<span style="font-style: italic">~You know, you COULD have walked some of the way. You do start to get kinda heavy after the twenty or thirty miles.~</span><br/><br/>The agitated voice of his loving sister and companion, Rea, felt like a needle in his brain. Oh yes - he could tell she was starting to get just a little bit peeved. Especially since, for the last two days, he'd been lounging around on her back, stretched out from rump-to-neck on the nine hundred pound she-wolf. She'd done the walking, and he'd done the talking. It was not the first time he'd ridden around on her back, and normally, she loved it - loved the touch, loved being close. Now, though - well, even that wore out it's welcome after two days...<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Heavy? Me? Like you have room to speak. I don't even break two hundred - you've GOT to be almost a thousand pounds.~</span><br/><br/>Eruin felt a slight flinch, a little flicker of muscle along Rea's back. So, he'd struck a nerve - even wolves seemed to care about their weight. Of course, for far more obvious reasons than city-dwellers - after all, fit wolves could catch their food.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~WHAT?! I do not!! I'm not a pound over six hundred.~</span>Well, at least it had taken her mind off of being ridden for the last two days.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Okay, Okay~ </span>Eruin finally gives in - but Rea could practically HEAR the mental smirk when he started back up<span style="font-style: italic">~You weight six hundred pounds. Now, we know how much your butt weighs, we just need to figure out-ACK!~</span><br/><br/>All it took was one simple little bump of her hips to send her much smaller, adopted brother flying from her back, and to the earth six feet below. He lands with a dull *Thud* square on his shoulderblades, every ounce of air knocked from his lungs. Just as he begins to gasp for air, trying to find his lost breath, Rea turns, and plops her rear down right in the middle of his stomach and chest, practically crushing the life out of him.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Oh, I don't know, why don't you tell me how much I weigh, then, hrm?"</span>The multi-hundred pound wolfess slowly shifts her weight further back, almost entirely cutting off the struggling anthro-wolf's air supply. His voice, barely more than a whisper, struggles to be heard "No! Beautiful! Marvelous! Six hundred!! SIX HUNDRED!" His voice sounded like a whisper on the wind, especially under the rather large posterior of a wolf bigger than most horses.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ I thought so, too! Glad you agree.~</span>Swishing her tail in his face for effect, Rea got back to her feet, leaving her adopted brother on the ground gasping for air.<br/><br/>Well, THAT little game of teasing hadn't went quite as well as he'd hoped! Coughing loudly, Eruin spends a few seconds drawing in deep gulps of fresh air, once more trying to catch the breath that had been denied him. Finally, the burning in his lungs begins to reside - though it still left the stinging pain in his shoulderblades where he'd hit the ground "Sheesh...almost killed me! Fatass!"<br/><br/>Rea's fur bristled, the enormous wolf whirling around to face her smaller brother. The mental conversation dropped, her voice, feminine but deep, growled out loudly "Oh? Well, I can turn that 'almost' into a did really fast, little boy! Then, you'll BECOME fat on my ass!"<br/><br/>Eruin couldn't help but smirk - this was the type of conversation they'd always had. Who was going to eat who first. He'd, in the past, become an even larger wolf than she was - and then, SHE was the little rag doll getting tossed around. But, they was how they played - carefree and rough.<br/><br/>Putting on his best puppy-dog eyes, Eruin steps right in front of his wolven companion, peering up into her eyes, his ears drooping and tail tucked "...You wouldn't eat your only brother, would you?"<br/><br/>"...Nah, you'd likely give me indigestion." She snorted, the brief, ensueing breeze ruffling the beautiful, long silvery hair atop his head.<br/><br/>"Yea. And I'd eat you first, anyway. NOMPH!!" Taking full advantage of the enormous wolf's temporary lull in security, Eruin struck. Slipping forwards beneath her throat, he grabbed her around her enormous neck, threw his legs up immediently thereafter...and hung on for dear life. Reaching up, he roughly bit down on her ear, hard enough to draw blood.<br/><br/>The result was as expected.