Cursed Flames

The Consequences of Your Actions

Soon Reyna had joined in on the conversation, jokes and laughter. Everyone seemed happy. It looked like nothing could go wrong. As the pack was talking and joking, Flaro had noticed a cup sitting on a table near them. He wouldn't have thought twice about the cup if it wasn't sliding slowly back and forth on the table. He didn't know why it might've been sliding back and forth the way it was. Was the table just slippery or unbalanced? Was the liquid in the cup causing it to move? It was only when he felt one of the girls push against him that he figured out what was going on. The girls had already figured out what was going on and were grabbing the table tightly to keep themselves from sliding onto the floor. Flaro did the same. Reyna looked around and noticed all the silverware, cups, and other loose items on the other tables slide around. Some of the items had too much momentum and fell off the table onto the floor with loud clanging and shattering sounds. The rocking was slowly getting more and more intense over time. As the rocking became more and more intense, Flaro could feel his grip slowly slipping. He tried to dig into the table with his claws, but the glossy coating kept him from regaining a strong grip. He tried his best to hang on for as long as he could and hoped the rocking would stop soon, but it only got worse. Flaro had completely lost his grasp on the table and nearly went flying towards on of the walls when Elera grabbed his arm. She kept him from sliding away from the table and falling over onto the shattered glass and metal silverware all over the floor. "I got you." Elera struggled to even say that since she had to keep herself stuck to the table and hold on to Flaro. Phoenix tried to help Elera by grabbing onto her arm as well, and Reyna did the same with Phoenix. Flaro felt his arm slowly slipping from Elera's grasp now and started to worry. Elera kept struggling to hold onto him. She didn't want to let go, nor did she want to that what would happen if she did. The entire time, nobody had said more than a few things. They were all focused on keeping each other attached to the table. Flaro knew that eventually Elera would lose her grip on him and he would slide onto the ground and get pelted with sharp objects. He looked around trying to prepare himself to find a good place to protect himself. He was looking from place to place in a frantic panic, but before he could find anything, he felt Elera's hand leave his arm. She tried to grab him again, but he had slid too far. Flaro felt himself leave the ground for a second before he hit head against on of the wooden beams in the room. Everything went dark for a moment. The sounds of the girls yelling, the glass and silverware clattering, and the ocean waves slowly left his ears.
When Flaro had finally reopened his eyes, he sat up and rubbed his head. He looked around and realized he hadn't truly waken up. The pocket dimension in his mind had looked different from how Flaro remembered it looking. It had been an empty wasteland with no walls or ceiling and an endless, repeating void in all directions. This time it looked... darker. Somehow the black void Flaro would stare into when he wasn't fighting Cyote had become even more mysterious and dark. There were strings and streams of darkness everywhere. It looked like the equivalent of a spider's nest as the darkness formed intricate patters that were foreign to Flaro, yet somehow felt natural as he examined them. He went to touch one when he heard Cyote yell for him in the distance. "Hey, Wolf boy!" "Flaro turned around almost completely forgetting about the weird substance made of darkness looming around his every direction. He changed his focus from the static, unknown material to the dangerous, chaotic demon only a few yards away from his current position. She laughed to herself and slowly made her way to Flaro. He didn't move. He was worried. Panicked. Terrified. His body didn't show it, but his mind and heart were racing. Flaro remembered what Cyote had told him. If he kept letting her scare him, then she might kill him. She said it would be that way. He didn't know if she meant that she would kill him on purpose of it would be accidental, but it didn't matter. Flaro tried his best to calm himself down. He was lucky enough that his fear had subsided by the time Cyote was right infront of him, but he was skeptical of how far that luck would carry him. Cyote examined Flaro's body for a bit. She appeared to be looking for a certain something. Flaro didn't fight back. She wasn't fighting him, so what good would provoking her do? Cyote finally took a step back and grinned. "You hit your head pretty hard huh?" Flaro was confused. "What are you talking about?" Cyote's grin widened. "Don't play dumb with me, Wolfy. I may be stuck in your mind, but I know a lot more than you do." Flaro thought