Synopsis of last part: Go read the Damn thing. I ain't wastin' MY time writin' it...
Part 2
"Hush, Sora!" Kira whispered fiercely, placing her palm on the puncture wounds she sported on her neck. "He'll come after you next!"
Sora was taken aback by Kira's fierce, frightened tone. Usually the little female was cat-like and unperterbable. But the wound...
"Let me help you! That could get infected!"
Kira laughed; a short, bitter sound. "It'll heal on it's own, and fast. A Vampyre's bite doesn't damage the shell. It drains the soul. One more bite though," she shuddered, and wiped the blood from her neck on a leaf of sage, "and I'll be a Vampyre too. Listen. There isn't much time. Stay away from the edges of the camp if you're alone. Don't go near any strange digimon that seem hurt alone. And if you do get bitten, for heaven's sake, don't fall apart! Run!"
As if surprised by her verbal exercise, Kira then fell into a brooding scilence, and Katamon purred throatily and rubbed her triangular face against her partner's hair that had fallen out of its neat braid. Kira shook her head softly, and rubbed the cat's furry wings as she gazed at Sora's still-pale face from that afternoon.
"Go to sleep, Sky. I'm fine." She said gently, and Sora gratefully let her heavy eyelids droop, covering her amber eyes as she dozed. Kira settled more comfortably near Katamon, and gently nudged Gabumon awake, and whispered for him to go over to Matt.
"After all, Gabumon, I'm used to this air and this place. He's not. And I have Katamon." She said sweetly, and Gabumon gave her a half-grateful, half-reluctant smile, and trotted over to Matt's side. Kira watched the two speak quietly, until her eyes were just too heavy with sleep...
Ka'renna shook her head, dazed for the moment. One minute, she had been flying through dreams, and now she was in a beautiful wood. Ka'renna was a mountain dragon, and had never seen the forests of her homeland before it was destroyed along with the council, and she thought this beautiful. She stretched her sore wings, and was pleased to find there were no serious wounds. Muttering a quick heal-spell, Ka'renna folded her wings and nipped a small creature from the ground, about to fill her aching, empty belly, when it spoke.
"Don't eat me!" Ka'renna almost dropped it as it bit her with amazingly sharp teeth that went through her scales like tissue paper, but held grimly on.
Why not, little one? I am hungry. She said to it, speaking with her mind as all mature dragons do, instead of the language of trills that the hatchlings use.
"Because, if you must eat, eat the fish in the sea, or the vegetation. Isn't it wrong for a digimon to be cannibalistic?"
Maybe so. But I am not a digimon, so I need not worry. But as I am new here, I may need your help finding edibles. I am Ka'renna, a dream dragon, from the now-lost starworlds.
The 'digimon' smiled, and jumped off of her paw.
"I'm Gatomon. Come on, and meet my friends, we have food." She looked dubiously at Ka'renna's bulk. "But it might be easier if you were smaller..."
No sooner said then done Gatomon. I am magical. Ka'renna shrunk herself to a size of about two meters, her real size. Larger frames were needed for her flights, so she often changed her size, and the spell was a second nature now. She noticed with vague interest that her scales were now deep lavender instead of the crimson they had been such a short time ago.
Lead the way, Gatomon. I am very hungry. Ka'renna said gently as she followed the small white cat into the surrounding green.
Dai looked up as someone tapped her shoulder, making her lose her concentration of sorting fruit with Ivymon. She saw Izzy bending down over her. She smiled, and stood up.
While in the digiworld, Izzy had gotten a major growth spurt, and was almost as tall as Matt. Dai was literally dwarfed next to him, her head barely reaching his shoulder.
"Hey, Izz-man. Ready for my lesson? I'll trade ya." She said, cheerily offering him some of the freshly washed and sorted fruit.
"Thanks." Izzy gave her a short smile, and hungrily bit into a strange, kiwi-like fruit she offered him. He made a face at the bitter taste, but was really too hungry to care. "This is...different. Hold this, will you? Thanks." He handed her his treasured laptop, and sat down to do justice to the banquet that all were ferociously attacking as if their lives depended on it. Fifteen minutes later, he brought her a small selection of her favorite fruits and plants, and sat down next to her.
