Kodiak's Story Part 2: Arrival

After learning more about his condition, Kodiak agrees to fly to Merida to learn how to control his powers in exchange for helping liberate the Territory from Archechestrian rule.

                “Are you sure… I can’t come with you…?” Copper asked nervously. It was a painstakingly long wait for Asuza and Scarlett to return in order for them to all depart to Merida together. Kodiak and Copper sat together, in the last moments before he was to leave. “You’ve got better things to do here, I’ll be fine,” He replied reassuringly, “I promise.” It was later in the evening, after the event at the castle. Luna had risen about halfway into the night sky, and the once busy plains had quieted. The singing of insects and the rattling of trees in the calm breeze filled the night instead. The eerie reddish-orange glow caused by the moon seemed to fit the mood… a strange feeling… some excitement… but a touch of solemnity, similar to the feeling of going to war.  Copper was afraid, but calm. Everything happened so fast… and the next thing she knows, Kodiak was leaving for someplace far away. “Don’t do anything stupid…” She whispered rubbing her face against his. A few more minutes passed before Scarlett and Asuza finally returned. “Sorry about that.” She said entering the den, “Ready to go?” He nodded. The three went to meet Scarlett who was waiting outside for them. “When are we supposed to get there?” Scarlett asked nervously, “How long is the flight supposed to be again?” Asuza gazed up at the sky, which was clear. “It should only take two days, max.” She replied, “I’ll fly as fast as I can.” With that, Asuza closed her eyes, as if she were concentrating. Before anyone could ask, her body immediately began transforming… similar to how Kodiak’s was earlier. Her entire body extended starting with her spine, tail, and neck. Her head expanded and several horns extended from the back of her newly formed skull. Her fur was replaced with scales, her small paws, with massive reptilian claws. Overall, the transformation was almost immediate… as if she had done it many times before. She really had perfected transforming at will.

                Asuza’s dragon form looked just like her, with the exception of her new dragon features of course. Her short black hair was now long and streaming. It covered part of her massive, steel plated skull and ran down her long neck to the base of her spine. Her two-toned brown fur was replaced with scales of the same color. Unlike Kodiak’s dragon form, she had no fur. Her overall dragon form was a bit smaller than Kodiak’s, because of her smaller size, but it was still large enough to carry them both. “That’s amazing…” Copper said, amazed at her transformation, “Did that even hurt?” Asuza shook her head, “It only hurts the first few times, once you get used to it, and the transformation becomes painless afterwards.” Kodiak kissed Copper one last time before climbing onto Asuza’s back along with Scarlett. “Come back safe okay?” She cried out to them as Asuza started through the forest. They continued on, until her and Kodiak’s den was out of sight. “We need to find a clearing...” Asuza muttered looking around, “You’ll figure out one day that flying through trees is as painful as it looks.” Kodiak nodded, “Thanks for the heads up.” The three continued through the forest until they reached the opening of the plains, where the forest began to clear. The wind of the plains rushed unhindered through the plains, making it easier to catch a strong gust of wind to take off with. “Usually, you could take off from anywhere like this,” Asuza said looking around, “But with extra weight, it complicates things. We’ll have to get some extra speed somehow.” She started through the plains towards the sea where the Veridian Castle was located, “Hold on tight.” The plains were a lot calmer than they were during the day. A massive herd of horses rested nearby, with the lookouts, large stallions, watching the three of them intently. Otherwise, there weren’t a lot of animals out tonight. “Veridia is a very beautiful place,” Asuza said looking around, “So many animals live here, I hope one day Merida flourishes like this.” “We’ll make sure it does.” Scarlett said reassuringly, “leave it to us!” After a while, the castle came into view. The moonlight reflected off of the shiny marble, which the castle was made of, making a stunning sparkling effect. “It looks even prettier at night.” Scarlett whispered, “What are we doing here anyway?” “We’re not here for the castle.” Asuza replied continuing toward the sea. The calming sound of the waves brushing up against the shore and the breeze from the gulf replaced the sounds of the grasslands as they approached the beach. She continued until they reached the edge of a gigantic sea cliff, the same one the castle was built upon. Down below, was a two hundred feet drop to rocks and violent waves.  “Perfect.” Asuza said spreading her massive wings. “Oh goddess…” Scarlett whispered to herself closing her eyes and holding tightly onto Asuza’s back. “Are you okay…?” Kodiak whispered to her. “I’m a little scared of heights….” She replied, refusing to open her eyes. “It’ll be okay.” Asuza said glancing down, “Just hold on tight.” The wind was stronger here, probably because of the huge open fronts that came in over the ocean from the gulf. The wind whipped through their hair as Asuza waited for the perfect gust to carry them off. “Don’t look down… don’t look down… it’ll be okay…” Scarlett kept whispering to herself, her eyes still shut tight and her claws digging into Asuza’s scales. “I’m scared of heights too,” Kodiak said trying to calm her… and failing, “The key is… just don’t look down?” At that moment, a huge gust of wind brushed past and caught Asuza’s massive wings. “I know you guys are probably tired of me saying it… but you’ll really want to hold on this time.”

                Asuza looked down and dove headfirst from the top of the cliff, straight down towards the rocks. The once calm and soothing atmosphere of the night had escalated to one of extreme excitement... and probably terror. The rush of the fall coursed through all of their veins, the wind whipped through their hair and fur, and the sound of the violent, crashing waves came closer and closer as they neared the bottom of the sea cliff. “Oh god, oh god, oh god…” Scarlett repeated to herself just barely audible among the sound of rushing wind. Just as the crashing waves seemed closer than he would consider safe, and the rock wall behind them seemed to end, Asuza’s massive wings caught the violent wind with a violent jolt upward and pulled them up towards the sky. They were so close to the surface of the sea that some water had splashed onto them as Asuza gained altitude from the sharp fall. “Do we still have everyone?” Asuza called out calmly as they evened out for a steady climb. Scarlett’s eyes were still shut tight and she was trembling a bit. Kodiak’s heart raced and he trembled a bit as well, but they were all okay. “That was… insane…” Kodiak muttered to Scarlett, “Are you okay?” She nodded slowly, her eyes still closed. Asuza continued to climb in altitude until Veridia’s landscape began to disappear behind them. The sky was clear, showing the numerous stars in space and the moon as clear and as large as they had ever seen before. “Look at that…” Kodiak said gazing at the stars, “I’ve never seen them so clear before.” Scarlett slowly opened her eyes and glanced around, “Thank goodness that’s over…” The sky was surprisingly even that night, with the exception of Asuza’s wings flapping occasionally, it almost seemed as though they weren’t moving at all. “It should be a smooth trip, so you can get some rest if you want,” Asuza said after a while, “We’ll land in Archechestria tomorrow night, to rest.”

