Magic Vs Science

Three

I jumped out of the truck and was tackled to the ground by Kana. "Good morning, Ixora! I brought you something! Come with me and I'll give it to you!" She was beaming brightly. This didn't feel quite right. I didn't do bright at this time of the morning.

"G-good morning, Kana." I greeted her. She pulled me to my feet, still wearing that oddly bright smile.

"Do you care if I take her, Ursis?" She batted her eyes at him. That oddly made me feel something. Something that I didn't understand.

"I lost. I'm not in charge anymore."

I looked at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" He nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Tell me what?" I was starting to get annoyed with him giving me the run around.

"I'll tell her on the way!" Kana blurted out. She then grabbed my hand, pulling me away quickly.

"W-wait! I-I didn't say thank you to Ursis for the drive!"

"He knows, so don't worry about it." She beamed.

Kana dragged me to the girls bathroom in the basement. "What is going on? Why and I getting the run around by Ursis? What is he not telling me?"

"I'm not supposed to give you too much information, but I trust you. You are a wolf, so I know that I can trust you. Ursis--" She stopped and listened.

"What?"

She stepped closer to me, lowering her voice. "Ursis is the younger brother."

I looked at her, in complete shock. "That's not possible. Today is his 19th birthday."

"I know it sounds strange, but it's the truth. He challenged you yesterday because he knew that you would automatically be in charge the moment you walked in the room. You won, that just solidifies your place, but, I've noticed something different about him lately."

"What's that?" I asked, c*****g an eyebrow at her.

"He's never once reacted to a girl before, but he reacts to you."

I furrowed my brow and tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be dense, Ixora! He likes you! That's why I brought you some new clothes that I want you to change into right now."

"Wait, is that why he told Zack I was his girlfriend?"

"He did what?" She gaped at me.

"Yesterday on the roof. He told Zack that I was his girlfriend."

She covered her mouth and squealed. "He's trying to claim you!"

"He's trying to what? Claim me? Why? I'm nothing special."

"He must think you are. Otherwise, he wouldn't ever react to you."

"Than he needs to go about it the right way and ask me out because I'm not the type of girl to be claimed. If my Dad taught me anything, it was to hunt, climb trees and not be claimed by anyone."

Kana laughed and handed me a bag. "Change, then show him who's boss."

I slipped off my shirt and jeans. I heard Kana gasp. I looked at her. "What?"

"Two things, I'm glad I brought you underwear and bras and where in the world did you get that scar on your back from?"

"They aren't that bad to look at, and I got it from a hunting trip with my Dad in the jungle."

"What attacked you?" She hesitantly reached out to touch them.

"A jaguar attacked me while I was going pee." I smiled.

Kana stood there for a moment with her mouth open. "That's nothing to smile about! You could have died!"

"But I didn't. A great big black tiger saved me."

"Tigers aren't black. Some can be white with thick black stripes, but not just black." Kana pointed out.

I smiled lightly at the memory. "That's because it was my Dad. He was a tiger, well, his Beast was a tiger."

A knock sounded through the bathroom. "You girls might want to hurry up. Class starts in five minutes." We heard Ursis say.

"So, he's really the younger brother?" I whispered. I knew that if there was another Beast nearby they would hear if I hadn't whispered. We all had great hearing once we got our Beasts. Kana simply nodded. "How do you know?"

"I was told that I had to choose a snake by my parents, so I did and I couldn't stand it, nor could the snake soul. I sought a way to change my Beast and I came across Ursis. He told me that my Beast was never meant to be a snake, my little brother's was. He told me that he could change my Beast, but in return, I had to keep his secret, that he is the younger brother. I agreed to it and he gave me the Beast I was meant to have from the beginning. Since that day, I've kept his secret to myself. No one knew until you. The Savior."

"Wait, you can change your Beast if it wasn't meant to be yours? Also, how in the world am I 'The Savior'? I mean, I'm afraid of my own shadow most of the time." She smiled and hugged me, but didn't say anything else and just walked out of the bathroom. As soon as I heard the door close, the bell rang. I quickly fixed myself up in the mirror, cleaned up my clothes and headed right to class.

