IX. A Kiss With A Fist Is Better Than None?

"Omnomnom~"

Hunger had quickly taken precedence over saving the world. Wolves, cat, and fox all sat in one of the palaces kitchens, the girls seeming to have lost human manners along with their human forms. Shadoe chomped at a loaf of bread, ignoring the knife that was offered and simply ripping it apart with her teeth. Actaeon frowned. "That was for everyone, you know."

Shadoe looked up from the bread, crumbs falling off her chin as she stared blankly at him for a moment before slowly extending the loaf, her fox ears lowering a bit. Actaeon turned up his nose and pushed the offer away. Shadoe, sitting cross legged on the table shrugged, her ears perking back up, and continued to eat.

Artemus chuckled. "It only makes sense that she's hungry- she's had an incredibly eventful day." He ruffled her hair to which she responded with a playful nudge.

Ryli, who had already finished off a huge, juicy peach, was perched beside her friend with a bowl of nasty looking purplish stew she had found. She studied its contents with scrutiny. The strange color made her stomach turn, but its aroma was fantastic. She dipped her spoon into the mystery stew and tentatively lapped at it a bit. Her eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and delight crossing her expression. "It's so good!" she said as she stuffed a large spoonful in her mouth.

"I'm glad you like it." One of the kitchen maids, balancing the dirty dishes expertly in a single hand, smiled sweetly at the cat.

"Thank you, Milly." Actaeon acknowledged the servant with no smile in return, exhibiting for the first time his stone-faced guardsman's mask. Artemus poked his twin's cheek but got no response. The wolf was back to normal, and his brother muttered an "aww no fun."

"Of course you're welcome, young master." She smiled warmly again and bowed her head just slightly, used to the white-furred wolf's cold demeanor

"So... Is there anythin' to do 'round here? Like a... quest...? Or somethin'..." Ryli spoke between and through mouthfuls of purple stew.

"Hmm..." Artemus shook some of his hair out of his face and thought a moment before turning to the woman who was now busily washing plates and bowls. "Milly, are there any orders coming into town for the castle's supplies today?"

"Now I tell you boys often enough that those sorts of trips are for the servants, don't I? Besides, nobody is gonna trust you driving a cart full of anything important after what happened last time."

"That was one time! A guy rolls a cart one time and then nobody trusts him ever again, eh? Oh, come on, Milly. Young princes require sunlight and fresh air to grow up big and strong~!"

"And perfectly safe gardens the size of a small village don't provide enough of that for you?"

"Exactly!"

She sighed and waved a soapy finger at the boys. "Fine. Pick me up some more peaches, will you? I'll make a cobbler for you kids. But if anything goes wrong, we never had this conversation."

"What conversation?"

"Good boy."

Artemus grinned and turned to the girls. "Well? How bout it. We could show you around the market, at least. That's the most interesting part of the city."

"Sure. Sounds like fun. This castle is getting sort of stuffy anyway. Hey, Milly, could I please have some more stew?" The cat held her bowl out, bouncing up and down a bit from the rush of energy brought on by the meal, her feline features twitching slightly.

"Of course, miss," said Milly, as she took the bowl from Ryli.

"You two, Shadoe and... Ryli, am I correct?" Actaeon said the names as though they brought his mouth great discomfort.

"That's what our parents call us, yes," snapped Ryli with an edge of bitterness, for some reason entirely unable to be civil to the guard-wolf prince. He bugged her and she felt no compulsion to hide her annoyance.

He replied with a low growl, his slate grey eyes narrowing.

"Oh hush, brother. Your names are lovely." Artemus flashed a grin that made Shadoe blush. "But... well since you'll be staying here a while, I believe it would be best to adopt aliases. Milly! You haven't heard a word of this conversation." Artemus winked at her as she brought Ryli back a bowl of stew.

"What conversation, young master?" She feigned innocence, winked back, and returned to her tasks in the kitchen. The castle had several different kitchen areas. This one catered primarily to the prince's needs, considering it was on the same floor as their living quarters and the rooms they most utilized. The main kitchen was near the banquet hall and could produce enough food to feed a ballroom full of guests.

