A few hours had passed, it was just nearing the end of lunch time, both had been standing still. Or as still as they could. But she didn't leave, didn't turn away from them, nothing. She just remained there, half in the air, for the entire time.

Soul could tell Mika was nearing the end of being able to stay still, he knew the young Zeharu would have to move soon, he could feel it himself. His legs were screaming at him to move, the need to stretch them, was painful. Moving his hand down, he placed it gently on Mika's head.

He then prayed the young Zeharu would know what he was planning and play along. Soul gently pushed Mika's head downwards, at first, the boy resisted. Then he paused when he felt Soul lean forward, the soul-thief opened his mouth and placed his fangs on the back of the young Nightmare variant's neck. Right at the nape of it.

Mika's eyes widened in realization, he glanced to Soul and nodded, he understood. Soul met his gaze and then raised his own shoulders, arching his back, his teeth started changing into fangs. He had to be quick and so did Mika.

Soul held up his hand in front of Mika's face, holding up all 5 fingers, he slowly started ticking them down.

Five...Four...Three...Two...

Soul shifted rapidly, and in that moment, she lunged at them. An explosion rocked the entire island, as the red sea on the land shot like needles into the air. From it bursted Soul, in his jaws, Mika was pinched in his true form. Both boys let out a breath of relief, Mika through his mouth, Soul exhaled in through his nose, ruffling Mika's mane.

"That was close" Mika squeaks, "I thought she was gonna get us for sure" he was coiled tightly into a ball, still held by his neck by Soul. He didn't complain though, he felt safe with the soul-thief. The large Zeharu just nodded and gently released the boy.

"I was hoping she'd fall for my trick again" Soul curled his lip, "Definitely smarter than she looks" he shakes himself out, his beads rattling as they banged against his sides and each other.

"Shouldn't we leave now?" Mika points up to the sky, he could already hear her moving, readying for another attack.

Soul shook his head, "We cannot, the only exit is going into the island, the barrier lets you in. It doesn't let you out" he continues when he noticed Mika about to speak again. "Raven, the Ancient, set up a portal inside. Giving any fools who enter the island-" he gives Mika a look, "a chance to escape"

"So let's go!" Mika tugs on one of Soul's beads.

"As if it where that easy!" Soul snorts at him, "We have to use our human forms to reach it and use it, we have to be quicker than her, and we can not be on this island, or in this barrier, come nightfall"

Before Mika could speak another word, Soul grabbed him in his jaws again and shot off, the young Nightmare noticed she was coming after them. And she was gaining on them too...

He couldn't help but let out a distressed wail, although Mika was a nightmare variant, he was still young. And he was terrified. Soul wrapped his streamers around his tail tightly, glancing back at her as she drew closer to him.

Soul twisted and in one quick movement, slammed his beaded tail down on her head, sending her crashing into the waters below. She didn't move. But Soul did. Making a beeline for the mouth of the cave. He didn't shift yet, he just held Mika and shot into the darkness. Twisting around and quickly trying to avoid the jagged spikes, while keeping up his momentum.

He didn't manage to avoid all of them and ended up nailing a few spikes, that ripped off some of his scales, causing Soul to clench his teeth, and in turn, bite Mika. Who cried out as Soul's large fangs tore into his hide.

"I'm sorry!" Soul mumbles, loosening his grip and feeling incredibly guilty, "I didn't mean to do it" he felt his heart sink as Mika just whimpered.

It wasn't much longer, before he could hear her pursuing them, there was no going back now. He shot deeper into the tunnels, he knew just where to go, this wasn't his first time here and wouldn't be his last...

He had to play the deadliest game of cat and mouse to avoid her. When she got close enough, he'd take a sharp turn into a tunnel and narrowly avoid her snapping jaws. One bite from her would leave him with a very serious, and very infected wound.

