Autumn's Red Shadow

Ch.12 Father

Making sure that the door was locked, Shadow shifted back to her normal form, and dashed off; it was strange how quickly Autumn's shoulder had gotten infected, but what could have caused it? Shadow frantically ran into the grasslands, sniffing around as she looked for one particular plant.

Star: "Well look who's here! The mighty Shadow."

Shadow: "(Ears perk up) Hm? Star? What are you doing here?"

Star: "Oh I think we both know why, Shadow. I mean why else would you be out here this early?"

Shadow: "...What did you rub on Autumn last night?"

Star: "And she finally gets it!"

Shadow: "What did you put on him!?"

Star: "Let's just say that you're quite familiar with what I used. I mean it has taken a loved one before."

Shadow's heart fell when she realized what Star meant; she had used Farlock clove, a harmless plant when picked, but poisonous when it's juices were extracted.

It hurt to move, it hurt to see, it hurt to breath; Autumn was laying on the floor, curled up in a ball of pain. He wanted the pain to end, but he was going to wait for Shadow to come back; Autumn closed his eyes and coughed into the blanket, his lungs hurting the most.

Shadow: "(Growls) I'm going to kill you for this!"

Star: "(Laughs) What good will that do you!? He's going to die a sniveling mess. The pain by now must be awful, he's probably crying right now as well, and it's all thanks to you."

Gritting her teeth as rage set in, Shadow turned around and continued her search; if what Star had said was true, she had only about an hour left before Autumn was beyond help. Sprinting till she was out of breath, Shadow finally came across what she had been looking for.

Shadow: "(Pants) Eureka!"

Autumn opened his eyes for a second and whimpered, the light too bright for him, even though it was just the fire that illuminated the den; he was fighting the urge to cry, but the pain was spreading, getting worse and worse by the second. He felt his shoulder, it was the source of the pain; it had swollen up more, and had now become hot to the touch. Autumn's shoulder was becoming unbearably painful; he kept his ears open for any noises that could mean that Shadow was coming back. Shadow's feet were on fire as she charged forward towards Autumn's house; she might have been scratched up and bleeding from getting the plant out of the thorn patch it had grown from, but there was no time to waste on herself.

Shadow: "Hold on, Autumn. (Pants) I'm almost there."

The moment she saw Autumn's hill, she increased her speed; not slowing down, Shadow hit the door hard, hitting her head and making herself slightly dizzy."

Shadow: "Autumn! Open the door!"

Autumn heard Shadow from the other side of the door and got up, using the wall to find the lock; he felt the door knob and unlocked it, stepping away to let her in. He felt the breeze go through, probably Shadow running in; Autumn shivered, whimpering as all his muscles were too tight to do anything other than be tight. He tried to find Shadow, relieved that she had come back before he couldn't move to unlock the door.

Shadow: "(Pants and coughs) I got it!"

Holding up a blue flower with a white stem in her bloody hands, Shadow quickly pulled off one of the petals; she chewed its surface so that Autumn could suck out the juice, she then gently placed it in Autumn's mouth.

Shadow: "Suck on it, love. Let's get you by the fire."

She lay Autumn down as he began to drink the flower's juices; opening up his shirt to look at the wound, Shadow tore off more petals, and began to chew on them. Placing them on the infected area, Shadow made sure to cover the entire area with the blue leaves; she had to wait for them to take effect, but in the meantime she would watch over Autumn. Autumn started to drink the juices, tasting a little sour for him; he felt the heat from the fire and from Shadow, feeling the pain slowly go away. His hands held the blanket close, still feeling cold even under the blanket; Autumn would have said, 'I missed you', thank you', or 'I love you', but his throat was sore for some reason, so it would have to wait till later. Once she was done applying the rest of the flower, Shadow pulled Autumn close to her; taking a moment to bury her face in his hair, and cover him in kisses.

Shadow: "I'm sorry, love. (Tears up) I never meant for this to happen."

When he was better, Shadow would pay Star a visit; she had gone too far this time, trying to kill her mate went beyond that of any sinful thing Star had done to Shadow. Even as she held Autumn's shivering body next to hers, Shadow couldn't help but feel the disgust and anger build as she heard Autumn whimper in pain. Autumn felt the kisses all over him and smiled, his little tail swishing side to side happily; he reached up and wrapped her up in the blanket, hugging her and getting close to her warmth. Autumn rested his head on her shoulder as he felt some warmth come back; Shadow's body hurt and ached, but she didn't care. Just knowing that his temperature was going back to normal made her happy; it wasn't as though her wounds were serious, if anything all she needed to do was wrap them up. However, she did not plan on moving anytime soon until Autumn was healthy again; for the moment, Shadow just rested and let Autumn hold her tightly.