                It was pretty hard trying to rest midflight. The three of them were suspended high over the ocean and, secretly, both Kodiak and Scarlett were afraid of falling. “Can’t sleep?” Asuza asked after a few hours of silence. “No…” Kodiak replied glancing down at the ocean’s surface, “Not really.” Another moment of silence passed. “I bet you’ve got so many questions. Now is the perfect time to ask them.” Asuza said breaking the silence. “Where do I even start…?” Kodiak replied nervously, “What exactly is this… conversion gene?” “It is a set of dormant genetic codes carried by some animals that could trigger the transformations you went through, however, is activated only in an extremely rare number.” Asuza replied, “Yours and mine have been activated.” “Why now…? I mean, if I carried the genes for so long, why did it take so long for it to happen… the transformations I mean?” Kodiak continued. “It’s different for everyone,” Asuza replied glancing down towards the surface of the ocean, “Mine activated when I was still a child… that being said, it’s impossible to know exactly when the gene will awaken.” “You know a lot about it,” Scarlett said, “Did you discover it?” Asuza shook her head, “Not exactly. The first transformation caused by the gene occurred in Merida, during ancient times. The actual gene for it was only discovered recently by Archechestrian scientists looking to control it.” The wind picked up a bit causing them to shake a bit.

                “Why me?” Kodiak continued, “There’s no way you could have figured out that I had the conversion gene from all the way down there… I guess what I’m asking is… why did you choose to find and follow me?” Asuza thought carefully for a moment. “You’re last mission, for your government, it ended up saving thousands of innocent lives from those that wanted to hurt them… ” She began explaining, “I searched for such information to find someone who was most likely to help us… you seemed like the perfect match.” They appeared completely surrounded by ocean now, with no land in sight. The sky was still clear, displaying the stars more clearly than any of them had ever seen before. “Once you are able to control your conversion gene, you will be able to spot others with the gene. That’s how I found out you had it as well.” Asuza explained, “It was the perfect opportunity… I would have been a fool to not take it. We are in such a desperate situation right now; we need all the help we can get.” Kodiak nodded, “Well you have a point there. I’d be happy to help as much as I can.” Asuza nodded. “The animals of Merida really appreciate it… the government subsidized research has taken such a massive toll on them… the animals of Merida I mean…” She said sadly, “Many animals are afraid to leave their dens at night… there having been numerous kidnappings and small scale attacks that are paralyzing and destroying the moral of our small defense force…” Kodiak felt her pain. He could only imagine how hard it was for her to control a small territory in the face of a giant one… especially by herself. “We are a small force… a very small one…” Asuza continued, “A few of our soldiers have the conversion gene as well, which helps keep our heads above water… but it’s not enough.”

                Kodiak learned more about his current situation. It wasn’t just a small errand he could pull off in a few days and return home. It was much bigger than that. He was entrusted with saving hundreds of lives from a terrifying lifestyle. Not only that, but he was also tasked with stopping experimentation that could possibly lead to Archechestria developing an unstoppable army. Learning more about his objectives only made him more dedicated to helping her. The long talked tired him a bit, so it was relatively easy for him to fall asleep, despite the uncomfortable position him and Scarlett were in at the moment. The next time Kodiak had awakened, the three of them were on the ground. Asuza had returned to her normal form and Scarlett slept soundly beside him. The landscape was unfamiliar. Tall, thick trees bearing tropical fruit dotted the forests here. Thick vines hung from these trees and produced a large wire complex throughout the entire forest. A bit of sunlight pierced through the forest canopy allowing short plants to grow on the forest floor. The air was still, warm, and sort of humid. “Welcome to Archechestria,” Asuza said standing up, “I was going to head into town for supplies, if you would like to accompany me.” Kodiak agreed and followed her, leaving Scarlett peacefully asleep in their hidden den. The animals of Archechestria went about their lives, just like every other Territory Kodiak had visited. “They are not our enemy.” Asuza said calmly walking beside him, “They are simply living their lives, just as we are.” Kodiak observed many of the native animals, “It’s almost always government greed that gets in the way of their comfortable lifestyles.” He said, talking from experience, “I’ve been to many of the territories given a bad name for their government’s activities… their animals just want to live simply and peacefully.” Asuza nodded, “As do we.”

                They entered from the outskirts of the forest towards the inner city, a large collection of in-ground dens and cabins surrounded by a massive, old-looking tree. The dens and cabins were still hidden within the dense tropical forest with only a few tree houses breaking the canopy. “It’s amazing…” Kodiak said observing the scenery. The city was alive with animal activity, it was just like home. “Come, we are almost there.” Asuza said turning on a different cobblestone road. The two approached a market place where hundreds of animals gathered to trade stuff they found. All kinds of animals filled this area… a bigger variety than Veridia or any of the other places Kodiak had been. “Asuza, it’s great to see you!” One animal cried excited to see her, “I see you’re on your way home?” She nodded, “I am, I just stopped by to get some things.” The other animal, a peccary, observed Kodiak. “So this is the one you’ve been speaking highly of?” She nodded. “Well good! Come on in, I think you’ll like what we’ve got today.” The three entered the shop which was lined with fruits and vegetables, probably found from the forest. “It smells amazing in here.” Asuza said calmly as she entered. Kodiak wandered around the shop while her and her friend spoke. He had hardly seen the fruit they had in the shop before. They produced many different shapes, colors, and smells that he was unfamiliar with. “So you’re Veridian, right?” A voice asked shyly behind him. Kodiak turned to see a young piglet, probably the shop-owner’s child. “I am,” Kodiak replied smiling. “I’ve never seen you before…” she said shyly smiling at him. “I’ve never actually been here before…” He replied looking around, “Strange, since I only live a few hours away.” Her father and Asuza returned a few minutes later. “Are you ready?” Asuza asked. She carried a bunch of fruit on her back. “Whenever you’re ready” Kodiak replied. He followed her as she left the cabin. “Have a safe trip!” Her friend said waving as the two reentered the busy street.