"Here."
Dai laughed, and tossed her shoulder length hair out of her face as she bit into a sweet, yet tart lime-shaped fruit that was a garish pink color.
"Didn't think you noticed what I liked particularly. We were on Java/HTML/applet.javac, weren't we?" she now rattled off a series of codes that had, over time, become second nature to her.
"You got it!" Izzy said, favoring her with one of his winsome smiles. Dai gave him one of her own, cynical ones before leaning over his shoulder with her dark hair barely brushing his face as she stared intently at the screen. Izzy shrugged, and with one absent-minded hand, brushed her hair off of her face, gently stroking her cheekbone. Dai held her breath, and leaned closer, as if to read the screen. She pointed to a complex code strand, and spoke.
"What is that? I thought I'd seen everything, but now I'm not so sure."
Izzy clicked and typed madly, finally arriving at a digitally analyzed photo of a tall, fair-haired man, with milky skin and eyes. He seemed to be smiling slightly, a bland look, but quite harmless and welcoming, until you noticed his fangs, slightly tipped with a crimson stain that looked suspiciously like blood. Dai shuddered, and unconsciously moved closer to Izzy.
Izzy frowned.
"That's VampPyromon. He's a Vampyre digimon, whatever that is. It says here that once you've been bitten three times, you'll end up just like him. He has no soul, no heart. There's just a bottomless hunger that won't be filled." He turned and looked grimly at the rest of the digidestined who now had gathered about his computer. "Guys? I think we've found something bad. He'll only bite females though, so maybe the girls shouldn't go on watch until we know more about him."
"I know plenty." Said Kira, her singsong voice hard and devoid of any emotion. "I've met him." She swept back her hair, which had hung free since last night, and showed the other digidestined the rapidly dissipating puncture marks on her pale skin. "They'll scar soon. Silver scars. I have on chance left." She smiled ironically. "Like a cat, I've got a certain amount of lives. I'm down to one." Her green eyes flashed, and no one spoke. "Don't just look at me. Finish your work. I'm going on a walk." She turned, and walked slowly away. After a moment, Matt followed her.
Katamon looked about; making sure the others weren't in sight. Then, with a quick slash of her claws, she tore the bandages from her body, and pumped her wings. She winced. Not quite as well as she'd hoped, but it'd have to do. She was just about to lift off with a strong push from her hind legs, when something snatched her out of the sky so effortlessly Katamon gave out a slight, muffled cry of panic.
"Let go!" she flailed her paws, blindly striking out, and soon came in contact with thick, coarse fur. Her claws raked it, but the creature seemed not to notice. Squirming, she turned to face the digimon that had caught her, and cried out in fear.
"Karnivormon! Noooo!"
Her cry echoed through the trees, and was suddenly, horribly cut off. Then there was only stillness.
"-Mon! Noooo!"
Gabumon sat up, his keen ears listening closely for the sound of Katamon's voice. She had gone off that morning on the pretense of bathing, and had been gone for just a bit when he heard her cries of fear.
"Matt?"
"Yeah, Gabumon?" answered his partner distractedly, still keeping one blue eye trained on Kira, who sat a ways down the bank, staring into the stream.
"Did you just hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Come on, Matt! Even you should have heard that scream! It was Katamon!" Gabumon cried angrily, his nerves strung tight.
At Gabumon's cry, Kira stood up fast, with reflexes like a coiled spring or a cat. When she saw Matt watching her, she turned away as if to go, and then seemed drawn towards him. She walked forward, and stood in front of the taller and older boy, her eyes like green fire.
"You," she said coolly, "Were watching me."
Matt looked at her, his eyes equally hard, as if filled with licking tongues of flame.
"You know, I think I was." He said coldly. "You worried all of us, so I came after you. After I saw what that- that Digimon did to you, don't you think I'd worry?"
Kira's eyes widened in shock and dismay.
"I- I'm sorry. It's just I'm not used to people yet. Or being accepted." She gently took his arm in her hand, and began to unwind the bandage she had long ago placed on his arm. "This needs cleaning. Your wound still hasn't healed."