"Well, for now, let's at least give you girls names. We can work out backstories later, but for now, names should be enough. Might as well get used to hearing them." Artemus paused for moment, mumbling softly to himself a few different names. "How about... Mai? That was the name of one of our most favored nurses when we were pups. Though she died when we were young."

"Dibs! It's a single syllable. Short and sweet. Easy to remember." Ryli... No, Mai, set her now empty bowl down on the table.

"Alright then." Artemus gave a thumbs up before patting his twin hard on the back. "Why you being so quiet? You try, Actaeon."

"...Sukka." His tone was blunt and his stone-face had turned to something of a frown.

Artemus frowned now as well, but the fox broke in before he could say something.

"OH! Yah, I like that one. Cus it's cute." Shadoe Sukka shouted through another bite of bread. "Does it have some sort of significance to you guys like 'Mai' does?"

"It means sock." Actaeon stared the girl down before snatching her loaf of bread and chomping a bite off- an irritated, animalistic bite.

There was a long pause, Sukka's hand still suspended in the place where her bread used to be held. "...I like socks."

"..." Artemus tilted his head and shrugged before stealing the bread from his brother and taking a chomp for himself. "Well, let's just grab some light cloaks and a handful of coins and we can be off. You can borrow a cloak of mine, uhm... Sukka." The crown prince pointed towards Actaeon, who was occupied with using his sleeve to wipe crumbs off of his face. "And... He has one that he'll let you use, Mai."

"What? No. I don't want my things smelling like cat." He wrinkled his nose and growled.

"Get over it." Artemus' grin and cute face didn't match his commanding tone. Actaeon growled softly once more before giving up and standing with his arms crossed in an angry manner.

"Hmm, can I do that too?" asked Sukka, hopping down from the table.

Artemus tilted his head. "Do what?"

"Growl. Like he does all the time." Her tail swished in Actaeon's direction. "Don't foxes growl...?"

"Well I can hiss now. I don't see why you couldn't growl," added Mai.

Artemus tossed the girl a wink and a half-grin. "Why don't you give it a try? Just don't make it a habit. We don't need a second growly pup in our bunch."

"Okies, let me try..." After a few quiet attempts, a small dog-like growl escaped her lips. "Ha!" Her tail waved back in forth with excitement and amusement. "Ryli, you try making some kitty sounds! Oh, oops, I mean Mai."

"Okay..." She took a breath and let out an overly loud slightly snarly meow that echoed throughout the room.

"This is awesome!" shouted Sukka. "Being human is so overrated."

Yips, growls, hisses, and meows filled the palace hallways as they walked to the boy's quarters.

Just as the four approached the rooms, Artemus turned to face the distracted girls and howled with an ear-splitting sound, a wavering pitch. The wolf song sounded like it could be heard for miles; the room seemed to open and become brighter at its ring. Mai could see Actaeon's ears rise and fall slightly as the tones shifted through a series of orderless notes. As the howl came to an end, the hall returned to normal and the girls' ears twitched at the silence.

Artemus looked to the pair for approval and was pleased with their grins. Sukka broke into appreciative applause.

"Lucky goose! I mean, sure, growling is cool, but that-"

"That was killer!!" finished Mai.

Artemus put his hands on his hips, and struck a pose, his face wearing a phony "better than you" expression. "Why thank you. No autographs, please." His idol-attitude quickly fell away as his grin took its place. "Now come on, all. We have to hurry and get back before it gets too dark."

Two doors stood side by side, identical in every way. Artemis pushed the closer one open and waved everyone through.

The prince's quarters were large; there was a bedroom off to one side, an open living room, and a door that led to the other brother's room. The sitting area was filled with old, musty maps and books. On tables and the floor sat oddly shaped globes and rolled out scrolls. It smelled something like Dirk's room back at home, with a hint of antique shop and the scent of damp leather.

Actaeon leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, eyes methodically scanning the room for danger, in full guard mode. Sukka hopped over to him.

"Can you do that too?" she asked excitedly, her tail wagging. "Can you howl like that?"

He turned to her and made a face. "... Of course, yes, I can. But there's no need to waste it." Raising his voice, he made sure the other wolf could hear. "For the mere purpose of showing off!"

Artemus gave a small displeased scoff and continued rummaging through his closet.

"Waste it?" The fox tilted her head inquisitively. "What else might it be used for, then?"