                The two returned to the hidden den where Scarlett was still asleep. “She must have been up all night.” Asuza said, dropping the food she had been carrying, “Perhaps you should get some rest as well.” Kodiak stretched, “I don’t think I’d be able to… I got some pretty decent sleep last night.” She nodded, “Well then, please feel free to eat anything you like.” She then spread all of the food she had gotten from the store. There were mostly fruits and vegetables, as meat was scarce in that part of the tropical forest. “Thank you.” Kodiak said picking out different fruits. Asuza went to the edge of the den and laid down. “We’ll leave after this nap…” She said closing her eyes. Kodiak nodded and continued eating. After a while, Scarlett finally began to stir. “Are we there yet…?” she asked, probably still half asleep. “Not yet, we landed to rest.” Kodiak replied picking up some fruit, “Here, have some.” Scarlett pulled herself up on her feet and sat next to him. “Did you go out? How does it look?” She asked, carefully peeling one of the fruits he had given her. “Like normal I guess… there are a lot of animals out there going about their business.” Kodiak replied. The two ate together, rested, and then sat around and talked while Asuza slept. “If this thing with Merida is funded by the government… are you sure we should get involved?” Scarlett asked nervously, “It’s not like we have much of a choice but… if they caught us…” “They won’t,” Kodiak immediately replied, “I wouldn’t have gone with her if I thought she didn’t know what she was doing. Not only that, but it’s a territory liberation mission. If we got caught, our own territories would have no problem getting involved.” There was silence for a minute. “We just have to be careful.” Kodiak continued, “I don’t want anyone else to get involved with this… no other animals have to die if we work strategically with her.” Scarlett nodded. The sun began to descend in the sky when Asuza finally woke up. “Did you sleep well, Asuza?” Scarlett said smiling as Asuza stretched a bit. “The best I had in a while…” she replied shaking her fur loose, “Are you ready to go?” Kodiak and Scarlett followed her out of the den and into the open, cool forest opening. Asuza changed to her dragon form and they climbed aboard. “It shouldn’t be long now; we’ll make it there by midnight.” Asuza said taking off. As they gained altitude, the vastness of the forest began more apparent. There were trees, hills, beautiful waterfalls, and rivers as far as they could see. The city that Kodiak and Asuza went to was hidden beneath the trees except for a few cabins that were built into the tree tops. The sun looked massive as it slowly sank beneath the horizon, sending a cascade of orange, yellow, and red across the sky. “It’s beautiful…” Scarlett gasped, observing the scene. Neither of them had been this far south before. The temperature in the sky was perfect too, hinting to a smooth and relaxed trip to Merida.              

                A violent jerking awakened Kodiak and Scarlett. They were no longer in the sky now, but on the ground. “We’re here.” Asuza said, lying down so that they could get off. They had landed on a tall hill overlooking giant, hill-covered thin forests within the tropical forest. In the center of this thin forest, was a large collection of cabins and dens dug into the small hills. The forest wasn’t as dense as the rest of the tropics, so the village was not as hidden as the city they left was. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Asuza said, switching back to her normal, fox-form. It was dark now, with only the reddish-orange glow from the rare moon, Luna, providing light. Kodiak followed close behind Asuza as they navigated the grasslands. “Be careful where you step… there are abandoned rabbit holes around here.” Asuza said, carefully proceeding through the terrain. Suddenly, Kodiak’s heart skipped. It was that feeling again. “A-Asuza…” He said trying to repress the transformation, “I-it’s happening… again…” She turned around, “Here’s your first lesson then. Whenever Luna is out in full like this, it automatically triggers the conversion gene sometimes.” She walked up to him and gently held his head in her paws, “Luckily, preventing the transformation is one of the easiest things to do. You just have to concentrate.” Kodiak nodded and did what she said. What was he supposed to concentrate on though? He had no idea. “Stop it… stop it… stop…. Stop it…” he kept thinking to himself…. Was this the type of concentrating he was supposed to be doing? If it was, it wasn’t stopping his transformation. “Think about it Kodiak, it’s like slowing your breathing. Just relax and reject the changes.” Asuza said, “You can do it.” Kodiak had no idea what she meant… “Just reject the changes…” He repeated to himself as he felt the familiar pressure returning in his body. Without warning, the symptoms stopped. His body began to feel normal again and he did not transform. “I did it…” Kodiak sighed to himself, “That was insane…” Asuza nodded, “Good work, it really is that simple… when your body feels like it is about to transform, just reject it. That happens to all carriers of the conversion gene.”

                Kodiak’s small victory gave him a little bit of confidence. Maybe he would be able to control his newly acquired powers. “Nice job, Kodiak.” Scarlett said to him, “That was amazing!” Kodiak smiled, “Thanks. That’s one victory of… well… hopefully many…” The two followed Asuza as they slowly approached the village. From a distance, they could see candle-lit lanterns illuminating the cobblestone streets. Small, store-front cabins labeled “Post office, trading post, and village center” lined the streets with the thin, scattered trees providing a beautiful covering. There weren’t any animals out, since it was so late, but it was apparent that the small village was full of life during the day. The cobble stone road branched into different ones, each with its own specific identifier. One read “Residential” and led a small ways away into more dense forests. “This is where the animals live.” Asuza said pointing down the road. Another sign read “City exit” and led deeper into the Archechestrian tropical forest. The road the three had approached didn’t have a sign. It led to a larger den cut into a tall hill that had an over watch tower built on top of it. “This is our base of operations.” Asuza said, walking towards the den. There was another animal out, a female coyote with similar brown markings to Asuza, lighting a couple of lanterns that hung outside of the den’s heavy, wooden doors. “This is Vanessa, a close friend of mine.” Asuza said approaching her. She turned to see Asuza, Kodiak, and Scarlett. “Hello!” She said excitedly putting down her tools and approaching them, “I’m so glad you made it back safe!” She said hugging Asuza. She then turned to Kodiak and Scarlett and humbly bowed to them, “We thank you for your assistance.” Kodiak smiled, “Oh, there’s no need for that, we’re happy to help.” “This Kodiak and his partner, Scarlett,” Asuza introduced, “Are the others in there?” Vanessa nodded, “Some of them just left, but there’s still a couple of them.”

                Asuza pushed through the heavy wooden doors that led to some stairs. The den was dug underground, probably for protection, and it had several large, empty rooms with beds, in the case of a village-wide emergency. A large map of Archechestria hung on one of the walls, while a map of the village hung on another. A staircase led up; probably to the watch tower they had seen before entering. At the large, wooden table that sat in the middle of the room was a few of Asuza’s fighters. Among them, a large, red wolf with black hair and Archechestrian-standard brown markings, several foxes about Asuza’s size, a jaguar that slept soundly beside them, and two coyotes. All of the fighters there were male, except for another red wolf. She also sat at the table with the others. She was a medic, as told by a white band around her left arm that had a red cross on it. “Took you long enough, Asuza,” The male red wolf said smiling, “Welcome to the party.” Asuza rolled her eyes, “Guys, this is Kodiak and his partner Scarlett. They have agreed to help us liberate the village.” The collection of soldiers at the tables greeted them warm-heartedly. “Welcome to Merida, we’re so glad to have you.” The female red wolf said approaching Kodiak and Scarlett, “My name is Kala, I’m the head medic.” Kodiak nodded, “Nice to meet you.” “She’s saved my a*s a few times, she’ll help you out.” One of the coyotes joked, causing the others to laugh with him. After the rest of them did their introductions, Asuza turned to Kodiak and Scarlett. “I’ll take you to the den we prepared for you. Tomorrow we’ll begin you’re training Kodiak, as promised.” She said, “Make sure you get plenty of rest, because it’s going to require a lot of energy” She turned and headed out the door, leaving her soldiers behind in the den. “Good night!” a few of them said as Kodiak and Scarlett left with her.

