Everything Before...

[Shukko]|]

A bright light shined in the middle of the desert, it formed into an orb of energy which split into three smaller ones. Gently landing on the sands, with the setting sun in the background. The three lights formed into shapes, bodies, which quickly gained color, physical appearance...

The eventually the light disappeared leaving three people in the sands. The lgiht flew up into the sky and disappeared in a flash of bright fire. The three people were, Aura, Jet and Gyre. Each of them were may have had their clothes torn slightly from the explosion...

[Pyre]

Well, Gyre was more than just slightly torn, but that was besides the point. His breathing was hard, his eyes shut tight, sure he must be dead. Dead, dead, dead... But why was it so warm then? So nice? He didn't feel dead. He felt...he felt home.

His eyes slowly opened, then flinched shut again as sand flew up in his face. Groaning, he struggled to prop himself up on one elbow. "What the..." For miles, all he could see...rolling sand and the round disk of a fiery sun above. "Guys? Jet? Aura?" He gave Jet a kick, since that was the only way he could reach him. Jet flinched and jerked up, growling slightly.

"What the--!" he stopped, eyes going wide as he looked around. "Where are we?"

[Shukko]|]

Aura and blinked her eyes open, being careful not to get sand in her eyes. Atleast it wasn't extremely hot anymore, it was cooler sure, but still a little hot. She looked around and sighed, the desert? The desert?! Why?! Of all places they ended up in a desert, boy she wished she had her morotcycle... Then again, it was stored in a house she bought... In the city...

She stood up, dusting her self off and taking a look around. "Lost? I think... Hye maybe there's someone nearby! Heh, I just gave myself an idea!" She concentrated a windshpere in her hand, holding it until it brightened to a white color. She then luanched it into the air, high above where it shattered. She blinked, then released that there probably wouldn't be anything out here... "That was a stupid idea... I guess no one owuld see that..."

[Pyre]

Jet struggled to his feet, the wind picking up a little and sweeping sand up around him.

"Um...hello? Cripple back here? Little help?"

Jet glanced back at Gyre and laughed. "Ah, we're not going anywhere yet, just sit tight man."

"You suck."

Jet ignored him from there, though, looking up at the sky where the air sphere had exploded above. "Well...It was worth a shot. Hold on, let me try."

His hands lit aflame. He wasn't really a fireball kind of guy though and he glanced at Gyre for help. The wind fellhound sighed and raised one hand. Suddenly the flames on Jet's hands lifted off, shooting into the air perhaps a hundred feet above.

"Well...best start moving though. Any idea where we are?"


Unknown to these three, several yards away two gray eyes watched from behind the cover of a sand drift, keeping low to the ground. It was just him for now, but the rest of the hunting party would be along shortly after that fireball in the air. For now...he just watched.

[Shukko]|]

"No, no idea..." Aura looked around, she had no snese of direction unless she knew where she was. So she randomly pointed in one direction, really randomly, she was completely unsure. "That way!" She smiled, her energy and happiness now back. Through how long it would last was another thing. "I think... We should go that way..." She sighed and shook her head, walking in the direction she had pointed. "I wanna go home..."

[Pyre]

"What home? Your home just blew up, woman," Gyre growled humorlessly. "And once again, your forgetting the cripple!"

Jet looked back in surprise. "Huh? Oh. Sorry." He reached down and put an arm around Gyre's shoulders, under one arm, lifting him up on his feet--er...foot. The other foot was kept well off the ground, though now that he thought about it Gyre wasn't sure where that particular injury had come from.

He knew Aura didn't have a clue, but he was so tired he just wanted to get moving, not bicker and argue about which direction to go when there was none.

But at this point, the rest of the hunting party was arriving. Shadows shifting accross the sand, or darting between dunes. Jet's eyes widened, snapping after each one but never quite catching it. A swish of cloth over gravel, the shifting of sand underfoot. Something was nearby...

And suddenly a spear was jabbed up at his face from the sand. Jet yelped and fell over, dragging Gyre with him. The injured hound growled at the sudden pain jerking through his limbs, but shut up immediately as more spears were shoved up and around them. People were emerging from the sand, covered in sackcloth, surrounding them. Others came from the dunes, behind or from above, surrounding the party of three. But Aura was lucky not to have a spear pop up from under her at least, unlike the guys.

[Shukko]|]

Aura just blinked, staying put and not moving. Her eyes widened through because of her childish personality, she would've felt a little more scared than Jet or Gyre. "Umm... Hi?" She blinked again, she didn't want ot start anything etheir. Hey, maybe the explosion had sent them flying? To another country or something? Wait, no...That wasn't possible... This is... Fun... She thought to herself, trying to think of a crazy plan to escape.

[Pyre]

"Who are you?" one of the figures asked, a tall one in front of Aura, and though all faces were concealed by low hoods and masks over their mouths and nose, you could tell they were all dogs. Canines. The speaker was a white wolf, though only his white paws and his tail and his eyes could be seen.

