ever sought.   Completely puzzled, I

watched him trot away into the trees. I had so many questions. Had I really

just been encountered by a messenger of one of the goddesses? Was there a

reason he ran around in circles with me? Would I actually meet a goddess?

Something like this was unheard of on my planet...we had forsaken the gods help

eons ago...  Decipher. His voice echoed

again. You are destined to destroy.

And then he was gone.

  I promptly turned and

vomited, feeling drained of energy, as well as sanity. After I was done

vomiting, I stood up and realized I had no idea where I was. I began to wander

aimlessly.

  I noticed a deep, violet

stone hidden beneath some moss and dirt. I bent down and brushed it off. The

stone was a beautiful, rich violet with shining blue veins streaking through

it. I attempted to lift the stone out, but it was far too large. I remembered

Caliber mentioning making a weapon using magic. With a sigh, I sat down and

attempted to balance my energy. I was still quite shaken from the experience

with Asodar.

  After a few moments, I

began to imagine strands of energy cutting out a blade-shaped chunk of the

stone. I focused on the feeling of my energy slicing through the smooth stone

with ease, feeling the energy of the earth around me kick back and shoot

through my body. To my surprise, when I opened my eyes this was actually

happening.

  I saw silvery energy

sliding out of my hands and into the stone, slicing it slowly but carefully. I

focused on steadying my breathing so that I would not lose focus. I sat there

for what must have been fifteen minutes, until finally the energy jumped back

into my hands and a chunk of the stone broke free.

  I picked up the blade,

admiring my own craftsmanship. I was glad I had spent so much time practicing

other energy work so that I was able to stay focused and create such a smooth

cut on the blade. The blade carried it's own energy with it. I felt like it

deserved a name, but I would think of one later. It would need a handle, too,

but I was far too exhausted to craft one right now.

  I sat for a few moments to

regain my energy, tempted to pass out again. How was I ever going to make it

back?

  The conversation Misha and

I had with Kato surfaced in my mind. He mentioned travelling using magic. I was

tempted to try it, but I had no idea where to start. Suddenly, I realized that

downloaded information knew a lot about magic, and everything outside of the

laboratory. I instantly felt stupid. I could have been using that this entire

time! Oh well, learning on my own had made me quite skilled at it, after all.

  I searched my mind for the

information. The werewolf who's DNA I had originally copied used magic to

transport all the time, apparently. The method was easy enough when I felt it

happen in my mind, but was extremely difficult to translate to words. I decided

to just focus on the thought and transport that way. It was a lazy method, but

I needed to get back to the lab. It had to be late afternoon by now.

  Within a few moments, I

felt my entire body breaking apart. The sensation did not hurt, but it felt as

if my energy was being scattered and swirled around my body. After a few

minutes of this, I felt my body slam into the ground. I opened my eyes to see I

had teleported to the courtyard that led into the main entrance. It was at this

point that I realized I had never put on my shorts.

  I looked down and saw that I

was only holding my newly crafted blade. I cursed under my breath and sauntered

towards the main entrance drowsily.

  I sighed heavily as I heard

Caliber yell from across the courtyard, "First time magic travelling? You left

a nice skid mark there, Decipher!" He laughed. "Where are your pants?"

  "Yeah. It was my first time.

I ran into some trouble." I mumbled, covering my groin with my hand.

  Laughing, Caliber ran over to

me. "Are you okay? You look horrible!"

  I nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. I

climbed down the valley and met some unicorns."

  "Oh, shit!" Caliber said,

touching the areas of me that were covered in dirt. "They didn't gore you did

they?"

  "No...actually..." I rubbed my

eyes. "Something really weird happened down there...and I was too exhausted to

climb back up, so I attempted to transport using magic." I explained, holding

my throbbing head.

  "Weird? Like what kind of

weird?" Caliber asked. He seemed to be genuinely confused, which is perhaps why

I confessed a bit of truth to him.

  "It...spoke to me." I said,

avoiding his eyes. I was certain he'd think I was crazy. "It said it's name was

Asodar."

  "That's crazy!" He yelled

with a grin, "Really? Asodar? Decipher!" He shook me by the shoulders, "That

means you've been chosen for something pretty intense!"

  "You'll have to explain more

about that to me, later..." I said, nearly tipping over. Caliber grabbed my arm

and helped steady me.