                The two followed her back to the road towards the main square of the village. “You look like you have a very tight-knit force here.” Scarlett said to Asuza, “You guys must really trust each other.” Asuza nodded, “Most of us were born and raised together. Vanessa, her twin sister, and I are practically sisters.” Only a few of Asuza’s soldiers were there, as many of them went home to bed. “We witnessed first-hand the violence that the main city inflicted on our village… Kala, the medic you met, lost her entire family to an attack one time. All of us lost someone to them.” Asuza continued. She stopped and glanced north, towards the more dense forest. “Passed the forest over there is the facility.” She said pointing north. “Experiments are held there, as well as a small military base.” She continued walking towards the crossroads and down the street labeled “residential”. The residential district was large. Many small dens were dug into the hills on each side of the road. Eventually, they came across a hidden den, located under the roots of a large tree. Asuza opened the wooden door and entered. “This will be yours.” She said lighting a lantern inside of it. The den was smaller than his at home in Veridia, but it was still comfortable. It had two rooms and one large living room. Two windows peeked out beside both sides of the entrance facing the pathway. Each room had its own window facing the other side. “Well then, I’ll leave you two to rest. If you need anything, my den is right across the way.” Asuza said leaving and closing the door behind her. “What do you think?” Scarlett asked him, “You’ve been sort of quiet.” Kodiak shook his head, “Sorry… I was just thinking.” The two sat in silence for a bit. “About what?” Scarlett said breaking the silence. Kodiak sighed, “They remind me of us… our pack. Everyone is so close, they work together… just imagine though, if we were like them. They have to worry about being attacked every day.” Scarlett sat beside him. “Well, that’s what we’re here for right…? To free them...” Kodiak nodded, “You’re right.” She stood up and stretched, “Well you should probably get some rest… I want to go explore for a little bit… since I’m not tired.” Kodiak stood up too, “I guess I will… but be careful out there…”

                The next morning was an early one… which was bad for him since last night was a late one. He woke up to Asuza standing over him. “Rise and shine,” She said opening the curtains, “It’s training time.” “It’s… still dark…” Kodiak muttered laying back down, “Plus I can’t willingly switch to dragon form yet… so-…” He was interrupted by the feeling of Asuza’s teeth biting into his tail. He jumped up quickly. “You have to learn to control your other genes as well, Kodiak.” She said sitting down, “What’s the point in having special genes if you can’t control them?” He sighed and reluctantly followed her outside the den. Only a few animals were outside this early in the morning, most of them opening their shops. The post office’s lanterns burned dimly with a small anteater sitting at the counter. A few animals had already gathered at the trading post and the bar sat empty with a forest pig washing cups. “Go easy on him!” One of her soldiers cried as they passed. “We’ll start with your new agility gene.” Asuza said glancing back, “It’s really easy, so it shouldn’t take too long, but it helps to get the hang of it first.” The two followed the road until it ended at a sign that read “Coast”. The road turned into dirt and eventually back into grass as they continued through the thin forest towards the coast. They eventually reached a clearing on a sea cliff overlooking the ocean. The walk had taken some time, so by the time they arrived, the sun began to rise from the horizon. The sky was a gentle blue, with some sun rays peeking over the thick clouds that hovered over the ocean. “The agility gene doesn’t need to be triggered; it simply makes you move faster.” Asuza explained walking to one end of the clearing, “Come at me.” Kodiak backed up and readied himself. He then ran at her, full speed. Before he knew it though, he was already right in front of her. “Good,” She said, “Fighting with it is just that easy, especially if the one you are fighting doesn’t have it. It’ll give you an edge… a sharp one at that. It is said that the agility gene also helps you think faster, so that you can attack and defend faster.” Kodiak returned to the spot he had been before. “Try to cut me.” Asuza said. “You want me to cut you?” Kodiak asked unsure, “Are you… sure?” “I want you to try to cut me.” Asuza repeated. Kodiak obeyed and went at her. He dished out, attack after attack with his sharp fangs. Asuza dodged each one perfectly. During his attack, kodiak didn’t feel like he was moving any different than usual. He attacked, she defended… just like a normal fight… until he noticed his surroundings. Everything in the environment seemed to have slowed. A flock of seagulls just taking off appeared to move at half the speed they would normally and even the trees rattled sluggishly in the wind. He realized that time really didn’t slow… but he and Asuza were just moving that fast. She avoided all of his moves and kicked him right in the forehead, knocking him backwards. “Always focus on your fight.” Asuza warned, “If your opponent is more focused than you are, you are prone to making more mistakes… which could cost you your life.” The training went on through the day, about the same way. Asuza taught Kodiak how to think faster and react given different tasks. He listened and obeyed her orders perfectly, allowing him to sharpen his skills using the agility in the first day of his training.

                The sun was a bit towards the west when they finally stopped. “That’s fine for now…” Asuza said panting heavily, “We will grab lunch and finish the final task.” Kodiak nodded, he was tired out from all of her training… which was more intense than he had imagined. He followed her through the path towards the village to the other side of the forest, where the predators of the village go to hunt. “How did you learn all this?” Kodiak asked following close behind her. “A collection of knowledge,” Asuza replied, “My parents taught me some, I learned from others, and I experimented with my own style… just all of that put together.” Her style amazed him. He learned to carefully but quickly plan his attacks while guessing his opponent’s next move. “I would encourage you to experiment with your own style.” Asuza continued, “Use my knowledge as a base to building your own skills.” The two entered the village square which was now full of life. All kinds of different animals went about their daily business; some talked, laughed, and joked while others worked. “Your village is beautiful.” Kodiak said looking around, “Everyone seems so happy.” Asuza looked around as well, “Thank you… considering everything that’s happened to them, it brings me great joy to see that they can still smile. They continued through the square, passing the post office and the trading post which was now very busy. “Merida has a bunch of villages like this.” Asuza explained, “This is the Capital of Merida, called Meridia. There are several more villages around. Each one trades with another, which explains the trading post. We also exchange mail.” Kodiak was impressed by their system. Each village stood alone, like this one, but was connected by different trading paths and mail routes. “Wow…” Kodiak said looking around. The two crossed the square and entered the other side of the forest. The sign at the end of the road read “Caution: Be aware of your surroundings and NEVER travel alone”. The sign was ominous to Kodiak. “What’s that all about?” He asked, still following Asuza. “A lot of animals have been ambushed out here by the government’s soldiers.” Asuza replied, “Others have been kidnapped.” The forest looked just as calm as the other one they just came from, but the news Asuza just told Kodiak made it seem more eerie.