Shadow: "(Kisses head) I'll rip her heart out for you. (Nuzzles head)"

Autumn: "(Kisses cheek) Not worth it. That's what she wants."

His voice sounded like it was sore, but he had to say it; Star wasn't worth the energy, and definitely not worth the time. Autumn felt tired from his muscles acting up, but he would stay up for a little while longer to help calm Shadow down.

Shadow: "Honey, she poisoned you, she taunted me with what she had done, and then I had to go dive into a thorn patch to get the Bluejay ferns to fix all this. I'm not letting her get away with this kind of behavior, she went below the belt this time."

Autumn's voice sounded horrible, he must have been dehydrated from all the coughing; taking another petal from the fern, Shadow chewed for a moment, then gave it to Autumn.

Shadow: "This will make you feel better."

Autumn took the petal with his mouth and sucked the juice out of it; he kept holding Shadow, happy that she had done this for him, and that he wasn't shaking as bad as before. Autumn nuzzled her neck and smiled.

Autumn: "She is poison all on her own. Rox will see that and leave her, maybe even her pack will as well. So don't waste your energy on something so useless, because everything will fall down around her soon enough."

Shadow: "(Sighs) It's too late for Rox, hun. That ship sailed long ago when she stuck her fangs into him. (Caress hair) You on the other hand, I don't know what I would have done if anything happened to you."

The truth was that she had been waiting for karma to come and bite Star in the ass, and yet no matter how long she waited for such a day to come, it never did; thinking about it now, this was one of the many reasons she decided to stay away from the pack.

Autumn: "You'd probably find a way to bring me back. (Chuckles) Like I said, I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

The juice seemed to be working as his voice seemed a lot less hoarse, though he did feel like his body was limp; Autumn did feel his natural heat come back as he felt like Shadow was colder than him, rather than him being colder than her.

Shadow: "(Chews another petal) Still. (Puts petal in Autumn's mouth) I nearly had a heart attack when she told me what she used."

A long time ago when Shadow was just a pup, she and her brother, Silva, had gone out to play; they had come across some Farlock cloves, and had unfortunately chewed on them. By the time they were found, Shadow's brother had already died from the poison; it took Shadow almost a month to recover, and most had said that she would never be able to walk again due to the cloves effects. She proved them wrong of course, but never would she forget about that plant ever again.

Autumn: "You were quick to grab it, so it didn't get any worse than it did. If you hadn't come back when you did, I wouldn't have been able to unlock the door for you."

Autumn took another petal, feeling like he was being hand fed; he perked his ears forward as he yawned a little.

Shadow: "Believe me, I had to be quick. My brother and I ate a few of those cloves when we were young. I managed to get better, but he didn't. Couldn't walk for nearly a month from all the poison."

Autumn: "I'm sorry to hear that. Um…...would that happen to me? (Looks up with his big eyes)"

Shadow: "It would have. (Takes another petal and chews) But, (Hands petal to Autumn) you're lucky we caught it in enough time."

Had she not been able to make it before his body was unable to move, he would have died in pain and agony; Autumn nodded and took another petal out of Shadow's hand, he didn't like how sour it tasted, though it could have been just his sense of taste. He still took it anyway, knowing that it would help get him back to normal; with his natural heat back, he was starting to feel sleepy again, especially being close to Shadow.

Shadow: "(Nuzzles cheek) I'll get you some water."

She knew that the ferns tasted bad, hell any medicine that was good for you usually did, but that didn't mean he had to suffer; looking through the bag that she had took earlier, Shadow pulled out a canteen, and brought it to Autumn.

Shadow: "Small sips, hun."

Autumn took the canteen with one hand out of his blanket, and took baby sips, loving the cool feel of the water going down his throat; he took three sips and closed the canteen, making sure that he was not tempted to drink any more for a while.

Autumn: "(Kisses cheek) Thank you."

Putting the canteen to the side, Shadow lay right back down next to Autumn; he needed rest, and she was going to make sure he got it.

Shadow: "(Wraps arms around Autumn) Alright, love. Try to go back to sleep."

Autumn: "(Chuckles) Sure thing."

Autumn sighed happily as he drifted off to sleep, his arm on her hip, and a smile on his face; he felt his body finally relax as his pain was finally soothed. Relaxing as the small stings that came from her cuts ceased, Shadow let sleep take hold of her once again; later on she would check Autumn's shoulder, but for now they would rest.

