Fang

Lenky and Fang walked through the forest, felling the grass underneath their paws and smelling the wild scents of rain, birch and pine. Fang loved all of this. He had a past in the forest. It was the secret he kept hidden the most. He had never told any soul about this secret. Feeling the breeze on his fur and leaves rubbing against his muzzle while he walked was the sensation he loved the most.

Fang kept this secret because he believed extraordinary things should be hidden from normal folk. It might seem crazy and unbelievable, but Fang had a connection with the fallen canines from the past. Long forgotten and wise warriors visited his dreams every night, giving him prophecies, things that would happen in the future or were happening in the present. They taught him how to read and speak all of his languages, and how to interpret signs from the nature. Even when he had been captured, they kept visiting his dreams.

But there was one spirit he missed very much. Layka. The spirit he had fallen in love with.

Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His young lungs filled with air, making him feel alive and powerful. Though he hated to, he had to practice his sign interpreting skills. When the dog opened his eyes, the familiar green of the forest had been replaced by a glowing blue.

"Are you there? Show yourselves!" The pup shouted to the spirits.

Some faint blurs appeared from behind the trees, some of them looking very annoyed. The smallest one, a red one, approached Fang and touched Fang's chest with her nose. Fang felt a piercing pain through his heart, soon spreading to his entire body. He closed his eyes, trying to bear the pain. With his eyes closed, he saw a fur-less squirrel tearing a green walnut apart, leaving only a tiny bit.

The vision faded and Fang opened his eyes.

"What did you see?" The red spirit asked the young dog, her voice echoing through the trees.

Fang shivered.

"A fur-less squirrel and..."

A blue spirit interrupted him, growling.

"Not that, you idiot! What did the vision mean?"

Fang gulped, recovering from the pain, and replied.

"Humans. Will destroy the forest."

The spirits glanced at each other, some nodding in approval. The red one kept facing Fang.

"You have improved, young Fang."

Fang lowered his head, showing respect. The spirit smiled in amusement.

"And your manners are pretty better."

Fang looked at the spirit, his head still lowered.

"I'm thankful to hear it, ma'am." He said.

The spirit put her paw on Fang's head. She turned to the others.

"May you please give us a moment?"

Some of the others nodded, some young ones lowered their heads, while those who knew the red spirit for a longer time smirked. One by one, all of them started to disappear, fading away, leaving behind only a small spark of light. When all of them were gone, Fang raised his head and shook his fur.

"Finally! I thought I'd have to be all formal with you forever." He said, grinning at the spirit.

She giggled and licked his ears.

"Me too..."

They sat down near each other and curled their tails together.

"Fang, I need to say something to you..."

The light brown dog licked the spirit's nose.

"What is it Layka?"

Her smile faded.

"You'll... eventually finish your training."

"And..."

"And I'm afraid that will be the last time we'll get to see each other."

Tears escaped Fang's eyes as he stood there, shocked.

"I know it's hard to accept this, but that's destiny. You can't change it. No one can." Tears began to run down her own face.

"We won't be able to meet again after the day you finish training... This... this will break both our hearts... I figured out there's no other way to avoid it other than... b-bre...break up." She continued, between sobs.

Fang let go off her tail and backed off.

"No! You... you can't do this to me!" He shouted.

She lowered her ears.

"I'm... I'm so s-sorry, Fang. I... I wish it could have been different..."

Fang growled, more sad than angry.

"How could you? I love you!!! You can't just leave me!"

Layka ignored him and started to fade away.

"Layka, we don't have to do this!"

"Goodbye, Fang."

"NO!"

Before she disappeared completely, she whispered:

"I love you too. Maybe someday, when you die, we'll be able to see each other again."

As she faded away, Fang replied:

"Then I'll wait for this day forever."

~~~~End of Flashback~~~~

Fang had never felt so sad since that day. That had been the saddest day of his life. He was only ten months old at the time, but he already loved Layka more than anything. The memory of her last goodbye filled his eyes with tears. But he hoped that, someday, they would reunite.

"Hey, Fang! There's a clearing right there! Let's check it out!"

Lenky's voice woke him up to reality. He ran to were the cat had pointed to, and something caught his attention. It wasn't a normal clearing. It was a hill. No. Not A hill. THE hill.

It was the hill were he used to meet Layka! Memories of the good times they had lived together flooded his mind, bringing tears back to his eyes. Not noticing Lenky, the dog ran to the very top of the hill and looked around. Sunlight rubbed his fur, along with the warm breeze that brought to his nose the scents of the wild flowers and the wet grass. He was home. After more than two years living locked in a room, he was finally home.

"Huh, dude? What up with the excitement? Is this hill magical or some sort of important place?" Lenky screamed from the bottom of the hill.

Fang laughed, smiling widely. He made his way down the hill, to meet Lenky.

"Sort of" he answered as soon as he got to where the cat was. "This is the most important place to me. This is where I used to live."

"So, wait, you weren't born at the lab?!?"

Fang shook his head.

"Nope."

Fang touched Lenky's ear with his tail, signalizing the cat to follow him.

They walked up the hill, Fang still smiling with happiness.

When they reached the other side, both were surprised by a group of lynxes that jumped from behind some bushes.

Lenky

"What?" Lenky screamed.

"Don't worry, I can handle this. I speak lynx, you know." Fang whispered.

He started to talk to the lynxes, in a weird language. Somehow Lenky could understand it.

"We came in peace." Fang said.

The lynxes, six of them exactly, glanced at each other. The biggest one, a brown tabby with amber eyes, took a step forward.

"It doesn't matter. You invaded our territory."

Lenky raised his head to talk.

"We only need to pass through your territory. We are not staying long."

The lynx unsheathed his claws.

"That's what you say!" He growled and turned his head to face his warriors. "Lynxes, arrest them! We must take them to Saluky. He'll know what to do."

Lenky unsheathed his claws, ready to fight, but Fang put his paw in front of the cat, signalizing for him to stop. The lynxes were too many.

The lynxes surrounded the two friends, making a circle around them. The leader led the way through the other side of the forest.

"Oh, help us now..." Lenky thought