                Back in the den, Scarlett sat staring out the window. She was there; Kodiak was out training… what was she to do? She took a deep breath and sighed.  “I guess I’ll go explore some more…” She sighed pulling herself up. Scarlett had walked around almost all night, so she was familiar with where some of the roads led. She was unable to see the scenery at night, however, so it all seemed new to her. As she walked down the street, she received many surprised looks from some of the villagers. “Okay….” She said to herself as she continued to the square. “Scarlett!” A familiar voice cried out to her. It was Vanessa, the coyote from the other night, and her twin sister. “This is the wolf I was telling you about.” Vanessa explained to her sister, “Her name is Scarlett.” “It’s nice to meet you; my name is Terry,” Vanessa’s sister said excitedly, “Welcome to Merida!” Scarlett smiled, “Thank you… it’s great to be here.” “What are you up to? Exploring?” Vanessa asked Scarlett smiling, “We were just going to the beach, if you wanted to come with us.” She had nothing better to do. So she agreed. The beach was the same way Kodiak and Asuza went to train, since it was near the coast. They stopped by the base of operations and picked up Kala, the medic, before heading out to the coast. “So, how’s Kodiak doing?” Vanessa asked, “Did he start training yet?” Scarlett nodded, “Yeah, he started early… I don’t think I’ve seen him since then.” “She’s good; you have nothing to worry about.” Kala reassured her, “Her training is a little intense… but he’s in good paws.”

                Back in the forest, Kodiak and Asuza successful killed their meal for the day. The two ate together in the center of the ominous forest until all the meat was gone. “Do they regularly patrol here?” Kodiak asked looking around. Asuza shook her head, “Not regularly… randomly is more like it. There hasn’t been any activity lately, but we’re not going to risk it.” She stood up, “That being said, we should return back.” As usual, Kodiak followed her back to the village. The sun began to sink behind the horizon as the two reached the city square. Everything began to settle down now, and the working animals began to collect around the bar. “You’re free for the rest of the day, make sure you get some rest,” Asuza said as they arrived at the square, “Feel free to come by the operations center and meet some of the others too, they’re dying to meet you.” Still full of some energy, Kodiak decided to stop by the base. As expected, there were more animals there than the night he had first arrived. Many of them were males, but there were some females there as well. “Kodiak!” the male red wolf he had seen the other day called to him as Kodiak approached the base, “Good to see you!” Kodiak smiled, “How’s it going?” The male red wolf opened the door, “Come on in, I’ll introduce you to the guys.” Kodiak followed him inside the base which was now crowded with soldiers, unlike the other night. “My name is Shepherd, by the way.” The red wolf said before entering the room. The den was filled with laughter and conversion. The soldiers hung around, awaiting orders from Asuza. “There he is! Our key to victory!” One of the soldiers cried out. The rest of them cheered, some of them probably intoxicated. “I don’t know about that.” Kodiak laughed, “But it’s good to be here.”

                He joined the other soldiers around the huge wooden table, to talk and mingle. “This is ratchet,” Shepherd said pointing to another wolf, “He’s got the conversion gene as well. Ratchet nodded, “Asuza’s training you, huh… listen to her, she’ll take care of you.” He was pretty scarred up, suggesting that he had been through a lot of battles. “That’s Dexter, we call him Dex.” Shepherd continued, pointing at a one of the many coyotes, “He’s one of our coordinators, he watches our back.” “In other words, he doesn’t do s**t.” Another coyotes laughed, sending the room into a roar of laughter. “Bite me,” Dex said with a grin. “Let’s see who else…” Shepherd said, purposely missing one. “What about me Shep.” The coyote he missed barked, “You still mad about that bet you lost?” Shepherd ignored him, “You guys hear somethin’? Sounds to me like a cheating b*****d!” The room filled with laughter once more. “Yeah, stay away from the idiot, Kodi.” Shepherd said laughing, “That right there, that’s Pyro. That ain’t your real name is it?” Pyro nodded, “That’s all you need to know.” Shepherd shook his head while everyone else laughed quietly, “He’s got the conversion gene too. We call him Pyro, because he provides the close air support when we need it.” Pyro nodded.  “Where you from, Kodi?” One of them asked, silencing the room. “Central Veridia,” He responded. The room filled with conversation about his answer. “I heard you guys have a lot of girls up there.” Dex said rubbing his chin “Is that true Kodi?” Kodiak nodded, “Aww yeah.” The room erupted with cheers and howls from some of the male coyotes. “What about you, are you… involved… with that Scarlett girl?” The room fell silent again. “We work together,” Kodiak replied smiling, “I have someone else.” “What’s her name?” One of the females asked curiously, “Is she Veridian too?” Kodiak shook his head, “She’s Inarian and her name is Copper.” Kodiak sat with the group and played around with them, to the point where they already considered him a part of them. He heard stories of their heroics and stories of some of the… not so smart… things they did. He heard tragic love stories from some of the guys and heartwarming ones from some of the girls. In all, Kodiak and Asuza’s troops bonded rather quickly.

                “What’s Asuza doing to you out there, Kodi?” Shepherd asked, as everyone began to settle down. “Ah, you know… Agility training... that’s pretty much it…” He responded. Shepherd nodded, “She’s intense, but she’s good. See, I’m not from around here, I’m actually from the southernmost village.” He sat back, “My family is down there… figured it would be safer for them.” Kodiak nodded, “You have any pups?” Shepherd nodded, “A whole litter, five girls and a boy. My wife’s down there too… ah I tell ya, it’s beautiful down there. I built a den by the riverside, so when we sleep you could hear the water... freakin’ amazing.” “Why’d you leave Shep?” One of the soldiers asked him, “What brings up north?” He sighed, “I couldn’t wait around and do nothin’, y’know… I wouldn’t feel right, with everyone up here fighting for freedom and all.” It was a commendable decision… Kodiak thought to himself. He almost forgot, while joking around with the others, that they were all there for a reason. Kodiak hung around for a while until he decided to leave. He was still training with Asuza the next morning, so he couldn’t stay out too late. He said his goodbyes and headed back out to the village. The square had calmed down a lot since the afternoon, with only a few animals hanging around the bar. He crossed the square and went down the residential road towards his den. He opened the door to see Scarlett sitting at the table. “Hey kodiak how was your training?” She asked, “You look exhausted.” He nodded, “I am… it was good training though… I learned quite a bit. What about you? What were you up to today?” she shrugged, “I hung out with Vanessa, her sister Terry, and Kala at the beach today… they seem like nice animals.” Kodiak stretched, “That’s good to hear… I went to the base for a little while to meet the guys. Asuza put together a pretty tight nit team.” Scarlett nodded, “Yeah I figured she would have. Those three seemed to be close friends too.” Kodiak yawned, “Well, I’m about to go pass out… I’ve got another long training day tomorrow.”