Several relaxing hours later, Autumn slowly woke up; he looked at Shadow and smiled, rubbing his nose on hers. How could he repay her for this? 'I could think of a few thi-no no no! You're suppose to be recovering, get your mind out of the gutter!' Unaware that her mate had just woken up, Shadow continued to sleep soundly; her injuries had stopped hurting, but most of her energy had been used in trying to find the ferns. She wasn't ready to get up just yet, and her body was going to make sure she got the rest she needed; Autumn, making sure not to wake her up, slowly got up, and wrapped the blanket around Shadow. Autumn went to the kitchen and made breakfast; he brewed up some tea, and was waiting on the pancakes to cook.

Shadow: "(Sniffs) Hm? (Groans) Autumn?"

To her surprise, Autumn was walking around and cooking; the ferns had done their job, making Shadow sigh in relief.

Shadow: "(Stretches and walks over to Autumn) Feeling better? (Kisses cheek)"

Autumn: "(Smiles) Yeah. I feel like I should be bouncing off the walls."

He flipped the pancakes onto two plates, a little syrup on both, and with only his having berries on top since Shadow didn't seem to like them; Autumn left the box out in case she wanted to give them a try.

Autumn: "Do you want some tea?"

Shadow: "Sure."

Shadow made her way towards the table, wincing when she felt her new cuts touchdown on the chair.

Shadow: "Ow!"

'Whoops!' She had forgot that Autumn was still there; 'Well, here it comes'.

Autumn: "(Ears perk up) Shadow, are you alright?"

He held the warm cup in his hands, waiting for her to answer before taking a sip.

Shadow: "Remember how I said I got those fern?"

The thing about Bluejay ferns, was that you had to go through a huge thorn patch to get them; in short, you were not going to be feeling so great after words.

Autumn: "...Oh shit. Are you alright?"

Autumn put the plates on the tables, and sat down, bringing his chair next to her; he sipped his tea, feeling sorry that she had to go through all of that.

Shadow: "I'm fine. (Smiles) Just a bit sore and achy. I'll be alright in a few days."

She did feel fine aside from the shots of pain that came and went, but it wasn't too bad; taking a few sips of her tea, Shadow felt the warm liquid sting the bruises she had gotten from falling down a few times.

Autumn: "Ok. How is it?"

He started to eat his pancakes, hungry as hell; Autumn wanted to wolf it down, but he didn't want to be rude.

Shadow: "(Shivers)...It's good. Never really had tea before."

To be honest, she had never even had pancakes either; wolves usually ate meat, and would only eat once every few days. Sniffing the flat, round cakes, Shadow took a few nibbles.

Shadow: "(Ears perk up) This is…...this is good."

Autumn: "Thank you. I'm glad you like it. (Tail wiggles)"

Autumn finished his plate, happily full from his meal; he sat back and sipped his tea, letting it warm him up more.

Shadow: "I've never had pancakes before. Usually the pack would bring home a few deer, and throw them in front of us."

Usually the pups wouldn't know what to do when seeing a meal brought to them, but they would develop with each new prey; eventually when they got older, they would be the ones hunting for the new pups.

Autumn: "Really? I'm glad you like them. I gotta remember this next time. (Smiles)"

Autumn hadn't really had pancakes until he was left to his own den, though the first time he tried it, he almost set the whole place on fire; he had a lot of practice since then, so they would no longer be inferno cakes. Before Shadow could say anything else, a knock was heard at the door.

Shadow: "(Ears perk up) Hm?"

Autumn: "Who the hell is that?"

He walked over to the door, and looked through the peephole to see who it was before he even opened it.

Shadow: "Who is it, love?"

Autumn: "(Eyes go wide) Uh…...no one. Must have been the wind."

Autumn turned around and smiled, but on the inside, he was panicking; the scent from the other side of the door was extremely familiar to him, and it wasn't from his mother. His father was on the other side, most likely expecting his mate to be there; Autumn didn't open it because he didn't know what to do or say, so instead he walked back over to Shadow, trying to hide his panic. The knocking continued on the door, almost becoming more aggressive with each moment they didn't open it.

Shadow: "(Looks at door)...Um, honey? You do know I have good hearing, right?"

Autumn took in a deep breath, and opened the door, revealing a tall, long, black haired man with a scar over his eye.

Autumn: "What do you want?"

Armedus: "Does…..does someone called Samantha live here? I need to speak with her."