"Its like a sort of... homing beacon. With it we can hear each other even if we're miles out of earshot. It allows us to pinpoint the other's location. And it's strictly used for emergencies."

"Well... It's still cool!"

"'Cool?'"

"Yeah 'cool.' Like legit, sweet, the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas...?" Actaeon narrowed his eyes at her. His gaze made her tail stop its wag. "It means I like it," she added after a long pause.

"Hmph." He stalked off and stood moodily against the opposite wall, his eyes closed and jaw set.

Sukka tossed a frown Mai's way. The cat rolled her eyes and muttered back, "It's okay, he's just a jerk-face."

"He sucks..." The fox sat down cross-legged and leaned back, ears laying low.

"Indeed."

She was about add a few more insults when Sukka saw Actaeon's ears move slightly towards their voices. "Uh... I think he can hear us," she said instead.

"I think so too..." Mai cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "HEY!" Sukka jumped, as did Actaeon. Artemus was somewhere deep inside the closet; his happy-go-lucky humming could be heard as he ignored the scene outside. Mai continued, "CAN YOU HEAR US OVER THERE?!"

"YES!" he shouted back. "NOW WOULD YOU FRACK'N SHUT UP?!!! YOU'RE GONNA BREAK EVERY WINDOW IN THE WHOLE KINGDOM WITH YOUR SCREECHING!!"

"YOU SHUT UP, YOU STUPID-FACE!"

"HEY, STOP YELLING YOU TWO!"Artemus' voice came out muffled, but it was obvious in his tone that he was only being loud for the sake of it. He seemed amused, even.

"SO LOUDDD!" shouted Sukka, feeling left out.

Mai let out a snarling, wildcat growl and Actaeon responded with a throaty, rough one. Their eyes, green and gray, met with a glare.

"Are we done acting like feral animals?" Artemus dropped a pair of thin summertime cloaks on the bed. One was deep navy, the other a cinnamon orangish color. He shook out the blue one and handed it to Sukka. "Sorry, it still smells like that bonfire they held in the park last week." He winked and wrapped it around her shoulders for her. "We sneak out a lot." It smelled like smoke and the dark fabric was soft. The fox nuzzled at the well-worn softness happily. Tossing the other cloak over his head and draping it down so it covered most of his tail, Artemus hid his princely identity with a single practiced swoop.

Actaeon huffed and trudged through the door that led to his own room, looking back at the girls suspiciously before slamming the door behind him. He returned and chucked a crimson cloak to Mai. "Don't bother returning it. You reek of feline." She hissed at him and wrapped her lithe form in the material. Actaeon put his own dark forest green cloak on in a movement that mirrored his brother's graceful swoop.

Down several hallways and poorly lit stairwells, the group traveled until they reached a dead end. Artemus tossed a tapestry aside and began feeling along the stones. Mai coughed. The wolf turned just as his hand pressed a stone firmly. A space in the wall gave way and swung open like a door to reveal a passage behind. "Secret exit."

"Oh. Coolio."

All four slipped in and Actaeon closed the wall behind them. After many disorienting twists and turns in pitch black, Artemus stopped short, tracing his fingers along another wall to shove open an even heavier stone door. Fox, cat, and wolves tumbled out of the passageways and Actaeon again shoved the stone back into place with a slight grunt. His hands worked the thick ivy back over the wall and effectively hid any sign of the escape route. Another hidden stone door got them all out of the palace ground's outer walls. From there, all that was left was a quick skip down the path to the city.

The air was crisp and the wind was gentle. Clouds still loomed on the horizon, promising more rain to come; but for now, the sun shone down on castle and castle town alike.

Artemus turned to Sukka and moved to pull her cloak gently over her soft ears, being sure it shadowed her blue eyes. "Wouldn't want that pretty face of yours to attract too much attention and blow our cover, eh?" He grinned at her blush.

After a few silent moments, Actaeon reached and roughly tugged Mai's cloak down and over her eyes. He trotted to the front of the group before the girl's flailing punches could find his face. "... I REALLY HATE YOU!!"

"GOOD!!!"

It was bound to be the least sneaky sneaking out of all time.

VIII. And I Feel Fine

Eye-roll.

