Puppies Quest

>- Chapter 4 ~>

Saturday, Month of Diamond, Sixteen-Seventeen.  (2/1/1617)
Fang yawned, tiredly blinking open his eyes as he stared at the ceiling before smiling softly as he took a few seconds to cherish the peace. It was calming, just the soft snores of his pack around him, their scents mixed up, the occasional mumble. He sighed, chuckling softly before he got up, albeit carefully as to not wake up anyone else before walking towards his room. 'Whatever...right, get breakfast cooked, figure out what to do about Painite's potential wrath, uhhh. Right! Rebellion investigation...' He thought, making out a mental checklist for himself before heading back out to the kitchen. He stretched his arms, listening to the snores of the pack before pausing in the hallway. His ears twitched, sniffing the air at the unfamiliar scent slowly filling the area. He narrowed his eyes, letting out a soft growl before turning back around, staring in confusion at the change in furniture. "The hell...." He muttered before walking over to his pack, lightly shaking Danny's shoulder, watching as nothing happened before the room slowly shifted. Fang clenched his fists, feeling his breathing speed up as he stared at the familiar forest with odd wooden eyes that seemed to track his every movement, pieces of masks from different Platinum guards on the ground. His head whipped around, staring at the foggy forest, the ash grey trees watching his every movement. He stepped forward, hearing a crunch beneath his feet before gulping at the shattered mask below his feet, small white flowers innocently poking through it. He shook his head, freezing as he heard something behind him before bolting, tripping over different roots that he knew hadn't been there before. He turned sharply, cursing himself as he stopped for breath, offput by the eerie silence surrounding the black and white forest. He ran his hand along the leafless and branchless tree body he was next to, his nails following the scar lines. He looked up at the pitch black sky, narrowing his eyes before poking his head through the large gap between the otherwise side by side trunks. He tilted his head in confusion, staring at four large trees, which seemed to have...faces? He looked at the one on the four left, tilting his head at what could be a sorrowful expression, large vines and leaves forming what someone could assume was wings. He looked at the one next to it, whose expression was similar but more...disappointed? Weird. He looked at the one on the inner right, flinching at almost mocking and amused expression it was showing. The one on the far right seemed just..blank, almost unreadable. Then his eyes fell on the large, black shadowy wolf, standing and saying something about something to itself? The trees? He subconsciously clawed at one of the eyes, freezing as the eyes on the four large trees and trunks snapped in his direction, staring directly at him while the head of the shadow wolf snapped at him, glowing green eyes locking onto him before his vision was clouded. He silently registered the sounds of fighting, clashing, a gunshot, and screams. His siblings screams. He suddenly felt just eight again, holed up in a closet as he watched his Mom get shot through a crack in the door, his Dad already dead. He clutched his chest, feeling blood on his hands. He stared at the forest floor, down on his knees as he clutched his human like ears with his hands, ignoring the pain in his chest while his secondary ears pinned back. 'Damnit- I-I can't breathe...think Fang think- What did Mama always say to do in these situations- fuck, my head hurts-' He felt his head spin before he heard shouting, suddenly feeling someone shaking him. Within an instant the forest was gone, and he was staring down at the ice covered floor of training Ground Beta. He idly registered someone having their arms around him, yelling at the other guards to get Jaidite. He still felt blood on his hands, which, was weird. He shouldn't feel any blood, it usually disappears after he wakes up- wait, he hadn't fallen asleep though. He had just been going over basic rules and maneuvers with the newest batch of cadets. He silently shoved the guard off of him, standing up shakily as he looked around. 'Assess the area....figure out if anyone is hurt, make sure none of the cadets are hurt, double check the situation-' His thoughts were cut off by the familiar feel of Rosa's arms, feeling an intense wave of calmness washing over him before he felt his world go black, passing out as the familiar scent of his Mom washed over him.