that she probably knew more in general, but there's no way she knew about what was currently going on. She doesn't know about Greyshore or Fang. She doesn't know what his intentions are. And there's no possible way she knew about the girls. All those things were only in the physical world, not trapped in his mind like Cyote was. Cyote tilted her head in confusion at Flaro's silence. "What's wrong, Wolf boy? Cat got your tongue?" She laughed at her own remark and Flaro let himself back into the conversation. "Nothing's wrong. How did you know I had hit my head instead of falling asleep?" Cyote stopped grinning for a minute as she tried her best to answer Flaro's question. "I- You have your secrets. I have mine. I plan to keep it that way." Flaro felt the aura of the room change ever so slightly as she spoke. Before Flaro could think twice, however, Cyote went back to grinning and staring and the aura had returned to normal. Or at least as normal as an aura with a demon could get. "So what are you planning to do to me this time?" Cyote giggled. "I'm a bit busy at the moment. Planning different ways to torment you has gotten harder since the last time we met. I hope you understand that, Wolfy." Flaro raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that I'm getting stronger, or are you saying you're getting bored of how we fight?" Cyote put her hand on Flaro's cheek. Her claws nearly dug into his skin just by touching it. "You're adorable when you try to act proud. And even if you weren't, putting yourself down won't get pity from me. That's your problem. Not mine." She pulled her hand away from his face and slowly turned around, slightly looking toward the floor. "Actually, you have gotten stronger. Granted, you already have the ability to use some of my basic powers, but I digress. The last time we fought, I don't even think you realized what you did before you collapsed onto the ground." She turned back around to see Flaro staring at her with a puzzled look on his face. "I guess I'm right to assume you don't." Cyote tried taking a few steps closer to Flaro, but as she did, he instinctively took a step back. Deep down she knew he was still afraid of her. He had every reason to be afraid. She's already put him through hell and back without him even actually being there. He never wanted this. He just wanted to get rid of whatever his father did to him. Cyote knew that much about Flaro. That he was experimented on. That he was forced to train. That Flaro was going to be used as a weapon to fight wars he never would've fought if he had a choice. Cyote let out a sorrowful sigh. "Your father was a monster. His death is justified, and he was going to bring you down with him if he had the chance." Flaro was shocked. He'd never heard Cyote talk to him like this. "I'm sorry everything you father did to you. What I've done to you." Cyote's expression turned mournful and the atmosphere of his pocket dimension had turned cold. It originally felt warm constantly and had an ominous atmosphere that led to fear and uncertainty. Now that the atmosphere had turned cold, the feeling of dread and fear was gone, or at least the forces compelling one to feel those emotions was. Cyote took a deep breath and spoke again. "I never meant for things to get this bad. I was going to stop him before, but I was curious and... look where that got me. Stuck in his son's mind." She chuckled sarcastically. Flaro was at a loss of words. What could she be talking about? "I see you're confused. That makes sense. I never properly explained everything about me. I'm not supposed to but-" Cyote looked at the ground again and then back at Flaro. She had been smiling. Not creepily. Not like a monster. But like a genuine person with heartfelt emotions. "I owe you nothing. Yet here I stand before Adrere's son. Looking at what has become of you after all we put you through. All... I put you through." Flaro was on edge now. He was so confused and was panicking silently. This was a new side of Cyote he's never seen before. Was she toying with him? Playing with his emotions to lure him into a false sense of security where she could easily kill him? Was this her sick way of training him? Or did she really mean every word of what she was saying? He couldn't tell. He just sat there silently listening to Cyote's spiel. Cyote continued. "I should explain before I worsen the state of your headache you'll be having when you become conscious. You already know that your father has been experimenting on you. What you didn't know is that I was there when it happened. Maybe not physically, but I was there." Cyote materialized a large leather faced book. Flaro's ears shot up and his eyes widened. The book looked familiar to Flaro. It was a vague memory, but he knew that he recognized the book in some way. Cyote's smile faded a bit but remained on her face. "I see you somewhat remember this book." She