Two Taken

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

- the attack

Who will save me now?

The next morning, they went in a random direction, wondering if they might run into the border since they were closer. They were grateful for the food Grati had packed for them, if only it would last longer. The pair eventually exited the forest, hoping the dead land was a sign of being near the border.

Lemon was almost constantly a snow leopard, for warmth and to scare off animals. The cold was taking a toll on Fox, and Lemon tried to warm her with his coat. Fox spilled out her worries, so Lemon acted like everything was alright, but he had his own that he kept to himself. Even when they were in lands where you could see another creature from a way off, Lemon felt uneasy, as if something was watching them. Paranoia, he reasoned.

They spent the next few days traveling along Darlian, snacking on their rationed dried fruit and hardbread, before it ran out on the third day. They had collected a few measly berries in the woods, but were too afraid to try them. Lemon had no choice but to try to hunt in his animal form, hoping at best to catch some unsuspecting rabbit in the desolate land.

"Mew!"

He looked wildly around, his nose catching a strangely familiar scent. Eventually, he noticed a little gray fluff ball with fierce green eyes gazing up at him.

Two!

He let out a cry of shock. How in St-ar's name did he get here? Lemon wondered. He was not far from the place where they set camp, and Fox called out, "You okay?" Oh boy, will Fox be glad to see him.

"C'mere! You have to see this!"

Fox ambled over, her limbs stiff from the cold. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Two.

"Baby!" she shrieked joyfully, her stiff limbs forgotten. Fox rushed over to squeeze Two in her arms, but Two merely gave her a disdainful glance before continuing his way to their campsite. Fox stared at him in horror.

"He's never done that to me before.The wild must've changed him," she whimpered. Lemon shapeshifted to normal, which now consisted of an unattractive pair of whiskers and a tail starting to grow, and awkwardly walked over to where Two was nosing in their stuff. Lemon tried to stop him, but Two hissed at him and continued. Fox sat on a stump across from Lemon, staring at Two miserably.

Perhaps to break the silence, she said, "So, um, how's your... gender going? It was already disappearing, wasn't it?"

"But this is a major part of your identity now! You have to at least acknowledge what's going on," Fox persisted.

"Just shut up about it!" Lemon snapped. "If I want to be called a boy, I'm going to be called a boy!" All his life, he had been told to be manly and what a great man he would be one day, with a beautiful wife accompanying him. Now, his world turned upside down.

Who was he if not a boy anymore?

Fox harrumphed. Two had upturned all of their stuff, but seemed satisfied with a hunting knife that Grati had nestled into their survival items. Two slowly backed away from them, holding the knife in his small mouth.

"Two... what are you doing with that knife?" Fox asked, trying to nonchalantly grab it from him as she scooched over.

"Mew!"

Two swung the knife warningly, making Fox move away to not get hit.

Suddenly, a blood curdling noise pierced the air, making the pair cover their ears. It sounded like a cross between a cat snarl and a scream, seeming to come from... Two! He bulged and grew, his fur shrinking and growing skin, and his face contorting into an elemental face.