                The next few days went pretty much the same as the first. He was awakened early by Asuza to go train for the entire day, until a little passed midnight. At that time, they would go out to eat and she would let him go do whatever he wanted for the rest of the night. He would then go hang out with the others at the base or go practice his own method of fighting in the woods. Scarlett hung out with Vanessa, Terry, and Kala during that time, getting to know them better. Kodiak’s agility training lasted for four days until his final test arrive. The morning of his test, he was awakened by Asuza like usual. “This is the last day of your agility training. Are you excited?” Asuza asked him as he got up and stretched. “I am…” He said tiredly, “Maybe I’ll be able to get more sleep after this…” Asuza smiled, “Maybe.” In the next room, Scarlett could be heard waking up as well. “Good morning,” She said walking into the living room where Kodiak and Asuza were, “More training today?” Kodiak Nodded. “Today is his test. If he passes, we’ll be done with agility training.” Asuza replied, “Care to join us?” Scarlett nodded, “Of course!”  She followed them to their usual spot, where a bunch of Asuza’s soldiers had gathered in anticipation. “I was kind of shy to ask…” Kodiak began observing the crowd that had formed, “But what exactly is the agility test?” Asuza continued walking towards the other side of the clearing, “It is very simple. First one to draw blood wins.” The crowd cheered at the sound of the challenge. “Remember everything that I’ve taught you, and you shouldn’t have any problems. Kodiak nodded. He was ready. The two took up positions across from each other and waited for the signal. He took that split second to observe exactly what he was up against. Asuza is smaller than him, meaning that she’s always going to be a bit faster than him… even with the agility gene. “Ready?” One of the soldiers cried out. He would have to spend most of his energy dodging her attacks and just wait for an opening… but how long would that take? “Set!” the soldier cried out, observing the two fighters. There’s no telling how much energy she has held in her body… he would have to go on the offensive and not allow her to attack first. “Go!” The soldier cried moving out of the way.

                Kodiak ran at her as fast as he could, preparing to attack. The environment seemed to slow as the fired off their agility genes. Asuza dodged his first move and tried to counter, but he anticipated it like she taught him. During the second day of his training, he was taught how to use the agility gene to fight with multiple enemies at once. He remembered how to always keep mental track of exactly where all of his enemies were during battle using all of his senses. He felt Asuza’s presences, no matter where she was on the battlefield, and this allowed him to avoid her attacks. He had a few close calls, as Asuza attacked with breakneck speed, but he was able to avoid all of them. He waited until after she began to slow down to start attacking back. He heard the cheers from the soldiers coming from all directions, but it was all mostly inaudible as he and Asuza were moving so fast. He attacked as fast as he could, trying to get her neck in between his jaws, but she was too fast. He had to change his method. An important thing he learned was how to anticipate his opponent’s actions but accurately guessing his opponent’s moves based on what he was doing. He learned that the drawback to this was guessing incorrectly. If he could somehow confuse her, he would have an opening. The two stopped attacking for a while to catch their breaths. Kodiak knew that she was expecting him to attack first, since he always usually does. On the other hand, he knew that she usually attacks about face-level. If he could get her where he wanted, he would be able to land a hit on her. As expected, Asuza took off, her claws out and her teeth bared. “Gotcha…” Kodiak thought to himself as he avoided this attack and jumped up. He felt his jaws wrap around her neck and then he dragged her to the ground. “That’s it! Kodiak wins!” the soldier announced. The rest of the crowd cheered as Kodiak released his grip on Asuza’s neck. “Good job,” She said getting up, “Looks like you passed.” Kodiak was free for the rest of the day, to his delight. He immediately returned to his den and laid down. “Hey, good job out there!” Scarlett said entering the den, “You were amazing!” “Thanks…” Kodiak said, still trying to catch his breath. “Are you hungry? Do you want to go out to eat?” She asked petting his head. He shook his head, “I’m fine… I think I’m going to just… lay here for a bit…” She smiled and stood up, “Okay then… get some rest.” She turned and left, leaving him there by himself. Kodiak, exhausted from the fight, drifted off to sleep. He had only been there for a few days and already felt like he was improving at a rapid pace.

                His long awaited sleep was cut short by Asuza, who shook him violently. “Are you awake?” She asked sitting back. Kodiak nodded, still half asleep. “It’s time for conversion gene training.” She continued, “Since you are not able to transform on cue, we have to train at night, during the full Luna.” Kodiak sighed and got up. He was a bit exhausted still, but he was ready. As soon as he got outside, he began to feel his body reacting to the full Luna. “Keep it under control.” Asuza said walking down the cobblestone road. As far as Kodiak’s conversion gene goes, he was able to stop the transformation before he felt it happening. That was about it. “Today is actually very simple,” Asuza began explaining, “We’re just going to get you used to being in the dragon form.” He nodded, “Okay.” Kodiak allowed his body to react to the moon, causing the transformation to begin immediately. His body changed much faster than before so before he knew it, it was already over. “That was actually pretty fast…” Kodiak said observing his dragon form. He remembered how long it took to transform the first few times. It felt like hours. But now he changed in a matter of seconds… not only that, but it was completely painless as well. Asuza switched to her dragon form as well, hers being a bit smaller than Kodiak’s. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re body weight has increased dramatically during the transformation.” Asuza began explaining, “You’re going to have to get used to this weight change if you want to be able to function properly. It may seem like a basic thing to learn, but it is very important.” Kodiak stood to his feet. He did weigh a lot more than his normal form, but his muscles also grew to sustain him. “Let’s go.” Asuza said, starting down the path to the beach. It wasn’t too late, as the moon had only just appeared in the sky. Billions of stars lit up the night, bright enough so that they could see where they were going. Kodiak’s newly acquired dragon tail swung widely, in order to counterbalance his weight. It was longer than his normal tail and definitely more flexible as well. “That’s going to take some getting used to…” He thought out loud as his tail thrashed against the rock wall as he walked. “Steady your hips kodiak, you aren’t a model,” Asuza said, “You have a huge tail to do the balancing for you, so just relax.” The two finally reached the beach after practicing walking down the cliff. “Looks like we got your walking down fine, now we just need to work on running,” she said observing the open coast. “It may seem silly, learning how to walk and run, but it’s very important.” Asuza explained, “You are in a totally different body now, so you’ll have to learn basic stuff like this over. First, it’s best if you realized the differences between this body and your normal form. First of all, you have huge claws that could trip you up… if you’re not careful. Second, your entire body, including your neck and tail, are longer. And finally, you have huge wings, which you have to tuck in while running.” The training seemed strange to him at first, but it started making sense after he tripped on his claws a few times. Running was a lot different in his dragon form, since his body was a lot different. He and Asuza practiced pretty much all night until he finally got it. When running, he had to tuck his wings in, in order to prevent them from catching wind and slowing him down. He also learned to control his massive tail and avoid tripping on his claws. After they practiced movement, he taught himself how to stand and walk upright. “Running is very important to learn first.” Asuza said at the end of the training session, “Because you have to be able to run before you could fly.”