Yet again, the teacher droned on and on. Lunch break came and went. Kana acted as if there had been nothing said in the bathroom, but it weighed on my mind all day. At the end of the school day, I headed straight for the forest. I removed my clothing and hid them in a bush so I could get them later. "Ixora!" I heard Ursis call for me. I turned and looked at him. "You've been distracted all day, is something wrong?"

"No." I responded, simply.

He gave me a strange look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, then said; "I'd like to go for a run alone." Ursis stepped closer, as if to stop me to talk more. I was not up for talking right now. "Onyx." I whispered to my Beast. I felt my body change swiftly and I took off, not looking back at Ursis.

"Ixora!" I heard him call for me. Still, I didn't stop.

I ran in the forest for a while. "Why did he lie to me?" I thought. "There has to be a reason. I mean, I have a Beast just like he does. It doesn't make any sense." I growled, putting on more speed. "Why?!" I yelled internally. I stopped dead, realizing where I was. I was in the clearing, where I got Onyx. Where my Mother was taken from me. I looked around at it, but it looked like a normal clearing. "How did I get her?" I thought. At that moment, I caught my Moms scent. "Mom?" I called out, but there was no answer. I flattened my ears and put my nose the the ground. I walked around, following her scent that was going in circles. "Something isn't right." I thought. I kept my guard up. I closed my eyes and listened. I could hear something, it sounded like breathing. Slowly, I walked toward it. I sniffed the air, but I couldn't smell anything other than my Mom's scent. I slowly walked up to the thing in the grass. I got close enough to see that the thing in the grass was my Mom. "Mom!" I called out. She barely moved. I rushed over to her. "Mom, Mom it's me. Can you hear me?"

"Run. Now." She said, her voice was strained.

"I'm not leaving you, Mom."

"You have to. Find the younger brother. Tell him to destroy us. That's way this--" She coughed harshly. "This war will end."

"No one knows where the younger brother is." I lied.

"You do." She wheezed.

"What do you mean?" I played stupid. Even if he lied to me, I was still going to keep his secret like Kana has.

"I want you to live. Tell him to destroy us." She said. her eyes stayed open, but her breathing had stopped.

"Mom?" I called to her. "Mom wake up!" I yelled. I lightly nudged her with my snout, but she was already gone. I threw my head back and howled as loud as I could. No only did my Father die in front of me, my Mother did as well. This pain was unbearable. My body trembled with anger and sadness.

I carried my Mothers body all the way back to the cave. "Ursis!" I screamed.

He came running out. "What-- oh god. Please don't tell me that's your Mom."

"Bury her." Was all I said and turned around, taking off back into the forest.

I returned back to the cave just after sundown. "Where did you find her?" Ursis asked. I ignored him. "Ixora, talk to me." I glared at him this time. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes." I growled.

"What did I do? Am I able to make up for it?"

"You could, but you still shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"What did I do?" He asked, looking sad and guilty.

"You lied to me!" I yelled.

"What are you talking about?" I could hear and see the confusion.

"I didn't believe Kana at first when she told me that you are the younger brother, but then Mom told me to tell him that the only way to stop this war, is to destroy us. I told her that no one knew where he was, she said that I did. You are the younger brother Ursis, if that is even your real name. Or did you lie about that too?"

"No. Ursis is my name. Yes, that is the only way to stop this war, but I'm not about to let my geek of a brother, win again. Yes, I lied to you. However that was to keep myself safe until I knew if you were trustworthy or not. I am sorry that I lied to you."

"Not accepted! I'm probably the most trustworthy person left on this earth that you and your brother are killing! I'm not 'The Savior' Kana told me I am. I can't sleep without having nightmares. I'm afraid of my own shadow for crying out loud."

"If Kana told you that you are our Savior, than you are. Her visions aren't often wrong."

"I am not! There is no possible way that I am!"

"Like it or not, you are, Ixora. I'm sorry about your Mother by the way." I heard Kana say from behind me.

