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Wolf star

































Chapter four; to the point of no return.
Ami shook her head, eyes searching the blank area before her.
"That cheap...he got away!" She growled, stomping her foot on the almost-tiled floor of the palace, causing blue sparks to rise.
"I told you he was a coward." The spirit sighed, sad eyes meeting Ami's.
"Thanks, Ophelia. I should've listenened to you." She scoffed, secretly wishing that Exia hadn't fled. Secretly, Ami wanted to see him again. "How did you know that Exia would come here?" She turned to Ophelia, eyes swimming with confusion.
"I'll just say...a friend told me." Ami blinked, but before she could say anything, the air went cold-the same way it did back when the spirit first appeared in the classroom. The blue orbs, which had been harmlessly floating around, began spinning, forming a circle above Ami and Ophelia. "Ami, run! They've come to capture you again!" The spirit pushed Ami out the door, then ran down a hallway to escape the inevitable punishment she would recieve. As Ami's feet touched the grass, the palace behind her disappeared, and in its place was a broken-down mansion with a rusty gate.
"What in the world?" She looked at the new building, beginning to step back. When a blue light suddenly burst through the windows, Ami bolted. As her bare feet slapped the wet grass, the white ribbons in Ami's hair untied, fluttering down to the ground. Once she made it off the hill, the white dress disappeared, and was replaced with Ami's regular clothes.
Meanwhile...
"Exia! Focus!" Kamo flicked his apprentice on the forehead, an irritated look on his face.
"Gya! Kamo, I'm having trouble...can you give me some tips on shifting?" Exia whined, forcing his body to shift back from a deformed half-wolf thing.
"'Trouble' is an understatement." Kamo muttered, cringing as Exia regained his human form. "Try picturing a big, black hole in your mind, then picture yourself diving into it. And remember that your wolf form is a manifestation of your personality, so don't be shocked!" Exia nodded, closing his eyes. As he dove into the spiritual hole, waves of energy began wrapping around Exia's head, soon encircling his whole body. "That's my Exi...keep going." Kamo whispered, watching as the energy waves pulsed, and in a gold flash, Exia shifted down into wolf form. "Fantastic..." Kamo breathed, uncrossing his arms. Before him stood a golden-pelted wolf, blackish streaks running down his back. "Exi, you're beautiful! Atta boy!" Exia blinked his green wolf-eyes, walking over to Kamo uneasily.
"Krramo, drd I do grood?" His speech slurred, unfamiliar with the new mouth shape.
"You did great, kid. But the talking needs some work." Kamo chuckled, affectionately rubbing Exia's ears. The gold wolf shifted back up to human, scratching his head uncomfortably.
"I don't like that form. It's hard to operate in." Kamo chuckled again, patting Exia on the shoulder.
"It's ok. It takes some getting used to, but you can handle it." He grinned. "Come on, time for lunch."
Exia poked cautiously at an unknown meat, turning his gaze up to Kamo.
"I hope you didn't prepare this…it looks inedible." He grumbled, watching a slimy excuse for gravy ooze from the meat.
"It doesn't look inedible! It looks yummy, and I put a charm in the pot to make it tasty!" Exia prodded the meat doubtfully, and then stabbed it with his fork. "Of course, that could've been that other charm…what was it, now?" Exia ignored Kamo's muttering and crammed the whole slab of meat in his mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, Exia swallowed, nearly choking as Kamo jumped up, slapping his fist against his palm. "I know! It was-" Exia spewed the food across the table.
"WHAT THE HELL-"
"…brand of the fire-lizard. Riiiiight."
"What the hell?! That's spicy!" Kamo laughed.
"It's chicken vindaloo!" Exia's eyes widened.
"It's absolutely DISGUSTING, that's what it is! You could make a nuke with that stuff!" He gagged, scrambling for the glass of water on a nearby table.
