CHAPTER 7
The trio departed the makeshift village before the sun even rose the next morning. The journey was going to be a long one. And the land had become much more dangerous. It was scorched and uninhabitable, causing furs and ferals alike to become overly violent, attacking anything that moved.
The small fellowship traveled north, following a dried up riverbed. Ferain and Keelya walked several paces ahead of Sakari, talking quietly amongst themselves. The wolfess turned her head slightly, swiveling her ears to try and eavesdrop on the conversation.
“I don't see why I have to even...” The vixen mumbled before being cut off by the feline's low hiss.
“Because she's not responsible. You can't hold her accountable for anything that happened.” 
“Bull! She was nowhere to be found, for all we know, she could have just ran away for all we know!” Keelya hissed back under her breath.
“Sakari would never do that to us. Besides, she's here now, ready to fight along with us.” He glanced over his shoulder quickly.
“I don't care.” The fed fox tail flailed behind her, getting larger in  agitation. “If she'd been there, Mom would still be alive!”
“Even if Sakari was there, your mom still would have had to jump in the way to save your tail!” Ferain receive a hard slap to his cheek, causing Sakari to jump slightly at the sharp smack.
Keelya stormed ahead, her tail flashing from side to side. The remainder of the day continued in silence, each of them left to their own thoughts. When the moon rose over the horizon, bathing the land in a eerie orange light. “Okay, We'll stop here for the night. Who'll take the first watch?” Ferain said just loud enough to be heard over the distance that separated them. 
Sakari nodded. “I'll take first watch.” Her ears lay flat against her head as Keelya stepped up, avoiding any eye contact.
“Okay, Keelya, you take second and I'll take the third.” Ferain said as he prepared a small fire to provide warmth and protection. Sakari sat down and pulled her katana into her lap, watching Keelya and Ferain rolled out blankets on the opposite side of the fire; both of them falling asleep quickly.
Sakari sat in silence through her shift as watch.  Nothing of rel excitement happened despite her honed eyes catching glimpses of shadows moving along the plains further out. About halfway into her shift, she heard soft groans and whimpers coming from beside her. Turning her head, her lavender eyes fell on the young vixen. She was tossing and turning in her sleep, whimpering and crying out. Her screams grew louder and Sakari quickly moved over to her, resting her paws gently on her shoulder.
Keelya barked and screamed louder as she woke, her paws clawing and grabbing at the wolfess' arms. “Mom! MOM!” She screamed and clung onto Sakari's arms.
“K-Keelya. You're okay. You're okay.” The wolf said quickly, trying to calm the vixen down. 
Keelya pushed herself into the older canine, arms squeezing tightly around her middle as she cried out again. “Mom!” Her body trembled terribly against Sakari's form. She pulled back after a long moment of silence, looking up she saw Sakari and blushing brightly under her fur. “S-Sakari...So-Sorry.” She said quickly as the red wolf sat down.
“It's okay.”
“About everything.” Keelya continued as if she hadn't heard Sakari. “I never should have yelled at you...or blamed you...” She said, her voice reduced to a whisper.
“It's okay, Keelya. I-I can understand how you feel. I had lost my mother. I didn't...even get to grow up with her.” Sakari lowered her head.
Keelya simply nodded.
“What-uhm...did Ferain mean when...when he said she jumped in?” She whispered, the curiosity digging at her mind intently.
“O-oh...” Keelya sighed and curled up on her blanket. “When we were at Ternal, I had made to get the sword. But Zerataph had tried to cut me down before I got my paws on it. Mom had protected me.” New tears began to fill her eyes. “It's because of me that Mom died.” 
Sakari's ears fell back and her heart dropped into her stomach as she watched the young teen start to cry. Reaching out, she gently rubbed the vixen's shoulder. “It's not your fault, Keelya. It's Zerataph's.” She said quietly, trying to calm her down. “Ty and rest, Keelya. I'll take your watch for you, just try and get some rest.” Sakari smiled softly as she laid back down.
“Thank you, Sakari.” Keelya whispered, rolling to face the fire. There was another moment of silence before she spoke up again. “Is...Is Zerataph really your brother?”
Sakari bit her lip and lowered her head, her long tail flicking around behind her. “I-I'm afraid so...”
“I-I'm sorry. I-I wish he...I wish there was another way to stop him.” She whispered as she drifted to sleep, leaving Sakari alone to her thoughts again.
Sakari looked down at the melted wolf head and sighed. “I wish there was, too.” She sighed and held her sword tight.
The rest of the night had gone slowly for the wolf, her head filled with nightmarish visions of what she expected to see, a monster that had once been her brother, twisted beyond any recognition of who he originally had been. The sun eventually crested over the eastern plains, coating the continent in a deep red light once more.
