Shrunken

Chapter 19

Tyra's POV

Everyone just gaped at me, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed. My head throbbed, an excruciating pain stinging my hip and forehead. Kay tackled me in a hug, "Tyra! You're alive!" I'd never seen her so happy before, or so wounded.

"Kay? I thought you were- EEP!" That's all I could get out before Seto snatched me up and covered me in rapid-fire kisses. "I thought I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed joyfully, crushing me against his grey shirt. "Seto........ you're...... suffocating....... me....... ow......." I moaned.

"Oh, sorry," he said, reddening and releasing me from his grip, letting me sit in his palm. Tear streaks lined Seto's face and his eyes were red and swollen like he'd been crying. Blood lined Brice's knuckles, which wasn't a very pleasant sight. Kay's neck oozed crimson fluid whenever she spoke, and her tail was tattered and damp. But despite all of that, they seemed so excited to see I was okay, more or less.

"What exactly happened while I was out?" I asked, eyeing them all in turn. The boys turned to Kay, "I think you guys should tell US what happened first..." Brice commented. The kitsune nodded, Kay and I stuttering every detail of Angel's arrival.

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"You were friends with a harpy?" I marveled, scooting closer to her.

Kay nodded, "Yes, she was really nice to me." We both sat on the windowsill, staring out the window at the blue, cloudless afternoon sky. Kay gazed distantly through the clear glass and at the tall oak trees, as if lost in thought. Her tail lay flat on the surface, curling around beside her.

"Have you ever met another kitsune like you?" I asked. "In my tribe, yes. Other places, no." she replied sadly. Her furry ears wilted against her head, making her look even gloomier. "There must be others, there's lots of hybrids in the world," I said.

"Not anymore," she mumbled, curling up into a ball. "I guess I'll never know, I will just remain an experiment, or prey, or a-a p-pet..."

'A pet? Maybe she feels trapped here,' I thought. "No, you don't have to be a pessimist. Things can get better."

"H-how can you tell?"

Before I could respond, the door slowly creaked open. I knew it couldn't be Seto or Brice, they said they'd be back in an hour, not now. Grabbing Kay by the arm, I dragged her across the windowsill and onto the desk, where we hid behind some potions.

Kay sniffed the air, then her blue eyes widened and her body trembled in fear. "I-i-it's h-h-him," she stuttered in fear, quaking and clinging onto me. "Shh," I whispered, stroking her flattened ears. "Its going to be okay."

I was SO wrong. After ten minutes of waiting and listening, a huge, clawed hand shot right at us, knocking the bottles over in its path. Its long digits curled around us before we could react, pulling us out of our hiding spot and into plain sight. Bottles clattered off of the desk and shattered. Kay screamed, thrashing around wildly and sinking her fangs right into the flesh that contained us.

"Thought you could hide from me?" The wolf hybrid sneered, bringing us up to his smug face. His teal eyes glimmered hungrily at Kay, then shifted the gaze at me. "Tyra? Why the hell are you so small?"

His rough grip around us was tightening, making it hard to breathe. "Why should I tell you?" I retorted. "Put us down!"

Angel smirked, "Alright then. I won't " He plucked me out of his fist, leaving Kay, who was staring at me with a horrified expression. Flinging me into the air carelessly, I fell about ten feet (in terms of being tiny) before slamming into the desk. I cried out, hearing cracking sounds inside of me on impact.

"Tyra!" Kay yelped. Angel raised his free hand, razor-sharp claws ready to strike. "This'll send the humans a little message about stealing from an ookami," he growled, striking his claws down on me. A sharp pain cut into my forehead, sending screams of agony through my lungs. Blood ran into my eyes, tinting my vision red.

"No! Stop it! It's me you want!" Kay screamed. I couldn't see, but I heard growls and yelps. Kay must've retaliated, judging from the frustration in his throat. More smashing glass and booming thuds filled the room before he sighed in satisfaction.

  "Alright, alright, just one more thing to ensure my point," the ookami grinned, flashing his pearly white fangs. Picking up a glass shard, he stabbed it into my side. Excruciating pain seared into my hip, blood collecting under me.

"There we go. Now little kitsune, we have business to attend to," Angel added. He jutted his blood-stained claws into Kay's body, cutting her neck and ripping her tail. Kay cried out and sobbed, the saddest thing I ever heard. It sounded like a yelping, wounded fox and a heartbroken child in unison. He looked back at me, "I thought you might want to see your little friend in pain before your insignificant demise."

Finally concluding his work, he shoved the bleeding fox hybrid into his pocket and tossing a note onto the floor carelessly. He traipsed out of the room casually, like nothing ever happened.

I just lay there helplessly, blood running across my face and into my eyes, not able to move a muscle. The last thing I saw was Brice opening the door and gasping in disbelief, before my consciousness faded to black.

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