A Cynical Shadow's Return

Chapter 1

     It has been two years since Zubelon's death. Tasaloo has restored to its peaceful nature thanks to the efforts of the Resistance, which has now been disbanded. Deep in the forest lies a waterfall. The water steadily streams down into the lake and birds are singing their wonderful, harmonious songs along the outside of the lake. A large white wolf walks towards the lake, leans its head down towards the water, and begins drinking it. The cool, refreshing taste of the water flourishes throughout the wolf's body as though it hadn't had an inkling of water in days. As the wolf continues to hydrate itself, tiny air bubbles began forming in front of it, but the wolf did not pay it any attention. Suddenly, a pair of furry, brown arms sprouted from the water, grabbed the now surprised wolf, and yanked it into the water. Out of the water came seventeen-year-old Igneous, gasping for air, and Agnus, who was laughing at him.
        “You should have seen the look on your face, Igneous! That was priceless!” Igneous glared at Agnus and climbed up to shore.
        “That wasn't funny, Agnus,” he angrily replied. “You scared the heck out of me. Now I've got to spend hours drying my clothes.”
        “Hey, lighten up buddy. I was just having a bit of fun.” Igneous smirked and tackled Agnus into the water. They both came up from the water, laughing. 
        “Was that good enough for you, bear boy,” Igneous said amongst his laughter. 
        “Ha! Good one Igneous! I didn't even see it coming.”
        “As my dad says, I'm full of surprises.”
        “Speaking of Reko, did you see where he went?”
        “Hehe, Agnus did you forget? We don't have to see him in order to find him.”
        “Oh, right. That's something I shouldn't ever forget.” Igneous chuckled to himself and began sniffing around to pick up his father's scent. Reko rested in the shade, on top of a thick tree branch; his breathing calm and steady, and his eyes closed. Just like everyone else, he did not carry any of his gear, for he saw no purpose to. The fresh, spring breeze was so comfortable and welcoming that it was enough to put him to sleep. For once, he was able to sleep soundly without a care in the world. Igneous put on a cheeky grin when he picked up Reko's scent and pointed up to the tree he was in.
        “I found him, Agnus,” he said, chuckling a little.
        “No, you didn't! You found Reko--” Igneous quickly covered Agnus’ mouth, shushing him and looking back at Reko to see if he were still asleep. Lucky for him, Reko's slumber was not disturbed, and Igneous looked back at Agnus.
        “Did you forget that a Wolf Tasoolian’s hearing is one of the best in Tasaloo,” Igneous whispered to Agnus. “Our hearing is so good that we can hear the rhythm of your heartbeat if we really try hard enough. Now if we're going to do this, we need to be extremely quiet. Understand?” Without uttering a single word, Agnus slowly nodded his head, wondering if his breathing was too loud while Igneous climbed out of the water, and jumped onto the branch that Reko was sleeping on. Slowly and quietly, he began easing towards Reko while Agnus watched while nervously biting his bear claws. Reko's nose slightly twitched as Igneous got closer and closer, and before Igneous could make his move, Reko flicked him in the forehead.
        “Ow!” Igneous said as he fell back against the branch, with his hands on his forehead. Agnus laughed at the boy and came out of the lake.
        “Nice try, Igneous,” Agnus said joyfully, “but I think you were too loud.” Igneous raised up on the tree and pointed at his father.
        “What gives, Dad! You were supposed to be sleeping! I made sure that I wasn't making a single sound!”
        “Heh,” Reko chuckled, “I didn't have to listen to you in order to know you were directly in front of me. How could I not notice you when you smell like a fish?”
        “Well, you didn't have to flick me in the forehead. That stings.”
        “Oh right. I did that for almost killing my sense of smell with your terrible scent.”
        “Our sense of smell isn't that strong, is it?”
        “Learn this now, son: like bears, wolves have great hearing and smell. As for a Wolf Tasoolian, we don't need to see or hear, because of how strong our sense of smell is. Nothing gets past it.”
        “Except Mathius,” Agnus pitched in.
        “Oh, right,” Reko responded, leaning back against the tree. “Mathius. He's like a snake sneaking on a mouse. You won't notice him until he says something.” Igneous raised up and jumped down from the tree, landing next to Agnus.
        “That's nice and all, Dad, but we should probably get a move on if you still want to visit Koura.” Reko sighed and dropped down from the tree as well and began stretching.
        “Agnus,” Reko said after stretching, “you're going back home to check on your cub, right?”
        “Yep,” Agnus answered with a nod. “Red doesn't like it when I'm gone for too long.”
        “Alright then, you two bears stay out of trouble, okay? I wouldn't want a repeat of last week.”
        “Those beavers were asking for it! See you guys later.” Agnus roared and turned into his bear form, then ran off away from Reko and Igneous. The ground shook a bit from his heavy steps, and Reko and Igneous watched him until he was out of their view. After watching Agnus leave, Reko began walking in the opposite direction of Agnus with his son following behind him.
        “You've really grown,” Reko said to Igneous as they​ walked. “It seems like yesterday you were all shy and timid, but you broke out of it in just a few days. Not only that, but you've also gotten taller. Almost up to my height.”
        “Hehe, I just might get taller than you if I'm lucky.”
        “You of all should know that size doesn't mean a thing. I'll still knock you into next week.”
        “Is that a challenge?”
        “Pfft, just because I trained you, doesn't mean you can beat me.”
        “The student will surpass the master.” Reko began laughing at Igneous’ comment.
        “You sure do have a lot of confidence,” he said and then ruffled Igneous’ hair. “Maybe some other time, son.” Igneous let out a grunt and crossed his arms.
        “You're only saying that because you're nervous.”
        “Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo.”