Zane frowned. "No I do not see what you mean. This is all a delusion brought on by ether hitting my head in the crash or some sort of poison from these plants that entered my system through touching my skin through a gap in my clothing." he argued. 

Vic stifled a laugh at how difficult his partner was being. He would certainly have fun with him.

Allen and Yuri walked over to join them. Allen gave Zane a concerned look but Zane shrugged him off so he turned his attention to Shadow. "Where's he going?" he asked curiously.

Back to camp. Yuri answered, rubbing up against Allen before padding over to follow Shadow. 

Taylor laughed at Zane's words. "Even if it is a dream, you don't want to stay in the forest all by yourself." She said and Shadow padded onward. "Come on everyone. I want to make it to camp before dark." He said and waited for the others to get ready."

--

Sasori bent down for Maksis. He climbed up onto her lithe, but steady form. Her muscles rippled as she stood up again. She showed no signs of struggle and Maks concluded that she was stronger than she looked. Sasori padded confidentally to Shadow. "I am ready." She said and Taylor smiled down at her brother.

Yuri stared at Sasori and Maksis curiously, wondering if he could carry Allen in the same way. Allen was one step ahead of him and had already taken a running start and jumped, landing flat on Yuri's back and wrapping his arms around the cheetah's neck, causing Yuri to yowl in surprise and collapse. He quickly stood back up and gave Allen a half-annoyed, half-amused look. Allen responded by giving his partner a grin before laughing. Yuri rolled his eyes and continued up the trail after the others.

Zane followed more slowly, keeping all his senses directed at the forest around him. Taylor was right, he didn't want to be left alone out here and if there was creatures like Vic and the others running around, who knows what else could be out there.

(( Question: Can all the humans understand Shadow? Or just Taylor and the other Spirit Animals? -_-; )) 

Name: Crux

Age: Unknown

Rank: Second-in-Command of Mutants?

Partner: Can't

Looks: 

He can also shift his skeletal system to make it so he can walk like a human. 

((once a human has bonded with a spirit animal, they can talk with any of them. love the pic and the bio. yes Crux can be second in command

g2g my hour is wayyyyy up. gais be on tomorrow around 7 res time if you can!!! or i'll try to come on earlier!!!))

((Thanks and bye! :D Although, I can't be on after 7 res time ): Library hours.))

Yuri trotted over to Shadow and sat down. Allen pulled at the cheetah's ears affectionately, chuckling slightly. Said cheetah snorted and rolled over, where he and Allen began scuffling playfully on the ground. Both of them had a personality were they bonded quickly to others, so they were all ready acting like best friends. 

Zane stood well out of their way, his arms crossed over his chest as he observed the area around them. Vic was beside them and was swaying and hissing contently, ready to listen to Shadow. The noise Vic was making was quite irritating and Zane had to suppress the urge so clock the snake right between his eyes. 

((Zane does not like Vic at all XD)) 

((lol i can tell.))

Shadow's muzzle twitched as he observed the young Yuri and Allen. "Now." He said, signalling for them to calm down. "I am going to explain to you who we are and a little bit about the other inhabitants on this island." He said the last part with a snarl.

This island was once all ours. Our land. We were the descendants of generations of animals that were created from the dreams and imaginations of the human world. We are a peaceful race and our numbers were once plentiful until they came. Soon, as time went on, man's mind became sick and twisted. More of the earth was being destroyed, ruining dreams and many hopes. Thus the mutant race was born. We have no name for them now. No name for their kind, but they came and tried to conquer our land. Our island was sealed off from the world and now new Spirit Animals cannot come into being. The mutants live off of the evil in the world and are getting stronger in the pas.sing years. Our island was once sealed off from the rest of the world, a paradise for dreams. That changed when they came. Now, humans sometimes come. The only problem is, the mutant's post guards to capture all humans who land here. Most are children like yourselves. We do not know why this has happened, but no adult being can exist on this island. Only our species, the mutants, and the young may move freely. What we came to learn is that our kind can bond with humans and make them and ourselves twice as strong. The mutants do not have that power, for darkness forbids it. We had recently removed some of the guards along the beach, which left gaps open in their defenses. We were able to find you and protect you from them. We are the last of the Spirit Animals now, but we fight nobly. We need you to help us win our war with the mutants. I know it is not fair, but until they are all dead, you cannot leave the island. He finished and looked around the circle.

((that's okay Zombie. I can come on earlier : ) ))

Zane's mouth twitched into a frown. Now he really did want to clock Vic just for dragging all of them into this mess. The explanation Shadow gave them made sense. Zane had no doubt that man had the capability of not only creation but destruction. Still, the whole thing sounded like fairy tale stuck halfway between its Disney and Grimm version. He rubbed his temples, hoping it was just a dream brought on by the stupid TV shows that Allen made him watch and he'd soon wake up in his bed.