Other times, he would hear her coming and curl up tight in a hollowed out cave, likely one of the many she used, to sleep in. He coiled around Mika, feeling the young Zeharu trembling, the little Nightmare just barely managed to keep his maw shut and stop his whimpering. Soul would dim the beads on his streamers, hiding the aura of the spirits in him, and she would shoot right passed the two. Unable to sense him when he did that.

Once she was passed, he'd pick Mika up again and take off, in the direction she went. Knowing it was near impossible to turn around in these caves, it was because of Oblivion's earth magic, it would stop one from backing up. Even she had to make full loops through the tunnels, just to go in for another attack.

After a few more hours of the world's deadliest game, he reached where they'd need to shift, all while listening to her screams, roars and foul-mouthed language as she cursed his name. He had sent out more spirits to keep her off their trail, hoping to buy them some time. Mika shifted first and then Soul.

Moving one of his streamers, he let Mika grab onto it. "Stay close, we'll be out soon" he whispers and leads the way into a narrow tunnel. Too small for her to fit in and he knew she had no alternate forms, not anymore.

He reached the portal, it wasn't a pretty set up, Raven made it look creepy. To match the rest of the place. And it was very well hidden. Soul suspected Raven did it on purpose, to stop anyone from leaving, anyone but himself. But why, well, that's what he didn't understand. Whenever he confronted the Ancient, he would get brushed off or lied to. So Soul had made small changes, leaving a few symbols only regular Zeharu would see. Ancients couldn't see it. She couldn't see it.

Mika was clutching Soul's streamer so tightly, his knuckles were white. The older Zeharu worked quickly, the portal making a screeching sound, causing the hair's on the back of Soul's neck to stand on end. He could hear her drawing closer and closer.

"Shift when you're out" Soul whispers, nudging Mika to go first, the boy took a few paces ahead. Soul was just about to start following him, when rancid air hit the back of his head, the smell was putrid, burning his nostrils. He gagged and just barely managed to swallow back the bile rising in his throat.

He looked back, to see her maw pressed to the entrance to the tunnel, one of her empty sockets peering in, "Soul" she calls to him. But it sounded off, it sounded different than the enraged roars of earlier, it was soft, soothing and gentle. Soul could feel his mind numbing as she continued to speak and as he continued to look into where her eye used to be, "Don't leave me, I've been alone for so long now, please don't leave me again"

Soul felt his chest tighten with pain, "Melody" his voice was tight with emotion. The red and white colors in his eyes fading to black. "I didn't mean to leave you here, I didn't have a choice" he felt tears prick his eyes. He started to move away from the portal, he had took only one step, before a searing pain shot through him. His eyes returned to normal and he looked back and down at what caused the pain. Mika held one of his streamers back, he'd pulled it hard, terror and shock etched into his face.

Soul realized what she had been doing to him, he didn't look back at her again, he threw Mika into the portal and followed quickly behind.

- - - - - -
Everything was black, it was like being thrown into nothingness. He felt like he was suspended in air, as he stayed still, he heard them. The voices. They were quiet, unintelligible and distant. Like they were far, far away. He made a face, keeping his eyes closed, he asked //Who are you?// but he got no answer.

The whispering started to fade and then a stinging sensation hit him and he lurched forward. Bursting from the portal and into the open, pale pink skies of Zyzaniah. Free from the barriers of the blood island. Free from her.
- - - - - -

Soul shifted as he fell through the sky, he then realized he hadn't told Mika all of what he should do and expect in the portal, there wasn't time to, he quickly searched the skies for the boy. It took him a moment, but he found Mika, hovering just above the water and looking towards the blood island. He was staying still, frozen with fear still, it would take time before he finally calmed down.

Lowering himself to the small Nightmare variant, he nudged the small Zeharu, then he looked to the blood island, "Lesson learned? No going back in?" the young nightmare nodded his head quickly. He still trembled as he stared at the island. Only for his view to be blocked by Soul's hulking shape.