opened the book and flipped through the pages. Once she found the page she needed, she turned the book around and showed Flaro. "This book contains all sorts of dark magic, including demonic incantations like this one." Cyote pointed at what looked like a traditional summoning circle. "However, your father had managed to create some incantations of his own by altering some of the rituals. The clever bastard..." Cyote dispelled the book and tried not to look Flaro in the eyes. "That's when I came in. When he put you in the center of his altered incantations, he create a new ritual. One that kept the sacrifice safe, while still preforming the dark arts needed to complete power transfer. I think you know which role I play." She looked guilty and full of regret. "Whenever he preformed the ritual he still needed to sacrifice something in order to for the incantations to work. He had nothing to offer me, so I recommended your will power. He was skeptical, but I persuaded him saying that he needs a loyal weapon that only listens to him. I was simple minded and only craved power. I let your father abuse my powers and use them to make you his grand champion while I slowly took bits of you will away from you. I only took enough to where it was barely noticeable. But by the time I realized what he was doing, it was too late. Luckily he never managed to finish all the rituals, and you regained all of your will power. I expected to never see you again, but then you went back to the castle. I was wondering why you had even come when I realized that ooze dripping from your heart. It was my powers. Without the rituals keeping my powers contained inside of you, they had to be removed, and they decided to force their way out of your body. The only reason your alive is because you found that potion. I made sure I was the only demon who even saw that you were in the same room with that potion let alone drank it. When I saw that I had made it into your mind, I knew the potion had taken its course. I wanted to apologize then, but then I realized I could have a fresh start. One where you didn't know I had been torturing you with your father. One where..." Cyote had shut herself up and stared at the ground. Flaro, still trying to comprehend things, put this hand on his head. "So, you already knew me when we first met?" Cyote nodded, still facing the ground. "It sounds like you were trying to keep me from something. Something other than my father." Cyote looked even further down hiding her face from Flaro's view. "And why would you apologize for torturing me with my father when you've done nothing but torture me with your training?" Flaro was raising his voice now, both out of frustration and out of hatred. Cyote stood still barely moving for a moment before a sniffle could be heard coming from her. Flaro heard her sniffling and kept quiet. Cyote was crying aloud now. The tears that ran down her face fall to the floor in droplets. Flaro noticed that her tears were a dark, transparent shade of violet. She was practically sobbing after a few seconds. "I wanted to protect you!" Flaro was hit with disbelief. "I wanted to do nothing other than protect you since you drank the potion, but I was afraid!" Flaro stared at her. "Afraid of what? You're a demon!" Cyote sniffled again wiping away the tears as they ran down her face. "The demon king... he would've killed me if I told you from day one. Instead of doing anything in my power to protect you... I-I ended up following the rules of the potion. I knew that I could never kill you, so I decided to bend the rules as far as I could without letting the demon king notice." Cyote took a minute to breath through her explanation and sobs. "I thought that giving you my powers slowly without the rituals would be enough, but when I tried, your body rejected them almost immediately. I planned on only hurting you enough to where your body would be used to my powers, that way you could use them once you were strong enough. I wanted to stay alive long enough to preserve us both, but looking back on my decision, I just feel selfish." Flaro remained vigilant, and approached Cyote slowly. "Why would you risk your life to keep me alive? It just doesn't make sense..." Cyote looked up at Flaro, eyes full of tears. "I- grew fond of you as your father and I were experimenting on you. Other than me losing my powers, I wanted to protect you when I saw what your father was really going to do to you. I was able to see the world through your eyes for a brief moment due to the unstable rituals. Once they were broken, I wanted to apologize to you, but you were gone before I could. You know the rest of the story from that point on. I may be a demon, but I've always envied mortals. Most of them lack the knowledge of the demon king, thinking demons are as scary as it gets. Some didn't even know demons existed. It made me jealous seeing how ignorant mortals could be