Allen and Yuri had stopped scuffling to listen to the story and now Yuri was giving Allen an apologetic look. Allen propped himself up on his elbows. "What's the point?" he asked Shadow, "You've already killed our families, what's there for us back with the humans?" The statement caused Zane to think that maybe he'd been a bit too morbid around his younger brother. At least he was looking on the bright side by hoping this was all a dream. 

Yuri frowned, and patted Allen's head. He could tell the boy was the youngest of the group by several years. It seemed unfair to push war on him. "Don't worry," Yuri purred. "Just leave all the fighting to me and that psycho brother of your's. He looks ready to tear a mutant to shreds right now." Both Yuri and Allen laughed.

Zane bristled and spun around to face them. He was about shouted at them before he recovered and simply let out a loud exhale. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Dream or no, the stress was all ready starting to get to him. He hoped he could get away from them soon and just relax for a bit.

Taylor saw Zane almost snap at the two and she hopped off of Shadow's back. "You don't mind if we get our thoughts together, do you?" She asked Shadow. He dipped his head. "Of course not. We are going to retire and you may join us when you are ready." He said and padded into a large cave carved out of rock. Sasori followed him, flicking her tail at Maks before heading in.

--

Taylor turned around and faced Zane. "Why don't we take a walk." She suggested and grabbed his arm, knowing he was probably about to snap.

Zane let out a grateful sigh. "Sure," he said. His voice was slightly higher thanks normal thanks to him trying to control himself, and his cheeks turned slightly pink from embaras-sment. He cleared his throat. "Lead the way." 

----

Yuri watched curiously before turning to Allen. "Did we say something?" He asked telepathically. 

"Oh, we said something all right," Allen answered, trying not to laugh. He loved it when he drew any sort of emotion out of Zane.

Taylor tried to hide a smile, but did not succeed. "Did you get out much?" She asked him, making sure Allen would hear, knowing he would get a kick out of it. She tugged on his hand and whisked him into the forest and toward the lake.

--

Maks watched them go before walking over to Allen. "So you don't mind being on this island?" He asked him and looked at Yuri with sadness. "If we try to leave, what happens?" He asked him.

Zane kept pace with Taylor, keeping an eye on the ground to make sure he didn't trip over anything. He wasn't sure whether he should be glad about getting away from Allen or worried about his brother's safety. Allen had a way of getting himself into trouble and needing Zane's help to get out of it. 

--------

"Of course I mind," Allen answered, "But if we get back home I'm not sure what will happen. I really can't imagine living a normal life without my parents." He sighed. He and Zane didn't have any family that would be willing to help them and he didn't think they would be able to support themselves in a money dominant world.

Yuri frowned and shook his head. "We wont let you. We wont do it violently, but there's more than one way to make a point." He rested his head on his paws.

Taylor let her grip slide off of Zane's arm, pulling her hand away. She pushed her hands into her jean pockets and sighed. "What are we going to do for clothes?" She asked, already noting the rips and tears in her shirt and pants. Luckily, her shirt was only ripped on her back and her shoulder. "Wanna head to that waterfall and stream we saw before we met up with the Spirits Animals?" She asked him.

--

Maksis sighed. "I don't think I would look forward to returning home either. I never really knew the rest of my family. The only close family Taylor and I had were ourselves and our mother. Our father was always away on trips." He explained and sat down next to the two. "So how do these bonds work? Are we limited to anything? Like, do we get special powers or something?" He asked.

Zane blinked and inspected his own clothes. His jacket had a few tears here and there but nothing serious. His jeans however, had a long tear going up his left calf along with a long, thin, but thankfully not deep, cut going up it. He must of gotten it in the crash and not noticed. 

"We could always go back to the wreckage later and take anything we need." he offered. Even if their ship was beyond salvation, some of the supplies might of survived. When he first woke up near the ship, he'd found a large folding knife on the beach, which he was keeping in his coat pocket in case of an emergency. If the knife had washed up, maybe some luggage had.

"Sure," he added, answering he second question.

----------

"We were always a close family. Believe it or not, Zane was the most family oriented. We had an older brother, but he left five years ago. I don't think he'd help us even if we asked." Allen said. He was slightly surprised that he'd brought up his eldest brother. Zane hated him so Allen never mentioned him after he left. 

Yuri shrugged. "I don't really know. All I know is we share pain. One get's hurt, so does the other. You might want to ask Shadow."

(( Yes, Zane has had a knife XD I kept forgetting to mention it. And I dunno about the bonds either o_o ))

Taylor sighed. "Hopefully they can provide us with weapons." She said and felt surprised at the thought that she wasn't revolted or anything. She would be willing to kill if it meant safety for herself and her allies. I've certainly changed. She thought to herself and wondered if Shadow could hear her. She waited for his reply, but heard nothing. "Come on. I think it's over here." She said and brushed a tall, green fern ouut of her way to reveal the breathtaking waterfall.

--

Maksis nodded. "I think I will ask him." He said and pulled some strands of gras.s from the ground nonchalantly. He looked at Yuri. "I don't think Zane likes Vic very much." He said, a smile on his lips. Sasori seemed nice and was friendly toward him, even though they had gotten off on the wrong foot...paw.