I turned and looked at her. "When did you get here and how did you know about my Mom?"

"Just now actually, and because I saw it in my visions earlier." She clarified.

I let out a sigh. "I can't do this. I want to go home, I want my parents back and, I wish this stupid war never even started." I turned away from them and changed forms, not caring about my clothes.

I ran as fast as I could. I wanted to scream. From the pain in my heart and from all the secrecy. I ran all the way to the beach in the next town, and collapsed on the sand. "Why? Why me?" I thought.

"Mommy! A puppy!" I heard a child yell. I lifted my head and looked at her.

"Must be someone's lost pet. Go slowly, Sarah." The Mother said. I watched he come closer at a painfully slow rate. I decided to stand up and walk to her.

"You're really big, puppy." I lowered my head and sniffed her face. She giggled as she touched my jaw. "Mommy, it doesn't have a collar."

"Get away from that thing!" A man yelled, and the little girl jumped.

"No. Mommy, what do we do? He found us again." I could feel her trembling as she gripped my fur.

"I have to do something." I thought. I lightly pushed the girl to her Mother and stood in front of them, blocking the man from getting any closer.

"Move, Mutt." He said. through gritted teeth. I answered with a growl. This little girl was scared of this man. I don't know why, but I felt the need to protect her and her Mother. "Either you move, of I'm going to slit your throat, Mutt."

Fear flowed through me when this man pulled a knife out of his pants. "I need to protect them." I thought. I bared my fangs at him and growled as I stepped forward. He didn't look stable, more like he needed a mental hospital.

"Mommy." I heard the little girl behind me. "Is Daddy going to kill us this time?" Hearing that, something snapped inside me. I didn't feel afraid anymore. At least, not at this moment. I growled again and stepped forward. He swung the knife at me, I dodged it easily and bit down on his arm, snapping all the bones at once. I wanted to kill him. I was not this kind of person. I was not a killer like this man.

"Mommy called the police already, Sarah. As long as our new friend here holds him there, the police will finally catch him. We won't have to keep running from him anymore." Her words gave me clarity. The want to kill him vanished from my mind.

It wasn't long before the police showed up with the paramedics. They took the man away and an officer came up to us. "You don't have to worry anymore, Kate. He's going back to jail for the rest of his life." Kate, the Mother, smiled and shook the officers hand.

"Thank you for coming." Kate paused and turned to me. "I don't know where you came from, but thank you too." She ran her hand along my snout. "You're a good boy for helping us." She placed a kiss between my eyes.

I quickly looked under myself to check my own gender. I huffed in relief that I had female parts. "Umm- Kate, the gender is female." The officer chuckled. I watched as Kate froze. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want anyone to know who or what I was.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry." Kate had her hands over her mouth. I, being a huge dire wolf, gently nudged her. "I guess you forgive me than?" She smiled and I wagged my tail.

"Onyx!" I turned around and saw Ursis running toward me. I flattened my ears. He'd followed me all the way here. "Oh thank god, you're safe." He wrapped his arms around my neck. I was no happy with him, so I used my paw and pushed him away from me. "Still mad at me, huh?" I growled and turned my head away from him.

"Mr. Is she your puppy?" Sarah asked. I looked at her, she had sadness in her eyes. I could already tell that she was hoping that I didn't have an owner.

"Uhh- Yes and no, little one." Ursis paused and knelt down to her level. "You see, Onyx can't be owned by anyone. Her heart belongs to the wind. She's a very special girl. She deserves to run free, like the wind is free. As much as I would love for her to be mine, she's not up for it."

"What do you mean, Mr.?" She tilted her head to the left. She was so cute. I literally wanted to squeeze her to my chest and never let go again.

"Sarah, he means that no one can have Onyx. She's meant to be wild. That means no leash, no collar, no home." I couldn't stop the whimper that came from me. I had a home, but it was gone now. Along with my Mom and Dad. I felt eyes on me and when I looked up, everyone was looking at me. I don't know why, but I felt the need to shrink away from them. I saw Kate furrow her brows at me. "Can she understand us?"