She woke the both of them after putting out the remains of their fire. Packing up the trio began their journey north once more. As the sun bore down on them from its highest point, they came up to the capital. Giant black walls towered over them, blocking their view of the city. “Alright, Now we will wait here for Seraphii.” Ferain touched the walls, amazed at the glassy feel.
“When is he supposed to get here?” Sakari asked, watching as the mountain lion continued examining the wall.
“By sundown. It'll be easier to sneak in then.” He turn around and leaned against the surprisingly cool wall before sitting down. “Until then, we will just have to stay hidden and avoid any problems.” 
Sakari nodded and looked over the deep red plains, clouds of dark dust were starting to build as the winds picked up. The three of them spoke little as they waited for the sun to set and turn the sky deep purple. The wolfess huffed and re-sheathed her blade just seconds before the click of armour alerted the three. They spun to where the sound was  coming from, their weapons drawn.
“Ferain. It's just me.” A tall dragon said, raising his hands to show that he was unarmed. 
“Oh. Seraphii. We weren't expecting you yet.” Ferain looked over at the western horizon, seeing how high the sun still was. “Why are you here so early?”
“I had...perimeter watch.” He said and flicked his long snake like tail. “This is the only time we have to get in. So we'd better be going.” Seraphii said quickly, leading them back around the way that he'd come from. “The entrance to the city's sewers still leads outside the wall, so it's the only way we have to get in.” The dragon said and pulled aside a large grate.
Keelya groaned and covered her nose. “Oh lords. You can't be serious.” she watched Ferain and Seraphii drop down into the sewers. 
“It is the only way.” Sakari groaned as well as she leaned over the hole. “It'll be okay, we'll be fine.” She said and dropped in as well.
Keelya groaned again and drew a deep breath of fresh air before climbing down into the hole. Her paws sunk into the mucky water that filled the bottom. “Ugh, this is so gross.” She mumbled and pulled the end of her cloak up, wrapping it around her neck to keep it out of the water.
Seraphii began to lead them through the sewers, the only light came from the entrance where they dropped in from. “Be careful and stick close to each other. It's a long way to get into the city.” The dragon called back, his voice booming  in the small tunnel.
They walked for a good while before Sakari broke the silence. “So. Ferain, what's it like to be home?”
“Excuse me?”
“Home. Didn't you say that Ternal was your home when we met?” Sakari said quietly to the cougar's back.
“Oh...well, uhm. I'm not sure. It doesn't really feel like home. I was born into a pretty poor family. And when I was a cub uh...I was given away to a rich family. Rather I was sold to a rich family...” He whispered back to Sakari. “As I grew up, I was always teased by my siblings cause I was the only cougar in an all coyote family. I ran away to try and find my parents again. I managed to find find them again...but they were being arrested by the city guard.
I tried to stop them, but there wasn't anything I could do. The guards took me back to the coyote family. I ran away again, leaving the city and made it to Heirtol a couple of months before Zerataph destroyed it.”
Sakari's ears flattened to her head. “Oh. I'm sorry, Ferain...” She whispered as they came to a large open area, the only other path available to the group was a ladder that led straight up.
“Okay, this will take us into the industrial area part of the city. Stick close and keep out of sight and we'll be in the castle in no time.” Seraphii nodded and began to climb the rusted ladder. Once everybody had climbed up and out of the sewers, they covered the manhole up again. They zigzagged through the paved streets and alleyways. They paused and glanced out onto the street as a group of armoured guards walked passed. 
“You weren't kidding about the security here, Seraphii. How much further to the castle.” the cougar said, trying to spot the castle, but couldn't see anything besides warehouses.
“We're almost there, Come on, we've got to move.” He whispered and rushed into a nearby alley, the others following him quickly. Their paws slapped the wet pavement as they ran down the path after him. Soon they came to a stop, Seraphii turning around and smiling.”
“Seraphii. This isn't right...Did you take a wrong turn?” He said, looking around, seeing they'd walked right into a giant warehouse. Metal catwalks crossed on ever side of the building, his voice echoing in the empty building.
“No. This is the right place.” He said, grinning at the three furs.
Within seconds, Sakari, Ferain, and Keelya were surrounded by the steel plated guards holding crossbows. The tips of their bolts crackled with electricity. “Seraphii, you bastard!” Ferain screamed and drew his bow in a flash. Before the cougar could even release the arrow, a bolt struck him in the side under his right arm. He fell to the ground, spasming as the electricity coursed through his form.
Keelya was next to fall, a bolt piercing her just below her ribcage. Sakari growled out and took a step forward, feeling a bolt strike her in the back of her thigh. She fell to her knees, forced to look up at the dragon. “I'll get you, Seraphii. I give you my word.” She growled through her teeth. Another bolt hit her in the back just between the plates in her armour. The world shook violently for a few brief seconds before it turned black, her body falling to the ground.