Autumn: "I-I'm sorry, but she doesn't live here, hasn't done so for a year now."

Armedus: "Oh…."

Autumn: "But…..I'm her son."

Armedus: "(Smiles) Autumn?"

Autumn: "(Nods) Hello, dad."

Armedus: "Ahaha! (Picks up Autumn) Oh my boy! (Hugs tightly) Oh my boy! I have missed you so much!"

Autumn: "Too tight! Not breathing!"

Shadow's ears perked up when she heard her mate cry out that he couldn't breath; she walked over to the door to see who it was that was crushing her poor mate. The red wolf's eyes widened when she saw the dark haired figure; she caught a whiff of his scent, another wolf, but one she had never seen before.

Shadow: "Autumn?"

Armedus: "(Sets Autumn down) Who's this?"

Autumn: "(Takes a deep breath) This is my mate, Shadow. Please don't crush her with hugs. They make it hard to breath."

Armedus: "You have a mate? A wolf at that? How on earth did you get a girl like her?"

Autumn: "(Cracks back) She chose me. I thought she was going to eat me at first."

Armedus: "Still, pleasure to meet you. (Holds out hand)"

Shadow gulped a bit as she looked at the tall man, he practically towered over her, and his scent was that of a very dangerous wolf.

Shadow: "...(Shakes hand) Nice to meet you. (Smiles)"

Armedus: "Ooo! Strong grip. I like this one."

Autumn: "Yeah, me too. (Smiles at her)"

Armedus was a very big, and very dangerous wolf; Autumn had once saw his father take down a black bear by himself, which was how he had gotten his scar; probably the very reason why Autumn's mother was attracted to him in the first place.

Autumn: "Do you want to come inside? We have a fire going."

Armedus: "No, no, I just wanted to see your mother, and see how she was doing."

Autumn: "Uh, okay. Maybe next time."

Armedus: "Yeah, maybe."

He left after that, shifting back to his animal form, and running off down the trail.

Shadow: "...Huh…...so that's what he looks like."

The black fur that Autumn had came from his father, and of course those wonderful blue eyes; he seemed nice, but there was one question that bugged Shadow for some odd reason.

Shadow: "Love…..(Turns to Autumn) Does your dad know that your mom…..found someone else?"

Autumn: "No, not from his reaction. I hope he won't get too upset. At least you didn't get the hug of death, right? (Chuckles)"

Shadow: "(Chuckles) For a second I thought he would at least check me out. It's normal for most wolves to sniff to get an idea of who the other is."

It was probably a good thing that he didn't, such a thing might have made her and Autumn feel a bit awkward.

Shadow: "Where do you think he went?"

Autumn: "I don't know, but I hope he'll be alright."

He smiled as he watched the large black wolf run off into the forest.

Autumn: "Do you want to go back inside?"

Shadow nodded, and followed Autumn back into his house; she wondered if they would see him again, which made her ponder the question, was Autumn's dad a lone wolf? It could explain why he kept leaving, but rather than make any assumptions, Shadow decided to ask Autumn instead.

Shadow: "You mentioned that he left when you were still young, why exactly did he leave?"

Autumn: "I'm not exactly sure, but I do remember seeing him leave. When he left, he was chased off by the alpha, so I assume that he didn't know that he was with my mother. I wish I had inherited some of those muscles though, I don't remember him being that strong."

Autumn had a small memory where he and his father would play in the fields; he would hide while his father would stalk him. It was pretty fun, though it was out of luck that no one in the herd saw what they were doing, no doubt that it would have started a panic.

Shadow: "...Isn't….."

She stopped herself before asking again; if his mother had mated with a wolf and produced him in the process, then why did she decide to be with the one who chased her mate away?

Autumn: "(Kisses cheek) It's ok. I don't understand why either. Never have, and never will."

Maybe it was just her, but if anyone did that to Autumn, the first thing she would do was rip out their throat; not knowing what else to say, Shadow rubbed her nose with Autumn's. She had been so worried about him earlier, and it was such a relief that he was back to his normal self.

Shadow: "(Nuzzles cheek) I wouldn't let anyone chase you off."

Autumn: "I know. I wouldn't get chased away like that. (Hugs)"

He smiled, no way in hell would anyone chase him away; they would end up belly up if they had tried. In the distance, Armedus looked back at the two; he was happy that Autumn was with Shadow, he couldn't have chosen a better mate than her. The large wolf ran off into a nearby field, heading towards the direction of the mountains where he had made his home.