{"sf1_id":928197,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aspire Arcadia: Introduction","author":"Koda_The_Wolf","words":1211,"posted_at":"2015-10-30T23:45:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Canine","Epic","Story Series","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/928197-aspire-arcadia-introduction","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/928197","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=928197\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\"Almost there,\" Patch whispered to himself as he stepped\nover a fallen log. The dense forest around him was alive with insects and\nbirds, but not much else. He crossed out of the shade of the forest and into an\nopening, where the rays from the sun were able to reach.\n\"Are you sure we should be out this far?\" his sister, who\nlagged behind, called out to him, \"dad said it's dangerous out here...\"\n\"We're old enough now, Puzzle,\" Patch replied without\nglancing back at her, \"besides, if anyone tries anything...\" \nHe glanced confidently at the short sword his father had\ngiven him for his litter's sixteenth birthday. It was lightweight and very\ndurable, exactly what he had been wishing for ever since he could remember. No\none would be able to stop him now. \n\"I don't like this...\" Puzzle complained, looking around\nnervously, \"we should go back...\"\n\"You can if you want to,\" Patch replied, glancing back at\nher, \"you're the one that wanted to\ncome along.\"\n\"I'm afraid to go alone...\" Puzzle replied weakly.\nPatch sighed and smiled. As annoying as Puzzle was\nsometimes, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He couldn't count the\namount of times he had to protect her the occasional insects or rodents that\nwould chase her around the den, or the amount of times he had to stand up for\nher when she screwed up. In a sense, he was her guardian.\n\"Don't worry,\" Patch reassured her with a confident grin,\n\"I'll protect you from whatever we might run into. So stop worrying about\neverything... okay?\" \nPuzzle glanced up at him slowly and then quietly nodded,\nstill uncertain. \n\"Great, let's go then,\" Patch said, turning around and\ncontinuing deeper into the forest with Puzzle following close behind.\nA few more steps into the woods and a sharp yelp echoed from\nnearby, causing Patch and Puzzle to freeze in place. \n\"Wh-what... w-was th-that...?\" Puzzle whispered, her ears\ndropping and her tail curving up between her legs. \n\"Don't know...\" Patch replied, glancing up towards the\ndirection of the yelp, \"let's check it out.\"\n\"What?!\" Puzzled hissed, as Patch took a couple of steps in\nthat direction, \"are you serious?!\"\nHe stopped and glanced back at her.\n\"Someone might be in trouble,\" he said seriously. \nThat's what Puzzle loved and hated about her brother. His\nsense of justice and his need to help others was always getting him in trouble...\nand occasionally saved others from it. Whenever there was someone in need,\nPatch was usually there to help... whether he was actually capable of helping or\nnot. He once tried to help a young bear cub, who was stranded in a tree, get\nback down to the forest floor. In a turn of events, both he and the young cub\nended up stranded in the same tree for hours. It was events like those (and\nthere certainly were several more) that made Puzzle worried about this current\nsituation.\n\"We should go get dad,\" Puzzle said, \"we don't even know\nwhat that was!\" \n\"That's why we have to check it out,\" Patch replied calmly,\n\"if we don't check, we'll never know.\" \nAgainst his sister's wishes, Patch continued towards the\nsound of the voice. \n\"Wait!\" Puzzle hissed, reluctantly following him, \"Don't\nleave me here!\" \nThe two crept through the forest towards the origin of the\nsound, stepping carefully through the grass and fallen leaves, until several\nvoices came within earshot. \n\"Wait, I hear something,\" Patch said, stopping his movement\nand sinking to the ground. Among other things, he had the genetic ability to\ntune his senses higher than normal, including his hearing. \n\"What is it?\" Puzzle asked, nervously hiding behind him, \"I\ncan't hear anything...\"\nPatch listened carefully to the sound. There were a couple\nof voices coming from that direction... probably two males and a female. From the\nsound of it, they stopped to harass the female in some way, teasing, insulting,\nand blocking her path.\n\"Some guys are bullying a girl,\" Patch muttered, \"I'm going\nto go stop them.\" \nPuzzle glared at him. So many angry responses to his\nstatement came to her at once, she could barely speak.\nPatch stood up and headed towards the voices, Puzzle\nfrantically (but quietly) trying to stop him. \n\"I-I'm going to go get dad!\" She finally cried, running back\nfrom which they came. \nPatch continued on through the forest, this time not worried\nkeeping quiet. He especially hated bullies that tried to make themselves seem\ntougher by picking on weaker animals. It was something he personally went\nthrough, but fought his way out of. As a result, he was destined to stop others\nfrom suffering the same fate. \nPatch crossed out of the forest, on to an opening with a\nnarrow path cut through it. Down the path were two wolves standing in front of\na female wolf. They circled her intimidatingly, scoffing at her while the\nfemale wolf didn't move at all. She stared intently at the ground as though she\nwere tired. \n\"Bastards...\" Patch growled as he picked up the pace towards\nthe wolves. Once he got close enough, he stood up on his hind legs and began\nwalking towards them.\n\"Enough!\" He cried out confidently, stopping a short\ndistance away from them, \"leave that girl alone you filthy bastards!\"\nThe wolves turned towards him, surprised at his outburst.\nThe female wolf glanced up at him, her eyes widened in surprise.\nPatch immediately noticed that he had misjudged the size of\nthe wolves he had just insulted. He had turned sixteen just today, while those\nwolves had to have been adults. Not only that, but they were covered in scars and\nwere full of muscle. The female wolf appeared the same age as him, if not a bit\nyounger. She discretely shook her head, as though she were warning him to stay\naway.  \n\"What the fuck did you say you mutt?\" One of the wolves\ngrowled, turning towards him. A huge sword, probably taller than Patch was,\nhung on the wolf's side. The other wolf wrapped his massive paws around the\nhilt of his sword and drew it with a loud scrape. An eyepatch covered his right\neye, and a massive scar tore across the other. \n\"You got a problem?\" The wolf growled, \"Mind your own\nbusiness, pup.\" \nThe female wolf in the background shook her head frantically\nand motioned for him to run away. \nShe didn't know that it just wasn't in him to just run away\nfrom a fight.\nPatch put his paw on the rawhide handle of his short sword\nand pulled it out too. The black, steel blade reflected the rays of the sun\nmajestically as he pointed it towards the wolves.\n\"I won't tell you again,\" he said calmly, causing the other\nwolves to glance at each other confused. \nOn the inside, even Patch confused himself. Those two wolves\ncould easily crush him. His sword was only about as long as his arm was, while\ntheirs was probably two times his height. Sure he had gotten a ton of training\nfrom trainers, but this was a different story. The female wolf covered her\nmouth nervously. \n\"Ah hell...\" Patch thought to himself, \"what the heck did I\njust do...\"   "}