living their lives without fear of the true evil that had almost infinite power over them. I wanted to live amongst them, but... it's forbidden to leave the demon realm without being summoned by a mortal. Once the required request was fulfilled, the demon was forced back into the demon realm to serve the demon king until summoned again. You may think we are terrifying beings, but nothing compares to the monstrosity that is the ruler of the demon realm." Cyote was almost quivering with fear of sadness. Flaro didn't know how to respond to any of this. Whether this was the truth that was hiding from him or an intricate lie to make him easy prey still was being debated in his head. Cyote could sense his hesitance to believe her and continued to cry, this time to a lesser degree. Flaro decided to break down his fears and get the answers slowly from the only one who had them. He put his hand gently on Cyote's head and gently pet her hair in an attempt to soothe her. "Are... all demons this afraid of the demon king?" Cyote looked up at Flaro. "Th-the only one's who aren't end up being slaughtered or damned for all eternity." Flaro's mind never had the idea to think how Cyote felt until now. He was scared she was going to hurt him after all of this was said and done. That she would end up killing him because he either knew too much or believed in a lie. He never once thought to considered how scared Cyote was for her life. How she was doing all of this for him, the exception to her 'experiment' as she calls it, while knowing that her life, even as a demon, is at constant risk. Flaro moved even closer to Cyote. He carefully pulled her into a hug. Cyote gasped in shock. He was carful not to hug her too tightly so he could let go of her easily. Cyote took her time to accept that she was really being hugged, before she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. "if you really are telling the truth... and if you really are trying to protect me... then promise me you want fight me anymore when I come back here." Cyote looked Flaro dead in the eyes with an earnest expression written into her face. "I promise." Flaro smiled and nodded to Cyote, letting go of her and ending their hug. Flaro spoke softly. "Do you have any idea of what's truly going on in the outside world right now?" Cyote shook her head. "No. Not in the slightest." Flaro sighed and began to explain everything he's set out to accomplish. He explained how he was looking for his family. He explained how he met Reyna, Elera, and Phoenix vaguely as to not completely give away their secrets, including their species of wolf. He explained how wolves all over the continent were being hunted to extinction and how he and the girls were going to try to find peace on an island a few miles away from continental mainland. He then explained how he got here, by hitting his head on a wooden beam during chaotic and severe waves causing the boat they were on the rock violently. The whole conversation must've lasted about half an hour. Cyote looked concerned about how dangerously Flaro had been living. "The world is in a worse state than I remember it being in." Flaro rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe it is for wolves, but everyone else seem happy... sort of." Cyote shook her head. "You seemed fine living in that hidden castle for so long. It makes no sense why your own mother would risk this peaceful life for you when I was already trying to help." Flaro states. "Well she didn't exactly know you were helping me. Nobody does." Cyote sighed. "Fine, I guess you're right. But what about those girls? Living amongst the enemy for so long. They were asking to be found out, and they had no right to drag you into their petty squabbles." Flaro looked at Cyote and tried to calm her down. "It's not all that bad. They have good intentions." Cyote just kept arguing. "If they had good intentions, They wouldn't have let you climb up a mountain first knowing that danger could have been lurking around every corner. Nor would they have made you carry them half a mile to a harbor all by yourself while you were suffering from exhaustion. It seems foolish that you keep sticking around them." Cyote crossed her arms. "They only seem to bring you trouble." Flaro took a second to respond to Cyote. "I don't think it's that simple." Cyote rolled her eyes. Suddenly Flaro had a massive headache and put his hand on his head. "A-ahh!" Cyote looked at him, worried. "Are you ok?" Flaro shook his head. "I think I might be waking up..." "Wait, you can't go back to them. They'll just hurt you more!" Flaro couldn't talk. He only grunted in pain. Cyote reached out for him. "Flaro! I-" Cyote didn't get the chance to finish her statement. Flaro couldn't hear or see her anymore. For a minute, everything was dark again as he waited to wake up. All he could think about was how she had called for him by his name for the first time.