×÷ Skies Divided ÷×

◇ Chapter One - April ◇

I woke up, feeling Akira curled up next to me. Smiling, I recalled all the events that lead up to this moment.

It has been nearly a year since we confessed to each other. Ever since that day, we have been living what goos would consider a normal life. It had been pretty smooth sailing from that day. No big events had really happened. Yeah, there were still a few power outages and blackouts here and there, but nothing like the day that the humans had caught me. And to say the least, I'm hoping nothing like that ever does happen again.

Looking over at her, I saw what looked to be her smiling in her sleep. Frowning, I knew I would have to wake her up. But she looked so peaceful... I shook it off. We unfortunately had things that we needed to do today.

Sitting up, I put my paw on her shoulder and shook her. All she did was growl and roll over. Sighing, I tried using words to wake her up. "Come on Akira, wake up. There's things that need to be done today." She just hissed. "Don't be like that! I'm just saying that we can't sit around all day." Akira lashed her tail. "But what if I want to?" She sleepily responded. "Then you'll embarrass yourself infront of Ozone and Sol." She filpped over after hearing that. "Why would that happen?" I crossed my arms and shook my head. "Did you seriously already forget? We agreed to take them out hunting with us for breakfast." Akira blinked. "We did?" I sighed and looked down at her. "Yes you idiot. Now get up."Akira groaned as she stood up, now on her paws.

Just as I started to walk away, I felt paws latch onto my shoulders. Oh boy, get ready. I then ended up back onto the nest, Akira on top of me. I felt my face heat up as she looked up at me and laughed. "Is that awake enough for you?" She laughed out, smiling. Instead of responding, I decided that the better idea would be to attempt to look mad. As Akira looked at my expression, she just laughed louder. "April, you're fooling no one with that stupid look on your face." I sighed, smiling. "It was worth a try."

Akira stood up and offered her paw to me. Taking it, I stood up. I then decided to walk over to the mirror. As I saw myself in it, a look of disappointment came over my face. My fur was rather scruffy and unkempt. Maybe if you actually brushed yourself down every now and then, you'd look better. Listening to my thoughts, I decided to use my paws to brush my fur down.

After I was done with that, I looked much better than when I started. Just then, I heard noises coming from the den enterance. Turning around, I saw Ozone and Sol pad in. Smiling, I ran over to greet them.

"Ozone! Sol! Welcome back!" I chirped as I got to them. "What she said." Akira said as she studied her drawings in the wall. "Hello again April!" Sol said as they came closer to me. "Been awhile hasn't it?" I said as we shook paws. "It sure has! Glad to be back here again!" I smiled at her. The last time we saw them could've been months ago. It surely had been awhile

Ozone seemed to be busy with Akira, trying to do the impossible thing of getting her to look happy in the morning. April laughed under her breath at him. There was no way he would succeed at the time. I then turned my attention back to Sol.

"So, has anything happened since the last time we talked?" Sol shrugged. "Not much. The most exciting thing that happened was probably when Ozone tripped over a slime pup and landed facefirst in a puddle of spilled water. So yeah, definitely not much." I laughed. "Of course he would be the one to do that."

"Anyways, are you ready to go out on that hunting trip?" Sol smiled. "Of course I am!" I laughed quietly. I'm not sure if they noticed that their tails were wagging. "Alright then! Let's go let Akira and Ozone know." Sol followed me as I padded over to the pair.

"Alright you two, you ready to do some hunting?" "Yup!" Ozone chirpped excitedly. "Sure." Akira said in a much lower tone. Seems like she's still being difficult. I though to myself. "Alright then, follow behind me!" I called as I ran out of then den.

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After a short while of prowling around the crystal cave, we had our sights set on a group of slime pups. "And... GO!" I yelled as I commanded the group to go out for them. I ended up chasing a purple slime pup.

After what seemed like a rather long time, we all finally had killed our prey. "Good hunt! Ozone, you can go to the cafeteria to get your fruits. We'll be waiting outside." Ozone nodded and ran off after hearing my words.

As he came out of the cafeteria, we were finishing up our slime pups. He had an assortment of fruit in his paws: Watermelon, lemons, apples, bananas, and that weird pink fruit Figs eat. "Got everything?" Sol asked him as they finished their breakfast. He nodded. "Alright then, let's-" Just as I was about to finish my sentence, I saw Akira's ears perk up.

"Akira? What's wrong?" I asked her. Just then, she scrambled under a nearby broken crate. "Hide." She whispered to the rest of us. Without question, I did what she said.

Just as the noise we were making died down, I heard it. Footsteps and faint talking. As the footsteps came closer, I could make out what they were: Two humans, male and female. As as they came closer, I could make out what they were saying.

"Azure, are you sure this is a good idea? What if we get caught?" Azure laughed. "I doubt we will. We're nearly done with this whole thing." The other human sighed. "If you say so..." A smell then hit my nose like a train. Pinning my ears back, I tried to distinguish the smell. Is that... Gasoline? What are they doing with Gasoline? I asked myself.

"Alright Marshall, that should do it. Now, let's burn this place to the ground." I flinched as they continued to talk. They were right outside of my hiding place. "Azure... Just because the boss makes you made doesn't justify this." "Marshall, give me the lighter." Azure said in a stern tone. "Okay..?" I heard the lighter click on. Then I heard them talk one last time before everything went wrong.

"As soon as this starts burning, run." Azure whispered. "Okay." Marshall said in a plain voice. And then I finally heard it. The crackling of fire and footsteps running away. I then heard Akira break out of her crate. "FIRE! RUN!" She yowled. And with that, all four of us went running, the thought of us staying together not coming to anyone.

(And so the story continues) 1194 words