<br/><br/>"YIPE!!!" Rea's high-pitched yelp of shock and pain ripped through the otherwise still air, followed by a loud, angry growl "OW!! OKAY! THAT'S IT!! I'M GOING TO STUFF YOUR LITTLE ASS DOWN MY THROAT! OH, I'M GOING TO ENJOY THIS!!"<br/><br/>Rea began to whirl in circles, trying to find enough purchase on Eruin to take a bite and yank him off. Eruin, though...clung to her neck like a flea, his arms and legs wrapped firmly around her neck and head. Despite mustering every ounce of slinging-power she could, the aggrevated she-wolf just can't seem to get the clingy, smaller wolf off - at least, until, she stumbles a little too far to the side...and trips over a small, downed tree. Both Eruin and Rea tumble head over heels, landing with an earth-shattering *thud* in a mixed jumble of legs, fur, and tails.<br/><br/>"Ow.." Both say in unison.<br/><br/>Followed by loud, playful laughter "Ahahah! Damnit, brother...you're like a flea sometimes. Unfair that you are really bigger than I am..."<br/><br/>Eruin chuckles softly as both begin to untwine their crossed legs and tails. First to his feet, he begins to dust himself off, shaking his head slowly back and forth "Hah...I'm not a real wolf, though. Um...not like you, anyway. Just...have the ability  to change, somehow. Through nature itself. Born different, but still the same."<br/><br/>Rolling to her feet as well, Rea nudges the stick that had tripped her off to the side, making sure there was not a repeat of the situation. With a soft little sigh, she leans forwards, giving her brother a soft little nuzzle. It is immediently returned, his arms wrapping softly around her neck to hug her back "Eruin...you're just as real as any of us. We're your family. Always remember that. You're the only brother I have, and the only one I'd ever want! I love you, and mother does, too."<br/><br/>A soft, shuddering little sigh escapes Eruin's lips, his grip around her neck squeezing tightly "I love you too, Rea. And mother. Already can't wait to get back home. Thanks for coming with me - this trip would be so much longer without you."<br/><br/>He was going to miss it. They'd always played so roughly with each other, wrestling and play-fighting. Yet, even at their worse of times, neither would have really harmed the other. Leaving the forest...leaving a part of the innocence it possed behind...It was going to be rough. The city was going to be so different. Stone streets. People everywhere. No places to run wild, to play like they'd done so many times before. Still, it was a trip that needed to be made.<br/><br/>"So...can I ride you the rest of the way?"<br/><br/>"Not a chance, Eruin."<br/><br/><br/>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>It had been a tough trip. Both Eruin and Rea were tired. Hungry. It would be nice to just reach the boat, relax...<br/><br/>When the inseperable duo first lay eyes on the ship, and the crowd of people before it....it was difficult to not just turn around and go back home. The throng of people...the smells, the movement, the...ugh. It looked like a rat race. And everyone was here for the same thing - to get to Eva Heights.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Are you sure about this? I mean, have you even thought about how you're going to FIND these organisations, or get into them if you do?~</span><br/><br/>Eruin shakes his head softly, sighing, his fingers lightly stroking through the soft fur of Rea's side<span style="font-style: italic">~ No, I haven't come up with a plan yet. Just, we've got to try. Otherwise, they'll keep coming. The fey are getting restless, Rea. The wolf-lands are shrinking, because they are encroaching. Chopping trees, trying to get as many natural resources as they can. We HAVE to do this.~</span><br/><br/>Rea swivels her head around to gaze Eruin in the eye, her expressionate face clearly showing a great deal of doubt<span style="font-style: italic">~ They'll find us, Eruin. The 'Ghost Wolf'...the second you shift, they are going to know who you are. Not a chance they'll let you in after that - if anything, they'd set a trap for you! I say let them come! They are prey! We've eaten over a hundred in the last two months - and they keep coming! They squirm and wiggle...and taste so delicious...~</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> ~ I KNOW that Rea! I know I tend to stick out. I KNOW they provide us with a constant food source. Look at Gorrl, though - he got shot, twice. It almost KILLED him. Yesti almost lost a leg - if I'd not been there to heal it, she would have. We don't have this type of trouble with our normal prey. They come with bows and guns, armor...someone is going to get killed. And the Dryads are going nuts! Their trees - four have been killed already..