Matt pulled his arm roughly from her grasp, although he privately admitted to himself that the gentle touch of her fingers on the broken and infected flesh was comforting.
"There's another reason I'm here. Katamon is gone. Gabumon says he heard her cry out a moment ago."
Kira's normally pale face turned almost white at this news, and she tried to get up to run, but Matt held her back with his good arm.
"There's no sense in wasting energy. Let's get to the others- Garurumon can make it in half the time."
Kira looked, and, sure enough, Gabumon had digivolved into Garurumon. The huge blue and white wolf gazed at her with sorrowful golden eyes as Matt pulled her up behind him.
"Better hold on," Matt said to her, looking straight ahead, "When Garurumon runs, you'll need something to hold or you'll go flying."
"I always wanted to fly," Kira remarked as she hesitantly slid her arms around his waist from behind, "But I don't think this would be a good time to try."
Matt laughed slightly at her little joke, and Garurumon began to run. Kira was very thankful of her hold on Matt as wind whipped past her, blowing her long hair back. She closed her eyes and held on as tightly as she could.
Oh, Kata, she thought desperately, I pray to Luna that it isn't Him who has you...
"Gatomon! Gatomon! Where are you?" Kari called again. Her furry companion had been missing since breakfast, and Kari was getting anxious.
"I'm here, Kari-chan. And I found someone."
"Who!"
Me. Your partner found me.
Kari looked up, around. The voice came from everywhere, in her head! A medium-small dragon of a pale lavender/green color crawled over to her. She was two meters long (approx. 6.5 feet), and her wings were in tattered ribbands.
I am Ka'renna, of the now-lost starworlds. I am pleased to meet you, Child of Light.
Kari trembled slightly, but spoke.
"I've seen you before! A long, long time ago..."
The dragon -Ka'renna- laughed, a throaty musical sound, much like a velvet-muted bell.
Perhaps you have, Hikari Yagami. I am a dream dragon. Only those who believe in me can see me.
"Believing is seeing, huh?"
The dragon laughed her muted-bell laugh again, chuckling at, Kari suspected, her innocence rather than the small joke.
I rather think you are wiser than I, Light Eight Gods. I am only five hundred, and I am only so far traveled. But I think that you have gone farther than I ever will, just by dreaming. The dragon paused, and smiled a toothy smile at the small girl. Farthest and Fairest, I offer you dreams. Ka'renna spread her wings, now scarless, and bowed.
Kari stood stunned as this dragon smiled, laughed, and spoke without speaking to her. And the words echoed in her mind...
Farthest and Fairest, I offer you dreams.
Senji threw a rock at the crystal surface of the pool, watching his features become distorted and broken. Angrily, he turned and spoke heatedly to Acidomon, his gray-green eyes flashing.
"She's different, Acido! And I don't understand her! My own sister! It's like she's put up a shield and won't let anybody close!" he scowled as the spider patted his shoulder awkwardly, trying to calm him down.
"Now, Senji! She's been alone for six years. That's about enough to get anyone a little leery of humans. Especially since the first humanoid creature she met was-"
Senji cut him off.
"Don't even say his name! I don't want to hear any more on how much he hurt her!"
Acidomon looked questioningly at his partner, and was surprised to see tears in the boy's eyes.
"You don't know much about the real world, do you, Senji." He said shrewdly, "I think you've had a rather sheltered life until now."
"So?" Senji's reply was muffled as the boy buried his face in his sleeves.
The spider looked sadly at his partner and smoothed the boy's unruly red hair into place.
"I wish it were easier, Senji-sama."
The boy stroke Acidomon's coarse brown fur.
"Yeah, Acido. It's hard for all of us."
Tai stretched his arms above his head and sat upright, leaning against the worn bark of an old, silver-dappled tree.
"Izzy, what do you know about this guy, VampPyromon?" Dai asked from where she sat, five feet away, crouched next to Izzy near the laptop.
Without looking up from the screen, Izzy answered her, and Tai leaned forward to hear the younger boy's answer.