"What does it matter? They're dangerous!" A pale sandy-colored canine of some sort was speaking, holding a spear not two inches from Jet's eyes. "I keep telling you to kill them...you never listen...they'll slaughter us all if we don't!" Indeed, Jet seemed to be the center of attention here, the center of all spears, though they were angled at all three of them they were all in alignment with Jet at the same time, as though ready to rush past Aura and Gyre and strike the one hound.

"Caroke, calm down," another spoke.

"I won't calm down! They took my d*mn daughter!" The canine made a stab for Jet. The hound threw up his hand, and though he didn't know where his reflexes came from he suddenly had a powerful grip on the spear, ripping it back from the sandy-colored dog, snarling fiercely. The other dogs all shifted, growling in return, moving in.

[Shukko]|]

Aura narrowed her eyes, they were oing after Jet! Jet was her friend, well atleast she thinks so. She hissed, this was it, she couldn't just let them do this. "What the h*ll is with you people?! I don't know who your talking about! But he's not dangerous, I've spent the past two weeks with this guy!" She raised a fist at one of them, and growled. The sand around her feet shifting slightly from the wind, which got a little stronger.

One of the canines backed away from her, a younger one, but one that still fit in with the group. Through he moved forward again, and continued to point a spear. "You've what...?"

[Pyre]

"Stand down. All of you," the white wolf growled sternly. Slowly the spears were withdrawn, but no more than half an inch. Enough to give Jet a little breathing room.

"This one isn't like the others..." the wolf started, his gaze also going to Gyre. They both bore runes, which only the wild afflicted ones had. Yet only one looked afflicted at all...and he still seemed to have a mind to speak of. "You didn't answer me. Who are you?"

"We might ask the same question of you," Gyre countered.

The wolf shifted on his feet, as did a few of the others. But slowly he reached up and lowered his hood and his mask. "We are warriors of the Seeker Tribe. I am Orion."

Both cousin's eyes went as wide as they'd ever been, realization sinking deep. "The fallen tribe..." Jet breathed.

[Shukko]|]

Aura blinked and looked at Gyre and Jet, then Orion, she shook her head slowly. "We just want out of this desert, just to go home... I'm, Aurora... That's Jet, and Gyre..." She jestured over to her friends, and this was the first time she'd used her proper name when speaking to someone. She moved closer to Jet, she was confused lost, scared, she didn't like tihs people... "Ulgh... All that time around the Meter Gun made me thirsty..."

[Pyre]

Jet hesitantly stood up, hands raised to show he meant no harm, leaning in towards Aura a little. "Um...Aura? I don't think you understand...the Seeker Tribe," he whispered frantically, his words intended only for her, though he wasn't sure whether the others would hear him or not. "They're sort of mine and Gyre's ancestors. They all died out about two-hundred years ago. We, er...we killed them."

Gyre growled at being left on the ground yet again. "Look," he said, drawing attention away from Jet and Aura and thereby letting them speak in private. "I don't know what's going on...but it's dang hot out here and the sun's burning. You guys got a house? Er...hut? Somewhere?"

Orion looked thoughtful, his eyes peering up at Jet again shrewdly. He didn't respond directly, but rather addressed his warriors. "We'll take them with us then."

"Are you insane?!" this one wasn't Caroke. It was a small female, actually. A short fennec fox, her amber eyes flashing angrily. Bringing those things into our village...bringing the enemy right to our doorstep!" Others started muttering.

"My word is final," the wolf said harshly. That shut them all up fast. "We'll keep the afflicted one confined like the rest."

Jet could only assume they meant him. "Er...confined?"

[Shukko]|]

Aura thought of what Jet said for a moment before realising what was going on. We went back in time?! She sighed, and then Orion said that they were going to confine Jet... Great... Thinking of what to do, she had no idea of how things worked around here at all, but something had to be done.

"You can't confine him! There's notihng wrong with him, he was born the like this!" Hopefully Aura chose to say the right thing, then again, probably not, she was never good at stuff like this.

[Pyre]

The muttering rose up again, everyone shooting sharp glances around.

"Born? How can he have been born like this? How old are you, son?" This one was an old hyena who also removed his hood. Hoods were coming off of most heads, save those who seemed to want to stick these three the most.

"Ah...seventeen." I think. It was a little hard to keep track of time at GUN.

The hyena shook his head. "Not possible. Affliction not been 'round for that long."

"It's a uh...long story," Jet trailed off.

"Or maybe...we're time travelers! Yes, that would make perfect sense!" Gyre cut in, until Jet flashed him a glare.

Orion still seemed determined. "Well at any rate, we'll let the council decide. No more debating, we move now." More spears were jabbed around to get Aura and Jet moving. And Jet certainly started moving. Gyre coughed pointedly and two of the warriors put their arms around him and lifted him up.

[Shukko]|]

Aura growled, she hated being forced around. She should be able to move around freely and do whatever she wanted! It just wasn't fair... "I don't like this d*mn desert... It's too hot here..." She sighed and kept walking, where exactly were they going anyway? She glanced around as they walked, nothing but sand for miles and miles. She wanted to leave, and she was sure that Jet and Gyre did too, but it looked like these people weren't gonna let that happen.