~</span>The fire in his eyes easily matches the fire in his voice - it was a serious matter, whether Rea thought it was or not.<br/><br/>Letting out a soft little sigh, Rea, finally, nods her head<span style="font-style: italic">~ Yea...I guess so. Well...we'd better get this over with. I'm already anxious to get back home.~</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> ~Me too, Rea. Me too...~</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">At the Boat...</span></span><br/><br/>He had to admit, it was pretty amusing to see the crowd parting for him and Rea. Well, moreso for Rea than for him. He HATED crowds, though even his dislike for them paled in comparison to his sister's dislike. She was positivly growling the second they stepped foot on the loading platform. By the time they'd jostled their way onboard, she was practically frothing at the mouth.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ I'm hungry, I'm tired, I'm irritated. I SWEAR...if just ONE of these little morsels touches me, looks at me funny, even SNEEZES in my direction...I'm eating him! And I'll love every second of it. Let someone try to stop me. I'll eat them, too. I'll eat everyone on this ship. Geez, didn't we pack food?! Come on, I'm STARVING! Look - a cat. Can I eat it, at least? Finger food, but...sheesh. Come on.~ </span><br/><br/>Eruin sighs - this was going to be a long trip, after all. Casting a sideways glance, he notes the white feline Rea'd mentioned...and was now gazing at hungrily. It was lounging in the only spec of grass in eyesight, just off the ship. If they were not already ON the ship...sure, he wouldn't have cared. Now, though - well, it was just more trouble than it was worth.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ Rea, I packed food. Don't worry. We'll eat as soon as we get across the river, okay? Ugh, I hate all these people. Look at them - looking at us like we're made of eyeballs or something. At least they're making it easy to board, hrm? As for the cat - no, hon. Leave the cat alone. Heck, it might be some little girl's cat or something. We'll eat as soon as we cross, I promise! ~ </span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ Ugh, fine.~</span>Came the agitated response<span style="font-style: italic">~But, if someone touches me...down the hatch. No questions. ~</span><br/><br/>Eruin laughs, giving the big she-wolf a rough slap on the flank<span style="font-style: italic">~ Fine!! It's a deal! Only if I get to eat one too, though. I'll even spice him up for you. Come on, let's head to the front - it's crowded back here...~</span><br/><br/>Picking their way through the crowded boat, Eruin and Rea make their way to the front, away from the huddled masses. Of course, as more folks boarded...no doubt, they'd be squeezed in up here, too.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div> “I’ll get him hot! Show him what I got! Can’t read my, can’t read my, pokerrrrrr face!” Each step Twilah takes along the rail is followed by a large shaking of her hips. Surprisingly the little pixie had a seductive sway of her hips. "She's got to love nobody! ma ma ma ma!" </div></blockquote><br/><br/>Eruin's ears perk. While Rea doesn't seem to notice the soft, squeaking voice coming from...SOMEWHERE....he had just slightly better senses. Immediently, he begins to look around the front of the boat - and within seconds, his eyes alight on...a pixie? Out here?!<br/><br/>"Oh, hey. Look, Rea! A pixie! Little touch of home, eh?" Suddenly, he noticed just how hungry HE was. Why...did that pixie start to look really appetizing, really quickly? Perhaps it was the exhaggerated (But incredibly interesting) sway of her tiny little rump. It sure as heck wasn't the strange words she was saying, in tune with someone apparantly only she could hear.<br/><br/>"Oh. Pixies." Rea sighs softly - and she thought she had gotten away from those back in the forest. The one reason she wanted to come on this trip...well, that, and to protect her brother "...wonderful."<br/><br/>Stepping forwards, Eruin flicks a small wave to her, licking his lips a single time to keep his mouth from watering - sheesh, he should have eaten something before boarding... "Er...hello, little pixie? Kinda strange seeing your kind out here, around all these people.."