Wolf pack

Life of a Shaddow

"I feel I recognize you." Anya looked at Fay suspiciously.
Fay looked at Anya and squinted, going through her own thoughts. Where had she seen her before?
It was then something started to click. At first a feeling, then a memory started to emerge.
An image shimmered in Fay's mind. An image of-Jynx!
Anya's memory seemed to return at the same time.
Jynx at the circus!
Fade's circus.
Anya and Fay turned to him at once. "Jynx! Fade's circus! Do you remember?"
Jynx was standing at the edge of the room, holding his breath. He had thought he had destroyed those memories.
Apparently not.
He winced and tried to force the flashbacks away, but they came only stronger as he looked at the two phase wolves before him.
He had seen them together before. Long ago, but he had seen them.
Before he could control his panic, the scene flooded in.

A young Eclipse Shadow lay chained in a cage that was only for show. Tears quietly fell from his glowing eyes down to the ebony fur at his snout. It was a sad reminder of the life of an Eclipse's shadow, and that Jynx knew what it was to be one.
Just as Edit was now, then Jynx was only a hallucination, but he was very alive. Feeling every pain but never fully solid. Able to die but returning the instant of a recast. Just as Jynx was Edit's master, Fade was Jynx's master.
Jynx, a shadow, tried to stay quiet as to cause no more punishment as Fade stood behind the door planning the visuals for his new show. Sparks flew off his hands and lights shown in the air around him as he practiced his deadly magic.
Fade, it seemed, found a more powerful use for the Shadow. A creature entirely under his will, an identical extension of himself that could be recast at every death. A shadow that could walk through walls, that could survive any danger-and if he did not-could come back to life! Fade was determined he could be famous. With his slave obeying his every will and his magic only growing, the humans would never believe their eyes. He would have riches, gold, the luxurious life he knew he could live.
Jynx choked back another tear at the reminder. If Fade did not get his way or the reaction he wanted, his shows would get wilder. Too often had Jynx tasted death only to return to face it again for the sake of a penny.
It was sick.
A sound caught his attention and he quickly stood guard.
Walking up to his cage in wonder were two large wolf pups. One a bright gold with poofy fur and blue eyes. The other sleek with black fur and starry speckles.
He eyed them with curiosity and raised the fur on his back, surprisingly they did not look threatened and only walked closer.
As if to prove his point further, he spat a red spark on the ground, letting it grow into a hissing cobra.
Instead of acting afraid, the puppy's eyes widened with amazement, breaking the silence. "Woah!" The golden wolf wagged her tail.
The speckled wolf tilted her head, sniffing the air. "What ARE you?"
Jynx blinked, letting his fur relax and the cobra slither away. "I'm a Shadow."
The golden wolf chuckled, pointing to the dark silhouette behind herself. "You're a funny shadow then!"
He shook his head. "No- a Shadow. Eclipse wolf. Don't you know what that is."
The speckled wolf wrinkled her nose. "You're weird."
"I'm a hallucination."
"Ooooo."
A sound was heard in the other room as Fade walked towards the door.
Jynx's eyes warned them, and the two pups quickly hid themselves.
Fade swung open the door in a fit and walked right to the cage.
Jynx tightened in anticipation as his master started yelling words no child should have heard. He folded his ears back at the barrage.
Fade had not earned enough money. He was going to get desperate.
His eyes darkened at the shivering shadow, and he leaned his arm against the cage. "We will just need better tricks then, won't we slave?" Fade waved his hand in the air, images of strange acts forming and sparking as his ideas solidified.
Jynx swallowed and shook his head.
"Good." Fade straightened and began mumbling the new ideas to himself, keeping his fists clenched as he again exited the door.
A few moments of silence followed before the curious pups stepped out of their hiding places and walked up to the shivering Jynx.
"Who was that?" The golden pup inquired.
"Fade, my master."
The speckled wolf leaned her paws against the cage. "We have to get you out of here!"
Jynx shook his head and pushed his paw right through the glass and the solid bar. "It's not that kind of cage. I can only get out if Fade wants me to."
The golden wolf frowned. "What can we do to help you then?"
The shadow sniffed the air. "Unless Fade earns the money he wants the circus will get worse."
"Then we make the circus successful!"
Jynx rolled his eyes. "How can YOU do THAT?"
The golden pup's eyes grew wide and they felt a tremor in the air.
"What was that?" Jynx demanded.
The girl laughed. "Luck."
"Luck does not exist."
"Suit yourself." She giggled.
The girls looked at each other then turned back to him. "We need to go. We'll be back!"
Jynx watched as the speckled and golden pups left the way they came.
"Luck." He huffed and lay on his side. "No such thing."
Not a moment later Fade was heard laughing in the other room. He was rushing for the door again.
Jynx stood up as his master burst through the door with a bag of coins in his hand.
"Three tickets sold in a minute! A line is forming!"
He thrust his hand into the cage and grabbed the pup by the back of the neck, pulling him through the bars.
Jynx fell onto the floor.
"C'mon boy! We can't lose sells because of you!"
Jynx stood and shifted, standing then as a young apprentice in an old fashioned coat.
He couldn't believe it, but that golden pup was right.

___________________________________________________

Jynx snapped out of the memory suddenly as he heard the conversation between the two girls continue.
"I can't believe it was you!"
"I can barely believe it either! I thought it must have been a dream."
"Apparently not! Wow!"
There were a few moments of silence as Anya looked at Fay differently. "We were such good friends.. but where did you go?"
Fay looked down sadly. "Valia got me."

It would have been a wonderful tender moment but Jynx was growing a headache from all the connections.
Before Anya could respond he waved his hand between them. "Wait wait wait! What is going on? Does EVERYONE know each other?"
"Were you even listening?" Anu, who had been watching with amusement the entire time eyed Jynx dangerously.
Melody was also growing dizzy looking back and forth between all of them. "It would be nice if we had some kind of chart or something."
Jynx grinned to himself. "Or a movie."
Anya noticeably rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you want to try that trick again."
"What! I do want to try it!"
"It never works."
Jynx put his hand on Fay's shoulder. "It will if I'm lucky."
Lokan laughed. "You're not Lucky! She is!"
Nate pushed him off the bed.
Nimera folded her arms. "What is this trick?"
Jynx grinned. "First I need to bite all of you."
Nate's expression said no.
Anya rolled her eyes get again and grabbed the paper cups by the sink. She filled them with water and held them out for Jynx. "Here."
He sighed and murmured while pulling out a vile of glowing liquid. "No fun." Letting just a drop in each one, he handed them out to the pack.
Nate looked at the glowing drink suspiciously. "What is this?"
"Eclipse venom. You need to drink it or this wont work."
"Will this make me hallucinate?"
"Yes."
Lokan drank it without a second thought.
The other members of the pack were hesitant, but one by one they took their medicine.
The venom was tangy and had a kick to it, but eventually settled.
Jynx then closed his eyes and focused.
Before she knew what was happening, Fay felt something moving around in her mind. It was as if the venom was moving about and peering through her memories.
That was exactly what it was doing.
When it happened to Anya she wasn't even surprised, pushing back against it the stubborn way she does.
After the strange sensations had rippled through all of them Jynx focused and waved his hand at the wall between the rooms.
Clear as a window, images flickered and filled the air, solidifying into very real images.
Fay gasped as she recognized the scene from her own memory: looking over from a rocky hill, even the tip of her pink nose vivid in the flow of colors.
"Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?"