  "Come on, let's get you to

Misha." He said, putting my arm over his shoulder and walking me inside. "Just

use that fuzzy tail of yours to cover your shame. Why did Asodar take your

pants?"

  I always forgot I had this

useless tail. I grabbed it and shoved it over my groin, attempting to cover

myself as I walked. "Asodar didn't take my pants...I was bathing in a stream when

he approached me." I replied as I held my fluffy tail over myself. 

  We stopped by the gym lockers

and I slipped on some shorts, not bothering to put a shirt on. Caliber brought

me to the basement and sat me down in an empty room. I was too weak to continue

walking.

  "I'll get Misha for you, you

just lay down." He said.

  "Thank you..." I said as I

tipped over.

  Misha appeared a few minutes

later, "Decipher! Are you alright?"

  "I told you, he's exhausted.

I already explained it all to you. Don't make him talk again." Caliber said as

if he were irritated. "He probably needs food. Take care of your people,

or...whatever you call them, Misha."

  I appreciated what Caliber

said. I couldn't speak anything coherent at the moment, and I felt dizzy and

drained.

  I must have passed out,

because when I opened my eyes Misha was hovering over me with a tray of food.

  "Here, eat this and you'll

feel better." He said, stroking my face.

  I slowly sat up and began to

eat the fresh fruits on the plate. The food was delicious and was already

helping replenish my energy. After I finished eating my meal, my head was much

clearer.

  "So Caliber told me you met

Asodar...that's pretty cool." Misha said. His tone made him sound either

uncomfortable or indifferent, I wasn't sure which.

  I nodded, "Yeah. It was

pretty confusing." I said. I knew I couldn't confess the entire thing to

Misha...not yet. Soon I would tell him the truth, but I didn't think he was ready

for it.

  "Be careful." Misha warned

me, running his hands through the thick fur on my neck. "The goddesses are dangerous."

  "Actually. Asodar warned me

about this place." I mused, his voice echoing in my mind. ....those that you run with will only bring

your soul destruction. You are destined to destroy.

  "That makes sense. The

goddesses don't approve of a lot of the things that happen here." Misha sighed,

"They have a right to be upset with us...there are a lot of...bad people here."

  "Are you afraid of the

goddesses?" I asked him, staring at his nervous eyes.

  "Everyone smart is afraid of

the goddesses, at least...afraid of that

goddess."

  Misha glanced to the small

bedside table, where my blade sat. I must have dropped it there when I passed

out. "Did you make this?" He asked me, tracing his fingers along it.

   "Yeah. Caliber suggested I find a weapon to

take into Eldon." I said, taking the blade in my hands, "I decided to make one

out of a beautiful stone I encountered in the woods after Asodar dropped me off

and vanished."

  "It's nice." Misha said. "What

are you going to make the handle out of?"

  "Perhaps a heavy brass." I

said, "Is there a refinery here?"

  Misha shook his head, "No, but

in Eldon there are plenty of people who could sell you some brass."

  "Oh right, currency..." I

thought out loud, "I don't have any money."

  "You'll be provided enough

gold for basic supplies and a bit extra while you're in town." Misha said. "So

you successfully magically teleported, huh?"

  I nodded. "Yeah. I've practiced

a bit." I lied. I didn't want Misha to be suspicious of how I could have

learned so quickly; my downloaded information told me it was something that

needed a large amount of practice to master. But when I thought back to what

Kato had said, he seemed to be confident I would learn it rather quickly.

Perhaps because I would be travelling with him instead of on my own?

  "Kato will be happy to hear

that." Misha said, "Why didn't you tell him you had attempted it?"

  "I...never actually succeeded

until today." I said.

  "Well. You should talk to him

about it tomorrow." Misha said as he stood up. "I still have work to do, but

you're free to stay and rest down here if you'd like." Misha kissed my forehead

and then walked out the door. "I'll be back later to check up on you. Go ahead

and rest." He called back.

  I nodded and watched him

leave. The events of the day were swimming in my mind and drowning my thoughts.

I was in over my head. They would expect me to know more about Eldon, and I

should be able to because of my downloaded information...but the thought was

exhausting. I felt like I had just experienced a small part of an entirely

different world, the world outside of this lab. I shuddered as Asodar's warning

came to my mind again.

  Perhaps I should consider

leaving this place.