"What possessed you to go in there in the first place?" Soul questions

"M-m-my... p-parents" Mika squeaks, his voice shaking just as much as the rest of him. "Th-they w-went there a f-f-few d-days a-ago" he takes a breath, trying to calm his nerves. "I..I w-ent to s-see if th-they w-were a-alright...B-but I couldn't f-find th-their s-scent a-anywhere" he shakes out his short mane. Soul uses his whiskers, gently stroking Mika's back to help soothe him. "Th...they're d-dead...aren't they?" He looks up at the large Zeharu.

Soul sighed softly and nodded, he didn't see any point in lying to the boy. "No one could survive days in there..." he pauses, "No one could survive the night in there, she is not alone in that island, there are others. They are much more dangerous than she is" he shudders.

Mika shivered and Soul realized he was only spooking the boy more, he forced himself to start to purr. His purr was deep, but soothing and melodic. The young Nightmare found himself calming down and becoming tired as he listened to Soul's purring.

Soul lowered his head, "You can rest at my place tonight, tomorrow, we'll find you a new family" he says gently and then grabs Mika in his jaws, carrying him back to his home. His island. Far from the scent and sound of the blood island.

[Over 4,000 years later...]

Soul was laying on the edge of his island, in the distance, he could see the blood island. Although, not in great detail, from this far away. It looked like a little speck. He quivered as a chill rippled down his spine. He was recalling the day he'd met Mika, a day that change his life forever.

Because no matter what family he found for Mika, the runt would run back to Soul, eventually he just accepted he was stuck with the boy. Who was, in current days, a full grown Zeharu, nearly as big as Soul. With full grown curved horns...

And Soul felt those horns ram into his ribs, he hadn't seen the attack coming, he'd been so lost in memory lane. He had blocked out all reality. And was now tumbling head over tail, throwing up dust and leaves. He came to a stop in the trees and curled his lip, revealing his long fangs as he heard the familiar, victorious screech from Mika.

Mika shot into the sky, vanishing into the clouds, but not before waving his tail tauntingly. Soul roared, rolling onto his paws, he pushed off and shot into the sky after the Nightmare. He might love the Nightmare like a Father would, but that wouldn't stop him from taking a bite out of Mika when he caught him...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooohhh *squiggly squiggly*

That was very interesting-- I really enjoyed reading all of this-- eue

I have more questions now, I'll post them on that Q&A thing you did 'XD

This was so good Blood!! Very, very interesting indeed! I'm with Lilly I got some more questions now ewe

Oooooh, both of these were really interesting to read! You did an awesome job writing both of them!

awwwww this is sooo cute

YESSS

man, reading about them going into the cave to get out is tense! or nerve racking, or *some other better way to word it*

these two posts have made me like soul that much more. no wonder you love him so much XD

and ehh? "melody"? HM?

also-- i cant go to "browse paintings" on my 3ds, it crashes every time i try it. and when i try going to colorslive on the 3ds browser it says "cannot confirm security certificate for this page" which it's never told me before.

cause of you mentioning it, i know colors isnt secure, but judging by this i think its gotten worse :s im afraid to try logging off of this acc and into my alt incase the screen that shows random pics causes crashes as well...

also also, do you have a dA, blood? im thinking (a bit more seriously than in the past) about making a dA as a sort of backup place to move to if something happens to this place and if/when i do make a dA, id like to follow everyone i know from here (everyone that i can anyway)

(im not sure if ill make a dA though, my anxiety riddled brain is spinning about too much at the moment lol)

i would make a post on my alt asking everyone if they have a dA but like i said, im scared to log off right now. feels bad, man XD

it's fixed? ooh! yay lol

are you able go to "browse paintings" on your ds? maybe when they fixed the security, it messed with something on colors 3d.

i havent tried hitting "browse paintings" in... an hour? (since whenever i commented here earlier) but last i tried it gave me an error and forced my ds to restart. it's been doing that since i first checked it today (which was just before IO AM my time)

maybe theyre still ironing out kinks or something, i hope they get the crash thing straightened out soon too.