I Now Realize

Chapter 5: Small fillers and suspicion (2 out of 2)

Tony's POV

"Thanks, Skull. I appreciate what you're doing, but-" Skull interrupted me. "No buts," he smiled. "My people and I love and respect Alue. She and I have known each other for eight years. And I have heard of Astoroth, I never liked him, either. What he is doing to you and her has no name." We both kept running to the forest. "Are you sure Alue would be around here?" I asked. Skull chuckled. "Yes, in fact, we have communicated after that frame incident." I raised my eyebrows and glanced at him as I kept running, big mistake. WHACK! I ran into a tree. Skull skidded to a stop and witnessed the situation. He tried to hold in his laugh. "Um...are you...ok?" He snickered. I groaned as I slowly got up. He only winced at I don't know what he looked at. "Something on my face?" I tilted my head. He nodded. "Uh...does a black eye and a bruised lip count as an answer?" I sweat dropped. "Ah... I see. Um, shall we move on?" He snickered again. "Good idea." I blushed in embarrassment. "Never speak of what just happened..." Skull agreed and we both moved on. Im just glad that I have the advantage to heal fast since I was formed into a fox, half human being; a Shadow Shear. "Is that Jake?" Skull squinted his eyes and we saw a canine Shadow Shear that had three grey streaks on his dark blue fur and had three tails. He seemed twice times Skull's height. The Shadow Shear looked at us, but not in a threatening way. Instead, he came to us and formed back into a human. "Hey, Skull." Jake and Skull did a handshake while I waited patiently. I'm not surprised when Jake sort of glared at me. After all, it was my sister and I who attacked Alue and her friends; we didn't know that Astoroth framed Alue. "Um, ahem, hi." I stammered a bit. Jake cleared his throat and had a hard time to look at me in the eye.
"Hey, Tony." I think Skull that thought it was his cue to clear the situation we're in. "Uh, Jake? Where is Alue? This is urgent. Like, really big emergency urgent." Jake hesitated to answer. "I will lead you to where she is, but I hope I don't sound rude. Why is Tony here?" I slightly cringe and droop my ears. "First I wanted to apologize. My sister and I didn't know that you guys were framed." Jake squinted his eyes, thinking if he should believe me or not. I don't blame him... Skull looked a bit nervous of what Jake would say. "Alright," Jake began. "I don't really trust you at the moment, Tony. But I will take you to Alue. She will tell if you're lying or not." Nodding, I wasn't expecting that answer, but it seemed fair enough. We quickly followed Jake to the hideout and skidded to a stop. "This is the hideout?" Skull asked as he stared at a hole. Jake nodded and pushed Skull and I in the hole. I tried to not freak out, because it felt like I am falling and going to die at any moment. I'm sure that Skull felt the same, because he was screaming. Seconds later, we landed on a big pillow. It felt like a bounce house. Alue walked towards me. I was expecting a glare, but I'm surprised that she didn't treat me like I am the enemy. Instead, she simply asked. "Hello, Tony. Hey, Skull, it's been a long time. Do you guys need anything?"
This is another reason why I admire Alue. She may be cold sometimes, but she's not cruel. She gives second chances. I nodded. "But first, I have to explain..." As Alue nodded, I explained that my sister and I didn't know that Alue was framed and had to follow Astoroth's orders. Then she kindly asked me if she could see something, which puzzled me. "What do you need to see?" She motions to my hand and held it. "Don't be alarmed, this will only sting a little.." She looked at her index finger, making her nail form into a claw and using it like a needle. She quickly cut her right palm and then my left palm. (No, we don't get AIDS this way if you're a half breed or a full fledged breed. Don't ever share body fluids with other people, and don't do the actions that you read in this story, not a very smart thing to do unless if you like to be dead.)
Now, back to the story, shall we? Good. As our hand made contact with the cuts, I felt a connection. It felt like I would faint. Everything went too fast, like this power was draining me. Like, my memories of planning against Astoroth were being read. Then, reality came back and I fell on the big pillow, stunned. Alue then gently made me stood. "That happens when its the memory connection. So, you are telling the truth. How long do you plan for the action to be signaled?" I was still stunned, but managed to answer. "Um, five more days?" I noticed that she had a hint of shock in her eyes. "Alright. Not enough time, but I'll try to figure something out." She then looked at Skull. "You're also in it. You didn't have to." Skull shrugged and smiled. "Aw, c'mon, Alue. You're like my baby sister. And you don't know how much my people miss you." Alue smiled back. "I miss you and your people, too. Alright, but I still suggest that you try not to be too involved in this situation. I have a bad feeling about this." I nodded. First step; accomplished. Second step; try to contact Violet. Won't be so easy...