"Yes. She is a rare Beast. A very intelligent, dire wolf. Onyx is the last of her breed." Ursis told Kate what I was. Her face was one of shock. The officer mirrored her expression while Sarah, had a great big smile on her face. Ursis turned to me. "Onyx, will you come back to the forest you were born in, or will you keep wandering?" I knew what he was really asking. He wanted to know if I had calmed down enough to go back to the cave with him.

I was still mad at him, but I knew what to do. Well, more like what I had to do. I had to go back and protect the Beasts. They needed me, I mean, I was The Savior after all. I couldn't just yell and run away from Ursis, but I needed him to know that I was still very mad at him. I used my head to push Sarah, Kate and the officer away from Ursis. They looked confused, but they were about to find out why I pushed them away. I turned and with my back paws, I kicked a bunch of sand at him. He coughed and glared at me, but I glared right back. Sarah's giggles reached my ears and I looked at her. "Mr., I think she's mad at you. When Mommy is mad at me, I give her time to calm down and then I tell her that I'm sorry for whatever I did. It usually works. Maybe you should try that." She was pretty smart for being so young.

"I think you are right, little one. I'll have to see if she gives me a chance." Ursis smiled at her. My heart raced and I didn't know why. I felt a spark of jealousy in my chest. Why? I mean, I have no feelings for him or anything like that. I barely know him! Plus, he lied to me! So why am I feeling like this? I can't fall for him! He's super old! Plus, him and his brother started this war!

I was so lost in my thoughts that, I didn't notice that it was now just me and Ursis standing on the beach. Ursis cleared his throat and brought me back to reality. I looked at him. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking at the sand at his feet. "You look like you want to say something." I said.

"I do. I want to tell you that I'm sorry that I lied to you about who I am." He was still looking at the sand as he said this.

I turned around and looked out to the water. The sound of the waves calmed me. I changed form and stood with my back to him. I didn't care much about the scars on my back. I always thought of them as trophies. Ursis gasped at the sight of them. I had forgotten that he had never seen them before now. I turned slightly. "Your apology means nothing to the other person if you don't look at them." I could see that he was still looking at my scars. "They are old. I don't really notice them anymore."

He quickly looked away, just realizing that I had no clothes on. "I-- Uhh-- Here." He pulled his shirt off and handed it to me. I nodded and put it on. It fell to me knees. Yes, I was very small for my age. Ursis pulled me into a hug, I stiffened at his touch. My heart raced and my cheeks burned. After a few seconds, he pulled away and looked me in the eye with his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry I kept who I am secret from you. Ixora, I'm really sorry and if you can't forgive me, I will understand completely."

I blinked a few times. His eyes alone told me that he was sorry and that he regretted what he did. "I forgive you." I blurted out, shocking myself and him. "Just, don't do it again. I'm not a popular person. I don't have anyone to talk to. I wouldn't tell anyone, even if I had hundreds of friends."

He made my heart stop when he kissed my forehead. "I've never felt this before. I've never wanted someone's forgiveness as much as I wanted yours." He was hugging me, so I couldn't see his face, but his heart was racing just as fast as mine was.

Was he falling for me? No. He couldn't be. I'm not pretty or anything like that. I'm not smart at all. I mean, I'm failing all of my classes. I was small, below average in everything. "Why?" Was all I could ask him. That was the only thing I could think of.

He chuckled and pulled away from me. "I honestly, have no idea. All I know is that, no woman has ever caught my attention before. No one has made my heart race like you do. I have no idea what this feeling is. When you ran away earlier, I felt like someone had torn me in half."

I hadn't realized it earlier, but I felt it too. Now that he is here with me, I felt whole and safe. I wanted to tell him that I felt the same, but I planned on making him work for it. "That's intense." I giggled.

He chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah. I guess it is." Ursis stepped back and put his hands in his pockets. "So uhh-- Will you come home?"

I smiled when he couldn't meet my eyes. "Yes. Let's go home."