"I don't know much, except that he's not necessarily evil. He is a virus type, however, so you have to be careful. Apparently, he can turn any female creature into another Vampyre -not necessarily a digimon, mind you, just a Vampyre. It says here that this type of Vampyre only drinks the blood of the opposite sex. I wonder why..."
Sora came up with a possible solution to that question from where she sat, next to Tai.
"Perhaps they have a different blood/sugar intake than most humans or digimon," she offered, removing her inhaler from her waist pouch, "For all we know, he could be diabetic, or they just respond better to the opposite sex."
"Maybe," Izzy said non-committally, "But I suspect it might have something to do with sexual voracity, or something. But I'm not sure; it's just a theory."
"Y'know, I'm very happy that Kari and TK are napping right now," remarked Tai, "I just don't think this sort of talk is good for them."
Sora placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"From what Izzy says, they won't be attacked or bitten for a few years, Tai. The Vampyers seem to only attack physically mature victims, so TK and Kari are reasonably safe."
Tai nodded, and absent-mindedly stroked her hair for a moment, and she leaned against his shoulder.
"Ahem," Izzy said, without looking up from the laptop, "Back to business," then, as Dai gave him a quick cuff upside the head and pointed to Tai and Sora who were both on the edge of sleep, he added, "Or not. Dai, have you learned Binary yet? It's a computer code that consists of-"
"Zeros and Ones, I know. You're getting forgetful in your old age, Izz-man. You already taught me that." Though her words were slightly sarcastic, there was an audible note of fondness in her voice.
Izzy smiled at her, and the two quietly left Tai and Sora asleep in the clearing.
"TK! Look!" Kari called as she ran out of the woods, "I found a Dragon!"
"You mean a digimon?" TK asked, confused.
"No, silly! A real dragon!"
Gatomon jumped from her perch on Kari's shoulder into TK's lap next to Patamon, and while he absently stroked her, began to recite her tale.
"I found her in the wood. She was hungry, and she tried to eat me, so I bit her."
Rather harder than necessary, I might add, friend Gatomon. Said a feminine voice that came from all directions at once.
"Whoa! Kari, why didn't you say she was so BIG?"
"Because, TK," Gatomon told him, "She's fairly small as dragons go. Two meters is not all that big for a five to six century old dragon."
And you're the expert?
Gatomon laughed.
"You HAVE filled me in on six centuries just now, 'Renna."
TK looked even more confused.
"'Renna?"
My name is Ka'renna Skywing. I'm a dreamer, and I set out on a quest to prove myself, so that J'kkin Stardancer and I could be Joined.
Kari looked at her oddly.
"What do you mean by 'Joined', Ka'renna?"
Ka'renna shifted her self nervously back and forth.
It's about the equivalent of marriage for your kind, I believe.
Kari raised an eyebrow.
"You like him that much?"
Ka'renna sighed, and spoke out loud.
"He is the leader of my clan, Light. I am...fond of him, and he returns that. But with Dragons, mating is all rules and contests. If I'm lucky, I won't have to mate with someone too vulgar, like T'reth."
"Who's T'reth?" Patamon asked, bright-eyed.
"T'reth is a rebel dragon, and it is the clan's belief that he would mate me soully because of my magic and my dreaming. J'kkin and I have known each other long, and I -what is the word for it- love him. I guess it's hard for you to understand." She said, lamely.
"Not really. My brother is in love." Kari stated.
TK looked at her.
"Sora, huh?"
"Yeah..."
"What took him so long?"
"He can try to save two worlds, but when telling a girl he likes her, well, Courage is kinda important. Frankly, he's a bit of a wimp at times."
"And most brothers are, Light. Bravery is more than facing Death," Ka'renna remarked as she curled herself about the two children, "It's about facing Life, too. And what is more to Life, than Love?"
The five creatures -two digimon, two humans, and one dream dragon- slept, and were unknowing of the fear that thickly rose about them.
A/N: Hee, hee, hee...I finished the second part! Oh, YES! Ka'renna is from
another of my stories that I have yet to finish, but it's almost done. It's
all-new, I made it all up, and this part is cute! As I said earlier: MUSH!
Not much, granted, but enough. And if you hate my story, don't read it. I
won't dignify flames with responses.
~ Kira ^_^