Meanwhile…
Ami's feet crunched in the dirt as she ran, the distance from the mansion growing with each step. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she stopped by a large oak tree, staring woefully at the large building on the hilltop, silent screams tearing through her mind. Ami turned, continuing her sprint to nowhere. She paid little attention to where she was running, and just barely grabbed a rocky edge, dangling limply over a two hundred-meter drop, small pebbles skittering down the gorge, as though fleeing from unseen predators. Ami struggled with the large stone, carefully grabbing it with her other hand for a better grip, uselessly trying to pull herself to safety.
"Is anyone up there?!" She called hoarsely, gritting her teeth as her weight began to burden the rock, sending small chunks clattering down the cliff. "This…can't be good…" More pieces broke off from the rock, and just when Ami thought it would stop, the whole rock broke off, tumbling down and dragging Ami along with it into the abyss, her screams echoing for all to hear.
"And…hup!" Large boulders shattered, turning to pebbles as Gaioh brushed the dust from his shirt. "Hoo…more rubble than usual today…I wonder if something's happened." He jumped back, just barely dodging a large rock that came hurtling from above. "Yup, something definitely wrong." Gaioh paused, sniffing the air briefly. "Hmm, smells like a human…but also like spirits. I wonder…" He hopped up to a ledge with ease, taking a couple steps forward and nearly tripping over a battered object on the ground. "What the-this is…"
Meanwhile…
"Hey, where's Gaioh?" Kamo asked a passing female hound, who blushed and quickly muttered;
"Haven't seem him." She giggled madly, and then ran down the hall. Kamo shook his head with a sigh.
"Fangirls…" He grumbled, rolling his eyes. "What do they think I am, a cradle robber?"
"Hey, Kamo!" Exia ran up to his mentor, gulping down the remains of a turkey sandwich. "I haven't seen you all day! Where've you been?" Kamo slowed his pace, draping an arm around Exia's shoulders.
"Ah, Exi. Good to see you, too! Speaking of seeing, have you seen Gaioh?" Exia squirmed.
"Copping a feel this early? Get off me, parasite." He paused to think. "Gaioh, huh? Oh, right! He said he was going to clean out the gorge." Kamo rolled his eyes.
"That…can mean one of two things, but since the bloke's girlfriend isn't back yet, I guess that's in a literal sense. Well, off to the gorge!" He skipped down the hall, leaving a confused Exia in the dust. In a couple seconds, he skipped back, grabbing his apprentice with a grin. Kamo dragged Exia back down the hall, grinning like a rabbit on happy pills (FYI: if you put a bunny on happy pills, it would die from cardiac arrest. Don't try it people. Unless you want a new bunnykill movie.).
"Kamo, what the hell is wrong with you?" Exia angrily struggled. "Let go, you freak!" At that moment, Exia's ears picked up a sound; an unbalanced clunking growing in sound as it drew closer, almost like footsteps. As the steps grew nearer, Exia could feel a cold shudder of anticipation, but he couldn't find a reason why.
"Gaioh, you're such a drama queen! Just come out already!" Kamo sighed, tapping the wall irritably.
"But Kamo, she's really heavy, and I can only move so fast!" A large, rubble-covered figure gasped, staggering around the corner. He was well-built, and even through the dirt, Exia noticed large muscles showing many years of training, then identified the man as Gaioh. He crossed his arms gruffly, glaring at Kamo.
"Right now, I could be delivering THIS package," he indicated a small box in his hand, "to head HQ, you insist on dragging me out here like the whole place is on fire, and waste my time with-" Exia paused, noticing a beat-up, ragged object in Gaioh's arms.
"Finally. Do I have to take you in for an eye exam?" Kamo scoffed. "I was wondering when you would notice her." He stepped behind his apprentice.
"Her? That's a…" Exia examined the torn-up figure, brushing a dirt-caked lock of hair from the person's face, then gasped.
"Kamo…this is…she's…" He looked back at Kamo. "…Ami."