                Asuza and kodiak sat together on the beach resting as the sun began to creep over the horizon again. He was still in dragon form and she switched back. “When will you teach me how to trigger the conversion gene myself?” Kodiak asked, breaking the silence. “When the time is right,” Asuza replied, “That’s the hardest part of the whole training.” She stood up and stretched, “For now, I expect you to stay in that form for the remainder of your training. There’s no better way to get used to that form than being in it for a while.” Kodiak wasn’t surprised that she’d say that. He expected her training methods to be intense like that. It would only make him stronger. “You’re the boss,” he replied laying back, his massive wings digging into the sand. “Tomorrow, we’ll get you flying.” Asuza said walking away, “Make sure you get plenty of practice in.” Kodiak couldn’t wait to try flying. But first he needed to master the simplest of tasks… walking. He could barely fit on the village streets, as he walked slowly through. He was careful not destroy anything with his massive tail and wings or step on any of the villagers. It was the ultimate test of coordination. He drew a lot of attention from the villagers as he practiced navigating through the crowded streets without knocking anything, or anyone, over. “Doing some training, Kodiak?” Scarlett asked as she passed by. He nodded, “Coordination.” She smiled, “Well you look good.” After a bit of practice, Kodiak returned to the coast to rest. Since he was in his dragon form until the end of his conversion training, he couldn’t fit inside of his den. Instead, Asuza provided him with a comfortable ocean-side cave that was big enough for him to fit in. He crawled inside, laid down, and fell asleep immediately. He found that it was easier to stop his body from changing back to his normal form than it probably was to change into the dragon form. Even in his sleep, he could repress the transformation. It was in the middle of the afternoon by the time he fell asleep and he ended up waking up around the middle of the night. “You awake?” Asuza’s voice echoed in the cave. “Yeah…” he replied stretching. “Do you want to start training?” she asked, “If not, we could wait until day time.” There was no way he’d turn that opportunity down. He crawled out of the cave and stretched his massive wings, “I’m ready.”

                He followed Asuza further down the coast, where there were a lot of cliffs overlooking the sea. “First we’ll practice gliding, so you can get the feel of your wings.” She said, “Then we’ll go into powered flight.” She climbed up a trail that had been carved into the rock and continued up the hill to the peak of the cliff. “You’ll get the feel for it rather quickly,” she said changing into her dragon form, “Just spread your wings as far as they can go, and let the wind catch you.” Kodiak obeyed and spread his massive wings. His were larger than hers, since he was bigger than she was, but he assumed that the principle was basically the same. “What if I crash into the ocean? Won’t I sink?” He asked nervously looking out over the sea cliff. “I’ll save you,” Asuza replied reassuringly, “There’s no way you could mess this up.” Kodiak backed up a bit to get a running start and ran full seed towards the cliff, his wings spread as far as they would go. Once he reached the end of the cliff he jumped off, as far as he could. His heart skipped, as he felt like he was falling, but the wind carried him, just like Asuza said it would. A feeling of excitement rushed through Kodiak’s body as he glanced down to see that he was gliding over the ocean. He adjusted his wings as the wind changed in order to stay afloat, Asuza was right, he did get the hang of it. “Come back!” Asuza cried from a distance, but Kodiak was having too much fun. The wind in is his wings gave him a feeling of freedom. The cool, evening breeze rushed through his hair, fur, and against his scales as he cut through the sky with great speed, his wings fixed and his eyes closed tight. “Kodiak!” Asuza cried, but he could only faintly hear her. He wasn’t in touch with reality. For a moment, he found himself in a strange, euphoria. Every land animal imagines the freedom of flying… he was experiencing it now, for the first time. He smiled and stuck his long tongue out. “This is… amazing…” He said to himself. He slowly opened his eyes for a split second to see the face of the rock wall just a few inches from his muzzle. “Cra-…” He said quickly, but there wasn’t enough time to react. In an instant, his feeling of euphoric freedom ended with a loud crash. He smacked against the wall, face first, and it seemed like the rest of his body followed. The impact shook the ground, causing numerous flocks of birds to evacuate their roosts. He then fell backwards and onto the beach with a crash that echoed throughout the landscape. He laid there for a moment, his nose… and his pride… in pain. Asuza glided down from the cliff and landed beside him. “Are you okay?” She said, gently petting his nose. He nodded. Kodiak hit the beach upside down so hard that the top half of his body was partially buried in the sand. “You were doing fine, up until that last part…” Asuza continued, “Here’s a good rule of thumb that could be applied to any form of moment. Always keep your eyes open.” He nodded. The rest of the night he practiced gliding with Asuza. They flew together, where learned how to stay in the air longer and how to land without crashing. She taught him how to hold his wings up and use his weight to gain momentum. Asuza had been flying for a while now, judging by her superior skill, and she taught him the best she could. He crashed a few... several… times while practicing his landings, but for the most part he got everything down, exactly the way she taught it.

                “You learn pretty quickly.” Asuza said as they both landed on the sea cliff, “Faster than I had originally thought you would.” The sun began to come up again, starting yet another day. Kodiak smiled, “Haha, don’t underestimate me!” He had fun and he could tell that she did as well… she was just really good at hiding it. “Well, we could start your powered-flight training, unless you want to call it quits for today?” She asked sitting down. “If you feel like teaching, I definitely wouldn’t mind.” He replied. Deep down inside, he really wanted to. He just wanted to be careful not to force her to overwork herself. “Okay then,” She said standing up, “Powered flight is pretty much gliding, but you’re using your wings to gain speed and altitude.” She stretched her wings, “There’s nothing really special that you have to learn in order for you to do it.” She jumped off of the side of the cliff and carried herself back up to him with her wings. He felt the powerful downdraft produced by her wings as she hovered in front of him. “It’ll be impossible for you to take off from the ground, unless there’s some crazy-strong wind blowing.” Asuza explained, “that being said, you’ll probably have to get some acceleration by… jumping off… of something… give it a try.” Kodiak obeyed and jumped off of the cliff. He flapped his massive wings to produce lift and carry himself up to her. “It takes more energy to hold yourself up without moving,” She said flying upwards, “The key is to ride the wind as best as possible and only flap when you need to.” Kodiak followed her to higher altitude. The air was thinner up here and when he looked down, he saw the entire village. “Wow…” He said, holding himself in the air with his huge wings. “Beautiful isn’t it?” Asuza said flying next to him. It was an amazing sight to see… nothing that he had seen before in his life. He could see the tropical forest expanding out as far as the horizon on one side, and on the other he saw the ocean, with a small dot of landmass poking out on the horizon. “That’s the Territory of Antarceos over there.” Asuza said pointing towards the landmass on the horizon. “They are actually pretty helpful to us… they have provided quite a bit of medical aid to use. Kala, the medic, is actually from there.” She positioned herself beside him. “Okay this is the fun part, we’ll practice diving.” She said looking down, “Just fly straight down as fast as you can. As you approach land, open your wings as wide as you can and decelerate.” Before he could ask, Asuza shot straight down towards the mainland. Her wings flapping as fast as they could and her nose headed straight for the ground. Seemingly at the last minute, she pulled herself up and flapped her wings downward in order to avoid crashing into the ground. “Okay…” Kodiak said readying himself, “It’s just like swimming…” With that, he put his nose down and dropped, straight down towards her. The wind rushed through his body and wings as he rapidly accelerated through the clouds. His heart raced as he poked through layer after layer of clouds. He continued diving until he shot through the last layer of clouds exposing the vast landscape that was rapidly closing in.  He passed Asuza as he began to decelerate. His massive weight was succumbing to gravity, and his massive wings flapped rapidly downward trying to slow down. The ground was coming too fast though… maybe he didn’t start slowing fast enough… no… he definitely didn’t start slowing down enough. “Craaaaaap!” He cried as he neared the ground, sticking his feet out to absorb the impact.  