   >-★ ★ ★~>
Jadeite paced back and forth, listening to the level breathing of the unconscious teen in his quarters. The other Titans were there, stiff as they listened to the explanation being given by one of the guards present. "We were going over simple training maneuvers and basic rules for the newest batch of students. Then one of the Opals in the group had a power surge, next thing we know, Platinum is on the ground and covering his ears, frozen stiff. After a few seconds we snapped out of whatever frozen state we were, around a minute before Platinum came back to reality ice froze over the area. One of the Jadeites commented they saw a large shadow like wolf before it disappeared, around the same time the ice appeared. We will further investigate, my liege's." The guard reported, bowing silently as they were dismissed. Jadeite was quickly bustling about, muttering to himself as he grabbed different ingredients as he recalled using for the potion he had given Prince Marvalo before he had finally been seized by Idocra. Quartz silently wandered over to the passed out teen, letting out a soft whine as he realized that Fang hadn't reached out to play with him. "Why isn't he responding...? I can tell he's still here but...his face looks like how Marvo's looked..." Quartz mumbled, idly looking down at Fangs wrist before grabbing it gently, moving his nose to sniff it. "Ew....his life-source smells 'ucky." The child-like Titan grumbled, wrinkling his nose as he huffed before walking back over to the others, glancing up as Tanzanite handing him a bundle of leaves to play with before moving to help Jadeite. "Jadeite, what is going on with him? He's had random spikes of rage recently, times where he can't even check on patrols due to nausea that seems almost unreal, the bags under his eyes get worse every day, and now this? Something is wrong, and you aren't telling us what. Tanzanite never cares for him, it's always you." Opal suddenly spoke, their voice cold and annoyed as they stared at the jade-eyed Titan. Jadeite didn't respond, looking over at the teen before he sighed, looking back at his fellow Titans with undisguised worry. "I don't know...everything that seems to be happening is a repeat of Marvalo. First the life-threatening injuries, then the dreams that seemed to be interfered by possibly his ancestors and the fucking Idocrases, the stiffness, near-tiredness that seemed almost gone today after the stupid Quartz boy showed up and dragged him back to the Evergreen Estate, and now a this! So sorry if I don't know what's going on, I haven't heard a damn thing from a single damn spirit since his birth, Im as clueless as you are!" He snapped, clutching the potion bottle he had in his hand as he made his way over to the unconscious teen, gently opening his mouth and pouring some in as he ignored the other Titans behind him. A silence fell over the room, the other Titans staying still before Rosa sighed, her eyes soft she stared at the boy, who in her eyes was as much as her son as Marvalo had seemed to be. "I think it's time we accept that the marriage will not succeed. Fang has never once allowed the Black girl to touch him or drag him off like the Quartz did. The relationship was doomed from the beginning." Rosa suddenly spoke, her voice soft as she walked over and crouched by the sleeping teen, small rose petals forming in her hand before she set one softly on his chest. She watched as the petal glowed softly before disappearing. "He will marry, Black. The arrangements have already been made." Painite snapped, his eyes darkening as he flicked his tail, a harsh gust of wind going through the room, causing Jadeite and Tanzanite to give frustrated glares in his direction as the herbs they were working with were blown around the room. "Silence Painite. You have no say in this, I can and will refuse to allow their marriage if you continue you this. Allow him to make his own decisions. You are not his father, you never will be, and he is almost seventeen. Not even two weeks away from it. It is time you accept that the Idocrases have something we can't control in play, just as the rest of us." She said, her expression growing dark as she looked at Painite, who flinched backwards at the sight. Every Titan knew better than to intervene when Rosa spoke about such things, because when she did, she meant business....plus no one wanted to deal with a rage filled Rosa, hundreds of deaths had occurred the last time, they would rather just be killed instead. "Fine. We'll see how it goes...." Painite muttered sharply, turning and leaving the quarters with a loud slam of the door. Lapis sighed, his shark like tail brushing against the floor before he flicked water out of his wolf ears, his dark blue hair soaked as he looked over at Fang. "I think it's time for all of us to accept that Painite will be dying soon, let's just...let the boy sleep. He needs it." Lapis mumbled, his eyes softening as he looked at Fang before he stretched his arms. Garnet nodded, blowing out the strand of hair that had enflamed