Actaeon tugged a bit of the girl's hair, drawing out an objection of a yelp. His impatience was evident in his snarky, sarcastic tone. "Oh, what? Really? You can't manage to decipher the ancient texts of a hidden civilization that exists dimensions apart from your own? So, you're actually quite dull, eh?" He scoffed. "Now shut it. Nobody expects you to get this on your own, you daft cat. If you listened instead of ran your mouth, maybe we'd get somewhere..."

"Play nice, brother." Artemus, seemingly amused, leaned and whispered softly against Shadoe's fuzzy ear as the other two continued fighting like cats and dogs. "It's actually nice to see him like this. You see, not many people can get brother to show his emotions so easily. Isn't it great?"

Shadoe raised her eyebrows. "If you say so..."

Artemus reached across the podium and pulled at his brother's ears, perking them straight up like a German shepherd's. "Back to business?"

The wolf shook his head hard to escape Artemus' hold and let out a snuff of a growl. "...She started it."

"Anyway, yes, this scroll does say something important. This is the first of the two seer scrolls. This prophecy is the not so fun one. There's a lot of fancy and unnecessary words mixed in, but the gist of it says something like... 'Ladida you're all gonna die.'"

"And you're telling me to be serious?" Actaeon glanced up at the skylight and sighed. "Alright then, I've got this one. Something like..." Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he started in, "'When these words are read, understood, the darkness will have already begun gathering ranks in the shadows. The horizon will blacken, the springs will bubble up bloody, no man, woman, child, or creature will be able to run; none will escape. If you fail to heed these words and do not look to the counterpart of this scroll, prepare to be yourself marred by the claws of sin and tragedy that seek to bring an end to the Light.'"

"That's basically it. The rest of that scroll goes on about all the horrible ways we're going to die and suffer. Not exactly pleasant reading."

"So... What does all that have to do with us?" Ryli, her expression skeptical but possibly slightly concerned, stared at the depressing ink letters.

"I told you to listen a while, didn't I? Seer scrolls always come in pairs. It's not like tomorrow is set in stone. Foresight and prophecy can only act as a warning- what someone chooses to do with the glimpse into the future may or may not change the course of things." Actaeon reached to a thin panel on the side of the podium, knocking it with his fist. The rectangular wood piece loosened and fell away, revealing a second tattered looking scroll within. He pulled it out and rolled it open on top of its twin."In the case of seer scrolls, two possibilities of the future are given. These types of prophecies usually only come about concerning huge events. Such as the end of the world as we know it. We're hoping this second scroll has provided us with the key we need to stop the events described in the first scroll from progressing."

"'The seekers will be two of blessed royal blood and beastly being. The wraith. The titan. The found will be two from afar. One with a cool approach to danger, a cold gaze for her adversary, a frigid blade for her opponent. The other with a warm heart to kindle her flame, a fiery passion to fuel the blaze of her destructive force. Stars, Moon, Void, Sun. All four must come together to aid Light, to defeat the darkness that now threatens to smother the land.'"

"Ah..." Shadoe's eyes widened comprehensively. "We're... 'the found,' then...? I don't know about all that other stuff, but we are from afar... And you did find us..."

"Exactly." Artemus' smile lit up his face. "Our instincts helped us find you. And the fact that you two transformed is proof of your resonance with this place. Can you feel it?"

"Mm..." Reaching to scratch one of her triangular ears, Ryli nodded a bit, her bad attitude mellowing. "Well... I'm not sure exactly what I feel, but... I think we can stay a while..."

"You mean...?" Actaeon, who had prepared himself for a further fight, looked between the two girls.

They grinned and replied in unison, "Yup."

"It's no Disneyland, but we could use a vacation." Ryli drew her fingers through her jet-black hair, peering up through the skylight. The sun had gone back to shining.

"Even future world-famous rockstars need a break every now and then." Shadoe shrugged her shoulders.

"Wh-what?! You think this is gonna be a break--?! A 'vacation,' she says...!"

Ryli ignored the wolf. "Well, we'll be intruding on your castle for a while, then! Lucky you."

"Who exactly is lucky...?!" 

"This should be fun!" The crown prince had joined in as well, ignoring his brother in the same way.

Actaeon suddenly wondered if the end of the world could be all that much worse than this.