                A strange vibration knocked a couple of glasses from the shelf, waking Scarlett from her sleep. “Earthquake…?” She wondered to herself as she peered out the window. The other villagers felt it too, as they were all staring out of their windows too. Back in the forest, Kodiak found himself lying in the center of a huge crater in the center of the forest.  Asuza gently landed beside him. “In your dragon form, your normal, calcium bones are replaced with tempered ones made from bio-steel. They are ten times stronger than steel.” That was probably a good thing… because he would have definitely killed himself doing that in his normal form. “You did well though,” She said trying not to laugh, “Just make sure you slow down earlier…” Kodiak sat up and stretched. The impact was very uncomfortable and painful, but he was certain that he didn’t break anything in his body. After a short rest, he and Asuza resumed power-flight training. Through practice, he learned to better control his wings… therefore, flying more efficiently. He learned how to fly low to the ground and the secrets to flying long distances. By the end of the training session, he and Asuza were flying together nearly perfectly. “You’re getting it!” Asuza said excitedly following him. He never heard Asuza get so excited over anything. He landed back onto the cliff with her following. “Very good,” She said, returning to her normal, calm attitude, “With practice, you can perfect your flying too.” She glanced at the sky, “All there is left to teach you is how to control the transformation.”  She changed back into her normal form, “No doubt, this is the hardest part… the key to transforming is concentration and control.” Asuza closed her eyes, “The conversion gene is nothing more than an extension of yourself… you have to concentrate on the action, similar to meditating.” Her body began to react and she changed back into her dragon form, “Once you do it for a while, you will eventually get the hang of it and be able to transform within seconds. Give it a try.” Kodiak easily changed back into his wolf form… it couldn’t be as hard changing back into dragon form… could it? He closed his eyes and focused on changing back. He felt his body start reacting, but it stopped immediately. “Almost…” He said closing his eyes again. This time, his body didn’t react at all. “You’re probably tired.” Asuza said changing back into her own fox form, “Your body uses a tremendous amount of energy in the dragon form. It also requires a lot of energy to change into the dragon form, so that could explain it.” She walked off, “Just get some rest and we’ll try again later.”

                Kodiak felt a bit strange being in his wolf form. He felt a lot lighter and smaller. “I guess I’ll get used to it…” he said walking through the forest towards the village. Suddenly, he heard a branch snap from behind. “Asuza?” He said turning around. Instead, there were two wolves; both looked exactly like the other. They were female, both had brownish-orange fur, red hair, and green eyes. “It must be our lucky day, Achasta.” One of them said to the other. Achasta nodded, “Right?” Kodiak was confused. “Wait… who are you?” He asked awkwardly. They were obviously twins, but he never saw them before. Suddenly, they both attacked him at the same time. Kodiak had just been through agility training so he was able to successfully dodge both of their attacks. They fought in perfect synchronization, like they were two parts of one animal. “What… do you want?!” Kodiak asked, quickly dodging their fangs and sharp claws, “Is this one of your tests Asuza?!” “No!” Her voice cried out. Kodiak glanced sideways to see her running at one of the wolves that attacked him. “They are with the government!” She growled biting one of them off of Kodiak. “S**t…” Kodiak said pushing the other off of him. “They are attacking the village!” Asuza said, carefully watching her opponent. “Aw d****t, it’s her…” One of the attackers growled to the other, “Should we join the others?” Her twin sister nodded, “Split up.” The other quickly ran the other way towards the village with Asuza pursuing. “Stay here Kodiak! I’ll handle her!” Asuza cried, chasing the other attacker through the woods. “It’s just you and me, wolf-boy…” His opponent taunted. “And which one are you again…?” Kodiak replied, carefully watching her, “I’m terrible with faces.” She smiled, “Jasmine, it’s nice to meet you...uh… Kodiak, was it?” Before he could respond she rushed him with great speed. She was fast, but Kodiak was faster. Using the skills Asuza taught him days before; he avoided her attacks and quickly countered with his own. He dug his claws in her fur, causing her to cry out in pain. Before she could recover, he jumped on her back and bit down on her neck. “Shi…t...” She growled as he pinned her to the ground, his sharp fangs digging into her skin. Kodiak felt her tail wrap around his leg, probably trying to pull him off of her. He bit down harder, causing Jasmine to whimper in pain. “O-okay… you win…” She said, stopping her struggle. Kodiak released his grip on her and backed away, “What’s your business with this village?!” She trembled as she stood up, weakened by Kodiak’s attacks. She was reluctant to fight him now… having seen his skills firsthand. The two heard a desperate howl echo from the direction of the village. Jasmine’s eyes widened. “S**t…” She said as she turned and ran towards the more dense forest. Before Kodiak could give chase, she was already gone. The howl was probably a retreat order from her sister.

                 He returned to the village, which appeared to have been disturbed by the invaders. The villagers had all ran to hide while the soldiers came and handled the situation. “Kodiak!” Asuza called approaching him, “Are you okay? Did you get her?” He shook his head, “She ran away.” Scarlett approached him, her mouth and paws covered in blood. On the ground, a short distance for them, were the bodies of two of the invaders. “Are you okay?” She asked tiredly. “I’m fine,” Kodiak responded, “Are you okay?” She nodded. Asuza held an emergency meeting in their base of operation. A majority of the soldiers where there, while the others patrolled the perimeter. “Play time is over,” Asuza announced as the room fell silent, “Ginger is back at it, so we have to step up our security.” The animals in the room listened to her intently. “Good job on defending the village today, I’m sure we sent them a sure message today.” She continued, “For those of us that know Ginger, she will not stop there though. So we need to remain vigilant.” She dismissed the rest of the group and stayed with Kodiak and Scarlett. “Ginger is the mastermind behind the experimentations.” Asuza explained, “Those two wolf twins you saw back there, Jasmine and Achasta, they were recently hired by her to scout out the village from time to time.” She glanced outside, “Luckily, nobody has been hurt by their attacks so far, but we don’t need that to start now.” She looked at them both, “We had a short break from her attacks, since apparently she was in the Archechestrian capital briefing her superiors… but now she’s back.” Kodiak nodded, “What will you have us do?” Asuza glanced at Scarlett, “Good job today Scarlett, we’ll need your skills.” She then glanced at Kodiak, “There’s something important you need to know. The point of these attacks is to hopefully capture one of us… carriers of the conversion gene that is. They need blood samples from one of us in order to carry on with their experiments. In other words, they’ll be after us in full force pretty soon.”