in a moment of rage before turning and leaving with Lapis, the two talking about something. "He should be up by midnight...the rest of you can go. I will handle this." Jadeite murmured, flicking his tail dismissively before the other Titans reluctantly left, Diamond casting one last glance towards one of the children of his moon before shutting the door behind him. Jadeite ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling before walking over to the pool, better known among the Titans as the Pool of Euphrates, tying his hair up silently. "Stars guide me through the land of the spirits...show me Eric of Evergreen..." He murmured softly before feeling the water seep into the small cracks and crevices around where he was sitting, his eyes going jade as he stared at the water. He strained his ears, listening to the soft, floaty sounding footsteps echoing around the room before he turned his glossy gaze towards the spirit, who was humming softly as he leaned over Fang's body. Eric was exceptionally short for a Wolverine, around four-foot-three, the average height of a female Scorpius. His black hair was shoulder-length, tied into a small ponytail. He was wearing the same attire as he had when he died, a dark green oversized tunic with baggy brown pants, small tendrils of vine wrapped tightly around his neck. "Mm...such a young soul for such pain. So many conflicting emotions...." He murmured, the stars filtering through his frame flicking softly as he lightly brushed some of the white-golden locks out of his descendants face. "Eric...." Jadeite murmured, staring at the man tiredly. "Yes, Signore Jadeite? He's such a pure thing isn't he...? So young, but so empty of life....I would have a talk with Signore Painite if I could, make him regret hurting such a young soul.." Eric hummed, focusing on the teen who rolled over, clutching his sides silently as he slept. "Eric, I need you to tell me if Marvalo's spirit is up there...and any information on the rebellion. Please." Jadeite pleaded, looking at the man who had done so, so much for their Empire, and all of the Titans in a whole. "Apologies Signore Jadeite, but you know we spirits can't talk of the spirit world to the living, to mortal or Titan alike. But of the rebellion...hmm, let's see. I know that the leader seeks vengeance upon Signore Painite, and wishes to be the one to kill him. Quite similar motivations to old Cobra, aye? Vengeance upon the higher-up monster species who only wanted their people out of being slaves for humans, seeking to drive his sword through each of the Sacred Kings skulls, and the Titans. Hah, I still remember the tidal wave that Signore Lapis sent upon a human village where half of the human army was after Signora Garnet lost her eye to that bastardo." He hummed, his voice not containing any malice as he floated around Jadeite, looking at the caramel-skinned Titan as he smiled. "Alright, I'll pass the that onto Fang, we may be able to refer to the rebellion leader as something other than Idocrase....Cobra might actually just work." Jadeite murmured, casting his glossy gaze to the sleeping teen before sighing. "Hmm, si. Say, the boys seventeenth is coming up, no? It would be easy to have his face revealed to the public then, as he will be fully inheriting the Evergreen riches." Eric hummed, floating as he watched Jadeite happily. "Painite has already planned on it, he said it would be best. I don't know what to do, Eric. Painite has grown worse, Fang is basically running the Empire at this point. The Titans are to caught up in overseeing the rest of the Empire and these damn visions have kept me bedridden for weeks at a time. The end is coming and I know it, Painite refusing to listen and insists that the Idocrases wouldn't take him unless they wanted too." Jadeite sighed, looking up as he hummed. "Signore Painite is as much of a stubborn man as he used to be, si? I was very upset when young Marvalo passed, I saw him as my own pup, you know? Signore Painite never bothered to care for him, so I did. He was bright mind, si. Painite was a hypocrite, having the lover of his only son put to execution only because he was a male, when he wanted to take me on as his first mate. Tch...he can deny he is the reason Marvalo is dead all he wants, but Marvalo would have not thrown himself onto that ice to save his beloved if Painite did not order him to be executed." Eric murmured, staring at Fang with a soft look before swishing his tail, small stars floating over the boy before he turned back to Jadeite. "Goodbye Signore Jadeite, keep him safe...please." Eric murmured before disappearing out of sight. Jadeite blinked, his vision returning to normal before he sighed, staring at the sleeping teen before turning and sorting through herbs, mumbling softly to himself. Painite would see soon enough, soon the Empire would know of the rivers of blood that were on his hands. Soon....but soon wasnt now, so Jadeite would just wait it out, hope this rebellion leader had something up his sleeve, and was as good as rumors said he was.